Chapter Fifty-Eight: The Trainer’s Expectations, the Meaning of the Northern Abyss

"Eating them directly is already so delicious; making them into energy cubes will surely be even better."

Bamboo Winters was just about to roll up her sleeves and begin when her gaze fell on the cutting board and the fruit knife.

"No, I can't let them go to waste."

She grabbed a slice of toast and wiped it over the cutting board and knife, then tore the toast in half and popped one half into her mouth.

"Hmm, it only tastes of bread. Does that mean I won't have to worry about this issue when slicing fruit from now on?"

How convenient.

She had almost decided to have Dragonite use an Ice Beam to make a new knife.

"Roar!"

Dragonite urged Bamboo Winters on.

If she didn’t get to eat the brand-new energy cubes as a midnight snack tonight, there was no way she’d be able to sleep!

"Fair enough, I’ll start right away."

She used her familiar recipe for sweet energy cubes, but this time omitted the cream, making a pure version.

As the finished cubes tumbled from the incense burner onto the tray, Bamboo Winters rubbed her eyes, and Dragonite shook her head. They both wondered if they were seeing things.

The energy cubes were glowing.

"Glowing food, huh."

This wasn’t the world of master chefs, nor the Galar region, where you had to add a whole lot of love when cooking curry.

"To think pure ingredients alone could achieve this effect—no wonder the old driver considered this a treasure worthy of collection."

After all, strictly speaking, these natural ‘treasures’ were difficult to handle and couldn’t easily be replenished in the short term.

"Let’s have one."

Bamboo Winters and Dragonite began tasting, and once again their faces melted with bliss—the finished product, following the recipe, had a sweetness that exploded on the palate.

The original berries were already delicious, but after blending several types, the result was absolutely divine.

Dragonite’s "I want more, it’s so yummy" expression had only just appeared when her head and neck suddenly drooped, and she fell asleep on the spot.

"Gently snoring—"

Luckily, Bamboo Winters noticed in time, or Dragonite would have collapsed right onto the ground.

"The nutrients are too rich, so you get this drunken effect. I wonder if she’ll black out as well."

She propped Dragonite up and carefully laid her in the pool, where her species advantage kept her head and neck above water.

"No need to find a cushion for you to lean on."

Bamboo Winters stretched her arms, bones cracking from long disuse.

"No wonder I felt lighter when I lifted Dragonite."

Not falling into a sudden sleep like Dragonite was already a pretty clear sign.

"My body definitely has some issues."

She began counting the energy cubes, placing them in a box. This batch had used fifteen berries and produced eighty cubes.

She wasn’t sure if that yield was normal, but as long as the effect was real, it didn’t matter.

"Half a Mango Berry plus one energy cube is enough to knock out Dragonite. To avoid affecting her daily life, her quota should be one per day, no more."

If she had more than that and her body couldn’t absorb the surplus, Dragonite would just get fatter in her sleep.

With proper intake alongside Dragonite’s daily training, she’d only get stronger and healthier, with all her effort stats growing evenly.

But if she got fat, that would be another story.

Just like the move Water Spout, which only a few Pokémon like Whiscash can use—the more HP you have, the more damage you deal.

If this were real life, maybe someone would go down the bizarre path of raising Pokémon to be fat just to one-shot legendaries.

But in the game, so-called "HP" translates in reality to an overall state of health, not just brute blood volume—it requires holistic balance.

Regardless of gender, or even lack thereof, Pokémon can become strong, but never obese—that's definitely harmful.

Bamboo Winters stroked her chin. "I’ll have to check Dragonite’s condition tomorrow. If only I had an energy scanner—it’d make adjusting her energy cube intake so much easier."

Like those scouters in Dragon Ball that always explode.

With Dragonite’s situation considered, it was time to think about herself.

All the energy cubes lay before her as the white-haired monkey cupped her chin in deep thought.

Should she eat more to see what changes might occur?

Her appetite was bottomless, which was always a bit strange. It wasn’t as though her stomach connected to all realms, with most of what she ate transformed into otherworldly nutrition.

"If this were a good game, my current nutrition intake would be at the lowest setting—everything at minimum just to run the game."

She tapped her finger on the table. "With enough nutrition, I could crank all the settings to max while playing."

Force everything to max and all you’ll get is a whiff of burning graphics card—and maybe a side of exploding hardware.

"Luckily, the human body’s self-defense systems can prevent that sort of thing."

Computers might get tested to their limits by clueless users, but the human body only ever operates within its limits, and its performance peaks are always below the danger line—its default safety mechanism.

"If I were an upgradeable MMO character, every stage would require different nutritional needs."

She grinned.

Never mind what the final result looked like—just being able to eat was already a question.

After eating these high-value berries, Bamboo Winters had a clearer sense of her own physical state.

Currently, her ability to withstand injury was likely at its most basic version.

The so-called power-saving mode—focused on efficiency.

"Best not to rush. Take it slow."

Being in power-saving mode already made her monstrous—who could withstand a heavy ball thrown at full force?

She was curious if she’d ever become some kind of superhuman, but after all, she now had a "family."

There was Dragonite, and the little Milcery she hadn’t met yet—all worth considering.

"So I’d better not rush. If I suddenly blacked out like Dragonite, things could get even more interesting."

Yawning, she put away the energy cubes, tidied up, and lay in bed to choose her next dream companion.

Really, she just swapped out whatever knowledge came to mind, using the momentum to fall asleep quickly.

"One of these days, I should make myself a big roulette wheel. By the way, does the Rocket Group’s phone have any kind of random number generator?"

She drifted into sleep, once again dreaming those strange dreams where everything was formula and symbol, even in her dreams she was forced to compete.

Meanwhile, in the research building, the top scholars at Joy Academy used the raw data left by Bamboo Winters to further refine the potion bottle technology.

Bamboo Winters had found a suitable stone and casually scratched a couple of marks on it.

The experts took the opportunity to use other tools for more precise work, speeding up the research far beyond the ordinary pace.

[Detection: Potion Bottle Technology has been mastered by others and can now serve as another basic device in the medical industry.]

[Host has named it the Reusable Potion.]

[Research points: 180]

......

"This time the increase seems even bigger."

Bamboo Winters woke up in a daze, but after glancing at her records, she realized why.

To put it plainly, it felt like a deed of great merit.

But given her lazy dog nature, she wasn’t likely to dig deeper along this research line—otherwise, her research points would be much higher by now.

"Oh well, 180’s pretty good. After all, anyone can be a 180—unless you can beat that score."

Bamboo Winters opened the door and found Dragonite, beaming with pride, blocking the entrance.

"Roar!"

Look, Trainer, I’ve grown even stronger!

"That impressive? Show me?"

Dragonite stepped back, her gaze sharpening, eyes locked on her trainer.

Clearly, Bamboo Winters was about to become Dragonite’s test target.

"Go ahead, I could use a wake-up call."

She calmly extended her hand. "Show me what you’ve got."

"Roar!"

Wave of Water—Snipe Shot!

Boom!

A water pulse, larger and faster than usual, surged toward her.

It exploded in her hand, and she used the water to smooth her white hair and wash her face.

"That’s a serious boost—really that impressive?"

"Roar."

Dragonite shook her head. She just felt that her elemental energy was abundant, so using moves like this took much less effort.

"I see. So it’s still a bit early for you to master these techniques."

Bamboo Winters stroked her chin. "I thought these were just tricks, but it seems you need to increase your physical strength first."

If this were an ordinary man’s punch, he’d probably feel tired and sore afterward, but a trained boxer wouldn’t.

Oh, right, this really was just an ordinary punch—not some famous One Punch Man attack.

"For now, let’s reduce technique training a bit and focus on building your body."

She smiled. "Dragonite, do you know why I named your Poké Ball the Northern Sea Ball?"

"Roar?"

"In the Northern Sea there is a fish, called the Kun."

"In short, it’s a magical creature of boundless size."

"There’s a mysterious power in this world—when Pokémon interact with it, they can become enormous."

She continued, "Besides ordinary gigantamaxing, there’s a special version called Gigantamax, which comes with unique abilities."

"Roar?"

Does that mean I’ll become huge one day too?

"No, that’s just a temporary state," Bamboo Winters explained. "I named it Northern Sea to encourage you to strive toward that kind of greatness."

"You don’t have to reach that size, but I hope you’ll grow that strong."

"I’ll work with you. Let’s do our best."

And judging by Whiscash, it already looked a bit like a template for those legendary northern sea behemoths.

As long as it wasn’t some kind of natural disaster, Bamboo Winters actually looked forward to meeting one of those mythical giants.

Dragonite nodded vigorously. "Roar!"

I’ve received my trainer’s hopes, loud and clear!