Pokémon Court

Chapter 855: Devon Corporation’s Chief Poké Ball Designer

Terrance stayed in this Desert Ruin for two days.

During this period, aside from training his other Pokémon as usual, Terrance’s main task was observing Pupitar eating.

As it went “crunch, crunch,” through the ruins, Pupitar had already eaten a large hole.

Generally speaking, a Larvitar can accumulate enough energy to evolve after consuming food equivalent to an entire mountain.

Of course, the concept of a “mountain” here mostly refers to sand and soil with extremely low nutritional value.

As for Pupitar, its appetite was not greater than Larvitar’s. At this stage, it was focused on digesting energy, similar to an insect entering its “cocoon” phase.

Back when Pupitar was still a Larvitar, the minerals Terrance provided were so nutritious that even eating ten mountains’ worth couldn’t compare.

Even now, Terrance had not stopped Pupitar from eating, because it didn’t need to digest the energy it had previously accumulated.

High-intensity training arranged in a reasonable manner, along with foods that promoted digestion—Terrance had planned everything thoroughly for Pupitar.

Like right now: devouring large quantities of ore from the ruins, supplemented by Sandstorm training method, allowed Pupitar to efficiently control the sandstorm energy it gained while eating.After two days, the sandstorm swirling around Pupitar had grown increasingly intense. Although it was still far from Castform’s level, for a Pupitar that hadn’t yet evolved, this was already extremely valuable.

Most importantly, Pupitar could practice controlling the sandstorm through air currents during this process, allowing its sandstorm manipulation skills to leap forward dramatically.

Moreover, this mysterious pit seemed to have no end. Even after Pupitar devoured a large circular area, there was still no bottom in sight.

This meant Pupitar could make use of this place for a long time, and the benefits it could gain would be far from trivial.

“If I fed Larvitar Smooth Rock, even if I could afford it, there’d be no way to find that many Smooth Rock,” Terrance shook his head slightly.

“On the contrary, this place is simply perfect.”

The ores surrounding this pit were different from Smooth Rock. They had only about 4% of Smooth Rock’s effect, but their advantage lay in their sheer quantity and ease of digestion.

Terrance guessed that deep underground in this place, where the Smooth Rock was formed, there might even exist a “Source Stone” similar to an evolutionary stone vein.

That substance was what Terrance was truly determined to obtain.

However, the project of eating through the ruins likely couldn’t be completed in a short time.

At Pupitar’s current eating speed, although it could digest as it ate and perfectly convert the food into accumulated strength, the depth of the ruins far exceeded Terrance’s expectations.

Terrance wasn’t in a hurry. There was plenty of time ahead. In his mind, this place had already become his private territory—Pupitar’s personal cafeteria.

……

……

Before the second match of the Champion League.

Terrance returned to Fallarbor Town to meet the chief Poké Ball designer of the Devon Corporation, whom he had arranged to meet in advance.

“Master Keegan, hello.”

Seeing the visitor, Terrance warmly extended his hand. The fact that the other party came in person showed great respect, making Terrance genuinely delighted.

“Mr. Terrance, hello.”

The middle-aged man was dressed luxuriously, exuding an air of wealth from head to toe, possessing both aristocratic bearing and an artist’s elegance.

He was one of Devon’s shareholders, an absolute top-level executive. In terms of net worth, even if Terrance became an Elite Four or even a Champion, he would likely still fall short.

For the late-starting Devon Corporation to develop a new type of Poké Ball capable of mass production and surpass the Kanto commercial giant Silph Co., in the Poké Ball field, Master Keegan’s contributions were indispensable. If not for Silph possessing the Master Ball as proof of its prowess, the Poké Ball market might have long since been completely seized by Devon.

Master Keegan came from a family of Apricorn smiths, with several centuries of inherited expertise in Poké Ball making. As technology advanced, although he became the heir to this family craft, he did not immerse himself in researching and promoting the family craft. Instead, he went against the current and devoted himself to modern Poké Ball manufacturing techniques that replaced Apricorn Balls.

Within the Apricorn crafting community, someone of such prestigious lineage was naturally scorned by many. They labeled Master Keegan a sinner who buried traditional craftsmanship. In reality, however, Mr. Keegan combined modern Poké Ball concepts with the centuries-old Apricorn Ball techniques, creating many special Poké Balls that were truly ahead of their time.

In the Poké Ball crafting community, he could be described as a grandmaster of his generation.

A figure like this would be addressed as “Master” even by Steven or Devon’s current president, because he was one of Devon’s greatest contributors. It was also thanks to Devon’s former president’s discerning eye and investment in Keegan back then, otherwise, it was uncertain whether today’s Devon would even exist.

Generally speaking, even if a Top Trainer requested Mr. Keegan to design Poké Balls, he might not necessarily agree. While bringing enormous profits to Devon, Master Keegan himself had already accumulated immense wealth and could be said to have almost no material desires.

So when facing such a master, Terrance naturally put on no airs. This was someone on the level of Professor Oak or Master Victor.

“Mr. Terrance, there’s no need to be so polite. Being able to design Poké Balls for a Contest Master and a future Elite Four is also my honor,” Master Keegan said with a smile.

Terrance could naturally tell it was polite talk, but hearing it still made him feel much better.

“I’ve heard that all of Steven’s Poké Balls were personally designed by you, Master Keegan. Having you design Poké Balls for me is my honor instead,” Terrance replied courteously.

After the two exchanged business pleasantries for a while, the conversation finally moved on to the main point.

Master Keegan had come in person specifically to observe Terrance’s Pokémon.

He even planned to record data based on many complex factors, such as each Pokémon’s preferences, habits, gender, body type, taboos, and more.

This was the prerequisite for personally designing a Poké Ball for a specific Pokémon.

Although special Poké Balls like the Great Ball, Ultra Ball, Luxury Ball, and Heal Ball were expensive and far beyond ordinary Poké Balls, items only the wealthy could afford…

They all shared one common trait: they were mass-produced on assembly lines, making them typical examples of modern Poké Balls.

The Poké Balls crafted by Master Keegan were different. His signature specialty was creating special Poké Balls by hand, assisted by tools, combining modern Poké Ball concepts with Apricorn craftsmanship. These were Devon’s hidden treasures, the very products used to compete with Silph in the high-end market. Their production was incredibly complex, far beyond anything that could be achieved by assembly-line mass-produced Poké Balls.

It was said that every Poké Ball personally designed by Master Keegan could fetch an astronomical price at auction. Even some Top Trainers desperately sought them after. In a sense, Terrance was getting an enormous bargain this time; perhaps this was one of the benefits of choosing a faction. Otherwise, ten custom-made Poké Balls alone would be enough to empty Terrance’s coffers, and even then, money might not be enough to buy them at all.

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