Chapter 112:
"School starts on September 1st and 2nd, right?"
"Yes." The girl replied very seriously.
As she said this, her face was glowing with anticipation.
That's because her Squirtle had evolved into Wartortle over a week ago, greatly increasing its strength.
After school started, there would be an opening test, and the content of the test would naturally be Pokémon battles.
You should know, at the end of last semester, everyone was still mocking her Squirtle for being silly. This semester, she was going to show them what it means to overtake others during summer break!
What goes around comes around!
"Ah..." Hayashi Kaede sighed, "Alright then, let me know when you're leaving."
"Mmhmm."
Takagi Megumi didn't notice the worry on Hayashi Kaede's face and happily returned to the breeding house.
Only Hayashi Kaede, left behind, felt somewhat melancholy.
This hint of melancholy was quickly detected by Gardevoir, who teleported over.
It flew to Hayashi Kaede's side, saw his troubled expression, and patted his head. "Gardevoir?" (What's wrong?)
"Huh?"
Hayashi Kaede wasn't surprised by Gardevoir's sudden appearance. He shook his head and, looking at the considerate Gardevoir, didn't hide his thoughts. "It's nothing major. You know that employee at the shop, right?"
Gardevoir nodded.
Of course it knew that employee.
That was a person with a very pure heart.
"She's going back to school, so... I've lost my employee!"
Hayashi Kaede said sadly.
Other things were easier to solve.
For example, the oak barrels—he could just ask Rotom. Even if they were in other regions, he could have Dragonite work a little harder, carry several storage capsules, and get it done all at once.
The fields in front of him could also be quickly plowed by borrowing Sandshrew.
But the breeding house needed someone to watch it...
Hayashi Kaede glanced at Gardevoir.
Then he quickly shook his head.
Although Gardevoir could also mind the shop,
If he asked it for help with this too,
Then Gardevoir would go from arriving at 8 a.m., harvesting Berries, and making Energy Cubes all morning—occasionally even helping with some farm work—to arriving at 6 a.m., minding the shop until around 5 p.m., and then picking Berries and making Energy Cubes until 8 or 9 p.m.?
And with no days off.
Wahhh.
If he asked for help like this, he'd truly be hung from a streetlight.
"I need to find a Pokémon with housekeeping abilities..."
This thought flashed through Hayashi Kaede's mind.
What Pokémon could mind the shop?
Indeedee... that would be good...
Leavanny? Would it be a bit too small?
Mr. Mime?
A Pokémon skilled at housework... should probably be able to mind the shop well, right?
...
After thinking it over, Hayashi Kaede ultimately felt that Indeedee was the best choice.
So, he called Rotom over and looked at it eagerly. "Is there any Pokémon house that sells Indeedee?"
But the answer it gave made his expression fall instantly.
Rotom said somewhat regretfully, "Rotom... Searching, please wait... Sorry, Master, no Pokémon breeding bases selling Indeedee were found within the Eastova region."
But not having Indeedee was understandable.
After all, this Pokémon was rare and mainly found in the Galar and Paldea regions.
Next, Hayashi Kaede inquired about Leavanny and Mr. Mime. Both were available, but Hayashi Kaede felt something wasn't quite right about them and ultimately didn't choose either.
Suddenly inspired, he looked up at Mew in the sky.
Couldn't it transform into an Indeedee?
But then, Hayashi Kaede laughed at his own idea.
Have Mew handle money?
It would probably play tricks on the customers, right?
It was better to let it stay immersed in its own world.
"Rotom, help me check where I can buy containers for wine. Oak barrels would be best."
"Okay, searching now~"
"Found it, Master. In the northwest region, there's a factory that specially imports oak barrels from the Paldea region."
This time, the information was useful, and Rotom showed a smiling expression.
"Good, contact them and say I want..." Hayashi Kaede paused. The area of that Berry plantation was quite large. One-thirtieth of the Grepa Berries—how many pounds would that be?
"First, help me check how many pounds of Grepa Berries one acre of land can produce?"
Rotom quickly provided the answer. "Under normal circumstances, one acre of land can yield 3,000–5,000 pounds of Grepa Berries, but if mismanaged, it might only yield 1,000–2,000 pounds."
Hayashi Kaede nodded. "Then let's calculate based on 5,000. Five acres would be 25,000 pounds. One pound of Grepa Berries can produce about 0.6 pounds of Grepa Berry Wine..."
"So that's 15,000 pounds of Grepa Berry Wine... One oak barrel holds 250L, so let's buy 100 barrels~"
"Okay~ Rotom~"
Rotom immediately contacted the supplier and soon brought back news.
"Rotom... That boss said it's too far and delivery might take some time."
"It's fine. I'll have Dragonite make a trip when the time comes."
This was no problem at all for Hayashi Kaede currently. Moreover, storing the wine was also easy to solve.
Now that autumn was approaching, the temperature was gradually dropping.
The finished Berry wine could be stored in the barn.
With this problem solved, his mood immediately lifted, and he turned to the last problem of the day.
What should he plant in the remaining fields?
Actually, he personally leaned towards planting Berries, because only Berries could be made into better Energy Cubes and sold for more money.
But the Sweet and Savory Grass Dumplings he made today gave him a new idea.
Different plants would surely have different effects when mutated, so it would be good to plant some seasonal vegetables too. This could also enrich his cooking recipes.
After a moment's thought, Hayashi Kaede quickly decided how to allocate the use of these fields.
"Hey, this is a good chance to take out some of the Berry seeds I got as rewards and diversify the types of Energy Cubes at the breeding house~"
After running the breeding house for so many days, he felt his system space was like a treasure bag, filled with various rewards obtained from Pokémon because they found the food delicious and were happy.
But these rewards were also very basic.
So much so that he was starting to suffer from choice paralysis.
For example, now.
There were quite a few types of Berry seeds in the system space,
And the Berry area he had allocated was only this big, enough for about fifty plants at most...
Finally, Hayashi Kaede decided.
"Then let's plant a little of each!"
"Gardevoir, please harvest all these vegetables for me!"
"Gardevoir~" (Okay.)
While Hayashi Kaede was contemplating and talking to Rotom, Gardevoir had been standing nearby watching, a gentle smile on its face, as if wanting to see how he would handle his worries.
And now that he seemed to have found a solution, all it had to do was help him with some "cleanup" work.
At least, that's what Gardevoir thought.