Trying to Use the Cards

After the meal, Mingyou glanced helplessly at the Munchlax, which had eaten its noodles and gone to sleep. He decided to leave it alone for now and deal with it later.

"Mm~"

Ogerpon happily rubbed its belly. It had not eaten this well in many days. That Tomato had truly been delicious, even though it had never felt that way before. Still, it was probably time to head back.

While Mingyou took the dishes to the sink to wash them, Ogerpon jumped from the chair to the floor, grabbed the plastic bag from the side, put it back over its head, and adjusted it slightly.

Mingyou turned his head toward it. Without asking about the Mask, he asked softly, "Don't you find wearing that inconvenient? And it doesn't look very good, either. Do you want to change to something else? I happen to be going to town tomorrow. If there's anything you like, I can buy it for you."

"Mm..."

When it heard him mention going to Verdant Town, Ogerpon instinctively hugged its head and shook it repeatedly.

Seeing this, Mingyou immediately stopped what he was doing and frowned slightly. He had plenty of experience caring for children, especially those suffering from psychological trauma, so he understood what was happening at once.

"Don't be nervous... I mean I'm going by myself. If there's anything you want, I can pick it up for you on the way, as long as you come here again tomorrow."

"Mm?"

"Although Grandpa is gone, I'll properly inherit this Manor, so..."

Mingyou wiped the water from his hands, slowed his movements, and crouched in front of Ogerpon. Looking at it, he smiled. "So you can come here to play often in the future. If you get tired, it's fine to rest here, too. I'll also cook for you regularly."

As he spoke, he reached out and gently placed his hand on Ogerpon's head. It carried the sweet fragrance of Tangerines and the fresh scent of Ginkgo Tree leaves. It smelled wonderful.

Ogerpon did not resist being patted on the head. Perhaps it had already grown fond of him. When it heard that it could come here to play often, the joy in its widening eyes was plain to see.

"Mm~"

Ogerpon happily nodded, then ran outside. Mingyou followed close behind and escorted it to the door. Looking at the pitch-black Orchard outside, he asked curiously, "By the way, where's your home?"

"Mm~"

Watching Ogerpon point in a certain direction, Mingyou was stunned. "That way, toward Oni Mountain? That's really far. Are you going back alone this late?"

"Mm~"

"Do you want me to take you there? I don't even know whether the Flying Taxi has stopped working at this hour. In Paldea, you can call one twenty-four hours a day..."

As he spoke, Mingyou had just taken out his phone when Ogerpon hurriedly shook its head, indicating that it could go back by itself. It waved its hand, then quickly ran toward the Orchard.

But because it was not paying attention, it ran headfirst into an Apple Tree and fell over. Holding its forehead, it glanced back at Mingyou, then quickly got up and continued running until its figure completely disappeared.

"Be careful..."

Mingyou looked a little helpless. He rather liked this child; he just felt that it was too quick to get close to people. Or was it simply especially close to him?

He also had no idea what was going on with its Mask. He would ask after its affection level was higher...

After closing the door and returning to the kitchen, Mingyou finished tidying everything up. By then, he could barely keep his eyes open. He was getting sleepier and sleepier, but when he looked at the Munchlax sleeping in the corner, he could only let out a helpless sigh.

"And you... I have no choice."

He laboriously dragged the heavy Munchlax all the way to the bathroom. The water heater was still working, so he took a brush, turned on the hot water, and rinsed its body, using soap to wash away the rotten smell.

After a long while, the Munchlax still had not woken up. At least Mingyou had managed to make it smell fresh, and the rotten Fruit hidden in its fur had been completely cleaned out.

Since there was no Gust, Mingyou could only dry its body with a towel. Then he laboriously dragged it to the living room. He had originally wanted to lift it onto the sofa, but he had completely run out of strength. He could not hold on any longer and fell asleep with his head resting on the Munchlax...

In his dream, Mingyou saw his parents and grandfather from this life. They seemed happy that he had returned to normal, and they urged him to take good care of himself, the Manor Grandpa had left him, and the Pokémon living in the Manor.

He did not know how much time had passed. When he woke again, sunlight had already streamed through the glass windows onto the floor, and he had spent the night sleeping on the ground.

Fortunately, the Munchlax had cushioned him, so he was not too uncomfortable. The Munchlax was still asleep, seemingly unaware that someone had been sleeping on it. It looked completely impervious to disturbance.

"So tired... My arms and legs are sore. I really need to exercise, or taking care of the Manor from now on will be miserable..."

As Mingyou got up, he suddenly saw a spinning card floating in front of him. He froze for a moment, then reached out and caught it. When he turned it over, he saw:

〔Munchlax (Lv.1): After being used on an Apple Tree, it may produce a Snorlium Berry when it bears fruit. There is a chance of additionally learning moves (Rest, Belch, Lick, Belly Drum).〕

"This works, too?"

Mingyou was genuinely surprised. He remembered that the way to raise a Munchlax's affection was to give it food. Perhaps that was the reason. Or perhaps it was because it kept sleeping—or because he had been too tired—that it had only given him the card now.

However, although both effects were used on fruit trees, this card was different from Ogerpon's.

It was probably because the Munchlax was just an ordinary Pokémon, while Ogerpon was a Legendary Pokémon. They could not be treated the same way. If he obtained a Snorlax card, it would probably be different again.

"Since that's the case, I'll try it first!"

Mingyou stood up and glanced at the time on his phone. It was almost noon. He really had slept for a long time. He would go to town after making lunch.

He opened the front door. A gentle breeze drifted in, carrying the fragrance of the Orchard. Mingyou smiled and walked outside, circling the Orchard once.

Unfortunately, he did not find a Tangerine tree. The Orchard was full of Apple Trees. It seemed he would have to buy one later and transplant it here.

Besides the Applin and Spinarak families, he also saw Seedot and Hoothoot in the trees, as well as Ekans and Sandshrew poking their heads out of burrows beside the fruit trees. They were all Pokémon living in the Manor.

Mingyou silently memorized where each of the Pokémon lived, then returned to the living room and greeted the Sinistcha on the bookshelf.

But it still ignored him. With no other choice, he searched the house for any crop seeds he could use for experiments...

Unfortunately, after searching for a long time, he found no Jicama Seeds in the house. It seemed that the Munchlax had climbed in through the window and eaten all the crop seeds as snacks. Only a few empty packages remained. At the seed cabinet, he found fur left behind by the Munchlax.

He would still have to go to town to buy seeds.

Having made up his mind, he returned to the Orchard and stood in front of an Apple Tree. He took out the Munchlax card. The cards were usually hidden in his mind, and he could summon one with a mere thought.

"So how am I supposed to use this..."

Mingyou held the card and racked his brains for a long time. In the end, he tried gently touching the tree with it.

The next moment, the card shattered directly, transforming into blue particles of light that merged into the tree as if they were nutrients.

When he looked at the Apple Tree again, the information appearing in his mind was no longer the same...

〔Apple Tree: An Apple Tree lacking care. Each time it bears fruit, it has a 5% chance of producing a Snorlium Berry. Two months remain until it bears fruit again.〕

"Only 5%? That's a little low... It needs to produce fruit steadily. Otherwise, even a few Snorlium Berries probably won't cover the planting costs."

After reading the information, Mingyou immediately felt his pressure increase. But this was only the beginning, and the card was only Lv.1. It could not be considered very powerful.

If he could become friends with more Pokémon like Grandpa the Ranger had, giving them a home and a place to live, he could definitely develop this place!

He gently placed his hand against the Apple Tree's trunk and said softly, "Let's work hard together!"

As soon as he finished speaking, another line of red information suddenly appeared in Mingyou's mind...

〔Notice: When a crop has matured and been harvested, or has been damaged and can no longer continue growing, the card consumed will automatically recover.〕

"It can be reused?"

Mingyou scratched his hair. This information had caught him completely off guard. When the card had shattered after being used, he had thought it had been consumed permanently. He had not expected it to be recovered for continued use.

But this was good, too. It would prevent him from wasting cards by accidentally killing a crop.

"I basically understand its abilities now. In that case... let's start farming!"