65. Berry Hunting

"Brother Chris, over here! Over here!" As soon as Chris arrived at the pier, he heard Mike calling out to him from a distance.

The harbor was already crowded with students from Chris's class. Olivia, holding the attendance list, spotted Chris and motioned him over.

"Chris, you're on the first boat. It's full now, so you're leaving first."

Chris quickly stepped onto the boat, where Mike had already saved a seat next to him. Once he sat down, the boat started up and headed toward Test Island No. 3.

The boat sailed smoothly over the sea, cutting through the wind and waves. Mike leaned over, curiosity evident in his voice. "Brother Chris, I heard you and Tutor Olivia went to the Dragon's Nest in the East China Sea a few days ago. How was it? Did you catch any dragon-type Pokémon?"

At the mention of a dragon-type, all the students on the boat turned to Chris, eager to hear his answer.

"Gible," Chris replied casually.

A Gible! Everyone's eyes briefly flicked back to Chris before they quietly returned to their own thoughts, secretly envious.

Why couldn't it have been me?!

"Awesome! I love Gible! When it evolves into Garchomp, it's an absolute powerhouse. Once we get to shore, you've gotta let me see it!"

"Do you have anything to eat?" Chris suddenly asked Mike.

"Eat? No... why would we bring food? We're coming back from the trial island at 5 PM. Why? Didn't you have lunch?" Mike asked, puzzled. "I can ask around if anyone brought something."

"No, it's fine. I'm not hungry." Chris smiled and shook his head, not offering any further explanation.

The Gible he had just caught was incredibly greedy. If there was no food, how could anyone hope to get near it? He'd have to use a Pokéblock just to keep it content.

Trial Island No. 3 was an artificially developed area, but when Chris stepped off the boat, he saw no signs of human intervention.

Lush green hills stretched across the island, dotted with fruit trees heavy with colorful fruits. The sight was truly gratifying.

Aside from the initial cultivation of the fruit trees and the introduction of Pokémon, Dragon University had left the island mostly untouched, allowing the environment to remain as wild as possible.

"Brother Chris, do you want to form a team?" Mike offered, hoping to team up.

"No, our goals are different," Chris declined, waving him off as he walked away.

In yesterday's Pokédex class on berries, the teacher had assigned each student a practical task: identify and collect specific fruits and record their taste and effects. Each student had a different set of objectives.

Chris's assignment was to find Iapapa Berries and Lum Berries.

He hadn't encountered these berries in his previous gameplay, so now he had to search for them on Test Island No. 3. If he had been assigned more common berries like Pecha or Chesto, Chris probably could have just strolled around and headed back.

One by one, he began his search.

Before coming to the island, Chris had done his homework. Iapapa Berries, which resemble papayas with a reddish tint at the bottom, generally grow by the sea. Sure enough, there was an Iapapa Berry tree right by the dock where the boat had stopped.

Several of them hung from the tall tree like coconuts.

It would've been a hassle for Chris to climb up, so he sent out his Combusken. With a single leap, Combusken plucked one of the berries.

Chris sniffed the berry but didn't detect any fragrance. He cut it open, revealing white flesh, and took a bite.

"Ugh, that's so sour!" Chris immediately spat it out.

This stuff is nasty!

Suddenly, Chris understood why the textbook described Iapapa Berries as causing confusion in Pokémon that hate sour flavors.

He had barely taken a bite the size of a fingernail and had to spit it out, yet the aftertaste lingered, making him want to gag.

"This is ridiculous," Chris grumbled, making sure to note the flavor in the most "brutal" terms.

With the "Iapapa Berry" objective complete, he moved on to the next task: finding a Lum Berry. This berry resembled a plum but had a cyan hue and grew higher up in the trees.

To find it, Chris had to venture deeper into Test Island No. 3.

Combusken cleared the way as Chris carefully made his way into the island's dense forest.

The island was home to many Pokémon, some of which had become fierce from frequent battles with trainers.

Chris spent an hour walking through the island and encountered three Pokémon along the way. One of them, a Pinsir, was even stronger than Xavier's Druddigon. It was no surprise that Mike had asked him to team up.

If it had been any other student from the Breeding Department, they would've needed at least two or three people just to make it through safely. Otherwise, they might have been in serious trouble.

"It seems a bit too high," Chris muttered, standing on a hillside and looking down. It was almost three o'clock, and he needed to return by five. He had to hurry up and find that Lum Berry.

"Lum Berry... Lum Berry..." he repeated to himself, scanning the area. He hadn't seen it on his way up. Maybe he had taken the wrong direction. Could it be that Lum Berries didn't grow at high altitudes?

"Combu!" Combusken suddenly called out, pointing toward a distant tree.

Chris followed Combusken's gesture and spotted a cyan fruit hanging from a branch. It was a bit larger than the Lum Berry he had seen in the Pokédex, but it was the same cyan color.

"Go ahead, pick it!" Chris instructed Combusken.

Combusken moved forward, reaching up to grab the fruit when, suddenly, a sharp, turquoise Vine Whip lashed out from the side.

Reacting quickly, Combusken abandoned the fruit and slashed at the Vine Whip with a swift *Cut*.

*Crack!* The Vine Whip snapped, but its force still knocked Combusken back to the ground. The attacker, however, did not follow up.

From the side, a red-haired girl in a long white dress stepped into view, her Venusaur standing beside her.

"You're a freshman, right?" she asked. "That's a rare fruit, a Tanga Berry. You can't just pick it."

"Tanga Berry?" Chris quickly pulled out his phone and checked his Pokédex.

Sure enough, the Tanga Berry did resemble a Lum Berry, but it was slightly larger. There was also a thin yellow vine that should be attached to its core. Looking closer, Chris noticed the yellow vine peeking out from the fruit.

"I'm sorry, I mistook it for a Lum Berry," Chris apologized quickly.

"The Lum Berries are near the waterfall on the east side of the island," the girl informed him, pointing him in the right direction. She added, "Rare berries like these are usually found at the top of Trial Island, and they're quite expensive. You might want to be more careful next time."

With that, she turned and left with her Venusaur.

"Thank you, Senior!" Chris wiped the sweat from his brow, feeling a little embarrassed.

Expensive, huh? He hadn't thought much about the value of rare berries before.

Curious, Chris pulled out his phone and searched online for information on rare berries, but he couldn't find them on any common shopping sites.

After a moment's hesitation, he opened the special app provided by President Qian of the Trainer Association. It didn't take long for the results to appear.

Tanga Berry: 200,000 Pokédollars 

Payapa Berry: 270,000 Pokédollars 

Haban Berry: 330,000 Pokédollars

"What the... Two to three hundred thousand for a single berry?" Chris was stunned.

Was the fruit made of gold?

But when Chris read the effects of these berries, he immediately understood why they were so valuable.

Tanga Berry: When a Pokémon holding this berry is hit by a super-effective Bug-type move, the damage is halved. Long-term consumption reduces damage from Bug-type moves.

The other rare berries had similar effects, each targeting different types of moves.

The battle effect alone was impressive, but the real draw was the long-term benefit. If a Pokémon ate a particular rare berry regularly, it could significantly reduce the damage it took from moves that had a type advantage.

Treasured battle items typically boosted the power of moves, but these rare berries reduced the damage received from super-effective hits. In a way, they were two sides of the same coin.

Suddenly, the steep prices seemed more justified.

"If a berry is worth more than 200,000 Pokédollars..." Chris mused, a new idea forming in his mind.

Maybe there was a profitable opportunity here.