Caught a Bird

Luo Mu casually scooped a ladle of water from the water vat beside him, tidied his appearance, and confirmed that the rice was steaming in the rice cooker. He immediately planned to go out and see if Serperior and the others had found Whimsicott and Hoppip yet.

As soon as he left the kitchen, Luo Mu bumped into Pepper, who looked like he had lost his soul, drifting towards the kitchen with a dazed expression.

Pepper's nose twitched slightly as he breathed in the faint, sweet aroma in the air. He muttered, "What is that? It smells so good and sweet."

"We're having vegetarian curry rice with berries for lunch today," Luo Mu stopped Pepper from drifting into the kitchen and said helplessly, "We'll eat after Serperior and Whimsicott are back. Come on, let's go check the fields to see if they've returned."

"Oh~"

Pepper could only reluctantly force himself to look away and followed Luo Mu out of the small Western-style house to the five small fields that had just been sown in the farming area.

All five Pokémon had already gathered in the open space.

Whimsicott noticed Luo Mu and Pepper's arrival. Its eyes darted around, and with a light leap into the air, its body began to spin rapidly. The cotton on its head scattered into the sown and watered fields during the spin.

Then, a magical scene unfolded.

As the cotton seemed to melt into the soil, the ground began to tremble almost imperceptibly. Within a few breaths, green sprouts broke through the soil and stood proudly.

The miraculous sight left Luo Mu and Pepper astonished, frozen in place.

At this moment, Luo Mu understood even more profoundly how magical the power of Pokémon was. With such a method, if they were in ancient times, they might even be called deities of fertility.

Perhaps Whimsicott could only make seeds sprout for now. As its strength increased, it would eventually be able to complete the process of sprouting, flowering, and bearing fruit within a few days.

If Serperior learned a gentler growth-inducing move like Grassy Terrain, it might not be impossible to achieve flowering and wilting overnight.

Unfortunately, Serperior could only instantly grow plants as thick as a tree trunk and attack with Frenzy Plant.

After sharing nutrients once, Whimsicott landed on the ground, panting slightly. It was so tired just from sharing nutrients and energy with a small plot of land. It seemed they couldn't rely solely on Pokémon to accelerate crop growth.

After all, what was the difference between doing this and the sweatshops before crossing over?

Luo Mu secretly made up his mind.

Lunchtime.

The dining table left by the old couple was already crowded with Luo Mu and his six main Pokémon, let alone the three new additions and the unknown Pokémon that would hatch from the future Pokémon Eggs.

He brought the steaming curry to the table and then scooped a spoonful of fragrant curry onto the rice plates in front of the six eagerly waiting Pokémon and Pepper. The simple and rustic berry curry rice was thus assembled.

"I'm starting!"

Pepper, who was extremely hungry, received a helpless nod of approval from Luo Mu. He immediately held his spoon in his right hand, picked up his curry rice with his left, and began to devour it messily, his eating posture quite ungraceful.

Serperior was much more refined than Pepper. It skillfully controlled Vine Whip to pick up the spoon and fed itself small mouthfuls.

Even after a year, Swampert and Dragonite were still clumsy with their spoons. In the end, they chose to hold their curry rice like Pepper and ate with rough movements.

Initially, Whimsicott and the Hoppip were a bit reserved, but after a while, as if infected by the atmosphere, they all buried their heads and began to eat in small bites.

Luo Mu would occasionally scoop a few bites for himself, then refill the bowls of Dragonite and Swampert, who were devouring an entire plate like a whirlwind, with more rice and curry.

This lunch extended to 1 PM. The revitalized Whimsicott ran off to the tomato experimental field to share the nutrients and energy it had just replenished. It then weakly floated down under the worried cries of the Hoppip.

Luo Mu showed a rare serious expression about this. He repeatedly emphasized and made an agreement with Whimsicott: it could only use its power once a day and must not deplete the nutrients needed for its own growth.

Otherwise, if this continued, Whimsicott would eventually damage its own foundation.

He ordered Whimsicott to rest and assigned Hoppip to supervise it. Then, Luo Mu, with Swampert, Serperior, and Dragonite, under Pepper's watchful eye, used their moves to process the lumber Dragonite had collected all morning.

Bark was stripped with Razor Leaf, cutting was done with Air Slash, and polishing with Water Gun. Soon, wooden planks of the dimensions Luo Mu needed were obtained.

Although he was a novice when it came to farming, Luo Mu had some confidence in his handicraft skills.

Following the previously drawn blueprints, he assembled wooden planks of different specifications, securing them with iron nails, ultimately constructing a miniature, all-natural wooden house.

Finally, a layer of soft blanket was laid inside the small wooden house, and a little home belonging to Whimsicott and Hoppip was completed.

Luo Mu had Swampert move this little home to the spacious living room on the first floor of the small Western-style house. He invited Whimsicott and the others to try it out, and they gave it very high praise.

Especially the two Hoppip. They had always drifted about. Although a large part of their memories was filled with carefree days thanks to Whimsicott's protection, when they truly felt they had a "home," a sense of belonging, they couldn't help but rush into Luo Mu's arms and weep profusely.

From then on, the two Hoppip were no longer afraid of Luo Mu or Serperior. In just one day, they had completely integrated into the farm.

Three days later.

After the crops in the farming area successfully sprouted under Whimsicott's power and the Hoppip had fully integrated into the farm, three days had passed.

Yesterday, Dr. Jacq and Dr. Futaba, who had been silent, finally called Luo Mu. After a conversation, Dr. Jacq personally came to pick up Pepper, who was very reluctant to leave, and stated that she would visit again with gifts to thank Luo Mu for taking care of Pepper these past few days.

After that, Luo Mu's days returned to a calm and uneventful state.

Besides the routine care of the fields, he spent his days researching how to plan the ranch area and the lake area.

At 3 PM, Luo Mu took out a lounge chair he had just bought from the market and enjoyed the sun. Whimsicott and the others also quietly stayed nearby, inserting their bodies into the soil and facing the sun for photosynthesis.

Serperior lazily swayed the tip of its tail, feeling the energy from the sun. As for Swampert and Dragonite, they had wandered off somewhere unknown.

Just as this peaceful time was unfolding, the temperature in the air suddenly rose. Serperior's usually lazy serpentine eyes instantly narrowed. It straightened its body and looked into the distance with a vigilant gaze.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Serperior?"

Luo Mu yawned and looked groggily in the direction of Serperior's gaze. His sleepiness instantly vanished, replaced by shock.

"Holy crap!?"

A classic exclamation escaped his lips. Luo Mu's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked into the distance.

He saw a Luxray, wreathed in lightning, rapidly approaching. Ceruledge was closely following behind it. Upon closer inspection, he could even see a corner of a Mimikyu doll in Luxray's shadow.

But none of that was important.

What astonished Luo Mu was the large bird being held in Luxray's mouth, its feathers scorched black, its head, wings, and tail feathers burning with orange-red flames!