Berry bushes can grow quite effectively in the loamy soil on a Grotle's back, and wild Grotle were once the primary way in which berries were spread throughout Sinnoh. In their lengthy seasonal migrations through forests, Grotle would often roll themselves over to push berries from the bushes on their back into the proper soil, in order for them to grow into new plants. This provided the Grotle with a reliable food supply, for Grotle lack the limbs needed to eat their own berries, and attempts to eat them by rolling over leave the berry too covered in dirt for them to enjoy the taste.

The distribution of berry trees has shrunk noticeably with the extinction of the wild Grotle, and finding similar patches in the ground today requires active searching and care on the part of pokemon coordinators. Pokemon contests in Sinnoh were once easy for people to enter, with a supply of berries for poffins requiring little more than a walk in the woods; today, most coordinators start by purchasing needed berries from a shop, and seek out hidden patches of soil in which to grow a regular supply of berries.

A few coordinators have instead gone back to the source and received Grotle from breeders or professors, which they use initially to grow berries for their other pokemon. Yet Grotle themselves are renowned for their hardiness, and have increasingly been seen in Tough contests in addition to their usual role as berry growers. For once they watch their first contests, few Grotle are content to grow berries while remaining on the sidelines.