Finding money while going out was always a pleasant surprise.
With all the materials he needed secured, Su Yu began descending the mountain and headed back toward the orphanage.
Walking alone through the forest without any Pokémon by his side, Su Yu felt no fear at all.
There was a simple reason for that.
None of the Pokémon in this area could beat him.
At this point, Su Yu could be considered the local tyrant of the back mountain.
Of course, he wasn't completely arrogant.
He only felt invincible when he used his full Psychic power.
In that state, he felt like he could defeat anything—even an alpaca.
Fortunately, Su Yu was still rational.
That kind of mindset was dangerous.
After all, alpacas had absurd resistances.
You really can't beat them.
Just like a certain floating emergency food—no matter how hard you tried, you just couldn't get through.
Thinking about Hoothoot nonsense, Su Yu continued down the mountain at a brisk pace.
Suddenly, the Poké Ball in his pocket began to shake.
Su Yu paused, took it out, and released the Pokémon inside.
In the next moment, Pichu appeared in front of him, a noticeable bump still on its forehead.
"Pichu…?"
The little Pokémon looked dazed.
Its large eyes stared at Su Yu in confusion.
Then, slowly, tears welled up.
┭┮﹏┭┮
It burst into tears.
How unfair!
All it wanted was to eat a piece of fruit. Why had it been knocked unconscious? And why did it suddenly have a master?
"Pichu~!" o(╥﹏╥)o"Pi…!" (ノへ￣,)
It cried while wiping its tears nonstop.
Su Yu's mouth twitched.
"Alright, stop crying," he said calmly."You're my cub now."
"Crying won't change anything."
After hearing this, Pichu's body crackled faintly with electricity.
It stopped crying, turned its face away, and covered its eyes.
Clearly unwilling.
Seeing this, Su Yu frowned.
"Are you going to be my Pokémon or not?"
"Say something."
"If not, I'll send you to a Pokémon shelter."
"Let me tell you—my Poké Balls are expensive."
"If I hand you over, I might even get one in exchange."
"If you don't want to stay with me, this is your only option."
Hearing this, Pichu snapped out of its sulking immediately.
It looked up at Su Yu in panic.
"Pichu?"
Electricity sparked around its body.
Did it want to fight?
Su Yu didn't say another word. Instead, he calmly released a portion of his Psychic pressure.
"What?"
"You want to battle?"
"I don't need Pokémon."
"I can handle this myself."
A cold smile appeared on Su Yu's face.
The meaning was obvious.
You want to fight?
The moment Pichu sensed that abyss-like Psychic power, its body froze.
"Pi—Pichu!!"
I surrender! I surrender!
This was no joke.
A human with Psychic power this terrifying?
This was far scarier than the Gardevoir it had seen before.
Fight him?
Absolutely impossible.
If it did, it would definitely be beaten into the ground.
Without hesitation, Pichu ran over and clung to Su Yu's leg.
"Pichu! Pichu!!"
(￣▽￣)((≧︶≦)
I'll be your cub! Don't hit me!
Seeing the little guy acting cute so decisively, Su Yu laughed.
"Good. Very good."
He squatted down, picked Pichu up, and placed it on his shoulder.
As long as it was obedient, everything was negotiable.
With Pichu settled, Su Yu resumed his journey back to the orphanage.
Perched on Su Yu's shoulder, Pichu felt utterly conflicted.
It never imagined it would be threatened by a human one day.
Life was too hard.
It was still just a baby.
Glancing at Su Yu cautiously, Pichu didn't know what to think.
It had gained a master for no reason at all.
This master… seemed terrifying.
Hopefully, it would be treated well in the future.
…
Su Yu, of course, had no idea what Pichu was thinking.
He returned to the orphanage swiftly.
By the time he arrived, the kids had already finished washing all the berries.
Seeing him, they rushed over.
"Brother Su Yu, you're back!"
"Huh? Pichu—Pichu!!"
Xiaoqing's eyes lit up the moment she saw Pichu on Su Yu's shoulder.
For some reason, Pichu felt a surge of danger the instant it saw her.
The bump on its head throbbed painfully.
"Pichu…?"
(ΩДΩ)
Why did this feel so scary?
afraid.jpg
Su Yu placed Pichu on the ground.
"Alright," he said."You go play for now."
"I'll prepare food for you later."
"Don't run around."
With that, Su Yu began getting busy.
He asked the kids to help carry the berries into the small workshop.
Then, he started processing the fruit.
Although he told Pichu to play, the little Pokémon didn't dare move.
The group of mischievous kids was staring at it eagerly.
It felt dangerous.
Much safer to stay near Su Yu.
Besides…
There were so many fruits nearby.
It was incredibly tempting.
"Pichu?"
Watching Su Yu work, Pichu grew curious.
What was he doing?
"You stay over there," Su Yu said."I'm busy, and you're too young to help."
"Xiaoqing, help me clean the juicer."
"Then squeeze the berries into juice and store it properly."
At his instructions, the kids immediately got to work.
The workshop was clean and fully equipped. After a simple rinse, production could begin.
Making Energy Cubes wasn't like in the anime—just tossing fruit into a machine.
The process was far more complicated.
First, the berries had to be crushed into juice, then left to settle. After that, specific components were extracted and mixed according to precise ratios, followed by multiple stages of processing.
Only then could an Energy Cube be formed.
Some berry juices even required repeated refinement.
It was an extremely tedious process.
Large companies used factories to mass-produce Energy Cubes, but the quality was mediocre at best.
Elite Trainers and Champions used customized cubes made by professional breeders.
After all—
Handmade Energy Cubes and mass-produced ones were two completely different things.
And Su Yu was making the real deal.