Juicer Pot, Pot? (2/3)

Activating the berry blending machine, Tongsi still wanted to try once more.

He placed the two boxes of assorted berries he’d purchased at the side, preparing to begin making energy cubes.

"Eevee~ Eevee~"

Eevee crept over quietly, stealthily picking up a berry and attempting to slip away unnoticed.

"Eevee, what are you doing?"

Tongsi stopped Eevee in its tracks.

"Eevee!!!"

Startled, Eevee’s fur bristled in fright, and the berry dropped from its grasp onto the floor.

It had just seen Tongsi fussing over the berry blending machine, which is why it decided to sneak off with a berry.

"Eevee, it’s not right to take berries secretly."

Tongsi scolded Eevee.

This little one actually dared to steal a berry?

"Eevee..."

Eevee’s gaze darted nervously as it pointed behind Tongsi.

"Such tricks won’t fool me!"

Tongsi raised his head, took back the Mist Lotus Berry from Eevee, and handed it an Odd Berry instead.

The Mist Lotus Berry was far too precious to let Eevee eat on a whim.

As for Odd Berries, Tongsi had bought plenty; Eevee could eat as many as it liked.

Just then, Tongsi noticed that the number of Acai Berries on the table had decreased by one.

"Potpot?"

Potpot wore a look of complete innocence.

"Potpot!"

Tongsi hurriedly picked up Potpot.

He never imagined Potpot would join Eevee in stealing berries.

It wasn’t even supposed to have the Gluttony trait!

"Potpot potpot..."

Potpot hopped out of its shell, pointing at it.

"Hmm?"

Tongsi glanced into Potpot’s shell, inside was berry juice.

"Potpot, your juicing ability is amazing! The berry you just put in is already juice?"

Tongsi was astonished.

Meanwhile, he noticed on the data panel that one method for making powder-blue energy cubes involved berry juice.

Moreover, using freshly squeezed berry juice made the process much easier.

"Why not give it a try?"

With that thought, Tongsi placed several berries into the blending machine.

The machine whirred to life, crushing the berries furiously.

Tongsi poured out all the juice collected in Potpot’s shell.

He then placed more berries in and signaled for Potpot to juice them.

Potpot returned to its shell; Tongsi saw it rubbing away energetically inside, though he had no idea what it was grinding.

Before long, another cup of fresh juice was produced.

"Your juicing skills are truly impressive!"

Tongsi praised Potpot.

Once the berries in the machine had been pulverized, Tongsi poured in two cups of juice.

Following the instructions on the data panel, it was Tongsi’s first time making energy cubes with juice.

Though he hadn’t succeeded with pure berries before, this time he finally used all sixteen varieties.

"The last berry!"

Tongsi held a Mist Lotus Berry in his hand, his fingers trembling slightly.

This was the moment of truth.

If he failed, he’d waste a Mist Lotus Berry.

There were only five Mist Lotus Berries in total.

He couldn’t afford to fail—each failure cost him a precious berry.

Tongsi dropped the Mist Lotus Berry into the machine.

He hadn’t had Potpot juice the berry because it was so small; only juicing all five together would yield a cup of juice, otherwise, barely any could be extracted.

Once the Mist Lotus Berry entered the machine, Tongsi adjusted the temperature and mixing speed.

Soon, the berry was reduced to fine pulp.

As the temperature rose, the ingredients inside began to coalesce.

Tongsi was tense; it was the closest he’d ever been to success.

Half a minute passed, then he heard something drop.

The machine kept running, but from the finished product port, a powder-blue energy cube tumbled out.

"Is this success? Wonderful!"

Tongsi was ecstatic. He hadn’t expected to succeed on his first attempt using the system’s berry blending machine.

Whether it was the machine’s capability or Potpot’s juicing, he couldn’t be sure.

He picked up the powder-blue cube—it looked remarkably like the one the system had gifted him, only this one was slightly larger and less refined in appearance.

"How effective is it, though?"

Tongsi eyed the three Pokémon before him with a mischievous glint.

"Electabuzz?"

Electabuzz took a step back—it disliked the smell.

"Potpot..."

Potpot hesitated; this energy cube was a little different from the ones it had eaten before.

"Eevee~"

Eevee bit straight into the energy cube in Tongsi’s hand.

After chewing a few times, it wore a blissful expression.

"As expected of you, my ordinary little test subject!"

Tongsi stroked Eevee’s head.

At crucial moments, it was always Eevee who tried the food first.

"Eevee!"

Suddenly, Eevee’s face twisted into something terrifying.

It shuddered violently and collapsed to the ground.

"Are you all right, Eevee?"

Tongsi crouched down anxiously.

Why had Eevee reacted this way? Could there be something wrong with the energy cube?

It shouldn’t be; Tongsi had followed the steps precisely.

"Eevee! Eevee eevee~"

As Tongsi doubted himself, Eevee sprang up.

It was perfectly fine; everything just now had been an act.

"Ha!"

Tongsi clapped his hands and gave a thumbs-up.

"Excellent performance!"

"Potpot..."

"Electabuzz!"

Potpot and Electabuzz each rolled their eyes.

They’d been worried for Eevee, but clearly, their concern had been wasted.

"Eevee, how do you feel now?"

Tongsi was still curious about whether the energy cube had been made successfully.

"Eevee..."

Eevee touched its head with its soft paw, unsure how to answer.

But apparently... it tasted quite good?

After eating the powder-blue energy cube, Eevee’s stamina was back to its peak.

It looked lively and full of energy.

As for increasing its maximum health, that wasn’t something easily achieved.

"Plop plop..."

Just then, the berry blending machine stopped.

At the finished product port, several powder-blue energy cubes dropped out in succession.

Tongsi counted eight, and with the one Eevee had eaten, a total of nine cubes had been produced in one batch.

"Looks like my first attempt at making energy cubes is a great success!"

Tongsi murmured to himself.

After cleaning out all the residue from the machine, he prepared to try again.

Potpot would handle the juicing as before, while the blending machine automatically mixed and combined.

Compared to other machines on the market, the system’s berry blending machine had one distinct advantage: full automation.

As long as the berries or juice were added according to the data panel’s recipe and steps, the machine would automatically blend and create energy cubes.

... (To be continued)