Not to mention Garganacl's talent, perfect for a sandstorm team. It could serve as the first lesson after school starts, welcoming Nemona and the others back from Galar, and also greeting Paul, who would likely be roped in by Geeta and Clavell.
Then, they could compete to see who could first defeat a Garganacl holding Leftovers and Terastallized.
As for moveset, something like Curse, Salt Cure, Recover, Protect, Iron Defense, Wide Guard, Body Slam, etc.
Terastal types could vary: Tera Ghost, Tera Steel, Tera Water, Tera Poison, or even Tera Fairy would work, though it's a bit expensive.
But everyone would surely show smiles of "battling makes me happy," right?
Thinking of this, Lucas's smile grew wider. However, all these ideas depended on the Naclstack successfully evolving into Garganacl within this month.
Though the hope was slim, perhaps with the addition of Mt. Silver soil, providing better nutrition and energy, the Naclstack's growth speed would accelerate?
Lucas skillfully collected the rock salt produced by the Naclstack. That single spray was equivalent to a week's accumulation from their Nacli days. Even if it depleted most of their stored rock salt, the output was extremely impressive.
After a quick calculation, Lucas was surprised to find that at this rate, the monthly value of rock salt from three Naclstack was about 0.8 times his monthly salary.
If they evolved further...
Hiss, he didn't dare think about it!
Lucas vaguely understood why many people didn't make trainer their main job. This profession didn't make money as fast as others!
Either work yourself to death on tasks, like Lucas before, investing most money in Pokémon feeding and resources, or like Galar's undefeated Champion Leon, with a champion cape full of ads earning endorsement fees.
Even Whitney, whom he met recently, treated her Miltank ranch as her main business. She said her monthly gym leader salary was lower than Lucas's current wage; only the League-provided gym leader resources and tax exemptions were attractive.
Speaking of tax exemptions...
While interacting with the Shuckle and Naclstack, Lucas pondered tax issues.
Basically, when income reaches certain thresholds, the League collects taxes to maintain operations.
Though Lucas had retired as a Champion-level trainer, the honor remained.
Currently, the farm's income and his teacher salary weren't at the exemption limit, so no tax worries.
But once the farm's various businesses grew and income soared, taxes would be levied. Lucas didn't mind; the League maintains the region, so reasonable taxes are fair. He wasn't opposed.
However, he'd heard Geeta was pushing for Paldea's development, intending to allow gym leaders operating urban gyms to stack tax exemptions with others, to increase gym numbers in cities and boost regional strength.
Like in the anime, besides the official eight gyms, many smaller gyms exist in other cities, also issuing league badges. A region isn't limited to just the game cities.
Los Platos happens to lack a gym. If he wanted further tax exemptions, Lucas could establish one without issue—perhaps Geeta would approve it the next second after submission.
Yes, Geeta. Recalling Larry's miserable state, Lucas, who was petting the two Shuckle's smooth, turtle-like heads, shuddered. Better to pay some taxes and preserve his life than become Geeta's underling and get exploited.
Worst case, if he did open a gym, he'd likely be a hands-off owner, letting Oranguru act as proxy gym leader to handle new trainers' challenges, or even bring back some Gardevoir maids and Gallade butlers from outside to rotate shifts with Oranguru.
Retracting his hand from petting the two Shuckle heads, Lucas sighed. Instead of thinking about all that, better to go back and discuss with Oranguru about opening fresh Moomoo Milk subscriptions to the public. His intuition said this business could take off.
The rock for the Shuckle to live in was soon brought back from the wild by Swampert. Even though used to Swampert's immense strength, Lucas was still shocked seeing it single-handedly carry a huge rock many times its size.
The rock was placed in the center of the berry grove, where there was ample space and tree branches extending to block rain somewhat.
Actually, when the Shuckle siblings arrived in the berry-scented grove, their eyes lit up, feeling like they'd entered their dream land.
Not only the premium berries about to fully ripen everywhere, but the huge rock perfectly suited them—all this made the Shuckle siblings' affection for Lucas, who had already saved their lives, skyrocket. They were also full of gratitude for Suicune's arrangements.
"Do you need other Pokémon to help hollow out the rock?" Lucas asked the two Shuckle, who were joyfully inspecting the huge rock, then glanced at the eager Swampert beside him. "Hmm, Swampert, one punch from you might shatter the huge rock. Better not."
"Instead, Mimikyu, Ceruledge, and Arcanine should be able to hollow it out quickly."
Hearing this, the originally eager Swampert, waving its fists, drooped its head in disappointment.
Lucas was right; it almost forgot that one punch would either turn this carefully selected, good-looking, appropriately sized rock from the wild into slag or split it into pieces.
"It's okay, it's okay. You carried such a big rock back to the farm, and the Shuckle appreciate it. Great job!"
Lucas patted Swampert's head, which looked like a dejected big dog, his expression a bit odd.
Fortunately, Swampert only sulked for a moment before perking up, waving its powerful arms and heading toward the Thunderclap Lake.
To find a suitable rock for the Shuckle, it hadn't practiced by the huge Damp Rock today.
After Swampert left, the Shuckle seemed to have fully toured their new home and came to Lucas. The blue Shuckle sister even demonstrated their burrowing ability—
Both had learned Dig, so they could handle turning this raw jade into their new home themselves.
Since the Shuckle said so, Lucas didn't insist, just reminding them that once the new home was built, they could pick suitable berries from the trees to store inside. After Lucas got custom wooden plugs made to fit their shell holes, they could start fermenting berries into juice.
If bored, they could go to the nearby apple grove to befriend Tropius and Applin; the apples ripened by Applin taste excellent.
After the Shuckle siblings nodded to show they remembered, Lucas, having settled them, didn't linger. He returned home, called Oranguru, and began discussing the feasibility of expanding the milk delivery service.
The final discussion concluded it was viable. Oranguru occasionally wandered into Los Platos and saw most families buying Moomoo Milk transported cold from other cities. The loading, unloading, transport, and sales time far from qualified as "fresh" Moomoo Milk.
Los Platos's population structure is healthy, with elders, children, and adults in optimal ratios, meaning Lucas and Oranguru's "fresh Moomoo Milk" branding would likely be effective.
In supermarkets, a 750ml bottle of Moomoo Milk sells for 500 Pokédollars. Considering its average quality and not being the freshest, the price is actually on the high side.
Lucas planned to bulk-buy 750ml glass bottles at 20 Pokédollars each.
After filling with fresh Moomoo Milk, Oranguru calculated a price of 550 Pokédollars per bottle, plus a one-time delivery fee of 50 Pokédollars, as reasonable.
Among the five Miltank, four are still sub-adult, producing less milk than adults—about 15 liters per day.
Per Oranguru's calculations, including daily consumption by farm Pokémon and Lucas's food production, leaving the 25 liters from the sole Herbivore Miltank, and selling the rest... if fully subscribed daily, minus negligible costs, daily income could exceed 45,000 Pokédollars!
Upon getting this number, Lucas and Oranguru exchanged glances and sucked in a breath.
Good grief, so my monthly salary from hard work isn't even as much as what the five Miltank at home produce.
Thinking of the dozens of Miltank at Hanzawa and Whitney's ranches, Lucas got it.
So the rich folks were right beside me all along.
As for delivery after launching the service, Lucas and Oranguru thought they could utilize available resources.
Instead of exhausting Arcanine and others running all day, they could systematically train the Corviknight flock under Moltres and have them handle deliveries.
The payment could be the excess fresh Moomoo Milk and berries—high-energy, nutritious food that's the best reward for those wild Pokémon.
After completing this series of plans, Lucas and Oranguru exchanged glances, both seeing pride in each other's eyes for their genius idea.
Before ending the topic, Lucas suddenly remembered something and quickly added: "However, if we have Corvisquire and Corviknight handle deliveries, we must be careful of the Tinkatink."
"Tinkatink?"
Oranguru's telepathic message conveyed confusion; it didn't know this Pokémon.
After Oranguru pulled out a tablet and looked up the data, it showed realization.
"Tinkatink is fine; it's the one being bullied. The main issues are with Tinkatuff and Tinkaton. Tinkatuff attacks Steel-type Pokémon to collect metal from them, and Tinkaton can easily swing hammers over 100kg to launch rocks at Corviknight and steal their armor."
"Hiss, young master, they're tough. If hit mid-flight, not only would the fresh Moomoo Milk shatter, causing delivery delays, but the Corviknight might be in danger."
Lucas nodded in agreement, very satisfied with Oranguru's data-gathering speed, and added:
"Fortunately, the Tinkatink group is more distributed in places like Zapapico. Los Platos, this beginner village, has almost none. No need to worry too much."
"That's great." Oranguru nodded, pondering. "Since linking with the farm, the malnourished Corvisquire in the Third Scar flock have successfully evolved with ample food, now with about ten Corviknight. If targeted by Tinkaton, it'd be a disaster."
Lucas nodded slightly, concluding: "Then it's settled. Prepare to launch the milk delivery service, with Third Scar-led Corviknight flock handling deliveries, paid appropriately."
Though launching the service, how to promote it was still an issue.
Generally, promotion uses three channels.
Offline promotion.
Via flyers, billboards, etc. This is suitable for startups not wanting to overextend initially.
Online/TV promotion.
Ads on websites, TV commercials, celebrity endorsements, product placements in hot shows—all fall here.
For example, to expand the farm's customer base and Moomoo Milk business, Lucas could pay to have Unova's dazzling model Elesa endorse during a runway show.
Leave "Lucas Farm" on Leon's champion cape.
Invite Kalos household star Diantha for naming endorsement.
Or have streamers like Iono like mukbang sponsored content, hard-inserting in videos or streams.
But this mode isn't just about overextending; endorsement fees aren't small. For now, with the farm not even out of Los Platos, it's not considered.
Invisible promotion.
Basically word-of-mouth reputation and the farm/owner's influence to attract customers. Needs pairing with the above for significant effects.
Lucas thought for starters, besides hiring people in Los Platos to distribute flyers, promoting through events that only spread within Los Platos would work.
Fortunately, the opportunity came soon.
…
On July 6th, while Lucas routinely went to the market for supplies and prepared for the milk service launch, he heard from Grandma Touko about something.
In late this month, the annual Pokémon Marathon hosted by the Los Platos mayor was opening registrations.
On the day, Los Platos residents, nearby farm/ranch owners, and even passing trainers would join this event to select the "Most Enduring Ride Pokémon." The winner, under the town's attention, receives the "Endurance Medal" honor from the mayor.
Lucas wasn't interested in the "Endurance Medal" or fame from the marathon, but solely in the award ceremony's town-wide spotlight.
If he won the Pokémon Marathon and said during the awards, "This Pokémon's endurance is so strong because it drank fresh Moomoo Milk from the farm—now open for subscriptions," the promotion effect would be faster than repeating flyers at town corners!
Moreover, this marathon tests Pokémon "endurance." The farm happened to have a Pokémon that hadn't shone in a while, perfect for this event.
Of course, even for speed, Lucas had Dragonite and Moltres in the air, and Arcanine with Extreme Speed on land, enough to leave others in the dust.
Just worrying about better promotion beyond flyers, and here was the chance?
The remaining half-month was perfect for pre-launch prep, like route training for the Third Scar Corviknight flock, stockpiling containers, trialing qualified dairy products for marathon promotion.
And procuring or customizing automated milking equipment to ensure ample fresh Moomoo Milk ready each morning.
Plenty to do.
…
On July 7th, Lucas officially began preparing the milk delivery service.
Glass bottle procurement was easily negotiated. Though Lucas's quantity wasn't large, it was steady, and his Champion-level trainer identity leaked through casual talk, giving many Los Platos residents natural trust in him, sealing this stable deal.
Because of this trust, Lucas was meticulous in prep, aiming to earn while bringing more benefits and convenience to Los Platos residents.
As a transmigrator, Lucas knew how important "first impression" is in promotion, like flashy titles and eye-catching images online before crossing over—need to attract attention for steady customers.
Just an empty glass bottle filled with Moomoo Milk would seem like a no-name product, unreliable.
But with proper packaging, it creates significant effects, even making customers loyal to your brand for repeat buys.
Though currently only planning daily subscriptions, not shelving in supermarkets to compete with big brands from other cities, best to do this right from the start.
In short, give the farm's fresh Moomoo Milk a unique "label."
After Lucas and Oranguru referenced many materials and existing Moomoo Milk brand labels, through Oranguru—who dabbled in ad design—the exclusive "label" for Lucas Farm's fresh Moomoo Milk was born.
For artwork, Lucas used his connections to contact Hassel, having this Dragon Tamer family scion collaborate with Brassius, the famous artist and Artazon Gym Leader in Paldea, to draw a painting for label printing.
The painting was simple: In the limited small space for a glass bottle label, they drew five version Miltank with a touch of their styles, plus artistic font "Lucas Farm" and a majestic Luxray head beside it.
If Hassel and Brassius's fans knew they drew for a tiny farm's bottles, they might travel far to Los Platos just to buy a bottle of Moomoo Milk.
So, having background and connections is essential when out in the world.
While busy preparing the milk service, Lucas naturally didn't forget the crops planted in the farming area not long ago.
The watermelon fields in Eindoak left a deep impression on Lucas, so after returning from Unova to Paldea, he had Mudsdale and Comfey open a new field in the farming area specifically for watermelons.
Ordinary crops, boosted by Victini and nourished by Comfey and Grass-type Pokémon using the special Grassy Terrain taught by Tapu Bulu, crossed several growth stages in just a month, heading straight to maturity.
Upon returning to the farm from Johto, busy with various tasks, Lucas hadn't had time to check the watermelon field. Once the label matter was settled and he had some free time, he brought Luxray, Victini, and others to the farming area's watermelon field.
The moment he saw the field, shock spread in his heart.
Vines intertwined in the field, swaying gently in the breeze. The watermelon flowers blooming when Lucas left had turned into round, massive watermelons, their smooth, jade-like surfaces gleaming under the sunlight.
Luxray lifted its head and sniffed, its nose filled with the scent of nearly ripe watermelons. Even steady as it was, it couldn't help imagining the sweet, juicy flesh.
Looking at the familiar melon field, Victini's memories were stirred.
It recalled the melon fields near the Sword of the Vale Castle in Eindoak's orchards.
Those were among its few happy memories in that millennium, enjoying the starry summer nights with wild Pokémon friends, sitting in rows sharing delicious watermelons.
"Victini~!"
Victini let out a cheer, leading its friends into the field, proudly helping them pick watermelons based on its experience.
Seeing this, Lucas showed a helpless smile and called out: "Don't rush! Oranguru said the watermelons need a few more days to fully ripen!"