After joining Dawn, Jiang Mo's life didn't change much; he even knew nothing about the organization, not even where its base was or who the Boss was.
Zhen Yu's manual provided detailed breeding procedures for Poison-type Pokémon. At this stage, Gastly only needed to strengthen his use of Toxic and improve his control over Poison-type energy, laying the groundwork for his future evolution.
Now, Jiang Mo only wanted to prepare well for the upcoming joint exam. The city-wide joint exam was quite valuable, and Pikachu's current level was still a bit low, so the pressure to enter the top three was considerable.
Jiang Mo had always wanted to formulate a more efficient energy cube to aid Pokémon training, but the Tree Fruit in this world seemed to be missing compared to the original work, with many high-grade Tree Fruit varieties absent.
This undoubtedly greatly increased the difficulty of formulation, so much so that the energy cube Jiang Mo currently used for Pikachu and Gastly were mostly bought from the market, with a portion personally formulated by his mother.
Although the effects were good, Jiang Mo still felt that these energy cube had room for improvement.
Deciding to act, Jiang Mo took the city bus this weekend and slowly made his way to Star City's largest department store—Wuyi Mall.
As soon as he stepped into the mall, he was overwhelmed by the dazzling array of goods and the bustling crowd.
The mall was filled with Trainers, some selecting Pokémon items, others comparing prices of various Poké Balls.
Jiang Mo knew that his mother, Lin Zhiqiu, as a top Breeder, had a considerable income even after leaving the Lin family; the approximately 10,000 allowance she gave him each month was enough for him to purchase many good items.
He walked straight to the Tree Fruit section, where shelves were filled with various Tree Fruit, including common Oran Berry and peach fruit, as well as rarer Sitrus Berry.
He carefully selected, silently calculating the required quantity and price in his mind.
Ordinary Oran Berry were more affordable, about 50 yuan each. Jiang Mo picked a bag, thinking he could use them to make some basic energy cube.
Sitrus Berry, however, were much more expensive, 500 yuan each, but they had a significant effect on improving the quality of energy cube. Jiang Mo gritted his teeth and still bought a small bag.
After selecting the Tree Fruit, Jiang Mo went to the energy cube counter.
Here were various good quality energy cube on the market. He picked up a box labeled "Advanced Attack Enhancement" energy cube, looked at the ingredient list, and found that it used some precious Tree Fruit and special additives.
This box of energy cube cost as much as 3000 yuan per box. Jiang Mo hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to buy a few boxes of each to research back home.
From this, one could see how high the cost of breeding a Pokémon was. To make a Pokémon grow quickly, it had to eat energy cube.
A box of energy cube had twelve pieces, lasting at most three to four days. Coupled with other food, breeding a Pokémon would cost tens of thousands of yuan a month just for food!
This was something ordinary families simply could not afford.
After a round of shopping, Jiang Mo looked at the heavy bags in his hands, filled with joy and anticipation, but also helplessly realized that this trip had almost emptied his allowance saved over the past few months.
However, he thought that these materials might allow him to formulate more efficient energy cube, thereby enhancing the strength of Pikachu and Gastly, and achieving better results in the upcoming joint exam, making it all worthwhile.
Upon returning home, Jiang Mo eagerly organized the materials, ready to begin his research.
As an intermediate Breeder, Jiang Mo was already able to skillfully formulate many medium-quality energy cube, and with a little more time and cost, he could also produce some high-quality energy cube.
But what Jiang Mo wanted to do was formulate energy cube that could directly improve Pokémon's attack, defense, speed, and other indicators, just like in the original work from his previous life. This was simply impossible in this world due to the lack of Tree Fruit varieties.
He tried to substitute with other Tree Fruit that had similar effects, but the results were minimal, even worse than those bought on the market.
After several days, all the raw materials were completely consumed, but he still had no clue.
Helpless, Jiang Mo could only seek help from Lin Zhiqiu, who was also shocked by his wild ideas.
"Xiao Mo, do you know what that level of energy cube means?" Lin Zhiqiu rolled her eyes at Jiang Mo.
Lin Zhiqiu patiently explained to Jiang Mo that the fundamental difference between energy cube of different qualities lay in the purity of the energy they contained.
Excellent Breeders were praised precisely because they possessed skillful and superb purification techniques, capable of greatly improving efficiency while increasing the success rate.
But even so, these energy cube could only serve to accelerate Pokémon's growth; to directly enhance a Pokémon's strength was simply a fantasy.
She looked at Jiang Mo and said earnestly, "You are now only one step away from becoming a high-level Breeder. If you can truly develop this kind of energy cube, let alone applying to become a top Breeder tomorrow, the entire Pokémon breeding world will be shaken."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Mo was filled with dejection, not expecting this research to be so tricky that even his mother, an experienced top Breeder, was at a loss.
"Pikachu ~"
Back in the room, Pikachu seemed to sense Jiang Mo's low mood. He agilely jumped onto the bed and lay down lazily.
Seeing this, Jiang Mo shook his head slightly, a doting smile playing on his lips, and began his daily routine massage for Pikachu.
His hands moved slowly over Pikachu's body, his technique skilled and gentle. This massage technique was meticulously learned by him from Lin Zhiqiu; it could not only effectively relieve Pokémon's fatigue but also cleverly prevent the silent accumulation of hidden injuries.
Jiang Mo quietly used Tokiwa Power, and that mysterious and gentle force slowly permeated Pikachu's body. Pikachu instantly narrowed his eyes in comfort, letting out a contented Growl: "Pika ~ chu ~"
Jiang Mo looked at Pikachu's enjoying expression and playfully scolded, "You're the best at enjoying life. Come on, try this and see if it can give me some inspiration."
Saying so, he brought the energy cube he had painstakingly formulated today to Pikachu's mouth.
Pikachu's small nose sniffed gently, then he turned his head, scoffing at the spicy and numbing energy cube, unwilling to even touch them.
Conversely, the energy cube with a sweet and sour scent made his eyes light up, especially the tomato-flavored energy cube, which he loved so much that he devoured it in a few mouthfuls.
Seeing this, Jiang Mo sighed helplessly, "Sigh, I really can't count on you, little fellow."
After finishing Pikachu's massage, Jiang Mo invigorated himself and decided to adjust his research direction, no longer fixating on the elusive energy cube that directly enhanced Pokémon's strength, but instead focusing on formulating Ghost-type energy cube suitable for Gastly.
However, at this point, raw materials were scarce, and his allowance was already depleted. Jiang Mo found himself in a dilemma.
After much thought, he had no choice but to shamelessly ask his mother, Lin Zhiqiu, for an advance on next month's allowance.
Lin Zhiqiu looked at her son's eyes, filled with longing and determination, and her heart was filled with comfort and affection. Without a word, she generously transferred 100,000 Pokémon Coins to his card.
With the starting capital, Jiang Mo once again purchased a batch of raw materials and continued to immerse himself in researching energy cube.