Drilbur’s Ability was Sand Force, which only activated during a sandstorm.
Having him learn Sandstorm was therefore a solid choice, even if Shiryu couldn’t imagine many situations where the ranch itself would benefit from being buried in one.
[Castform successfully learned Rain Dance, Sunny Day, and Hail.]
[Drilbur successfully learned Sandstorm.]
…
“Castform?”
Freshly released from her Luxury Ball, Castform seemed to experience a sudden realization.
Even the energy within her body felt subtly different.
“Castform, you should know Rain Dance, Sunny Day, and Hail now, right?”
“Castform~!”
She nodded.
Whatever strange sensation had just passed through her was clearly connected to those new moves.
“Want to try one?”
“Castform!”
Castform immediately agreed, clearly eager to experiment.
Shiryu led her over to the fields planted with Rolling Beans, Sticky Mushrooms, and Heal Herbs.
“All right, Castform.
Use Rain Dance.”
“Castform~!”
Castform began manipulating the energy within her body.
Almost immediately, the weather changed.
The partly sunny sky disappeared behind gathering clouds, and within moments, light droplets began falling across the ranch.
Castform changed along with the weather.
Her body became blue and water-drop-shaped as she shifted into her Rainy Form.
The drizzle steadily intensified.
Up on the second-floor balcony, Fomantis had been sleeping while photosynthesizing in what little sunlight there was.
The moment the rain reached her, she hurriedly folded the leafy growths on her head shut to keep herself dry.
Drilbur reacted even faster.
As a Ground-type Pokémon, he absolutely hated rain.
The moment the water started falling in earnest, he dove underground and disappeared.
Watching the rainfall grow heavier by the second, Shiryu suddenly frowned.
‘Oh, crap.’
“If this gets any stronger, won’t it wash the seeds right out of the fields?”
He quickly called out, “Castform, that’s enough!
Stop the rain and use Sunny Day to restore the weather!”
“Castform~!”
Castform immediately switched moves.
A brilliant artificial sun appeared overhead, and the heavy clouds gradually dispersed.
The rain stopped, although all the water that had already fallen remained behind, leaving the farmland thoroughly soaked.
Fortunately, there was an upside.
The brief downpour had given the newly planted seeds more than enough water.
Shiryu wouldn’t have to irrigate the fields himself today.
“Castform, can you control how wide an area the rain covers?
And how heavily it falls?”
That was a much more difficult question.
Castform paused, thought about it, then shook her head.
She couldn’t.
At least, not yet.
She had only just learned Rain Dance, after all.
“That’s okay.
I know you’ll eventually learn to control both the rainfall and its range.”
Shiryu gave her an encouraging smile.
Once Castform could precisely control where the rain fell and how much water she produced, it would completely transform how the ranch operated.
“Zigzagoon, could you spread this Growth Mulch over the fields for me?”
Shiryu spent 100 Ranch Coins on the cheapest bag of fertilizer available in the Ranch Shop and handed it over.
“Zigzagoon~!”
Zigzagoon accepted the job without hesitation.
Shiryu then turned toward the orchard.
The sudden rain had soaked both the Oran Berry trees and the Berries hanging from their branches, essentially giving the entire orchard a free wash.
“Minccino, could you harvest the ripe Oran Berries and put them in those baskets?”
Then Shiryu remembered something else.
“Oh, and spread a little of this Rich Mulch around the base of each tree.”
He spent another 100 Ranch Coins on the cheapest bag of Rich Mulch.
The fertilizer increased the amount of fruit Berry trees produced.
Thanks to the Ranch Crop Growth Accelerator, his Oran Berry saplings had already matured into full-grown trees.
From this point on, all Shiryu needed was to keep them healthy, let them produce fruit, and harvest the Berries whenever they ripened.
And the fruit wasn’t only for the Pokémon living on the ranch.
Shiryu could take the excess into Postwick and sell it.
Oran Berries went for around ₽450 per pound.
That was hardly cheap.
“Minc~!”
Minccino took the bag of Rich Mulch and immediately hurried off to fertilize the trees.
Having finished practicing her weather moves, Castform followed behind to help.
Shiryu turned his attention toward Scyther, who was still carrying lumber across the ranch.
“Next up, the Wooloo shelter.”
He rolled up his sleeves and began hammering wooden posts into the ground.
Scyther had already cleared the grass from this section of land, and the recent rain had softened the soil considerably, making it much easier to drive the posts in.
After about an hour, Shiryu finished the foundation and the surrounding fence.
Next came the roof.
The Wooloo needed proper shelter from the rain, otherwise there wouldn’t be much point in building them a dedicated enclosure.
Another hour of work later, the roof was finally complete.
“Scyther, bring over that hay for me.”
“Scy~!”
Scyther buzzed his transparent wings and flew toward the haystacks.
Before long, the interior of the shelter had been lined with thick piles of soft, dry grass.
Now the Wooloo would have somewhere comfortable to breed—
Shiryu coughed.
To live.
And engage in whatever completely private Wooloo activities might eventually produce more little Wooloo for him to shear.
“I wonder when they’re coming back.
The future of my Wooloo army depends on you guys!”
Blue-Ribbon Wooloo immediately appeared in Shiryu’s imagination.
Lord of the Flock: ❌
Ranch Stud: ✅
…
By the time the setting sun cast its warm light across the ranch again, Shiryu had finally completed the Wooloo shelter.
[Quest Complete: Build a Wooloo Shelter.]
[Rewards obtained: 1 Pokémon Egg Rapid Incubator, 1,000 Ranch Coins, and 10 Luxury Balls.]
…
“Withdraw the Egg Incubator and Luxury Balls.”
Ten empty Luxury Balls immediately appeared in Shiryu’s hands.
He slipped them into his pocket before turning his attention to the other reward.
The Pokémon Egg Rapid Incubator was a medium-sized machine, standing roughly as tall as Scyther.
Inside was a chamber designed to hold a Pokémon Egg, while the exterior was covered in numerous buttons and controls.
It looked surprisingly sophisticated.
Apparently, using it was simple enough: plug it in, place an Egg inside, and let the machine do the rest.
Shiryu stared at it.
Then scratched his head.
“Wait…
the ranch doesn’t have electricity.”
That was a problem.
Fortunately, not an especially difficult one.
He just needed to catch an Electric-type Pokémon eventually.
Once he had one capable of generating electricity, the power problem would more or less solve itself.
Shiryu placed the incubator just outside the left side of the Wooloo enclosure.
His reasoning was extremely straightforward.
He wanted the Wooloo to see it every day and remember that they had Eggs to produce.
Once everything was finally arranged, Shiryu stretched and was about to take a break.
Then he heard a familiar cry behind him.
“Beldum~!”
Shiryu turned around.
Something about Beldum looked different.