"Of course."
"You want to go back to being that small, like when you were a child, so I can hold you again?"
Lin Feng looked at Serperior, who had just spoken, and asked softly.
"Serperior…"
Her body shifted restlessly. Her tail swayed back and forth as if she did not know where to place it, but in the end, she still nodded quietly.
Lin Feng's smile returned.
"Alright."
Even though it was winter now, he still remembered how he used to carry a little Snivy in his arms as they walked through Wutong City together.
"But," he continued gently, "once you eat this peach, your size will stay that way permanently. Your strength should not change, but your appetite will decrease. I will study it and see if I can make a temporary version instead."
"Unless you really want to stay small forever. If that is the case, after evolving, you might end up even smaller than Alolan Vulpix or Eevee."
Lin Feng was clearly considering whether this fruit should be used on Serperior at all.
Later on, a small, cool-headed Serperior wandering through the orchard would probably look far less intimidating.
"Serperior…"
(Okay…)
She nodded. This time, she leaned forward on her own and gently rubbed her cheek against Lin Feng's face.
"Alright, alright," he laughed.
"I will go test it in the kitchen right now."
"For the next few days, help me keep an eye on this peach tree. See if it can still produce this kind of fruit."
Lin Feng was deeply interested in this mutated peach.
He had a strong feeling that the tree would not produce this fruit only once. It would likely continue bearing them in the coming days.
And if he could truly create a temporary size-changing effect, exactly as he envisioned…
Then for strength-type Pokémon, this would be nothing short of a qualitative leap.
He might even be able to cultivate a temporary, giant version of an ancient Dragonite.
As for why he would not make it permanent?
He could not afford it. Absolutely not.
Back then, that massive creature, over ten meters long, would probably eat one-tenth of the orchard in a single day.
Besides, Milotic and Primarina could also eat this food to shrink their size. He could buy a large aquarium for them and move it into the new house, so they would not be alone in the reservoir during winter.
By then, only Alolan Vulpix would likely remain active in the cold. The other Pokémon would rarely go outside.
The garden probably would not be used as a dining area anymore.
Leaving Milotic and Primarina to eat alone in the garden all winter felt far too lonely.
The water might even freeze over.
"Serperior."
(Understood.)
Serperior nodded, her gaze turning serious as she looked at the peach tree.
She deliberately left traces of aura around it, just in case Alolan Vulpix and the Eevee played too wildly near it.
Lin Feng picked five peaches of varying sizes and headed straight to the kitchen.
"I have five attempts. I need to reserve two, so that leaves three tries."
"If all three fail, I will have to see whether the tree keeps producing these peaches."
"To make a temporary version, the best approach is probably to separate the power of the mutated fruit."
"In other words, turning one peach into as many energy cubes as possible."
Once he found the direction, Lin Feng did not hesitate.
Making energy cubes did not take long.
For the first attempt, he chose a conservative method and processed one peach into twenty energy cubes.
S-Rank Size-Shift Peach Energy Cube
Made from a special mutated fruit.
Cooking Effect: Size Change
After consumption, the user can freely alter their body size within a range of up to two times their original size.
Note: Changes are relative. Greater changes consume more energy, while smaller changes consume less.
"Twenty is still not enough?"
Looking at the result, Lin Feng was not discouraged.
He immediately began the second attempt.
With experience from the first round, he increased the number to forty energy cubes.
Soon, forty cubes were completed.
A-Rank Size-Shift Peach Energy Cube
Made from a special mutated fruit.
Cooking Effect: Temporary Size Change
After consumption, the user can freely alter their body size, shrinking to within three times their original size.
Duration: Reverts after 8 hours.
Note: During the duration, greater changes consume more energy, while smaller changes consume less.
"Yes!"
Lin Feng's eyes lit up.
But he was still not satisfied.
Three times was not enough.
Even if Milotic shrank to one-third of her size, she would still be over two meters long.
For the final attempt, Lin Feng chose to make thirty energy cubes.
This time, the result did not disappoint him.
A+ Rank Variable Size Peach Energy Cube
Made from a special mutated fruit.
Cooking Effect: Temporary Size Change
After consumption, the user can freely alter their body size within a range of up to five times their original size.
Duration: Reverts after 8 to 24 hours.
"Perfect," Lin Feng said with satisfaction.
He was especially pleased with the flexible duration.
This meant the user could choose how long they wanted the transformation to last, anywhere from eight to twenty-four hours.
For Serperior, eight hours was ideal.
Enough to last through the night.
For Milotic, a full day was perfect.
Using one cube per day felt extremely comfortable.
"Since the third version worked, I might as well make the remaining two peaches into the same kind of cubes."
Lin Feng did not keep the last two peaches.
He turned them all into energy cubes. By the time lunch was ready, it was exactly noon.
He carried the food to the garden.
One by one, the Pokémon gathered to eat.
Lin Feng took out the energy cubes and explained their effects to everyone.
He originally thought Serperior or Milotic would be the first to speak.
To his surprise, the first question came from Alolan Vulpix.
"Vulpix?"
(Does that mean… after I evolve, if I eat this, I can become small too?)
"Hm?"
Lin Feng paused, then nodded, slightly confused.
"Yes. Why do you ask, sweetheart?"
"Vulpix!"
(Then I want to evolve!)