Chapter 10
Day 12, 6:32 AM – Hidden Lake Cave, Morning
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Letting Nincada rest on a smooth stone ledge, Jayden began thinking about his plans for the upcoming period.
The first priority remained unchanged: continue feeding Nincada the Sitrus Blend Energy Cubes. From the results over the past few days, the effects were excellent. Just from appearance alone, Nincada had grown from a severely malnourished state to the size of a healthy specimen in only four days. Its body length had reached nearly 45 centimeters, close to the average for the species.
However, in Jayden's perception through CIPHER's daily scans, Nincada's changes extended far beyond mere size. Its growth in physical dimensions was the most obvious change, yes. But simultaneously, the Bug/Ground-type's strength and speed had increased by varying degrees. Even its innate aptitude had improved measurably.
Although it remained in the green-tier classification, the shade of green had clearly deepened compared to a few days ago. This indicated that Nincada's original aptitude ranked at the top even among green-grade Pokémon.
Especially after the continuous battles yesterday afternoon, Nincada's efficiency in absorbing the Sitrus Blend Energy Cube's nutrients had noticeably increased. The damaged cellular structures were repairing faster. The metabolic processes were operating more efficiently.
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There were still three days remaining until the next weekly ranking. Jayden believed that after continuing the energy cube regimen, Nincada's original aptitude would completely recover. At that point, it would enter a period of rapid growth acceleration.
Therefore, training during these few days could not be interrupted. It was essential to find different species of wild Pokémon to battle against. While familiarizing Nincada with diverse combat rhythms, it could also absorb the energy cube's effects more thoroughly and recover more completely.
As for the direction of Nincada's training focus, it would primarily emphasize defensive endurance and precision striking. The duration of maintaining partial Harden states needed persistent practice. Additionally, Nincada needed to master several necessary combat techniques. Skills already learned required extensive practice time to achieve true mastery, enabling more efficient deployment during actual battles.
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As a Bug/Ground dual-type Pokémon, Nincada's defensive resistance profile was relatively balanced. It possessed no quadruple weaknesses, so it wouldn't be catastrophically vulnerable to any particular elemental type. Even double-weakness vulnerabilities to Fire, Flying, and Ice-type attacks could be mitigated through proper positioning and defensive techniques.
On Crimson Reef Island, Fire-type Pokémon were relatively rare in the forest regions, and Flying-types could be countered through burrowing tactics. Ice-types were essentially nonexistent in this tropical environment. Therefore, when fighting on this island, the primary concern was avoiding Rock-type attacks, which exploited both of Nincada's typings.
Nincada's Compound Eyes ability granted exceptional accuracy advantages. With proper training support and tactical positioning, what it needed now was extensive combat experience to improve the synchronization between trainer and Pokémon, and to master existing battle techniques through repetition.
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After the Sitrus Blend Energy Cubes were depleted, Nincada would require a different specialized formula to accelerate its growth and maximize developmental potential.
Jayden had already researched this next formula before the first ranking assessment. The Terra-Carapace Energy Cube was an intermediate-grade formula with earth-brown coloring. According to CIPHER's database, its main ingredients were Rawst Berries, Chesto Berries, and Persim Berries, along with more than ten different types of mineral-rich herbs as supplementary components. It was an energy cube specially formulated for Bug and Ground-type Pokémon, perfectly suited to Nincada's dual typing.
Jayden had used all his earned points from the first ranking to exchange for the necessary berries and herbs. These specific varieties were among his largest purchases. He'd almost depleted the Exchange Office's available stock. As long as he could successfully produce the Terra-Carapace formula, he believed Nincada would enter a period of exponential growth.
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After contemplating his strategy for a while, Jayden felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him. He'd been active and vigilant for nearly twenty-four consecutive hours. His body was demanding rest.
He placed his hands behind his head as a makeshift pillow and glanced at the moonlight filtering through the natural cracks in the cave ceiling. He closed his eyes and gradually fell into deep sleep, lulled by Nincada's steady, rhythmic breathing nearby.
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Day 12, 7:18 AM
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The next morning, the sun slowly rose from the eastern horizon. With the disappearance of night's darkness, the forest gradually returned to its characteristic daytime tranquility. The sounds of nocturnal insects dissipated. The tracks of prowling predatory beasts faded.
A ray of golden sunlight shone through the cracks in the cave, illuminating Jayden's face. The gradually rising temperature gently pulled him from sleep's embrace.
It was summer now, and the sun rose quite early. Because he'd fought intensively all day yesterday, it was rare that Jayden hadn't awakened before sunrise. Perhaps it was because circumstances were progressing more smoothly than anticipated, and a psychological weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
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Stretching lazily, Jayden looked at Nincada, which had also awakened due to his movements. He smiled genuinely. After becoming a Quasi-Elite Four trainer in his previous life, he'd gradually lowered his defensive vigilance and begun enjoying comfortable living. After restarting his life's journey, this was the first time Jayden had experienced truly restful, uninterrupted sleep.
"Nincada, your mission today is straightforward," Jayden announced while standing and brushing dust from his clothes. "I need you to practice Dig repeatedly around the cave perimeter. Create ventilation tunnels that will help dissipate the accumulated stench inside while simultaneously training your burrowing speed and precision."
The training served dual purposes. First, it would develop Nincada's underground mobility, which was essential for its Ground-type combat effectiveness. Second, it would physically improve their living environment by creating airflow pathways.
Killing two birds with one stone, as the expression went.
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"Nincada!" The Bug/Ground-type nodded vigorously, its compound eyes gleaming with determination.
It would always execute Jayden's instructions meticulously. From its hatching until now, Nincada had never known its parents. It had been born within Team Rocket's breeding facilities without nurturing environment, without quality nutrition, without proper training. It had often been bullied by larger, more aggressive Pokémon in the communal holding areas.
Until it met Jayden, who was the first and only person to treat it with genuine care and respect. Therefore, Nincada's feelings toward Jayden transcended simple trainer-Pokémon bonds. In addition to the loyalty and respect a Pokémon naturally held for its trainer, there existed a deeper connection resembling a child's dependence on a parent figure.
Nincada possessed one absolute conviction: it could never disappoint Jayden. This determination burned at the core of its being.
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Seeing Nincada's energetic demeanor and eager readiness, the corners of Jayden's mouth unconsciously curved upward in satisfaction. From his dimensional storage belt, he retrieved ten Sitrus Blend Energy Cubes and held them out.
Under Nincada's expectant gaze, Jayden placed the energy cubes on the ground one by one. Nincada consumed them methodically, its mandibles working efficiently to break down and absorb the concentrated nutrients.
After finishing the tenth cube, Nincada made a satisfied chittering sound and immediately began its assigned training. It started digging near the cave's rear wall, creating a ventilation tunnel that would eventually connect to the surface. Loose earth flew in controlled sprays as its powerful legs churned through rock and soil.
Because Jayden positioned himself away from the digging zone, even when debris scattered, it didn't affect him at all.
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After washing up using the underground spring water and eating some preserved dried meat from his supplies, Jayden carefully retrieved berries and herbs from his storage space. He arranged them methodically on a flat stone surface in precise order.
He took a relatively clean cloth from his limited possessions and meticulously wiped each berry before setting them aside. Cleanliness was crucial in energy cube production. Even minor contamination could ruin an entire batch.
He thoroughly washed the wooden tools used for crushing berries with fresh spring water, ensuring no residue remained from previous preparations.
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Perhaps the original cave excavator had chosen this location specifically because of the underground spring, or perhaps the spring had formed naturally after the cave's creation. Regardless of origin, the fresh water source was now tremendously convenient for Jayden and Nincada.
Compared to the lake water that every wild Pokémon drank from, the underground spring here was noticeably clearer, cooler, and sweeter-tasting. It was perfect for both consumption and the energy cube production process.
Due to the limitations of available resources and tools, Jayden's equipment was extremely primitive by professional standards.
He possessed wooden bowls, hand-carved pounding implements, manually-operated impurity separators, hand-cranked compression devices, and crude condensing chambers.
All tools were constructed from simple wood and stone materials salvaged or crafted during his time on the island.
This made the production process significantly more complicated and time-consuming.
The creation of each energy cube batch proceeded much slower than it would with modern equipment.
However, the final quality remained satisfactory thanks to CIPHER's precise measurements and timing. Higher-grade energy cube formulas would be impossible to produce with such rudimentary tools, but intermediate formulas were manageable.
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Jayden carefully used a small knife to peel and core all the berries with surgical precision. Using CIPHER's exact calculations, he cut the berry flesh into uniform cubic segments on a wooden cutting board. He removed excess fibrous portions from the medicinal herbs, then crushed them methodically to separate and extract the active compounds while filtering out inert plant matter.
First, he placed the prepared Rawst Berry and Chesto Berry flesh into the wooden crushing bowl. Using the hand-crank mechanism, he ground them into consistent pulp. Then, following CIPHER's step-by-step procedural guidance displayed in his vision, he added additional berry varieties and herb extracts in precise sequence.
[CIPHER GUIDANCE: Add 14.3 grams crushed Persim Berry. Mix for 47 seconds. Add 8.1 grams mineral herb extract. Mix for 23 seconds...]
The quantity of each ingredient required exact measurement. The mixing duration demanded precise timing. The degree of pulverization needed careful monitoring. The sequential order of component integration was critical. It was precisely because energy cube production involved such strict technical requirements that very few people within the Alliance could manufacture high-quality cubes efficiently.
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Fortunately, Jayden possessed CIPHER's computational assistance to control every variable perfectly. He simply needed to follow the systematic instructions with disciplined execution.
After completing the mixing process, he transferred the combined juice into a prepared container. Following compression and condensation procedures, he only needed to place it in the cave's coolest corner and wait approximately six hours for the chemical bonding process to complete.
After finishing one batch of Terra-Carapace Energy Cubes, Jayden carefully set the container aside and retrieved an identical set of ingredients to begin producing the next batch. Repetition was key. He would create as many batches as his available materials allowed.
By the time Nincada completed its ventilation tunnel training several hours later, Jayden would have a substantial stockpile ready for the next phase of development.
The foundation for future strength was being laid, one precise measurement at a time.
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End of Chapter 10
Preparation separates the survivors from the victims. Master your craft. Perfect your tools. Only then can you truly control your destiny.