"Min?"
(You're Smoliv?)
Minccino circled around Dolliv once, gesturing with its two little paws.
Who would have thought that the tiny Smoliv from before had grown taller than it—by nearly half a head.
Minccino even had to tilt its head up to look at her.
"Doll!"
(It's me! I evolved.)
Dolliv happily spun around in place, letting Minccino get a good look at her.
Before long, the two little ones were holding hands and hugging each other, one chirping "min-min" while the other replied with cheerful "doll-doll."
Morpeko, arriving late on its short little legs, sniffed the air with its tiny nose and caught a wonderfully fragrant scent.
It found the source of the aroma and used its small tongue to lick the fruits on both sides of Dolliv's head.
"Morpe!"
In an instant, tiny stars sparkled deep in Morpeko's eyes—so tasty!
"You little rascal…"
Noticing Morpeko's sneaky move, Silas picked it up and flicked its small forehead. "Greedy little thing!"
Morpeko gave him a flattering grin and stretched out its tiny paw toward Silas's mouth, trying to bribe him.
"Morpe… peko!"
(It's really delicious, Silas—try some too.)
Glancing with disdain at Morpeko's dirty, blackened little paws, Silas turned his head away. "You eat it yourself, you eat it yourself!"
"Morpe~"
Seeing that Silas wouldn't eat it, Morpeko licked the oil off its paw. Enjoying the flavor, it squinted its eyes in bliss.
"Putting everything straight into your mouth like that—aren't you worried about getting a stomachache?"
Silas swatted Morpeko's little hand away and picked it up as he headed toward the kitchen.
He planned to give it a proper wash and really clean it up.
On the grassy patch in front of the ranch house, all the ranch Pokémon gathered around Dolliv.
They were celebrating her successful evolution!
The little ones played and frolicked happily together.
An entire afternoon slipped by amidst laughter and cheerful cries. Morpeko, that little busybody, kept darting back and forth—either running to Alcremie's side to stare longingly and beg for cream, or squatting beside Dolliv and gazing at her with eager anticipation. It was so busy that it was having the time of its life.
As dusk approached and Silas began preparing dinner, an extra Pokémon appeared on the countertop.
Dolliv and Alcremie stood at his sides like left and right guardians.
Dishes cooked with Dolliv's olive oil were exceptionally fragrant. As soon as Silas started cooking, a large group of Pokémon squatted at the kitchen entrance.
Lazy Mareep barely managed to squeeze its head in, drool pouring down uncontrollably—it was starving for a bite!
If Happy and Burly Mareep hadn't bitten onto its hind legs, it would have already rushed inside.
Compared to that, the other Pokémon were much more restrained.
The continuous sounds of swallowing rose and fell like a symphony, fueling Silas's enthusiasm as he cooked. Unable to resist, he ended up making an extra dish.
[Pan-Seared Meat Cutlet (B+): A perfect dish. Due to the use of top-tier olive oil, the quality of the dish has been improved, and its effects have changed.
Dish Effects:
Stamina Recovery (Large), Energy Boost (Large), Martial Technique — after consumption, a Pokémon's comprehension of Fighting-type moves is permanently increased (double effect for Fighting-type Pokémon; each Pokémon can benefit only once per year)]
A permanently boosting dish?
Silas was quite astonished.
Although there was a restriction of only once per year, stacking this effect year after year would result in a considerable overall increase.
If a Fighting-type Pokémon were to eat the Pan-Seared Meat Cutlet for ten consecutive years, could it possibly grasp moves it normally couldn't learn—perhaps even certain Pokémon-exclusive moves?
For example, Victory Dance, which only Hisuian Lilligant can use, the 150-power, always-hitting Meteor Assault, Sacred Sword, Secret Sword, Headlong Rush, and other powerful techniques.
No one could say for sure. If he ever got the chance, Silas planned to try training a Fighting-type Pokémon to test it out.
But for now, it was better to simply enjoy the delicious meal together with Kangaskhan and the others.
...
The next day, April 10th—his third day back.
Over the past two days, all the miscellaneous matters had been taken care of, and the Pokémon had rested well.
Silas got up early, had breakfast, and then called the Meowth gang, the Mudsdale brothers, and the others to the fields.
Meowth and its companions had already pulled out all the weeds in advance; now was the perfect time for planting.
"Mudsdale, please use your Rototiller here. Remember to make ridges! About 30 centimeters high, with row spacing around two to three meters."
This was a necessary step for planting hops, and Silas personally demonstrated it once.
"Mud~"
(We've got it, Silas.)
The Mudsdale brothers nodded, indicating they understood.
They demonstrated it on the spot—still a bit clumsy, but they managed to meet the ridge-forming requirements.
"You're doing great! I'll leave this side to you, then."
Mudsdale Big Brother: "Mud mud!" (Mission guaranteed!)
Second Brother: "Mud~" (Leave it to us, Silas!)
The third brother glanced at the other two. "Mud!" (Me too.)
After assigning the tasks to the Mudsdale trio, Silas called the Meowth and the others over to the shade of a nearby tree.
Kangaskhan and Cyclizar had already transported the materials needed to build the frames.
Hops are actually climbing plants and require supports to help them grow.
For Silas, there were two options.
One was the T-frame, which is typically used for large-scale cultivation.
However, Silas had only purchased fifty seeds, enough for at most two fields, so a T-frame wasn't suitable for his ranch.
He chose the other option instead—a trellis.
Posts were set up at the four corners of each planting area, with thin wooden slats dividing the middle into three to four layers for the hops to climb.
Space was left in the middle as well, allowing small Pokémon to move through easily and making future harvesting more convenient.
With the Meowth and the others helping, all fifty trellises were completed.
The Mudsdale had also nearly finished forming the ridges.
First, Silas dug a pit measuring 30 × 30 × 30 centimeters. Before planting the hops, he applied a layer of Abundant Harvest Fertilizer at the bottom to ensure a good harvest.
He placed the seed in, making sure the bud eye faced upward, and then covered it with soil.
"Popplio, please use Water Gun."
Perched on one of the Mudsdale's back, Popplio chirped happily and used Water Gun to irrigate the soil, thoroughly soaking it to set the roots.
Repeating this process fifty times, they finished planting all the hops.
The spacing between each plant was about 0.8 meters. Though they looked lonely now, once they grew, the vines would spread everywhere, leaving practically no place to stand.
With Cyclizar's size, it wouldn't even be able to get inside the field later on.
They would have to rely on the Meowth and the others to help instead.
Of course, planting the hops didn't mean their work was done—this was only the beginning.
There would be plenty to keep him busy later: training the vines onto the frames, watering and fertilizing, pruning and shaping, and pest control.
He couldn't hand every task over to the Pokémon; he would have to work alongside them as well.
Two of the reclaimed fields were used for planting hops. One field would be used to build a greenhouse, another for corn and wheat, and an additional field was designated as an experimental plot.
With the Mudsdale's help dividing it into smaller sections, Silas planted cantaloupes, watermelons, green beans, cucumbers, chili peppers, and sunflowers in separate plots.
By the time Silas finished everything, he was utterly exhausted.
Popplio was the same, lying limp in his arms, parched and drained.
The Meowth trio sprawled beside Silas, recovering their strength.
As for the Mudsdale trio, they acted as if nothing was wrong at all. After getting Silas's permission, they all jumped into the mud pool together to play.
(End of Chapter)