Wild Exploration!

"Let me take a look?"

Luo Mu leaned over to peer into the small hole Pepper had dug with a hoe.

But the moment he looked, his brows furrowed deeply. For some reason, the potato seeds that had been evenly scattered through the soil had crumbled into fine powder.

Pepper dusted off his hands and accepted the Water Gun Swampert sprayed at him as if it were the most natural thing in the world. As he washed his hands, he said, "I really didn't think you wouldn't even know something this basic, Brother Luo Mu."

"Grass-type Pokémon can speed up the growth of crops and plants, but the crops need to be able to absorb energy and nutrients first."

"Serperior is too strong. It thinks even the little bit of nutrients and energy it gives off is enough to make crops in their seed stage suffer indigestion." Pepper's words hit home, leaving Luo Mu and Serperior blushing with embarrassment. Before Swampert could feel relieved that it had escaped blame, Pepper turned his attention to it.

"The same goes for the Water Gun Swampert used to water the crops. Even just from washing my hands, I can tell the water was made from pure Water-type energy."

"Things that ordinary low-level Pokémon could do just fine can go wrong because you're too powerful."

Luo Mu fell silent. He felt like he was about to crack, and frantically poked at the Hint System in his mind.

"Is that really what happened?"

[Yes, my illiterate host. Serperior and Swampert's energy levels were too high, so the crops suffered indigestion and split apart.]

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

[You didn't ask. You told me to answer whenever you asked, but you never told me to pop up on my own. When I do, you complain that I'm annoying.]

The letters twisted and writhed, their movements faintly conveying a sense of grievance.

"My fault. I'll ask you next time."

[Hmph.]

After ending his brief conversation with the Hint System, Luo Mu gave Pepper an awkward smile. He rubbed his hands together like a fly before humbly asking, "So besides watering and fertilizing as usual, it'd be best to find some ordinary Grass-type Pokémon to help grow the crops?"

Pepper nodded slightly, showing he agreed, then added, "There's another way to let Serperior do it, and it'd be even more efficient."

Luo Mu perked up, his expression curious.

Pepper didn't keep him in suspense. At just ten years old, he seemed more like a teacher as he got straight to the point. "I read in a book that lots of farms use Pokémon with the Grassy Terrain move to promote the growth of crops and plants. Brother Luo Mu, your Serperior is so strong. It must know Grassy Terrain, right?"

Luo Mu exchanged a look with Serperior. When Serperior gave him an innocent expression, he could only reply helplessly, "My Serperior really hasn't learned Grassy Terrain."

More accurately, Serperior had tried to learn it, but just couldn't get the hang of it. If he told the truth, Serperior would probably get so embarrassed and angry that it would whip him. Better to tell a little white lie.

Serperior was pleased with Luo Mu's tact and gave a soft cry. "Snaivy~"

All in all, they just had to find another Grass-type Pokémon and bring it to the farm, right? Since Luo Mu wouldn't have caught it, it definitely wouldn't take any of his attention away, unlike the Pokémon Egg.

It didn't mind.

Luo Mu could more or less tell what Serperior was thinking. It probably didn't believe an ordinary Pokémon could threaten its position. That was the sort of thing a tsundere would think about, and Luo Mu saw right through it.

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

There was hardly any change. Some Fletchling were active in the nearby wilderness, but their Ability hadn't developed enough to help hatch a Pokémon Egg. They'd still have to wait for Dragonite to bring back Nutrient Solution and for Luxray and the others to find a Pokémon with the Flame Body Ability.

Pepper leaned in too, curiosity written all over his face. "Brother Luo Mu, did you buy another Pokémon Egg?"

"Someone entrusted it to me to look after." Luo Mu nodded and briefly told Pepper the story behind the egg. He also asked Pepper to check with Dr. Jacq and Dr. Friede when he had time to see if they knew of a solution.

After hearing the story, Pepper's heart quickly filled with sympathy for the egg. Stroking the outside of the incubator, he said gently, "You've held on for so long. It must've been tough. Keep going! With Brother Luo Mu here, it won't be long before you hatch."

"As for my parents, I'll talk to them when I get home today."

Pepper still resented Dr. Jacq and Friede a little, but he knew how to tell what mattered most. This involved a life, so now wasn't the time to sulk.

Seeing that Pepper had agreed, Luo Mu breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to Pepper and suggested, "I'm planning to explore the nearby wilderness and see if I can find any suitable Grass-type Pokémon to recruit for the farm. Want to come?"

Pepper paused, then quickly realized what Luo Mu meant and nodded firmly.

Swampert had already watered the plot where they'd planted the bag of potato seeds, so the seeds inside were probably in bad shape too. Since they were about to head out, Luo Mu had Swampert stay behind to guard the house and use its moves to fix up the test plot.

As for him...

He went home, picked up a canvas bag he'd bought on a whim, and mysteriously packed a few things inside. Then he set off with Serperior, Pepper, and Master Dogue.

Their goal was to find a suitable Grass-type Pokémon, catch it, and bring it back to work on the farm.

It would still be a while before the farm was fully up and running, but it couldn't hurt to recruit a few workers while they were out.

The wilderness could hold unexpected dangers at any time. That was probably why Grandma Juzi's son, the explorer, had given up on that Pokémon Egg.

So Luo Mu left the incubator with Swampert. Swampert looked quite violent, but it knew how to handle things carefully. Luo Mu trusted it to protect the incubator.

Out in the wilderness.

A streak of fire darted through the air like a shooting star, zigzagging in every direction. Quite a few blackened marks had appeared on the grass below. The culprit was most likely the creature inside that fiery meteor.

Luo Mu kept Pepper behind him and said, "Easy now. Use Vine Whip to grab it."

Serperior gave a slight nod. The two Verdant Vines extending from its head shot out like lightning, and the air cracked like a whip.

Serperior wielded the most basic Vine Whip with the force of Frenzy Plant. The Verdant Vines weren't the least bit afraid of the flames. They quickly caught up with their fast-flying target and wrapped it up tight.

Quaxly let out a cry of distress as Serperior's Vine Whip dragged it from the sky to the ground. Serperior deftly finished tying Quaxly up, then snapped off the vine.

Hiding behind Luo Mu, Pepper looked full of admiration. At least a dozen Quaxly and Fletchling lay sprawled across the ground, yet Luo Mu and Serperior had dealt with them so easily.

Luo Mu looked up and saw that none of the other Quaxly had come flying in to attack them. He couldn't help but sigh.

It seemed that Braviary with the Flame Body Ability wasn't so easy to find. Not one Braviary had shown up among the Quaxly flock that had attacked them.

They'd have to keep looking for a suitable Grass-type Pokémon.

Luo Mu continued west with Pepper, Serperior, and Master Dogue. Suddenly, Pepper sneezed, then stared in confusion as he pulled a small tuft of white fluff from his mouth.

The moment Luo Mu saw the fluff, his eyes lit up.

Speak of the devil!