Aside from Beldum, Drilbur, and Scyther, none of Shiryu’s other Pokémon were particularly well suited to using an Adamant Mint.
Galarian Zigzagoon, Fomantis, and the Wooloo flock certainly weren’t.
That left Aron.
Shiryu had considered it carefully.
Aron already had excellent physical Attack, but Defense was arguably even more important for the species, so an Impish Mint might suit him better.
After thinking it over, Shiryu decided to use only two of the Adamant Mints for now and store the third in the system inventory.
“Drilbur, Scyther, come over here.”
“Dril?”
“Scy?”
Drilbur, who had been digging, and Scyther, who was still harvesting wheat, both paused when they heard Shiryu calling them.
A moment later, they came over.
Shiryu handed each Pokémon one of the Mints.
“Give these a smell.
They’ll change the direction your abilities develop in.”
Drilbur had been with Shiryu longer than any of his current Pokémon and trusted him completely.
Without the slightest hesitation, he held the Adamant Mint beneath his nose and sniffed.
A strange sensation immediately spread through his body.
It almost felt as though his physical strength had suddenly surged, with a steady stream of new power welling up from within.
“Dril!”
The moment he finished smelling the Mint, Drilbur looked as though someone had given him an enormous burst of motivation.
He immediately used Dig and plunged headfirst into the ground, charging toward a section of untouched soil.
Under the Adamant Mint’s influence, even Dig seemed more powerful than before.
He was burrowing faster too.
Shiryu opened Drilbur’s status screen.
[Pokémon: Drilbur (♂)]
[Level: Lv.
18]
[Type: Ground]
[Ability: Sand Force — Boosts the power of Rock-, Ground-, and Steel-type moves during a sandstorm.]
[Individual Values: HP (28), Attack (31), Defense (28), Sp.
Atk (21), Sp.
Def (25), Speed (30)]
[Moves: Mud-Slap, Rapid Spin, Fury Swipes, Hone Claws, Dig, Facade, Metal Claw…]
[Held Item: None]
[Potential: Elite Four Candidate Tier]
…
“Oh?”
Shiryu’s eyebrows rose.
“His potential actually increased to Elite Four Candidate tier after using the Adamant Mint?
And aside from Special Attack, five of his IVs improved too.”
That was an unexpectedly pleasant surprise.
The Mints rewarded by the system were clearly far more valuable than he’d initially assumed.
Scyther had been watching Drilbur closely.
Once he saw that Drilbur seemed noticeably stronger after smelling the Mint, he wasted no time bringing his own to his nose.
The refreshing fragrance filled his senses.
Almost immediately, Scyther felt as though the blades on his arms had become even sharper.
When he returned to using Fury Cutter on the remaining wheat, the stalks seemed to part with almost no effort at all.
Shiryu checked his status as well.
Scyther’s Attack IV had already been maxed out, so his overall potential remained at Elite Four Candidate tier.
However, almost every IV except Special Attack had risen slightly.
[Individual Values: HP (28), Attack (31), Defense (29), Sp.
Atk (21), Sp.
Def (25), Speed (31)]
“I’ll still take that.”
Shiryu smiled.
Then another system notification appeared.
[New Side Quest: Grow and harvest more varieties of crops.
(1/3)]
[Quest Description: A proper ranch requires many different kinds of crops.
Different ranch Pokémon prefer different foods, so expand the ranch’s crop selection and provide a greater variety of flavors for your Pokémon.]
[Quest Reward: 3 Impish Mints and a small quantity of Exp.
Candy.]
…
“Different crops, huh?”
Shiryu rested a hand against his chin.
“That makes sense.
Different Pokémon like different foods.
Wishing Wheat might be perfect for Scyther, but it isn’t going to satisfy everyone.”
He opened the Ranch Shop and browsed through the available seeds and plants.
The most common crops included Wishing Wheat, Rolling Beans, and Sticky Mushrooms.
Slightly rarer options included Heal Herbs, Vigor Buds, and Royal Leaves.
Then there were the more difficult plants to cultivate—Swords Dance Mushrooms, Iron Defense Fungus, and Doppel Bonnets.
“Doppel Bonnets?”
Shiryu immediately remembered the notification he’d received that morning.
Zigzagoon had found some in the forest.
“I wonder when that little troublemaker is coming back.”
As though summoned by the thought, a black-and-white figure suddenly came racing out of the forest to the south.
At a glance, Shiryu immediately recognized Galarian Zigzagoon.
Her red tongue hung out of her mouth as she ran, and several green mushroom-like plants were strapped across her back.
She showed no sign of slowing down despite apparently having spent most of the day running.
Before long, Zigzagoon reached the wooden house.
“Zigzagoon?
There you are.”
Shiryu couldn’t help admiring her stamina.
She had left when the sky was barely bright and hadn’t returned until the afternoon.
That meant she’d spent almost the entire day running around.
“Zigzagoon~!”
She bounced happily in place before unloading the green mushrooms from her back.
Shiryu crouched and picked one up.
Its information immediately appeared.
[Doppel Bonnets: A mushroom that makes the body feel lighter after consumption, increasing movement speed.
Can be used as an ingredient for enhancing evasion.]
…
“So they really are Doppel Bonnets.”
Shiryu counted them.
Zigzagoon had somehow managed to gather ten.
“Zigzagoon, you did an amazing job this time.
Here’s your reward.”
He took out one piece of Exp.
Candy and offered it to her.
Most of the Pokémon on the ranch seemed to love Exp.
Candy, so Shiryu had started using it as a reward whenever one of them accomplished something noteworthy.
“Zigzagoon~!”
After swallowing the candy, Zigzagoon immediately broke into a blissful smile.
[Zigzagoon consumed a small amount of Exp.
Candy.
Level increased to Lv.
8.]
…
At lower levels, even a small amount of Exp.
Candy was enough to produce noticeable growth.
For the Pokémon living on Shiryu’s ranch right now, the candy was extremely useful.
“All right!
Everyone gets something extra with dinner tonight!”
He raised his voice so the other Pokémon around the ranch could hear.
Since Doppel Bonnets could improve evasion, Shiryu figured he could cook them into a soup and let everyone share the benefits.
After carrying the mushrooms into the house, Shiryu joined Zigzagoon, Beldum, and Aron in moving the Wishing Wheat Scyther had harvested over to the haystacks to dry.
Once all three hundred square meters of wheat had been completely harvested, Shiryu called Drilbur back and had him turn over the soil in those fields again so they would be ready for a new batch of crops.
Watching Drilbur work alone only reinforced the same conclusion Shiryu had reached earlier.
“One Pokémon really isn’t enough for all this digging.”
He scratched his head and looked toward Aron.
Aron should be capable of learning Dig too.
Unfortunately, Shiryu didn’t have a Dig TM.
What a waste.