Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 264 Steel Will Come to Welcome Us

Huipi Town is built against the mountain.

Although it is a small town, the per capita income is extremely high, and its economic size ranks among the top three in Chengdu!
The fact that a small town can rival the economic contributions of many large cities makes the Citrus Fruit Balls a topic that cannot be ignored in the town of Hachipi.

Ash went to the Bread Gym, while the others left the town.

The hills surrounding the town are planted with all kinds of fruit trees.

Beneath the dense foliage, one can vaguely see a network of roads that both separate and intertwine the different orchards, creating a connection between them.

As they walked, the group stopped. Xiao Gang, holding the map, frowned and muttered to himself:

"That's strange. They said Mr. Steel lived in an orange orchard, but they didn't say the orchard was this big!"

Xiao Gang was getting a little frantic.

The orchards surrounding Huipi Town are even larger than the entire town itself!

Having never gotten lost before, this was the first time he had led everyone on a winding path, and a whole morning had passed without finding their destination.

"Natsume, do you have any ideas, like using superpowers to find your way?"

Xiaoxia wiped her sweat and made the suggestion.

There are so many fruit trees here, and there are no signs on the roads, so it's easy to get lost.

There were quite a few surveillance cameras installed on the fruit trees, but Xiaoxia tried many times and it seemed that these cameras did not have a communication function.

"Scouting ahead? I don't think that's necessary."

"Mr. Steel will be here to greet us soon."

Natsume took off his backpack and rummaged through it.

"Could it be that you contacted Mr. Steel in advance, Mr. Natsume?!" the proud child asked excitedly.

"What? Natsume, you're finally reliable! What are you up to?"

Xiaoxia swallowed the rest of her words.

Natsume pulled a black wool felt headgear from his backpack, put it on his head, and then took out a large bag from somewhere before climbing towards the nearest citrus tree.

"What is he doing?" Xiao Gang came to his senses and looked at Natsume with a puzzled expression.

Natsume moved very nimbly, and with the help of telekinesis, the citrus fruits on the tree fell into the bag with a clatter.

Natsume has a keen eye; he only selects ripe citrus fruits that are expensive and of good appearance.

The alarm was triggered very quickly.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, there are robbers!"

The nearby surveillance cameras were frantically alarming, and the sound of a little girl crying in terror could be heard from them.

"Woooooo~"

The alarm kept blaring, and soon an angry old man arrived at the alarm location on a small tricycle used for transporting fruit trees.

"Grandpa, this is it!"

A cute little girl, holding a small wooden sword and wearing a ladybug hood, jumped off the car with a fierce air.

The old man was wearing a helmet, revealing half of his aged face. His hands gripping the handlebars had bulging veins, and his waist was covered with red and white balls.

"Natsume!?"

The old man was somewhat surprised to see Natsume.

He took off his helmet, revealing a fairly rugged face underneath.

"You must be Mr. Steel, right? Don't get me wrong, we're here to deliver GS balls!"

Before Natsume could speak, Kasumi and Takeshi quickly stepped forward to explain.

"Oh, you must be Ash and his friends. I've heard Elf mention you!"

Steel seemed to be deep in thought.

"What do you mean by Ash and his friends? My name is Brock." Brock's lips twitched slightly.

"And me, my name is Xiaoxia, and this is Natsume's assistant, Jiaozi," Xiaoxia introduced.

"In that case, did you see the thief?"

After Steel finished speaking, the little girl behind him took a step forward and shouted:
"Yes, a thief, a thief wearing a black hood, a thief who stole tangerines!"

Xiaoxia and Xiaogang were startled, but then they heard Natsume's voice suddenly rang out:

"Of course I saw it."

Everyone turned to look and saw Natsume pinching the back of the middle-parted haircut by the neck. Because the hood was too big, the two ears of the middle-parted haircut were sticking out from the eye sockets.

"As you can see, I subdued it."

Natsume pointed at the middle-parted hair without blushing or skipping a beat.

"Pica~"

He was still fast asleep, his hair parted in the middle, talking in his sleep, completely unaware of everything happening in the outside world.

"Yes, Grandpa, it's this hood!"

The little girl pointed confidently at the middle-parted hair.

"Hmm, Pokémon. When did Pikachu appear here?"

Steel looked puzzled, his stubble and fur all scrunched up. "Ahem, Grandpa Steel, please take us to your residence quickly."

Xiao Gang coughed twice and quickly tried to distract himself.

"Alright then, but my car can't carry that many people. I'll drive slowly, and you can follow behind."

As he spoke, Steel took his granddaughter back to the car.

Guided by the tricycle, the group quickly left the orchard and arrived at an open area.

In the very center of this area, a small house stands out.

"If you looked at it from high above, this large empty space would definitely look like an eye."

Xiaoxia said with some emotion.

"In that case, if there were Flying-type Pokémon, they would probably find this place very easily."

As everyone talked, the steel cabin came into view.

Smoke was rising slowly from the chimney of the cottage, and as soon as I entered, a wave of hot tears washed over me.

"Mr. Steel, why do you have so many stoves in your house!"

Xiaoxia exclaimed.

"This is not a stove."

Steel parked his car and walked in from outside, carrying a large sledgehammer.

"These are the furnaces where I create my citrus balls."

As he spoke, Steel took a citrus ball out of Natsume's backpack and placed it on the furnace near the door.

Natsume touched his nose and didn't say anything.

"Citrus Ball! Mr. Steel, I've always had a question, please tell me!"

Xiao Gang suddenly became excited and bowed to the steel.

"please say."

Steel pushed the newly added citrus ball aside, while the tongs pulled out a citrus ball that had been forging in the furnace for a long time.

He picked up a hammer and listened to Xiaogang's story as he hammered away.

"Mr. Steel, the Poké Balls made from these Citrus Balls all have magical effects."

"For example, a weighing ball made from brown citrus berries is suitable for catching large, heavy Pokémon, while a lure ball made from blue citrus berries can increase the chances of catching Pokémon."

"Grandpa Steel, I want to know why!"

"Why, why can these citrus fruits be forged into such amazing Poké Balls? What's the principle behind it?!"

Xiao Gang voiced all his doubts in one breath.

He searched for a lot of information about citrus balls online, but could only find descriptions of different types of citrus balls.

There is absolutely no explanation of its underlying principles.

The old man in front of us used to be the Poké Ball manufacturing consultant for the league, and many Poké Balls were made by him!

"This one"

Listening to Xiao Gang's words, Gang Tie continued to slowly and steadily tap the citrus fruit on the furnace.

The tangerines were bright red, and they had deformed like blocks of iron.

Do you know the characteristics of different citrus fruits?

"feature?"

Xiao Gang was taken aback, but then he heard the sound of metal, mixed with the sound of hammering:
"For example, what does the yellow cone taste like? It has a strong sour taste and a mild astringent taste."

"The green cones, on the other hand, have a strong bitter taste and a mild sweetness."

The steel spoke, and Xiao Gang pondered, then suddenly his brow relaxed, and he exclaimed in realization:
"I understand, Mr. Steel means that different Pokémon have different diets, which is why they are so appealing!"

Xiao Gang's sudden voice made Gang Tie's voice pause slightly.

After a long pause, he slowly said:
"It has nothing to do with the taste of the citrus balls."

"Huh?" Xiao Gang was taken aback.

"Then why did you say so much, grandpa?" Xiaoxia complained.

"I thought you young people had rich imaginations and would fill in the blanks with your own minds."

As Steel spoke, his gaze drifted toward Natsume.

"Please, Grandpa Steel, tell me why this is!"

Xiao Gang bowed deeply again.

"Sigh, there's really nothing we can do about you guys."

Steel sighed.

"The secret to the citrus ball is all in here."

As Steel spoke, he took out a silver-white Poké Ball.

(End of this chapter)