"Good morning, Karen, Akiko!"
It was the next morning. After freshening up, Rex came down to the first-floor hall, where Karen and Akiko were having breakfast together.
"Good morning, boss!"
Seeing Rex greet her, Karen quickly swallowed her food and responded.
"Good mor-mor, boss!"
Akiko mumbled, her mouth full of food.
"Where are Yuli and Yui?"
Rex asked Karen.
"Yuli said she wanted to check on the terraced garden first, and Yui took Swellow to town to buy some groceries. They asked me to wait for you here."
Karen replied.
"Oh, I see. Let's have breakfast first, and then I'll take you to get familiar with the farm!"
Rex said while grabbing a sandwich and eating it.
"Boss, I want to go too!"
Akiko said, raising her hand while still chewing.
"Alright, you can come, but no complaining about being tired!"
Rex patted her head and said.
Having been away from the farm for some time, Rex needed to inspect the various areas to gain a better understanding of the farm's current situation.
Since there was work to be done later, they quickly finished their breakfast and prepared to set off.
Today, Combusken and Carbink also decided to follow Rex. These two little rascals loved running around, so they naturally joined Rex's team.
Rex first went to the backyard, where he had invested a lot of effort in the revival herbs and energy roots, making them an important future economic resource for the farm.
Victreebel was quietly staying beside a revival herb, rhythmically swaying its tentacles and using the Grassy Terrain skill. The nearby Skiploom and Hoppip also followed suit, dramatically increasing the concentration of life energy in the backyard.
"This feels so comfortable!"
Karen, who had never experienced Grassy Terrain's healing, felt incredibly refreshed, as if a life-filled energy was washing over her.
Carbink took this opportunity to absorb the life energy into its body, channeling it to the diamond on its head, a process that had become almost instinctual for it.
After greeting Victreebel and the Skiploom family, Rex began checking the growth of the revival herbs and energy roots, finding their condition excellent, likely due to the rich life energy.
Next, they visited the Mareep herd's dormitory. The Mareep had not gone out to play yet and were all huddled together sleeping. Due to the static electricity generated by their wool rubbing together, Rex's group dared not get too close.
But opening the dormitory door caught the Mareep herd's attention, especially the shiny Flaaffy, who hadn't forgotten the near-death encounter with an Arbok when it was still a Mareep.
However, seeing that it was their trainer, the Flaaffy relaxed and happily trotted over to Rex.
Without his insulating gloves, Rex could only pat the wool-less belly of the shiny Flaaffy in affection.
Karen, never having encountered a Flaaffy before, found the little sheep adorable and curiously reached out to touch its head.
"Zap!"
The moment she touched the shiny Flaaffy's wool, a current of electricity rose from its fur, scaring her into quickly retracting her hand. Her hair stood up, turning into a round, frizzy hairstyle.
"Haha, Karen-sister, you look like you have a perm! I want to try too."
Seeing Karen's funny appearance, Akiko found it amusing and also touched the shiny Flaaffy's fur, immediately getting a frizzy hairdo herself.
"Boss, what happened to me? Why do I look like this?"
Karen tried to smooth her hair with her hands, looking at Rex with a pitiful expression, seeking an explanation.
"Um, whether it's Flaaffy or Mareep, their wool stores a lot of static electricity. If you want to touch their wool, it's best to wear insulating gloves; otherwise, you know the result."
Rex spread his hands, explaining helplessly.
Seeing Karen's funny appearance, Rex silently took out his phone, intending to take a picture for memory, but under her death glare, he had to give up.
After the fun, Rex explained how to manage the Mareep dormitory and the weekly wool-trimming tasks to Karen.
There wasn't much else to worry about; the shiny Flaaffy could lead the Mareep out to graze and they would return to the dormitory on their own at dusk. They only needed to check for any missing Mareep before bedtime.
Next, they went to the nearby Miltank dormitory, where the Miltanks were using a milking machine.
Since getting this machine, not only had Yuli and the others' workload significantly reduced, but the Miltanks could also milk themselves according to their condition, making it very convenient.
The Miltanks would even transport the filled metal cans to designated spots on their own. Most of the milk was collected by local farm product buyers from the farm, with a small portion going to the Yezawa Nursery.
Mr. Yezawa was very pleased with the quality of the milk from the farm's Miltanks, finding it excellent for feeding the young Mareep, and had made it a routine to pick up milk from the farm every day.
With the growing number of Swellow on the farm, Rex wondered if they could deliver the milk to Yezawa Nursery, improving the farm's service and easing Mr. Yezawa's workload.
Moreover, in the future, if the farm produced more goods, they could even start a same-day delivery service, with Swellow delivering farm products directly to customers' homes.
However, this was a consideration for the future. Currently, the farm's output was still small, and the number of Swellow insufficient for such operations.
"Miltank, how have you been lately? Any troubles?"
Rex patted a Miltank's head, inquiring.
Miltanks were gentle by nature. With their own dormitory, they led comfortable lives, waking naturally and playing around the farm during the day, eating the life-energy-rich grass cultivated by Rex.
So, the Miltank thought for a while and shook its head, finding no troubles to report.
"Boss, can I pet Miltank?"
Having been shocked by Flaaffy, Karen decided to ask Rex first before touching any Pokémon.
Getting his nod of approval, Karen gently stroked the Miltank's head, and the Miltank, enjoying it, closed its eyes.
Not to be left out, Akiko leaped and hugged a Miltank, who calmly let her do so.
After playing with the Miltanks for a while, Rex's next destination was the terraced garden. He couldn't wait to check on the growth of the Gracidea flowers.