Elf: Start your slow-paced life after becoming a farmer.

Officer Jenny and the other officers exchanged glances, said nothing, and then bowed respectfully to Ye Ci before turning and leaving with their Pokémon.

After all, Ye Ci was the chief champion of the Padiya League. In their minds, Ye Ci was the strongest in Padiya. As long as she was there, no problem was a problem.

After watching the officers' figures disappear into the rain, Yeci turned to look in the direction where lightning flashed intermittently and said to Dorombalut, "Let's go, let's see who dares to run wild on my turf."

Dorombalut nodded steadily, then accelerated again, tearing through the rain like a sharp sword as it flew towards the center of the storm.

When Dronbalut brought Yaji to the vicinity of the storm's center, she saw the divine bird that commanded thousands of lightning bolts in the rumbling sea of ​​clouds—the "culprit" that caused this torrential rain—Zephyr.

With a long cry, Zapdos shot out a bolt of lightning that seemed to receive a command, and the sea of ​​lightning surrounding it shot toward a patch of white mist not far away.

"Roar!"

A majestic dragon roar emanated from the white mist, and a fire-breathing dragon, far larger than its kind, appeared within it. It spewed flames that seemed capable of scorching the heavens and boiling the seas, evaporating all the surrounding rainwater, and met the thousands of thunder serpents head-on.

"boom--"

As the flames and lightning collided, a deafening explosion immediately rang in Ye Ci's ears, jolting her out of her daze.

After the explosion, the dragon and the bird exchanged a glance from afar, then transformed into two orange-red and golden phantoms respectively, enveloped in flames and thunder, and crashed towards each other.

Wherever the fire-breathing dragon passed, all the rainwater evaporated into white mist, leaving a trail of white mist in the air, much like the exhaust fumes of a jet plane.

On the other side, Zapdos, riding on lightning, transformed into a golden line that parted the rain curtain. The terrifying current pierced the air, producing a crackling sound that sent chills down one's spine.

Just when Yeci thought that Charizard was about to fight the unknown bird Pokémon to the death, a powerful roar came from the ground.

Charizard and Zapdos immediately stopped their attack, exchanged a resentful glance, and flew towards the direction from which the roar had come.

As the battle ended, the torrential rain stopped, and the dark clouds that had occupied a large part of the sky vanished in an instant.

It was only then that Yeci noticed Carl and the group of Pokémon standing on the ground. Suddenly, as if realizing something, she commanded her Dragapult to fly towards Carl's direction.

"Zetzart! Look what you've done!" Karl scolded Zapdos, who stood before him with its head bowed, hands on its hips. "How many times have I told you to control the weather zone? Why didn't you listen to me!"

"Screech~ (I just couldn't control myself because I haven't fought in a long time...)" Zapdos retorted, sounding aggrieved.

"Heh, you dare to talk back, huh!" Karl reached out and poked Zapdos's head, threateningly saying, "If you do that again, I'll treat you to my homemade food."

Zapdos shuddered at the words and immediately told Carl that it would never dare to do it again. Who knows why Carl's cooking was so bad that even Grimer was hard to swallow, and it didn't want to taste that again.

Seeing Zapdos's "sincere" attitude of admitting its mistake, Carl finally let it go: "I'll let it go this time, but as punishment, you and Charizard will each get half of the last strawberry cake, is that alright?"

Upon hearing this, Zapdos immediately shook its head. As long as it doesn't eat Karl's cooking, it wouldn't mind giving all the strawberry cake to Charizard.

Just then, Martial Arts Master Xiong looked up at the sky and growled, "Roar! (That woman is here again.)"

"Which woman?" Karl looked up, somewhat puzzled, and then he saw the familiar Dorombalto and Yeci standing on its back.

"President Ye Ci?!" Karl was startled at first, but quickly realized what was going on and awkwardly touched his nose: "You didn't come here because of that torrential rain just now, did you?"

“Yes, I initially thought it was some ‘monster’ that had escaped, but I never imagined that you were the ‘culprit’ behind this torrential rain.” As Ye Ci spoke, he turned to look at the somewhat dejected Zapdos, his voice tinged with curiosity, “I’ve never seen this Pokémon before, what is it?”

"President Yeci, are you familiar with the legend of the 'Three Divine Birds' that circulates in the Kanto region?" Karl didn't answer Yeci's question directly, but instead asked in return.

"Hmm... I've heard a little about it. Could it be?" Ye Ci's gaze towards Zapdos changed, "It's the legendary 'God of Thunder,' Zapdos?"

“That’s not accurate. It’s a Zapdos, but not the one from the legends.” Karl winked at Yeci. “In fact, the three legendary birds each have their own clans, but there’s only one Zapdos that can be called the God of Thunder.”

“I see.” Ye Ci said enviously, “Even if it’s not the legendary ‘Thunder God’, as a trainer of a legendary Pokémon, you’ve already made most trainers in the world envious.”

Carl smiled but didn't answer the question. Instead, he joked, "So, President Yeci, I shouldn't need to pay any fines or anything, right?"

“Of course not,” Ye Ci replied with a smile, pleased that Karl spoke to her in that tone. “Speaking of which, I happened to investigate that matter you mentioned today. Would you be interested in getting involved?”

“Me? Forget it, I know nothing about administration.” Karl waved his hand and declined. “However, as long as that matter is handled properly, I can join Orange Academy at any time.”

“In that case, I’ll take my leave.” Ye Ci smiled and waved to Karl. “I hope we can meet again at Orange Academy next time.”

"I hope so too."

Chapter 41 The Recipient's Surprise (Please read, add to your favorites, and vote with monthly tickets)

After Karl watched Yeci leave, his cell phone, which he had put in his pocket, rang again.

Carl took out his phone and saw that the caller was Poco, the mayor of Little Key Town.

As soon as Carl answered the phone, Poco's slightly anxious voice came from the other end: "Hey, Carl, how's your farm doing? Are the fields flooded?"

“Everything is fine at the farm, Grandpa Poco.” Carl felt a warmth in his heart after hearing Poco’s words and explained, “Today happens to be the farm’s first harvest. I collected all the crops from the fields early this morning, so the rainstorm just now didn’t affect the farm at all.”

"That's good, that's good." Poco sounded relieved. "Then I'll hang up now. We can talk in detail next time I visit you."

"Okay, thank you for your concern."

After hanging up the phone, Carl glared at Zapdos again, then opened his phone's contacts and dialed a number labeled "Consignee".

Not long after, the call was answered, and a slightly hoarse male voice came from the other end: "Hello, this is the Little Key Town branch of the Padia Agricultural Association. How can I help you?"

"Hello, I was introduced by Mayor Poco..."

Half an hour later, a van that looked old and worn arrived at the farm gate along the muddy country road. A middle-aged man in gray-brown overalls with a stubble beard opened the door and jumped out.

"Wow, it's this farm?" The man stroked his stubble-covered chin, casually glancing around. "I remember this farm has been abandoned for many years. So, this farm actually has an owner?"

Just then, Carl arrived at the farm gate with the Metagross. Baskets filled with crops floated steadily behind them, looking like a neatly arranged line of soldiers.

Hearing the footsteps, the man turned his head and looked in the direction of Karl. Then he saw a huge, multicolored giant monster made of silver metal with a golden "X" mark on its face.

"This, this is... a multicolored giant monster?!"

The man, who prided himself on being knowledgeable, naturally recognized Metagross, an extremely rare and powerful Pokémon. However, he had never seen a Metagross in real life, let alone a Shiny Metagross, a special individual that probably only exists in single digits worldwide.

"Hiss, what's the background of this young man?" the man thought to himself. "Is he some young master from a wealthy family who's come to the countryside to run a farm?"

"Hello, my name is Carl. As you can see, I am the owner of this farm." Carl led the Metagross to the recipient, smiling and extending his right hand.

The man swallowed hard, forcibly shifting his gaze away from the imposing Metagross: "Hello, my name is Lewis, and I am the receiving agent for the Padia Agricultural Association in Little Key Town."

Seeing the somewhat awkward expression on the man's face, Carl raised an eyebrow and smiled as he said, "Don't be so formal, Mr. Lewis. I'm just an ordinary farmer."

Lewis's eyelids twitched. An ordinary farmer with a different colored Metagross? Is this a joke that's been circulating on the internet lately?

"Haha, okay."

Although Lewis did not believe what Carl said, he would not be foolish enough to argue with Carl on the spot.

"Then, may I inspect the quality of the crops you are selling?" Lewis asked Carl, remembering the purpose of his trip.

“Of course.” Carl said, winking at Metagross. Then, the several woven baskets filled with crops landed steadily in front of Lewis under Metagross’s control.

Seeing this, Lewis took out a somewhat old-looking Poké Ball from the small bag at his waist and tossed it outwards.

A pig-like Pokémon, entirely black with pink eyelashes, hooves, and the tip of its tail, and yellow substance under its eyes, appeared on the muddy ground.

(The appearance of a male fragrant porpoise)

(The appearance of a female fragrant porpoise)

Scented Pokémon, first appearing in "Seven or One". Different genders of Scented Pokémon have great differences in appearance, but they all release a special fragrance and are very sensitive to smells, able to distinguish the quality of crops.

The moment the fragrant pig landed on the muddy ground, it immediately let out a series of angry grunts, then charged headlong at Lewis, almost knocking him to the ground.

The reason this fragrant porpoise does this is because, in addition to the characteristics mentioned above, fragrant porpoises have another very special habit: they are extremely clean.

Because of the sudden downpour, the muddy ground was no different from hell for the clean-loving Piaoxiang Pig.

"Sorry, Tuntun, work comes first." After regaining his footing, Lewis immediately promised the angry Fragrant Tun, "I'll take you out for something delicious tonight, okay?"

Fragrant Pig glared at Lewis with annoyance, then turned and walked toward the pile of baskets filled with crops.

Judging from the actions of the fragrant porpoise, it seems that it reluctantly accepted Lewis's proposal.

After each basket of crops had been smelled, the fragrant porcupine returned to Lewis's feet and grunted a few times at him.

"Hmm? You mean the quality of these crops is quite good, especially those two kinds of strawberries?" Lewis's tone was full of surprise. It turned out that this young man was really a serious farmer, not a young master who treated running a farm as a hobby.

“Ahem, Mr. Carl, if you don’t mind, may I try some of your strawberries?” Lewis stood up, walked to the woven basket containing strawberries, and asked Carl.

“Of course, please feel free to try it,” Karl immediately agreed.

Lewis took two strawberries from the box, gave one to the fragrant pig next to him, and then took a bite of the strawberry.

The moment Lewis took a bite, the sweet and sour strawberry juice, with its rich aroma, exploded in his mouth.

Lewis squinted his eyes in enjoyment, then smacked his lips and exclaimed, "This is the best-tasting strawberry I've ever eaten!"

"Thank you for the compliment," Carl replied modestly, then asked, "I wonder if this batch of strawberries meets the highest grade standard accepted by the agricultural association?"

Carl had looked up the agricultural association's purchase standards online, and found that the purchase price for high-quality strawberries was around 1000 Union Coins per kilogram.

Keep in mind that Karl only bought a bag of ordinary quality strawberry seeds this time, which cost only 200 Alliance Coins, so the profit was quite substantial.

“Of course!” Lewis said confidently. “I believe that if this batch of strawberries were sold in Ziqin Town, it could fetch a high price of 2000 Alliance Coins per kilogram!”

Upon hearing Lewis's comment, Carl and Metagross exchanged a glance, both seeing the same emotion in each other's eyes.

"Ahem, well then, without further ado, shall we begin the transaction?"

"Ok, no problem!"

Chapter 42 Metagross: Hey! I have an idea (Please read on, add to your favorites, and vote with monthly tickets)

As Lewis unloaded a set of weighing tools from the van, Carl turned and gestured for Metagross to come forward and help.

Seeing this, Metagross nodded and began to manipulate its telekinesis to transfer the crops from the woven basket to the container Lewis used for weighing.

"Hmm... Potatoes are 100 Alliance Coins per pound, totaling 36 pounds; carrots are 50 Alliance Coins per pound, totaling 26 pounds; cauliflower is 260 Alliance Coins per pound, totaling 41 pounds." Lewis muttered as he weighed the produce. "As for strawberries, I'll give you the association's highest purchase price, 1500 Alliance Coins per pound, totaling 15 pounds. All these crops together..."

Before Lewis could even take out his calculator, the Metagross hovering beside him had already given the answer: "Gengjin. (Total 38560 Alliance Coins.)"

Lewis was startled by the deep male voice that suddenly rang in his ears. He looked around but did not see anyone else besides Carl and himself.

"That's Metagross communicating with you telepathically," Carl explained, looking at the terrified Lewis.

"That scared me to death." Lewis patted his chest with relief, then looked at Metagross with curiosity. "So Metagross can use telepathy? I've never heard of that before."

“For Metagross, telepathy is a relatively advanced superpower. If Metagross doesn’t undergo special training and forcibly uses its superpower to communicate with people…” Carl gave Lewis a knowing look.

Lewis shuddered; he could already imagine his head being blown apart by superpowers.

“But don’t worry, my Metagross is professionally trained.” Carl looked at Lewis, whose lips were trembling slightly, and smiled as he reassured him, “Unless you refuse to pay, its superpowers will never go out of control.”

'Is this a threat? This must be a threat!' Lewis's lips twitched as he thought to himself, 'Do I look like such an unreliable person? Don't underestimate my professional ethics!'

Lewis stiffly pulled out his phone, and after asking for Carl's bank account details, immediately transferred 38560 Alliance Coins into Carl's account.

As soon as the payment notification appeared on Carl's phone screen, Metagross leisurely floated back to Carl's side.

"Oh, right, Lewis," Carl called out to Lewis, who was about to load the purchased crops into the truck, as if he had just remembered something. "Do you know of any farms near Little Key Town that sell Pokémon?"

Lewis paused, scratching his head. "Let me think. I guess you probably want to buy a mount like Eyjafjalla or a Saltstone Pokémon, right?"

“That’s right.” Carl nodded. After all, a farm cannot rely solely on selling crops as its source of income; otherwise, the farm’s ability to withstand risks would be very low.

“If I remember correctly, there’s a farm that sells Pokémon between Flatbread Town and Tabletop City,” Lewis said, shrugging. “Since I’m only responsible for buying agricultural products from around Key Town, I don’t know which Pokémon that farm sells.”

“Thank you, that’s enough.” Carl joked with a smile. “Otherwise, I would have had to ask each farm one by one.”

Not long after, as the engine noise faded into the distance, Carl watched Lewis drive away in his van, then turned to Metagross and said, "Let's go home."

The farm's first harvest yielded 38560 Alliance Coins, which is a very good start for a farm that has just started, but for Karl, it is far from enough.

Carl's farm currently houses sixteen Pokémon, and the monthly food expenses alone require at least six figures in League Coins. After all, the stronger the Pokémon, the more energy it needs to maintain its daily activities, not to mention the need to maintain high-intensity training.

Fortunately, thanks to Metagross's financial plan, Carl's current financial situation is relatively healthy, and he can afford the monthly expenses of all his Pokémon.

Judging from the outcome of this transaction with the agricultural association, Carl's plan for the initial development of the farm was entirely feasible.

With the help of Serperior, a Grass-type Pokémon of Champion caliber, Carl estimated that if he simply followed the plan step by step, the farm's profits would be enough to fully cover the daily expenses of the Pokémon on the farm before summer arrived.

On their way back to the farmhouse, Carl and Metagross planned out their schedule before heading to Glass Bottle City.

As Carl listened to Metagross's planned schedule, he gradually fell silent.

Metagross's plan was very simple, which can be summarized in one sentence: "If you can't kill it, kill it."

All farm members, including itself, were incorporated into the plan in various ways. Each farm member became a part of the "farm" machine, "contributing" to the farm in three shifts.

If Metagross's plan were to proceed as intended, Carl's farm would have to be renamed "Sweat Farm."

“Metamorphose.” Carl stopped and turned to look at Metagross, who was rambling on about the “Bull and Horse Plan.” “Making money is important, but for me, my companions are the most important thing. Do you understand what I mean?”

Upon hearing Karna's slightly serious words, Metagross nodded obediently: "I understand."

Carl's expression finally relaxed: "Alright, let's talk about this in detail tonight when we have time. Right now, our primary goal is to share the good news with Master Xiong and the others."

For the rest of the journey, Metagross stopped mentioning the farm and instead chatted with Carl about the fishing tournament that would be held at Big Pot Lake in a while.