By now, it was past six in the evening.
Dinner had just finished, and the sky had darkened, leaving only a faint, cool glow clinging to the horizon.
Soon, the sun completely set, and the garden's solar-powered lamps flickered on, one by one.
These were the lamps Lin Feng had installed after using Shadow Sneak on Alcremie.
They were positioned throughout the garden and orchard to prevent Frosty from getting startled again.
Most of the Pokémon, having finished their meals, returned to their sleeping spots.
Only Lin Feng, carrying Serperior and a Growlithe who had just eaten, made his way to the new orchard.
Seeing Growlithe trailing behind, Lin Feng couldn't help but scoop him up. He teased lightly, "Always following me around…"
"Woof woof…"
Growlithe barked twice, tilting his head in confusion.
"If you want to stay close, that's fine," Lin Feng reassured him.
Newborn Pokémon were like this they lacked a sense of security. When they entered a new place and met their first trainer, they wanted to stay near that trainer at all times.
They were unfamiliar with the environment, unaware of the personalities of other Pokémon.
Moreover, the other Pokémon looked stronger than them.
In such situations, only a trainer could provide that sense of safety.
Sprigatito had been the same.
When it first woke up, it would search for him everywhere.
But once it became familiar with its surroundings and everyone else, it grew quieter and more reserved.
"Woof woof…"
Growlithe stuck out his tongue, then immediately lifted his perfectly curved, smiling face and settled quietly in Lin Feng's arms.
"All right…" Lin Feng looked at Serperior.
Of course, he had come here to observe how Serperior's Grass Terrain would affect the orchard after tapping into the natural energy of the World Tree.
"Show show…"
Serperior nodded, amber eyes scanning the orchard now filled with fruit trees.
A streak of blue-green energy shimmered like a halo across the dark night, draping the newly planted orchard in a sparkling glow.
The energy danced like playful Pokémon, finally settling on each fruit tree under Serperior's control.
Lin Feng's eyes widened in shock.
The fruit trees, which had already been treated with high-level Fertile Soil and grown over a meter tall, now seemed to absorb some kind of supernatural hormone, sprouting new branches at a staggering rate. Their trunks thickened almost instantly…
In a matter of minutes, they had grown several dozen centimeters taller.
Lin Feng was astonished, even forgetting to tell Serperior to stop.
Fortunately, the blue-green energy gradually faded, and Serperior looked at the orchard with a hint of fatigue. "Show show…" (I'm out of energy…)
Lin Feng snapped back to reality. "That's enough, that's enough. You can't force them all to grow at once that would be ridiculous."
He knew that Serperior's Grass Terrain, combined with Fertile Soil, had always carried immense creative energy.
For ordinary, short-cycle vegetables, sprinkling a bit of high-level Fertile Soil and letting Serperior stimulate their growth would make them mature within an hour or two.
But berry trees were different.
Perhaps it was a limitation of creation itself, but in the Pokémon world, the rarer and more potent a berry, the longer it took to grow.
This orchard contained some particularly special berry trees.
Yet during the recent growth stimulation, even these trees had shown remarkable progress.
If this were in a normal forest, some growth stimulation might make them denser, but nothing like this.
Legends spoke of Xerneas and Calyrex having the ability to accelerate forest growth.
Now, Serperior had shown preliminary evidence of this scale.
My god…
Was he cultivating a Pokémon with the power of a life deity?
"Show show?" (They've grown so much…)
Serperior, having regained some energy, also looked at the trees in surprise.
"That's right, that's right. I thought there wouldn't be any fruit here until early spring next year, but it looks like by then, this place will already be a full orchard!"
"You're amazing, Serperior!"
Lin Feng couldn't help but praise her, patting her sleek body.
"Show show…"
Serperior froze for a moment, then turned her head, her face slightly blushing under the dim lamp light.
"Show show~"
She lifted her head proudly and glided toward the nursery, ready to go home to sleep.
"This orchard really can't do without me!"
But halfway there, she seemed to remember something. She swam back to Lin Feng.
"Hmm?"
Lin Feng was about to check for any mutated berry trees when he saw Serperior return, puzzled. "Serperior, what's wrong?"
"Show show!" (I want to shrink!)
Naturally, that was her request.
"Oh, oh."
Lin Feng finally understood. He pulled out a large energy block and a small one from his storage ball, watching Serperior expectantly.
He wanted to see what she would look like when smaller.
She immediately ate the "Size Energy Blocks" flavored with Pecha Berry.
Almost like a projection, Serperior's body began to shrink.
At first, he had to look down to see her, but soon she curled up on the ground like a long, blue-green serpent, her body just over a meter long.
The visual change left Serperior staring at Lin Feng in confusion.
The last time she had looked at him like this was when she was a Servine.
"Hehe…"
Lin Feng immediately set Growlithe down and crouched to admire the much smaller Serperior, instinctively stroking her head.
"Show show…"
A gentler voice now came from Serperior's mouth.
"Come on, come on, get up! Let me hug you, my good girl…" Lin Feng reached out, hoping she would coil toward him. His desire to hold Serperior was stronger than ever.
"Show show!"
But Serperior shook her head, glared sharply, and then wriggled toward the nursery.
"Huh?"
Lin Feng crouched behind, bewildered.
He didn't understand why Serperior had suddenly rolled her eyes at him.
Meanwhile, the smaller Serperior darted into the barn, glancing back at Lin Feng standing under the dim lamp.
She couldn't help thinking…
"Show show…"