Reality and games were two completely different things.
In games, you could just throw berries into a machine, press a button, and Energy Cubes would pop out instantly.
But Su Yu could say with absolute certainty—
Don't joke around.
Was it really okay to mix every kind of pulp together?
In reality, pressing berries left behind large amounts of pomace. There were also cores that needed separate processing. Some berries even had strange flavors—perfectly fine for Pokémon on their own, but once mixed with others, the result could only be described as dark cuisine.
That was why Energy Cubes required manual processing.
First, the berries had to be washed, cut, and deseeded.
Then came juicing.
After squeezing the juice, it had to be filtered to remove pulp and residue. The remaining juice was set aside while additional ingredients were prepared.
Each type of berry juice needed to be processed two or even three times before it was suitable for making Energy Cubes.
The children at the orphanage had helped the old headmaster make Energy Cubes before, so they were all familiar with the steps.
Everyone squatted down and got to work, processing berries methodically.
The pulp was carefully collected after juicing.
This residue wasn't waste—it could be burned into high-quality mulch. Many fruit trees thrived when fed with it.
Naturally, the kids who were used to living frugally understood this very well.
All the pomace was gathered and taken away to be burned into ash.
As Xiaoqing looked at the pile of residue, she couldn't help muttering,
"Brother Su Yu… if we had a Fire-type Pokémon, this would be so easy."
"One Flamethrower and it'd all be gone."
Su Yu, who had just carried more materials inside, paused when he heard her.
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"A Fire-type Pokémon, huh," he said.
"If nothing goes wrong, my Pokémon egg is Fire-type."
"And it's a Charmander."
"When the time comes, it can handle this."
"Actually… when we get the chance, we should bring back some Pokémon to help watch the place."
"Even if they don't battle, they can help around the home."
"The orchard needs guarding too."
That thought suddenly clicked in Su Yu's mind.
Raising some lower-tier Pokémon didn't seem like a bad idea.
Xiaoqing's eyes instantly lit up.
"Shuckle can make delicious juice—can we raise one?"
"Charmander can burn pomace and help with barbecues!"
"If we have Vanillite, it can manage cold storage!"
"Pichu can generate electricity!"
"A Growlithe can guard the orchard!"
"Miltank can produce milk so we don't have to buy it!"
"And Machamp can help carry things!"
"Hehe!!"
The more she spoke, the more excited she became.
In her mind, everything seemed perfectly doable.
Su Yu froze for a moment, then fell into deep thought.
"…That actually sounds like a great idea."
"The only problem is subduing them."
"I'll take the advanced Breeder certification exam someday."
"Then we can open a breeding house."
"Specialized in taking care of Pokémon for others."
As he spoke, Su Yu's eyes grew brighter.
If they had money, they could even buy the land behind the orphanage and remodel it into different terrains.
Turning the orphanage into a breeding house was completely feasible.
Many Trainers didn't have enough space at home to keep Pokémon, so they relied on professional breeding houses.
Energy Cubes could be produced here.
Food, care, facilities—everything could be self-sufficient.
And of course, they could charge fees.
Not only would Trainers pay care costs, but their Pokémon could even help with work.
That's called training.
The more Su Yu thought about it, the more exciting it became.
Xiaoqing and the other kids overheard everything.
"Brother Su Yu! Are you serious?"
"Does that mean we'll have tons of Pokémon to play with?"
A four-year-old girl ran over and hugged Su Yu's leg, eyes full of anticipation.
For kids, few things were more tempting than Pokémon.
Many of them dreamed of becoming Trainers someday.
…
Seeing her hopeful expression, Su Yu felt his resolve soften.
"Yes," he said firmly.
"It's decided."
"Once these Energy Cubes are finished, I'll take the advanced certification exam."
"Then we'll apply to open a breeding house."
"No problem at all."
To open one, a high-level Breeder certificate was mandatory. Without it, no business license would be approved.
After all, who would entrust their Pokémon to someone unqualified?
The moment Su Yu confirmed it, the kids erupted with joy.
Su Yu chuckled, shook his head, and returned to work.
Now came the tedious part.
Juices had to be left to settle.
Berries like Nutpea Berry contained mostly starch. The pomace was removed, Tolkowsky was added, and the mixture was stirred before being left to rest.
Once the liquid separated into two layers, the top was poured off.
The pinkish-white substance at the bottom was the true starch essence.
After drying, it would become pure starch. When mixed with other materials, it would slowly form a gel.
Finally, those gelatinous substances would be steamed and baked into finished Energy Cubes.
This batch included many varieties.
Different berry combinations produced different effects.
Since Su Yu had taken out more than a dozen mid- and low-tier formulas at once, the workload was massive.
After the kids finished the preliminary steps, Su Yu sent them out to play with Pichu.
From that point on, he worked alone.
Now that he had Pichu, the first Energy Cube he made would naturally be one favored by Electric-type Pokémon.
With that in mind, Su Yu began carefully measuring ingredients.
Meanwhile, Pichu was surrounded by a group of little girls who dragged it around happily.
Although it had been forcibly captured, Pichu was slowly accepting reality.
As they walked, Xiaoqing suddenly led Pichu into a storage room.
She took out a strange-looking device and smiled warmly at it.
"Pichu…?"
(ΩДΩ)
Something felt very, very wrong.