Carrying the books on Pokémon psychology borrowed from Miss Joy, Lucas returned to the farm as dusk fell.
Coincidentally, Zack arrived at the same time, delivering saplings, seeds, and fertilizer in his truck.
After unloading, Zack drove off. Lucas immediately called over several Pokémon with moving abilities to help.
Luxray carried a large bag of seeds on its back. Dragonite and Swampert walked side by side, strong arms holding multiple saplings. Serperior used its vines to lift bags of fertilizer.
Mimikyu's skills were impressive.
It used Shadow Claw to carry a bag of fertilizer, triggered Shadow Sneak, and instantly reappeared with the fertilizer dozens of meters away.
Ceruledge, however, was a bit troubled. Its body structure made it hard to help in this situation.
Even though its arm blades were shrunk in non-battle mode, the sharp edges and burning flames made Ceruledge unable to carry things safely.
So Ceruledge, on Lucas's command, went back to the kitchen to help prep dinner.
With the Pokémon's help, it only took a few trips to move everything.
In the storage next to the fields, Lucas checked the saplings and seeds. Once everything was accounted for, he left, planning to plant them all together the day after tomorrow.
After all, tomorrow's schedule was already packed.
...
The next morning—
Lucas was awakened by a wet, licking sensation on his face and a heavy pressure on his chest.
Opening his bleary eyes, the first thing he saw was the excited Growlithe.
"Good morning, Growlithe."
Lucas yawned, smiled, stretched out under the covers, and reached for something on his bedside table.
He passed over a bookmarked book called Pokémon Psychology and grabbed his phone to check the time.
Sure enough, it was already 8:30 a.m.
No wonder the Serperior and Mimikyu, which often appeared in his bed, were gone. He must have stayed up late reading.
Remembering his full schedule for today, Lucas immediately gave up on sleeping in.
He scooped up Growlithe, played with its soft fur, and after getting his fill of fluff, got out of bed, quickly washed up, and made breakfast for the hungry, expectant Pokémon.
By the time he finished, it was almost ten o'clock.
He left a reheatable lunch, had the rest of the Pokémon guard the house, and set off for Mesagoza City on Dragonite.
It only took about fifteen minutes to see Mesagoza's outline. Lucas stroked the nearly invisible fine scales on Dragonite's back, a bit emotional.
With Dragonite, traveling between cities in Paldea was so easy—even crossing regions wasn't hard.
He felt a sense of freedom as if the whole world was open to explore.
Once Growlithe evolved into Arcanine, he could try riding it for land travel. According to records, modern Arcanine once ran 10,000 kilometers in a single day and night.
If modern Arcanine is already so impressive, Lucas was even more excited to see what the ancient Hisuian Arcanine was like.
Dragonite didn't land in Mesagoza's center but at the front of Naranja Academy.
The battle class didn't start until the afternoon, and Lucas arrived early for one reason: the Pokémon ranch on the edge of Mesagoza.
With Lucas present, Dragonite landed gently. It was lunchtime, so there were few visitors—everyone had probably gone to eat in central Mesagoza.
After returning Dragonite to its Poké Ball, Lucas checked the ranch sign to confirm he was in the right place, then walked in.
The ranch was called Ellie Ranch, mainly selling Pokémon byproducts and Pokémon suited for farms and ranches.
Inside, an energetic, hat-wearing old man sat in the lobby, reading a newspaper and drinking hot tea.
"Oh, a customer?" Hearing Lucas enter, the old man folded up the newspaper and looked over. After seeing Lucas's face, he asked, "Are you a student at Naranja Academy?"
The old man's tone was a bit hesitant; Lucas looked young but wasn't wearing a school uniform.
"I'm not a student at Naranja Academy," Lucas shook his head, denying the guess, then added, "Hello, I run a farm in Los Platos and want to buy a few Pokémon suitable for a farm or ranch."
"From Los PLatos?" The old man neatly folded his newspaper, set down his tea, and asked, puzzled, "I remember Los Platos has its own Pokémon ranch. Why come all the way to Mesagoza?"
Lucas smiled, "My side job is as a teacher at Naranja Academy. I heard your ranch's Pokémon are healthy, strong, and have great temperaments."
"A teacher, huh?!" The old man was briefly surprised, then smiled proudly, "Then you've come to the right place. Actually, not just farm and ranch Pokémon—a lot of Naranja Academy students pick their Pokémon here too."
"I'm Ellie Moss. Come, let's go see the ranch!"
"Alright, Mr. Ellie Moss."
So that's why the ranch is called "Ellie"—it's from Ellie Moss's name.
Luo Mu nodded and followed him.
Because it was on the edge of Mesagoza, Ellie Moss's ranch was pretty big—even larger than Lucas's own.
Having reached a certain scale, the ranch completely simulated natural environments to provide the best conditions for the Pokémon.
There were many Pokémon here, most of them helpful for farms or ranches.
Looking around, Lucas saw groups of Fidough playing together, Mareep strolling on the grass, Miltank relaxing in the sunlight, and Mudbray happily rolling in the mud.
There was also a separate area where three different kinds of Tauros were running wild.
You could see the Combat Breed, Blaze Breed, and Aqua Breed all together.
All these Pokémon could be raised on a ranch or used to help on a farm.
PS: Read advanced chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode