Early the next morning, Shiryu rolled his neck and woke up on the second-floor balcony.
The sky was dull and overcast, and the weather didn’t look particularly promising.
He stood, stretched, and looked out over the ranch.
As usual, Drilbur had gotten up early and was already working.
Shiryu couldn’t help feeling proud.
“That’s my Digging Team Captain.
Full of energy first thing in the morning.”
After praising him, Shiryu headed downstairs.
Beldum and Aron were both asleep on the haystacks.
Apparently, the two Steel-types had become extremely fond of sleeping there.
The ranch’s little princess, Zigzagoon, liked the haystacks just as much.
But this early in the morning, she was nowhere to be seen.
No doubt she’d already run off somewhere.
Then Shiryu noticed something else.
“Where are the Wooloo?”
He frowned.
All seven Wooloo had failed to return the previous night.
‘Did they run into trouble?’
The thought came naturally, although it didn’t seem particularly likely.
Postwick might be technologically behind much of Galar, but public safety wasn’t really a problem.
Most of the people living around town were women, children, and elderly residents.
It wasn’t exactly a haven for criminals.
While Shiryu was still wondering what had happened, a Wooloo came rolling toward the ranch in the distance.
Its fleece was smeared with wet mud, leaving the poor thing looking thoroughly bedraggled.
Shiryu immediately hurried over.
“Wooloo?”
This was one of the six females he’d caught earlier.
He recognized her—or more accurately, he remembered the information he’d seen for her through the system.
“Wooloo!
Wooloo~!”
She cried urgently, clearly trying to tell him something.
Shiryu placed a hand on her head.
“Easy.
Don’t panic.
Just focus on what happened and let me feel it.”
As he soothed her, Shiryu activated Viridian Power and reached out to sense what she was trying to convey.
“Oh…
so that’s what happened.”
After a moment, he finally understood why the Wooloo had stayed away all night.
While rolling around a wooded area near Postwick, they’d accidentally destroyed the sleeping nest of a Fomantis.
Fomantis had been furious and refused to let them leave.
That had quickly turned into a conflict.
Unfortunately, Fomantis was stronger than Blue-Ribbon Wooloo and the six females.
The Wooloo couldn’t beat her, and once she trapped them with Ingrain, they had no way to escape.
Early that morning, this particular Wooloo had noticed Fomantis beginning to grow sleepy again and managed to sneak away to get help.
The other six were still trapped by the roots.
“At least it’s only a Fomantis.”
Shiryu rubbed his chin and relaxed slightly.
If the Wooloo had angered a human or been taken by Pokémon poachers, that would have been far more troublesome.
Fomantis, however, was a species he knew fairly well.
They were nocturnal Pokémon.
During the day, they liked to bask in sunlight while sleeping, spreading the four leaves on their heads in different directions to carry out photosynthesis.
They absolutely hated being disturbed during their naps.
And they hated having their carefully prepared sleeping nests ruined even more.
Which meant the easiest way to resolve this was obvious:
Give Fomantis a better bed.
Shiryu searched the Ranch Shop.
There were three types available for Pokémon: basic beds, high-grade beds, and premium beds.
Shiryu decided he’d spend a little extra and buy Fomantis a high-grade one.
That should be enough to earn her forgiveness.
“Wooloo, lead the way.”
“Wooloo~”
As the Wooloo turned to leave, Shiryu called toward the haystacks.
“Beldum, wake up.”
Hearing his voice, Beldum opened his sleepy eyes and quickly floated over.
“Come on.”
Following Wooloo, Shiryu and Beldum headed toward a botanical grove east of Postwick.
The area was filled with all kinds of plants and served as a habitat for many wild Grass- and Bug-type Pokémon.
That included Cutiefly, which often gathered pollen from flowers.
They hadn’t gone far before Shiryu spotted six clumps of fluffy wool wrapped tightly in thick roots.
Those were obviously the other Wooloo.
The roots binding them were clearly the result of Ingrain.
Still, maintaining the move for this long suggested that the Fomantis responsible had become extremely proficient with it.
Shiryu moved a little closer.
Then he saw a green, seed-like head wrapped in leaf-like growths.
Beneath it was a pink body with green-and-white leaf-shaped arms.
The system immediately displayed her information.
[Pokémon: Fomantis (♀)]
[Level: Lv.
13]
[Type: Grass]
[Ability: Leaf Guard — Prevents status conditions in harsh sunlight.]
[Individual Values: HP (21), Attack (29), Defense (25), Sp.
Atk (29), Sp.
Def (21), Speed (20)]
[Moves: Fury Cutter, Leafage, Growth, Ingrain]
[Held Item: Miracle Seed]
[Potential: Gym Tier]
…
“Level 13.
Same as Beldum.”
Shiryu rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
If possible, he’d rather talk Fomantis into releasing the Wooloo.
But if negotiations failed, he wasn’t afraid of battling her either.
“Fomantis, you’re not asleep yet, are you?”
Shiryu approached carefully.
“Foma?”
Fomantis cracked open her half-lidded eyes and stared at the human in front of her, then at Beldum floating nearby.
“Foma!
Foma, foma!”
She immediately became irritated.
Even though she hadn’t actually fallen asleep yet, she clearly hated being disturbed while trying to rest.
Shiryu crouched.
“I heard those Wooloo destroyed your sleeping nest.”
“Foma!”
“All right.
Those Wooloo are mine, so I’m apologizing on their behalf.”
He kept his tone calm.
“And I’ll replace your old sleeping nest with something much more comfortable.
In exchange, could you let them go?”
Shiryu was negotiating.
Fomantis blinked.
She’d assumed this human had brought Beldum because he intended to fight.
Instead, he’d come to apologize?
While she was still processing that, Shiryu spent 300 Ranch Coins in the shop and purchased a high-grade Pokémon bed.
He withdrew it immediately.
A round bed appeared out of nowhere between Shiryu and Fomantis.
It was lined with soft fabric and looked far more comfortable than anything naturally made from leaves or grass.
Both Beldum and Fomantis froze.
Their reactions, however, were very different.
Beldum stared at Shiryu in amazement.
‘He really is a magician.
That’s so cool.’
His admiration climbed another level.
And another.
And another.
Fomantis, meanwhile, touched her cheek with one leaf-like hand.
She had never seen anything like this before.
Until now, even the nicest sleeping places she’d built had always been made from plants.
How was a wild Pokémon supposed to have encountered a bed made from soft, high-quality fabric?
Fomantis hopped onto it.
The moment she lay down, her entire body sank slightly into the soft surface.
It was warm.
Comfortable.
Wonderful.
A second later, Fomantis began happily rolling around all over the bed.
She absolutely loved it.