Pokémon: Starting with a Pokémon Ranch.

Chapter 2 The System and the Woolstice

In winter, darkness falls quickly, and before long, the setting sun sank into the distant mountains.

Su Yu lit the kerosene lamp inside the house. Because it was far from the city, these ranches generally didn't have electricity. If they wanted electricity, they would have to contact the power company and pay extra.

The grandfather of the original incarnation was frugal throughout his life and naturally never considered getting electricity. He felt that since he had already lived like this all his life, there was no harm in continuing to live like this.

"Looks like I'll have to go to the power company again when I have more money. It'll cost at least 20,000 Alliance Coins to install a power line," Su Yu thought to himself.

By the light of the kerosene lamp, Su Yu opened the letter left by his grandfather. It was less of a letter and more of a collection of his grandfather's dying wishes. It contained many details and experiences about ranch management, including what to do in each season and what crops could be planted.

You could say this is a ranch encyclopedia.

"That's really detailed... No wonder he's lived on a ranch his whole life," Su Yu remarked.

In the letter, Su Yu's grandfather also mentioned the Pokémon egg. However, he only mentioned that the egg was left by Su Yu's mother, who passed away several years ago, and that his mother was skilled with Fire-type Pokémon.

"Fire element...?"

Su Yu lay on the bed, looking at the elf egg with flickering flame patterns beside the bed, and made many guesses.

Is it a little fire dragon?

Is it a baby duck or a little fire monkey?

Just then, Su Yu noticed an icon flashing continuously in the lower left corner of his field of vision, just like the notification that Su Yu had accidentally downloaded the wrong software in his previous life and was then repeatedly infected by a fertilization tool.

This is... a system?

Su Yu immediately clicked on it, and a system interface appeared before his eyes. However, this system interface was very rudimentary, and it looked like it had been produced with cheap special effects.

"A mythical beast raising system?"

"What is this?"

As a transmigrator, Su Yu was naturally familiar with systems. However… this system had a simple exterior, yet its name was so imposing, so what was it for?

"This system aims to help the host breed legendary Pokémon. Currently, the system's existing functions include: reconnaissance and legendary Pokémon template loading."

Just these two?

Reconnaissance? That feature seems pretty good, why don't you give it a try?

Su Yu immediately threw a scout at the nearby Pokémon egg, but the information he got was very limited.

"Target for reconnaissance: Unknown Pokémon egg"

"Favorability: 30"

"Loadable mythical beast template: ???"

Su Yu: "...No, that's all you found out?"

You can't even detect the species of a single Pokémon egg? Your equipment is even less useful than the Pokémon Center's testing equipment...

If I had just gone to find Miss Joey, the species of this egg would have been identified long ago, right?

In response, the system replied:

"Hmm... cough cough, the main function of this system is not reconnaissance, and this system is still under development. The host can try the legendary Pokémon template function of this system. This function can help Pokémon grow more smoothly into the legendary Pokémon corresponding to the loaded template."

"However, there are prerequisites for loading the template. The Pokémon must be compatible with the legendary Pokémon template and have the qualifications to load the template."

"Can I load the Rayquaza template onto Caterpie?" Su Yu suddenly asked.

The meme about the Caterpie from his past life has been around for a long time, and when it comes to legendary Pokémon templates, this is the first thing that comes to Su Yu's mind. Things like not being able to fly or being fished out all have to take a backseat.

However, the system's response was a cold shower for Su Yu.

"Hmm...theoretically speaking, it is indeed possible. But this requires a Caterpie with sufficiently high aptitude. Host, you can keep an eye out and look for one; perhaps you'll find one someday?"

The system's voice sounded somewhat guilty, leaving Su Yu speechless for a moment.

No, if I could find it, would I need this?

Oh, it seems that's actually necessary, since a normal Caterpie can't metamorphose into a Rayquaza.

But how many years would it take to encounter a Caterpie with the ability to load templates? Such a Caterpie would at least be an Elite Four member once it grows up, just like Giovanni's Beedrill.

That makes it so rare that ordinary people would never even encounter one.

This made Su Yu unwilling to spend any more time on this system. As it stands, this system is just a mascot; neither of the two templates is usable. It can be said that its symbolic significance outweighs its practical significance.

Sigh, never mind, time for bed. I have to get up early to work tomorrow!

After pulling the covers over herself, Su Yu fell asleep immediately, ignoring the wind and rain outside.

……

On the grasslands in winter, there is always a chilly wind blowing.

Su Yu's ranch, in particular, is located right by the sea. The strong winds blowing from the beach make the wooden cabins seem to sway a bit.

This reminded Su Yu of a line from a poem by a great poet from his previous life: "The thatch on my roof is rolled up."

"This house, it can't really hold up, can it... We need to reinforce it quickly."

Su Yu was genuinely worried that the strong wind would blow the house away. Fortunately, he was a civil engineer in his previous life, so this kind of work was somewhat related to his major.

After hammering in the last nail, Su Yu looked at the ranch and began to think about what to do next.

"The sheepfold still needs some repairs, and the planting area that Uncle Yang mentioned yesterday is now overgrown with weeds, so it also needs to be dealt with. We need to remove the weeds first, and then plant something."

"Besides that, we need to restore the operation of the ranch."

The 100,000 Alliance Coins left by Grandpa seem like a lot, but this world is different from the previous one. The purchasing power of Alliance Coins is much lower than that of the currency in the previous one, and these 100,000 won't last long.

We need to resume the operation of the ranch as soon as possible.

"Speaking of which, Uncle Yang said yesterday that we can buy livestock from him. I'll have to go there in a few days."

Recalling Uncle Yang's pasture, Su Yu only remembered that there were herds of cattle and sheep, with sheep almost covering the entire mountainside, which showed that Uncle Yang's family was "wealthy".

As for the Pokémon Su Yu most wants to raise, it's undoubtedly Wooloo. This small, cute, and fluffy Pokémon is practically born to be petted.

In his previous life, Su Yu didn't understand why Hop always started with Wooloo as cannon fodder in every battle, but now, Su Yu understands.

—That's how it is when the raging braided sheep pushes a person alone.

Moreover, Woolbreed sheep wool grows very quickly; even if completely shaved, it will all grow back within three months, making it an excellent source of wool.

A Woolstice sheep costs around 10,000 Alliance Coins, and if raised well, the investment can be recouped in three or four months, which is quite fast.

……

……

(End of this chapter)