After tidying the chaotic cabin, Wade led Gardevoir out to the farmstead behind them.
In this world, most young people his age were either journeying to challenge Gyms or had taken a darker path, joining groups like Team Rocket to steal Pokémon. Very few wasted their prime years inheriting a derelict farm in a forgotten town. Were it not for the system, Wade—who in his past life had dreamt of becoming a Pokémon Master—would likely have chosen the open road with Gardevoir at his side.
The farm itself was roughly divided into three areas. The central plot was the intended cropland, though years of neglect had left it a wild tangle of overgrowth. A river, born from the distant slopes of Mt. Coronet, cut through the property, splitting it into eastern and western halves.
To the east lay sprawling grasslands, where the air smelled of sweet, juicy sap and where Jumpluff occasionally drifted by on the breeze. In the grassland's western corner hid a medium-sized lake, which, according to the Mayor of Hiyori Town, teemed with fish and Water-type Pokémon.
West of the central field, the land gently rose into rolling foothills—an ideal landscape, Wade noted, for cultivating berry orchards.
"Gardevoir~"
With a soft glow, Gardevoir's eyes shimmered briefly purple as she released her humanized form, reverting to her natural state. In the next instant, a familiar twist of spatial energy enveloped Wade, and he found himself standing amidst the central field.
Unlike the fresh, open grassland, this place was a suffocating thicket. Wild Growth sprawled in every direction, a chaotic sea of tall weeds that choked the sunlight, casting the whole area in a damp, green gloom.
A chime sounded in his mind.
[Farm Upgrade Quest I Issued]
The fields have long lain fallow and are overrun. As the farm's owner, reclaim and cultivate more than three acres of land.
Reward: Premium Leppa Berry Seeds (x500), Premium Gungun Bean Seeds (x200), Rare Candy (x3).
"Right on schedule," Wade murmured, acknowledging the system's prompt. The number of Word Strips he and his Pokémon could equip was intrinsically tied to the farm's development level. A higher farm grade meant more slots. Currently, at Level 1, the limit was two Strips each.
"Have to speed up development," he decided, gazing at the daunting wilderness. Making the farm "bigger and stronger" wasn't just about power—it was a matter of survival. With only Gardevoir, his "enthusiastic" partner, he was managing… for now. But if more "Pokémon Girls" joined the farm in the future, even the dual purple Strips—Healing Body and Psychic Amplification—might not save him from exhaustion. More Slots were non-negotiable.
"Alright, Gardevoir, let's get to work!" Wade rolled up his sleeves with renewed vigor, fetching a sickle from the storage shed.
"Gar!" Gardevoir chirped, switching seamlessly into work mode. For all her… affectionate distractions in humanized form, the Gardevoir Wade had raised from a Ralts was formidably powerful. Strengthened further by their dual equipped Strips, her current strength likely rivaled that of a veteran Gym Leader's ace.
With a soft cry, a tremendous wave of psychic energy erupted from her. Several strands of Psychic power compressed and sharpened into blades of pure force, then swept across the field she indicated, tearing through the air with a sound like ripping canvas.
Extrasensory: Myriad Swords Returning to the Origin!
Between Wade's sickle and Gardevoir's controlled devastation, the land was quickly flattened as if worked over by industrial machinery.
The work was not without its surprises.
"Gar!" Gardevoir's eyes lit up mid-task. She floated over, presenting several palm-sized, glossy, stone-like objects she'd unearthed.
[Hard Stone (Blue) x3 Identified]
Effect: Improves a Pokémon's control over Rock-type energy and enhances the physical constitution of Rock-type Pokémon.
Wade recalled these were sought-after commodities for battling Trainers, often found in the wild or traded. Market value could range from thousands to hundreds of thousands of League Coin, depending on quality. These three blue-grade stones? Probably worth around 15,000 Coin altogether—a windfall for the fledgling farm, enough to hire the town's construction crew to finally repair the cabin's sagging porch and leaky roof.
"Well done," Wade smiled, ruffling the crest of hair on her head.
"Gar!" She leaned into the praise, eyes narrowing in contentment. But a moment later, she shook her head gently.
"Hm? Want a different reward?" Wade paused, puzzled.
"Gar!" She nodded emphatically, a flush already creeping across her features. Before Wade could ask what she had in mind, the world tilted.
A wave of softness and a dizzying scent enveloped him as those familiar, snow-capped peaks pressed close. With a final, heart-eyed glance, a flushed Gardevoir gathered him in her arms. There was a distinct pop of displaced air as she used Teleport, and the freshly cleared field vanished, replaced by the familiar, welcome shadows of the wooden cabin.
At some point, she had slipped back into her humanized form.
Pale golden sunlight spilled through the window, illuminating Gardevoir as her bare feet whispered against the wooden floorboards. The hem of her white gauze skirt swayed, hinting at the slender lines of her legs beneath. Were it not for the telltale flush painting her skin from the tips of her ears down to her collarbone, or the way her emerald eyes had softened into a glazed, misty haze, she might have perfectly embodied the image of a cool and elegant older sister.
Unfortunately…
"Master…"
The word was barely a sigh before she was already at the bedside, leaning over with her hips arched upward. The white skirt cascaded around her like a fall of cloud.
"Please," she murmured, glancing back over her shoulder. Her eyes, shimmering with unshed tears of anticipation, held his gaze. "Reward me… fiercely." With each breath, the gentle curve of her backside trembled faintly, like ripe fruit heavy on the bough.
[Trait Acquired: Psychic Amplification (White)]
"Sigh… There goes the afternoon."
After being teleported back to the cabin and thoroughly… attended to for the better part of the day, Wade let out a long, weary breath as the world finally stilled around him. A pleasant fatigue settled in his bones.
"Gar!"
Once a suitable period of post-battle tenderness had passed, Wade—with some effort—extricated himself and guided a profoundly reluctant Gardevoir back to the fields. Discipline, he reminded himself, was the true foundation of success. One must remain diligent and avoid indolence!
"Dor!"
Just as they had regained their working rhythm, a series of soft thumps interrupted them. From within the piles of cleared weeds, several small, round Pokémon stumbled out before collapsing onto the freshly turned earth, swirls replacing the looks in their eyes.
"Dor dor—"
Wade looked down, both amused and exasperated, at the defeated Oddish lying before him, their leafy heads drooping. He hadn't expected a family of the little Grass-types to have been nesting, perfectly camouflaged, within the wild thicket.
After administering a healing spray to their minor wounds and waiting for the Oddish to regain their senses, Wade gently ushered the chastened group back toward the forest lining the farm's edge.
"Still," he mused, watching them disappear into the underbrush, "it would be a huge help to have a Pokémon that specializes in cultivation around here."
His gaze returned to the vast, now-clear expanse of land. It lay empty and waiting, a blank slate of rich soil. The scale of the work ahead was suddenly very clear, and a dedicated helper no longer felt like a luxury, but a necessity.