Chapter 66: Born to be a Farmer

After finishing his meal, Ark returned to his room and resumed looking over his new gains. As looked over, he reached for the small manual that had a star on it. He found the design to be very peculiar considering it had something to do with farming.

He opened the manual and begun to read. It told him the basics of the equipment he had received as well as giving him more insight into the purpose of the glass box he had attained. However, what really caught Arks attention was the segment that referred to the bag. It stated that the bag 'contained a single seed from the system. The seed was random and the manual will automatically update after the seed has been planted."

Ark was intrigued to say the least. After all, the system has proven that it could give rewards that were truly life changing.

After some further reading, Ark quickly grasped how to plant the seed inside the bag as well as the special properties of the glass container. From his own understanding, it seems that the container could accelerate the growth of plants in it, allowing for ordinary fruits and plants to be grown within a week. On the other hand, rarer berries and seeds from the system can take up to 4 weeks to grow. This accelerated growth was a nice bonus, but it was not enough to cause Ark to jump for joy.

On the contrary, there was one property that made Ark want to celebrate out of excitement. According to the manual, all of the plants within the container will give 3 times the amount of a normal harvest despite the plant being a shrunken version of it's overworld counterpart. This truly brightened up Arks days, after all, it allowed him to grow anything he wished with a lot more gain. There's nothing better than shortcuts with no drawback.

"With this and Joys gift, I can start producing more berries. It might be worth buying some treat making equipment and start learning."

With this, it will allow Ark to progress further with his idea of creating a business based in Kanto. His aim was to have at least one final sample product before he got to Celadon City. After all, it is the most populated city at the center of the Kanto region itself, thus there is a lot of business opportunities. In order to grasp these opportunities, he needed to practice more and build upon the basics that he had already learned with his Mother and occasionally Delia.

"Might as well plant this now, I should get those two out to watch and maybe help"

Saying that, Ark reached into his Pocket Storage and withdrew his pokeballs.

Sylph and Shellder both appeared from their respective beams of light. Within seconds, Sylph launched herself at Ark, arms wide open.

With Sylph in his arms and Shellder sat next to him, Ark begun telling them about the new reward he got and his plans for it in the future.

He noticed the eyes of the two Pokemon sparkle as the idea of infinite berries was brought up.

-This box can really grow berries?-

Sylph tilted her head as she tried to confirm Arks words.

Listening to her question and witnessing the sheer excitement of Shellder as it sublty squirmed in anticipation, Ark smiled and answered.

"Thats how it is, it seems that it can grow any type of plant life as long as it is maintained properly"

Sylph and Shellder jumped in glee at his response, not only was it a cool new reward, it also meant they could have rare berries whenever Ark wanted to give them. Not only that, they could help grow them.

With his Pokemon help, Ark set up the container and its contents so that it was ready to be used.

-Berries?-

Ark watched as Sylph stared at the basket of berries with a deep desire in her eyes. Sadly, Ark shook his head.

"Not at the moment, I am saving those berries for later. Right now, this interests me more"

He lifted the bag that allegedly contained the system seeds.

"Would you like to help me plant them?"

He questioned the two seated Pokemon. The response was an obvious yes. Thus, Ark, Sylph and Shellder opened the bag. Sylph moved the dirt and created a small dent in the soil.

Meanwhile, Shellder filled the miniature watering can from the tools with water.

While his Pokemon were busy helping, Ark had opened the seed bag and was looking at a single seed. His heart slightly sunk as he looked at the generic seed. It had a similar design to a Sunflower seed, however it was slightly more purple.

"I suppose my hopes may have been a bit too high"

Ark then proceeded to plant the seed, just as he did when he helped his Mother when he was younger.

He opened the manual as Shellder and Sylph carefully watered it the seed.

His eyes immediately widened as he read further. The contents of the newly unlocked pages caused Ark to forget to breathe for a moment. His mind was racing as it devoured the contents of the manual.

"What a reward..."

Exasperation eventually settled in as he finished reading.

According to the manual, the seed he had received was considerably rare, its name was the Star Raising Seed. Just like its name, its use was just as impactful. If the manual was correct, then the fruit from the seed has the benefit of strengthening the body slightly as well as cleansing it of any waste build ups.

This effect may seem small when considering the other possibilities he could've gotten, however Ark knew the impact this fruit could have if it was discovered.

"This is tremendous... with this and the berries... we can definitely make a business, if not a conglomerate that reaches far beyond Kanto. But we need to keep the Star Fruit secret for now..."

Arks monologue was overheard by Sylph and Shellder who had returned from watching the seed.

-Star fruit?-

"Hmm, I shortened Star Raising Fruit. It can make us stronger just by eating it, but I don't know of the dangers yet"

Sylph was excited at the idea of getting stronger but the potential dangers doused her burning excitement.

After calming down, Ark experimented with the container and found out he could store the container in his Pocket Storage without hurting the plant. He decided to leave it there for now. Additionally, it helped serve as a way to test whether or not the plants grew in his Pocket Storage or whether it was frozen in its current state like some other items were.

Night soon fell upon Ark and his companions who decided to call it a day. Their excitement still bubbling, but they knew they had to rest. After all, they were leaving in two days. For good this time.

Ark was stood in the forest with his eyes closed, his body full of sweat as the sun slowly crept above the tops of the trees. The surroundings were silent.

Suddenly, Ark opened his eyes and launched his body to the left completely abandoning the ground as he drifted in the air.

Simultaneously, a high pressure torrent of water pummelled the area where Ark originally stood, a large indent ruining the previously level ground.

Without wait, he felt a hint of killing intent from the direction his body was flying towards. Adjusting his body, Ark slammed his foot onto the ground, halting his momentum and stopping his movement. At the same time, he dropped his body low and rolled out of the way. A barrage of sound waves passed over his head smashing into a tree.

This continued for another hour before Ark eventually stood still and called out.

"That's enough you too, we will miss lunch at this rate. That's good for today."

A smile sat upon his lips as he saw a dejected Shellder and frustrated Sylph come out from the shadows of the forest.

Recently, Ark had started to act like a true target that focused on dodging as the Pokemon worked together to hit him. So far, he had only received two attacks though they were caused by his own mistakes.

"Don't look so glum, today was good. Even my ass is sweating, thats proof I was pushed into a corner"

Sylph rolled her eyes before sitting down and drinking. Shellder cheered up slightly at Arks words as he closed his eyes, intent on resting.

The trio then walked back to the Pokemon Center together, traces of their training causing the onlookers to look at them in amusement. Unbeknownst to him, Ark had been labelled a training junkie by the locals of Pewter, after all he woke up earlier than they did when they set up their shops, to train and came back at lunch all beaten up. His reputation had reached Jenny who found it charming that her chosen man had already become reputable even if it is only in Pewter City.

Ark had freshened himself up in his room and was clean of all his training from the morning. His eyes gleamed as they stared at the food in front of him. As he reached down to take a bite of his burger, a tray was placed across from him. He frowned slightly as he realised someone was disturbing his mealtime, luckily that frown was replaced by a pleased smile as he confirmed the identity of his new table guest.

Misty sat across from Ark with a blaming expression. Her eyes felt like they were trying to look into his soul.

Bracing himself, Ark greeted her.

"Hey there, Misty. You eating lunch too?"

Mistys expression remained as she ignored his question and spoke.

"We Need to talk."

He sighed as he placed down the burger he was about to eat and cleared his throat Bracing himself for the interrogation that was about to happen.