[New Ranch Defense Quest: A thief has been spotted on the ranch.
Teach the thief a lesson.]
[Quest Description: Hungry wild Pokémon may occasionally sneak onto the ranch and steal ripe Berries, reducing the harvest.
Deal with the thief to prevent further losses.]
[Quest Reward: Tiny Bamboo Shoot Seeds and a small quantity of Exp.
Candy.]
Shiryu studied the new quest notification for a few seconds before looking back toward the small figure darting among the branches of the Oran Berry tree.
A status panel immediately appeared.
[Pokémon: Minccino (♀)]
[Level: Lv.
8]
[Type: Normal]
[Ability: Skill Link — Multi-strike moves always hit the maximum number of times.]
[Individual Values: HP (21), Attack (17), Defense (12), Sp.
Atk (16), Sp.
Def (18), Speed (29)]
[Moves: Pound, Baby-Doll Eyes, Helping Hand, Echoed Voice…]
[Held Item: Freshly picked Oran Berry]
[Potential: Elite Tier]
…
“A Minccino?
She’s pretty cute.”
Shiryu frowned slightly.
“But why resort to stealing?”
He turned toward Beldum.
“Beldum, use Iron Head.
Give our little thief a warning.”
“Beldum!”
Beldum immediately shot toward the Oran Berry tree.
Minccino was so absorbed in stealing Berries that she didn’t notice him approaching at all.
By the time the metal head slammed squarely into her back, it was already too late.
The sheer impact wiped Minccino’s thoughts clean.
“Minc…”
With a muffled cry, she tumbled from the branch and hit the ground.
From the looks of it, she’d already fainted.
Shiryu took out a Luxury Ball, figuring the little thief could use a more memorable lesson.
Thunk!
His throw struck Minccino neatly on the forehead.
Red light flashed, drawing her into the ball.
The Luxury Ball barely moved before giving the familiar click of a successful capture.
“Come back out, Minccino.”
Once released, Minccino slowly began regaining consciousness.
She opened her eyes to find an unfamiliar human standing over her alongside a floating mass of metal and immediately tried to hide.
Unfortunately, her body hurt too much to cooperate.
“Minccino, why are you stealing things?
That’s not a very good habit.”
Shiryu gave her a mild lecture.
“Minc…”
Minccino looked deeply aggrieved.
Shiryu blinked.
‘Hold on.
You’re the one who snuck into my orchard and got caught stealing my Berries.
Why are you acting like the victim here?’
He sighed and placed a hand gently against her fur, wanting to understand what she was actually thinking.
Viridian Power flowed softly into Minccino.
Naturally timid, she initially flinched, but the warmth spreading from Shiryu’s palm soon made her cautiously open her eyes and look at him.
For some reason, this human made her feel strangely safe.
They had only just met, yet there was an inexplicable sense of familiarity about him.
Through Viridian Power, Shiryu sensed those emotions clearly.
Then he discovered something else.
There was actually a reason Minccino had come to the ranch so early in the morning to steal Oran Berries.
One of her closest friends had been injured in the forest, and Minccino needed the Berries to help them recover.
“Minccino, you were picking these Oran Berries for your injured friend?”
Shiryu looked directly into her eyes.
“Minc~”
Despite the lingering pain, Minccino nodded.
“I see.”
Now Shiryu understood.
He continued stroking her fur while sending another gentle wave of Viridian Power through her body.
Within moments, the pain from Beldum’s Iron Head began to fade.
“Minc~!”
Minccino got back to her feet and looked herself over in amazement before staring at Shiryu with newfound admiration.
“Minccino, you had a good reason for taking the Berries, so I’m willing to forgive you.
But picking fruit from someone else’s ranch without permission is still stealing.”
Shiryu gave her another brief lecture.
“Minc…”
Minccino lowered her head, finally acknowledging that she’d done something wrong.
Shiryu smiled.
“That said, I respect how much you care about your friend.”
He pointed toward the Oran Berries she’d already picked.
“Consider those a gift from me.
Take them with you and use them to help your friend recover.”
Minccino immediately looked up.
“There’s one condition, though.”
Shiryu adopted a serious expression.
“I already caught you with a Poké Ball, which means you’re technically one of my Pokémon now.
Once your friend is better, come back to the ranch and help me harvest the rest of the Oran Berries.
We’ll call that your punishment.”
“Minc~!”
Minccino nodded to show she understood.
“Oh, and if your friend wants to come too, bring them along.
You’re both welcome to live here.
I can promise you won’t have to worry about food, and you’ll be able to eat fresh Oran Berries every day.”
“Minc~!”
Minccino’s eyes practically lit up.
Living in the forest meant constantly worrying about finding enough to eat.
And now this ranch was offering free, delicious Oran Berries every day?
She sniffed the air.
There was an even more enticing smell drifting from the wooden house.
Minccino was already beginning to look forward to life on the ranch.
“Minc~!”
She waved to Shiryu, clearly promising that she’d be back soon, then turned and raced toward the forest.
As Shiryu watched her disappear among the trees, two new notifications appeared on his system interface.
[Quest Complete: Plant Oran Berry saplings and complete the first harvest.]
[Rewards obtained: 3 Steel Tera Shards and a small quantity of Exp.
Candy.]
…
[Quest Complete: A thief has been spotted on the ranch.
Teach the thief a lesson.]
[Rewards obtained: Tiny Bamboo Shoot Seeds and a small quantity of Exp.
Candy.]
…
“Oh?
Two quest rewards at once?”
Shiryu hadn’t expected such a pleasant bonus.
He immediately withdrew everything from the system.
A large bag of Tiny Bamboo Shoot Seeds appeared among the rewards, enough to plant roughly three hundred square meters of farmland.
Shiryu decided he’d wait until the late-sleeping Zigzagoon woke up, then have her sow them in the fields north of the wooden house.
As for the Steel Tera Shards…
According to the system description, they could allow a Steel-type Pokémon to Terastallize once.
Shiryu turned toward Beldum.
After considering it for a moment, he shook his head.
The Steel Tera Shards only maintained their effect for half an hour.
Better to save them for a situation where Terastallization actually mattered.
Using one now just to experiment would be far too wasteful.