Chapter 81: Rock Resistance

After purchasing the Nanab Berries, Lian accompanied Kalia for a brief stroll before returning to their dormitory room at the Pokémon Center.

The dormitories had shared rooms; Kalia stayed in the female section with her roommate, another girl. Since there were fewer female Trainers, these accommodations had vacancies available for her.

Although Kalia felt that the Pokémon Center's dormitory environment was not particularly impressive, she didn't mind as long as it provided a place to stay.

The new Trainer must have gone to the battle arena within the Pokémon Center, as they were not present in the room.

Kalia sat on her bed, opened her backpack, and took out the Pokéblock Blender along with Charti Berries for making energy cubes.

Creating energy cubes was quite straightforward. First, peel the berry shells, then mix different fruit pulps according to specific ratios in the Pokéblock Blender. After rapid blending, the energy cubes can be produced.

Kalia's Pokéblock Blender was the simplest model. In larger cities, there exist more advanced, large-scale blenders capable of mixing a wider variety of berries and producing up to seven or eight energy cubes at once.

Kalia's small Pokéblock Blender could only produce one energy cube at a time, yet even this model was quite expensive and unaffordable for most without sufficient funds.

With great patience, Kalia continuously turned the crank handle, blending the berries thoroughly to ensure proper mixture.

Soon, an energy cube made from Charti Berry and Nanab Berry was completed. Kalia retrieved it, revealing a pale pink energy cube.

"Charmeleon, give it a taste. If it's not sweet enough, I'll adjust the ratio of Nanab Berries accordingly."

Lian took the pale pink energy cube, sniffed it, then took a bite. He found the sweetness lacking, with bitterness still dominating the flavor.

He shook his head, indicating it wasn't sufficiently sweet.

"Not sweet enough?"

Kalia continued making another batch, increasing the proportion of Nanab Berries this time.

Lian tasted the new cube, finding it much improved. The sweetness now masked the bitterness and astringency; unless carefully discerned, the slight astringent taste was barely noticeable.

Lian nodded contentedly and quickly finished the energy cube. Being made from Charti Berries, he relished every bite.

"I understand now; let's stick with this ratio." Observing Charmeleon's reaction, Kalia realized she had achieved the desired flavor balance. Following the same proportions, she continued to make more energy cubes.

Once berries were picked from their trees, they couldn't be preserved for long unless stored in sealed containers. However, transforming them into energy cubes allowed for extended shelf life.

After some time, the new Trainer returned - it was a girl, seemingly much younger than Kalia. She had two ponytails, a round, cherubic face, and wore a cute little skirt.

"Hi!" The girl appeared surprised upon seeing Kalia, holding a Jigglypuff in her arms as she approached.

"Hello, my name is Kalia," Kalia greeted with a smile, pausing her work.

"Nice to meet you, Big Sister. I'm Linnea," Linnea politely responded, her eyes widening in wonder at the small Pokéblock Blender in Kalia's hands.

"What's that?"

"It's a Pokéblock Blender, specifically designed for making energy cubes. I just finished creating some; would you like to give one to your Pokemon?" Kalia explained while taking out an energy cube and handing it to Linnea.

"Energy cubes! Wow, Big Sister, you're amazing!" Linnea exclaimed, impressed. Although she was a new Trainer from a remote island, she had heard about energy cubes but never seen them before.

Linnea accepted the energy cube and offered it to her Jigglypuff. The Pokémon seemed unfamiliar with this treat, holding it carefully, sniffing it first, then taking a small bite. Instantly, its eyes narrowed with delight, emitting a pleasant sound.

"Jigglypuff seems to really enjoy it," Linnea observed happily.

"Thank you, Big Sister Kalia. You must have earned many Gym Badges by now, right?"

With that, Linnea and Kalia struck up a conversation. Linnea, curious like a child, asked numerous questions, clearly demonstrating her lack of experience as a new Trainer.

"Big Sister Kalia, how should I train Jigglypuff to become stronger? Right now, I don't even have one badge," Linnea asked pitifully.

"Jigglypuff is quite weak, but it can grow stronger through evolution. However, evolving Jigglypuff requires a Moon Stone, which isn't easy to obtain. In the meantime, you can focus on training its Sing move, and then..."

"I see, thank you."

After many questions, Linnea finally felt exhausted but had learned a great deal, showing immense admiration for Kalia's knowledge.

"Is this your Charmeleon? It looks so intimidating! Why isn't it inside a Poké Ball?" Linnea noticed Kalia's relaxed Charmeleon sitting nearby and asked curiously.

Due to its size, Charmeleon appeared roughly as tall as Linnea, with sharp claws and a fiery tail that made others hesitant to approach.

"My Charmeleon doesn't like staying in a Poké Ball; he's actually very gentle, so there's nothing to worry about," Kalia reassured her.

"Okay." Linnea nodded.

Having consumed several energy cubes, Lian felt satisfied. He found an empty bed, lay down, and quickly drifted off to sleep.

***

Later that night, within the system space.

Lian's combat rating for today was low, as the Pokemon encounters in the Kana Mountains no longer posed any significant challenge to him. Consequently, the reward amounted to only two or three hundred Combat Points.

Having consumed three energy cubes made from Charti Berries earlier, Lian sensed there might be changes. He checked his data panel, and indeed, new information appeared.

The rare berries like Charti and Custap possess certain special effects. After consuming the Custap Berry, Lian gained increased burst capabilities. Now, after eating energy cubes made from Charti Berries, another ability showed up on his attribute list:

Rock Resistance: 1.99(+)

Rock Resistance clearly indicated Lian's resilience against Rock-type moves. Originally it would have been 2, but due to consuming the Charti Berry-based energy cubes, it slightly improved to 1.99. This meant that when hit by a Rock-type move, he would now take 1.99 times the damage instead of double.

Rock Resistance is undoubtedly a valuable ability; if raised to just one time normal damage, it could significantly reduce Lian's vulnerability.

Once evolving into Charizard, attacks from Rock-type moves will cause quadruple damage. However, if Lian could enhance his Rock Resistance significantly, he might even withstand future Rock-type assaults directly.

Lian didn't rush to increase his Rock Resistance immediately. If he used Combat Points now and subsequently rendered the energy cubes made from Charti Berries ineffective due to already elevated resistance levels, it would be a significant loss.

He decided to consume all the energy cubes first, waiting until the Charti Berry's effect diminishes before using Combat Points to boost his Rock Resistance. This approach would save a substantial amount of points.

There was no immediate urgency to improve Rock Resistance; evolution into Charizard is still far off, so taking things gradually was fine.

The most pressing issue remained the scarcity of Combat Points. Even with an increase, the gain wouldn't be substantial enough to make much difference.

"The consumption of Combat Points keeps accelerating," Lian sighed.

Just days ago, he earned over ten thousand Combat Points, only to exhaust them quickly by upgrading Special Attack and Explosive Power. With the addition of Rock Resistance, Lian needed to accumulate more Combat Points to keep up with these demands.

His laid-back lifestyle seemed increasingly distant as, without realizing it, Lian found himself constantly strategizing on how to enhance his strength and acquire more Combat Points.