Chapter 36: The Three Zones Are Now on Track

The mission was completed very smoothly; on the afternoon of the same day he captured four Wooper, Luo Mu returned to the farm.

He first went to observe the Flareon and the Pokémon Egg beneath its body.

Flareon slept soundly; Pichu, hiding in the shadow of the small villa, noticed Luo Mu and Raichu’s return and reported that during Luo Mu’s absence, Flareon had done nothing but eat and sleep, showing no unusual behavior.

Luo Mu patted Pichu’s head as if rewarding it, told it to prepare for a big meal tonight, then took Raichu to the next destination—the farmland zone.

By the fields, Kingdra idly twisted its vines into different shapes to amuse two Babydolls, while Whitepuff wandered among the crops, confirming no pests or weeds had appeared.

Hearing Luo Mu’s footsteps, Kingdra instantly abandoned the two Babydolls, who were having fun, and slithered over gracefully.

“Gaa?” (Back already?)

“I’m back. Thanks for watching the fields—tonight you’re getting a big meal~” Luo Mu noticed Kingdra’s tail coiled around his finger, smiled without exposing it, then turned to Whitepuff in the field and called out: “Whitepuff, you’ve worked hard too. Rest up, then remember to come home for dinner.”

“Pupup!”

Whitepuff nodded with a cheerful smile.

Next, Luo Mu went to notify the Swampert still lingering by the lake, inspecting his future residence; the Magmortar practicing sword techniques on a small hill near the farm; and the Dragonite, who thought it was napping in the sky but was actually curled up inside the small villa.

In the evening, Luo Mu gathered all his Pokémon behind the small villa for a barbecue party.

Magmortar stood beside the grill, skillfully skewering and roasting the wild mushrooms Luo Mu had brought home with its Flame Sword.

Luo Mu evenly divided the crab meat from the second pair of Crabominable claws into fifteen portions and steamed them.

Then, during a lull, Luo Mu released the four Wooper.

Three Wooper hid behind their leader, curiously scanning the surroundings; they realized Luo Mu’s words were indeed true.

So many powerful Pokémon lived here in harmony, especially that giant bird with flames burning on its body—the Wooper felt it was utterly incomparable, beyond reach.

Soon, Magmortar’s roasted wild mushrooms and Luo Mu’s steamed Crabominable claws were both ready; Luo Mu portioned them out and placed each serving before the corresponding Pokémon, then took his own portion and squatted on the ground, biting into it.

Flareon first tasted a skewer of Magmortar’s roast; as the seasoned mushrooms entered its mouth, its eyes instantly brightened.

The chili powder was evenly distributed over the mushrooms, all moisture baked out, leaving them crisp yet not dry—exquisitely delicious.

The crab meat was the perfect finishing touch; after the spicy skewers, the intensely sweet crab meat struck like a perfect blow.

Flareon, who had only ever absorbed energy from volcanoes and occasionally eaten berries, had never tasted anything so delicious; it even entertained the thought that staying here for this food might not be so bad.

The five main Pokémon who tasted the crab meat finally understood why Luo Mu and Raichu were so obsessed with it—even if they were in their place, after tasting this crab meat, they’d surely go days without thinking of anything else.

The Wooper’s dark, round eyes glistened with tears; as they savored this supreme delicacy, they felt deep in their hearts that selling themselves to Luo Mu was the wisest decision of their lives.

Three days later, the irrigation channel from the lake where the Wooper were captured to the farm was successfully completed; since the channel would be filled back in after watering, Swampert didn’t need to care about appearance and simply used brute force throughout.

Kingdra wove a dense net from tough green vines across the lake’s outlet, preventing wild Water-type Pokémon or unknown fish species from sneaking into Thunder Lake without Luo Mu’s knowledge.

The entire project lasted three days and ended when Swampert fully refilled the irrigation channel.

Although Thunder Lake was originally only 3.5 meters deep and covered five mu of land, Luo Mu believed that someday, he would develop it into a true lake worthy of its name.

As soon as Thunder Lake was finished, the four Wooper moved in; though the lake now held only them and the slightly fierce-looking Swampert, they were very satisfied with the environment and looked forward to more companions and species joining them.

In the farmland zone, strawberry buds had already formed, and a few had bloomed; the same was true for tomatoes, eggplants, and cabbage.

In the fastest-growing cucumber patch, tiny cucumbers were already visible.

With the two major zones now on track, the pasture zone naturally needed to be arranged.

Again following the same method, Swampert used its wide-area Heavy Stamp to clear weeds and rocks from the wasteland, then several Pokémon each used their unique abilities to rapidly sow seeds of edible pasture grass across the turned soil.

The pasture grass grew extremely fast—even without Whitepuff sharing nutrients—and as if heaven itself were helping Luo Mu, that very night after sowing, a light rain fell silently.

Meanwhile, the nutrient solution inside the Pokémon Egg had turned transparent again.

Luo Mu gritted his teeth and replaced it with the last can.

Two more days passed, and patches of tender sprouts had already broken through the soil in the pasture zone; they would likely reach full growth in just about a week.

At that time, Luo Mu planned to spend money buying a few Pokémon suitable for pasture raising.

Such as Milotic, Miltank, or Wobbuffet.

After selling the spoils from that day’s wild expedition, Luo Mu earned 12,000 Alliance Coins; after accounting for subsequent food purchases, his current savings stood at 55,000 Alliance Coins—buying a few pasture-raised Pokémon posed no great financial burden.

When the farmland yielded its harvest, another income stream would arrive, and only three days remained until his appointment at Orange Academy.

Everything was steadily improving.

On the morning of the sixth day, Luo Mu, fast asleep in bed, was suddenly jolted awake by an extremely piercing cry; Raichu and Dragonite lying beside him, Pichu on the bed, Kingdra, and Magmortar, who slept alone in another room, were all awakened too.

Luo Mu instantly woke up and quickly deduced the sound came from Flareon in the backyard of the small villa.

Flareon had been unusually quiet lately; for the past two days, Luo Mu had even trusted Pichu enough to let it roam freely.

He never expected Flareon to pull this today.

Without even putting on clothes, heart pounding, Luo Mu dashed downstairs in his slippers, followed by all his Pokémon, heading straight for Flareon’s location.

Beneath the shed, Flareon stared blankly at the Pokémon Egg, which was flashing rhythmically, sweat pouring down its body.

What the hell is going on?

Did it hatch the egg? Will Luo Mu now gather six Pokémon to beat me up?

At this moment, Flareon and Luo Mu felt exactly the same.

Both were terrified.