Chapter 101: Clumsy Surprise

The commotion of Dragonite’s fall naturally drew the attention of the Pokémon inside the house; Minifur and the Wooper on sentry duty immediately rushed to the kitchen door, anxiously calling out.

“Fufu!” “Wulu lu!”

In the next instant, the kitchen door opened, revealing a white Flareon and a Swampert before the four Pokémon.

Instead of showing fear, Minifur and the Wooper were completely unfazed, as if they had seen this countless times; they bounced and jumped, chattering urgently at Flareon and Swampert.

Flareon and Swampert exchanged a glance, their eyes flickering with delight.

Luo Mu must have returned to the farm—and luckily, they’d nearly finished too. Perfect timing!

“Siro~”

Flareon called out behind it, and following Flareon’s motion, the Pokémon finally saw the interior of the kitchen.

To be honest, the kitchen’s condition was worrying: the once clean and bright kitchen now littered with a mixture of ingredients, flour scattered everywhere, even coating Flareon and Swampert in white.

Wooper, Snorlax, and Igglybuff were also inside, and they seemed to have played central roles.

The project had clearly reached its final step; the Pokémon stared expectantly at Igglybuff, who, sensing the overflowing happiness in the kitchen, worked especially hard—sweet, rich cream flowing from its hands, crookedly completing the final touch of this “surprise.”

Sensing Luo Mu’s footsteps drawing nearer, Flareon and the others had no time to clean up; they rushed straight to the door, just as they had practiced.

Soon, the sound of a key turning in the lock echoed.

The Pokémon perked up; those near the door had already gathered their moves, ready to unleash.

“I’m back.”

Pah—!

The door swung open; as Luo Mu stepped across the threshold, Wooper and the Wooper fired their Water Guns into the air, their streams crossing—Minifur, held aloft by Dragonite, summoned courage and rained down sparkling Swift stars.

Flareon and Swampert, still dusted with flour, each held one corner of a tray, smiling warmly as they offered it to Luo Mu.

Luo Mu was startled by the spectacle, but when he saw what was on the tray, his eyes grew slightly moist, a warm tide rising in his chest.

It was a crude strawberry cake—so plain it would never sell in a bakery—with cream likely made by Igglybuff, clumsily drawn into a smiling face of Luo Mu.

Luo Mu carefully took the tray, studying it closely, realizing the cake’s creation had likely required even more effort than he imagined.

The cake base was probably made from flour, eggs, water, and Snorlax’s yeast—a fermented dough likely shaped by Swampert and Wooper under Flareon’s guidance.

The strawberries came from leftover crops of the test field, and the cream was made by Igglybuff—

Charizard had almost certainly been involved in the process too, since its control over flame temperature was even finer than Flareon’s.

Though clumsy, this surprise—this heartfelt effort—was worth more to Luo Mu than any expensive thing in the world.

A flicker of surprise passed through Raichu’s pupils: so this was the mysterious surprise Flareon and the others had been busy with all day.

Yet it also felt perfectly reasonable to it.

Luo Mu took the fork and knife offered by Wooper, cut off a small piece of cake, and put it in his mouth—then his eyes widened slightly.

Honestly, he’d already resolved to eat the whole thing, no matter how terrible the taste.

But to his surprise, it wasn’t strange at all—it was delicious.

The key difference between a fermented cake made with yeast and a regular one lies in texture: the fermented cake is softer, more like a steamed bun.

But under Snorlax’s yeast, the cake base avoided becoming too much like a steamed bun; combined with Igglybuff’s sweet, fresh cream and his own painstakingly grown strawberries, this cake held immeasurable value in Luo Mu’s eyes.

The cake Flareon and the others made was small—barely five inches—so knowing it was made for him, Luo Mu ate the entire thing himself, his smile brighter than ever: “The cake is delicious. Thank you all!”

As soon as he spoke, the Pokémon erupted in cheers—and charged at him!

This weight of love: 546.8 kilograms.

Later, after introducing the new companion, Florges, to the Pokémon, Luo Mu stood before the chaotic kitchen, lost in thought.

The next day, the farming zone.

Luo Mu brought the Grass-type Pokémon squad, including the Fairy-type Florges, to the spot where fifteen fruit saplings were planted.

A week after his departure, though neither Kingdra nor Bai Pengpeng had tended to them, the saplings had grown well—each now had a sturdy trunk able to withstand wind and rain, and small branches had begun to sprout.

Luo Mu remembered that under normal conditions, fruit trees required at least three and a half months to grow from saplings to bearing fruit.

Yet less than half a month had passed since he planted them—seemingly, flowering and fruiting were still far off—

Of course, only seemingly.

Luo Mu looked back at Florges, Bai Pengpeng, Kingdra, and Minifur, who had come along, his heart brimming with anticipation.

Unfortunately, Kingdra, the strongest among them, had invested all its natural talent into battle—it had even learned Grass Slide and Seed Bomb from Kapu-Moomoo’s Grass Field lesson, despite having nothing to do with them.

Otherwise, with its power, Kingdra’s use of Grass Field would have far surpassed Bai Pengpeng and the others.

Today, his goal was to test the effect of Kapu-Moomoo’s combined Grass Field technique.

The test subjects: these fruit trees.

Before the experiment, Luo Mu carefully recorded the saplings’ data for later comparison.

Moments later, Luo Mu stepped back with Kingdra and the curious Minifur, leaving the stage to Florges and Bai Pengpeng.

As the leader of the trio, Bai Pengpeng—the one who had led the group when Luo Mu brought them back to the farm—took center stage, while the other two Bai Pengpeng and Florges formed a triangular formation.

“Pengpeng!” “Huanhuan!”

After a soft hum from Florges and Bai Pengpeng, a wave of Grass-type energy, rich with the scent of plants, surged outward—the Grass Field instantly enveloped all fifteen saplings.

(End of chapter)