A mutated plant.
These were special crops that had a tiny probability of appearing after the Mudbray used their Rototiller move.
They produced different effects and had extremely unique, delicious flavors— essentially being top-tier ingredients that one could only hope for but never seek out.
When harvesting the tomatoes, Natsuki had been keeping a keen eye out for one.
However, luck hadn't been on his side, the probability of a crop mutating was incredibly low, and Natsuki hadn't even seen a shadow of one.
He hadn't expected that while he was out, Kangaskhan and the others would actually find one.
"Which one of you found this?"
Kangaskhan: "Kangas-lon~"
'It was Little Sister Minccino. She just did a random dig and there it was.'
"You did a great job, Minccino! You get to pick the menu for tonight," Natsuki said, rubbing Minccino vigorously as a reward.
Minccino: (๑• . •๑)
Being praised individually, Minccino gave a sweet smile, her cheeks flushing pink.
Her fluffy tail wagged back and forth, indicating that she was in a fantastic mood.
Carefully, Natsuki dug the Golden Potato out and wiped the dirt off its surface. Information naturally popped up before his eyes.
[Golden Potato]: A type of special ingredient. It mutated due to the Mudbray's special Rototiller move. Making it into a dish grants the "Golden" effect.]
'Hm? It comes with its own Cooking Effect?'
Natsuki was tempted to try it out immediately. But then he had a thought...
'Since a Golden Potato had appeared, could there be other special ingredients in the field?'
An excitement similar to opening a loot box swirled in his heart.
With crops like potatoes, you couldn't tell if they were special until you dug them up.
Still, he had more important tasks to finish, so he simply instructed the Pokémon to be careful when digging up the potatoes and not to miss anything.
Kangaskhan, Chatot, and the others all agreed, each wanting a chance for individual praise and to pick the menu.
They began digging with even more focus, as if they wanted to flip the entire potato field over.
Unfortunately, they didn't find another mutated crop. The probability was indeed staggering low.
On the other side, the three Mudbray made trip after trip, tirelessly transporting the harvested crops out of the ranch.
From morning to afternoon, aside from a brief rest at noon, no one stopped. Only then was the first batch of crops completely harvested.
Aside from a portion kept for their own consumption, everything was sold to Galio.
Toward evening, Galio arrived in another harvest truck. He was stunned when he saw the various vegetables organized in the back of the truck.
"So many! Natsuki, do you have some special formula?"
If he remembered correctly, Natsuki was a rookie rancher on his first planting cycle, and the land he had cleared wasn't that extensive.
Yet the final harvest was double that of other ranches. This shocked Galio more than anything else has in the last decade.
Patting the head of the Mudbray beside him, Natsuki said, "This is all thanks to them. The Mudbray worked tirelessly every day to use Rototiller on the fields."
"The power of Pokémon is truly great!"
"5,000 lbs of potatoes, 3,000 lbs of tomatoes, 3,000 lbs of cabbage, and 200 lbs of green beans (in the shell). That comes to 11,300 Poké Dollars total."
Handing over the recorded data, Galio remarked, "Natsuki, this is a bumper harvest!"
Taking the sheet, Natsuki did a quick estimation.
Once he confirmed it was correct, he signed his name. With that, the deal was done.
Another ten thousand plus Poké Dollars in the bank. Natsuki's expression was exceptionally bright.
Compared to the previous times, this harvest brought more joy and a sense of security. Whether it was the potatoes or the cabbage, they could be replanted, making the income quite stable.
The tomatoes could even be harvested multiple times.
With this success, he was certain that from now on, he could expect over ten thousand Poké Dollars every two weeks or so.
He no longer had to worry about running out of savings.
In other words, life suddenly had something to look forward to.
Galio waved to Diggersby and opened the passenger door.
Diggersby driving with its ears would look out of place in any other world, but it was common in the Pokémon world, and many jobs were replaced by Pokémon.
Before leaving, Galio seemed to remember something and suddenly poked his head out.
"By the way, Natsuki, I heard Coumarine City recently imported a batch of ranch Pokémon from the Paldea region. You should go take a look when you have time."
"A ranch isn't really a ranch without ranch Pokémon, after all!"
Watching Galio disappear at the end of Route 12, Natsuki whispered, "Ranch Pokémon? I really should go check it out."
A ranch without ranch Pokémon was indeed incomplete.
More importantly, ranch Pokémon had high economic value. They could produce many high-value-added products that often sold for a high price.
After sowing the next batch of seeds the day after tomorrow, he'd have another week of leisure, so he could definitely make a trip to Coumarine City.
"Let's go! I'll make you all something delicious back home to reward you."
He reached out to pat a Mudbray, then climbed onto its back.
"Mud-mud!"
At the mention of delicious food, the Mudbray practically floated as it walked.
They had helped Natsuki today, and they were happy.
Returning to the ranch, Chatot left with his "female friends," flying off to who-knows-where.
This guy was now like a phantom, impossible to see unless it was mealtime.
Meanwhile, Kangaskhan and Minccino were playing in the lake.
Minccino was helping wash Kangaskhan, making sure she was squeaky clean.
Sounds of laughter and splashing drifted over from time to time.
Looking down at the three Mudbray by his feet, they were also dirty. Their hooves were covered in a thick layer of mud from walking back and forth.
"Do you want to wash now, or wait until after you've eaten?"
"Mud-mud~"
A bath was the scariest thing. The Mudbray chose to procrastinate.
The three little ones gave a cheer and jumped into the mud pool, playing and covering each other in mud.
After work, a mud bath was the Mudbray's unique way of relaxing.
"These guys..."
With a lighthearted laugh, Natsuki let them be. Washing later was fine too, since they could go straight to sleep afterward and avoid getting dirty again.
While the Pokémon began to relax, Natsuki still had work to do. He had to prepare the meal he promised.
There were plenty of vegetables left at home. He prepared Sliced Tomatoes with Sugar, Stir-fried Cabbage with Meat, and a major dish: Beef Stew with Potatoes.
He cubed the beef, peeled the potatoes, and added onions, light and dark soy sauce, and other seasonings.It needed to stew for over an hour to ensure the beef and potatoes were soft and tender.
Paired with a bowl of white rice, it was a culinary heaven.
Aside from that, there was the Mung Bean Cakes that Minccino had requested.
Fresh mung beans were steamed and mashed into a paste, then flavored with butter, sugar, and honey. The paste had to be stir-fried until it was dry, fluffy, and didn't stick to his hands or the pan.
The final step was molding. Using all his skill, Natsuki managed to mold them into the shape of a Minccino.
The moment they were finished, the information for all four dishes appeared before his eyes.
Scanning through them, Natsuki couldn't help but swallow. He was suddenly starving too.