Chapter 21: Rapid Level Growth
"Espeon~"
After finishing the mysterious fruits on the ground, Espeon's aura grew increasingly powerful. Its muscles became more defined, giving its body a perfect balance of agility and strength.
Ryo glanced at Espeon's panel once again, and when he saw its level had risen to 29, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Espeon, you must continue training diligently. I'll be relying on you to protect me from now on."
Espeon nodded seriously, its eyes filled with determination.
"Rawrr~"
At that moment, Dragonite, standing nearby, let out a sound with a somewhat aggrieved expression as it stared at Ryo.
Noticing this, Ryo chuckled and patted Dragonite's belly. "Of course, you too. Protect me well."
Dragonite nodded, its eyes turning serious as well.
Seeing this, Ryo smiled contentedly. After giving them some time to play on their own, he returned to his room.
Once back, Ryo pulled out the chests he had recently obtained.
"System, combine the chests," he communicated mentally.
With that command, three bronze chests fused into a single silver chest.
"Let's open the bronze chests first," he said.
Ding! 『You have obtained the Elemental Stone Set ×1!』
Ding! 『You have obtained 10,000 points!』
Ding! 『You have obtained a Mysterious Fruit Tree ×1!』
[Elemental Stone Set]: Contains one each of Ice, Sun, Night, Fire, Thunder, Water, Leaf, Light, and Dark Stones.
[Mysterious Fruit Tree]: Produces five mysterious fruits every week.
Looking at the rewards, Ryo couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
"It seems bronze chests still don't offer anything too impressive," he muttered.
Sure, the elemental stones and fruit tree were valuable items in the system shop, but they weren't particularly useful to him at the moment.
For now, these items were of limited utility—especially the mysterious fruits, which could only raise a Pokémon's level to 60, equivalent to that of a mid-level jonin.
"Guess I'll just keep these for now and sell them off later," Ryo decided.
He then turned his attention to the silver chest. "System, open the silver chest too."
Ding! 『You have obtained a Pokémon Battle Arena!』
Ding! 『You have obtained 10 mysterious fruits!』
Ding! 『You have obtained a Mental Power Fruit!』
Ding! 『You have obtained Pokémon Training Equipment!』
[Pokémon Battle Arena]: A specialized arena for Pokémon battles.
[Mental Power Fruit]: Boosts mental power. If the user has no mental power, it may awaken latent psychic abilities. Note: Not usable by Pokémon.
[Pokémon Training Equipment]: Specialized equipment that enhances the effectiveness of Pokémon training.
Seeing the items from the silver chest, Ryo's expression changed slightly. "System, I didn't expect these chests to contain items for humans too!"
Up until now, he had assumed the chests only gave Pokémon-related items.
"Correct," the system replied. "Exclusive chests can also contain items beneficial to humans."
Ryo's eyes lit up. "If there's a Mental Power Fruit, does that mean there are fruits for other abilities as well?"
"Yes, host. Exclusive chests can contain fruits for all kinds of human powers," the system confirmed.
Ryo's excitement grew. "So, theoretically, I could collect all the powers from the Pokémon world if I'm lucky enough?"
"Yes, but the system advises against it. You possess a god-tier psychic potential. It would be more beneficial to focus on mastering that power to its highest level," the system explained.
Ryo nodded. "True, strength lies in specialization, not quantity."
He then examined the other items. The Pokémon Battle Arena didn't interest him much—after all, this was the Naruto world, not a place where ninjas would battle using Pokémon.
As for the mysterious fruits, Ryo was at a loss for words.
He had just fed some to Espeon, and now he had even more?
Although the fruits could increase strength without side effects, feeding them constantly wasn't ideal. Espeon needed to adapt to its current strength before consuming more.
"Well, let's wait until Espeon fully masters its current power before giving it more," Ryo decided.
However, he was quite pleased with the Pokémon Training Equipment.
"It may not be the best, but it's definitely better than those elemental stones," Ryo thought.
"At least this equipment will help Dragonite and Espeon improve their training results. It's not much, but something is better than nothing."
Even so, Ryo couldn't help but feel that even the silver chest was starting to lose its usefulness. "I guess I should save my chests and aim for higher-level ones. If a gold chest can give me Dragonite, what would a higher-level chest contain—legendary Pokémon?"
Later, Ryo went to the open area behind his cabin. He set up the Pokémon Battle Arena and laid out the training equipment.
The arena turned out to be a flat field, which helped level the uneven ground behind the cabin.
Satisfied with the setup, Ryo took out the Mental Power Fruit and consumed it, beginning his meditation and training.
…
Time passed quickly, and the sun gradually set behind the mountains.
At the Hyuga Clan compound, Hinata returned, holding the Pokéball she had brought back from Ryo's place.
"Stop right there!"
A stern voice came from the entrance as a middle-aged man stepped out, his eyes filled with disappointment as he looked at Hinata.
Hearing the voice, Hinata froze and lowered her head. "Father..."
"Why are you home so late?" asked Hyuga Hiashi with a stern expression.
"I... I'm sorry, Father," Hinata stammered, attempting to explain but ultimately lowering her head in apology.
Since her younger sister's birth, her father's strictness had lessened somewhat, though it also felt as if he had given up on her.
Despite that, she still had to train every evening—the focus of her training had simply changed.
Hiashi frowned as his gaze landed on the Pokéball in her hand.
"What's that in your hand?"
Hinata's eyes filled with worry as she shook her head. "It's... nothing."
"Give it to me," Hiashi demanded, stretching out his hand.
Hinata clutched the Pokéball tightly and looked up resolutely. "No, I won't."
This was her future partner. There was no way she would hand it over.