Evening fell.
Silas saw off the last guest.
Siebold rode away along the water route on Blastoise's back, taking several bottles of fruit wine with him. He planned to promote them at his restaurant. Silas would definitely be brewing more fruit wine in the future, so he needed a stable sales channel.
If the restaurant guests accepted it, that would be even better.
The idea had only come up during dinner earlier. For now, they were simply giving it a try.
"Min~"
In his arms, Minccino clung tightly to his clothes and let out a long yawn.
Its eyes curved into little crescents. Its small head rested in the hollow of Silas's neck, and its fluffy tail draped over his arm. It looked unbearably sleepy.
"You're already this tired, and you still insist on sticking to me."
Silas chuckled and gently pinched Minccino's curled ear, causing the little one to shyly shake its head.
"Min~"
Minccino tightened its grip even more. It did not want Silas to leave.
Patting its small backside, Silas walked back.
The little one had just returned recently and was still in its clingy phase.
In a few days, unless it was time to eat or sleep, he probably would not even be able to call it back. It would be running wildly across the ranch with Dolliv and Alcremie.
Instead of heading straight to the house, Silas made a detour to the newly built berry grove.
Meganium and Tropius had only just arrived at the ranch. He wanted to check how they were adapting and see whether there was anything in their hut that needed improvement.
As soon as he approached, Tropius and Meganium noticed him.
The two Grass type Pokémon were still quite alert, unlike the little ones in the ranch who, once asleep, would not wake up even if called.
The prime example was the Minccino snuggled in his arms.
Lowering his voice, Silas asked softly, "How is it? Are you two getting used to things? Is there anything about the hut you would like changed?"
Meganium noticed the sleeping Minccino and stretched its long neck to take a look. It let out a soft cry and shook its head.
They loved their new home. Everyone here was kind.
Just earlier, Litten had even asked Butterfree to deliver berries to them.
This was the kind of life they had always dreamed of. The two Pokémon cherished it deeply.
"Tropius?"
(When do we start working?)
"No rush." Silas reached up and gently stroked Meganium as he replied to Tropius. "Rest for a couple more days. You will work better once you have fully recovered."
"Meganium~"
Meganium answered very softly, indicating they were already well rested.
Seeing how eager they were, Silas thought for a moment. "How about this. Tomorrow I will go buy seeds. You can rest one more day, and start working the day after tomorrow. Does that sound good?"
The two Grass type Pokémon exchanged a glance and nodded firmly.
They had grown fond of the ranch and both wanted to help Silas.
As he was about to leave, Silas suddenly turned back, raising his brows with curiosity.
"By the way, when are you two planning to have a child?"
The moment he finished speaking, Meganium's face and neck flushed bright red. Overcome with shyness, she hurriedly ran off.
Only Tropius remained, standing there with a simple and honest smile.
It seemed he did not need to worry. Tropius and Meganium were already preparing.
Patting Tropius and gesturing for it to go comfort its wife, Silas turned and walked back to the house.
The Indeedee siblings were still waiting for him in the living room. Silas told them to go rest.
After a simple wash, he went upstairs to sleep.
On the bed, the bizarre sleeping positions of Morpeko and Popplio left him speechless for a moment. He pushed the two little ones toward the inner corner before lying down himself.
Before long, he drifted into dreamland.
…
The next morning, as the first ray of sunlight entered the room, Silas opened his eyes.
"Good morning, Dolliv."
"Doll!"
On the windowsill, Dolliv stood with the leaf on its head spread wide, performing photosynthesis. It waved its tiny hand at him in greeting.
Turning to look at the bed, he saw Popplio and Morpeko sprawled on top of each other. There was even a blue flipper hanging from Morpeko's mouth. From time to time, it licked it absentmindedly.
With a look of disgust, Silas separated the two.
Neither of them slept properly.
Minccino was still the most well behaved. Silas leaned down and gave its little face a kiss.
After getting dressed, he went downstairs first.
The Indeedee siblings were in the kitchen preparing breakfast. While brushing his teeth, Silas did not forget to tell the younger Indeedee to give Morpeko a proper tooth brushing later and wash Popplio's feet as well.
Just as Silas was about to start eating, he saw Cyclizar dash out the door with two fried dough sticks clenched in its mouth.
"Cyclizar, where are you going so early?"
The door slammed shut with a bang. Cyclizar's voice came from outside.
"Cyc!"
(I'm going to find Grovyle. I'll be back soon!)
"Did Grovyle come back yesterday?"
Silas directed the question to Kangaskhan beside him.
"Kang."
Kangaskhan shook her head. Ever since Grovyle ran off to the back mountain with Cyclizar, it had not returned.
"Don't tell me Cyclizar actually helped Grovyle find true love."
Silas grew curious and decided to interrogate Cyclizar properly once it returned.
After finishing breakfast quickly, he asked the younger Indeedee to wake the little ones.
He changed into his work clothes and headed out to the fields, followed by the three Meowth and Kangaskhan.
The Mudsdale trio had already arrived and were standing along the ridge, using Rototiller on the farmland.
Ground type energy seeped from the tips of their hooves into the soil, forming wave like ripples.
The hardened ground was loosened, nutrients within the soil were enhanced, and the crops growing above became even more lush and vibrant.
After greeting them, Silas and the Meowth entered the fields to harvest the crops that had ripened today.
Mainly yard long beans and hops flowers.
If left unpicked for even a single day, they would grow too thick. They had to be harvested daily.
There were also watermelons and sweet melons.
The number of these melons was gradually decreasing. Their peak ripening period had already passed.
The daily harvest was now just enough for the ranch Pokémon to enjoy as dessert or to be juiced and chilled in the refrigerator.
The Mudsdale brothers and Minccino were especially fond of it.
They sent a small portion of the harvested crops to the house for today's meals and placed the majority in the shipping box to wait for Gario to collect.
Not long after they finished, Cyclizar came rushing back from outside, sweating heavily.
It grabbed a cup of freshly squeezed watermelon juice from the refrigerator and gulped it down in a few big swallows before finally sighing in satisfaction.
"Cyclizar, what were you doing again so early? And where is Grovyle? We haven't seen it all morning."
During the morning harvest, Meganium and Tropius had come to help.
"Cyc~"
Cyclizar leaned closer with a mischievous grin and enthusiastically shared what it had witnessed.
After listening for quite a while, Silas pushed Cyclizar's large head away with a speechless expression.
"You really outdid yourself. Playing the hero to save the beauty."
"So now it's Heliolisk chasing after Grovyle?"
"Cyc!"
(Not just Heliolisk. The Helioptile are chasing Grovyle too!)
Silas fell silent.
Playing the hero was one thing. Saving too many beauties at once was another matter entirely.
(End of Chapter)
TN: Damn, Grovyle got a harem already.