#apricorns

Gather your supplies! I'm working outside on a folding table. Apologies for the angle.

The first step is to split the Apricorn in half neatly, with the step-side being centered on one of the halves. That will be your top shell!

There will be a fruit inside; many Pokemon enjoy eating it, like Niniku, who immediately hijacked my table to steal the halves and clean them out for me.

You'll want to thoroughly clean out every shell, wiping out any junk, fruit, or other biological material aside from the shell, which has the feel of a hard wood. Remove the stem entirely- there will be a small hole on the top where the stem once was.

Sand down the two halves- you need to make a 'dip' on one half and slightly widen the other, so the two can sit slightly within each other and form a complete seal.

Some people like to sand down the outer shell of the lower ball entirely to reveal the wood-grain pattern, but this is solely for aesthetics. I don't want to put all that work in.

This stage in the process is where the two haves start to function as a Pokeball, but you have to have a very tight grip- or the two halves will fall apart and forcibly eject the Pokemon inside.

Realize you forgot to get a rag and run to grab a rag to rub in the linseed oil. This will preserve the wood and make sure the apriball doesn't rot out. I like to do this prior to the metalwork to make sure the entire thing is coated. Make sure you give it time for the linseed to soak! With something small like an Apricorn, I only had to wait a half hour.

Realize you forgot your screwdriver and go get that. In older times, they would fashion these hinges and latches out of the unique material Tumblestone, but I don't have that and this serves the purpose of keeping the two halves together perfectly well. Many people also add a metal trimming around the edges of the ball, but I don't have that right now.

I once knew a guy who would waste his time carving the two halves to screw into each other...

Apricorns are the fruit of a tree in the Order Rosales. This taxonomic group includes many well known plants, such as roses, bulk, razz, pecha, rawst, aspear, figy, nanab, wepear, and apicot berries, apples, pears, strawberries, raspberries, black berries, mulberries, most stone fruits, almonds, hops, nettle, and cannabis. The apricorn tree grows best in cool climates, making the versitile plant impossible to grow in some regions.

If the plant is native to your region, you'll be looking for short, stocky trees bearing large fruit. Color is not a good indicator, as common apricorns come in a variety of colors, and fancy varieties can produce even more. Instead, shape is the best way to identify. They should be roughly the size and shape of a navel orange, with a hard, woody cap where the stem protrudes. The fruit is very similar to western Persimmons: horribly bitter and tough until very over ripe. In order to eat these strange fruits, you must either let them ripen way past maturity, until they are almost fermented, or freeze and blend them to make them palatable. Various colors taste slightly different, with white being the most bland and versitile. While they are still young and hard, Apricorns can be harvested and hollowed out to make Pokéballs and other vessels.

Ancient Hisui (modern Sinnoh) had a brown variety of Apricorn that seems to have since gone extinct. Records show that while these were not eaten, they were incredibly useful, as all kinds of Pokéballs were made from them.

I do not recommend attempting to craft your own Pokéballs from Apricorns without sufficient training. Today, even small business owners will purchase the electronic parts of Pokéball making from Silph Co. to ensure the safety of the Pokémon, as ancient methods could be faulty and did not contain the same saftey measures that modern producers have invented. Instead, you can harvest and sell them to local businesses for their craft, or turn them into an edible snack with the previously mentioned methods above.

Berries are one of the most reliable food sources around the world. Most varieties grow well in any climate, and can be found on nearly every route in every region. Some regions have government programs in place to grow berries in specific, easy to locate places along routes to help trainers survive. You can find these locations close to the path in well kept flower beds. The domestically grown berries will always grow on short shrubs, roughly 1.5 foot in diameter and no more than 4 foot tall. It is common courtesy to plant a new berry in the place of what you harvested, and water every berry plant you come across, as they are fast growing and supply many trainers. Sitrus and Oran berries contain the highest nutritional value of the known berries, so are safe bets when unsure what to plant. If you're lost off the path, you may encounter more wild varieties of berries, which will grow in slightly unfamiliar ways. Some may grow on trees, vines, low creeping plants, tall stalks, or thorny bushes. The fruit itself should appear nearly identical to those found on paths, though are generally smaller and less sweet. Do not plant these berries in flower beds on paths, as they aren't as reliable as domestically grown berries and take up too much space.