"Hey, hey, hey! I really don't have anything left! And your eyes are practically glowing red!"
Uxie felt creeped out by his stare and hurriedly backed away a few steps.
Who could possibly have extras of something as precious as a Plate?
It wasn't Doraemon, with a Four-Dimensional Pocket that could produce anything it wanted.
It was just a poor, humble little Mythical Pokémon lured in by a human's delicious food.
Yushu smacked his lips and withdrew his gaze with some regret.
He had thought that, after living so long, Uxie ought to have something else stashed away besides the Plate.
Now it seemed this fellow really was a commoner's Mythical Pokémon through and through.
Tiga: Same here!
(Honestly, this commoner's Ultraman had a pretty good theme song.)
Yushu thought he would just have to wait for Ralts to hatch, then take the Plate from Rotom and give it to Ralts.
After all, putting the Psychic Plate on an actual Psychic type Pokémon was the best way to make full use of it.
Rotom: Huh?? I've only had it for a few days!
Well, the newcomer really did replace the old favorite!
Trainer! Your name is Heartless!
Uxie had already been about to float away, but it paused in midair, then turned around and descended beside the incubator again.
Its usually half-lidded eyes slowly opened, and it raised a hand, gently pressing it against the incubator's glass surface.
If it didn't show off a little, he really would think it was a freeloader!
Mystical Power!
A pink glow of psychic power poured from Uxie's palm, seeping into the incubator like flowing water and slowly enveloping the Pokémon Egg.
The patterns on the shell glimmered upon contact with the energy, the light flowing and spreading until the entire egg was coated in a pink radiance.
Yushu sucked in a breath.
He knew it! He knew Uxie still had something good!!
How could one of the mighty Lake Guardians possibly be nothing but a glutton?
Sure enough, it had handed out a buff the moment it made a move!
Yushu shouted excitedly, "Uxie, keep it up! Keep going!"
Uxie's voice was a little weak. "I can't. I'm all burned out..."
"I believe in you! You can do it! You're the god of knowledge! Give your junior a grand slam of blessings!"
"I really don't have a single bit left!!"
A while later, with Uxie's blessing.
The originally pale green Pokémon Egg radiated a pink psychic glow.
The light was gentle and mysterious, as though it had been painted with a layer of dreamlike color.
[Ralts (hatching)] [Type: Psychic type + Fairy] [Ability: Telepathy] [Status: Blessed by Uxie, enhanced Psychic type aptitude, increased affinity for mental energy]
Yushu's eyes widened slightly.
Increased affinity for mental energy meant this Ralts would be born with a stronger perception of psychic power than ordinary members of its species, and its growth ceiling would be higher too.
That blessing of Uxie's was pretty good.
"Uxie, about that..."
"No, I really don't have anything left this time!"
Uxie hurriedly cut him off, as though afraid he would make another unreasonable request.
Yushu hurriedly protested, "What are you saying? What are you saying? Am I that kind of person? I actually wanted to tell you to get some proper rest!"
Uxie glanced back at him.
Do you think I'd believe that?
Yushu smiled sheepishly. "Well... go get some rest. That must have tired you out."
"Hmph."
Uxie floated toward Yushu's room, ready to have a good rest.
After Uxie left, Yushu looked at the faintly glowing Pokémon Egg, and the corners of his mouth rose involuntarily.
The future looked promising.
Early the next morning, Yushu made Pokéblocks as usual.
Today, he was making a mixed flavor, using three ingredients blended in specific proportions.
After all this practice, his technique had become quite proficient.
Cutting fruit, measuring ingredients, controlling the temperature, molding-every step flowed smoothly.
Boom! Bang! Bang!!
Suddenly, Yushu heard fighting outside.
Huh? Was someone attacking?
Yushu set down his tools, wiped his hands, and quickly walked out of the house.
The sight before him made him pause.
Luxray was battling a Riolu.
It was Riley's.
Several blackened marks and claw marks from the fight scarred the ground between the two Pokémon. They had clearly already exchanged several rounds.
"Roar!"
Luxray let out a low roar, its mane abruptly bristling as arcs of electricity raced across its blue fur, turning into crackling currents that blasted straight at Riolu!
Discharge!!!
Bzzzt!
"Riolu, Detect!"
Under normal circumstances, currents like these would definitely be impossible to dodge. They covered far too wide an area.
Only special measures would work.
"Ri!"
Riolu's gaze abruptly sharpened, a glint flashing through its red eyes.
Its body made an extremely subtle movement a second before the electricity struck.
It moved as though it knew the currents' paths in advance, darting forward between the interwoven arcs like a fish swimming against the current.
"Roar!" (Dodging? Let's see you dodge this!)
Luxray let out an even deeper roar, and the electric light around its body suddenly surged.
Wild Charge!!!
Its body was completely enveloped in intense golden electricity as it launched itself forward like a golden cannonball, hurtling straight at Riolu with terrifying physical force!
Bzzzt-boom!
Tiny arcs of electricity erupted from the ground wherever it stepped, and grass clippings shattered under the current into charred powder that swirled through the air!
Riley's expression changed drastically. "Riolu, quick, block it with Force Palm!"
Instead of retreating, Riolu advanced, driving force into its forepaws and gathering a wave of white energy before thrusting it straight into Luxray's Wild Charge.
At the same time, Wild Charge's electricity erupted in full!
Bzzzt-boom!!!!
Riolu was knocked back on the spot, electrical marks covering its body as it dropped to one knee.
Faint smoke rose from its body, traces left by the scorching electricity.
Luxray also took two steps back as Wild Charge's recoil hit it. It shook its forepaws, which had gone a little numb from Force Palm's impact, and crouched again, its gaze still fixed on Riolu.
Riley's expression grew a little graver.
He had originally come to visit today, thinking there probably wouldn't be many people at the ranch, and had simply come around inside.
After entering, he had seen a Torterra weeding the Berry orchard with Razor Leaf.
Its control was precise, leaving the Berries unharmed while scattering grass clippings evenly across the ground as natural fertilizer.
The entire process was fluid and seamless, more professional than a professional gardener.
Riley had exclaimed in astonishment on the spot.
How was this farming? This was clearly practicing fine control over moves!
So this was what Yushu meant by farming?
Using Pokémon moves for farmwork both got the work done and trained control over those moves.
Combining daily work with training wasted no time and allowed Pokémon to grow stronger without even realizing it.
This was fucking genius!