Just as Wen Qi was arranging the harvesting of the Pokémon, the forest outside the farm was far from peaceful.
A large number of Pokémon had gathered there, of many species—Rattata, Pidgeotto, Noctowl, Beedrill, Caterpie, Butterfree, Ekans, Arbok, Oddish, Swellow, Talonflame, Hypno, and more.
Some of them were natural enemies, such as Pidgeotto preying on Rattata and Caterpie, while Ekans and Arbok hunted Rattata, Pidgey, and Pidgeotto. They were all interconnected in the food chain.
Yet, the scene was peculiar: so many Pokémon had come together without attacking each other, instead discussing the berry trees on Wen Qi's farm.
You see, during the two years the farm was abandoned, the berry orchard had also been neglected. The berries still grew, but without care, the yield was low and the quality poor. Still, for wild Pokémon, this was already a decent food source.
In the wild, a group capable of claiming such a vast berry orchard would need at least a quasi-Elite-level Pokémon. Normally, such a windfall wouldn't fall to them.
It was only because Wen Qi's father had passed away and the farm was left untended that they had stumbled upon this opportunity.
Thus, in recent years, the berries from the orchard had all been eaten by them.
But this year was different. The farm had a new owner, and the orchard received more careful attention. As a result, not only had the berry yield increased significantly, but the quality was also top-notch.
This attracted a huge number of Pokémon from the forest, all hoping to get a share.
Fortunately, Wen Qi had been foresighted enough to enlist the Pidgeot family for protection, along with patrols from the Scyther squad, care from the Butterfree squad, and help from the Poliwrath group. This kept most Pokémon from daring to steal during the day.
However, nighttime defenses were weaker, and some Pokémon managed to sneak away with quite a few berries.
Still, compared to the total yield of the orchard, these losses were negligible.
The Pokémon had originally planned to continue stealing slowly each night, but Wen Qi's actions today suggested he intended to harvest all the berries.
When the forest Pokémon caught wind of this, they immediately grew restless. How could this be allowed?
If all the berries were taken, what would they eat?
After all, many Pokémon had migrated here because of the berry orchard and relied on it for survival. If everything was stripped away, what would they do?
So the news spread like wildfire, and soon a massive crowd of Pokémon had gathered, forming a dark, oppressive sea.
Fortunately, these Pokémon were from the forest's outer edges, with the strongest around level 40, and most hovering around level 20.
In terms of sheer numbers, they had the advantage.
But when it came to top strength, Wen Qi's Scizor was still the strongest.
Yet, facing at least a thousand Pokémon, even Scizor would struggle. After all, Wen Qi's farm, including the hired Pokémon and his own, only had about 150 in total.
The gap in numbers was simply too vast. Wen Qi, still unaware, was about to face an unexpected calamity.
At that moment, in the berry orchard, the busy Scizor and Turtwig seemed to sense something.
They felt a massive gathering of Pokémon in the forest, with energy reactions growing stronger.
The young Turtwig could sense it but didn't understand what it meant.
The older Scizor, however, knew that such a gathering of Pokémon must have a reason.
The only reason Scizor could think of was the berry orchard.
Realizing this, Scizor didn't hesitate. It dashed like lightning toward Wen Qi.
It had to inform Wen Qi immediately, or the consequences would be dire.
Wen Qi, too, had a bad feeling, as if something terrible was about to happen. His mind was unsettled.
Then he saw a red flash in the distance, speeding toward him like an arrow.
Before Wen Qi could react, the red figure appeared before him.
He looked closely and breathed a sigh of relief—it was Scizor.
Just as Wen Qi was about to scold Scizor, a loud noise erupted from the forest, startling him.
Then he saw a swarm of Flying-type Pokémon rising above the trees, heading straight for the orchard.
Scizor quickly conveyed its suspicions to Wen Qi. Wen Qi was shocked and momentarily at a loss.
He looked around frantically, spotted the berries beneath him, and suddenly had an idea.
He hurriedly stored the sorted berries from the warehouse into his small world, then told Scizor to rush back and gather all Pokémon above level 10 to head toward the forest.
They couldn't let the battle break out in the orchard—it would cause too much damage.
Though Wen Qi didn't care much about the loss, it was still his property, and he had to protect it.
Scizor quickly returned to the orchard to rally the Pokémon for interception. Wen Qi, ignoring the eager Noibat and Bulbasaur who wanted to fight, immediately recalled them into his small world.
There was no time to worry about their feelings now.
Wen Qi called Growlithe to carry him toward the scene. Though Growlithe was only 0.7 meters tall and struggled to carry him, it was still faster than running on his own.
As Wen Qi rushed over, Scizor had already led the farm's Pokémon to block the intruders.
For a moment, the sky was filled with Flying-type Pokémon. Wen Qi's Pidgeot family faced off against the opposing Swellow family, while Butterfree, Murkrow, Noctowl, and others jeered at them from the air.
On the ground, the forest Pokémon stood opposite the farm's Pokémon, glaring at each other.
The scene was chaotic. Fortunately, the forest side, though numerous, lacked unity and dared not act rashly.
Wen Qi's side had slightly stronger Pokémon but fewer in number, and without Wen Qi present, they hesitated to make a move.
Just as tensions were about to boil over and a fight seemed inevitable, Wen Qi arrived, bouncing awkwardly on Growlithe.
At that moment, Wen Qi wanted nothing more than to give Growlithe a beating.
Growlithe was too short. Wen Qi's feet couldn't touch the ground and dangled in the air. After a while, it became unbearable, so he had to drag them along.
At first, it was fine, but as Growlithe sped up, Wen Qi's feet felt like they were about to catch fire from the friction.
Helpless, he could only bounce along to keep up.
Wen Qi silently vowed that after this, he would make sure Growlithe evolved.
If he'd had Arcanine earlier, he would have arrived long ago, and he wouldn't be in such a ridiculous state now.
Wen Qi bitterly regretted not letting Turtwig and Growlithe use the attribute essence fragments earlier.
It was one thing to hold back Turtwig, whose rapid growth needed a pause.
But Growlithe could have taken them, reaching level 30 and the stage Wen Qi deemed suitable for evolution.
In fact, over the past half-month, Growlithe had already reached level 30, but Wen Qi had been too laid-back to notice.
He only realized it today, but with the berry harvest, he planned to handle it tonight. And now, that small delay had led to this embarrassing situation.
Truly, a moment of laziness could lead to eternal regret.