The surface of the white petals shimmered faintly with a silvery radiance. That silver glow gathered slowly toward the flower's central bud, concentrating all its power into a single point as though compressing countless strands of light into a tiny, brilliant core.
"Is it about to start?"
Silas stepped closer and crouched down, unwilling to miss this first occurrence for anything.
His movement immediately drew the attention of the Pokémon nearby. The Flabébé perched on the surrounding tulip blossoms blinked their bright eyes at him, then mimicked his posture, tilting their tiny heads to peer toward the Silver Chalice Tulip as well.
Of course, it wasn't only the Flabébé. The Mudsdale trio lumbered over too.
However, because of their large builds, they could only remain at the edge of the flower field, stretching their necks inward to look. Even so, they could still catch a glimpse of what was happening.
The happiest of all was undoubtedly Minccino. This was the special seed ball it had discovered together with the Mareep. It had never expected that the plant would grow this big—and even bloom.
"Min~"
Minccino tugged at Silas's sleeve and looked up at him questioningly.
"It's the one you found," Silas replied, casually pinching the little Pokémon's soft, oversized ears and kneading its fluffy cheeks until they squished adorably out of shape.
They did not have to wait long. The Silver Chalice Tulip seemed to have accumulated energy to its peak.
The entire plant swayed gently as fine, silvery-white sparkles burst forth.
Then came several crisp clinks—clear and bright like chimes.
In the next moment, several silver coins were flung outward as if scattered by a celestial maiden, raining down across the 3x3 area surrounding the tulip.
"Min!"
(Money! So much money!)
Minccino wriggled free from Silas's arms and leapt down excitedly. With its tiny paws, it picked up one of the silver coins. First, it carefully wiped it clean. Then it popped the coin into its mouth and bit down.
Two small tooth marks appeared on the coin's surface.
Instantly, Minccino's eyes lit up like two sparkling orbs. Holding the coin high, it bounced and skipped back to Silas.
"Min! Min!"
(Silas, Silas, it's real! So much money! Our family has lots of money now!)
Silas took the coin from Minccino's paws. A familiar panel appeared before his eyes.
[Ancient Silver Coin (Small): A silver coin used by a civilization approximately 3,000 years ago. Its gleaming appearance is deeply loved by certain Pokémon.]
So it was currency used by ancient humans three millennia ago. He weighed it in his palm for a while. Aside from the unique engraved patterns, he couldn't discern anything particularly special about it.
However, the last sentence on the panel caught his attention.
A gleaming silver coin… Meowth would surely love this kind of thing.
Together with the Pokémon, Silas gathered up all the scattered silver coins from the ground. In total, there were fifteen.
"Do you want any?" he asked.
"Mud~"
The Mudsdale brothers shook their heads in unison. Compared to mud, silver coins held little interest for them.
"And you, Flabébé? Do you want some?"
"Bébé!"
The Flabébé were equally uninterested.
"Alright then, I'll take them."
Just as Silas was about to put all the Ancient Silver Coins away, Minccino scampered up his body at lightning speed. Its little paws scratched at him as it let out insistent "Min Min" cries, clearly asking for one.
"You want one?"
Silas raised an eyebrow and deliberately waved a coin in front of it. Minccino clung tightly to him, shaking his arm impatiently.
"I'll give you one but don't lose it."
He handed one coin over and gave the little Pokémon's bottom a light pat, sending it off to play.
Having successfully obtained the shiny treasure, Minccino dashed away in delight, eager to show off its sparkling coin to the others.
Ignoring its antics, Silas turned back to the Silver Chalice Tulip. Its information panel had changed.
[Silver Chalice Tulip: Flowering Stage. Time remaining until next silver coin production: 12 hours. (Note: Waiting double the time will yield Ancient Silver Coin (Large).)]
If he waited twenty-four hours, he could obtain a Large Ancient Silver Coin. Since it was only a day's time, Silas decided he would try it and see what the difference was between the two sizes.
Half an hour later, after checking on the growth conditions of the other flowers, Silas left the greenhouse.
The moment he stepped out and walked near the ranch house, he was immediately surrounded by Phione, Morpeko, and the others. They looked up at him with pitiful expressions, clearly begging for silver coins as well.
With no other choice, Silas distributed one coin to each of them.
Afterward, nine coins remained. Silas beckoned to the Meowth at the outer area and quickly handed all the remaining Ancient Silver Coins to them.
"These are all yours. Divide them among yourselves."
"Meow~"
The regular Meowth cried out happily, clutching the shiny silver coins with absolute delight.
Even the Alolan Meowth and Galarian Meowth were no exception—they had no resistance whatsoever to the glittering treasures.
Nine coins, three for each Meowth. Perfectly fair.
Aside from yarn balls, these coins instantly became the regular Meowth's favorite possession.
He considered the silver coins an early gift for them. After all, he would be relying on them to help collect hops later on.
Once he had sent them off to play, Silas took a stroll around the ranch.
Clauncher had fully adapted to ranch life. At the moment, it lay comfortably atop a broad lotus leaf.
There were no dangers here, no bullies, plenty of food, and many good companions. To Clauncher, the ranch was nothing short of paradise.
It loved this place.
After bidding Clauncher farewell, Silas headed toward the orchard on the other side.
Various berry trees had blossomed into clusters of small flowers in different colors. Two Butterfree were busily assisting with pollination.
Litten stood nearby, staring at them intently to ensure they didn't damage the trees.
The two Butterfree were wild Pokémon from outside, ones Silas had "hired" from the back mountain to help out.
Walking over to Litten's side, the little Pokémon edged closer to him.
Smiling, Silas stepped forward and scooped up the proud little white cat into his arms. His hand gently stroked its sleek fur, and Litten responded with a soft, rumbling purr.
Carrying Litten, Silas made a round through the orchard, inspecting the condition of each berry tree.
Every single tree was covered in clusters upon clusters of blossoms. It looked like this season would bring a bountiful harvest.
Conveniently, the ranch now housed many more Pokémon. The extra harvested berries could be made into Pokéblocks or Poffins.
Compared to raw berries, Pokéblocks and Poffins were easier to store, and the Pokémon loved them. Nothing would go to waste.
He was even considering expanding the orchard further and planting some special varieties of berries.
Perhaps it would be best to hire a Grass-type Pokémon to help care for the orchard. Delegating the work would save him quite a bit of trouble.
Just as Silas was pondering which Grass-type Pokémon to recruit, Litten suddenly lifted its head in his arms. Its amber eyes fixed upward, and a low growl rumbled in its throat.
Following its gaze, Silas saw one of the Butterfree perched on a slender branch. Its wings had accidentally brushed against a few blossoms, knocking them down.
"It's alright, it's alright. They didn't mean to," Silas said, rubbing Litten's back before setting it down. "Go tell them to be more careful."
Litten rubbed against his pant leg before dashing toward the Butterfree. It meowed sharply at them, then leapt up the tree and smacked the trunk with its paw in warning.
The two Butterfree shrank back slightly. Their wings bore faint scorch marks—clearly evidence that they had already been disciplined by Litten before.
They quickly fluttered away to another Oran Berry tree and resumed their diligent pollination work.
Silas smiled and called out to Litten, telling it to come back to the ranch cottage later for lunch.
Only then did he leave, heading toward the cottage. Along the way, he called for Alcremie and Dolliv to join him in preparing the midday meal.
(End of Chapter)