July 4th, Wednesday, sunny and bright, the weather gradually becoming hot.
Hoenn, Rustboro City.
"Yoji, Yoji! (°口°)"
Larvitar stared wide-eyed at the "vegetable garden" before it, completely incredulous.
"Ka-kaah?"
Gengar couldn't help but lift up its sunglasses, looking at the garden scene with equal amazement.
Actually, not just them - Johan's expression wasn't much better at this moment.
How many days had it been?
From rushing to Sinnoh from Hoenn, resolving the "Arceus incident" and returning - it had only been... three or four days total, right?
The berry trees that had previously only produced a tiny bit of fruit were now laden with plump, crystal-clear berries, and the crops planted in the ground had similarly grown to maturity.
Everything had ripened at once?
"Hatt~~"
Hatterene explained that she hadn't done anything special, just watered them at regular intervals as Johan had originally instructed...
"Gar!"
At this moment, the "Salt Lord" Garganacl crouching in the corner of the garden indicated it had something to say.
It pointed at the wooden carving standing in the center of the garden, calling out with some reverence.
The Broccolish wooden carving?
No.
Calyrex's wooden carving?
When his gaze fell on that wooden carving, Johan also noticed changes in it.
Originally, although Penny and Sonia knew there was such a deity that could bring abundance, the Calyrex they had carved could only be described by Johan as looking more like broccoli.
But now, for some reason, Johan felt that wooden carving... looked more like a majestic Calyrex.
Calyrex!
Hmm?
Had it really caught the attention of Calyrex sleeping in the Crown Tundra of the distant Galar region?
Had Calyrex bestowed "abundance," making the crops in his garden grow faster and better?
It seemed that was the only explanation.
However, Johan stared at the wooden carving for quite a while, even using his aura powers enhanced by Arceus to sense it, but couldn't detect much from the carving.
Apart from the more refined carved appearance, there seemed to be no other changes.
There were no residual divine powers, nor any presence of Calyrex's thoughts.
Clearly, the last time... Calyrex's wooden carving hadn't changed at all.
So where was the problem?
Johan looked at Larvitar. After its initial surprise, the little one had now run to Calyrex's wooden carving, looking here and touching there, seemingly quite curious.
At that time, it seemed that Larvitar had developed an appetite for Calyrex's wooden carving, which caused the reaction?
Snap—
Suddenly, Larvitar stood before Calyrex's wooden carving, then put its hands together in a devout pose.
"Yoji!"
Great "God of Food," please grant me more food!
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Larvitar clapped its hands three times, utterly devout and serious.
"Yoji!"
Please!
Seeing this scene, Johan suddenly had a realization...
Right, faith!
Due to Calyrex's own "antics," the faith in it had gradually diminished, to the point where even the villagers of the town that originally worshipped it had forgotten why the Calyrex wooden carving existed at the village entrance.
Even its two beloved steeds had run away.
As Calyrex drew part of its power from faith, it inevitably fell into slumber after losing that faith.
But now, because of his words, because of his little ones' "prayer," had it caught Calyrex's attention?
"It's possible..."
That seemed to be the only explanation.
But... regardless, this was a great harvest!
Johan collected his wandering thoughts.
No matter what Calyrex's situation was, no matter whether it could really influence the distant Hoenn region, this harvest was right before his eyes.
"If you can really help us have a great harvest every time, then what's wrong with having faith in you?"
Johan threw out Poké Balls, summoning all his little ones.
"Harvest! Today's battle plan is - gathering the bountiful fruits!"
The little ones immediately cheered excitedly.
Eating was always an essential part of their lives.
So Johan put on a straw hat, changed into farmer's clothes, and began the joyful "harvest journey" with his little ones.
"Hatt~~"
Hatterene spread her arms, a slight psychic glow appearing in her eyes.
In an instant, plump fruits from a lush berry tree all fell down simultaneously.
Below.
"Yoji yoji!"
Larvitar hugged a basket bigger than itself, running back and forth under the tree, catching the falling berries in the basket.
The joy of harvest filled its face with smiles.
However, with so many berries falling at once, Larvitar felt it couldn't keep up. One plump berry was about to miss and fall to the ground.
"Vii~(>o<)"
Victini caught that berry and gave Larvitar a victory sign.
"Yoji——"
Larvitar breathed a long sigh of relief, looking at the basket full of plump berries, tears of joy flowing from the corners of its mouth.
"Super harvester mode!"
Rotom entered the lawnmower, quickly harvesting various plants and fruits growing on the ground.
The harvested fruits and some roots were then ejected from the top of the lawnmower.
Dragonite flew behind Rotom's harvester with a large net bag, solidly catching all the crops in the net.
"Goka~(ˊωˋ)"
"Cha!"
"Garruu!"
Ceruledge and Urshifu made eye contact, and after a brief exchange of glances, both nearly simultaneously disappeared from their spots.
Swish swish swish—
Ghostly blue arcs of light flashed through the garden like silk threads.
Plump berries fell down.
Then a burly but swift figure flashed continuously, collecting every single berry without missing one, finally placing them all in baskets under Urshifu's care, creating pleasant "thump thump" sounds of fruit collisions.
Witnessing this scene, Johan couldn't help but click his tongue.
"Fruit slicing?"
"Cha?" Tinkaton inquired.
Johan snapped back to attention, looked at the tools in his hands, and said with a twitching mouth:
"Pretty useful."
For the harvest and replanting, Tinkaton had forged him a complete set of farming tools.
Honestly... they were quite useful, but... it gave Johan the feeling of being a servant to "young masters and misses."
"Cha~"
Tinkaton nodded with satisfaction.
However, looking at these tools, Johan had some new ideas, for example...
"How about placing an order with the trio?"
With the trio's abilities, combined with their talents and sufficient funding, creating an intelligent robot for integrated planting and harvesting should be completely feasible, right?
"Larvitar, come till this area."
Johan called out.
"Yoji——"
Larvitar quickly raised its hand in response, indicating it understood.
But Johan still reminded it: "Remember, just till the soil. Don't eat all the dirt, or we won't have anything to plant later!"
In this area, Johan planned to develop land to try growing Revival Herbs.
Originally, Revival Herbs were extremely difficult to cultivate, with considerable requirements for climate, soil, and even cultivation techniques, and Johan didn't know much about this aspect of planting.
But now, with Calyrex's care, there might really be a chance to grow them successfully.
Then... Revival Herbs could be self-sufficient, and Gengar could have its fill of Revival Herb tea!
"If that doesn't work..." Johan lightly rubbed his chin, "if that doesn't work, I'll invite the Forces of Nature over to help."
Calyrex wasn't the only one who governed abundance - there were also the Forces of Nature.
In the anime, the Forces of Nature working together could even make "Revival Grass" grow in patches. A mere Revival Herb shouldn't be difficult.
"Ka-kaah~~"
While Johan was pondering how to grow Revival Herbs, Gengar carried two large watermelons to the garden's water pool, its eyes darting around.
It called to Ninetales.
"Oowoo~"
Ninetales lightly breathed out, and ice crystals of various sizes immediately appeared at the bottom of the pool.
Seeing this, Gengar gave a thumbs up.
This kind of ice-type energy control that could create ice blocks at the bottom while keeping the entire water surface intact showed that Ninetales' mastery of ice-type energy had obviously become more skillful.
Then Gengar happily put both large watermelons in the water.
Chilled watermelon!
It was already July, and having a bite of chilled watermelon at this time would be... slurp
Gengar couldn't help but swallow its saliva.
Two hours later.
Johan wiped the sweat from his forehead and embraced Ninetales' tails, immediately feeling coolness that dispelled his post-labor fatigue.
"Comfortable..."
"Oowoo~~"
Ninetales had now mastered its ice-type energy control to perfection, able to maintain a temperature that would cool Johan without freezing him.
It was simply... the best summer mobile air conditioning, and intelligent too.
On the garden's large round table, various fruits were arranged.
There were berries, as well as some ordinary crops like corn, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, carrots, and other produce.
"Ka-kaah!"
Gengar placed two large watermelons on the table, and with Hatterene's swift knife work, the watermelons were evenly divided into dozens of similarly-sized pieces.
Red flesh, black seeds, fragrant juices seeping from the flesh, reflecting crystal-like light.
"Thanks to everyone's hard work, and Calyrex's gift!"
Johan led by example, putting his hands together in devout gratitude.
Not just thanking Calyrex, but also appreciating everyone's hard work.
The little ones followed suit and did the same.
Buzz—
The Calyrex wooden carving standing in the center of the garden flickered with a faint green glow that passed quickly without drawing much attention.
"Dig in!"
Johan was first to grab a piece of watermelon and take a bite.
The cool, crisp texture, the juice bursting in his mouth, the sweet nectar... definitely summer's number one fruit!
"Yoji!"
So sneaky!
Larvitar reacted slowest, and when it shouted, it found everyone had already started munching on their respective watermelons.
The little one immediately refused to be outdone, burying its head directly into the watermelon. Soon its cheeks were stained half-red.
When it lifted its head somewhat unsatisfied, smacking its lips and wondering if it could have another piece, it found Johan puffing his cheeks, looking at it with mischievous eyes.
Hm?
The next second.
Pew pew pew pew—
Black watermelon seeds shot from Johan's mouth.
"Taste my Seed Machine Gun!"
They hit Larvitar's little head, making crisp "tap tap tap" sounds.
For Larvitar, this naturally couldn't hurt, but it also realized...
You're supposed to spit out the seeds?!
Then it saw others like Gengar, Dragonite, Tinkaton, Urshifu, all unleashing their respective "Seed Machine Guns."
Even Victini, with its smaller mouth and unfinished watermelon, was now going pew, pew, pew...
One seed per bite, eating and spitting alternately, having great fun.
Eh?
Suddenly, everyone looked at Ceruledge, who wore a metal mask.
"Goka..."
Under everyone's gaze, Ceruledge half-turned its head, pretending not to see.
Gengar's eyes darted, and taking advantage of everyone's attention being on Ceruledge, it quickly grabbed another piece of watermelon from the table and stuffed it whole into its mouth.
Though its movements were swift, they couldn't escape everyone's perception.
So everyone rejoined the watermelon-eating "brigade."
Only this time, when everyone wanted to use "Seed Machine Gun," their target was surprisingly unanimous.
"Yoji~~"
Larvitar grinned mischievously.
Johan's expression immediately changed.
"No, don't, we should..."
Pew pew pew pew—
Countless watermelon seeds came flying at him.
Larvitar still found it insufficient and shouted, "Yoji!"
Taste my Mount Tai Crush!
"No, Larvitar, with your weight——!!"
CRASH——!!
The sun set westward, dusk illuminating half the sky.
After playing around for a while.
Johan straightened his glasses, brushed the dirt off his body, and looked with annoyance at the little ones in front of him who were "focused" on eliminating food, as if nothing had happened before.
"Garruu~"
Dragonite patted its belly with satisfaction.
Whew—
Johan slowly exhaled, looking at the round table that had been piled with food and was now mostly consumed.
At this rate, one harvest from the garden wouldn't be enough for this group of "big eaters" for even two or three meals.
Of course, this didn't include ordinary foods like pumpkins and sweet potatoes that needed cooking before being edible.
"Well, having something is better than nothing."
Johan was philosophical about it.
What kind of situation and appetite his little ones had - others might not know, but how could he not?
Every little bit helped.
"Puri~Puri puri puri puri puri~Puri puri puri~~"
Well-fed and satisfied, Jigglypuff found a decent spot, picked up its microphone marker, and began singing, sharing its post-meal joy.
Its singing was indeed very beautiful, and for other Pokémon it might have strong hypnotic effects, but for Old Johan's family Pokémon...
"Ka-kaah!"
Gengar immediately became interested and stood together with Jigglypuff.
"Ka-kaah~Ka-kaah~"
Its voice cough cough, really wasn't worth complimenting, but this time it restrained itself from using Perish Song, which made Johan quite pleased.
Our little ghost has finally grown up...
If only its singing could be a bit better...
Johan smiled, gently stroking Ninetales' soft fur, and hummed along softly.
On a summer night, as cicada calls gradually faded, cheerful melodies drifted from the courtyard, making anyone - human or Pokémon - who happened to hear them unconsciously smile.