After realizing that the humans meant them no harm, many of the hidden Pokémon emerged from their hiding spots.
Since the weather hadn't warmed up yet and there wasn't much food in the forest, they couldn't resist the lure of Pokémon food and willingly approached to accept the players' offerings.
"Lord, what's this Pokémon called, and why does it have grass growing on its head?"
"It's called Oddish. The grass on its head grows naturally."
"What about this one?"
"That's a Weedle, and the one next to it is a Caterpie."
"And mine?"
"Yours is..."
Ryan patiently introduced each Pokémon to the players. Fortunately, his memories from his previous life were still vivid, and combined with the magical beast knowledge he had learned in this life, he recognized all of these Pokémon.
"Maybe we should create something like a Pokédex, but there are no cameras in this era to take pictures. Do we have to draw each one by hand?"
"Plus, I don't know a lot of detailed information about them. This might be difficult."
"Wait, why do I have to do it myself? I can have the players investigate and compile it, turning it into a long-term quest."
Ryan realized that he hadn't fully adjusted his mindset. He was still thinking he had to do everything himself, ignoring the value of player participation.
That wasn't ideal; it reduced player engagement and unnecessarily increased his workload.
"We'll deal with the Pokédex later. Right now, the urgent task is gathering wood."
With that in mind, Ryan called the players to resume chopping trees.
The Pokémon, after finishing their food, didn't leave but stayed behind, curiously watching the players.
When they realized the players were cutting down trees, not only did they not stop them, but some Pokémon even tried to help.
Seeing this, Ryan couldn't help but feel emotional. These Pokémon had such pure and kind hearts—so much so that it could be seen as "naivety." Just a bit of food made them trust humans.
You'd think they'd care that the trees being cut down were their homes, but instead, they even wanted to help.
No wonder, despite their great powers, they were often easily bullied by humans.
The players also noticed this and felt a growing affection for the Pokémon.
"Do we really have to chop down these trees? It's like we're tearing down their homes," Bryan said hesitantly, slowing his chopping.
"There's no other way. You saw the damaged houses in town. A lot of people are homeless. We can't let them sleep on the streets. This is a special situation. Normally, we wouldn't need to chop this much wood."
"But what about when we build houses in the future? We can't stay logged out in the castle forever."
"We don't have to use wood to build houses. We could try making bricks. Brick houses are sturdier than wooden ones, but I don't know if this game allows that much freedom."
Vrix stretched his shoulders and wiped the sweat from his brow. After just a couple of hours, he already felt sore. It seemed like the avatars in this game weren't very physically strong.
In fact, none of the players had high physical attributes.
When Ryan created their bodies, he didn't give them high initial stats because he didn't have enough creation points.
The higher the player attributes, the more creation points it cost to construct their bodies.
As mentioned before, Ryan's daily creation point income wasn't much due to the damaged territory, and he needed to save some for emergencies. So, he had to reduce the players' attributes.
This made the players seem a bit "weak," but it was only temporary; their stats could be increased later.
Besides, this world mostly relied on Pokémon for fighting, so players didn't need extremely high physical stats.
"I can't move this thing at all! Take some of the wood off. I'm not a beast of burden!" Bryan gritted his teeth, using all his strength, but the cart wouldn't budge. Vrix had to unload some of the wood.
"This isn't working. We're only transporting a small amount at a time. How many trips will this take? And the territory is quite far from here."
Ryan noticed the problem too. Cutting the wood was easy, but transporting it was a huge hassle.
The surrounding Pokémon saw the players struggling with the carts and came to help, but since they were mostly small Pokémon, they weren't strong enough to make much of a difference.
Watching the Pokémon try so hard to help push the carts, Ryan suddenly had an idea.
"Scyther, Bounsweet, I need a favor." He took out a jar of honey and whispered instructions to the two Pokémon.
After listening, they nodded and flew off into the forest.
"Alright, everyone, take a break. I'll take care of the transportation problem."
"Long live the Lord!"
"I'm exhausted; I feel like my body's about to fall apart."
"This game is so realistic. I'm not just tired; I'm thirsty too."
The players collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily after hearing Ryan's words.
"There are water bags on the carts, and I brought some berries. Everyone can have some to replenish their energy."
Ryan handed out the berries he had prepared, and the players eagerly accepted, chomping down on them.
"Wow, these berries are delicious and really juicy!"
Bell, taking a big bite of an berry, widened her eyes in surprise and continued eating.
"Aren't you guys curious about this taste system? It's just like in real life!"
"What's so curious? They gave us smell and touch; taste is no different. I already tested it by chewing on some grass back at the territory. I knew about the taste system ages ago."
Watching Bryan brag, Vrix could only shake his head in disbelief.
"Taste isn't even the most impressive part. The fact that you feel full after eating is amazing. This game is so advanced. I wonder how much more realistic it can get, like whether we can use the bathroom."
"You can. I tried peeing in the territory before. As for the other, I didn't get the chance, but it should be possible."
"You tried that too?! I have to admit, you're something else!"
Vrix was genuinely impressed. Bryan hadn't been this reckless in real life, but in the game, he seemed to have unleashed his true nature.
"How do you think the Lord is going to solve the transportation problem? Is he going to call for help from the people at the territory?"
"No way. If they could come, they'd be here by now. Didn't Uncle White say that the people there are all afraid of Pokémon? I don't know what they're scared of. These Pokémon are so cute."
Bell stroked the Spinarak resting on her shoulder, her face brimming with affection.
Bryan couldn't help but twitch at the sight. He thought her sense of aesthetics was... unique. Before he could comment, he noticed some figures flying out of the forest.
"Scyther and Bounsweet are back. What's that Pokémon following them?"
"Isn't that the huge Beetle? I saw it in the opening cinematic!"
"So cool! Is the Lord going to have them help with the transportation?"
Behind Scyther were three Heracross, clad in deep blue shells and sporting a large horn on their heads.
"I can't believe they found Heracross!" Ryan was thrilled.
Heracross were known for their immense strength, able to lift objects a hundred times their own weight.
Now, the transportation issue could be easily solved!