Before Draconis could react, he saw Ryan and a Pidove walk in from outside.
In his hand, he carried two creatures tied tightly with rope.
Were those... chickens?
Draconis was slightly stunned. At first, he didn't quite believe it, thinking they were two Pokémon or something, but on closer inspection, he realized they were indeed two wild chickens.
Two ordinary wild chickens, without any energy fluctuations, were at the bottom of the food chain in this world.
Ryan was overjoyed: "Your Highness, we finally have meat to eat!"
Draconis twitched his mouth: "...Where did you catch them? And weren't you, Christina, and Cleveland going to investigate the wild Pokémon around the territory?"
"Oh, that! I found traces of these two guys while investigating wild Pokémon in the forest."
Ryan scratched his head, then explained:
"The Pidove helped me catch them with its move. Not only that, I also found a nest of eggs in their home! I remembered your Highness's instructions this morning, so I came back to deliver them first."
"Your Highness, doesn't this mean we can start raising these chickens?" Alfred's face showed a surprised expression.
Draconis nodded. With chickens and eggs, they could indeed try to domesticate these wild chickens into poultry and hatch the eggs into chicks.
Chickens lay eggs, eggs hatch chickens, and so on. Before long, they would have an endless supply of chicken meat and eggs.
"Well done!" Draconis was quite pleased. He praised Ryan and then said to the Old Butler beside him: "Alfred, go ask if there's anyone in the territory who knows how to raise chickens. Give these two wild chickens to him to raise. Also, have the carpenter make a fence out of wood to keep these two chickens from running away."
"Yes, Your Highness Draconis!" Alfred agreed repeatedly and then hurried away to find someone in the territory skilled in raising chickens.
"Your Highness, I'll be going now!" Ryan said: "Christina and Cleveland are still waiting for me in the forest!"
Their mission for this trip was to investigate the newly appearing wild Pokémon around the territory, and they needed to complete it as soon as possible.
Draconis nodded and said: "Go!"
Alfred was very fast, finding someone skilled in raising chickens that same afternoon.
It was a middle-aged man around forty years old.
The man, named Rick, had previously worked in the chicken farming industry in the Royal City.
Draconis asked him some questions about farming and, after confirming everything, finalized the selection.
The carpenter, Tack, made fences from timber cut from the forest and set up a chicken coop behind a house inside, specifically for raising chickens.
Looking at the two wild chickens pecking for food in the dirt, Draconis couldn't help but start thinking about how to house Pokémon like Shuckle, Combee, Deerling, and Miltank if they were caught later.
Just find someone to take care of them?
That would be too scattered.
If that's the case, why not build a ranch specifically for breeding production Pokémon?
That way, the ranch could provide the territory with products like honey, Berry Juice, milk, and tea in bulk.
It's not a bad choice, Draconis thought.
But currently, they haven't officially started raising those Pokémon. All of this has to wait until Ryan, Christina, and Cleveland finish investigating the types of Pokémon inhabiting the surroundings.
Moreover, raising Pokémon is not as simple as raising chickens.
Raising chickens only requires throwing them some grains, or letting them forage for food and catch insects in the ground.
But raising Pokémon is different.
Different Pokémon prefer different foods, and Pokémon like Miltank even require fresh pasture grass.
There is currently no pasture grass in the territory, and even the stock of Berries is not enough.
Without enough food, they cannot support raising a large number of Pokémon.
"Alas, we still have to wait for the crops to mature." Draconis couldn't help but feel a headache.
However, the only thing to be thankful for is that with Pokémon like Dugtrio, Snivy, and Snover, they can shorten the crop Growth cycle as much as possible.
In the evening, the Gathering team returned from outside.
Just as Draconis had expected, the spring forest had produced a large amount of wild delicacies.
Berries, wood ear mushrooms, mushrooms, leeks, bamboo shoots, fern—plus the fish Dratini caught from the river in the afternoon.
"What a great harvest!"
"That's wonderful! Now we don't have to worry about going hungry!"
The Pokémon living in the territory also gathered around, looking at the baskets full of food, and couldn't help but let out happy Growls.
Draconis watched this scene with a smile.
The resources of this place were indeed very abundant. This way, they could successfully make it until the day the crops in the fields matured.
***
The next day, early in the morning, Draconis borrowed Dugtrio from the farmland.
They stood in front of a large open space on the south side of the territory, and beside Draconis stood Snivy and the five Minccino.
A group of Pokémon lined up, looking at the open space in front of them with anticipation.
"Dugtrio, please." Draconis looked at the Dugtrio beside him.
Although he didn't know how the farmers and this Dugtrio got along, judging by Dugtrio's appearance, it seemed to have been accepted by the farmers.
At this moment, Dugtrio already understood the task Draconis had called it for today.
Since it had already promised Draconis to stay here and work to repay the damage it had caused, then these tasks should naturally be completed by it.
"Zhi zhi!" Dugtrio cried out, indicating that it was ready!
"In that case, let's begin!" Draconis nodded.
"Zhi zhi!"
A powerful energy immediately erupted from Dugtrio's body. The next second, the ground seemed to ripple with layers of waves.
Dugtrio began to run forward with all its might, and the soil it passed over was immediately turned over, becoming loose.
After a dozen or so passes, a complete field was tilled by Dugtrio.
Draconis took out the Sitrus Berry seeds he had collected all winter from his bag.
"Minccino, I will now plant these Berry seeds in this garden." Draconis stood and said to the Pokémon beside him: "This way, by autumn, these seeds will grow back into fruit trees, blooming and bearing fruit again."
If Grass-type Pokémon helped cultivate them with energy in between, the Berries would mature even earlier.
"Lili...!"
Hearing Draconis's words, a scene couldn't help but appear in the minds of the five Minccino on the grass.
—In that harvest season, all the fruit trees in this garden had fully grown, and every branch of every fruit tree hung with large, plump Sitrus Berries.
They happily shuttled through the forest, on the branches, and among the Berries. When hungry, they would casually pick a Sitrus Berry.
In the cold winter, they would all huddle together in the hollows of the fruit trees, with heavy snow falling outside, and the tree hollows warm and cozy.
"Lili...!"
That scene, just thinking about it made them so happy!
...
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