Chapter 17: Exploration, Exploration, and Then a New Discovery
As Bai Feng's Golden Finger Energy entered the Ancient Cheri Berry Tree Sapling's Body, a Tree Diagram clearly appeared in his mind.
Bai Feng had never planted a Cheri Berry Tree before, so he didn't know what a Cheri Berry Tree's Tree Diagram looked like, but he knew that the Tree Diagram of this Ancient Cheri Berry Tree was definitely very different from that of a Modern Cheri Berry Tree.
Although the Tree Diagram within a Fruit Tree and the Energy Circuit within a Pokémon were essentially the same type of thing, there were significant differences in their manifestation.
A Pokémon's Energy Circuit would show great Variation depending on the species. For example, some were spiderweb-shaped, some snake-shaped, some cylindrical, some kelp-shaped... In short, their Structure was bizarre and varied, and only Pokémon of the same species would be largely similar overall.
But the Tree Diagram of a Fruit Tree was different; they were generally tree-shaped, with the rough Structure being a Trunk plus Branches. Differences were only reflected in the branching parts of the Branches, where the Tree Diagrams of different types of Fruit Trees would appear distinct.
This difference seemed insignificant compared to the differences in Pokémon's Energy Circuits.
But the Tree Diagram of this ancient Sapling that Bai Feng was seeing now was completely different. Strictly speaking, using the term Tree Diagram to describe it was no longer entirely accurate.
The Structure of a normal Fruit Tree's Tree Diagram was a Trunk plus a Tree Crown. It also had Roots, but the Root system wasn't well-developed, so Bai Feng often overlooked that part of the Root.
But the Tree Diagram of this ancient Sapling was different; its Root system was exceptionally well-developed, almost comparable to the Tree Crown. If he were to turn it sideways, Bai Feng might not even be able to tell which side was the Tree Crown.
Grandpa Fu saw Bai Feng standing there motionless, touching it for a long Time, so he asked, "How is it? Did you see anything?"
"No, you couldn't do anything with it, what could I possibly see?" Bai Feng shook his head, withdrew his hand, and said humbly.
"Sigh..." Grandpa Fu sighed upon hearing this. He had originally hoped that Bai Feng might discover some problem.
After examining the ancient Sapling, Bai Feng said goodbye to Grandpa Fu and returned to Fang Xing Mountain with Popplio.
On the way back, he was constantly thinking about the ancient Tree's Tree Diagram, so he seemed a bit absent-minded. Popplio called out to him several times, but he didn't respond.
After returning to Fang Xing Mountain, Popplio went into the fruit forest by itself to busy itself, while Bai Feng stood on the Mountain Top in contemplation.
After thinking for about half an Hour, he suddenly walked over to an Oran Berry Tree, placed his hand on the Tree Trunk, and sent Golden Finger Energy into it, checking the Fruit Tree's Tree Diagram little by little.
Why was the Root system of the ancient Sapling's Tree Diagram so developed, while the Tree Diagrams of modern Fruit Trees were different? What was this? Degeneration? Or was there another reason?
If the Root system of modern Fruit Trees' Tree Diagrams also became like that of the ancient Tree, what kind of Variation would occur?
While thinking, Bai Feng controlled the Golden Finger Energy to extend towards the Root of the Oran Berry Tree. As the Golden Finger Energy continued to deepen, he finally discovered something unusual.
This is... Suddenly, Bai Feng had a realization.
The Root system of this Oran Berry Tree's Tree Diagram wasn't underdeveloped; rather, the vast majority of it was in a Dormant State. Only a small portion was still operating and working, less than one-twentieth or one-thirtieth of the entire Tree Diagram's Root system.
To use an analogy, the parts of the Tree Diagram with Energy Flow were the Active Areas that were lit up and could work autonomously, while the majority of the Root system was in a dark state, having stopped running, belonging to the Dormant Area.
This Dormant State part of the Tree Diagram looked very inconspicuous. If one didn't specifically probe it, it would be impossible to discover, which was why Bai Feng had never noticed it before.
Bai Feng thought to himself: What would the Situation be like if this Dormant State part also started working?
So he controlled the Golden Finger Energy to probe into the Dormant State part. The moment it touched that area, he encountered a sense of resistance; the Golden Finger Energy's path was blocked.
Bai Feng's Golden Finger Energy had always been unimpeded before, whether in a Fruit Tree's Tree Diagram or a Pokémon's Energy Circuit. This was the first Time it had been blocked.
He wasn't discouraged and continued to control the Golden Finger Energy to probe that part, over and over again, tirelessly.
He was very curious about what would happen if this area was awakened, and also very curious if his Golden Finger could achieve this.
After who knows how long, a corner of that dark part was finally peeled open, and the active Energy in the Tree Diagram immediately began to flow towards it.
Once a gap was torn open, it wasn't as difficult to continue lighting up the other parts as it was at the beginning.
For the next period of Time, Bai Feng kept researching this problem. Every day, he would spend a fixed amount of Time helping that Oran Berry Tree light up the Tree Diagram in its Root.
Gradually, the Root Tree Diagram of this Oran Berry Tree became more and more developed, slowly gaining a posture comparable to the Tree Crown.
The more complex the Tree Diagram, the more Energy it could store, and the higher the Fruit Tree's Energy Rating would be.
Of course, a Fruit Tree's Energy Rating wasn't only related to the amount of Energy stored in the Tree Diagram; it was also related to its Quality and Purity. This was the same principle as a Pokémon's Energy Circuit.
While the Oran Berry Tree's Root Tree Diagram became increasingly developed, Bai Feng also discovered that the Fruit Tree's Root system itself gradually became more developed, starting to take Root deeper into the earth.
When he checked the ancient Tree Sapling before, Bai Feng didn't probe the development of its Root system. After all, he couldn't possibly dig up the Root of that precious thing in front of Grandpa Fu. He just didn't know if the ancient Sapling's Root system was as developed as this Oran Berry Tree's.
As Time passed, Bai Feng found that this Oran Berry Tree, whose Root Tree Diagram had been lit up, grew better than the other Fruit Trees. It grew taller and stronger, standing among the other Fruit Trees, already starting to give a sense of standing out from the crowd.
Because of this, Diggersby Mom had repeatedly added Fertilizer to this Fruit Tree, fearing it would become malnourished from growing too fast.
If a Fruit Tree grows too fast and isn't fertilized in Time, it will not only affect the Berry yield but also damage the soil's fertility.
Bai Feng would also prune the excess Tree Branches of the Oran Berry Tree in Time to prevent it from growing too luxuriantly and affecting sunlight and future Berry production. A Fruit Tree's Tree Crown isn't better the more luxuriant it is; appropriate pruning of Branches is very necessary.
One day, Bai Feng came as usual to light up the Root Tree Diagram of that Oran Berry Tree, but when he looked up, he noticed a small Flower Bud gently swaying in the gaps between the Leaves.
He quickly pushed aside the Tree Branches and Leaves and examined it carefully. Indeed, he found tiny, fingernail-sized blue and white Flower Buds dotted among the Branches of the Oran Berry Tree.
This batch of Fruit Trees had only been planted not long ago, and the other Fruit Trees were still just growing Branches, but this Fruit Tree had already started to Flower.
Clearly, this was the effect of lighting up the Root Tree Diagram.
Bai Feng didn't know if this effect was good or bad, so he wasn't in a hurry to do the same thing for the other Fruit Trees.
Time flew by, and more than a month passed in the blink of an eye. The Fruit Tree that Bai Feng had been specially taking care of no longer had any Flower Buds; instead, there were small, tender white Berries.
Bai Feng had already tested these Berries. Their Energy Level was very high. Although they had just started bearing fruit, their Energy Rating had already reached B-Grade, almost the same Energy Level as the previous batch of ripe Berries.
Although many of the first batch of Berries Bai Feng planted reached B-Grade after ripening, more were C-Grade Berries. It was already quite difficult for a Fruit Tree to have a quarter of its Berries reach B-Grade.
But the Berries produced by this Oran Berry Tree were different. Most of them reached B-Grade even before ripening, and the remaining C-Grade Berries were also very likely to reach B-Grade after ripening.
Bai Feng estimated simply that about 80% of the Berries produced by this Tree could reach B-Grade.
Needless to say, this must be the effect produced by the Root Tree Diagram being lit up.
With this discovery, Bai Feng was almost grinning from ear to ear. So he began to light up the Root Tree Diagrams of the remaining Fruit Trees one by one.
However, this task was even more tedious than helping the Fruit Trees sort out their Tree Diagrams, and the workload was incredibly large, so Bai Feng practically lived on Fang Xing Mountain.
He built a simple Wooden Cabin for himself on Fang Xing Mountain, tidied up some Daily Necessities, and moved in, dedicating most of his Time to the cultivation of Fruit Trees.
His daily routine was cultivating Fruit Trees~ cultivating Fruit Trees~ Training Pokémon~ cultivating Fruit Trees~ cultivating Fruit Trees~ reading Books and studying. This cycle repeated, and his days were both fulfilling and boring. Only occasionally would he go to Bi Yi Dojo to ask Grandpa Fu some questions or return to Bluebird Orphanage to see the children and Director Meili.
The children would occasionally visit him under the leadership of Director Meili and help him out.
Bai Feng's daily meals were regularly picked up from the Orphanage by Fletchinder.
While helping the Fruit Trees light up their Root Tree Diagrams, Bai Feng also wondered, since the Tree Diagrams of Fruit Trees have hidden parts that can be lit up, what about the Energy Circuits of Pokémon? Do they also have hidden parts?
Based on the feedback from the Fruit Trees so far, lighting up the hidden Tree Diagrams has had beneficial Variations on them. If Pokémon also have them, it is highly likely that they will also develop in a beneficial direction.
So Bai Feng found Bai Ye and Popplio and said to them, "I'm going to check your Bodies."
"Woo~" Is it a Healing Treatment?
Popplio was very happy. Like Bai Ye, it loved it the most when Bai Feng gave them a Healing Treatment, but their reasons for liking the Healing Treatment were different.
Bai Ye liked the Healing Treatment simply because the process was very comfortable, but Popplio liked it because it made it stronger.
Because of its past experience of being disliked, Popplio valued its Strength very much, so it was always very actively cooperative with the Healing Treatment that could improve its Strength.
With the assistance of the Healing Treatment and a sufficient supply of Energy Cubes during normal times, Popplio's Training efficiency was particularly high, and its Strength was rapidly increasing.
Bai Feng didn't answer Popplio's question, but just told Bai Ye to lie down, then injected Golden Finger Energy into its Body and began to check it little by little.
A Pokémon's Energy Circuit Structure was much more complex than a Fruit Tree's, and it was more difficult for Bai Feng to check. His Golden Finger Energy scanned Bai Ye's Energy Circuit inch by inch, not missing any place, and finally, after more than two Hours, he found the Dormant State part.
It was inside the two Red Sensors on Bai Ye's chest and back.
After finding it, Bai Feng didn't immediately try to light them up. Instead, he motioned for Bai Ye to get up and for Popplio to lie down.
Popplio was confused by Bai Feng. This didn't seem like a Healing Treatment!
But it still obediently lay down, then closed its eyes and remained motionless.
As a Pokémon in its Initial Form, Popplio's Energy Circuit was much simpler than Bai Ye's, so it was much easier for Bai Feng to check. He quickly found the target area.
Popplio's Hidden Energy Circuit was only in one place, at its throat, and this part was much, much smaller than Bai Ye's part.
Bai Feng guessed that even if Bai Ye devolved into a Ralts, proportionally, Ralts's Hidden Energy Circuit would still be considerably larger than Popplio's.
He guessed that this might be a difference caused by the different Pokémon species.
After the check, Bai Feng said to Bai Ye and Popplio with a serious expression:
"I have an Experiment now that requires your cooperation. If this Experiment is successful, your speed of becoming stronger will become even faster.
But this is just an Experiment after all, based on my conjecture, and there is a certain risk. Whether it can ultimately succeed is uncertain, so I want to ask for your opinion.
If you are willing, I will start this Experiment. If you are not willing, then pretend I didn't say anything. Please consider carefully."
"Sana~" I'm willing!
"Woo~" I'm willing!
Popplio and Bai Ye said in unison.
As Bai Feng's mother, Bai Ye had unconditional trust in him. In its heart, Bai Feng was the most amazing person in the world, with no possibility of failure.
And Popplio was simply for the sake of becoming stronger. As long as it could become stronger, it was willing to try any risk. The higher the risk, the higher the potential reward.
And it also didn't think Bai Feng would fail.
"You need to think clearly. This is an Experiment related to the Energy Circuit. Once it fails, the consequences could be irreversible."
"Woo woo~~" I've thought it through, I believe in you!
Popplio answered very firmly. It must be said that its personality was very strong-willed. Once it made a decision, it would definitely stick to it.
"Okay, then let's begin." Seeing Popplio's determined expression, Bai Feng nodded and said, "Let's start with Popplio."
Popplio's Hidden Energy Circuit Structure was relatively simple, and the pressure Bai Feng faced would be relatively smaller.
Before the Experiment began, Bai Feng explained the detailed information of this Experiment to Popplio, letting it clearly know what kind of Experiment it was undergoing and what success or failure of this Experiment would bring to it.
After confirming everything was correct, Popplio agreed for the Experiment to continue.
After Popplio lay down again, Bai Feng controlled the Golden Finger Energy to reach its throat and began to tentatively light up the Hidden Energy Circuit there.
However, when Bai Feng's Golden Finger Energy touched that area, Popplio suddenly twitched and cried out, almost bouncing up from the Wooden Plank.
Bai Feng asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"
Popplio replied with a twisted face, "It hurts, it hurts too much!"
This completely dumbfounded Bai Feng. So it could hurt?
Seeing Bai Feng stop, Popplio gritted its teeth and said, "Continue, I can bear it."
Bai Feng hesitated and said, "Then I'll try again. If it really hurts too much, you must tell me. Don't force yourself to endure."
Popplio nodded and even actively requested Bai Ye to use Psychic to suppress its Body, preventing it from moving around and affecting Bai Feng.
Bai Feng once again controlled the Golden Finger Energy to tentatively probe the Hidden Energy Circuit. Popplio endured the intense pain, its facial expression becoming more and more distorted, and more and more Sweat Beads oozing from its Body.
This won't do!
Looking at Popplio's increasingly violent reaction, Bai Feng finally had to stop.
"Why... why did you stop? I... I can keep going," Popplio said word by word. If one ignored its rapid panting, it might have been more convincing.
Bai Feng shook his head and said, "This won't work. You're in this much pain just at the beginning. If we continue, I'm afraid you'll go into Shock directly.
I'll think of another way."
(End of this chapter)