: The Surprising Ponkan Orange

Chapter 15: The Surprising Ponkan Orange

Before we knew it, it was the weekend.

Before she knew it, almost half a month had passed since she arrived in Beishang Township. There was even a rain shower in between. Mingyou had been staying at the manor every day and had almost lost her sense of time.

These days, he found ten well-developed apple trees and used all the fruit-eating insect cards. They should bear fruit and ripen by the end of this month.

As for the remaining cards, since there were no oak trees around, the acorn cards couldn't be used. He could only go to the Momozawa shop to find bean sprout seeds and use the trumpet sprout cards. Anyway, the bean sprouts would grow in less than a week... It's just a pity that the shop didn't sell them.

Fortunately, Grandma Momozawa told him that she would bring back some seeds for him when she went to the city to buy supplies in a while, so he could only wait for the time being.

During this period, Ponpo would come over every few days, regardless of the time of day, with some tree fruits to play, and then go back after dinner.

The little Snorlax really liked this randomly spawning "Berry Merchant," feeding it almost all the berries, and it visibly gained weight.

However, Mingyou did not stay idle while waiting for the tangerines to ripen. Every morning, noon and evening, he would go to the mutated crops to record their growth and prevent pests.

At the same time, he also needs to build relationships with the Pokémon that help him take care of his crops. The friendship level between the Boar and the Fruit Worm has basically been raised to around level 3, and Ponpo has already reached level 5...

As the days passed by, Naruyu finally saw the day when the monstrous mandarin fruit ripened!

Early in the morning, before he was fully awake, he heard something knocking on the window.

Mingyou yawned in her pajamas, got out of bed half asleep, drew back the curtains, and was startled by two green vines outside the window.

"!!!"

It was barely dawn, and anyone would panic at the sight. Fortunately, he quickly came to his senses and realized that it was the speechless flower downstairs banging on the window with a rattan whip.

He suddenly realized something, and without even changing his clothes, he ran downstairs in his pajamas and slippers, arrived at the villa's door, and looked towards the orchard.

"Is it ripe yet?"

"Knock it down~"

The dazed flower nodded, and its companions stood by, curiously looking at the colorful fruits on the tree that made their mouths water.

Mingyou walked forward with anticipation and excitement. Because the fruit trees had grown too fast, all the flowers had fallen off a few days ago, so there was no longer any such impact.

The fruit set rate wasn't as high as expected, but there were still nearly 50 strange tangerines. Normal tangerines are orange when ripe, but these have four colors: red, green, blue, and gray, making them look fake.

But the glistening dew dripping from the fruit's peel and the faint fruity aroma tempt one to take a bite, though it has a slightly astringent taste... well, it must be an illusion.

However, Mingyou quickly calmed down, ignoring the cool morning temperature, and began to record and check the information of each fruit.

He found that the green tangerines were the most numerous, a total of 30, probably because they were cared for by the Silent Flower and others, which increased the yield of the corresponding grass-type fruits.

Then there were 8 blue ones, 5 red ones, and 4 gray ones, for a total of 47 fruits. The quality of the fruits varied, so he selected the highest quality fruit from each variety to examine...

[Green Grass Ponkan (B-): A ponkan with a slightly grassy fragrance. The flesh is large and plump, juicy and doesn't leave any residue, but the taste isn't the best. It quickly restores the power of Grass-type Pokémon after consumption.]

[Additional effect: Increases the speed at which Grass-type Pokémon become familiar with their own power, accelerates their physical maturation, lasts for two and a half hours. Multiple uses during the buff's duration will not stack the effect. There is a 5% chance to change the Pokémon's Crystal type to Grass.]

"..."

Looking at the green tangerine in front of her, Mingyou was stunned. Wasn't this just a two-and-a-half-hour experience boost buff?

If you give this tangerine to a Bulbasaur that's just one step away from evolving, it can eat it, roll around twice, and instantly evolve into Ivysaur.

Moreover, this buff increases the speed at which one becomes familiar with the power, so there's no need to worry about losing control of the power after accelerated evolution...

"Isn't this just a buff version of experience candy?"

Mingyou suddenly remembered that in the game, there were items that could be eaten directly to gain experience. Magical Candy was also a special consumable item in this category.

Although in this world, Rare Candy is just a snack to cater to Pokémon's tastes and has no special effects, his Mandarin Oranges are different; they are real food that can increase experience points!

Thinking about all this, Mingyou almost couldn't contain her excitement, but thankfully she calmed down and looked at the last item, slightly puzzled: "But what's with this change to the Taijing's attributes?"

Unable to understand this, he set it aside for the time being and looked at another blue, mysterious orange...

[Mizuki Ponkan (C-): A ponkan with a slightly sweet taste reminiscent of mountain spring water. It has a thinner peel and produces less oil, making it ideal for making dried tangerine peel. However, the quality of the pulp is considerably lower. Consuming it can quickly restore the power of Water-type Pokémon.]

[Additional effect: Increases the speed at which Water-type Pokémon become familiar with their own power and accelerates their physical maturation, lasting for one and a half hours. Multiple uses during the buff's duration will not stack the effect.]

"I see. Quality affects buff duration, and is the lack of change to the Taijing attribute also due to quality issues?"

Mingyou nodded gently, carefully analyzing in her mind, and also discovered that in addition to the corresponding attributes, the fruits themselves were also different among the different types of Guipenggan, such as their taste.

Then he looked at the remaining two types, representing Fire and Rock types, namely the Mystic Orange...

[Fire-flavored Ponkan (C-): A ponkan with a slightly spicy flavor, it's better for cooking, such as in hot pot. Throwing it into a fire can also help it burn. Eating it can quickly restore the power of Fire-type Pokémon.]

[Additional effect: Increases the speed at which Fire-type Pokémon become familiar with their own power and accelerates their physical maturation, lasting for one and a half hours. Multiple uses during the buff's duration will not stack the effect.]

[Stone Ponkan (C+): A ponkan with somewhat hard flesh and peel. It doesn't have much juice, but it can be stored for a long time. The higher the quality, the harder it will be. It can even be used to smash mooncakes in the cafeteria. Eating it can quickly restore the power of Rock-type Pokémon.]

[Additional effect: Increases the speed at which Rock-type Pokémon become familiar with their own power, accelerating their physical maturation, lasting for two hours. Multiple uses during the buff's duration will not stack the effect.]

"...Are these two really safe to eat?"

Mingyou couldn't help but have some doubts. She couldn't even imagine what spicy tangerines could be, let alone something that could smash mooncakes in the cafeteria... She really didn't have that kind of teeth.

Although he was very excited after seeing the effects of the four different citrus fruits, he was also a little curious: would this buff be like forcing growth and cause damage to Pokémon?

Just as he was pondering this matter, another point of attention suddenly popped into his mind...

[Note: The special effects of mutant fruits and vegetables, etc., are all due to their unique nutritional value and do not pose any harm to Pokémon or humans. If they are processed into other foods or dishes, their effects will be increased or decreased accordingly.]

"I see, and it can be processed too? Then I'll turn some of the unsold fruit into snacks and sell them... no..."

Mingyou shook her head, looked up at the surrounding dumbflowers, and couldn't help but smile.

There's no need to make things so complicated. The fruit in this orchard was originally meant for these wild Pokémon, so he should be the same.

Some of the fruit was sold, and the rest was given as a thank-you gift to the Pokémon on the farm. As for the last part, we'll consider making some snacks.

"Let's do it this way!"

……

(End of this chapter)