Initial Steps

Zeno and his senior brother worked at home for three days before finally sorting everything out. His senior brother had done most of the work; Zeno had not yet learned sample analysis and could only assist him. Still, over those three days, Zeno learned quite a lot from him.

After Professor Birch reviewed their analysis, he expressed his approval. Zeno's breeding plan could finally enter the trial phase.

"Senior brother, you've worked hard these past few days."

"This is nothing."

"It finally passed. The weight on my mind has finally been lifted."

"Let me tell you, getting plans like these approved isn't the hardest part. Carrying them out is what's truly terrifying. You can't take that weight off your mind yet—you need to pile a few more on top of it," Gu Yan said earnestly.

Hearing that, Zeno felt as if he would never be happy again. His senior brother's cool and aloof image was completely wrong. He was practically a demon!

"You have a lot to consider. You don't have to make everything perfect, but at the very least, you need to be responsible for the villagers of Big Shell Village and those Pokémon. After all, this concerns them directly."

"Senior brother, I don't have much experience. Give me some guidance!"

Zeno felt that he had been too naive. Whenever he did something, he always liked to think of the best possible outcome.

No matter how smart he was, he was still only a child who had just turned ten. His experience was far too limited, and Gu Yan felt that he could not be too strict with him.

"Before the trial begins, the first thing you need to consider is the Pokémon currently living in the coastal waters. Have you thought about how to handle them?"

At those words, Zeno immediately thought of the Alomomola and Clamperl living there. If his plan forced them to leave their home, he simply could not do it.

"Of course they should remain as they are. Aside from collecting pearls and conducting regular inspections, there won't be much human activity. We'll do our best to minimize the impact."

"That would indeed be best. Preserving biodiversity is important. You could discuss it with them and see whether they would be willing to cooperate with you."

"How would they cooperate?"

"You could follow the example of our teacher's ecological park and create a small ecosystem. You could improve their living conditions and habitat while ensuring their nutrition and health. In return, they could give you the items they produce."

"Great idea!"

"I took a look, and the conditions here are quite good, but the food supply is too limited. The Pokémon all have more or less some problems. Take those Clamperl, for example—the luster and hardness of their shells have flaws, so the pearls they produce will be of poorer quality as well. The same problem will arise when you introduce new Clamperl in the future."

To help Zeno understand the difference, Gu Yan even had him compare some pictures. The gap was obvious at a glance.

"Senior brother definitely has a solution, right?" Zeno stared at him with shining eyes.

"Just talk to our teacher and ask him to send you some seeds. When the time comes, scatter them around the area. I'll make you a list later."

"Good thing you're here, Senior Brother. Otherwise, I'm afraid I would've made a complete mess of things."

"I can only point out these problems. How you solve them will depend on you."

"Let's go discuss this with those Pokémon right now! I'm motivated again!"

"Come to think of it, your ability really is convenient. It can make a lot of things much easier. I'm a little jealous."

"Hahaha, no need to be jealous. Senior Brother can hire me as a translator."

After packing everything away, the two headed for the coastal waters. Uncle Kam had already repaired the wooden boat, and Zeno had even learned a little about how to operate it from him. However, neither Gu Yan nor Kam trusted Zeno, a rookie driver. So this time, Uncle Kam took the two of them out to sea.

Since it concerned the village's livelihood, Kam was very invested in the matter. Although he did not understand it, he could not help being curious.

"This time, you should go down by yourself. We can't communicate with them, so we won't be able to help much."

"Alright, just wait for my good news!"

Zeno had paid special attention to where the Alomomola lived last time. This time, his backpack was packed with food, and he had come prepared, so he was especially confident.

Zeno had arrived at just the right time. The two Alomomola happened to be there as well. When they saw him, all the Pokémon were delighted.

"Hello, we meet again!"

"Momo~ Momo?"

"Clam~ Clam?"

Hearing their question, Zeno could not help laughing. What an adorable bunch of little foodies.

"Don't worry, there's enough food this time!"

Zeno poured out all the food and piled it into several small mountains. Everyone gathered around to eat without fighting or scrambling, creating a wonderfully harmonious scene.

"Do you think this food tastes good?"

Everyone's mouths were stuffed full of food. Hearing Zeno's question, they could only nod.

"Then do you want to eat it every day?"

"Momo!"

"Then that's good. If we give you this food every day, would you be willing to give us your shed scales and pearls?"

"Clam clam~"

The Clamperl thought, How could we say no? We have to spit those things out sooner or later anyway, and they're useless to us. The Clamperl leader had already decided that tomorrow, it would go to the distant sea and call over all its aunts, uncles, and relatives.

"Then it's settled. Eat slowly—I'll be going now."

Zeno could not wait to tell his senior brother and Uncle Kam the good news. He hurriedly hugged Carvanha's body and had it carry him back up.

While Zeno was gone, Kam asked Gu Yan about his life at the research institute. Gu Yan shared a few amusing stories with him, and Kam listened attentively, chuckling from time to time.

"Uncle Kam, Senior Brother, they agreed! They really like the food I made."

"The food you make is indeed quite good. The nutrition is relatively balanced, and more importantly, the cost isn't very high. You don't need to feed them every meal, either. They should get some exercise too."

"Okay."

With the matter settled, Zeno planned to take his senior brother around to enjoy the scenery of Big Shell Village. They had worked hard these past few days, so it was a good chance to relax.

"The climate here is truly pleasant, and the scenery is wonderful too. It's different from my hometown. There, you can't see the sea at all."

"I've known you for so long, Senior Brother, but I still don't know where your hometown is."

"My home is in Verdanturf Town."

"Verdanturf Town? That's a wonderful place!" Kam had gone there when he was younger, and the impression had stayed with him.

"You know it, Uncle?"

Gu Yan was somewhat surprised. After all, his hometown had little presence in Hoenn. Since it was built below a plateau, Verdanturf Town's transportation was extremely inconvenient, and hardly anyone visited. It had only improved a little after Rusturf Tunnel was completed a few years ago.

"I remember there were especially many flower fields there. Even the air always carried a fresh fragrance."

"Our town isn't suited for growing Berries, so everyone can only grow flowers."

"Listening to you two, I'm pretty interested. I've never seen a flower field in my life!"

From then on, Zeno decided that he would travel across all of Hoenn before setting out to sail beyond it.