[Building: Mushroom House]
Required Materials:
League Coins: 5000
Wood: 300
Stone: 200
[Description: A small building specially used for cultivating mushrooms. The interior contains the most basic facilities and also includes a small living space for Pokémon.
Note: size can be adjusted at additional cost]
The price was fairly cheap, though it required quite a lot of stone and wood.
The ranch's current stock was not enough, so a portion had to be purchased from outside.
That part was simple. After breakfast, Silas asked Cinccino to help look after the two Charcadet, then brought Cyclizar along and made a quick trip to Shalour City.
Within ten minutes, he returned with two small trucks loaded full of stone and wood.
Led by Kangaskhan, the larger Pokémon all came over to help. His Machamp-like Kangaskhan relied purely on strength, even running while carrying a small truck. With both arms, it could hug six or seven logs at once and move swiftly. Baby Kangaskhan in its pouch and little Phione were also "helping," stretching out their tiny hands to support the bottom, using all their strength.
Whether it actually helped was another matter, but at least they were trying.
Compared to some others, these two were already considered well behaved.
Silas walked over to Meganium and grabbed Cinccino, who was standing on his shoulder and enthusiastically directing everyone around.
Caught by the back of its neck, Cinccino flailed its limbs, eyes wide as if saying, "I am helping coordinate everyone's work, why are you grabbing me!"
"Yeah, thanks a lot."
Rubbing its fluffy fur into a mess, Silas poked its puffed up cheeks, which had swollen in indignation.
"You call that directing? How did Mudsdale and the others crash into each other then?"
"Cin…"
Cinccino let out a weak cry, blinking its sparkling eyes and rubbing its soft face against Silas's palm, clearly trying to act cute and get away with it.
With the enthusiastic but chaotic help of Cinccino and the others, what should have taken ten minutes to transport ended up dragging on for over an hour. Eventually, all the materials for building the mushroom houses were neatly stacked in place.
Silas bounced his foot slightly, causing the Jigglypuff perched on it to bounce twice.
"The work is done. Why are you troublemakers still hanging around instead of going off to play?"
Jigglypuff clung tighter to his foot, its eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"Jiggly~" (Magic trick! Big sister Cinccino said Silas can conjure big houses!)
Looking around, Shaymin, the two Charcadet, and Toxtricity duo all showed eager expressions. Cinccino had exaggerated things so much that they were extremely curious and wanted to see it with their own eyes.
"Do you all know the rules?"
"Min~" (Close our eyes and don't peek.)
Shaymin curled into a little green hedgehog and shut its eyes tightly.
The rest followed suit.
Seeing this, Silas silently gave the command in his mind, activating his golden finger to begin construction.
The required materials were lifted by an invisible force.
Then, with a gust of autumn wind, two identical stone houses appeared before their eyes.
Jigglypuff's cat-like ears trembled as it asked softly, "Jiggly?" (Is it done, Silas? Can we open our eyes?)
"Yes, yes, you can open them."
As he picked up Jigglypuff, the little one immediately exclaimed in surprise, grabbing his clothes and shaking them excitedly.
"Jiggly! Jiggly!" (Big house! Such a big house! Silas is amazing, so awesome!)
The Toxtricity duo and the Charcadet stared wide eyed, mouths slightly open, filled with amazement.
Only Shaymin looked bored. It had seen this kind of "magic" a long time ago.
Pinching Jigglypuff's soft, round face, Silas stepped forward and pushed open the door of the mushroom house.
Inside were neatly arranged cultivation racks, each about as tall as a person. They were made entirely of wood, which explained why so much timber was needed.
To maximize space, each rack was divided into multiple layers, each capable of holding mushroom substrate bags and providing ample growing conditions.
After counting, one mushroom house contained eight racks, while the remaining space served other purposes.
Each rack had three layers. With standard 12 cm by 12 cm square substrate bags, each layer could hold around twenty bags.
From what he had learned from Gario, taking oyster mushrooms as an example, each bag could yield around 0.5 kilograms. With proper care, two to three harvests could be obtained per month.
That was already a decent yield.
Not to mention, he had hired three Toedscool. Their Mycelium Might ability could accelerate fungal growth, potentially doubling the final output.
Of course, that was just the economic calculation. Silas built the mushroom houses mainly to satisfy his appetite and expand the ranch's food variety.
He planned to plant a little of every kind of mushroom. For those that tasted especially good, like king oyster mushrooms, button mushrooms, and termite mushrooms, he would plant more. Whether stir fried or used in hot pot, they were all excellent.
The only regret was that their growth cycles were long.
Just cultivating the mycelium took nearly a month. Even with the Toedscool helping, it would still take about a month before they could be eaten.
Those were manageable. The mushrooms Silas wanted to cultivate next had far stricter conditions.
He suspected that relying solely on Toedscool's Mycelium Might might not be enough. Perhaps their evolved form, Toedscruel, would be required.
Top tier wild mushrooms like matsutake, porcini, and termite mushrooms had extremely demanding growth conditions.
Termite mushrooms required a symbiotic relationship with termites. Matsutake, as the name implied, needed to coexist with pine trees. Porcini had to adapt for one or two months before forming symbiosis with tree roots.
The conditions were harsh. Even with Pokémon as supernatural beings, changing them would take time.
But if successful, the rewards would be tremendous.
He could mass produce the long forgotten "ultimate century soup."
Adding matsutake to dishes could even produce super A rank cuisine.
And porcini used in hot pot… just imagining it made Silas swallow unconsciously.
Do it. He had to do it.
No matter what, he could not let his stomach suffer.
Never underestimate the power a gourmet could unleash for the sake of food. At that moment, Silas seemed to be engulfed in flames, as if entering a blazing state.
"Jiggly!" (Silas is burning!)
"Charca~" (I will put it out.)
Shiny Charcadet rushed over and hugged him, its Flash Fire ability absorbing the imaginary flames around him.
Silas fell silent.
"Charca Charca~" (Don't be afraid, Silas. I will protect you.)
Holding up the serious faced shiny Charcadet, Silas pressed his cheek against it affectionately.
After walking around the cultivation area with the Pokémon, they moved to the back section where the mushroom "food" would be prepared.
Yes, mushrooms needed food too.
Different mushrooms required completely different substrate formulas. If Silas wanted to cultivate top tier wild mushrooms like matsutake, focusing on the substrate was definitely the right approach.
Currently, aside from the necessary tools, the substrate preparation area was empty.
Calling the little ones along, Silas walked toward a small side room.
This room was simply furnished but perfectly suitable as a living space for the three Toedscool.
As for what would happen after they evolved and needed more space, Silas had already considered it.
He turned and walked toward the other mushroom house, the one designated for cultivating toxic mushrooms.
(End of Chapter)