Morning.
Hiyori Town Farm, Wooden Cabin.
"In that case, Clefable and I have to head out now~"
Seeing that the Miltank seemed to really like this place, Whitney felt completely relieved.
She glanced at the Pidgey-branded wall clock in the living room and said goodbye with a face full of reluctance.
Although she wanted to stay at the farm longer, she had spent a lot of time getting lost, and her Gym leave from the League was about to expire.
"Alright, you're welcome to visit again whenever you have the chance."
Hakuya nodded and stood up to see her off.
He could roughly guess the reason for the girl's hurry.
To participate in the League Conference in various regions, every Trainer must obtain eight Gym Badges within the year, which are issued by established Gyms.
In Hakuya's memory, the quality of Gym Leaders across regions was quite a mixed bag.
There were those who worked full-time as dancers in aquariums, those who turned Trainers into dolls if things didn't go their way...
In Sinnoh, there was even a Gym Leader who found it boring because he never lost a match, so he just handed out badges at the door to whoever showed up.
But clearly, the energetic cow-girl in front of him was a Gym Leader with professional integrity.
"Oh, wait!"
Just as she was about to leave, Whitney stopped at the crossroads outside the farm for a moment, as if remembering something, and hurriedly ran back in her canvas shoes.
As she ran, the sunlight caught her shirt, and the white fabric was propped up into soft waves, making it impossible to look away.
"Hakuya-onii-chan~ next time I come, you must tell me how you train your Pokémon!"
Whether it was because she ran too fast or because calling him "onii-chan" was too embarrassing, Whitney's fair face was now bright red, and the snowy skin of her chest was flushed with a rosy hue.
"..."
Hakuya looked at the energetic girl who was almost nose-to-nose with him, wanting to speak but stopping himself.
Young lady, that train of thought of yours is very dangerous—
"I'll be in your care from now on."
After seeing Whitney off, Hakuya led the Miltank to the fertile grassland on the farm.
"Moo~"
Seeing the grassland stretching as far as the eye could see, the Miltank's eyes lit up in unison.
For these little ones, wandering this vast pasture, eating fresh and succulent grass when hungry, and napping under the blue sky and white clouds was undoubtedly pure bliss.
"I'll need to build them a new shed eventually."
Hakuya looked at the dilapidated shelters nearby that his grandfather had built.
With so many Miltank now, it would definitely be cramped if they all crowded in during the rainy season.
Building new sheds, renovating the cabin... come to think of it, the farm still had many things to do.
And for Whitney and her grandfather who sent the Miltank, he would have to repay them well once the harvest season arrived.
"But before that, let's head to the fields for planting!"
Thinking this, he turned back to call the two Pokémon behind him.
"Gar~" "Chururu~"
At this moment, in a corner of the pasture where no one noticed, a loli with massive breasts quietly poked her head out from the tall grass.
She gazed at the receding back of the black-haired youth, lost in thought.
"Ma... Master?"
[Farm Upgrade Task 2: You have finally reclaimed the abandoned fields. Congratulations! Now that you have open land and plenty of seeds, it's time to truly begin crop cultivation. Keep up the hard work!]
[Task Reward: 50x Heal Herbs, 30x Repel Herbs]
Returning to the fields, the long-awaited mechanical voice rang out in his ears again.
According to Hakuya's observations over the past few days, he needed to complete at least five more tasks to reach Level 2.
"Gar~"
Gardevoir tugged at her Trainer's sleeve; she couldn't wait to plant the seeds and wait for the harvest.
Feeling the Pokémon girl's impatient mood, Hakuya gently rubbed her head and said, "I declare, the planting plan begins now!"
"Chururu~"
Lopunny chimed in happily from the side.
Since the farm didn't have large mechanical equipment, Hakuya chose the plow-and-sow method.
This was a traditional way of sowing grain: the basic steps involved using livestock to pull a plow to create furrows, scattering seeds, and then covering them with soil.
While he didn't have farm animals like oxen, Hakuya had more powerful helpers—Lopunny.
But before utilizing Pokémon power, he had to determine the position and direction of the furrows and ridges.
"From here... to over there..."
Hakuya stepped onto the soil he had previously loosened, calculating roughly in his mind.
The ridges and row spacing must correspond to each other to help with drainage and improve soil structure.
After ten minutes of thinking and onsite measurement, Hakuya took some stones from the path and placed them on the ground as markers, fixing the row spacing and ridge width.
Next, he only needed to direct Lopunny to start from the marked starting point and use the Dig and Till moves to dig up the soil, forming the trenches he wanted.
"I'm counting on you now, Lopunny."
"Remember to distribute the dug-up soil evenly on both sides after using the moves, and then use your tail to pack the soil on the top and sides of the ridge firmly!"
"Chururu!"
Hearing Hakuya's words, Lopunny nodded with confidence and then dove into the ground.
However, the next second, her original confidence turned into the realization that she had oversimplified things.
Ensuring the dug-up soil was even while maintaining the stability of the packed soil was a huge challenge for her.
Either the dug-up soil was uneven—more on the left than the right—or when packing the soil, the force from her tail was uneven, causing the ridges to collapse.
Hakuya stood nearby, watching the furrowing scene full of mishaps, and nodded with satisfaction.
This was not only a necessary step for planting crops but also a perfect opportunity to train Lopunny.
"Chururu~"
But soon, after a period of repetitive work, the clever Lopunny mastered the method and began to work with ease.
She first used Dig to plow up the underground soil, then used her body to move the dug-up soil evenly to both sides.
Immediately after, she used her tail with even and powerful strokes to press down on the piled soil in front of her.
In the blink of an eye, a section of the ridge was perfectly formed.
"Chururu!"
Lopunny let out a joyful cry.
She felt like she had become a little bit stronger again.
[Ding—Your Lopunny has learned Iron Tail.]
[Iron Tail: Attacks the target with a hard tail. May also lower the target's Defense.]
"Great job, Lopunny!"
Learning a new move just by digging furrows was truly an unexpected pleasant surprise!
"Chururu~"
Lopunny squinted her eyes, enjoying her Trainer's ear-rubbing service.
Looking at this field with dug trenches and high ridges, Hakuya was delighted and called Gardevoir over to start sowing the seeds.
"Gar~"
Under the control of her psychic powers, large and plump seeds flew into the holes Lopunny had pre-dug one by one.
Next, with careful tending, they only needed to wait for the harvest!
Hakuya stood in front of the field, looking at their final results with satisfaction.