Pokémon: Starting with a Pokémon Ranch.

Chapter 9 Hairy Cliff Crab (Please continue reading)

The next day.

After handing the ranch keys to Yang Hao and instructing the Woolstaff to guard the ranch well, Su Yu led the Growlithe towards the mountains.

The mountain to the north of the ranch is called Chimney Mountain. There are many precious medicinal herbs in the mountain. When the original owner was young, he came here with his grandfather to collect herbs.

However, Grandpa didn't dare to venture too deep into Mt. Chimney, since it was home to many bad-tempered wild Pokémon, including Ursaring.

"But if we're just collecting herbs on the outskirts, there shouldn't be too much of a problem, right?"

Su Yu thought to himself.

Upon entering the forest, Su Yu saw many medicinal herbs, and even a fragrant mushroom. He immediately picked these herbs, not expecting to have such a bountiful harvest so soon after entering.

Especially the aromatic mushroom. In the original Pokémon series, this mushroom can be exchanged for a lot of money in the shop; one mushroom can be exchanged for at least six thousand.

"It seems this forest is rarely visited. Is it because the pastoral area is vast and sparsely populated?"

After harvesting the herbs, Su Yu noticed something watching him. He looked up and saw a green caterpillar perched on a branch, curiously observing Su Yu and his Growlithe.

This caterpillar is very dark in color, and the yellow stripes on its body are different from those of ordinary caterpillars, making it look particularly special.

"Do you want to eat this? This stuff seems a bit bitter."

Seeing the caterpillar staring intently at him, Su Yu assumed it wanted to eat the herbs he had just picked. He reached out, intending to hand the herbs to the caterpillar.

Seeing this, the green caterpillar also poked its head out, wanting to eat the herb.

However, the next moment, a Fiery Sparrow suddenly appeared. The Sparrow was incredibly fast; its claws were about to grab the green caterpillar. Seeing this, Su Yu quickly shouted:

"Be careful!"

He didn't want the first Pokémon to show him kindness upon entering the forest to be captured, and was about to ask Growlithe for help. However, the next moment, a flash of lightning appeared, and a large net made of electric energy ensnared Spearow, trapping it inside.

"Is this... an electric grid?"

It's not easy for a wild caterpillar to learn this on its own; this is a very capable caterpillar.

At this moment, Growlithe also pounced over under Su Yu's command. However, apart from Spearow, which had been trapped on the ground by the electric fence, Caterpie was nowhere to be seen.

"Disappeared? What a pity, I was hoping to see if I could subdue it."

Su Yu said regretfully, while Growlithe was also sniffing the air, but the air was now masked by the peculiar odor released by Caterpie. This smell was everywhere, making it impossible to detect Caterpie's whereabouts.

Growlithe shook its head, indicating that it couldn't help either.

In response, Su Yu said:

"It's alright, it must still be in this forest. We'll probably be going into the mountains to collect herbs frequently in the coming days, so we'll definitely run into it again."

With that, Su Yu led the Growlithe further inside.

……

……

Continue advancing around the perimeter of the forest.

With the protection of the insect repellent spray, Su Yu didn't encounter much danger along the way.

On the contrary, they collected quite a few herbs and also obtained some molted insect shells from iron-shelled pupae.

This is left behind during the evolution of unicorn beetles into beedrills. After a certain period of accumulation, they shed their exoskeletons and transform into beedrills, then depart. The molted insects left behind are also valuable medicinal materials.

During this time, Su Yu also encountered many Pokémon, including the little sheep that produced milk at Uncle Yang's ranch.

Unfortunately, the little sheep on their mounts ran so fast through the forest that Su Yu didn't get a chance to make contact, rendering the energy cube in his hand useless.

Otherwise, it's uncertain whether he can tame the sheep after feeding them the energy cubes.

In addition, Su Yu found a lot of aromatic mushrooms and even discovered a cliff.

Below this cliff, many hairy crabs live. These are Pokémon from the Padia region, and their fallen claws are considered a rare delicacy, commanding a high price.

As for Crab's claws, they can grow back after they fall off, which is why ranchers in other places also raise this Pokémon.

Fortunately, there were quite a few crab claws lying at the bottom of the cliff. Su Yu cautiously approached, while the hairy cliff crabs seemed completely unconcerned. Seeing this, Su Yu tried to pick up a crab claw.

Hmm... I don't care.

Some of these hairy cliff crabs are resting, some are rolling their bulging eyes as if they are thinking about something, and some are licking the rock salt that has precipitated from the cliff.

Hmm... perhaps rock salt is a kind of food that can replenish nutrients for Rock-type Pokémon?

Seeing that the hairy crabs didn't care at all, Su Yu quickly picked up all the crab claws that had fallen to the ground. These were precious ingredients that could fetch a good price.

The hairy crabs were very puzzled by Su Yu's actions. What was wrong with this human? Hadn't he ever seen a fallen crab claw before?

Why does it seem so precious?

After picking up the crab claws, Su Yu looked at the group of hairy cliff crabs and fell into deep thought.

—How about we capture a few hairy cliff crabs here and take them back to raise?

"There aren't any cliffs on the ranch suitable for the crabs to live on, but this is a world with Pokémon, so we can find an engineering team to build a suitable location."

"I don't have much experience in farming hairy crabs, and there aren't many ranches around that farm them. But that's a good thing, because this way, hairy crabs are a unique specialty of our ranch."

Thinking this through, Su Yu had no more doubts. He had to take these hairy cliff crabs back!

However, Su Yu currently lacks sufficient funds to raise so many Pokémon, so he can only take some of the Crabback back with him for now.

Among the crabs, Su Yu selected a few medium-sized hairy cliff crabs that seemed easy to fool, and began to tempt them with food.

Take out the Power Cubes that you bought beforehand, suitable for Rock-type Pokémon, and wave them in front of the Crabcrabs. The smell of the Power Cubes immediately spreads out.

For Rock-type Pokémon living in the wild, this carefully prepared food by humans is an absolute delicacy.

Therefore, the moment the energy cube appeared, almost all the hairy cliff crabs looked over. They gathered around Su Yu, but did not immediately come up to snatch it.

Su Yu broke the energy cube in half, dividing it into smaller pieces and giving them to several of the hairy cliff crabs. Then, he began to use his persuasive skills on them:

"How is it? Is the taste alright? If you like it, you can come with me to my ranch. There, I can provide you with even more delicious food."

Upon hearing this, some of the hairy cliff crabs hesitated, seemingly wanting to stay with their group. In the end, only five hairy cliff crabs decided to follow Su Yu.

If someone doesn't want to leave, Su Yu won't force them. After all, capturing Pokémon is all about mutual consent.

"That should be enough. Once they get to the ranch, they should grow faster, just like the Woolstätten sheep, and produce more crab claws than they need."

Fortunately, Su Yu had made ample preparations before this trip, bringing enough Poké Balls.

After collecting the five Crabs into their Poké Balls, Su Yu had already made a considerable haul on this trip. After some thought, he decided to explore further. If he didn't find anything new, he could head back.

(End of this chapter)