Chapter Twenty-Five: A Brand-New Pitch!

The forging process was already more than halfway done. Zhusu Han glanced at the dwindling pile of materials beside her and couldn't help but feel a little anxious. Would it really succeed in just one attempt again? That was a bit frightening. Oh, but since it was happening to herself, she supposed it was fine.

Such emotions flickered by in an instant, and Zhusu Han quickly immersed herself back into the rhythm of hammering, making sure not a single step went wrong. She had to prepare the perfect new home for Lapras! She tucked her hair securely inside her clothes so she wouldn’t end up looking like a fire-headed captain, then carefully sprinkled the last small vial of powder evenly over the glowing, crimson fruit, beginning the final round of fusion forging.

A hiss—smoke drifted from the fruit, and faintly, one could see tiny gleaming specks of powder on its surface, reminiscent of stars in the sky.

“The last step now. Please don’t let the machine mess this up,” she murmured, sending the fruit into the machine for the final stage. With a relieved sigh, Zhusu Han picked up a large bottle of water and gulped it down.

“What are you up to?” a voice intruded.

Zhusu Han nearly choked on her water. “You’re not sleeping?”

“With all that hammering, how do you expect me to sleep?” Abi asked, peering over in curiosity. “Did you spot a Pokémon you like and want to catch it as a partner?”

“No, I’m making a new home for Lapras,” Zhusu Han replied. “Just hoping your machine holds up, otherwise my forging, which has been perfect so far, would be for nothing.”

“Hey now, you can’t blame my gym’s machines for your lack of skill,” Abi retorted.

After hearing the full story, Abi was genuinely surprised. The whole project sounded fascinating, and the urge to research it himself stirred within him again. But, he thought, if this keeps up, I might just collapse.

“How did you get the idea to add resources of different types? That’s not really part of the standard Apricorn Ball forging process, is it?” Abi questioned.

Zhusu Han shook her head. “At heart, it’s still a Sweet Ball—just a high-end, customized upgrade.”

The GS Ball didn’t follow the usual Apricorn formula either. Zhusu Han didn’t think her skills or resources could reach that level, but the GS Ball’s existence served as a hint. There was still so much room to develop Apricorn Balls, perhaps even giving them functions similar to those from the Devon Corporation.

If this worked, it would be like building whatever she wanted in a pixel world, pure creative joy. Of course, the final outcome would depend entirely on her skill—most people would simply use a ready-made template and pile on the materials. In other words, just buy a factory-made Poké Ball.

For example, if you forcibly put an Electric-type Pokémon inside a ball made wholly of Ground-type resources, it would be a prison, not a home—a true Insulation Ball.

“All done,” Zhusu Han announced, raising her brows anxiously as she took the finished ball from the machine. Abi craned his neck to look, and was momentarily stunned.

The original color of the fruit was gone, likely suppressed by the various resources Zhusu Han had added. The lower half showed a muted matte black and deep-sea blue, while the upper half shone with bright, icy blue flashes against a sky-blue background, like stars overhead.

Abi was bewildered. “Isn’t this more of an artwork? The whole ball looks like a miniature ocean, but I’ve never seen an ocean with stars twinkling on the surface.”

“Isn’t it possible that both upper and lower halves represent the sea?” Zhusu Han was in high spirits now; she wouldn’t have to rack her brains to confirm whether this Poké Ball was a success.

[Detected a brand new ball type. Research points increased. Please name the ball type.]
[Research points: 60]

She wondered if she’d get such rewards for making more unique Poké Balls in the future—maybe she could find a loophole somewhere.

Abi was eager. “Han, want me to run it through the machine for a completion check?”

“No, I’ll do it,” Zhusu Han insisted, quickly placing the Poké Ball into the testing machine for a double check.

The green light came on. Lapras, unable to wait any longer, nudged Zhusu Han’s back with its head, completely unconcerned about the sweat on its trainer.

A new home—a brand new home for Lapras!

“It really worked in one go,” Zhusu Han murmured, her words striking Abi hard. He himself had spent so long last night just solving a few tricky points!

Zhusu Han picked up the Poké Ball. “Come on, Lapras, let’s test our creation!”

“Wait!” Abi grabbed her wrist. “Shouldn’t you unbind Lapras from its previous Poké Ball first? That’s the proper procedure!”

Oh right, that was how it was done. Poké Balls allowed for a ‘release’ function—one of the most iconic scenes was Shinji releasing his Infernape. Though visually, there wasn’t much difference.

With the process complete, Zhusu Han gently touched Lapras’s head with the new ball. A light matching the color of the ball flashed and faded, leaving a calm quiet.

No resistance, no struggle; a capture so smooth it might as well be called a critical hit.

“Come out, Lapras.”

“Laaap!” Lapras excitedly recounted its experience to Zhusu Han, which boiled down to one thing: perfect, absolutely perfect! The bed was perfectly soft, the air and blanket matched its ideal settings, and even the whole ‘room’ was flawless.

A “luxury ball” made just for Lapras!

Abi was a little envious. “Han, you invented a whole new Poké Ball type. What will you call it?”

“The name...” Zhusu Han looked at the ball in her hand, then at Lapras, whose spirits were soaring, and smiled.

“This ball will be called the Northern Deep Ball.”

[Successfully Recorded]

...

Pokémon Center, video call area—

“I never thought you’d manage this,” said Elder Liubo of the Kaji Gym, gazing at the Poké Ball in Zhusu Han’s hand and the undeniable joy radiating from Lapras. The elderly man’s face was creased with a delighted smile.

“If Xuecheng finds out, I bet he’ll rush over from Pallet Town in no time.”

Strictly speaking, this Poké Ball belonged to Lapras, and even though it was a kind of ‘scientific achievement,’ it couldn’t just be handed out. If Professor Oak wanted to study it, Zhusu Han would have to fly to Pallet Town herself, or wait for him to come visit again.

Zhusu Han was puzzled. “Honestly, this kind of highly personalized item shouldn’t interest Professor Oak.”

Truthfully, if it weren’t for her own lucky streak, she doubted she could have crafted the Northern Deep Ball on the first try. For others, even if they managed it, so what? At most, it would make catching a Lapras a bit easier—but the Dive Ball already did that job quite well. Expensive, yes, but outside of Alola or special later generations, Lapras was still highly sought after, making Dive Balls worth the investment.

Liubo patted the head of his Swinub and explained the difference. “Universal solutions—Xuecheng already mastered those long ago. That’s what the Pokédex is for: if a trainer meets a rare, even legendary Pokémon, the data they record becomes a precious treasure.”

Zhusu Han understood. Don’t worry, Professor Oak—down the line, your Pokédex will be expanded not just by Green and Red, but also by a certain legendary Pokémon magnet named Ash. With all the main characters and Ash, if they only encounter mythicals once, it’s probably because those legendaries are hiding really well.

“By the way, your admission documents should be processed soon. Including the time needed to report to the academy, you have less than a month left,” Liubo said. “The acceptance letter will go straight to Gangtie’s house. Don’t worry about the rest—maybe focus on learning to use a map.”

Liubo hadn’t forgotten Zhusu Han’s status as a relic from a bygone era; without a map, she’d probably need to hire a mountaineer as a guide.

“Don’t worry, Elder Liubo, that’s a small matter,” Zhusu Han replied, tossing the Northern Deep Ball in her hand. “How’s the gym rebuilding coming along on your end?”

Liubo smiled. “I’ve already moved out from underground. There are just a few facilities to dismantle, but with enough manpower and resources, it’s simple.”

Joking aside, as soon as the League heard Liubo was relocating his gym out of that gloomy place and planned to make Kaji Town a real stronghold with a powerful Ice Gym at its core, they were almost giddy with joy. Trophies and awards meant nothing to Liubo, but the League didn’t hesitate to send over two standard teams to help.

With the cranes in place (and honestly, with enough Machamps on rotation, even the heavy lifting didn’t need motors), every last bit of equipment was being hauled up. When it comes to moving and construction, a League team with a full roster of Pokémon is the best there is.

“Alright, take care of yourself,” Liubo said.

The call ended. Lapras rubbed its head against Zhusu Han’s hair, eager to head to their favorite spot to show off its newfound strength.

“Want to show off your power? Or are you just hoping to treat me to a deluxe water battle while you’re riding high on your upgrade?”

“Laaap!” Lapras would never admit it!

With less than a month left, she found herself itching to go fishing. She wondered if any other villains would show up to hand her an easy win—if so, Heracross and the others would let her know.

It was also a perfect chance to test Lapras’s current strength, so she wouldn’t be caught off guard on the way to the academy.

Knowing their capabilities in advance meant she could better gauge wild encounters and avoid being chased down by some overpowered wild beast. Sure, trainers could always jump in to help, but Zhusu Han never liked leaving things to chance.

“Tsk, I forgot to ask Professor Oak for a Pokédex. That’d let me check strength levels easily.”

Judging by Lapras’s performance—singlehandedly crushing a minor boss’s Pokémon, even if she had pulled her punches and the opponent was quad-weak to Water—its power was more than enough.

At worst, it was already at the regional tournament semifinalist level.

As for the coming days, Zhusu Han was thinking of visiting Slowpoke Well.