The moment Tropius returned to the ranch, it left Silas and the others behind and hurried back to the berry orchard cottage at the fastest speed possible.
The instant it arrived, it nestled affectionately beside Meganium. Their long necks rubbed against each other tenderly, lingering in a soft and intimate exchange.
Seeing the two of them like this, Silas wisely chose to avert his gaze.
Instead, his attention fell upon the nest cushion nearby.
There rested five pale green Pokémon eggs, each eggshell decorated with deep green leaf patterns.
Silas reached out and gently touched the eggs one by one.
The Pokémon inside seemed able to sense it.
Some of the eggs trembled lightly, almost as if greeting him.
Others swayed faintly, as though feeling a little frightened.
For Pokémon still inside their eggs, they could perceive or sense the outside world. Even before hatching, it was possible to roughly understand their personalities.
Silas did not move any closer and instead stepped back slightly.
Since it was their first meeting, it was better to give the Chikorita inside the eggs a sense of safety.
He began to check the detailed information of the five eggs.
[Chikorita Egg. Healthy. Occasionally it seems to move slightly. Still a long time before hatching.]
[Chikorita Egg. Healthy.]
[Chikorita Egg. Healthy.]
He examined them one by one.
All five eggs were in excellent condition, though they still had some time before hatching.
Reality was not the same as the games, where you could simply ride a bicycle around with an egg and have it hatch quickly.
There were ways to speed up the process, but they required Pokémon with abilities such as Flame Body, Magma Armor, or Steam Engine to help incubate the eggs.
In other regions it might be difficult, but in Kalos it was very easy.
The regional bird of Kalos, Fletchling, evolved into Fletchinder and then into Talonflame. Their common ability was Flame Body, and breeding houses in Kalos typically kept one or several of them for incubation purposes.
Silas began to consider whether he should rent one or capture one himself in the wild.
Taking into account the future development of the ranch, Silas eventually decided that capturing a Fletchinder in the wild would be the better choice.
In the future, his ranch might have many more Pokémon eggs that needed incubation. Having one of his own would provide peace of mind.
"Mega?"
"Trop?"
Meganium and Tropius noticed Silas staring at the eggs without moving and thought something might be wrong. They approached worriedly and nudged him gently with their heads.
Placing his hand on Meganium's head, Silas smiled reassuringly.
"The Chikorita eggs are all healthy. I was just thinking about finding a Fletchinder with Flame Body to help incubate them."
Seeing their expressions shift from worry to confusion, Silas immediately explained further.
"A Pokémon with Flame Body can help the Chikorita hatch faster. That way you can meet them sooner."
Meganium understood.
However, deep down it still felt uneasy about letting an unfamiliar Pokémon approach the Chikorita eggs.
Silas naturally understood their concern.
"Do not worry. I will carefully evaluate any candidate. You can supervise as well."
Establishing trust at the beginning was necessary. Once that trust formed, things would become much easier later.
Since Silas had said so, Meganium and Tropius both nodded in agreement. Silas was someone they trusted.
"Alright then. I will go check the back mountain over the next few days. Do you want to come with me?"
This question was directed to Meganium.
"Tropius can help watch over the Chikorita eggs for a while. We will only go out for half a day at most."
"Mega~!"
Meganium agreed.
However, before leaving, Silas still needed to finish the ranch work first.
After saying goodbye to the Tropius couple, Silas walked alone toward the orchard behind the house.
The special berry trees were growing exceptionally well. They had already become small trees.
Applin and Flapple clung to the branches, disguising themselves as fruit.
The moment they saw Silas approach, they dropped to the ground one after another or spread their wings and wobbled through the air toward him.
Because of their presence, Meganium could feel comfortable leaving the Chikorita eggs under their care.
Soon, little apple dragons were everywhere around Silas.
Some perched near his feet.
Some climbed onto his shoulders.
Some rested in his palms.
"Thank you for working so hard while I was away. Taking care of so many fruit trees is not easy."
"Flaa!"
One energetic Flapple wiggled happily.
Silas had provided them with a safe home and plenty of food. In return, caring for the orchard was simply the right thing to do.
They also wanted the ranch to grow better and better.
Silas lifted the slow moving Applin one by one, placing some on his head, some on his shoulders, and some in his hands.
The Flapple flew gently beside him on both sides.
Surrounded by a group of tiny apple dragons, Silas made his way toward the location of the Rainbow Gourd Vine.
On the vine hung a single colorful gourd.
[Rainbow Gourd: Ready to harvest.
(Note: Once harvested, it must be used within sixty minutes)]
The gourd had matured.
That meant the Giant Dragonite could soon come to the ranch.
Suppressing the excitement rising in his heart, Silas circled the vine once, carefully examining its condition.
It was in excellent shape.
He began considering moving it into the greenhouse before winter arrived.
Just as Silas turned away, a small red core hidden beneath one of the leaves quietly peeked out.
For some reason, it felt an inexplicable fondness toward the human standing before it.
Leaving the berry orchard, Silas went to find the little cat.
That small fellow was probably hiding somewhere secretly observing him. If Silas did not come to see it, the cat would surely get jealous and upset.
The berry forest area was very quiet.
As soon as Silas stepped inside, Litten jumped down from a nearby branch.
"Meow."
It gave a soft meow, its tail swaying happily as it pretended it had only happened to pass by.
Silas smiled at it and picked it up.
The little cat resisted only slightly at first.
But when Silas scratched beneath its chin with his fingers, it relaxed and began enjoying the attention.
"I have been away for several days. Did you miss me?"
Silas asked with a smile as he walked deeper into the berry grove.
"Meow~"
The kitten let out a small cry, kneading gently against Silas's chest while a satisfied purring rumble echoed from its throat.
They eventually arrived at the very center of the grove, where there was an open clearing perfect for basking in the sun.
Butterfree and Appletun were resting there, lying lazily and relaxing.
"Free~"
"Tun!"
"Oh. You all evolved."
What appeared before Silas was not just one Appletun.
There were five of them.
"Tun!"
One of them explained.
Under normal circumstances, they should not have evolved so quickly.
However, the younger sister Indeedee had been helping the Applin search for the best apples.
During that search, she had found many Sweet Apples.
Sweet Apples were precisely the necessary item for Applin to evolve into Appletun.
"Well, I suppose that is fine."
Silas did not mind too much that they had evolved.
Their ability was still Ripen, and its effect had not changed at all.
What puzzled Silas more was the younger Indeedee herself.
Just as he thought about her, she appeared.
The younger sister Indeedee ran over from a distance, holding a bright red apple in both hands.
"Indee~!" (Silas, you are back!)
"Yes. What are you doing?"
"Indee~!" (I am helping the Applin find suitable little houses.)
As she spoke, she proudly held up the apple to show him.
This was the best apple she had found so far, and she believed the Applin would definitely like it.
Applin treated apples as their homes, strengthening the outer skin using their bodily fluids.
However, some of them were rather clumsy and did not handle the process well, which caused the apples to rot.
Once an apple rotted, it could no longer be used and had to be replaced with another.
Silas did not pay too much attention to that matter.
The Indeedee siblings were extremely capable now.
Leaving small tasks like this to them was completely fine.
(End of Chapter)