In theory, even the most ordinary Grass-type Pokémon could make crops sprout, grow, and eventually bear fruit at a pace that defied Luo Mu's pre-transmigration understanding, so long as they were willing to transfer their own energy and some of the nutrients they had stored for growth to the crops.
If crops were planted normally and merely watered and fertilized on schedule each day, their growth cycle would be somewhat faster than before his transmigration, but they would still need a certain amount of time to mature.
As one of Luo Mu's six main Pokémon, Serperior was countless times stronger than the ordinary Pokémon on the farm. While she was not so powerful that she could alter the surrounding environment all by herself like a Legendary Pokémon—
Growing potato seeds quickly should have been effortless for her, shouldn't it?
Luo Mu did not understand. He was deeply shaken.
His grip on the hoe loosened. Not caring that the mud on the ground was still wet, Luo Mu plopped down onto the ground.
He was already working in the fields, so why care about appearances? As long as he looked decent when he went outside, that was enough.
After only half a day of farm work, Luo Mu's slightly trembling fingers shakily searched through his pocket, but found nothing. Only then did he remember that, so Dragonite could contact Kofu, who was waiting in Breg Light City, he had specifically hung his phone around Dragonite's chest.
Now, the best shortcuts—searching for answers online or leaving a comment under a farming blogger's video and waiting for an explanation—were unavailable to him.
"Ugh, this is troublesome." Luo Mu sat cross-legged and tried hard to recall and review what he had done while farming earlier. His movements had been a little clumsy, but he had not made any major mistakes.
After thinking for a long time without finding an answer, Luo Mu could only turn to look at Serperior and Swampert beside him. "Can you tell where the problem is?"
Serperior and Swampert looked at each other. Luo Mu had become so desperate that he was trying to get an answer from them; it seemed he really had run out of options.
But Serperior and Swampert had spent the past year following Luo Mu around the Paldea region, battling alongside him. What would they know about growing crops?
Other than combat techniques, the only thing in their heads was damn combat techniques.
Asking them to answer this question would be harder than having them challenge the Paldea region's Elite Four again. At least with their first experience, that would be much easier than the current situation, where all three of them were completely clueless.
Just as Luo Mu and the others were at their wits' end, a hesitant voice rang out. "Luo Mu, and Swampert and Serperior... what are you doing?"
Luo Mu's troubled expression froze as he looked toward the newcomer.
He had soft, short light-brown hair and wore an obviously expensive little suit. At his side was Master Dogue, wagging his tail wildly at Luo Mu.
Luo Mu blinked and cried out, "Pepper, Master Dogue!? Why are you here?"
Pepper patted Master Dogue on the head. Master Dogue had dutifully stayed by his side and even fought quite a few wild Pokémon along the way. Pepper told him that he could go play now.
Master Dogue let out a howl. Without even bothering to lick the dusty fur on his body, he immediately began racing around the open field in delight.
Pepper watched Master Dogue frolic through the field with a gentle smile, then turned toward Luo Mu. "I suddenly wanted to come play with you, Luo Mu. What, am I not welcome?"
Luo Mu: "..."
Kid, where did you learn to talk like that?
"Welcome, of course you're welcome." Luo Mu's lips twitched as he forced out a smile. He wanted to mess up Pepper's hair with his grubby hands, but halfway through reaching out, he remembered that his hands were still covered in mud. Under Pepper's puzzled gaze, he awkwardly withdrew them, turned to look into the distance, and changed the subject. "Do Dr. Jacq and Dr. Futaba know you came out?"
At those words, Pepper's slightly upturned lips stiffened. He lowered his gaze and quietly replied, "They know."
Immersed in the awkward atmosphere, Luo Mu failed to notice that something was wrong with Pepper's mood this time.
Luo Mu thought that he had sent Pepper home so early yesterday and even reminded him that he could make dinner with Dr. Jacq. The relationship between mother and son had probably grown much closer, so he turned back curiously and asked, "What did you make with Dr. Jacq last night? Was it good?"
The instant Luo Mu turned around, Pepper had already hidden his emotions. Forcing himself to show a somewhat stiff smile, he quietly said, "We made sandwiches. They were very good."
Except he had made the sandwiches by himself, then shared them with Master Dogue.
Luo Mu nodded slightly. It seemed that his indirect probing of Dr. Jacq and Dr. Futaba had achieved some results after all. If he kept at it, perhaps he really could change the two professors' minds and prevent the regrettable ending that might come in the future.
It might have been cliché for everyone to sit together and make dumplings, but he liked it.
Luo Mu crouched before Swampert, who was carefully holding the incubator, and held out his hands. Swampert obediently sprayed a stream of water from his mouth. It looked a little bizarre, but the stream was indeed composed of pure Water-type energy and was exceptionally clean.
As he washed his hands, Luo Mu said, "By the way, I still haven't answered what you asked earlier. We were trying to grow potatoes, but it looks like we failed."
Luo Mu shook the water from his hands and pointed toward the experimental plot he had temporarily marked out.
Pepper had cried all he needed to long ago, so he no longer felt too strongly about it. He quickly adjusted himself, blinked, and looked toward the experimental plot Luo Mu was pointing at in confusion. "Failed? How could it fail?"
Even he knew that potatoes were one of the easiest crops to grow.
They could even fail at growing those?
Luo Mu gestured toward Serperior and Swampert, sighing as he explained, "I followed the normal process, had Swampert water the seeds, then had Serperior transfer nutrients and Grass energy to them. But forget potatoes—not even a single sprout came up."
"..."
Pepper fell silent. He looked at Luo Mu with a strange, complicated expression that sent a chill down Luo Mu's back and left him utterly bewildered.
Unable to endure Pepper's wordless gaze, Luo Mu raised his hands in surrender. "Don't look at me like that. Just say whatever you want to say!"
Pepper shook his head and sighed for a while before helplessly revealing the truth. "This is common sense that even a ten-year-old like me knows, yet you just blindly ran straight into it, Luo Mu."
Luo Mu's eye twitched. Sorry that this version of him had never gone to school and was illiterate.
Pepper did not mind the mud stuck to the hoe at all. Wearing that obviously expensive little suit and leather shoes, he stepped into the field. After digging for a short while, he looked into the hole, a flash of understanding appearing on his face.
The seeds had cracked apart. As expected.
Before you continue