The Clamperl Plan

Kam had not seen Zeno for a month and was quite worried, so he borrowed the school's communicator and gave Zeno a call.

"Uncle Kam, how have you been lately?"

Zeno was delighted to receive Uncle Kam's call at Littleroot Research Lab. Although he was having a wonderful time here, he still often thought of Big Shell Village.

"I've been very well. How about you? Are you having trouble adjusting?"

"No, everyone has been very kind to me, and I've learned so much here!"

"That's good, that's good. Focus on your studies. Everything is fine on our end, and make sure you listen to the professor." Kam could not help but remind him, never having imagined he would become this nagging one day.

"Mm, I will. Oh, right, Uncle Kam, where's Xiao Hai? How is he doing?"

"Him? He went traveling. With you gone from the village, he was bored out of his mind every day, so he set off last week."

"He went traveling? Uncle Dazhuang agreed?"

"Mm. Xiao Hai caught another Seedot, so his father didn't object."

"That's great!"

The two chatted for half an hour before Zeno finally hung up reluctantly.

Whenever Zeno thought about how Uncle Kam often had to take the villagers out to sea, he could not help worrying. Uncle Kam was highly experienced, but the weather was unpredictable, and no one could say what they might encounter at sea.

Zeno had gone out to sea with them once, and it had truly been exhausting. Uncle Kam and the others sailed year after year, and the hardship went without saying. Yet they had no other particular skills and could only make a living from the sea.

Zeno remembered the large pearl Uncle Kam had sold before. It had fetched a full 4,000, but Mantine had been injured at the time, and more than half of it had been spent on powerful medicine.

Pearls were a specialty of the Hoenn Region and were in high demand. Every year, Hoenn exported many pearl ornaments to other regions, so their prices remained high. Ordinary pearls were purchased for 1,000 each, while rare large pearls sold for even more. The better their quality, the more expensive they were; even the poorest ones could sell for 3,500.

The waters of the Hoenn Region were exceptionally suited to Clamperl's survival and reproduction, making Hoenn a world-famous source of pearls. Zeno remembered that quite a few Clamperl lived in the coastal waters near Big Shell Village.

After searching for a while, he found the materials Professor Birch had given him earlier. He specifically pulled out the information on Clamperl and read it with great care.

"Clamperl, the Bivalve Pokémon. It lives in coastal waters and has been found throughout the seas of the Hoenn Region. It is most abundant in the waters near Lilycove City, Mossdeep City, and Sootopolis City."

There was not much information related to Clamperl, only a dozen or so pages, but Zeno read every word carefully and overlooked no detail.

"Clamperl has a relatively gentle temperament and does not like to move around."

"They swallow smooth little stones from the sea into their shells. After being polished over a long period of time, these stones become pearls..."

"Clamperl's pearls are extremely valuable, worth roughly ten times as much as Shellder's."

Seeing this, Zeno had an idea. Since Clamperl were so valuable, could they be farmed? The environment around Big Shell Village happened to be very suitable. The more Zeno thought about it, the more he felt it was worth trying.

He put away the materials and decided to ask Professor Birch for his opinion.

Professor Birch was currently out in the wild recording the living conditions of wild Pokémon. Thanks to Sapphire, Zeno was able to find him. He had just finished documenting two wild Zigzagoon and was about to pack up and return.

"Huh? Zeno, Sapphire, why did you two come out into the wild? Don't you know it's dangerous?"

"I'm sorry, Professor. I asked Sapphire to bring me to find you, so if you're going to blame anyone, blame me." Seeing that he seemed a little angry, Zeno hurriedly explained.

"You were in such a hurry to find me. What is it?"

Professor Birch knew Zeno was levelheaded. If he had been this eager to find him, he must have had something he wanted to discuss.

After packing up, he took the two of them back to the research lab. Along the way, Zeno told the professor about Big Shell Village's circumstances before explaining his idea.

Professor Birch sat in his chair, recalling what Zeno had told him and considering whether the matter was feasible.

"Professor, what do you think?"

"After hearing your analysis, I think it sounds quite promising. But I have never been to Big Shell Village, so I cannot give you a definite answer."

"So it won't work?" Zeno felt somewhat disappointed.

"Not exactly. I'm very pleased that you had such an idea. It shows that you truly absorbed what you've learned. I think this would be a very worthwhile attempt."

"An attempt?"

"As your teacher, I certainly believe in you. But as a Pokémon Professor, I must be responsible for those Pokémon. That is why I said I cannot give you a definite answer," Professor Birch explained.

"Professor, I understand what you mean. For now, it is only an idea. I will definitely be responsible for those Pokémon and won't act rashly."

"Actually, farming Clamperl is feasible, but it places very high demands on the geographical environment."

"Really, Professor?"

"Of course it's true. But this is the secret to other people's fortunes, so ordinary people usually cannot get access to it. I'm rather surprised you thought of it."

"I only wanted to make things easier for Uncle Kam. I didn't think that far ahead."

Hearing him say that, Professor Birch was greatly satisfied. The more he looked at this student, the more pleasing he found him. Being smart and eager to learn was one thing, but having such a pure heart was rare indeed. Good thing he had poached him from Rustboro Trainer School back then. Hahaha.

"Don't worry. Go ahead and do it. With me here, I doubt those people would dare say anything," Professor Birch declared domineeringly.

"Okay, thank you, Professor!"

"But words alone won't do. Go back and write a proposal. It does not need to be especially detailed, but make your plan clear so I can see whether it is feasible and give you some guidance while I'm at it."

"Yes, I'll get right to it!"

Zeno dashed out in a hurry. Sapphire, who had been waiting outside for ages, grabbed him the moment she saw him.

"Senior Brother, you and my dad talked inside for ages. What were you talking about?"

"Clamperl. Didn't you hear it earlier?" Zeno shook free of her hand and hurried toward his room.

Sapphire quickly chased after him.

"What is there to talk about with Clamperl? I seriously don't understand people like you. Come on, let's go play in the ecological garden. I'll take you somewhere nice today!"

"Sapphire, sorry. Professor assigned me homework, so I don't have time right now. Another day, okay? I'll go with you another day."

Sapphire was dumbfounded. He was actually this enthusiastic about homework. This was the first time she had seen someone so ridiculous. Had Senior Brother studied himself stupid?

What an idiot. He was not even enthusiastic about going out to play!