Chapter 22: Wilderness Adventure!

"Let me take a look?"

Luo Mu leaned in, gazing at the small pit Pahe had dug with his hoe.

At a single glance, Luo Mu's brows knitted deeply; the potato seeds, originally evenly distributed within the soil, had somehow shattered into fine powder.

Pahe clapped the dust from his hands, readily accepting the Water Gun sprayed by Swampert to wash them, saying as he did so, "I truly never expected that you, Brother Luo Mu, wouldn't even know such common common sense."

"Grass-type Pokémon can accelerate the growth of crops or plants, but this premise requires the crops to possess the ability to absorb energy and nutrients."

"Serperior is too strong; so strong that the mere fraction of nutrients and energy it deems fit to distribute is enough to cause indigestion in crops still in seed form." Pahe spoke with pearl-like precision, leaving Luo Mu and Serperior red-faced; before Swampert could even rejoice at having escaped disaster, Pahe's spearhead turned toward Swampert.

"The Water Gun Swampert used for watering is the same; merely washing my hands, I can tell this is water transformed from pure Water-type energy."

"Things that ordinary low-level Pokémon could handle quite well instead become problematic precisely because you are too powerful."

Luo Mu fell silent; he felt he was about to lose control, frantically poking the Hint System in his mind.

"Is that how it is?"

【Yes, my illiterate host; because Serperior and Swampert's energy levels are too high, the crops suffered indigestion and split open.】

"... Why didn't you hint at this? Aren't you the Hint System?"

【You didn't ask me; you told me to answer any question but never told me to jump out proactively, and if I did jump out proactively, you'd find me annoying.】

The characters twisted chaotically, faintly revealing a hint of grievance.

"My mistake; next time I'll seek you out proactively."

【Hmph.】

Ending the brief dialogue with the Hint System, Luo Mu looked at Pahe with an embarrassed smile, rubbing his hands like a fly before humbly asking, "So that means, besides following the routine of watering and fertilizing, it's best to find some ordinary Grass-type Pokémon and let them cultivate the crops?"

Pahe nodded slightly, acknowledging Luo Mu's statement, then added, "There is another method that allows Serperior to accomplish this as well, and even more efficiently."

Luo Mu pricked up his ears, his expression curious.

Pahe did not beat around the bush; at ten years old, he resembled a teacher more than anything, stating directly, "I've read in books that many farms have Pokémon with the Grassy Terrain move stimulate crops and plants; Brother Luo Mu, your Serperior is so strong, it surely knows Grassy Terrain, right?"

Luo Mu exchanged a glance with Serperior; seeing Serperior wear an innocent expression, Luo Mu could only say helplessly, "My Serperior actually hasn't mastered the Grassy Terrain move yet."

To be precise, it had learned it but stubbornly failed to master it; if he spoke the truth, he would surely be whipped by Serperior in a fit of shame and anger, so he might as well tell a small lie.

Serperior was very satisfied with Luo Mu's tactfulness, letting out a soft sound: "Jialuo~"

In short, it just meant finding other Grass-type Pokémon to bring to the farm; since these wouldn't be caught by Luo Mu, they certainly wouldn't divide Luo Mu's attention like a Pokémon Egg would.

It had no objection.

Luo Mu could roughly discern Serperior's meaning; essentially, it didn't feel ordinary Pokémon could threaten its status—such arrogant thoughts were all that filled its tsundere brain, and Luo Mu saw through it at a glance.

Luo Mu took the incubator from Swampert's hands and, as usual, glanced at the Pokémon Egg inside.

There was almost no change; although a portion of small Fletchlings were active in the nearby wilderness, Fletchling's Ability had not yet developed to the point of being able to hatch Pokémon Eggs. They still had to wait for Dragonite to bring back the nutrient solution and for Luxray and the others to find a Pokémon with the Flame Body Ability.

Pahe leaned in as well, asking with full curiosity, "Brother Luo Mu, did you buy another Pokémon Egg?"

"You could say someone entrusted it to my care." Luo Mu nodded, briefly introducing the story of this Pokémon Egg to Pahe, and additionally requested that if he had time, he ask Professors Sada and Turo whether they had any solutions.

After listening, pity for this Pokémon Egg swiftly rose in Pahe's heart; touching the incubator's shell, he said softly, "It must have been hard holding on for so long; you must keep going. With Brother Luo Mu here, the time until you hatch surely isn't far off."

"As for my parents... after returning home today, I will mention it to them."

Although Pahe still harbored some resentment toward Sada and Turo in his heart, he could distinguish between what was urgent and what was not; concerning a life, this was no time for him to be stubborn.

Seeing Pahe agree to his proposal, Luo Mu breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Pahe, and suggested, "I plan to try my luck in the nearby wilderness to see if there are any suitable Grass-type Pokémon we can recruit to the farm; do you want to come?"

Pahe froze for a moment, then quickly reacted, nodding vigorously.

Since the field where that bag of potato seeds was planted had already been watered by Swampert, the seeds within were likely in grave danger. As they were heading out anyway, Luo Mu instructed Swampert to stay behind to guard the house while using its moves to rework that experimental plot.

As for himself.

Returning home, he picked up a canvas bag he had conveniently bought, mysteriously packed some items inside, and then set out with Serperior, Pahe, and Ao Ao Jiaofu.

The goal of this trip was to find suitable Grass-type Pokémon, catch them, and bring them to the farm to work.

Although the farm still needed some time before official operation, taking this opportunity to recruit a few employees wasn't a bad idea.

The wilderness could harbor unexpected dangers at any time; perhaps this was also the reason Grandma Ju's explorer son had abandoned that Pokémon Egg.

Therefore, Luo Mu left the incubator beside Swampert; although Swampert looked violent, it actually knew how to exercise restraint, and with it protecting the incubator, Luo Mu felt very reassured.

In the wilderness.

High in the sky, a beam of firelight darted chaotically like a meteor, leaving numerous scorched marks on the grasslands below; the culprit was likely the existence within that flaming meteor.

Luo Mu shielded Pahe behind him, saying, "Gently; grab it with Vine Whip."

Serperior nodded slightly; the two emerald vines at its front shot out like lightning, emitting a crackling sound in the air as if something had burst.

The most basic Vine Whip was wielded by Serperior with the momentum of a crazed plant; those emerald vines feared the flames not at all, swiftly catching up to the high-speed flying target and binding it tightly.

Fletchinder let out a mournful cry, dragged down from the sky by Serperior's Vine Whip; afterward, Serperior skillfully tied a knot to restrain Fletchinder before severing the vines.

Hiding behind Luo Mu, Pahe looked on with full admiration; at least a dozen Fletchinders and Fletchlings lay haphazardly on the ground, yet Luo Mu and Serperior had resolved them so easily.

Luo Mu raised his head to gaze at the sky, discovering that no more members of the Fletchinder species were flying over to attack them, and couldn't help but sigh.

It seemed that encountering a Talonflame with exactly the Flame Body Ability wasn't so easy; this Fletchinder flock attacking them hadn't produced a single Talonflame.

Better to continue searching for suitable Grass-type Pokémon.

Luo Mu continued walking westward with Pahe, Serperior, and Ao Ao Jiaofu; suddenly, Pahe sneezed, pulling a small piece of white cotton fluff from his mouth with a bewildered expression.

Noticing this, Luo Mu's eyes brightened slightly the instant he saw the cotton fluff.

Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives!