After successfully "abducting" a temporary employee, Hakuya led Rosa and the Pokémon toward the eastern hills of the farm.
This morning, they had to finish planting all the Berry saplings.
"Wow, it's so beautiful~"
Along the way, Rosa marveled at the scenery from time to time.
As the morning sunlight spilled down, the vast fields were lush with green; the thriving Wang-Wang Cereal and Rolling Beans swayed in the breeze like surging waves. They looked several inches taller than they had just a few days ago.
"Chururu~"
Lopunny ran back after carrying water to the fields, her heart full of joy.
It seemed another batch of the sixty-plus mushrooms planted in the forest clearing had matured.
"Good work. We'll go pick them together in a few days."
Hakuya rubbed her head, his heart swelling with happiness.
He hadn't expected the soil in that area to be so fertile; in such a short time, he had received more good news of a harvest.
He believed that in a few more days, the fully matured mushrooms could be packed and sold to Uncle Yoshino.
Little by little, saving up for a big villa was just around the corner!
"Mi-no~"
After crossing the field path, Mienshao, who was walking in front, spotted the hilly land nearby.
[Farm Upgrade Quest 5: Over time, the once dense and lush Berry forest has vanished like a passing cloud. As a diligent farm owner, you need to reclaim this land as soon as possible and plant at least 200 Berry saplings.] [Quest Reward: A Fragmented Version of Psychic Power (Rainbow)] [Fragmented Psychic Power (Rainbow): As the name suggests, randomly obtain a small portion of the full version of Psychic Power.] [Note: After completing the quest, the farm will upgrade to Level 2!]
Psychic Power?
Hearing the system's announcement, Hakuya, who was still thinking about how to plant the saplings, was momentarily stunned.
Compared to previous upgrade tasks, the reward for breaking through the farm level was clearly much more generous.
Although it was only a fragmented version, the quality assessment was the highest "Rainbow" level. If his luck was good...
Suddenly, he thought of the iconic figures with psychic powers in this world—Caitlin and Sabrina.
One was the current Psychic-type Elite Four member of the Unova League, who once caused massive destruction due to her powers going out of control.
The other was the Gym Leader of Saffron City in Kanto, who could manually boost her Pokémon's combat evolution and even used her powers to turn challenging Trainers into dolls...
If the psychic power he obtained could even reach one-tenth of their level, let alone match them, Hakuya would be satisfied.
"A-Ya, let's start planting quickly~"
Beside him, Rosa excitedly tugged at Hakuya's sleeve, already eager to pick up a shovel and start digging.
"Saa! Saa!"
Serperior also raised its head, curiously surveying the surrounding environment.
"No rush. Before we plant the saplings, we have to reclaim and till this hilly land properly."
Hakuya looked at the eager Rosa and smiled as he rubbed her hair.
For this busty girl, this kind of farm life was a truly novel experience compared to a Trainer's daily routine of adventuring and Gym challenges.
"Lopunny, I'll trouble you first."
"Chururu~"
Under the Trainer's direction, Lopunny kicked off with her hind legs and used the Dig move to burrow into the soil.
Since his grandfather had planted Berries here before, the rough shape of the terraced fields could still be faintly seen.
As a "dirt dragon" snaked through the hills, clumps of yellow earth were overturned, and holes of various sizes were dug out in an orderly fashion by Lopunny.
Next, they just needed to plant the purchased Berry saplings into the holes one by one.
However, looking at the scattered wild trees still growing on the hills, Hakuya felt a bit troubled.
The number of wild trees wasn't small; leaving them alone would clearly affect the growth of the fruit trees later. They had to be dealt with quickly.
"Serperior, let's help too. Use Hidden Power!"
Just as he was debating whether to have Gardevoir use her psychic powers to uproot them and pile them aside, Rosa gave the command to Serperior.
"Saa!"
In an instant, scorching spheres of flame descended from thin air, sweeping across the hills like a prairie fire.
In no time, the scattered wild trees were reduced to ashes.
"Thanks, Rosa."
Seeing this, Hakuya couldn't help but praise her.
Hidden Power is different from other regular skills; it can manifest as any of the eighteen types.
Every Pokémon, after learning this move, randomly gains one type, and Rosa's Serperior had mastered the Fire-type Hidden Power.
Looking at the Berry field covered in a thin layer of black ash, Hakuya nodded with satisfaction.
This way, not only was the problem of the wild trees solved, but the resulting ash would provide rich nutrients for the Berry field—truly killing two birds with one stone.
"Hehe~"
Being praised, the busty girl raised her chin proudly.
With the Berry field completely prepared, the next step was the formal planting of the saplings.
"Gar~"
With a soft hum from Gardevoir, she raised her slender hand.
The bundles of Berry saplings floated into the air and were inserted into the pre-dug holes in an orderly fashion.
Entering the hole, covering with soil, leveling...
"So amazing~"
In just a short while, Rosa watched as the once-bare hillside was suddenly filled with Berry saplings of various sizes.
With the help of Pokémon, farm life was indeed much more leisurely and pleasant.
"Eh, where's Skitty?"
Satisfied that the saplings were all planted, Hakuya was about to have Skitty use Rain Dance to water them, but when he turned around, he couldn't see the little one anywhere.
"Ya-mi?"
Lilligant tilted her head cutely, her crimson eyes full of confusion.
Strange, she saw her there just a moment ago...
"Meow meow~"
After calling several times, the culprit finally heard the Trainer's voice and poked her head out from behind some bushes.
"..."
Seeing this, Hakuya stepped forward and helplessly plucked out the Skitty, whose mouth was stuffed completely full.
The bundles of saplings bought from the Hiyori Market seemed to have been recently uprooted from elsewhere, so some branches still had a few fresh, small Berries on them.
Naturally, this gluttonous Skitty had set her sights on them.
"Skitty, use Rain Dance."
After the greedy little one finished eating the Oran Berry in her mouth, Hakuya patted her head and commanded.
"Meow meow!"
Suddenly, dark clouds gathered only above the Berry field; a torrential downpour fell from the sky like a thick blanket.
All the Berry saplings bathed in the rain, beginning to grow vigorously.
[Farm Upgrade Quest 5 Completed: Plant Berry Saplings] [Quest Reward: Fragmented Psychic Power (Rainbow)] [Farm Level has increased to Level 2! The host or farm Pokémon can now be equipped with four traits simultaneously.] [Note: To continue breaking through the farm level, ten upgrade tasks must be completed.]