The next morning, Lucas was awakened by the cheerful bleating of the Mareep.
At some point before sunrise, all eleven little lambs had woken up.
They huddled together inside their fenced enclosure, gently nudging one another as they wandered around.
A few looked toward the second floor with their bright black eyes, opening and closing their mouths as they let out soft, adorable cries.
“Baa…
baa…”
Ralts was no longer beside Lucas’ pillow.
Looking out the bedroom window, Lucas quickly spotted the little Pokémon perched on top of the fence, apparently “chatting” with the smallest Mareep.
He rubbed his eyes and climbed out of bed.
The previous night, he had spent nearly two hours familiarizing himself with the System’s newly unlocked analysis feature.
While brushing his teeth, he opened the System interface and tapped the Pokémon footprint icon.
“Who should I check first?” he mumbled through a mouthful of toothpaste.
At some point, Ralts had quietly come upstairs and was now sitting at the bathroom door, looking up at him expectantly.
Lucas smiled, rinsed his mouth, and opened Ralts’ profile.
The analysis results appeared almost instantly.
Ralts
– Gender: Female
– Type: Psychic / Fairy
– Ability: Trace
– Power: Superior Peak
– Potential: Pseudo-Elite
– Moves: Confusion, Growl, Shock Wave, Teleport
Lucas froze, his toothbrush suspended in midair.
This tiny, adorable Ralts—who loved sitting on his shoulder and rubbing against his cheek—was actually incredibly talented.
A Pseudo-Elite potential…
Only one tier below Elite and one above Gym-level.
Its natural talent far exceeded anything Lucas had expected.
“So you’ve been hiding your true strength.”
Ralts proudly puffed out its chest and let out a satisfied cry.
Its expression practically said,
“I told you so.”
Laughing, Lucas patted its head before opening Bulbasaur’s profile.
Bulbasaur
– Gender: Female
– Type: Grass / Poison
– Ability: Overgrow
– Power: Superior Initial
– Potential: Pseudo-Elite
– Moves: Tackle, Vine Whip, Leech Seed, Poison Powder
Bulbasaur possessed the same Pseudo-Elite potential as Ralts.
Professor Birch had truly given him an exceptional partner.
Its Overgrow ability was the standard ability for Grass-type Pokémon.
When its health became low, the power of its Grass-type moves increased significantly.
Although it wasn’t a rare ability, practicality mattered far more than flashy powers—especially for a Pokémon destined to manage an orchard.
Finally…
Lucas opened the profile he had been most curious about.
Pidgeotto
– Gender: Male
– Type: Normal / Flying
– Ability: Keen Eye
– Power: Pseudo-Gym Level (Initial)
– Potential: Gym-Level
– Moves: Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Gust, Sand Attack, Agility…
Lucas stared at the screen for several long moments.
Pidgeotto actually possessed the highest current combat strength among all three Pokémon.
He had always assumed Ralts was the strongest.
Instead…
The Pidgeotto he had recruited with nothing more than a handful of Pokéblocks turned out to be the hidden powerhouse.
Its potential was slightly lower than Ralts’ and Bulbasaur’s, but Gym-Level potential was still extremely impressive.
After evolving into Pidgeot, it would undoubtedly become a formidable battler.
“You really are stronger than I thought,” Lucas called toward the window.
Pidgeotto answered with a proud cry from outside.
Next, Lucas scanned the information for all eleven Mareep.
Their profiles appeared neatly arranged across the System panel.
There were eight females and three males.
Every one of them possessed Normal Initial strength, which was already quite respectable for newborn lambs less than a week old.
Their potential varied considerably.
The highest belonged to a female Mareep with Pseudo-Gym-Level potential.
The lowest was simply Normal.
Most of the others fell somewhere within the Superior tier.
Lucas wasn’t particularly concerned about their combat potential.
These Mareep weren’t meant to fight.
They were farm Pokémon.
They would produce wool…
Lay eggs…
And help support the farm financially.
As long as they remained healthy, gentle, and grew properly…
That was enough.
“You little guys don’t need to become powerful.”
Lucas crouched beside the fence and gently stroked the lamb with the lowest potential.
“Your only job is to stay adorable.”
The little Mareep happily closed its eyes and rubbed its head against his hand.
After breakfast, Lucas cleaned the enclosure, replaced the bedding with fresh straw, and prepared warm milk for the lambs.
Watching eleven impatient babies line up for feeding was complete chaos.
Some shoved their way to the front.
Others wandered along at their own leisurely pace.
Nearby…
Ralts was busier than ever.
One moment, it used Confusion to help a fallen lamb back onto its feet.
The next, it squeezed itself between two squabbling Mareep to stop them from fighting over the milk.
Watching the little Pokémon work so hard…
Lucas suddenly had an idea.
“Ralts.”
The little Pokémon looked toward him.
“How about becoming their caretaker?”
Ralts blinked.
“You’ve been helping take care of them ever since they hatched.”
“When I’m working in the orchard, you can stay here.”
“Feed them.”
“Watch over them.”
“Clean the enclosure.”
“And play with them.”
Lucas crouched down until they were eye level.
“Honestly…”
“You’re better at taking care of them than I am.”
“They listen to you much better.”
Ralts stared at him for a couple of seconds.
Then…
It proudly puffed out its tiny chest and gave an extremely serious cry.
The sound carried all the dignity of someone accepting an important responsibility.
Lucas couldn’t help laughing.
He gently patted its head before purchasing an extra serving of Pokéblocks from the System Shop.
He placed them inside the kitchen cabinet.
“My payment for the new employee.”
The moment Ralts spotted the Pokéblocks…
Its eyes sparkled.
But it quickly regained its composure.
Trying to look serious, it walked back to the fence, stood proudly before the eleven Mareep, and seemed to announce,
“From today onward, you’re all under my care.”
Once everything at home had been taken care of, Lucas climbed the mountain with Pidgeotto.
Today’s goal wasn’t watering trees or inspecting the orchard.
He had another task in mind.
He was recruiting workers.
Over the past few days, birds had become an increasing problem.
More and more fruit showed signs of being pecked.
Some berries had only a few bites taken out of them.
Others had been completely eaten, leaving only the cores behind.
In another month, the orchard would be ready for harvest.
If he didn’t solve the problem before then…
The entire crop could be ruined.
Reflective strips only scared birds away temporarily.
He needed a permanent solution.
“The best way to deal with birds…”
Lucas explained to Pidgeotto as they walked,
“…is to use birds.”
“I want you to recruit all the Pidgey, Taillow, and other wild birds around here.”
“Become their leader.”
“If they work for us…”
“They won’t steal fruit anymore.”
“They’ll even chase away other birds.”
Pidgeotto tilted its head thoughtfully before giving a confident cry.
The orchard was much livelier than Lucas had expected.
Even before reaching the center, he spotted several Flying-type Pokémon circling overhead.
Groups of Taillow streaked through the orchard like gray arrows, their wings beating rapidly through the air.
Within just two hours…
Pidgeotto had successfully “recruited” five Pidgey.
The little birds lined up neatly on a nearby branch, all staring attentively at their new leader.
Pidgeotto perched proudly on the highest branch.
Every now and then it gave a commanding cry.
The five Pidgey answered in perfect unison.
Watching the scene…
Lucas nodded in satisfaction.
“Keep recruiting.”
“The more, the better.”
“The orchard is huge.”
“Even ten or twenty birds wouldn’t be too many.”
“I’m heading back.”
“I still have eleven little sheep waiting for me.”
Pidgeotto acknowledged the order with another confident cry.
As Lucas walked down the mountain, he glanced back one last time.
Pidgeotto was already leading its new recruits from tree to tree…
Looking very much like a supervisor conducting employee training.
Lucas couldn’t help smiling.
When he returned home…
He stopped in the doorway.
The scene before him was simply too amusing.
Ralts stood proudly in the middle of the enclosure like a strict commander.
The eleven Mareep had been organized into neat little groups.
Lucas quietly leaned against the wall without interrupting.
Ralts eventually sensed his gaze.
It turned around and gave him a sharp cry.
The meaning couldn’t have been clearer.
“Stop standing there and come help!”
Lucas laughed and walked over.
One adventurous little Mareep had climbed onto Ralts.
Lucas gently picked it up and returned it to the others.
“You’re doing a great job.”
“You’ll get an extra serving of Pokéblocks tonight.”
Ralts’ eyes lit up with excitement.
But almost immediately…
It returned to its serious expression and continued supervising its flock.
Lucas spent the rest of the afternoon with the Mareep.
Following the methods described in Fujiyama’s notebook, he carefully examined each lamb.
He checked their bones.
Their eyes.
Their breathing.
And the flexibility of their legs.
Although the System could instantly provide their physical condition…
Lucas believed a real farmer still needed to examine his animals personally.
The eleven Mareep lined up one after another.
Some cooperated perfectly.
Others…
Not so much.
The female lamb with the highest potential behaved beautifully.
She remained perfectly still while Lucas examined and petted her.
The most troublesome was the male lamb with the lowest potential.
One moment it chewed on Lucas’ pant leg.
The next, it burrowed into his arms.
Then it ran over to Ralts, demanding attention.
Shearing wouldn’t happen for another two weeks.
But building trust had to start now.
Otherwise…
Managing eleven stubborn sheep would become a nightmare.
So that afternoon’s real task wasn’t farming.
It was building friendships.
By sunset…
Lucas had held, examined, and played with every single Mareep.
One by one, he returned them to their enclosure.
The eleven fluffy little lambs curled together atop the fresh hay.
Some had already fallen asleep.
Others continued letting out tiny, sleepy bleats.
Leaning quietly against the fence, Lucas looked at the fluffy little family before him.
At that moment…
He suddenly felt that spending 1.21 million League Credits on the Mareep had been worth every single coin.
As the last rays of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon…
The farm slowly settled into another peaceful evening.