Chapter 14: Obtained

For the next two days, Xiang Guangtai and Dujianqiao continued the work of clearing the land, not venturing anywhere else.

On the morning of the third day, several Diglett suddenly arrived near the cleared wasteland and began calling out toward Xiang Guangtai.

Today is June 11th, and the weather is clear.

"Dig-let, Dig-let!"

The Diglett have already arrived? Has the farming in the village finished?

This came as a surprise to Xiang Guangtai, and what shocked him even more happened next: the ground suddenly bulged, and three round, brown heads gathered together as they broke through the soil.

"Dug-trio!"

It's a Dugtrio!

Dugtrio are triplets skilled at teamwork. Compared to their pre-evolution, they have two more heads identical to a Diglett, with only slight differences in height. As for their bodies, there is nothing to say; they remain buried in the soil, never seen by anyone.

The Dugtrio's six eyes stared at Xiang Guangtai, saying something in "Dug-dug" sounds. Xiang Guangtai couldn't understand the meaning, but fortunately, Dujianqiao was by his side.

Pokémon have their own language; although their cries differ, the meanings are universal. This is so miraculous that no professor in Pokémon linguistics has yet produced any significant results. Xiang Guangtai himself, through his knowledge, can understand the meanings of Ghost-type Pokémon's words, but he is powerless when it comes to other types.

"Yo~ yo~!" Dujianqiao tapped its hilt, beginning to explain to Xiang Guangtai.

In fact, the old man at the apothecary told them about Xiang Guangtai and gave the Diglett food, and the Diglett felt it was about time to come.

Farming has a specific time frame and cannot be delayed too long, especially for this piece of land, which hadn't been planted with anything for a long time, was covered in various weeds, and showed no signs of being turned over. So, they came immediately to help!

Meanwhile, some corresponding knowledge surfaced in Xiang Guangtai's mind:

For the first plowing of soil, the main purpose is to chop up the weeds and stubble on the surface and mix them into the soil, laying a foundation for subsequent plowing.

For relatively soft soil, the number of plowings can be appropriately reduced; for harder or compacted soil, the number of plowings needs to be increased to ensure uniform mixing and refinement of the land.

At the same time, the tilling by Dugtrio can turn the land into "Soft Soil," suitable for planting berries, but if it is not frequently plowed or fertilized, it will soon revert to ordinary soil.

This is knowledge from the "Planter" 【class】!

"Diglett are natural agricultural scientists; few Pokémon can compare to them in their understanding of soil," Xiang Guangtai muttered to himself, while thanking the Dugtrio:

"You really helped a lot. So you are all natural master farmers; that's truly amazing."

"Dug-dugtrio!" Facing Xiang Guangtai's praise, all three heads of the Dugtrio showed proud expressions, their cries saying, "It's a small matter; we do this every year, don't be shocked!"

The Diglett were also very happy. They quickly began helping Xiang Guangtai with the first plowing of the soil. Their momentum was strong; the Dugtrio had brought over a dozen Diglett, and singing the Diglett song, they began to dig and turn the soil continuously!

Xiang Guangtai, meanwhile, prepared food for them.

There was some food at home, as well as some berries and food specifically for Pokémon.

The original owner carried Pokémon food for the purpose of bribing wild Pokémon when encountering them while treasure hunting in the wild, or throwing the food to them to take the opportunity to escape. Of course, in an emergency, humans can also eat this food.

Dujianqiao floated in mid-air, watching the Diglett plow with full concentration. This scene of labor vaguely reminded it of some scenes it had seen during the Kingdom Era, though in those days, humans used various implements to force "Beasts" to work.

The Diglett's work speed was quite fast; even land that hadn't been turned for a long time quickly became loose under their power.

Accompanying their work, the compact soil layer turned into a loose and fine tilled layer, and the soil porosity gradually increased, facilitating the intake and storage of rainwater, while also promoting the increase of potential nutrients in the soil, improving fertility, and further encouraging the extension of crop root systems.

"Dug!"

The Dugtrio emerged from the tilled layer, and with its call, it meant that all the land Xiang Guangtai had cleared had been completely plowed!

And at this moment, the thoughts in Xiang Guangtai's mind suddenly converged!

【Dugtrio and the Diglett helped you complete a task!】

【Obtained: "Soft Soil"!】

【Dugtrio and the Diglett gained experience and growth! Speed Effort Values increased!】

【Dugtrio gained knowledge: Powerful Tilling — Tilling speed +10%.】

【Dugtrio learned the move: Earth Power!】

"Dugtrio?"

The Dugtrio sensed its own change, and all three heads looked around in confusion!

It was just plowing the land; how did it suddenly master a new move? And its body felt more energetic; it was truly strange!

Xiang Guangtai, seeing this situation, was equally surprised.

"So that's how it is. It really is similar to 'Pokémon Help.' As long as you invite Pokémon to help, after doing a large amount of work, they can harvest experience and growth. The growth here probably refers to level increases and Effort Value increases."

After the Diglett finished eating the Pokémon food Xiang Guangtai had prepared, they happily left while digging holes.

In a short time, this wasteland took on a brand-new look. Brown, loose, plowed soil occupied the entire field of vision, while Xiang Guangtai and Dujianqiao continued to tidy up the stones and branches that hadn't been cleared, using the branches to create simple area divisions.

"Herb area: Medicinal Herb, Revitalizing Bud, Repel Herb, Revival Herb."

"Berry cultivation: As for fertilizer, I'll purchase it online."

The seeds had already been divided into areas, and everything that should have been planted had been sown, including Beach Radish seeds, Rolling Bean seeds, Imperial Leaf seeds, and Medicinal Herb seeds.

Some transplanting had also been completed. The Revival Herb was re-buried in the soil. The propagation of this powerful herb mainly relies on strong roots, or "Vitality Roots," so the Revival Herb was replanted.

Utilizing this growth characteristic, root propagation or division propagation is achieved—that is, dividing the creeping roots into several small segments of a certain length or number of nodes, keeping 3–5 buds on each segment for planting, and then planting them separately to cultivate them into independent new plants.

In the process of continuous planting, the knowledge of the 【Planter】 continued to play a role; those seeds would grow rapidly and become stronger and more lush than their peers.

And Dujianqiao, while scraping the mud on one side and rolling branches with its blue ribbon, suddenly seemed to think of something, and its single eye widened instantly!

"Yo?!"

Didn't its trainer say before?

That Revitalizing Herb is synthesized from Medicinal Herb and Revitalizing Bud?

"Yo!"

Dujianqiao became excited immediately, looking at the two areas divided for planting Medicinal Herb and Revitalizing Bud, and suddenly had an idea!

The area was divided too small! It should be divided larger, and more of these two herbs should be planted so that there would be an endless supply of Revitalizing Herb!

"Oh? You want an endless supply of Revitalizing Herb? Although the growth of herbs is indeed fast, it is not unlimited, especially for medicinal materials. Maturing too quickly will also consume soil fertility. If there is no high-quality fertilizer to nourish it, the soil nutrients will not be restored or replenished. Especially with large-scale, high-density planting, it will seriously lead to soil degradation."

Xiang Guangtai waved his hand, rejecting Dujianqiao's proposal, and Dujianqiao's eyes widened even further.

Soil, soil degradation?

This was a field it had never heard of!

Dujianqiao began to ponder, and soon it waved its blue ribbon again, thinking of a new idea!

Eh, got it!

It seems some Grass-type and Ground-type Pokémon can increase soil fertility, so you only need to capture Pokémon of the corresponding types...

"It's too early to talk about this. The first batch of herbs hasn't even been planted yet. And capturing Grass-type Pokémon isn't that easy. Some Grass-type Pokémon not only fail to strengthen soil fertility but might even consume extra soil nutrients. Without fully understanding the other party, how can you be sure if their ability is beneficial to the land?"

That's right, Grass-type Pokémon that cause land to become barren—I'm talking about you, Wo-Chien!

But that guy is a Legendary Pokémon and is sealed away on a distant piece of land, so there's no need to worry about it suddenly refreshing in other regions.

Of course, among common Grass-type Pokémon, Oddish will also affect crop yields because they will come to steal the soil's nutrients.

And this questioning startled Dujianqiao, who then began to reflect.

So that's how it is; Pokémon matters are truly profound! Despite possessing the Grass-type, they can still cause land to become barren—a existence completely opposite to their own type!

However, Xiang Guangtai was indeed thinking about Dujianqiao's suggestion.

"If I want the plants to grow lushly... if only Celebi could come out to help... Hey! What kind of dream am I having?"

Xiang Guangtai shook his head. In the game, Mythical Pokémon also require distribution to be obtained, and in the real Pokémon world, who is going to distribute them to you? Arceus?

Grass-types, huh. The batch of Grass-type Pokémon in the Hoenn region that like warm and humid environments can be directly ruled out. As for Grass Pokémon that can get used to the cold, the only options are those in the Sinnoh Pokédex, which makes the selection very narrow. From a personal perspective, Xiang Guangtai quite wants a Turtwig.

The shell on a Turtwig's back is formed from soil. Once a Turtwig evolves into a Torterra, it can directly become a mobile plantation, making it convenient to cultivate herbs on Torterra's back when traveling in the future.

From the perspective of production and life, Torterra is a very good choice.

However, there is one strange point: despite being four times weak to Ice, it lives in the cold Sinnoh region—it is truly a symbol of strength.

At night, Xiang Guangtai began working again.

The pieces of cloth placed in the dark corner had already emitted some strange feelings. Xiang Guangtai picked up a portion of the cloth and saw the corresponding material information.

【Uncommon Material: Eerie Cloth.】

【Description: A tattered cloth stained with eeriness. Let Ghost-type Pokémon process it, and you can obtain "Old Cloth".】

【Using this cloth to make charms/clothing/decorations might produce some unique effects.】

【Obtained knowledge: 1】

【Spirit Cloth Processor: Eerie Cloth conversion speed increased by 10%.】

"Dujianqiao, let's work!"

Xiang Guangtai called Dujianqiao over, and Dujianqiao was actually waiting for this moment.

Many days had passed, and it was finally time for processing.

It skillfully used its blue ribbon to roll up some Eerie Cloth, then injected its own Ghost-type energy, making it gradually approach its own nature. Thus, those pieces of cloth began to turn blue, as if they had become an extension of the blue ribbon like a ghost hand, and this time the blue was significantly deeper than the last.

In Xiang Guangtai's eyes, the material information changed.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 15 =====