Chapter 17: Exploration, Exploration, and Then a New Discovery
As Bai Feng's Golden Finger Energy entered the Ancient Sapling's body, an Arbor Diagram clearly appeared in his mind.
Bai Feng had never planted a Lum Berry tree before and didn't know what its Arbor Diagram looked like, but he knew that the Arbor Diagram of this Ancient Lum Berry Tree was definitely very different from that of a Modern Lum Berry Tree.
Although the Arbor Diagram within a Fruit Tree and the Energy Circuit within a Pokémon were essentially the same type of thing, there were significant differences in their form.
A Pokémon's Energy Circuit would show great variation depending on its species. For example, some were like spiderwebs, some serpentine, some cylindrical, some kelp-like... In short, their structures were bizarre and varied, and only Pokémon of the same species would be largely similar overall.
But the Arbor Diagram of a Fruit Tree was different. They were generally tree-shaped, with a basic structure of a trunk plus branches. Differences were only evident where the branches forked, with the Arbor Diagrams of different Fruit Tree species showing distinct variations at these branching points.
Compared to the differences in Pokémon's Energy Circuits, this variation seemed insignificant.
However, the Arbor Diagram of the Ancient Tree Bai Feng was currently seeing was completely different. Strictly speaking, using "Arbor Diagram" to describe it was no longer quite accurate.
The structure of a normal Fruit Tree's Arbor Diagram was a trunk plus a canopy. It also had roots, but the root system wasn't developed, so Bai Feng often overlooked that part.
But the Arbor Diagram of this Ancient Sapling was different. Its root system was exceptionally developed, almost comparable to the canopy. If he were to turn it sideways, Bai Feng might not even be able to tell which side was the canopy.
Grandpa Fu saw Bai Feng standing there motionless, touching it for a long time, so he asked, "How is it? Did you see anything?"
"No, you couldn't figure it out, what could I possibly see?" Bai Feng shook his head, withdrew his hand, and said with a humble expression.
"Ah..." Grandpa Fu sighed upon hearing this. He had originally hoped Bai Feng might discover some problem.
After examining the Ancient Sapling, Bai Feng said goodbye to Grandpa Fu and returned to Fangxing Mountain with Popplio.
On the way back, he kept thinking about the Ancient Tree's Arbor Diagram, so he seemed a bit distracted. Popplio called out to him several times, but he didn't respond.
After returning to Fangxing Mountain, Popplio went off on its own to busy itself in the Fruit Tree grove, while Bai Feng stood on the mountaintop lost in thought.
After thinking for about half an hour, he suddenly walked over to a Sitrus Berry Tree, placed his hand on the trunk, and sent his Golden Finger Energy into it, examining the Fruit Tree's Arbor Diagram bit by bit.
Why was the Ancient Sapling's Arbor Diagram root system so developed, while the Arbor Diagrams of Modern Fruit Trees were different? What did this mean? Degeneration? Or was there another reason?
What kind of changes would occur if the root systems of Modern Fruit Trees also became like those of the Ancient Tree?
While contemplating, Bai Feng controlled his Golden Finger Energy to extend towards the roots of the Sitrus Berry Tree. As the Golden Finger Energy went deeper and deeper, he finally discovered something unusual.
This is... Suddenly, Bai Feng had a realization.
The root system of this Sitrus Berry Tree's Arbor Diagram wasn't undeveloped; rather, the vast majority of it was in a dormant state. Only a small portion, less than one-thirtieth or one-twentieth of the entire Arbor Diagram root system, was still operating and working.
To use an analogy, the part of the Arbor Diagram where Energy flowed was like an illuminated active area, capable of working independently, while the majority of the root system was in darkness, having stopped functioning, belonging to a dormant area.
This dormant part of the Arbor Diagram looked very inconspicuous. If he hadn't specifically gone to investigate, he wouldn't have discovered it at all, which was why Bai Feng had never noticed it before.
Bai Feng thought to himself: What would happen if this dormant part also started working?
So he controlled his Golden Finger Energy to probe towards the dormant part. The moment it touched that area, he encountered a sense of resistance; the Golden Finger Energy was blocked.
Bai Feng's Golden Finger Energy had always been unimpeded, whether in the Arbor Diagrams of Fruit Trees or the Energy Circuits of Pokémon. This was the first time it had been blocked.
He wasn't discouraged and continued to control his Golden Finger Energy to probe that part, over and over again, tirelessly.
He was very curious about what would happen if this area was awakened and also very curious if his Golden Finger could achieve this.
After an unknown amount of time, a corner of the dark part was finally peeled back, and the active Energy in the Arbor Diagram immediately began to flow towards it.
Once an opening was torn, continuing to illuminate other parts was no longer as difficult as the beginning.
For the next period, Bai Feng focused on researching this issue. Every day, he would spend a fixed amount of time helping that Sitrus Berry Tree illuminate the Arbor Diagram in its roots.
Gradually, the root Arbor Diagram of this Sitrus Berry Tree became more and more developed, slowly gaining the appearance of being comparable to the canopy.
The more complex the Arbor Diagram, the more Energy it could store, and the higher the Fruit Tree's Energy Rating would be.
Of course, a Fruit Tree's Energy Rating wasn't solely related to the amount of Energy stored in its Arbor Diagram; it also had to do with its Quality and Purity. This was the same principle as with a Pokémon's Energy Circuit.
As the root Arbor Diagram of the Sitrus Berry Tree became increasingly developed, Bai Feng also noticed that the Fruit Tree's roots themselves gradually became more developed, beginning to take root deeper into the earth.
Previously, when examining the Ancient Tree Sapling, Bai Feng hadn't investigated the development of its roots. After all, he couldn't just dig up the roots of that precious treasure right in front of Grandpa Fu. He just didn't know if the Ancient Sapling's roots were as developed as this Sitrus Berry Tree's.
As time passed, Bai Feng discovered that this Sitrus Berry Tree, whose root Arbor Diagram had been illuminated, grew better than the other Fruit Trees. It grew taller and stronger, standing among the other Fruit Trees with a sense of standing out from the crowd.
Because of this, Diggersby Mom had repeatedly applied Top Dressing to this Fruit Tree, afraid it would become malnourished from growing too fast.
If a Fruit Tree grows too fast and isn't given timely Top Dressing, it will not only affect its ability to bear Fruit but also damage the soil fertility.
Bai Feng would also prune the Sitrus Berry Tree's excess branches at the appropriate times to prevent it from becoming too dense and affecting sunlight and future Fruit production. A Fruit Tree's canopy isn't better just because it's denser; proper pruning of branches is very necessary.
One day, Bai Feng came as usual to illuminate the root Arbor Diagram of that Sitrus Berry Tree, but when he looked up, he noticed a small Flower bud gently swaying in the gaps between the Leaves.
He quickly pushed aside the branches and Leaves and examined it carefully. Indeed, he found tiny, fingernail-sized blue and white Flower buds dotted among the branches of the Sitrus Berry Tree.
This batch of Fruit Trees had only been planted not long ago, and the other Fruit Trees were still just sprouting, but this one had already started flowering.
Clearly, this was the effect of illuminating the root Arbor Diagram.
Bai Feng didn't know if this effect was good or bad, so he hadn't rushed to do the same for the other Fruit Trees.
Time flew by, and over a month passed in the blink of an eye. There were no longer any Flower buds on the Fruit Tree Bai Feng had been specially caring for; instead, there were clusters of tender white small Fruits.
Bai Feng had already tested these Fruits. Their Energy Rating was very high. Although they had only just begun to bear Fruit, their Energy Rating had already reached Grade B, almost the same as the Energy Rating of the previous batch of ripe Fruits.
Although many of the first batch of Fruits Bai Feng planted reached Grade B after ripening, more were Grade C Fruits. It was already quite difficult for a Fruit Tree to have a quarter of its Fruits reach Grade B.
But the Fruits borne by this Sitrus Berry Tree were different. Most of them had reached Grade B even before ripening, and the remaining Grade C Fruits were also very likely to reach Grade B after ripening.
Bai Feng made a simple estimate: about 80% of the Fruits produced by this Tree could reach Grade B.
Needless to say, this was definitely the effect of the root Arbor Diagram being illuminated.
With this discovery, Bai Feng could barely stop smiling. So he began to illuminate the root Arbor Diagrams of the remaining Fruit Trees one by one.
However, this task was even more tedious than sorting out the Fruit Trees' Arbor Diagrams, and the Workload was incredibly large, so Bai Feng practically lived on Fangxing Mountain.
He built a simple Wooden House for himself on Fangxing Mountain, tidied up some daily necessities, and moved in, dedicating most of his time to the Cultivation of Fruit Trees.
His daily routine was Cultivating Fruit Trees~ Cultivating Fruit Trees~ Training Pokémon~ Cultivating Fruit Trees~ Cultivating Fruit Trees~ reading Books and studying. This cycle repeated, and his days were both fulfilling and boring. Only occasionally would he go to the Coupling Gym to ask Grandpa Fu for guidance on some issues or return to the Blue Bird Orphanage to see the children and Director Meili.
The children would also occasionally visit him under Director Meili's guidance and help him out.
Bai Feng's daily meals were retrieved from the Orphanage by Fletchinder at fixed times.
While helping the Fruit Trees illuminate their root Arbor Diagrams, Bai Feng also wondered: Since the Arbor Diagrams of Fruit Trees have hidden parts that can be illuminated, what about the Energy Circuits of Pokémon? Do they also have hidden parts?
Based on the feedback from the Fruit Trees so far, illuminating the hidden Arbor Diagrams has brought beneficial changes to them. So, if Pokémon also have them, it's highly likely that they would also develop in a beneficial direction.
So Bai Feng found Bai Ye and Popplio and said to them, "I'm going to check your bodies."
"Woo~" Is it Rejuvenation?
Popplio was very happy. Like Bai Ye, it loved it most when Bai Feng gave them Rejuvenation, though their reasons for liking Rejuvenation were different.
Bai Ye liked Rejuvenation simply because the process was very comfortable, but Popplio liked it because it made it stronger.
Because of its experience of being disliked, Popplio highly values its Strength. Therefore, it was very actively cooperative every time for Rejuvenation, which could improve its Strength.
With Rejuvenation assisting, plus a sufficient supply of Pokéblocks normally, Popplio's Training efficiency was particularly high, and its Strength was rapidly increasing.
Bai Feng didn't answer Popplio's question. He just told Bai Ye to lie down, then injected Golden Finger Energy into its body and began to check it bit by bit.
A Pokémon's Energy Circuit structure was much more complex than a Fruit Tree's, making it more difficult for Bai Feng to check. His Golden Finger Energy scanned Bai Ye's Energy Circuit inch by inch, not missing any spot. Finally, after more than two hours, he discovered that dormant part.
It was located within the two red sensors on Bai Ye's chest and back.
After finding it, Bai Feng didn't immediately try to illuminate them. Instead, he signaled Bai Ye to get up and had Popplio lie down.
Popplio was confused by what Bai Feng was doing. This didn't seem like Rejuvenation!
But it still obediently lay down, closed its eyes, and remained still.
As a Pokémon in its initial form, Popplio's internal Energy Circuit was much simpler than Bai Ye's, making it much easier for Bai Feng to check. He quickly found the target area.
Popplio had only one hidden Energy Circuit, located in its throat, and this part was much, much smaller than Bai Ye's part.
Bai Feng guessed that even if Bai Ye devolved into Ralts, under comparable conditions, Ralts's hidden Energy Circuit would still be significantly larger than Popplio's.
He speculated that this might be a difference caused by different Pokémon species.
After the examination, Bai Feng said to Bai Ye and Popplio with a serious expression:
"I have an experiment now that requires your cooperation. If this experiment is successful, your speed of becoming stronger will become even faster.
But this is ultimately just an experiment, based on my hypothesis. It carries a certain risk, and whether it will ultimately succeed is uncertain. So I want to ask for your opinion.
If you are willing, I will begin this experiment. If you are unwilling, then pretend I didn't say anything. Please consider carefully."
"Gardevoir~" "I'm willing!"
"Woo~" "I'm willing!"
Popplio and Bai Ye said in unison.
As Bai Feng's mother, Bai Ye had unconditional trust in him. In her heart, Bai Feng was the most amazing person in the World, with no possibility of failure.
And Popplio was simply for the sake of becoming stronger. As long as it could become stronger, it was willing to try any risk. Higher the risk means higher the reward.
Moreover, it didn't think Bai Feng would fail.
"You need to think it through clearly. This is an experiment related to Energy Circuits. Once it fails, the consequences could be irreversible."
"Woo woo~~" "I've thought it through, I trust you!"
Popplio answered very firmly. It must be said that its personality was strong-willed; once it decided, it would definitely persevere.
"Okay, then let's begin," seeing Popplio's determined expression, Bai Feng nodded and said, "Let's start with Popplio."
Popplio's hidden Energy Circuit structure was relatively simple, and the pressure Bai Feng faced would be relatively smaller.
Before the experiment began, Bai Feng explained the detailed information about the experiment to Popplio, letting it clearly understand what kind of experiment they were undergoing and what success or failure would bring them.
After confirming everything was clear, Popplio agreed to continue the experiment.
After Popplio lay down again properly, Bai Feng controlled his Golden Finger Energy to reach its throat and tentatively began to illuminate the hidden Energy Circuit there.
However, when Bai Feng's Golden Finger Energy touched that area, Popplio suddenly convulsed and cried out, almost bouncing up from the wooden board.
"What's wrong?" Bai Feng asked in astonishment.
"It hurts, it hurts too much!" Popplio answered, contorting its face.
This dumbfounded Bai Feng. So it could hurt?
Seeing Bai Feng stop, Popplio said, gritting its teeth, "Continue, I can endure it."
Bai Feng hesitated for a moment and said, "Then I'll try again. If it really hurts too much, you must tell me. Don't force yourself to endure."
Popplio nodded and even actively requested Bai Ye to suppress its body with Psychic to prevent it from moving around erratically and affecting Bai Feng.
Bai Feng again controlled his Golden Finger Energy to tentatively probe the hidden Energy Circuit. Popplio endured the intense pain, its facial expression becoming increasingly contorted, and more and more beads of sweat seeped from its body.
This won't do!
Looking at Popplio's increasingly violent reaction, Bai Feng finally had no choice but to stop.
"Wh-why did you stop? I... I can keep going," Popplio said haltingly. If you ignored its rapid panting, it might have been a bit more convincing.
"This won't work," Bai Feng shook his head and said. "You're in so much pain right at the beginning. If we continue, I'm afraid you'll go into shock directly.
I'll think of another way."
(End of Chapter)