New Discoveries (1/3)

[Words: 1839]

Well, whatever.

Apparently, not everyone could walk for eight hours without breaking a sweat. Izan hadn't felt even a slight amount of pain in his legs, much less any exhaustion.

For a moment he thought he was just built different but Robin and Joe also seemed perplexed about Lora's condition.

So Lora, the emergency exit button, had less stamina than himself. The guy whose arms looked like string cheese.

'Greeeaat. That totally wasn't a red flag at all.'

He blinked, refocusing as the prickly little bird sent a wave of… something at him. It was a hard thing to describe, like someone knocking on the door to your mind.

Wait, did that mean the little shit could read his min-

~No, I can't read your mind. You think very loudly so I can pick up on your surface thoughts.~ Natu paused, eyes narrowing at him. ~If one were to try and pry their way in, they would fall victim to being… comatose. Now, please. Shoo.~

'Oh.' Well, that was good to know.

It seemed reincarnation came with the usual perks of being immune to mind manipulation. At least it was that way in most stories.

"Whatever. Let's go, Sandshrew," Izan waved them off, turning around and walking off into the forest. Someone called out to him from behind but he wasn't focusing on them anymore.

Flipping it open, he began surfing the internet on his Pokegear. Looking up some things was the first step.

The second step? Berry hunting.

He didn't buy the berry pouch just for curiosity's sake, after all.

Scanning each page about berries he could come across, he missed a step as he read something that was outright ridiculous.

"Shrew?" She tilted her head, clutching his shoulder tighter. He frowned but didn't respond, idly scratching under her chin.

That mollified her if her pleased hums were anything to go by.

In other news, what he just read was staggering for someone from the 21st century.

Pokemon were unbelievable, sure. The powers from the anime were pretty crazy all things considered. And the technology? Absolute bonkers.

This? This was… revolutionary.

The lack of information regarding berries was astounding, but what he could glean from the minimal amount of studies was monumental. Oran Berries alone could explain so many things.

Like, why were people so hot? Even the ugliest people still looked moderately good-looking while those considered beautiful were unreal. And why did every Pokemon of a certain species and typing look exactly the same?

Oran Berries.

In any other lifetime, he would've laughed at the person who told him that, but it seemed true. It probably wasn't just Oran Berries but they were subtly a considerable factor.

They were the ultimate miracle drug. On top of being a non-addictive painkiller, they were a naturally forming antibiotic, antiseptic, and antiviral. And on top of THAT, they promoted fucking bodily homeostasis.

Or in other words, they just made you a 'Human +1' if you ate enough of them. Only something like late-stage cancer or a tumor would be a problem if you had enough Oran Berries.

And there were even better berries than that. Like the Sitrus Berry! It actively promoted cellular regeneration as the primary function. Not just division, but complete regeneration.

Insane.

And it got even better since berries seemed to have grades attached to them. The higher the grade, the better the effect. Find a berry that can promote cold resistance? At a high enough grade, you'll be immune to the cold.

There were even rumors on the forums of a legendary Sitrus Berry that granted a healing factor. One that didn't just heal cuts, but entire limbs.

Of course, the higher the grade the less they were talked about. People were selfish and didn't like to share their secrets often. Something like this? Definitely being held by the government in some way.

If he was honest though, the higher-grade ones weren't that interesting.

They were so obscure you'd probably need a lifetime to find one that was useful. And if you ate the lower-grade ones every day, they'd eventually leave a lingering permanent effect.

Like a ground-type eating low-grade Passho Berries every day to eventually reduce their water weakness by 5-25%. It'd take forever, but it's been proven to work.

Legendary super berries just didn't seem like a good idea to obsess over.

Potions and Revives and stuff like that were better for emergencies and a Pokemon 'holding' a berry during battle just seemed ridiculous.

What would they do? Keep it in their mouth while battling? Get real.

Sadly, this did all come with a major side effect. That there were more berries than in the games. And some of them are a bit more… lethal than the common Leppa Berry.

Hence, poison. Or worse, elemental berries that cooked you alive from the inside. Because if there's a berry that helps you resist fire attacks, why wouldn't there be one that does the opposite?

"Figures." Izan sighed.

By now, he was already a ways away from the… he was gonna call it a campsite. Not much from what he could see but it couldn't be that hard to find since he found those Leppa Berries before.

"Hmm… Sandshrew." She perked up from her bored staring. "You mind looking around for some berries for me?"

Hopping off his shoulder, she gave him a quick salute before scampering off into the underbrush, wildly sniffing at the air.

Snorting in amusement he looked around, deciding to go in the opposite direction of her. She could find him at any point as long as he had the Pokeball, and he knew his way back to the others.

Pokemon in the area would be much of a threat if they ambushed him. If the enforcers of the route deemed them good enough to pass, they were either docile or weak.

"Oi."

Startled, Izan spun around at the feminine voice. If the person behind him had any other color of hair, he would've swung at them.

But with the red contrasting the surrounding green of the forest, it was pretty obvious who it was.

He lowered his fist with a disappointed look. "Oh, it's just you, Robin." Slightly rolling his eyes, he turned around to continue looking for berries.

"Yeah, just me. Listen, I've gotta ask you a… what are you even doing?"

"Looking for berries. I heard they could sell for quite a bit if you get enough of them." Not that much if he was being honest. Around 20$ per full bush harvested.

Considering that more than doubled in sell value the higher the grade? It sold for quite a bit if you had a good enough supply. But he wasn't a farmer. He didn't plan on selling them if they were even moderately useful.

She didn't need to know that, though.

"Berries, eh? Say… where's your Sandshrew at?" Something about her tone made him pause, but he shrugged it off.

Casually, he pointed in a vague direction. "Off foraging somewhere. I thought it'd be faster if we split up."

"Really? Well, that makes this easier." A flicker of movement. "Now, you're gonna answer some questions I've got. Capiche?"

He snorted. 'Capiche? Who does she think she is, a mob boss?'

Turning to actually look at her, he realized she was holding a… knife. And she was pointing it at him. He raised an eyebrow at her impassively.

"You're not the brightest crayon in the box, are you?

She gripped the knife harder, her knuckles going white. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Ya know, not the brightest bulb in the pack?" At her uncomprehending stare, he continued. "Not the sharpest tool in the shed? The lights are on but nobody's home? The wheel's still running but the hamster died years ago?"

She scowled, still confused. "The fuck are you talking about?! What wheel?"

He facepalmed and then muttered. "About as blunt as a hammer and as smart as one too." He dragged his hand down his face. "You're stupid, aren't you?"

"I'm not stupid. You are!" She waved the knife at him frantically. "Look, you either shut up and answer my questions or I'm gonna stab you!"

"How could I answer anything if I have to shut up?"

She made an unholy scream in frustration. "This is why I don't fucking like you! You're just so… ugh!"

At this point, Izan was just lazily smiling at her as she riled herself up. For a moment, his face went blank in thought.

'For real, though, what's wrong with this girl? I haven't even done anything to her and she's threatening me with a knife.' He wondered. 'Not that it'll do anything.'

She took a breath, visibly calming down. "Why won't you listen? I've got, like, a knife and everything. This usually works."

'Why has she done this before?' But instead of actually asking her that, he just explained the simple facts.

"Stabbing me would be idiotic. There are like, at least ten reasons it wouldn't work. One is that I doubt you'd actually be able to stab me without getting injured yourself. But besides that, what would you do if I just ignored you? Or I could just answer incorrectly on purpose. What if you kill me? Anyone with a brain would find out it's you who did it. I'm pretty sure the police have psychic Pokemon that would just read your mind." He huffed, ending his rant.

'They should have psychics, at least. If they don't, they're really sandbagging.'

She blinked at his long explanation but then shook her head stubbornly. "I'll just say it was a wild Pokemon that did it. There, easy."

"Forensics these days are unfair. Especially with Pokemon helping out." He pointed out.

One of those words she clearly didn't understand, but she nodded anyway, putting the knife away. "Fine. Whatever that means. I still have questions."

"And I'd probably have answers, but I'm not really feeling up to it right now. Did you know I almost just got stabbed?" He replied teasingly.

Surprisingly, she ignored that comment. "Then… how about a trade? You answer my questions and I'll provide some useful information."

He crossed his arms and looked down at her unimpressed. "Yeah, like what?"

She smirked, suddenly confident. "Details about the black market."

A/N:

Thanks for reading the story and the author's notes. I usually ignore other authors' notes tbh.

RQ: So I'm thinking of adding a pseudo-system in the story in between this arc and the next arc. Like, in-universe not just OP gamer bullshit. What do you think about that?

At most it'll do the same thing a Pokedex could do just... better. And for more things than Pokemon.

(Also, to whoever asked about the title changes- it's just easier for me to organize things knowing which chapters are a part of which arc. I haven't planned every arc to the letter, but there are a few key points I want to hit with each one.)