At night, various potions were laid out on Aven's desk.
"Training the Sleep Powder version of the Sleep-inducing Potion…" Aven murmured as he placed each ingredient into the grinder to be crushed.
Beside him, his Petilil mimicked his actions, putting the same ingredients into a small grinder in front of it.
At some point, the little one had developed an interest in potion-making, so Aven had simply started teaching it. A Petilil that could brew potions—that idea alone was rather amusing.
Still, Aven wasn't too surprised. Pokémon could already assist humans in a variety of tasks, even cooking and housework.
There was a time when Mime Jr. that could do household chores were incredibly popular. Aven had even hired one to help him around the house.
"At the current temperature, the concentration of Sleep-inducing Potion should be kept between 10–20 mg/L," Aven continued, guiding Petilil.
Under his direction, Petilil quickly managed to produce a bottle of pale blue liquid, its eyes lighting up in delight.
"All done. See? Making potions isn't all that hard," Aven said with a smile.
Because Grass-type Pokémon have strong sensory abilities when it comes to herbs, they could be incredibly effective in potion-making.
Petilil nodded energetically, then excitedly began brewing a second batch of Sleep-inducing Potion.
Seeing how enthusiastic it was, Aven simply handed the task over to it.
At first, he had to guide it step-by-step, but Petilil quickly got the hang of it and could now brew potions independently.
Nodding in satisfaction, Aven shifted his attention to the pile of white apricorns beside him, a bit of anticipation in his heart.
If he really could create a working Poké Ball… that would be a revolutionary achievement, one worthy of going down in history!
Just thinking about creating such a milestone made Aven's breath quicken.
In his past life, this had been the lifelong dream of all Pokémon breeders and researchers.
"Let me recall… the method for making Apricorn Balls…" Aven took a deep breath and began reviewing the process in his mind.
He remembered clearly that when he took the elective course on advanced apricorn ball crafting, the instructor had explained the theory and method in great detail.
To pass the course, they had to make one working apricorn ball.
The steps were as follows:
High-Temperature Tempering
This step activated the apricorn's latent energy. This special energy could weaken a Pokémon's strength.
When Poké Balls release or recall a Pokémon, there's a flash of light—that's this energy at work, and it's key to making Poké Balls functional.
It's not that Poké Balls have spatial abilities; rather, they shrink the Pokémon to store them.Apricorn Forging
Once the apricorn reached the required temperature, it had to be specially hammered and forged.
This step formed a unique capsule-like structure inside the apricorn that could hold a Pokémon.
The Poké Ball is essentially a special kind of capsule.Insert the Webbed Mechanism
The principle behind a Poké Ball's ability to capture and restrain a Pokémon lies in this net-like mechanism.
According to the instructor, every Poké Ball contains a "net" that restrains the Pokémon when it's drawn inside.
If the Pokémon has enough energy, it can struggle free and break out; if not, it stays captured.
The mythical Master Ball was said to use an unbreakable "net," guaranteeing capture.
Depending on the materials used for this "net," different effects can be achieved.
Modern Poké Balls usually limit a Pokémon's power and subtly tame them, making them easier to train.
Install the Poké Ball's Button and Internal Components
By this step, the apricorn ball had taken shape, equipped with the most basic features of a working Poké Ball.Final High-Temperature Forging
Reheating and forging the apricorn once more stabilized its structure, completing the crafting process of the apricorn ball.
"Whew… It all seemed so simple back then, but that was because we had modern machines to help us," Aven muttered.
"Now, going over the process with current conditions in mind… this is going to be a pain."
Just the first step, high-temperature tempering, would require a forge. Ordinary flames wouldn't reach the needed temperatures.
On top of that, he'd need to build a smithy—apricorn forging wasn't as simple as just hitting something with a hammer.
In his past life, forging apricorns was machine-assisted. He just had to operate the machines in specific patterns. But now? He'd have to wield the hammer himself.
Glancing down at his thin frame, Aven raised an eyebrow.
This was starting to feel like an impossible task. Did he really need to bulk up just to lift a hammer?
'Maybe I could get a Pokémon to take the place of the machines,' he mused.
He looked at Petilil, then shook his head. Then he considered his Rhyhorn, and shook his head again.
'Maybe if it evolves into Rhydon?'
As for the third step—installing the special net-like mechanism—he thought of the materials used to craft Beast Equipment.
That might actually be a good option.
Both systems were designed to bind and control Pokémon, so there should be some similarities.
If he could apply the same principles used in crafting Beast Gear, he might be able to form the special web mechanism.
He thought of the Beast Gear on his Rhyhorn.
If he could repurpose just one of those, it could likely yield several sets of net mechanisms.
The only problem was—he still needed to learn how to forge Beast Gear in the first place.
These materials were incredibly tough, strong enough to withstand even a Pokémon's attacks, so the forging method definitely wasn't something basic.
(End of Chapter)