Manor Lord in the Pokémon World

Chapter 14 Building the Textile House

Ark's pupils suddenly contracted; this was actually the Jade Insect Tablet, one of Arceus's eighteen tablets.

Legend has it that Arceus can become completely immune to insect-type energy attacks through this stone tablet, and can also transform himself into an insect-type form.

In the game, this item increases the power of Bug-type moves by 20% for Pokémon that are holding it.

Of course, Fangzhou felt that reality and games were different, and it shouldn't be as simple as just increasing the power of Bug-type moves.

After all, this is Arceus's tablet!

Suddenly, the Ark discovered a blind spot.

"No, you already have the Jade Insect Stone Tablet, why didn't you carry it with you? Defeating the three-bee swarm would have been a piece of cake, and you wouldn't have been beaten up like this."

"Um..." The leader of the Hunting Swallowtails suddenly looked guilty. "For some reason, we can't use this stone slab. Oh well, just tell me if you want it or not."

The system showed that the item was indeed the Jade Insect Tablet. Although he still had doubts, Fangzhou nodded vigorously.

"Okay, I promise you. I will help cultivate these stinging beetles, help them evolve successfully, and then send them back to drive out the three-necked bee colony together."

"Thank you, kind young man."

The leader turned around and let out a long cry: "Woo—"

The sound echoed through the cave, and all the stinging beetles raised their heads, their eyes fixed on the ark.

Then, they lined up in an orderly column and slowly crawled toward the ark.

There's no need for the carapace and shield cocoons; they can hardly undergo any further changes. The slug stage is where the foundation is laid, and by the time the cocoon stage is reached, it's too late.

The surrounding swallowtail butterflies and poisonous moths came forward one after another, gently touching their offspring with their antennae, bidding a silent farewell.

As the ark was seen off by its people, it emerged from the forest and was once again bathed in the warm sunlight.

Ralts was followed by twelve spiky bugs, lined up in a neat row.

To be honest, with the cape on and his underlings by his side, Ralts looks more like a general than before when he was with his Pikachu plushie.

However, General Ralts did not make a grand return by taking the main road. Instead, he chose a side path and dared not head towards the flower field.

The flower field area is now under the control of the three honeybees. When they came in the morning, they only brought hunting swallowtail butterflies, which were small targets and the honeybees failed to spot them.

The team is now too large, and Ark dares not return the way it came.

After a long and arduous journey back to the manor, Fang Zhou looked at the neatly arranged rows of stinging beetles and scratched his head.

How can we improve the quality of insect silk?

Back at the manor, Ark pulled out the Hoenn Pokédex and examined it carefully.

The above contains a detailed introduction to the worm, and perhaps someone has previously studied how to improve the quality of the silk.

The stinging beetle: Inhabits grasslands and forests, its body is composed of red and white, and it has large eyes. Its feet have suction cups, preventing it from slipping even on glass…

Although there are very few Wurmple in Littleroot Town now, Wurmple is still the most common Pokémon in other places. Researchers have conducted detailed studies on it, and the information is written on a full page.

Fangzhou suddenly felt a weight on his head. When he looked up, he saw Ralts perched on his head, looking at the Pokédex with him.

"Ralts~"

Fangzhou smiled, guessing that Ralts was probably just looking at the illustrations.

"Dr. Laru is too diligent."

"Ralu~"

He continued reading, skimming through the text to quickly find the information he wanted.

A moment later, I regretfully closed the encyclopedia.

It doesn't mention how to improve the quality of the silk; it's all just a record of the habits of the tussock beetle.

A sudden thought flashed through Fang Zhou's mind: he wondered if the system had a solution!

If we use farming skills to grow food that is beneficial to worms, it might produce the desired effect!

Fangzhou, having nothing to lose, decided to give it a try.

What crops should we plant?

Fangzhou turned his attention to the Pokémon Pokédex, read it carefully again, and roughly got a clue.

"Besides feeding on tree leaves and sap, the spiny-tailed beetle also eats a crop called cabbage."

Although the guide doesn't mention that cabbage can improve the quality of silkworm silk, it is the only crop mentioned.

You have to buy cabbage seeds in town.

The sun hadn't set yet, so Fangzhou decided to harvest the parsnip that had survived the morning's battle and take it to town to sell. He also planned to buy some cabbage seeds to plant.

Stepping outside, several stinging insects came into view.

He had already released the stinging beetles, and they were crawling around everywhere, looking around with great curiosity.

Many of them have been kept in caves since birth and have never seen the outside sunlight, so their color is somewhat whitish.

"There are many trees around here, so you can eat as much as you want and grow up quickly."

The stinging crickets nodded, indicating that they understood and would try their best.

The largest stinging caterpillar straightened up, full of fighting spirit, climbed onto a nearby tree, and took a big bite of leaves.

Click!

Chew, chew, chew.

Great, very energetic!

Ark remembered that this spiky worm was the fifth among the twelve spiky worms, and the leader of the Hunting Swallowtails called it Little Five.

call out!

Xiao Wu tilted his head back and spat out a blackish-yellow worm silk from his mouth, unlike the pure white worm silk of normal worm silk.

Sure enough, there were many impurities.

Once the cabbages are harvested, let them test the results.

After harvesting the parsnip with Ralts, Ark put the basket full of parsnip into the front basket of the bicycle, mounted the bicycle, and Ralts sat on the back seat, hugging Ark tightly, ready to set off.

But then the town mayor walked towards us, apparently taking another walk in the neighborhood. Today he was carrying a blue backpack.

"Good afternoon, Mayor."

"Oh, it's Ark. How have you been lately? Hmm, why are you raising so many Stinging Tail Bugs? Are you planning to build a textile house?"

There were more than a dozen stinging beetles crawling around the manor, making them hard to miss.

"A textile shop?"

Fang Zhou shook his head and explained the whole story to the town mayor.

"I see. This is a tough task. That three-bee tribe is very fierce. Indeed, we haven't seen many stinging beetles this year."

"Mayor, do you know how to improve the quality of the silk of the Stingerbug?" The mayor was also an experienced manor keeper, and Ark humbly asked for advice.

"Well, unfortunately, I can't be of any help." The mayor paused, then continued, "But there's one person who can definitely help you—Professor Tomato!"

"Dr. Odori has done a lot of research on worms. Every year at the textile festival, the silk made from the silk he cultivated is of the best quality, and he has won the championship for several years in a row."

"By the way, the next textile festival is in a week. You can try participating then. Participating in the festival is the best opportunity to build relationships with the townspeople."

The mayor winked mischievously, "The winner gets a mystery gift!"

The mayor stretched out his hand and drew a large circle, indicating that the mysterious gift was very big.

Textile Festival?

Fangzhou couldn't help but feel excited. He nodded and decided to visit Dr. Little Scroll on his way back later.

"If you want to sell insect silk, I suggest you go to Robin and build a weaving house. With a weaving house, it will be easier to collect insect silk and make finished products."

The mayor's expression suddenly turned serious again. "It's not just about the textile festival; more importantly, it's about giving the stinging beetles a home!"

Fang Zhou hesitated for a moment, then asked somewhat embarrassedly, "Building a textile house must be very expensive, right?"

He had finally saved up enough money to build a chicken coop.

The mayor laughed heartily: "I can lend you some first. Springtime is when the silk of the stinging worm is of the highest quality, and it's also the time when the most is bought. You can recoup your investment quickly."

The mayor generously lent Ark 10,000 Alliance Coins, transferring the money directly through his Alliance Card.

Ten thousand Alliance Coins?!

Just like that, it was transferred directly to me?

Fangzhou almost couldn't hold back his tears of emotion.

In my previous life, the economy was bad, and everyone was struggling to make ends meet. Borrowing money from others was even more difficult.

Here, as a newcomer who had only been in Weibai Town for less than a week, the mayor was willing to trust me so much, having come to guide me on how to farm before, and now lending me Alliance Coins.

"Thank you, Mayor. I'll pay you back as soon as I have the money!"

"Ralts!" Ralts bowed in gratitude.

The mayor waved his hand, indicating that it was fine; he owned three houses in Orange Blossom and was not short of money.

After bidding farewell to the mayor, Fangzhou continued towards town, first going to sell some parsnip.

Even though it was mostly destroyed in the battle, the harvest was twice as much as before, totaling more than 900 Alliance Coins.

I bought another batch of cabbage seeds, and my assets shrank again.

Then we went to the carpenter's shop.

"You're building the textile house to prepare for the textile festival, right? This is no small project; it will cost 20000 Alliance Coins."

Robin looked at Fang Zhou with suspicion, wondering if this young man who had only been there for a short time could come up with so much money.

The chattering bird on his shoulder chirped, "20000 Alliance Coins! 20000 Alliance Coins! A huge project! A huge project!"

Fang Zhou breathed a sigh of relief. His total assets were 20132 Alliance Coins, which was just enough. He still had more than 100 Alliance Coins left to live on.

There's still some food at home, enough to last for a while.

Snapped!

Without saying a word, he slammed his alliance card on the table.

"Excellent, excellent! Ark Manor, a textile workshop—don't worry, it will be completed before nightfall. It's a huge project; we need to send people over now."

She clapped her hands, and the noisy bird on her shoulder flew off towards the back of the house with the order in its beak, heading off to organize the manpower.

Next stop, Dr. Odama's research institute.

The research institute is located in the town, not far from Weibai Square. It is easily recognizable, with a pointed-roof building that can be seen from afar.

From the outside, the pointed glass dome refracts a rainbow halo in the sunlight.

The research institute has a large courtyard, and you can even see an artificial lake. Mosquito tadpoles and lotus leaf peas chase and play, and the splashes of light startle the long-winged gulls flying away.

Fangzhou stepped forward and knocked on the door.

"Hello, Professor Birch. Ark has come to visit."

"Ralts~"

squeak~

The door opened.