The river bordering the pasture originated from Mount Coronet, flowing successively through Snowpoint City, Hearthome City, and Floaroma Town, finally arriving at Hinata Town and merging into the vast boundless sea near Snowpoint.
After walking for a few minutes, Hakuya arrived at the source of the shed's water supply.
Unlike the water in the trough which was just a bit black, this place was full of turbidity.
The river surface glistened with a black-brown luster. Turbid currents mixed with sand, gravel, and sludge wrapped in foam flowed slowly towards the east.
Lotad in groups of three or five swam out from the river full of dark brown foam with withered yellow leaves on their heads. Dozens of Magikarp jumped lightly on the water surface with plop-plop sounds. The splashing water happened to collide with the noon sunlight, emitting weird spots of light.
With just a breeze blowing, bursts of pungent smells surged like waves.
The stench was overwhelming, hard to breathe.
"Milo~"
Seeing this, Milotic couldn't help frowning her watery, beautiful eyes.
For a Water-type Pokémon, let alone living in this river with extremely poor water quality, just looking at it from a distance like this inevitably gave rise to the thought of fleeing as soon as possible.
[Farm Upgrade Mission 1: When running a farm, one needs to pay attention not only to the growth of crops but also to water safety issues. Please try to find the source of river pollution and purify the water completely.]
[Mission Reward: Mystic Water (Gold)]
[Mystic Water (Gold): A gem shaped like a water droplet. Carrying or absorbing it can increase the power of a Pokémon's Water-type moves by 20%.]
"The pollution level here is more serious than imagined..."
Hakuya looked at the black turbid river before him, then at the Magikarp jumping on the shore flapping their tails with blue-purple faces, unable to help sighing.
Unlike Miltank on the pasture, Magikarp could definitely be considered the most tenacious Pokémon.
Whether in the vast ocean, surging rivers, narrow puddles... or even in sewer sewage, their figures could be seen.
So much so that a few years ago, there was a famous thesis in the research community—"As long as there is water, no matter how harsh the environment, Magikarp can survive."
But now, even such Pokémon had fallen into a poisoned state due to river water quality problems.
"Gar~"
Taking fresh, round Pecha Berries from Gardevoir one by one, Hakuya began to feed them.
Although he had no intention of capturing them, for a qualified Trainer, helping wild Pokémon within his ability was also necessary.
Under the treatment of Pecha Berries, this group of Magikarp soon recovered their health.
"Lilli~"
"Mmm-hmm, I have to go along the river to take a look these days."
Hakuya reached out and rubbed Lilligant's head beside him, replying with a smile.
"A river capable of poisoning Magikarp is likely not ordinary sewage anymore. It's very likely that a group of Poison-type Pokémon have settled in the upper reaches of the river..."
Sorting out the information obtained now, the farm owner discovered clues.
Compared to his previous life, Pokémon's physical fitness was far superior to other ordinary animals. Conventional industrial and agricultural wastewater wouldn't make them poisoned. In most cases, it was affected by Poison-type Pokémon.
For example, Grimer and Muk, Trubbish and Garbodor...
The former two liked to live in sewer pipes under factories, taking the sludge and waste liquid discharged by them as main food.
Their sticky, soft bodies could make surrounding clear water muddy and smelly with just a touch. Lush vegetation would also be affected by severe toxins, withering and rotting instantly.
The latter two liked to live in stinking garbage dumps. If household garbage wasn't cleaned up in time, they would come in groups to settle down, absorbing toxic gas and venom produced by garbage, also causing considerable damage to the surrounding environment.
Thinking of this, Hakuya nodded thoughtfully, then greeted the Pokémon behind him to walk towards the villa.
"Let's go first; we'll take time to check the upper half of the river these days!"
Although the villa's drinking water was connected to other water systems in the town and underwent purification processes, letting such a turbid river flow through would inevitably affect the farm's original ecology and needed to be dealt with as soon as possible.
"Houndoom~"
When the farm owner returned to the villa with the Pokémon, the Houndoom leader responsible for patrolling also ran in.
"Okay, I'll go out and take a look."
Under the translation of Aura Power, Hakuya quickly understood her meaning.
So a guest has arrived—
Pushing the door open gently, Hakuya walked in the direction mentioned by Houndoom. Looking up, he saw that familiar figure.
Accompanied by bursts of motorcycle roaring, a green-haired, cold, glamorous mature sister flipped down from the seat dashingly.
"Good afternoon, Hakuya."
Still the familiar police uniform attire, still the black platform boots making clack-clack sounds under her feet.
Her pretty face was fairer than snow; her lustrous lips were fresh and beautiful like newborn rose petals.
And her slender, voluptuous jade legs wrapped in tight trousers exposed no spring scenery, but one could vaguely glimpse the fullness, beauty, exquisite proportionality unique to a cold, glamorous mature sister.
However, slightly different was that she didn't wear a police cap today. Her dark green silky beautiful hair, due to long-time motorcycle speeding, was curling beside her fair, snowy-soft neck, setting off a more charming and mature temperament.
"Long time no see, Officer Jenny."
"I-Indeed haven't seen you for a long time..."
Seeing the black-haired youth's handsome face again, Officer Jenny felt her heart beat slightly faster at this moment.
Although she had secretly prepared herself several times before coming, a nice crimson color still spread to her sensitive ear tips at this time.
"Mmm... speaking of which, you refused the invitation from Investigator Lance and the League before; turns out you were hiding in this remote place to be a farm owner~" exhaling a little turbid breath, Officer Jenny moved her gaze to the vast farmland not far away.
Beautiful eyes full of fluid, her originally flushed cheeks looked exceptionally beautiful and moving under the sun.
However, being a steady and dignified police officer lady after all, she quickly suppressed her throbbing thoughts, teasing softly.
"I rushed all the way from Hearthome City and still had to ask several households to find this place..."
"Bark-bark~"
The female Growlithe following closely behind Officer Jenny also wagged her tail, greeting Hakuya.
"Because compared to a life of running around everywhere, maybe I prefer being a bit more laid-back." Hearing this cold, glamorous mature sister's teasing and Growlithe's bark, Hakuya squatted down, rubbing this little guy's small head.
Although belonging to the same Fire-type Pokémon, the feel was quite different compared to the farm's Houndoom. The latter was smooth, while the former was fluffy; one could only say each had its own merits.
And Officer Jenny on the side looked around, finally unable to resist sighing.
"Have to say, compared to life in the city, this place is indeed much better..."
Under the bright sunshine, Wan-Wan Grain in the fields was growing vigorously.
The light breeze mixed with the smell of grass drifted leisurely. She could even smell the pungent floral fragrance from not far away through this breeze.