Time flew by, and soon it was the day to harvest the coffee beans.
The Meowth had already been at the ranch for two days and were getting along quite well with the other Pokémon.
As for Serena, she had been picked up by Hayato Sora's mother yesterday.
Hayato Sora still remembered how the little girl had hugged his leg with teary eyes when she left.
She had played so wildly at the ranch that she didn't want to go back to school.
Now the number of Pokémon at the ranch was steadily increasing.
Counting the yet-to-hatch Phione, the ranch currently had 21 Pokémon.
The number couldn't compare with long-established ranches, but the daily expenses were certainly no less.
Pokémon with large bodies like Kangaskhan, Cyclizar, and Mudsdale could easily consume over a thousand Poké Dollars worth of food in a single day.
And that was with special cooking providing a large portion of their nutrition.
Without those meals, the cost would be at least three or four times higher.
The ranch had also gained Morpeko, whose appetite rivaled Snorlax.
Just feeding it for one day was already more than most Trainers could handle.
Compared to that, the other Pokémon ate much less. Even combined, their consumption only matched that of Kangaskhan and the others.
It could be said that the ranch's daily expenses were enormous.
Every morning when Hayato Sora opened his eyes, the first thing he had to think about was how to feed all his Pokémon.
Fortunately, the ranch had already begun running smoothly.
It no longer relied solely on field crops.
The pottery clay produced by Mudsdale, the flower nectar collected by Flabébé, and the grass dumplings Hayato Sora made were all extremely popular products.
After covering expenses, Hayato Sora could still save a little money.
However, this was only temporary.
When Pokémon like Noibat evolved into Noivern, and Flabébé evolved into Florges, those would require a large amount of money as well.
The ranch couldn't stop developing now.
It still needed to continue growing.
It wasn't time for Hayato Sora to rest yet.
Still, reaching this scale in just three months was something Hayato Sora could be proud of.
Lost in these thoughts, Hayato Sora led the Pokémon to the coffee field.
Rows of green plants stretched across the field like scattered stars.
On their branches hung plump, bright red coffee cherries.
Most of the coffee beans were ripe.
Some fruits had even turned dark red or purplish-black, indicating over-ripeness.
It was time to harvest.
If they continued to grow, they would ferment and spoil.
And when that happened, their selling price would drop drastically.
Putting on work gloves and tying a small bamboo basket around his waist, Hayato Sora called out to the Pokémon.
"Alright everyone, let's begin! Today we're harvesting all the coffee beans!"
"Rong-rong~!"
"Gao!"
"Li-li—!"
"Buzz~!"
"Meow!"
"..."
The Pokémon responded enthusiastically, eager to get started.
Even the little ones—Morpeko and Smoliv—wanted to join in and help.
In reality, however, the main harvesters were Hayato Sora and the Meowth.
Cinccino and Cyclizar together counted as one worker, and the three Noibat could collectively count as another.
Pokémon like Kangaskhan and Mudsdale, due to their size, couldn't perform such delicate work.
They could only help transport the harvested coffee beans.
As for Flabébé, Morpeko, and Smoliv, it was already good enough if they simply didn't cause trouble.
For the entire morning, Hayato Sora and the Pokémon worked in the fields.
They carefully picked each ripe coffee cherry.
At the same time, they separated the overripe fruits so they wouldn't lower the final selling price.
A few green fruits were left to continue growing.
At the end of the month, when the fields were cleared, Kangaskhan and Mudsdale could pull them out together.
That would be easier.
Despite having joined the ranch only a few days ago, the Meowth worked extremely hard.
They were even more diligent than Hayato Sora.
Once they became familiar with the work, they harvested faster than him.
Perhaps their Pickup ability was playing a role.
After all—
Who said picking something from the field didn't count as "picking it up"?
From sunrise until now, they had been working for over three hours.
The sun had become blazing and intense.
Hayato Sora placed the basket full of coffee beans to the side and shouted toward the field with his hands cupped like a megaphone.
"Everyone, take a break! Go ask Veluza to help rinse yourselves off. I'll get some iced red bean dessert for you!"
Voices from Cinccino and the Meowth echoed back from the coffee field.
They said they would rest after filling their current baskets.
Leaving Kangaskhan to supervise the field, Hayato Sora headed back toward the house with Cyclizar.
On the way, he picked up the Morpeko that had followed him.
The little Pokémon's soft belly felt wonderful to the touch.
Perhaps because the cheek pouches on both sides of its face constantly generated electricity, when Hayato Sora pinched its cheeks his palm tingled slightly.
"Morpeko!"
Morpeko affectionately rubbed against him and pulled out a coffee bean roasted by its own electricity, offering it to Hayato Sora.
Hayato Sora flicked its forehead lightly with his finger.
"You little glutton. Eat it yourself."
Morpeko smiled obediently and tossed the bean into its mouth.
Immediately afterward, its face twisted in agony.
It stuck out its tongue repeatedly, trying desperately to spit out the coffee bean it had swallowed.
"Morpeko—!"
(So bitter! It tastes awful!)
"Hahaha!"
Hayato Sora burst out laughing and gently patted it.
"Don't worry. Drink some iced red bean dessert later and the bitterness will go away."
Once Morpeko finished digesting the coffee bean, the bitter taste would disappear.
Hearing this, Morpeko grabbed another handful of coffee beans.
Its little face showed deep hesitation.
Would the bitterness really disappear?
Meanwhile, Hayato Sora took out the frozen red bean dessert and asked Cyclizar to carry it to the edge of the field.
He went to the kitchen to grab bowls for the Pokémon.
"Cinccino, this one is yours."
"Li~!"
Cinccino happily accepted the bowl and took a sip.
Instant relief spread through its whole body.
The icy dessert had a soft grainy texture, sweet with a pleasant bean fragrance.
Not only Cinccino loved it—every Pokémon did.
The Galarian Meowth quickly finished a bowl and ran back to Hayato Sora, holding up its bowl high.
"Meow!"
Seeing this, the other Pokémon immediately sped up their eating.
They were afraid the delicious and refreshing dessert would be finished by others first.
Hayato Sora exhaled comfortably, enjoying the coolness.
Noticing their anxious expressions, he chuckled.
"Don't worry. There's plenty of red bean dessert. Everyone can have another bowl."
He filled Galarian Meowth's bowl again.
The Meowth sat beside him, holding the bowl and savoring it slowly, eyes filled with happiness.
Hayato Sora also filled a bowl for himself.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Morpeko sitting under a tree with Cinccino.
The little Pokémon held iced red bean dessert in one hand and coffee beans in the other.
Each time it ate a coffee bean, it immediately drank a mouthful of the dessert.
Its expression constantly shifted between bliss and misery.
Hayato Sora shook his head and looked toward the other Pokémon.
They had all gathered with their bowls.
After eating the dessert and resting for a while, Hayato Sora led the Pokémon back to the field.
The sun hadn't reached the hottest point of the day yet.
With a straw hat, they could continue harvesting.
After another two hours of busy work, all the ripe coffee beans were harvested.
Only a few unripe ones remained, which would need another day.
Once the harvest was finished, Kangaskhan and the others began packaging the beans.
Meanwhile, Hayato Sora went into the kitchen to prepare lunch.
PS: I've been releasing chapters daily . Honestly, it hurts seeing almost no support on Patreon after all that work.If you're enjoying the fic, even a little, supporting me would mean a lot. It helps a student stay independent .
complete fic (all chapters ) are already up on Patreon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789
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