Chapter 20: Acting Separately

The firewood burning in the fireplace crackled and popped; although the weather was cool today, it hadn't reached the point where heating by the fireplace was necessary.

Everything was done for this Pokémon Egg, which still retained a faint spark of life.

The fireplace in this small villa had not been used for a very long time; inside was full of blackened marks and leftover plant ash of unknown age.

To make use of the fireplace, Luo Mu had Dragonite first manipulate air currents to swirl the plant ash out onto the soil outside, which would make excellent fertilizer.

Next, he had Swampert wash the fireplace once with a Water Gun at minimum power, after which Cangyan Cangyan Rengui used its Flame Greatsword to rapidly evaporate the remaining moisture, thus cleaning the old but still usable fireplace.

After placing firewood gathered by Luxray, Mimikyu, and Serperior inside the fireplace and igniting it, the temperature in the house instantly rose.

Then, surrounding this Pokémon Egg, Luo Mu and his six Pokémon began a discussion.

The topic was: how to successfully allow the Pokémon within the egg to be born into this world.

Luo Mu told the Pokémon the egg's past experiences exactly as they happened, and in response, each Pokémon reacted differently.

The faint hint of jealousy Serperior had felt toward the Pokémon Egg vanished completely; it only felt pity for this unborn Pokémon.

Mimikyu and Cangyan Cangyan Rengui silently increased their distance from the Pokémon Egg; they knew clearly that as Ghost-type Pokémon, especially powerful existences like themselves, their mere presence could unconsciously affect the egg, hinder its birth, or even turn it into a dead egg.

Swampert felt nothing particular, but it was still willing to contribute its strength toward the birth of this Pokémon Egg.

As long as there was something it needed to do, it would act without a second word!

A trace of sympathy, and even more empathy, appeared on Dragonite's honest and cute face.

Not long ago, it too had been a Pokémon born from an egg, and it still retained impressions of that space within the egg which, while safe, occasionally gave it a sense of narrowness, darkness, and oppression.

It had successfully left its egg when the time came, but how much time had the Pokémon inside this egg spent, and how long had it been trapped within the lightless shell?

"Meowr."

Luxray's low voice sounded, telling Luo Mu that if there was anything they needed to do, he should speak up without hesitation.

Luo Mu pondered for a moment, then said, "On the way back, I also considered how to hatch this Pokémon Egg."

"This is an egg that hasn't hatched for who knows how many years; the mere fact that the Pokémon inside is still alive is already a miracle, so we must do everything within our power to help it hatch as soon as possible."

"First is Dragonite." Luo Mu looked at Dragonite, which instantly straightened its body and widened its eyes round, as if demonstrating its resolve; Luo Mu requested, "Do you remember those nutrient solutions from when you first hatched? Although ordinary Pokémon Eggs don't require nutrient solutions to hatch, this egg's situation is different; it has been trapped inside for too long, and severe nutritional deficiency is likely one of the reasons it cannot break its shell."

"High-quality nutrient solutions aren't available for purchase in Pingdie Town; I want you to fly to Mesagoza as soon as possible, where the largest mall in the Paldea region is located; I will contact my friend then, and she will take you to buy the nutrient solutions."

"Boo-wu!"

Dragonite stood upright, saluting while expressing its determination.

Luo Mu then looked at the other several Pokémon, outlining his arrangements to each one by one.

Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, Mimikyu, and Luxray were to head into the wild to find wild Pokémon with the Flame Body Ability and invite them to the farm.

If possible, they should try to find some powerful existences.

Pokémon possessing this Ability usually maintain their bodies at a very suitable temperature, which can accelerate the hatching progress of Pokémon Eggs.

Like Talonflame, Magcargo, Rapidash, Volcarona, and even Moltres and Heatran, all possess the Flame Body Ability.

As for Serperior and Swampert, they would stay at the farm to watch the house with him, protecting the Pokémon Egg while continuing to farm!

With Luo Mu's reserve of knowledge, these were the only methods he could think of, and Nurse Joy had likely thought of and attempted these operations as well.

His only advantage was that his strength was quite good; perhaps the Pokémon with Flame Body that Nurse Joy found were only newly evolved, so he would have Luxray and the others search for stronger ones.

Although nutrient solutions were expensive, with his current savings, he could still afford them.

He had arranged everything that could be done; now, everything depended on the fate of the little one inside the Pokémon Egg.

If these methods failed to allow it to be born, then I'm afraid only a Legendary Pokémon would have the ability to save this Pokémon Egg.

Early the next morning, Dragonite shouldered the large box Luo Mu had prepared for it, slowly took off, and headed toward Mesagoza guided by the directions in its memory.

After admonishing Serperior and Swampert to guard the house well, Luxray led Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, along with Mimikyu whom it had accidentally overlooked again, toward the wild to search for Pokémon with the Flame Body Ability.

As for Luo Mu, fully equipped early in the morning, wearing a straw hat identical to Peter's, he led Serperior and Swampert under the rare sunny sky to the farming district, carrying the Pokémon Egg which was already placed inside an incubator with constant temperature functions.

The weeds that had been uprooted here yesterday had been swept up by Dragonite's Hurricane and neatly piled not far away.

Regarding that soil, which had risen slightly and become loose, having consulted Peter on some basic knowledge, Luo Mu could see that there would be no problem at all if seeds were sown now.

Taking out six bags of seeds and glancing at the plant ash collected by Dragonite nearby, Luo Mu pondered for a moment and chose to first try planting potatoes, which could grow even in Siberia.

Ordinary potato seeds have a very low sprouting rate, so most people use their tubers for propagation, but in the world of Pokémon, it is different.

The difficulty of growing ordinary crops is very low, and yields will also increase; moreover... today, he had Serperior and Swampert, two Pokémon, by his side.

The planting methods for crops are basically highly similar, nothing more than digging holes, burying seeds, fertilizing, watering, etc., with slight variations in steps and details for different crops.

Although the operation was simple, Luo Mu, holding a hoe, still bent over and worked hard all morning; only with the help of Serperior and Swampert did he barely manage to plant a small bag of seeds, apply the collected aged plant ash as fertilizer, and then have Swampert, looking somewhat stifled, water the plot using a Water Gun move at minimum output.

After doing all this, with a sore back and aching waist, busy and sweating profusely, Luo Mu looked at Serperior with an expectant gaze.

Serperior sighed as if resigning itself to fate, extended a emerald-green vine into the pit, and faintly transferred the Grass-type energy and nutrients existing within its body to the potato seeds just planted inside.

Serperior withdrew its vine, and Luo Mu directed his sight into the pit, waiting for a long while but seeing no reaction whatsoever.

Luo Mu's expression turned strange; this shouldn't be happening.

Peter had told him that at Jones Farm, they would also have Grass-type Pokémon supply Grass-type energy and part of the nutrients within their bodies to the crops, so that the resulting vegetables and fruits would not only be large but also extremely delicious.

So why, when it came to Swampert and Serperior, did the seeds show not even a hint of reaction?