Chapter 36: The Three Major Districts Get on Track

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

He first went to observe Moltres and the Pokémon egg inside the incubator beneath it.

Moltres was sleeping soundly; Mimikyu, hiding in the shadow of the small western-style house, had spotted Luo Mu and Luxray's return and reported that during Luo Mu's absence, Moltres had done nothing but eat and sleep, showing no abnormal behavior whatsoever.

Luo Mu patted Mimikyu's head as a reward and told it to prepare for a big feast tonight, then took Luxray toward their next destination—the farming district.

Beside the fields, Serperior, utterly bored, was using its vines to shift into different shapes to entertain two Cottonee, while Bai Bai Pengpeng roamed between the rows, confirming there were no signs of pests or weeds.

Noticing the sound of Luo Mu's footsteps, Serperior instantly abandoned the two Cottonee who were having a blast playing and slithered over with an air of leisure.

"Jarok?" (You're back?)

"I'm back; thanks for watching the fields, we're having a big feast tonight~" Luo Mu noticed Serperior's tail tip coiling around his finger, smiled without exposing it, then looked at Bai Bai Pengpeng in the field and called out, "Bai Bai Pengpeng has worked hard too; take a rest and remember to come home for the big feast tonight."

"Bai Pengpeng!"

Bai Bai Pengpeng nodded with a beaming smile.

Next, Luo Mu went to notify Swampert, who was lingering in the lake district inspecting his future residence; Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, who was practicing swordsmanship on a small hill not far from the farm; and Dragonite, whom he thought was sleeping mid-air again but was actually nestled inside the small western-style house.

At dusk, Luo Mu gathered with his team of Pokémon behind the small western-style house and started a barbecue party.

Standing beside the grill, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui skillfully used its Flame Greatsword to skewer and roast various wild mushrooms Luo Mu had brought home.

Luo Mu evenly divided the crab meat from the second Kingler's claw into fifteen portions and placed them on the steamer.

Then, taking advantage of the lull, Luo Mu released the four Poliwags.

Three Poliwags hid behind their boss, curiously sizing up their surroundings; they felt that Luo Mu's words were indeed true.

So many powerful Pokémon gathered here living in harmony; especially that large bird wreathed in flames—the Poliwags felt the other was on a completely different level, utterly unattainable.

Soon, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's grilled wild mushrooms and Luo Mu's steamed Kingler claws were finished one after another; Luo Mu distributed the portions in order, placing them before the corresponding Pokémon, while he took a portion for himself and squatted on the ground to gnaw on it.

Moltres first tasted a skewer of Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's barbecue; after the seasoned skewer entered its mouth, Moltres's eyes instantly lit up.

Chili powder was evenly distributed across the mushrooms' surfaces; all the moisture had been roasted out, resulting in a texture that was crispy yet not dry, exquisitely delicious.

And that crab meat was a stroke of genius; after eating the spicy skewers, the crab meat, fresh and sweet to the extreme, could be described as a critical hit to the heart.

Having always only absorbed energy from within volcanoes and occasionally eaten some berries, Moltres had never tasted such delicacy before; deep in its heart, the thought even arose that staying here just for this food might not be a bad idea.

The five main Pokémon, having tasted the crab meat, finally understood why Luo Mu and Luxray were so obsessed with it; even for them, after tasting this crab meat, there would surely be a period where they would lose interest in tea and rice.

Tears trickled from the Poliwags' black, bright round eyes; while savoring the supreme delicacy, they felt from the bottom of their hearts that selling themselves to Luo Mu was the most correct decision of their lives.

Three days later, the irrigation channel from the lake where the Poliwags were captured to the farm was successfully completed; since the channel would be filled back in after diverting the water, Swampert didn't need to worry about aesthetics and could simply use brute force the whole way.

Serperior wove a large net from tough green vines with extremely small gaps between them, blocking the lake's outlet; this would prevent wild Water-type Pokémon or unknown species of fish from slipping into Thunder Cry Lake without Luo Mu's knowledge.

The entire project lasted three days and concluded completely after Swampert refilled the irrigation channel.

Although the original Thunder Cry Lake had an average depth of only 3.5 meters and covered an area of five mu, Luo Mu believed that sooner or later, he would develop it to live up to its name.

As soon as Thunder Cry Lake was completed, the four Poliwags moved in; although besides themselves, the lake contained only that somewhat fierce-tempered Swampert, they were very satisfied with the environment and looked forward to the continuous increase of future partners and species.

In the farming district, buds had already formed in the strawberry field, with a few already blooming; the same was true for the tomatoes, eggplants, and cabbages.

In the cucumber field, which grew the fastest, tiny cucumbers could already be seen.

With the two major districts now on track, it was naturally time to arrange the ranch district as well.

Following the same pattern, Luo Mu had Swampert use a wide-range Stomp to clear weeds and gravel from the wasteland, then let several Pokémon show off their unique abilities to quickly sow seeds of edible ranch grass in large patches across the turned soil.

The ranch grass grew extremely fast, not even needing Bai Bai Pengpeng to share nutrients; coincidentally, as if heaven itself were helping Luo Mu, a light rain fell quietly on the very night the grass was sown.

At the same time, the nutrient solution inside the Pokémon egg had turned transparent again.

Gritting his teeth, Luo Mu swapped in the last canister.

Two more days passed, and patches of tender sprouts had already broken through the soil in the ranch district; it would probably take only about a week for them to fully grow.

By then, Luo Mu planned to spend money to buy a few Pokémon suitable for raising in the ranch.

For example, Da Nai Guan, Mareep, Wooloo, and the like.

After selling the spoils from that day's wilderness exploration, Luo Mu earned an income of 12,000 League Coins; including subsequent expenses for purchasing some ingredients, his savings now stood at 55,000 League Coins, so buying a few Pokémon to keep in the ranch posed no great pressure.

In a while, the harvest from the farmland would bring in another sum, and moreover, the countdown to his departure for Grandma Ju Zi Academy to take up his post was now only three days.

Everything was progressing steadily and positively.

On the morning of the sixth day, Luo Mu, who was sleeping soundly in bed, was suddenly awakened by a cry with extremely strong penetrating power; Luxray and Dragonite, lying beside him, Mimikyu and Serperior on the bed, and Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, living separately in another room, were all woken up as well.

Luo Mu instantly became fully awake and quickly deduced that the sound came from Moltres in the backyard of the small western-style house.

During this period, Moltres had been exceptionally well-behaved; in the last two days, Luo Mu had even felt secure enough to let Mimikyu, who was responsible for surveillance, move freely.

He hadn't expected Moltres to pull this stunt on him today.

Without even time to put on clothes, his heart pounding, Luo Mu stepped directly into his slippers, led the team of Pokémon quickly downstairs, and headed straight for Moltres's location.

Under the small shed, Moltres looked completely bewildered at the Pokémon egg flashing rhythmically with light, cold sweat pouring down profusely.

What exactly was the situation now?

Could it be that it had hatched this egg into an explosion? Would Luo Mu bring six Pokémon to gang up and beat it?

At this very moment, the moods of Moltres and Luo Mu were surprisingly identical.

Both were panicking like crazy.