"Let me have a look."
Lucas leaned over to inspect the small pit that Arven had dug with his hoe.
But the moment he looked, Lucas' brows furrowed deeply. For some reason, the potato seeds that had been evenly distributed in the soil had all crumbled into tiny powder.
Arven clapped the dust off his hands, naturally accepting the Water Gun that Swampert sprayed at him, washing his hands as he said, "I honestly didn't expect, Brother Lucas, that you didn't even know this kind of basic common sense."
"Grass-type Pokémon can accelerate the growth of crops and plants, but the premise is that the crops must have the ability to absorb energy and nutrients."
"Your Serperior is too strong—so strong that even the small amount of nutrients and energy it provides causes the crops, which are still seeds, to get indigestion." Every word Arven said hit home, making Lucas and Serperior both quite embarrassed. Swampert, who had just been feeling lucky for escaping blame, suddenly found the conversation turning toward it.
"The Water Gun that Swampert uses for watering is the same. Even just washing my hands, I can tell that's water transformed from pure Water-type energy."
"Things that ordinary low-level Pokémon can do well end up going wrong because you guys are too powerful."
Lucas fell silent, feeling like he was about to lose his composure. He frantically poked at the prompt system in his mind.
'Is that the case?'
[Yes, my illiterate host. Because Serperior and Swampert's energy levels are too high, the crops couldn't handle it and split apart.]
'...Why didn't you warn me? Aren't you a prompt system?'
[You didn't ask. You told me to answer when asked, but not to jump out on my own. If I jump out on my own, you find me annoying.]
The system's font squirmed erratically, faintly conveying a sense of grievance.
'My bad, I'll come to you proactively next time.'
[Hmph.]
After that brief conversation, Lucas smiled awkwardly at Arven, rubbing his hands together like a fly, and shamelessly asked, "So, besides normal watering and fertilizing, it's best to find some ordinary Grass-type Pokémon and let them cultivate the crops?"
Arven nodded slightly in agreement, then added, "There's another way for Serperior to handle this, and it'd be even more efficient."
Lucas perked up, curiosity on his face.
Arven didn't keep him guessing. At ten years old, he was already more like a teacher, explaining directly: "I read in a book that many farms use Pokémon with the Grassy Terrain move to promote the growth of crops and plants. Brother Lucas, your Serperior is so strong, it must know Grassy Terrain, right?"
Lucas exchanged a glance with Serperior, who put on an innocent face. Lucas could only reply helplessly, "My Serperior hasn't mastered that move yet."
To be precise, it had tried but just couldn't learn it. If he told the truth, Serperior would get angry and whip him with its tail. Better to tell a little white lie.
Serperior was satisfied with Lucas' tact and let out a soft sound: "Ser-pe~"
All in all, it would be fine to just find some other Grass-type Pokémon to bring to the farm. Since they wouldn't be officially captured by Lucas, there'd be no need to worry about splitting attention like with a Pokémon egg.
Serperior had no objections.
Lucas could more or less figure out what Serperior meant—in other words, it didn't think ordinary Pokémon could threaten its position. That's about the extent of a tsundere's thinking, and Lucas could see through it immediately.
He took the incubator from Swampert as usual and checked on the Pokémon egg inside.
There was almost no change. Although there were some wild Fletchlings in the area, their abilities weren't developed enough to help hatch the egg. They'd have to wait for Dragonite to bring back some nutrient solution, and for Luxray and the others to find a Pokémon with the Flame Body ability.
Arven also came over, looking curious. "Brother Lucas, did you buy Pokémon egg?"
"Sort of—someone asked me to take care of it." Lucas nodded, briefly describing the story behind this egg and asking Arven to check with Professor Sada and Turo if they had any solutions.
After listening, Arven felt a surge of sympathy for the egg, gently touching the incubator and saying warmly, "You've held on this long—it must've been tough. Hang in there, with Brother Lucas here, it won't be long before you hatch."
"As for my parents, I'll mention it to them when I get home today."
Although Arven still had some complaints about Ssada and Turo, he knew how to prioritize. A life was at stake—now wasn't the time for sulking.
Seeing Arven agree, Lucas breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Arven, and suggested, "I'm thinking of trying my luck in the wild nearby to see if I can find suitable Grass-types to recruit for the farm. Want to come?"
Arven was stunned at first, then quickly nodded enthusiastically.
Since all the potato seeds in that field had been watered by Swampert, their fate was probably sealed. With a trip outside planned, Lucas had Swampert stay home to guard the house and use its moves to restore the experimental field.
As for himself—
He went home, grabbed a handy canvas bag, mysteriously stuffed some things inside, and set out with Serperior, Arven, and Mabosstiff.
The goal was to find suitable Grass-type Pokémon and recruit them to work on the farm.
Although the farm wasn't ready to operate yet, it was a good opportunity to recruit some employees.
Unexpected dangers could crop up at any time in the wild—maybe that's why Granny Touko's explorer son gave up on that Pokémon egg.
So, Lucas left the incubator with Swampert. Though it seemed violent, Swampert knew its limits well. With it protecting the incubator, Lucas felt at ease.
…
In the Wild.
Up in the air, a streak of fire zipped around like a meteor, leaving scorched marks all over the grass. The culprit was probably the very being inside that flaming meteor.
Lucas shielded Arven behind him and said, "Gently—Vine Whip, grab it."
Serperior nodded slightly, two green vines shooting out like lightning, the air crackling with the sound of an explosion.
A basic Vine Whip was used with the momentum of the Frenzy Plant. The green vines showed no fear of the flames, quickly catching up to the speeding target and binding it tightly.
Fletchinder let out a cry of pain, dragged to the ground by Serperior's vines, which skillfully tied it up before letting go.
Arven, hiding behind Lucas, was full of admiration. On the ground lay at least a dozen fainted Fletchinder and Fletchling, all easily dealt with by Lucas and Serperior.
Looking up, Lucas saw no more Fletchinder coming to attack. He sighed.
It seemed the Fletchinder group attacking them didn't even have a single Talonflame with the Flame Body ability.
Time to keep searching for suitable Grass-types.
Lucas led Arven, Serperior, and Mabosstiff west. Suddenly, Arven sneezed, and, bewildered, pulled a small white tuft of cotton from his mouth.
Noticing this, Lucas' eyes lit up at the sight of the cotton.
Speak of the devil!