"A little more to the left, Cinccino."
"Yes, yes—right there."
"Ahhh… that feels good!"
Hayato Sora lay flat on the grass in front of the ranch house.
Standing on his back, Cinccino used its tiny paws to massage him, easing the soreness in his arms and shoulders.
It wasn't just Cinccino who wanted to join in.
Hayato Sora stared cautiously at the eager Cyclizar in front of him.
If that guy stepped on his back, it would probably hurt for days.
"Graao~"
Cyclizar scratched the ground in dissatisfaction, swinging its tail angrily.
Hayato Sora had no choice.
He reached out a hand, pushed Cyclizar over, and began scratching it all over.
Cyclizar immediately burst into giggles.
Before long, its little frustration was completely forgotten. It stuck out its tongue and began enthusiastically licking Hayato Sora's face.
Speechless, Hayato Sora pushed Cyclizar away again.
After stretching his body a bit, he felt much better and told Cinccino to stop.
He hugged Cinccino, gently rubbing its large ears with his palm before rubbing his cheek against its soft fur.
"Thanks, Cinccino. I feel much better now."
"Chii chii~"
Cinccino happily wagged its tail, as if saying it was only doing what it should.
Just as Hayato Sora was playing with his Pokémon, a familiar voice came from the ranch gate.
"Hayato Sora! Hayato Sora! Are you home?"
"That's Denzel ."
Not knowing why he had come, Hayato Sora picked up Cinccino and mounted Cyclizar.
Cyclizar let out an excited howl and dashed forward.
In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the ranch gate.
Dingzhi jumped down from the back of his Gogoat. When he saw the unfamiliar Pokémon Hayato Sora was riding, he exclaimed in admiration.
"Wow! Is this the ranch Pokémon you bought in Coumarine City, Hayato Sora? It looks really cool!"
Hayato Sora climbed down and patted Cyclizar.
"Hahaha! Cyclizar, Denzel is praising you."
"Graao~ "
Cyclizar lifted its chin proudly.
After all, it was the God of the Future.
The two chatted for a while, inevitably bringing up the Legendary Pokémon Lugia that had appeared the previous night.
It wasn't just them.
After a whole night of spreading online, people across the Kalos region were probably discussing the event.
The reputation of Santalune City would surely rise, and next year's Beach Festival would become even more lively.
"Oh right—Denzel , why did you come to see me?"
Hayato Sora scratched his head.
They had gotten so caught up talking that he had almost forgotten the main topic.
Dingzhi smiled sheepishly.
"Well, it's like this. I wanted to buy a batch of Grass Dumplings from you."
"If Denzel wants some, just take them. I still have plenty here."
Dingzhi had helped him so much before that Hayato Sora didn't care about giving away a few Grass Dumplings.
"Hayato Sora, I can't accept something that valuable for free."
Dingzhi quickly stopped him and explained:
"You probably don't know yet. Last night, a rancher bought the Grass Dumplings you were selling and fed them to his Skiddo."
"The milk they produced increased by one quality level, and it even gained a unique grassy fragrance."
"And this time I'm not just buying them for myself—other ranchers also asked me to purchase some for them."
"I see."
Hayato Sora finally understood.
The effect of Grass Dumplings on Skiddo was completely unexpected.
For ranchers, if the quality of milk increased by even one level, the selling price could almost double.
If it ever reached the level of top-grade ingredients, it could sell for an astronomical price.
Thinking about that, Hayato Sora stopped insisting on giving them away for free.
If this deal succeeded, he would gain another stable source of income.
After sending Dingzhi off, Hayato Sora recorded the ranchers' orders for Grass Dumplings.
The quantity was quite large, so they agreed to come pick them up three days later.
Before Dingzhi left, however, Hayato Sora still forced a small bag of ten Grass Dumplings into his hands.
This time Dingzhi didn't refuse.
He was curious about the dumplings' effect and couldn't wait to return to his ranch and feed them to his Skiddo.
Thinking about the PokéDollars that would soon flow in, Hayato Sora suddenly felt completely energized.
No sore shoulders.
No back pain.
For him, Grass Dumplings had zero cost.
Whatever price he sold them for was essentially pure profit.
A zero-cost business.
Energy surged through Hayato Sora.
He told Cinccino to go play with Kangaskhan and the others, then climbed onto Cyclizar again.
First, he rode Cyclizar around the two farmland plots, greeting the Mudbray trio.
They had already used ground-tilling moves to help accelerate the crops' growth.
The strawberries and cabbages planted in the second reclaimed field had already reached the third stage of growth.
At this growth rate, Hayato Sora estimated that in two or three more days, he would be able to make the first harvest.
Technically, he could already harvest some now.
Among the strawberry plants, he could already see small green fruits covered with pale yellow seeds.
Wiping away the morning dew, Hayato Sora took a bite—
And immediately bared his teeth.
Sour.
Astringent.
With only the faintest hint of sweetness.
"Graao~"
Cyclizar grabbed Hayato Sora's pant leg with its mouth and pawed at him.
"You want one?"
Hayato Sora shook slightly and handed Cyclizar a half-ripe strawberry, doing his best to keep a straight face.
Cyclizar had clearly thought Hayato Sora was eating something delicious.
"Gra—!"
In the next moment, Cyclizar stood upright on its hind legs, frantically pawing at its tongue while glaring at Hayato Sora with a resentful expression.
"Hahahahaha!"
Hayato Sora burst into hearty laughter.
"Cyclizar, you can share them with the other Pokémon too!"
He suggested mischievously.
He could already imagine the angry expressions on Kangaskhan and Cinccino's faces after getting tricked.
"Graao!"
Cyclizar instantly understood Hayato Sora's idea.
If it suffered, everyone else had to suffer too.
It grabbed the remaining strawberries with a hint of pink color and ran off in a puff of dust, abandoning Hayato Sora.
Ignoring Cyclizar, Hayato Sora wandered toward the tulip field.
The plants no longer looked like newly transplanted seedlings.
Their stems had grown tall, and the leaves stretched upward like swords, constantly performing photosynthesis to store energy for the upcoming bloom.
At the top of each stem was a swelling green bud ready to blossom.
Many buds were already turning lighter in color.
If you gently touched the outer bracts, they would fall away easily—clear signs that the flowers were about to bloom.
An entire field of tulips…
What Pokémon might it attract?
Tomorrow he would ask Brother Gario what the market price for tulips was this year.
After checking the farmland, Hayato Sora headed to the orchard.
Fruit trees grew much more slowly.
Right now they were still only mid-stage saplings, far from flowering and fruiting.
After examining several trees, he didn't find any insect damage.
It seemed Chatot hadn't forgotten the job Hayato Sora had assigned it.
Once he finished the ranch's daily tasks, Hayato Sora returned to the house and picked up a sickle.
He was about to harvest some pasture grass to make more Grass Dumplings.
But after only a few steps—
He had to stop.
Cyclizar came running from the distance and hid behind him, clutching his clothes tightly with both claws.
No matter how hard Hayato Sora tried, he couldn't shake it off.
In front of them stood an angry group—
Kangaskhan, Cinccino, and the three Mudbray brothers.
Clearly, they had all been pranked.
And they were ready to beat Cyclizar up.
PS: I've been releasing chapters daily . Honestly, it hurts seeing almost no support on Patreon after all that work.If you're enjoying the fic, even a little, supporting me would mean a lot. It helps a student stay independent .
complete fic (all chapters ) are already up on Patreon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789
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