[Quest Complete: Defend the Ranch.]
[Rewards obtained: 3 Ranch Crop Growth Accelerators and a small quantity of Exp.
Candy.]
“Ranch Crop Growth Accelerator?”
Curious, Shiryu opened the item’s description.
[Ranch Crop Growth Accelerator: After use, crops and other plants grown on the ranch will mature rapidly.
Even a newly planted sapling can instantly grow into a mature fruit-bearing tree.]
…
“That’s ridiculously useful.”
Shiryu couldn’t help being impressed.
Reality wasn’t like the games.
If he planted a fruit-tree sapling normally, it would take at least a year before the tree matured enough to flower and bear fruit.
With one of these accelerators, however, he could skip that entire year.
One of Shiryu’s current side quests required him to plant an Oran Berry sapling and harvest its fruit.
He had originally assumed it would be a long-term objective, but apparently the system expected him to complete it much sooner.
“Zigzagoon~”
Having finished the fish-broth noodles, Zigzagoon finally crept out of the grass and approached Shiryu.
She seemed noticeably more attached to him now and showed no sign of wanting to leave.
Shiryu blinked.
“Oh?
Did one bowl of fish noodles seriously win over a Galarian Zigzagoon?”
That was certainly a first.
He took out a Luxury Ball.
Rather than waiting for him to throw it, Zigzagoon stepped forward and tapped the ball herself.
Red light enveloped her body, drawing her inside.
The Luxury Ball barely shook before—
Click.
Capture successful.
“Nice!
That’s my fourth Pokémon!”
He was now only one species away from completing the quest requiring five different ranch partners.
Shiryu immediately released Zigzagoon again and gestured toward the others.
“Zigzagoon, this is Beldum, and this is Drilbur.
From now on, you’re all partners here on the ranch, so make sure you get along.”
“Zigzagoon~”
She nodded readily.
Although she was timid by nature, having Shiryu nearby seemed to give her enough courage to approach Beldum and Drilbur and cautiously greet them.
Shiryu watched her and suddenly remembered something.
“Galarian Zigzagoon can still evolve again after becoming Linoone.”
An image of Obstagoon immediately appeared in his mind.
With that intimidating punk-gang-leader look, an Obstagoon would make a perfect captain for the ranch’s security team.
Who would willingly trespass with something like that guarding the place?
Then Shiryu remembered one minor detail.
This Zigzagoon was female.
A female Obstagoon?
For some reason, his mind immediately jumped to the image of a female Machamp.
Shiryu coughed.
Maybe someday he could catch one of those too.
Between a female Obstagoon and a female Machamp, the ranch would have two terrifyingly dependable bodyguards.
…
After dinner, Shiryu carried the cooking pot down to the river and washed it before returning to the cottage.
He sat at the doorway with his back against the frame, warming himself beside the fire as he looked up at the night sky.
Countless stars glittered overhead, and now and then, a meteor streaked across the darkness.
“Think that’s Jirachi’s starlight?
Or maybe Rayquaza and Deoxys are fighting somewhere up in space again?”
It was a joke neither Beldum nor Drilbur had any chance of understanding.
The two Pokémon rested close against Shiryu’s legs, perfectly content with the arrangement.
Zigzagoon, meanwhile, was still far too shy to join them.
She clearly wanted to come closer, but seemed determined to maintain some semblance of dignity, so she curled up on a nearby pile of grass instead.
Her eyes gradually drooped as she fought off sleep.
Summer nights in the countryside were quiet and pleasantly cool.
A faint breeze carried just enough chill to feel refreshing against Shiryu’s face.
“I wonder if Wooloo managed to find any of his friends.
I didn’t bring a blanket, so he’d better come back before I freeze and catch a cold.”
Almost as soon as Shiryu mentioned him, a series of cries drifted down the quiet path in the distance.
“Wooloo!
Wooloo!
Wooloo!”
There were a lot of them.
Shiryu immediately stood, brushed the dirt from his clothes, and headed toward the sound with Beldum and Drilbur.
He crossed the newly cultivated field and pushed through another patch of thick grass.
Then he saw Wooloo.
A blue ribbon had been tied around the fleece on his head, making him easy to distinguish from the others.
Behind him came—
“One, two, three…
six Wooloo?”
Shiryu’s eyebrows rose.
“Wooloo, you really came through for me.”
He hadn’t expected the little guy to return with six new Wooloo after being gone for only a few hours.
Including Blue-Ribbon Wooloo himself, that brought the total to seven.
Three more, and Shiryu would have enough to establish the ranch’s first proper Wooloo flock.
“Wooloo~”
Blue-Ribbon Wooloo proudly shook the fleece around his face and gazed at Shiryu with obvious expectation.
He was clearly waiting to be rewarded.
“All right, all right.
You earned it.”
Shiryu stroked his soft fleece, then took out one of the Exp.
Candies he’d just received.
The recent ranch-defense quest had rewarded him with several pieces, and he hadn’t had a chance to divide them among Beldum and the others yet.
Blue-Ribbon Wooloo had done most of the work here, so Shiryu decided he deserved the first one.
The Wooloo clearly had a sweet tooth and seemed especially fond of Exp.
Candy.
After swallowing it, even his fleece seemed to become softer and more lustrous.
[Wooloo consumed Exp.
Candy that grants a small amount of experience.
Level increased to Lv.
10!]
[Wooloo learned Copycat!]
…
“He leveled up again?”
Shiryu was pleasantly surprised, then turned his attention to the six bewildered Wooloo standing behind him.
Their information appeared across the system interface.
Their levels were Lv.
6, Lv.
6, Lv.
8, Lv.
7, Lv.
9, and Lv.
5.
Their potential tiers were Standard, Standard, Standard, Common, Standard, and Common.
As for their genders…
Shiryu paused.
Then stared again.
No way.
Every single one of them was female.
His gaze slowly shifted back toward Blue-Ribbon Wooloo, now carrying a hint of suspicion.
‘Seriously?
Every “friend” you hang out with is a girl?’
Suddenly, everything made sense.
When Shiryu had asked him to bring his Wooloo friends over to help establish the ranch, the little guy had agreed immediately and looked suspiciously excited about the idea.
So this was what he’d been planning.
He wanted to build himself a Wooloo harem on Shiryu’s ranch.
“Wooloo~”
Blue-Ribbon Wooloo gave an innocent little cry without the slightest trace of shame.
‘I am but a harmless sheep.
What wicked intentions could a Wooloo possibly have?’
Apparently completely unbothered by having his scheme exposed, he turned around and began directing the six female Wooloo toward Shiryu.
Within moments, all six had crowded around him, apparently asking for Exp.
Candy too.
Shiryu could only sigh.
“Fine, fine.”
He divided the newly obtained candy among them, giving one piece to each Wooloo, then used Viridian Power to ease the exhaustion they’d accumulated on their long journey across Postwick.
Under the soothing influence of Viridian Power, the six Wooloo quickly became far more comfortable around him.
Shiryu took the opportunity to bring out several Luxury Balls and gently tapped one against each Wooloo’s forehead.
All six were successfully captured.
Unfortunately, no matter how many Wooloo he caught, they still counted as only one species toward [Catch More Varied Ranch Partners (4/5)].
Otherwise, he would have completed another quest on the spot.
Shiryu looked at the growing flock and stretched.
“All right.
Bedtime.”