"Try it and see—what's the difference between the Moomoo Milk produced by the Miltank here and the top-grade milk from Goldenrod City? Where does it fall short?"
During their conversation, Hayato had briefly explained his background, which led to the current situation.
After learning that he had previously tasted the premium milk produced by the ranch affiliated with the Goldenrod City Gym, Brother Denzeland Sister Penny eagerly brought out some fresh milk from their own ranch.
They wanted this "gourmet customer" to give them an honest evaluation.
How far was their milk from that top-tier quality?
Hayato accepted the cup of milk, freshly squeezed less than an hour ago. As he did, the golden-finger interface appeared before his eyes, displaying detailed information about the milk.
[Moomoo Milk: High-quality ingredient. Produced by an exceptionally well-raised Miltank, though it is still one step short of top-tier milk.]
Milk produced by Miltank had a very distinctive flavor. Its taste would subtly change depending on the Pokémon's daily diet.
A faint strawberry-like sweetness spread through his throat. The milk was smooth and rich, with a full-bodied dairy flavor.
It was a rare delicacy.
However, compared to top-grade milk, it was still slightly lacking.
Hayato shared his thoughts with the couple.
After a moment of silence, Penny said, "Thank you, Hayato . With this result, we're even more confident that we can eventually cultivate milk of top-tier quality."
"Then let me congratulate you in advance. I'll be the first to taste it when you succeed."
"No problem."
The three of them continued chatting while enjoying pastries.
For the most part, Hayato asked questions while Denzeland Penny answered.
His questions mainly revolved around ranch management.
The couple happily shared their knowledge, giving Hayato plenty of ideas and suggestions.
Gradually, a rough plan for his own ranch began to take shape in his mind.
"Oh right," Penny suddenly asked. "Hayato , were you heading to the back mountain to gather wild mountain produce?"
"No."
Hayato gently shook his head and explained his idea to them.
"If you're managing everything alone," Denzelsaid thoughtfully, "you'll definitely need Pokémon to help take care of the farmland so you can focus on other tasks."
After thinking for a moment, Penny suggested, "Ideally, you'd want a Pokémon that knows the move Rototiller. If you leave the fields to it, everything will run smoothly."
Rototiller — a Ground-type move that tills the soil, making plants grow more easily.
It truly was the perfect choice for Hayato . With a Pokémon like that, much of the pressure on him would be lifted, allowing him to continue clearing new land and repairing ranch facilities.
"However, Pokémon that can learn Rototiller are quite rare," Penny added with a sigh.
Among the thousands of Pokémon currently known in the world, only about sixteen species could learn Rototiller through various methods.
And most of them were fully evolved Pokémon—not exactly the kind that would willingly come work on a ranch.
Uncle Denzel, who had been quietly listening, suddenly slapped his hand on the table.
"Penny, Hayato ! I actually ran into a Pokémon like that recently."
Both of them immediately looked at him.
Denzelbegan explaining.
"Two days ago, when Stoutland and I were out looking for some stray Miltank, we saw Mudbray on the grasslands near the direction of Coumarine City."
"They were covered in mud—pretty adorable, actually. I think they'd fit your needs perfectly, Hayato ."
" Mudbray …"
Hayato recalled what he knew about the Pokémon.
They were an excellent match for his ranch.
Not only could they learn Rototiller, they could also pull cargo.
Despite their small size, Mudbray possessed astonishing strength.
They were one of the most common livestock Pokémon in rural areas.
With a group of Mudbray helping him, Hayato wouldn't have to worry about his ranch's future harvests going unsold.
Once he made up his mind, Hayato could no longer sit still.
After asking Denzelfor the specific area where the Mudbray were active, he called over Cinccino and Kangaskhan , who had been playing nearby with the Skiddo.
Since it was still early, Hayato bid farewell to the couple and set off toward the grasslands where the Mudbray lived.
Finding a place where Mudbray lived was actually very easy.
There was no way to mistake it.
Hayato quickly found them without much effort.
Amid a vast stretch of grassland, there was a conspicuous barren patch of exposed mud.
Several Mudbray were rolling around and playing in the muddy ground.
Suddenly sensing an unfamiliar presence, they immediately became alert.
They backed up against each other, lowering their bodies and letting out threatening growls.
"So I've been spotted already?"
Hayato had originally planned to sneak closer, but now he had no choice but to show himself.
He gently patted Kangaskhan's head, signaling it to carry him forward.
Taking the secret weapon from Cinccino's hands, Hayato hopped down from Kangaskhan's back and slowly approached the muddy field.
First, he needed to ease the Mudbray 's vigilance.
With a flick of his hand, three fresh carrots were tossed toward them.
If he remembered correctly, Mudbray living in the wild had a strong demand for green forage.
Usually, all they could do was nibble on nearby grass.
The taste wasn't great, and the nutrition wasn't particularly high—it merely kept them from starving.
Vegetables harvested from Denzel's ranch, however, were incredibly tempting to them.
At first, the Mudbray didn't react.
Their wary eyes remained fixed on Kangaskhan .
To them, it looked like a massive monster.
The aura it gave off was even more terrifying than the Pyroar, the dominant predator of this grassland.
The Mudbray 's legs trembled uncontrollably. Only by leaning against each other did they manage not to collapse in fear.
Hayato wasn't in a hurry.
He simply continued feeding them.
Carrots, cabbage, and small pumpkins were tossed out one after another. As the pile of food on the ground grew larger, the Mudbray could no longer resist.
They cautiously stepped forward and began eating greedily.
"mud-mud~"
So tasty! So tasty!
One of them abandoned all dignity and began stuffing its face.
The other two quickly followed suit.
Soon, all three Mudbray wore blissful expressions.
This was food they had never tasted before.
Conquering a Pokémon was easiest by conquering its stomach—this saying truly wasn't wrong.
Under the relentless assault of the food strategy, the Mudbray gradually let their guard down.
As the vegetables on the ground were eaten up, the Mudbray began to look disappointed.
At that moment, Hayato tossed another carrot.
This time, it landed slightly closer to him.
Already hooked by the delicious food, the Mudbray had no resistance at all. They moved forward a little.
One carrot after another.
By the time the Mudbray finally realized something was wrong—
They were already standing right in front of Hayato .
Almost instinctively, they bit into the carrot Hayato held out.
Seeing the human so close in front of them, the Mudbray blinked their big eyes.
"mud—mud!!!"
The Mudbray cried out in panic, bumping into each other and tumbling into a tangled heap.
It's over! We've been caught by a human!
If only we hadn't been so greedy… waaah!
Hayato : "..."
Why did these Mudbray feel a little… dumb?
"Grru~"
Kangaskhan stepped forward from behind and lowered its head to examine them curiously.
They were filthy.
Not cute at all.
Surely Hayato wouldn't like Pokémon this dirty.
"Cinccino!"
A small white figure shot forward like a streak of light toward the Mudbray .
Just before it reached them, Hayato grabbed it and held it in his arms.
So dirty! How did they get this filthy?! They need to be cleaned immediately!
Hayato gently stroked Cinccino until the little Pokémon gradually calmed down.
The fragile goodwill he had just established couldn't be ruined now.
He took out more carrots and even broke the last Honey Pancake he had on him into three pieces before offering them to the Mudbray .
"Go ahead. Eat."
"mud…?"