Time passed quietly between the orchard and the sheep shed.
After Pidgeotto settled on the farm, the days seemed to fly by even faster.
Unlike Ralts, Pidgeotto wasn’t the clingy type.
Nor was it like Bulbasaur, which spent every day slowly wandering through the orchard.
Pidgeotto followed its own routine.
At dawn, it would fly into the sky and circle the orchard several times before disappearing into the distance.
Around noon, it would return to eat its Pokéblocks.
Afterward, it would head back out, return again at dusk, and occasionally take one final flight before settling in for the night.
At first, Lucas worried that the bird might simply fly away and never come back.
After all, catching Pidgeotto had been almost effortless.
A few Pokéblocks…
One Poké Ball…
Not even a battle.
But after several days of observation, he realized his worries were unnecessary.
Every evening at sunset, Pidgeotto returned to the tallest tree in the orchard to sleep.
Every morning, it came down for breakfast with incredible punctuality.
It was more reliable than an alarm clock.
“I guess the food here is just too good,” Lucas concluded with a smile.
Bulbasaur had also changed noticeably.
It had developed an almost obsessive attachment to the orchard.
Every morning after finishing its Pokéblocks, it climbed the hillside without needing Lucas to call for it.
Lucas often felt it wasn’t simply wandering around.
Instead…
It seemed to be quietly building a connection with the land itself.
Ralts, on the other hand, never left Lucas’ side.
It wasn’t uninterested in the orchard.
Rather…
It seemed far more interested in whatever Lucas was doing.
If Lucas cooked in the kitchen…
Ralts sat beside the stove.
If Lucas studied Fujiyama’s farming notes in the living room…
Ralts lay quietly beside the notebook.
Whenever Lucas checked on the Mareep Eggs in the shed…
Ralts climbed onto one of the incubators and stared at the eggs without blinking, as though patiently waiting for them to hatch.
All eleven Mareep Eggs rested neatly inside individual incubators lined against the wall.
Every day, Lucas carefully followed the incubation guide Kaino Rin had provided.
He monitored the temperature.
Adjusted the humidity.
And gently rotated each egg to prevent the embryo from sticking to the shell.
The work itself wasn’t difficult.
It simply demanded patience.
Fortunately…
Ralts had even more patience than he did.
Whenever Lucas rotated the eggs, Ralts faithfully watched beside him.
Sometimes it even reached out a tiny hand and gently touched the eggshell itself before quickly pulling its hand back, as though checking whether the baby inside was still alive.
“You really care about these little guys.”
Lucas laughed one day.
Ralts looked back at him and gave a cheerful cry.
Its expression seemed to say,
“They’re going to be our family from now on.”
Three busy days quickly passed.
The hatching day finally arrived.
Lucas was awakened by Ralts.
Outside…
The sky was still caught between night and dawn.
A cool, soft sensation repeatedly brushed against his face.
Still half asleep, Lucas reached up and caught Ralts’ tiny paw.
“Mmm…”
“Stop messing around…”
He rolled over and pulled the blanket over his head.
Ralts immediately yanked it back down.
Then…
It gently slapped his cheek again.
This time…
Much more urgently.
Lucas slowly opened one eye.
Ralts’ crimson eyes were only inches away from his own.
“What is it?”
he mumbled sleepily.
Without answering, Ralts jumped onto the floor.
It ran toward the bedroom door…
Then looked back and cried out.
Lucas rubbed his eyes and sat upright.
The alarm clock beside his bed read:
5:30 a.m.
The room remained dim, lit only by the faint bluish light of early morning filtering through the windows.
Throwing on a jacket, Lucas hurried downstairs barefoot.
Ralts sprinted directly toward the incubators.
Lucas stopped in his tracks.
Something…
Was moving.
The incubator farthest to the left trembled rhythmically.
This wasn’t caused by temperature changes.
Nor by someone bumping into it.
Something inside the egg was moving.
Lucas rushed over and crouched down.
A tiny crack had appeared on the shell.
Thin…
White…
Barely visible.
Before he could even examine it…
Another crack formed.
Then another.
And another.
The fractures spread across the shell like a spiderweb.
Soft…
Rhythmic…
Crack…
crack…
crack…
The sounds echoed clearly through the silent farmhouse.
Ralts crouched beside him.
Its entire body had become tense.
Its tiny hands gripped the edge of the incubator so tightly that Lucas could almost imagine its knuckles turning white.
A small section near the top of the shell suddenly lifted.
Something tiny…
Wet…
And pinkish-gray…
Peeked through the opening.
Its eyes remained tightly closed.
Its body glistened beneath a thin layer of birth fluid.
Its floppy ears hung weakly at its sides as it struggled with all its strength to squeeze free.
Lucas unconsciously held his breath.
One final push.
A tiny foreleg slipped free.
Then another.
Moments later…
The entire little body rolled out of the shell.
It landed softly inside the incubator.
Its four tiny legs kicked helplessly through the air before it finally rolled onto its stomach.
Slowly…
It struggled to stand.
Its legs trembled violently.
Its knees wobbled outward.
But somehow…
It remained standing.
Then…
It slowly opened its eyes.
Large.
Round.
Black.
Still wet from birth.
Filled with both innocence…
And curiosity.
Lucas felt something strike his heart.
The very first Mareep…
Had been born.
After standing frozen for several seconds…
Lucas suddenly sprang into action.
He rushed into the bathroom.
Turning on the faucet, he filled a basin with warm water before grabbing the softest towel he owned.
Behind him…
Ralts ran frantically back and forth.
It checked the incubator.
Then ran after Lucas.
Then tugged repeatedly at his pants.
“Hurry!”
“Hurry!”
Its behavior clearly seemed to say.
“Relax.”
“The water isn’t warm enough yet.”
Lucas tested it with his hand.
Satisfied with the temperature, he hurried back.
Gently lifting the newborn Mareep from the incubator…
He was surprised by how incredibly light it felt.
Barely larger than both his hands together…
Its tiny body was warm.
Soft.
And covered in delicate newborn fuzz.
Lucas soaked the towel in warm water before carefully wringing it out.
Then…
Very gently…
He began cleaning the little Mareep.
Every movement was slow and careful.
He was terrified of accidentally hurting such a fragile new life.
Bit by bit…
The birth fluid disappeared.
Soft gray wool gradually appeared beneath.
Compared to the pinkish-gray color at birth…
It already looked much more like a proper Mareep.
Meanwhile…
Ralts remained perched beside him.
It stretched its neck forward, constantly watching every movement.
Every so often…
It chirped impatiently.
Lucas couldn’t understand the words.
But he could easily guess their meaning.
“You missed a spot.”
“Be gentler.”
“It’s getting cold!”
He couldn’t help laughing.
Halfway through cleaning the first Mareep…
Bulbasaur quietly entered the room.
It must have heard all the commotion from the orchard.
Without making a sound…
It sat beside Lucas and watched.
Even Pidgeotto arrived.
Rather than entering the house…
It landed silently on the windowsill and observed everything through the glass.
Before Lucas even had time to rest…
The second egg began cracking.
This time…
He stayed much calmer.
The entire hatching process unfolded almost exactly the same.
The only noticeable difference…
Was that this Mareep’s wool had a faint bluish tint mixed into the gray.
Unlike the first quiet baby…
This one cried loudly from the moment it hatched.
It protested every second of being cleaned.
Apparently…
The world felt far too cold.
The third egg cracked.
Then the fourth.
Then the fifth.
Soon…
Lucas completely lost track of the numbers.
His routine became automatic.
Pick up a newborn.
Clean it.
Dry it.
Place it safely into the incubator.
Replace the towel.
Repeat.
Ralts worked tirelessly beside him, helping however it could.
Even Bulbasaur assisted by gently using its Vine Whip whenever Lucas needed another towel or tool.
Eventually…
Every single one of the eleven Mareep had hatched.
When the final baby was cleaned and safely placed inside its incubator…
Lucas simply collapsed against the wall.
Every muscle in his body ached.
Before him…
Eleven tiny Mareep slept peacefully inside their incubators.
Each curled into a fluffy little ball.
Lucas gently pulled Ralts into his arms.
Leaning against the wall…
He quietly closed his eyes.
After resting for about half an hour…
He forced himself back to work.
Following Kaino Rin’s feeding guide…
He prepared the newborns’ first meal.
On their first day, Mareep didn’t need much food.
A special colostrum milk formula…
Mixed with warm water…
Poured into tiny feeding bottles…
About thirty milliliters for each newborn.
Lucas carefully fed every one of them.
Soon…
All eleven babies lay comfortably asleep once again.
Their tiny bellies were perfectly round.
Watching them…
Lucas instinctively began calculating profits.
According to Fujiyama’s notes…
Mareep grew quickly.
Within about a week…
They would begin eating grass.
Bottle feeding would no longer be necessary.
Another week later…
Around two weeks after hatching…
They could be sheared for the first time.
Each Mareep produced roughly 1,000 League Credits worth of wool every month.
Eleven Mareep…
Eleven thousand League Credits per shearing.
Approximately 44,000 League Credits every month.
It sounded impressive.
But once feed…
Supplements…
And labor costs were deducted…
The actual profit wasn’t very high.
Recovering the 1.21 million League Credits he had spent on eggs and supplies would take quite a while.
“Wool alone isn’t enough to make money…”
Lucas sighed.
Then…
His eyes suddenly brightened.
“But…”
“Mareep lay eggs.”
“When they grow up…”
“They’ll breed.”
“Each Pokémon Egg sells for around 100,000 League Credits.”
“Sell just a dozen…”
“And I’ll recover my investment.”
“Everything after that is pure profit.”
Lucas couldn’t help grinning.
This…
Was the real farming strategy.
Wool provided steady cash flow.
Pokémon Eggs generated the real profits.
Just as he happily continued doing the math…
A faint pop echoed from one of the incubators.
Lucas immediately looked over.
The Mareep inside Incubator Number Five had rolled onto its back.
Its tiny legs kicked excitedly through the air.
At that exact moment…
A tiny blue-white spark burst from its wool.
Pop!
The static electricity struck the side of the incubator.
Lucas immediately remembered Kaino Rin’s warning.
Newborn Mareep naturally accumulated static electricity.
At first…
Only tiny sparks appeared.
As they grew older…
The electrical discharge would become stronger.
Without proper training…
They could accidentally injure themselves…
Or other Pokémon.
Normally…
An experienced Electric-type Pokémon guided young Mareep by teaching them how to control the electricity flowing through their bodies.
The problem was…
Lucas didn’t own a single Electric-type Pokémon.
Slowly…
Very slowly…
His gaze shifted toward Ralts.
The little Pokémon was gently stroking the baby Mareep’s head without the slightest concern.
As though sensing his stare…
Ralts stopped moving.
It slowly turned around.
Their eyes met.
Lucas crouched beside it.
“Ralts…”
he asked hopefully.
“Do you happen to know any Electric-type moves?”
Without saying a word…
A faint golden spark suddenly flickered in Ralts’ hand.
Lucas froze.
“Wait…”
“You actually know an Electric-type move?”
Ralts slowly looked back at him.
Its expression practically screamed,
“You seriously didn’t know?”
Then…
Another brighter spark crackled to life.
Golden electricity danced around the tip of Ralts’ horn.
Crackle.
Lucas stared speechlessly.
He had been planning to buy an Electric-type TM for Ralts someday.
Apparently…
That wasn’t necessary at all.
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