The blazing sun hung in a sky washed clear, brilliant light weaving a golden net across the lush grass.
A gentle breeze swept by with the fresh scent unique to grass. Serperior's three-meter body lay lazily coiled. Beside it were the newly born Applin and Tropius, now out of the newborn stage after half a month.
Applin's look hadn't changed much—mainly a different host apple with a different peel pattern.
Tropius had changed a lot: from about a meter tall, with ample nutrition it had grown to about 1.5 meters, closer to its species' average.
After half a month of childcare, Serperior fully resonated with the hardships Moltres once felt raising Growlithe.
Newborn Pokémon brim with insecurity and always need the parent they trust nearby to feel safe. Because of that, Serperior had to move back into its rarely used room to care for them alone.
Lucas was busy with students lately, and nights were vital for sleep. Serperior wouldn't let the two emotionally unregulated newborns disturb him.
Half a month in, Serperior had a good sense of Applin and Tropius's personalities.
Applin was timid. When the Corvisquire patrol flock passed overhead, it would shrink into its apple.
Even after Serperior called Three Scar over to show it meant no harm, Applin's innate fear of bird Pokémon remained.
That made Serperior doubt Lucas's claim that Applin was Grass/Dragon.
Why did the one literally called "Tropius" have "dragon" in its name but was Grass/Flying? Serperior was baffled.
Tropius was a bit like Growlithe: curious, bold, very lively. It had recently begun practicing flight. Serperior couldn't teach that, so it asked Dragonite to spare time daily for lessons.
They had just finished lunch—quietest time of day. Newborn Pokémon sleep long stretches; Serperior vaguely remembered it had such a phase too.
Footsteps sounded behind. Serperior, eyes closed as it basked and pondered, opened them. No need to guess—at this hour the road crew was on break; apart from Pokémon, only Lucas would be moving about.
Sensing Applin and Tropius sleeping, Lucas softened his steps. Seeing Serperior glance up, he whispered, "I'm taking Applin to the orchard to test its ability."
Serperior's gaze fell to the small bottle of Moomoo Milk mixed with Combee honey in Lucas's hand. It nodded slightly, signaling him to take Applin.
Half a month in, it had also mapped out the babies' preferences.
Applin loved sweets—Combee honey most of all—but living on honey alone wouldn't do. On Oranguru's suggestion, they mixed Combee honey into Moomoo Milk to make honey milk.
With honey milk—and since Lucas often came to care for them—timid Applin wouldn't be scared even away from Serperior.
Taking Applin from Serperior, Lucas cradled the palm-sized apple and headed for the berry orchard. Watching the little one sleeping sweetly in his hand, he rubbed the apple's skin with a finger, then pressed hard a few times, concluding—
Yup. Very hard.
With his current strength, an ordinary apple would've dented. But Applin's shell showed nothing of the sort.
He recalled that to protect its vulnerable body, Applin secreted fluids that hardened the apple skin—giving it a Defense stat eight times Blissey's.
Midway, Applin seemed to feel the mild jolting and woke. It panicked for an instant, then, sensing Lucas, quickly calmed and peeked out with its two eyes, curiously taking in the surroundings, as if wondering where he was taking it.
Applin's little eyes were too expressive; even with the apple hiding its face, Lucas could guess its thoughts.
He hefted Applin in his palm, grinning. "The flesh in your apple's about gone again, right? Let's pick you a new one, and try your Ability. Serperior taught you how to trigger it, yeah?"
"Chiu chiu~"
Applin's stem-like eyes curved—its unique nod.
Applin can have three Abilities: Ripen, Gluttony, and the Hidden Ability Bulletproof.
From Lucas's tests, there were no signs of Gluttony or Bulletproof, which likely meant it had Ripen—the one he wanted most.
For now, he hadn't heard of Ability Capsules or Patches that could change Abilities; essentially, Abilities were innate and immutable.
In the games, Ripen doubles the effect of Berries by maturing them.
Does that mean Applin can hasten berry ripening and even boost their effects or nutrients?
Lucas thought it worth trying.
At the orchard, beyond the first batch of berry trees, newly planted ones bore unripe fruit—still green, with some time to maturity—perfect for testing.
Before that, Lucas took Applin to a small transplanted apple grove beside the orchard to pick a new home.
There weren't many apple trees—just a dozen or so. Considering the berry trees would hog nutrients, he'd spaced the apple grove away from the orchard.
The moment they arrived, Applin hopped from his hand, and somehow zipped up the trunk, maneuvering its apple-shell, meticulously picking out the perfect fruit.
Lucas plucked an apple, wiped it on his shirt, and took a bite. Crisp, with sweet juice bursting on his palate.
He'd chosen premium trees for transplant, each pricier than the berry trees.
But seeing Applin so happy up there made it all worth it.
After much comparing, Applin chose a large apple with ample flesh and juice, wiggled, and burrowed in—move complete.
Lucas, now holding a much heavier Applin, returned to the orchard and happened to run into Politoed on its routine watering.
"Poli~"
Politoed paused its rain-calling, tilting its head at Applin, curious.
Lucas pointed at a berry tree heavy with green fruit. "We're going to test Applin's Ability—like your Drizzle."
"Poli~"
Politoed looked enlightened, clapped its hands, and stepped aside like, after you.
"Then I'll oblige."
Lucas smiled, lugged over a harvest ladder, braced it against a Sitrus tree, and climbed up with Applin.
Applin knew the job. It found a still-acrid Sitrus, and, per Serperior's teaching on actively triggering its Ability under the right conditions, put its whole tiny soul into it!
"Chiu! Chiu! Chiu—"
Maybe Applin, eyes clenched, didn't notice—but from Lucas and Politoed's view, firefly-like motes shimmered off Applin, flowing into the Sitrus in ribbons of light.
Then something wondrous happened.
Before their eyes, the Sitrus rapidly changed—from green, straight into maturity, swelling into a plump berry with a faint fragrance!
Lucas and Politoed both gaped slightly, faces astonished.
Applin really could ripen berries!
But how about the effect after Ripen?
Before that, Lucas spread his arms to catch Applin, which, weakened and unsteady on the branch, lost balance and began to fall.
He wasn't a Psychic, so he hugged Applin tight, mentally bracing to at least fracture something from the height.
A mass of little bubbles gathered—and a giant bubble formed to cushion him, bouncing him onto the grass. Aside from a sore tailbone, he was miraculously unhurt.
"Chiu…"
Lucas glanced at the feeble Applin in his arms. Thankfully it was okay—Serperior would be heartbroken otherwise.
He turned to Politoed, who looked worried, and smiled. "Thanks, Politoed."
"Poli~"
Seeing Lucas was fine, Politoed shook its head—as it should be—and then glanced at Applin with concern.
How is it?
"Applin's fine, just a bit drained."
Lucas pondered.
Applin was still too young. Ripening just one Sitrus exhausted it. So the plan to enhance the entire orchard would have to wait for Applin to grow.
He stood, entrusted Applin to Politoed, climbed back up, and picked the Ripen-boosted Sitrus. For comparison, he also picked a normal ripe Sitrus from another tree.
Sitrus contains a faint, gentle healing energy; both Pokémon and people feel clear stamina recovery after eating.
He split the normal Sitrus into three, giving the largest to Politoed, the medium to himself, and the smallest to Applin.
Not bias—Applin doesn't eat much; it couldn't finish a big piece.
As the Sitrus went down, beyond the pear-like taste and texture, a warm current rose from his belly, flowing through his body; even his sore tailbone felt much better.
He repeated the process with the Ripen Sitrus.
This time the warmth was much stronger, with fuller recovery and pain relief.
Even the flavor was better.
Like the gap between a good ordinary fruit and a hand-picked, meticulously cultivated, top-grade table fruit.
Lucas and the delighted Politoed exchanged a look—they'd struck gold!
Ripen really worked on berries. Lucas could practically see a new revenue stream unfurl before him!
With the Sitrus in their bellies, Applin's weakness eased. Seeing Lucas and Politoed staring like it was a treasure, it cocked its head inside the apple, puzzled.
"Chiu?"
Back at the cottage, Lucas was stopped at the kitchen door by Alcremie. Cradling the dopey-cute Applin, Lucas was just as blank-faced.
"You're saying you finished your training?"
"Alcremie~!"
Alcremie nodded, gently pushing Lucas's leg to seat him at the table. Just sit and watch the show.
Moments later, Alcremie beamed as it presented a beautifully decorated cake that looked delicious by sight alone.
A chocolate shell encased the cake—reminding Lucas of the one he shared with Korrina in Kalos. It seemed Alcremie had deliberately recreated that mouthfeel.
But as Alcremie sliced it open, Lucas's brows rose. "Now that is… a bold innovation."
Beneath the chocolate shell lay Alcremie's signature dairy cream with a milky snow-salt flavor.