Chapter 96: Fruits
"Professor Oak! Good morning!"
As Xiu walked alongside Professor Oak through Pallet Town towards their destination, several townspeople they passed offered respectful greetings, sometimes pausing to exchange a few words about the weather or local news. Xiu noted the genuine warmth and deference the townspeople showed towards the Professor.
Interestingly, when Oak briefly introduced Xiu as his 'new assistant', the townspeople reacted with polite surprise, but nothing more. No shock, no probing questions. Just a simple, "Oh, welcome to Pallet Town, young man."
"Seems you're quite the celebrity here, Professor," Xiu remarked as they continued walking after one such exchange.
"Hm..." Professor Oak grumbled good-naturedly, though a hint of pride was evident. "Just means I can't even run a simple errand without getting stopped for idle chatter." He gestured ahead. "Better to stay cooped up in the lab, much more efficient."
Xiu chuckled inwardly. He suspected Oak could have easily sent him on this errand alone, but perhaps wanted to observe him further, or maybe just felt like stretching his legs.
They arrived at their destination: a small, unassuming general store near the town center. An elderly shopkeeper stood by the entrance, waving as they approached. "Professor Oak! Your delivery arrived!"
"Ah, Shouhe, excellent!" Oak greeted the old man warmly. "Right on time."
The shopkeeper, Shouhe, beamed. He gestured towards a large, sealed cardboard box sitting just inside the doorway. "Came in late yesterday."
"Xiu, give Shouhe a hand here," Professor Oak instructed, patting Xiu on the shoulder. "Help him unpack this morning's deliveries while I check my order." He immediately turned his attention to the large box, pulling out a clipboard and pen, seemingly absorbed in verifying the contents.
Xiu hesitated for a second, surprised to be delegated to manual labor, but quickly complied, offering his assistance to Shouhe. "Morning, sir. I'm Xiu, the Professor's new assistant. What needs moving?"
"Assistant?!" Shouhe repeated, his eyes widening dramatically, looking genuinely shocked. He shot a quick, nervous glance towards Professor Oak, who was still preoccupied with the large box, then quickly schooled his features back into a polite smile, though his eyes still held a flicker of surprise. "Ah! Welcome, welcome! Just these smaller boxes here, need stacking inside."
Xiu definitely caught the old man's strong reaction this time. 'Okay, something is definitely up with the 'assistant' position at Oak's lab.' Why would the townspeople react normally, but this shopkeeper, who clearly knew Oak well, react with such shock? He filed the observation away, resolving to investigate later, and started helping Shouhe move the delivery boxes.
There weren't many, just supplies for the small store, so they finished quickly. Professor Oak, however, was still meticulously checking items off his list from the large box. Finding himself with nothing to do, Xiu started chatting idly with Shouhe.
He learned the shopkeeper's name was indeed Shouhe, a lifelong resident of Pallet Town. He had been a moderately successful Trainer in his youth, traveled a bit, but eventually returned home to open this shop when he got an arrow to the knee by a wild Decidueye. His shop also served as an informal collection point for deliveries and mail for many of the town's residents, given the somewhat remote location.
Curious about Pallet Town's unique atmosphere and apparent prosperity, despite its lack of standard facilities, Xiu steered the conversation towards the town's economy. He discovered, to his surprise, that the primary industry wasn't tourism or fishing, but agriculture – specifically, the cultivation and sale of specialized Berries and medicinal herbs used in crafting Pokémon potions and supplements.
'That explains it!' The large, spaced-out plots of land he'd seen weren't just gardens; they were cultivation fields. The town's wealth wasn't immediately obvious because it wasn't based on typical commerce, but on supplying raw materials to the wider pharmaceutical and Pokémon care industries.
This revelation immediately sparked Xiu's interest. He began asking Shouhe more specific questions about berries.
"Edible berries native to Kanto are relatively few," Shouhe explained patiently. "You have your basic Oran Berries for stamina recovery, Pecha Berries for poison, Cheri Berries for paralysis… things like that." He gestured towards a small display of fresh berries inside his shop.
"These have direct, positive effects on Pokémon. Then you have ordinary fruits," he pointed to some apples and pears, "good for general nutrition, mostly for humans, minimal effect on Pokémon— as for transplanted varieties from other regions, or specially cultivated hybrids… yes, they exist, but they're mostly treated as ingredients for medicine and supplements, not typically eaten directly by Pokémon."
"So the price difference must be significant?" Xiu asked, recalling the high cost of even basic Oran Berries back in Fuchsia City.
"Depends," Shouhe replied thoughtfully. "The common Kanto berries like Oran, Pecha, Cheri… they're widely cultivated here, so the price is reasonable, affordable for most trainers or families. Ordinary fruits are cheap, just standard groceries, but those other berries," he lowered his voice slightly, "the ones with potent, specialized effects – Lum Berries, Sitrus Berries, Liechi Berries, the stat-enhancing ones… those are sold strictly as high-grade pharmaceutical materials. The price difference isn't just double or triple; it can be astronomical. Especially if it's a berry not native to Kanto."
Xiu nodded with understanding. It mirrored the situation back in Fuchsia City, where he'd seen various berries sold at wildly different prices, often with confusing or conflicting names depending on the vendor.
'Just like traditional medicine ingredients back on Earth,' he mused. Same plant, different names depending on the region, leading to confusion, and potential misuse… the lack of standardized terminology for berries beyond the most common types seemed like a significant issue here as well.
"Alright, inventory checked, everything seems to be in order," Professor Oak announced, finally standing up, tucking his clipboard away. He walked over, noticing Xiu and Shouhe deep in conversation. "What are you two discussing so intently?"
"Just talking about berries, Professor," Xiu replied, turning away from the counter. He gestled towards the large box Oak had been inspecting. "Are we ready to move this back to the lab now?"
"Indeed," Oak nodded. He exchanged a few final pleasantries with Shouhe. "We'll head back now."
"Alright then, Professor. Take care," Shouhe smiled and waved. "Be careful on the road."
Xiu appreciated the polite farewell, then bent down to lift one end of the large, heavy box. It was surprisingly dense. He could feel smaller, shifting objects inside as he lifted. 'Definitely metal components,' he guessed as the box was securely sealed, impossible to see the contents.
'This might probably be Professor Oak's 'materials' for the Scyther experiment.'
— — —
Later, back at the Institute's second-floor lab
"Hand me those petri dishes," Professor Oak instructed, pointing towards a tray on a nearby workbench without looking up from the complex apparatus he was adjusting.
"Yes, Professor." Xiu quickly complied, carefully carrying over the tray of shallow glass dishes. He noticed several of the Scyther fragments soaking in a clear, viscous liquid within the dishes. "Professor, what is this liquid?"
"Nutrient suspension containing specific metallic ion catalysts," Oak replied distractedly, making fine adjustments to a calibration knob. "Standard procedure for preparing biological samples for molecular analysis." He immediately pointed towards another machine. "Go power on the phase-contrast microscope. Unit 3B."
"Yes, sir!"
Since Xiu's alternative proposal using the scythe fragments had been deemed viable (or at least worth the investigation), the direct experimentation on Scyther itself had been postponed. Today was focused on analyzing the fragments.
'Good thing I kept these,' Xiu thought, powering on the microscope. He just wished he'd gathered more fragments back at the factory. He'd only grabbed a few of the larger, cleaner pieces at the time, mostly out of habit, thinking they might be useful later. He hadn't realized their potential research value.
'Hope these few pieces are enough for a proper analysis.'