Shiryu stared at the information displayed on the system interface, unable to suppress his satisfaction.
It really was a Shiny pseudo-legendary with god-tier potential.
And better yet, it was a Beldum.
Beldum’s final evolution was Metagross, one of the strongest pseudo-legendary Pokémon around.
Steven Stone’s ace in the anime was even a Shiny Metagross, one capable of Mega Evolution.
Among pseudo-legendaries, Metagross was unquestionably one of the standouts.
“System, put Beldum into one of my Poké Balls.”
Shiryu took out a Poké Ball he’d prepared beforehand.
A standard Poké Ball normally cost ₽200, but this particular one had been provided by the Pokémon School.
Every student who successfully graduated received six standard Poké Balls as part of their starter supplies, which had conveniently saved Shiryu another expense.
[Transfer complete.]
The Poké Ball in Shiryu’s hand suddenly felt slightly heavier, as though something had appeared inside it from nowhere.
He pressed the button.
A flash of red light burst from the ball, and a silver-white Beldum materialized in front of him.
“Beldum!”
This Shiny Beldum was considerably larger than the species’ average length of roughly sixty centimeters.
From end to end, it was close to eighty centimeters long, which naturally meant it was heavier than average as well.
According to the system data, it weighed a staggering 148 kilograms.
Yet Beldum floated effortlessly in midair, completely unaffected by its own weight.
From what Shiryu knew about the species, Beldum’s metallic body functioned much like a magnet.
By generating magnetic force and repelling itself against the planet’s magnetic field, it could remain suspended above the ground.
Knowing the explanation was one thing.
Seeing a nearly hundred-and-fifty-kilogram chunk of living metal casually floating in front of him was something else entirely.
“Beldum, we’re partners from now on.
Let’s take care of each other.”
Shiryu held out a hand.
“Beldum~”
Beldum leaned forward and gently rubbed its irregular, rounded head against his palm.
It was Shiryu’s first time touching an actual Beldum.
Its metallic body wasn’t perfectly smooth; there were subtle ridges and contours beneath his fingers, giving it a surprisingly solid texture.
After petting Beldum for a while, Shiryu suddenly remembered something.
“Oh, right.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out another Poké Ball.
“Come on out, Drilbur.”
“Dril!”
A mole-like Pokémon with large white claws appeared in front of Shiryu and Beldum.
“Beldum, this is Drilbur.
He was my partner back at the Pokémon School in Aspertia City.”
He then turned to Drilbur.
“And Drilbur, this is Beldum.
He’s part of our team now too, so the two of you better get along.”
As Shiryu introduced them, another status window appeared before his eyes.
[Pokémon: Drilbur (♂)]
[Level: Lv.
15]
[Type: Ground]
[Ability: Sand Force — Boosts the power of Rock-, Ground-, and Steel-type moves during a sandstorm.]
[Individual Values: HP (26), Attack (29), Defense (26), Sp.
Atk (21), Sp.
Def (24), Speed (29)]
[Moves: Mud-Slap, Rapid Spin, Fury Swipes, Hone Claws, Dig, Facade…]
[Held Item: None]
[Potential: Gym Tier]
…
Based on Shiryu’s understanding, Pokémon potential in this world was divided into eight broad tiers:
Common, Standard, Elite, Gym, Elite Four Candidate, Elite Four, Champion, and God Tier.
A Pokémon with Gym-tier potential was already well above average.
Compared with god-tier potential, however, there was still an enormous gap.
Once Shiryu finished checking Drilbur’s information, he noticed that the system had already updated his quest list.
[Main Quest: Build the world’s greatest Pokémon ranch.]
[Ranch Quest: Cultivate one hundred square meters of farmland.]
[Quest Reward: Unlock the Ranch Shop, receive 1,000 Ranch Coins, and obtain a small quantity of Exp.
Candy.]
[Quest Hint: If the host lacks manpower, Pokémon may be caught and recruited to assist with the task.
Additional rewards will be granted.]
“Another quest already?”
Shiryu rubbed his chin and glanced toward the dilapidated thatched cottage.
Originally, he’d planned to spend a little more time getting acquainted with Beldum and Drilbur, then make some basic repairs to the cottage so he would at least have somewhere decent to sleep tonight.
But since the system had already handed him another quest, he might as well deal with that first.
Cultivating one hundred square meters of land didn’t sound particularly difficult.
With Drilbur helping, all Shiryu needed was for him to keep using Dig to loosen and turn over the soil until the land was suitable for crops—or perhaps even for raising certain Pokémon.
Then Shiryu looked across the abandoned field.
Tall grass covered practically everything.
He scratched his head.
“There’s grass everywhere.
Even Drilbur’s going to have trouble digging properly like this.”
He sighed.
“Fine.
We weed first.”
Having a Grass-type Pokémon around would have made the job much easier.
A move like Razor Leaf could probably clear most of this overgrowth in no time.
With no such convenience available, Shiryu rolled up his sleeves and started clearing weeds alongside Drilbur and Beldum.
Roughly seven or eight minutes later, a rustling sound came from deeper within the grass.
“Hm?
What’s that?”
The weeds ahead of them stood almost waist-high, making it impossible to see what was moving inside.
Drilbur seemed to notice something as well.
He pushed forward, using his sharp claws to part the dense layers of vegetation until something round and covered in white fluff came into view.
A new status window immediately appeared.
[Pokémon: Wooloo (♂)]
[Level: Lv.
6]
[Type: Normal]
[Ability: Fluffy — Halves damage taken from contact moves, but doubles damage taken from Fire-type moves.]
[Individual Values: HP (12), Attack (15), Defense (21), Sp.
Atk (11), Sp.
Def (14), Speed (16)]
[Moves: Tackle, Growl, Defense Curl]
[Held Item: An entire coat of wool]
[Potential: Standard Tier]
…
“A Wooloo?”
Shiryu walked closer.
The Wooloo was pawing at the ground, apparently searching for something buried beneath the soil.
Probably seeds.
If all it wanted was grass, it certainly wouldn’t need to look hard.
The entire ranch was practically drowning in the stuff.
Apparently, ordinary weeds weren’t good enough for this particular Wooloo.
It wanted something tastier.
Then Shiryu stared at the fluffy white Pokémon and suddenly had an idea.
“Oh.”
He looked toward the crumbling cottage.
‘There’s basically nothing inside that place.
If I could shear some of Wooloo’s wool, at least I’d have something warm to sleep on tonight.’
Wooloo wool was known throughout Galar for being exceptionally soft and warm, making it excellent material for both clothing and carpets.
Better yet, Wooloo’s fleece never stopped growing.
Even if it was completely sheared, it would grow back to its usual volume within about three months.
According to Shiryu’s inherited memories, quite a few ranchers around Postwick made their living by raising Wooloo.
For a proper ranch, they were practically indispensable livestock Pokémon.
Shiryu turned toward Beldum.
“Beldum, looks like I’m going to need you to battle.”