Wild Exploration!

"Let me take a look?"

Luo Mu leaned closer and looked at the small pit Arven had dug with his hoe.

The moment he saw it, Luo Mu's brows furrowed deeply. For some reason, the potato seeds that had been evenly distributed through the soil had shattered into fine powder.

Arven dusted off his hands and casually accepted the Water Gun Swampert sprayed out. Washing his hands, he said, "I really didn't expect you, Brother Luo Mu, not to know even something this basic."

"Grass-type Pokémon can speed up the growth of crops or plants, but that only works if the crops can absorb the energy and nutrients."

"Serperior is too strong—so strong that even the tiny amount of nutrients and energy it thinks it's giving is enough to give crops still in seed form indigestion." Arven's words struck home, leaving both Luo Mu and Serperior red-faced. Before Swampert could rejoice at having escaped disaster, Arven turned his criticism toward it as well.

"The Water Gun Swampert uses for watering is the same. Even just for washing my hands, I can tell that this water was converted from pure Water-type energy."

"Things ordinary low-level Pokémon can do perfectly well end up causing problems because you two are simply too powerful."

Luo Mu fell silent. He felt like he was Barely Holding Back as he frantically poked the Hint System in his mind.

"Is that really what happened?"

Yes, my illiterate host. Serperior and Swampert's energy levels are too high, so the crops got indigestion and burst apart.

".Why didn't you tell me? Aren't you the Hint System?"

You didn't ask me. You told me to answer every question, but you never told me to pop up on my own. If I did, you'd complain that I was annoying.

The words twisted about chaotically, faintly conveying a sense of grievance.

"My fault. Next time, come find me on your own."

Hmph.

After ending his brief conversation with the Hint System, Luo Mu looked at Arven with an embarrassed grin. Rubbing his hands together, he humbly asked, "So aside from watering and fertilizing normally, it'd be best to find some ordinary Grass-type Pokémon and have them cultivate the crops?"

Arven nodded slightly, acknowledging Luo Mu's conclusion, then added, "There's another way to let Serperior do this too, and it would be even more efficient."

Luo Mu perked up, curiosity written all over his face.

Arven did not keep him in suspense. At ten years old, he seemed more like a teacher as he said directly, "I read in a book that many farms use Pokémon that know Grassy Terrain to stimulate the growth of crops and plants. Your Serperior is so strong, Brother Luo Mu. It definitely knows Grassy Terrain, right?"

Luo Mu and Serperior exchanged looks. Seeing Serperior put on an innocent expression, Luo Mu could only say helplessly, "My Serperior really hasn't mastered Grassy Terrain."

More accurately, it had learned it, but no matter what, it just couldn't master it. If I told the truth, Serperior would definitely get embarrassed and angry and whip me with its vines. Better to tell a little lie.

Serperior was very satisfied with Luo Mu's tact and let out a soft cry. "Serp~"

In short, we just need to find other Grass-type Pokémon and bring them to the farm, right? They won't count as being caught by Luo Mu, so they definitely won't steal his attention like the Pokémon Egg did.

It had no objections.

Luo Mu could more or less tell what Serperior meant. It probably did not think ordinary Pokémon could threaten its position. That was all its tsundere little mind ever thought about, and Luo Mu saw right through it.

Luo Mu took the incubator from Swampert and, as usual, Took a Look at the Pokémon Egg inside.

There was almost no change. Although some Fletchling were active in the nearby wilderness, their abilities had not been developed enough to hatch a Pokémon Egg. 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.

Arven leaned over as well and asked curiously, "Brother Luo Mu, did you buy another Pokémon Egg?"

"Someone entrusted it to me to look after." Luo Mu Nodded and briefly told Arven the story of the Pokémon Egg. At the same time, he asked him to check with Olin and Professor Futu when he had the time to see if they had a solution.

After hearing the story, Arven quickly felt pity for the Pokémon Egg. Stroking the incubator's casing, he said gently, "You've held on for so long. You've worked really hard. Keep it up—you have to keep trying. With Brother Luo Mu here, the day you hatch can't be far away."

"As for my parents, I'll bring it up to them when I get back today."

Although Arven still harbored some resentment toward Olin and Futu, he could distinguish priorities. A life was at stake; this was not the time for him to sulk.

Seeing Arven agree to his suggestion, Luo Mu let out a breath of relief. Looking at him, he proposed, "I'm planning to try my luck in the nearby wilderness and see whether there are any suitable Grass-type Pokémon I can recruit for the farm. Want to come?"

Arven froze for a moment, then quickly understood and nodded firmly.

The field where they had planted that bag of potato seeds had all been watered by Swampert, so the seeds inside were probably doomed as well. Since they were heading out anyway, Luo Mu had Swampert stay behind to guard the house while using its moves to reshape that experimental plot.

As for himself—

He went back into the house, picked up a canvas bag he had bought on a whim, mysteriously stuffed a few things into it, then headed out with Serperior, Arven, and Mabosstiff.

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

Although it would still be some time before the farm officially began operating, taking this chance to recruit a few employees was not a bad idea.

Unexpected dangers could arise in the wilderness at any moment. That was probably why Granny Juzi's explorer son had given up that Pokémon Egg.

So Luo Mu left the incubator with Swampert. Though Swampert looked violent, it actually had a good sense of restraint. With it protecting the incubator, Luo Mu was at ease.

The wilderness.

A streak of fire darted wildly through the air like a meteor, leaving numerous scorched marks in the surrounding grass. The culprit was likely whatever was inside that fiery meteor.

Luo Mu shielded Arven behind him and said, "Go easy on it. Catch it with Vine Whip."

Serperior nodded slightly. The two emerald-green vines at the front of its body shot out like lightning, cracking through the air like an explosion.

Serperior made the most basic Vine Whip carry the momentum of Frenzy Plant. The emerald vines showed no fear of the flames, swiftly catching up to their high-speed target and wrapping it up tightly.

Fletchinder let out a mournful cry as Serperior's Vine Whip dragged it from the sky to the ground. Serperior then skillfully tied off the Fletchinder before severing the Vine Whip.

Arven, hiding behind Luo Mu, looked utterly awestruck. At least a dozen Fletchinder and Fletchling lay scattered across the ground, yet Luo Mu and Serperior had dealt with them so easily.

Luo Mu looked up at the sky and found that no more Fletchinder from the flock were flying in to attack them. He could not help sighing.

It seemed that Talonflame with the Flame Body Ability were not so easy to encounter. Not a single Talonflame had Appeared in the Fletchinder flock that attacked them.

They should continue searching for suitable Grass-type Pokémon.

Luo Mu led Arven, Serperior, and Mabosstiff farther west. Suddenly, Arven sneezed and pulled a small clump of white fluff from his mouth with a baffled expression.

The instant Luo Mu noticed the fluff, his eyes brightened slightly.

Speak of the devil!