Wade awoke to the familiar, creamy scent of milk. Sunlight streamed through the window of the wooden cabin, already high and warm—he'd slept later than usual.
The morning routine called: milking the Miltanks and tending the crops. He stretched and stepped outside, the farm air fresh in his lungs.
"Chuuu~"
Near the edge of the field, Lopunny paused, a bucket of fresh ditch water in her paws. Her long ears twitched toward the treeline. Curious, Wade followed her gaze.
Dappled morning light filtered through the dense canopy, illuminating a secluded clearing where the undergrowth had been carefully shaped. There, nestled among roots and soft earth, was their secret fungal garden—and it had exploded overnight.
Clusters of mushrooms dotted the clearing in bewildering variety. Some grew plump and round like closed umbrellas; others fanned out flat as ceramic plates. Their colors ranged from ghostly white to vibrant, speckled hues.
"They're huge," Wade breathed. He hadn't expected such growth in just a few days.
"Miiino~" Mienshao murmured at his side, her expression mirroring his own astonishment.
Kneeling gracefully among the fungi was Ms. Gardevoir. Her fingers hovered just above the caps as she conducted a silent census. A moment later, her psychic voice, gentle and clear, touched his mind.
'Sha…'
The tally is complete, she conveyed. Thirty Swords Dance mushrooms. Twenty Iron Defense Wood Ears. Ten Shadow Clone fungi. And… three Sweet Truffles.
"That many?"
Wade's usually steady voice lifted in surprise. These weren't common market fungi. Swords Dance and Iron Defense varieties fetched about 100 League coins per catty; Shadow Clone mushrooms, 150. But the Sweet Truffles… their price could soar to 50,000 per catty. Compared to the steady, slow-growing Leppa Berry grain in the main fields, these mushrooms were a high-value, rapid-turnover crop. A month was the typical growth cycle.
Yet it had been less than a week.
A thread of unease wound through his excitement—this was too fast. Without any explanation, however, he tucked the concern away for later.
He looked up just as the earnest Miltank—the "Milk Cow Loli"—trotted forward, ready to harvest everything in sight.
"Not yet," Wade said gently, resting a hand on her head. "They need a few more days. Most aren't fully ripe."
Even with ideal conditions and care, such a bounty couldn't be truly ready. After a few minutes of careful inspection, he selected only two perfectly ripe Swords Dance mushrooms, their caps firm and gleaming.
"Lilligant," he called, stepping back from the clearing. "The rest are in your care."
"Ya Mi~"
The Grass-type Pokémon glided to the edge of the Leppa Berry field, where green shoots carpeted the soil. She clasped her hands together, and a wave of energy pulsed from her.
[Grassy Terrain]
A soft, verdant light washed over the farmland. The air grew rich with the smell of damp soil and growing things. Before their eyes, the berry shoots stretched upward, weaving into a thicker, lush carpet of green.
Wade watched the rolling waves of growth with deep satisfaction. At this rate, the harvest will be substantial. A profitable sale wasn't far off.
"Thank you. You've done wonderfully," he said, ruffling the petals on Lilligant's head. Then, he raised his voice, a note of celebration in it. "Alright, everyone! For lunch today—a grilled fish feast!"
"Ya Mi! Ya Mi!" Lilligant chimed, dancing lightly.
Back in the cabin's kitchen, Wade gathered supplies. "Cilantro, radish, cabbage... cumin, pepper, salt," he muttered, checking jars and baskets. Good—there were still enough seasonings left from last week's trip. The fish wouldn't be bland.
"Master~"
The soft, melodic call came from behind him an instant before he felt a warm, generous pressure against his back. Then another.
Before he could steady himself, gentle but insistent hands—Gardevoir's and Mienshao's, both in their human-like forms—guided him away from the kitchen counter, pulling him toward the adjacent room.
"Master," Gardevoir breathed, her fair cheeks flushed a delicate pink. Her emerald eyes, usually so calm, now held a hazy, wanting light. "Instead of fish… perhaps you might…?"
She didn't finish with words. Instead, she lowered her head, her soft, insistent touch tracing a path down his torso, leaving a trail of heated shivers in its wake. A low, wet sound of yearning hung in the air.
Mienshao, meanwhile, had deftly nestled him between her smooth, powerful thighs, her slender frame trembling with restrained need. Her whisper was a hot puff against his neck. "Little Master… please, hurry…"
Caught in the sudden, warm, and overwhelming sensation, Wade's mind finally caught up. A rueful thought flashed through the gathering fog:
A solo Trainer really must always be on his guard.
Not long after, Miltank ambled into the cabin. She tilted her head, spotting several spice jars and a bottle rolling gently across the wooden floor from the slightly ajar bedroom door.
"Eh?" she mumbled, her bovine face crinkling in innocent curiosity. "What's all this?"
It was her first time seeing so many seasonings!
Milk Cow Loli blinked, her curiosity overpowering the lingering sting of the pepper. She quietly twisted open a different, smaller jar—this one filled with a fine, golden-brown powder—and brought it cautiously to her nose.
Sniff.
"Achoo——!"
"Wuwuwu! So spicy, so spicy!"
Tears welled anew in the naturally clumsy Miltank's eyes as she stumbled back, waving a hoof in front of her face.
Outside, blissfully unaware of the drama unfolding inside the cabin, the other Pokémon Girls were preparing for the promised feast with serene focus.
"Churururu…"
By the fish pond, Lopunny tilted her head, one long ear drooping thoughtfully. She was mentally replaying Wade's instructions: Look for the slightly flattened ones, with small, smooth scales, and a small, conical head. Her gaze swept the shimmering water, judging each shadowy form with a chef's discerning eye.
Meanwhile, in a quiet corner of the farm where the land kissed the edge of a still lake, another scene of pastoral care was unfolding.
"Nai~"
A slender figure, creamy-white and adorned with a strawberry-like beret, knelt by the water's edge. It was Alcremie, the confectionery Pokémon often called a living ice cream maker. With delicate concentration, she used a broad, sturdy leaf to slowly scoop cool water from the lake.
Plip… plop…
Sensing the gentle ripples, a Quagsire surfaced from the muddy bottom, a string of bubbles trailing from its wide, smiling mouth.
"Quag~?"
It regarded the little one, who was smiling softly at her own reflection, and posed a silent, bubbling question. Are you here to water your mushrooms again today?
"Nai!" Alcremie nodded vigorously, her beret bouncing.
Once her leaf was full to the brim, she gave a cheerful, wobbly wave to her aquatic friend and turned, carefully carrying her precious cargo toward the shaded forest clearing.
Mushrooms, mushrooms, I'm coming!
Just thinking about her fungal charges—how the tiny sprouts had swelled into plump, healthy caps under her devoted care in just a few days—filled her with a giddy joy. She began to hop-skip along the leaf-strewn path, trying not to spill a single drop.
"Nai~"
Arriving at the secret clearing, Alcremie set to work with practiced ritual, trickling water at the base of each cluster. But today, a subtle wrongness prickled at her senses. She paused, a dollop of cream stiffening.
Hmm?
She tilted her head, then began to count the distinctive Swords Dance mushrooms from the left.
One, two, three…
Her counting grew more frantic.
…sixty, sixty-one?
No. That couldn't be right.
She shook her head, as if to clear a misfired recipe, and started again from the right, pointing meticulously with a creamy swirl.
One, two… sixty, sixty-one.
The same number.
The color seemed to drain from her creamy body. The vibrant clearing suddenly felt cold.
Two were missing. Her two precious, nearly-ripe Swords Dance mushrooms… gone.
"Nai——!!!"
A heartbroken, high-pitched wail shattered the forest's peace, echoing all the way back to the farmhouse.
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