Gardener Beginner

"Then I'll be off! Ranger Hitomi, mission accomplished!"

"See you next time!"

After they said goodbye to Hitomi, the two Celebi no longer had to hide. They sat on the table and dug into their food.

"Labi~"

The pink Celebi elegantly lifted a slice of jam-covered bread with Confusion, nibbling at it as their eyes curved into happy crescents.

The green Celebi plunged their face straight into the fresh milk. When they looked up, their face was covered in milk, and Minccino wiped it clean with a disgusted swish of the tail.

"Take your time. There's no rush." Tong Hua watched the two adorable little Pokémon with a smile as he finished his breakfast in a few bites.

He even helpfully gathered up the dishes and put them in the sink.

"Min-min!" When it came to washing dishes, that was Minccino's specialty.

After all, it was one of the few pleasures the tidy little Pokémon had, and each time meant getting Tong Hua all to themselves. A win-win.

After Tong Hua and Minccino finished washing the dishes, they headed to the fields with Turtwig and Bounsweet to water the crops.

The potatoes were growing well, with sturdy stems and leaves. The yield looked promising.

Although the cabbage patch was small, it was thriving too. Its leaves were thick and full, gleaming a healthy emerald green in the morning light.

"Turtwig, give this patch a little more water."

Tong Hua gently patted Turtwig's shell. The little Pokémon immediately understood and flicked a Vine Whip, sending a bucketful of water spilling precisely into the field.

"Boun-boun~"

Bounsweet bounced between the rows, occasionally brushing the seedlings gently with the leaves on top of their head, as though cheering them on.

Tong Hua saw it for himself: after Bounsweet touched those crops, they seemed to speed up all at once, visibly growing a little taller.

"Not bad."

He really was looking forward to harvest day in a few days.

With his daily tasks done, Tong Hua shouldered his bamboo basket and prepared to return to the Wind-Circling Forest to gather logs.

Today, no matter what, I'm cutting down enough trees for twenty logs in one go! Tong Hua resolved.

Bounsweet and Miltank stayed home again, while Turtwig and Minccino scrambled to claim their seats on Tong Hua.

Unfortunately, the spots that had once belonged to them had now been taken by the two Celebi.

"Sorry, Turtwig. You'll have to sit in the bamboo basket."

In the end, Minccino took the head position, the two Celebi occupied a shoulder each, and poor Turtwig could only be placed in the bamboo basket on his back...

On the way, they passed the pond where Bibarel's family lived, and the Bidoof greeted Tong Hua enthusiastically.

"Doof-doof!"

Two hot pot meals had already won these honest, good-natured Bidoof over completely.

In just two days, they had done a respectable job renovating their home. All sorts of polished stones lined the pond's edge, apparently serving as tools for grinding their teeth.

"You've polished these pretty nicely. Huh? Is that supposed to be me carved on that one?"

These little Pokémon had quite an artistic streak. Using nothing but their teeth, they could carve beautiful designs into wood and stone.

Tong Hua stepped closer and saw simple portraits of himself and the Ranch's Pokémon carved into several boards and stones beside the pond.

"Bi-bi!" Bibarel came over too, proudly patting the stone with a paw.

"I never would've guessed you had a talent like this."

Tong Hua couldn't help giving Bibarel a thumbs-up. See? I knew Bibarel was more than just a means of transportation!

After saying goodbye to Bibarel's family, Tong Hua continued along yesterday's route, laden with Pokémon.

Before long, he reached the Fast-Growing Eucalyptus Forest.

"Huh? That's strange."

Tong Hua searched the Fast-Growing Forest for quite a while, but he couldn't find the stump of the tree he had cut down yesterday anywhere.

"Labi." Just then, the green Celebi on his shoulder realized what was happening and called out to him.

"Huh? Don't tell me Celebi made that tree grow back?"

When Celebi nodded, Tong Hua understood at once.

Celebi flew forward and hugged a eucalyptus tree two or three meters tall.

Tong Hua recognized it too. This was the tree he had cut down yesterday.

But it seemed a little different.

"So that's how it works..." Tong Hua gently stroked the bark. "You didn't turn back time. You sped up its growth."

"Labi."

A fast-growing eucalyptus had a growth cycle of around two to three years. In other words, accelerated by Celebi's power, this tree had taken just one night to grow from a stump back into a full-sized tree.

"What an incredible power." This was Tong Hua's first real experience of a Mythical Pokémon's power. Seeing an ability that manipulated time in reality was truly astonishing.

"Then can you use that ability to speed up crop growth?" Tong Hua immediately thought of the crops growing on his Ranch and asked with shining eyes.

"Labi..."

Celebi shook their head. It seemed this power could only affect the trees in the Wind-Circling Forest.

"Right. Nothing's ever that easy." Tong Hua calmed down and abandoned the unrealistic idea.

Still, considering the game's storyline and Celebi's title of Forest Guardian, that restriction made sense.

"But even so, it's already amazing!" Tong Hua smiled and stroked Celebi's little head.

"Labi~" Celebi nodded happily, clearly pleased to have their ability appreciated.

"Then doesn't that mean we can harvest this Fast-Growing Forest endlessly?

A resource node that respawns. This really does feel more and more like a game.

All right! Don't mind if I do!"

Tong Hua tightened his grip on the axe, brimming with enthusiasm.

He picked a sturdy fast-growing eucalyptus and swung his axe, felling it in just a few blows.

"Turtwig, Minccino, help me clear away the branches!"

"Turt!" Turtwig poked their head out of the bamboo basket, deftly curling Vine Whips around the scattered branches and stacking them neatly in the basket.

"Min-min!" Minccino swiftly swept their tail over the trunk, clearing away the remaining bark and debris with brisk, meticulous movements.

The two Celebi weren't idle either. The pink Celebi lifted the log with Confusion and gently set it aside.

Meanwhile, the green Celebi flew over to the stump and gently pressed both hands against its growth rings. A faint green light began to flow

from their palms.

Tong Hua watched as tender green shoots emerged from the bare stump at a visible pace. They quickly sprouted branches and unfurled leaves, growing into a small tree within just a few minutes.

"That's incredible..." Tong Hua couldn't help marveling.

With Celebi helping move the logs, Tong Hua was even more motivated. He planned to cut down all twenty trees first, then take everything home in one trip.

So Tong Hua picked another eucalyptus of a suitable height and chopped away vigorously.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The axe struck the trunk in a steady rhythm, sending wood chips flying.

The moment this second tree fell, the information panel Tong Hua knew so well appeared before him.

[Tree Gathering succeeded three times!]

[Achievement unlocked: Gardener Beginner]

"That works too? So finding a teacher isn't the only way to unlock a class?"

The information panel before Tong Hua was similar to the one that had appeared when he unlocked Woodcarver, except the class name had changed from Woodcarver to Gardener.

"Wait, this is actually a gathering class!" Tong Hua was stunned. He had thought his cheat only offered six crafting classes.

He hadn't expected gathering classes too!

[Gardener: Level 6]

[Status: None]

[Experience: 520/1940]

[Class skills: Environmental Detection, Voice of the Trees]

Like crafting classes, gathering classes also had experience and level systems, with the same maximum level of 100.

They also had class skills. The two passive skills Tong Hua currently possessed could increase gathering yields and automatically locate gathering points.

The moment Tong Hua unlocked the Gardener class, both passive skills began affecting him.

A map of part of the forest appeared directly in Tong Hua's mind, clearly marking every location and the trees available to gather there.

Receiving so much information at once was a little too unfamiliar for Tong Hua. He plopped down and casually dropped the axe he was holding onto the ground.

"Turt?" "Min-min?" "Labi?"

Seeing Tong Hua suddenly sit on the ground, the Pokémon all rushed over in concern. Tong Hua waved a hand and said,

"I'm fine. Just taking a little break."

Without his class equipment, Tong Hua's class switched instantly, and the information panel automatically disappeared.

He had discovered this through experimentation after unlocking Woodcarver yesterday: he only had a class and its skills while equipped with that class's corresponding tools.

"In other words, besides Gardener, there should also be two other gathering classes: Miner and Fisher. Together with the six production classes, that makes nine classes in total.

But I tried fishing yesterday. Why didn't I unlock Fisher?

Oh, right. I didn't catch a single fish yesterday..."

Having sorted out his thoughts, Tong Hua smiled faintly, pleased with his new class and new power.

More importantly, this achievement had revealed a new way for Tong Hua to unlock classes.