Get Stronger by Pleasing Pokémon? Who Needs to Be a Trainer!

Chapter 398: Strange Berries

"They still won't stop slacking off…"Neither of them even knew why they kept using Slack Off, but with Lin Feng's sharp gaze fixed firmly on them, both Mew and Victini understood one thing clearly: if they didn't start collecting nectar soon, they were definitely going to be exposed.

The problem was that Mew had only transformed into a Combee, and Victini had been transformed into one by Mew. Neither of them had the slightest idea how to actually gather nectar.

"Alright, alright, stop pretending already. Turn back to normal."

Watching their clumsy attempts at collecting nectar, Lin Feng hurriedly spoke up.

At this rate, not only would they fail to gather any honey, they might even ruin all the flowers.

"Buzz…"

One "Combee" glanced at the other "Combee." Seeing the other one remain motionless, it decided not to move either.

"Come on, I'm talking about you two little troublemakers!"

Seeing the pair still stubbornly acting innocent, Lin Feng used Confusion and pulled both of them over to him.

It was actually pretty simple. If those two Combee could resist his psychic power, then they obviously weren't real Combee.

But even after getting caught, Mew still refused to change back.

Left with no other choice, Lin Feng brought out his secret weapon.

He took out a freshly harvested batch of catnip and crushed it into powder.

The catnip Mew had stolen before was from last year's stock, and like flowers, catnip gradually lost its potency over time. Fresh catnip, however, was an irresistible temptation for the little feline Pokémon.

Sure enough, the moment Lin Feng poured out a tiny bit of the powder, one of the "Combee" immediately started breathing faster.

At first, it tried not to look at the catnip in Lin Feng's hand, but only seconds later, it darted straight toward him, reverted to its original form midair, and began rolling around happily in his palm.

(≧∀≦)ゞ: "Mew…!"

(Catnip… catnip…)

On the other side, Victini, who had been maintaining the illusion with psychic energy, could only awkwardly return to its original form as well. It floated there blankly, glancing back and forth between Mew and Lin Feng.

After all, the last time it visited, it had only stayed for two days. So much time had passed since then that Victini suddenly felt a little embarrassed about speaking to Lin Feng directly.

Lin Feng grabbed Mew by the scruff of its neck. Looking at the little troublemaker's dazed expression, he couldn't help grinning.

"Heh. Thought I couldn't catch you?"

At that moment, Mew didn't even bother paying attention to him. Only after it had rolled around in the catnip to its heart's content did it finally lift its head and look at Lin Feng.

"Mew?"

(You figured it out again?)

Instead of answering directly, Lin Feng held onto it and asked:

"It's been over twenty days this time. You didn't come here at all, and you even left Alto Mare. Did you go looking for Victini?"

Honestly, the moment he saw Victini, a lot of questions in his mind suddenly made sense.

No wonder Mew had managed to stay away for so long even after Jirachi had fallen asleep. So it turned out Victini had appeared.

"Mew~heehee…"

Mew let out its signature giggle, covering its mouth as always. It neither admitted nor denied anything. Instead, it slipped free from Lin Feng's grasp and flew up into the sky alongside Victini.

That reaction alone was basically an admission.

Lin Feng followed its gaze and looked toward Victini before greeting it first.

"Victini?"

Even though they had not seen each other for quite some time, Victini still remembered the human who had once made delicious macarons for it and helped reunite it with the old king. Its mood instantly brightened.

It even raised its right hand and struck its signature pose.

(•̀ω•́)y: "Vii~!"

(I'm Victini~!)

"Alright, alright, I know already…" Lin Feng said helplessly, rubbing his forehead.

The next second, Victini floated lightly over to him.

"So you finally came out. Did you break the Pillars of Protection?"

Lin Feng asked a question he already knew the answer to.

If Victini was able to leave, then the protective pillars had obviously been destroyed.

Lin Feng wasn't surprised at all.

After all, in the movie, Victini itself had shattered the towering pillars. That proved it had always possessed the power to break free from its restraints.

The reason it had guarded that place for over a thousand years was because the true barrier had always existed in its own heart.

And now, seeing how happy it looked, it was obvious those old worries had finally disappeared.

Sometimes all it took was someone handing you a meaningful cup of wine.

Someone who refused to let you drown in the past.

"Vii~"

Victini nodded, then looked around curiously, its eyes sparkling with wonder.

The last time it came here, the plantation had nowhere near this many berry trees. But now, the entire orchard was filled with every kind of berry imaginable.

And the berries here were even larger than the ones in Eindoak Town.

It loved them.

Because the fruits in Eindoak were famous for being enormous too.

Soon after, it flew off with Mew toward the other Pokémon.

It wanted to tell everyone that they had returned.

Even if only for a short while.

"Honestly… those two…"

Lin Feng shook his head and headed toward the kitchen.

He did not know exactly why Victini had come this time, but Mew's reason was probably obvious. The food inside the storage sphere had run out, so it came back to restock supplies.

Which meant he needed to start preparing food again.

…

Time passed quickly, and before long it was lunchtime.

The other Pokémon had already returned to the ranch, while Mew and Victini had seated themselves obediently, waiting for food.

Lin Feng carried over plates of macarons along with various dishes and placed them into the storage sphere.

╰(°▽°)╯: "Vii~!"

The moment Victini saw the plate of macarons, its eyes lit up instantly.

At first, Lin Feng had assumed the food in the storage sphere had simply been eaten clean by Mew.

But that was not actually the case.

The main culprit was Victini. It had been traveling together with Mew this entire time, and the storage sphere packed full of macarons had been completely emptied by the combined appetite of those two little gluttons.

That was why neither of them had returned for so long.

"Too bad it's not pumpkin season right now. Otherwise I could try making colorful ones for you."

Lin Feng smiled as he brought over the food.

Speaking of which, under Serperior's Grassy Terrain, the berry trees had been growing at an incredible pace lately.

In fact, quite a few mutated berries had already started appearing.

Most of the mutations simply enhanced the berries' original effects a little, so Lin Feng had not paid much attention to them. He usually just turned them into Pokéblocks and sold them at the ranch as normal.

But every now and then…

Some truly strange berries would appear.

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