A single terastal shards sells for approximately 3000 alliance currency, which is roughly on par with items like Hard Stone.
The terastal shards have only one purpose: at the Treasure Eatery, famous in the Paldea region, 50 terastal shards of the same type can be used to create a special dish that changes a Pokemon's tera type.
"For those with deep pockets, changing a Pokemon's tera type offers more tactical choices. However, a Pokemon's normal tera type is usually sufficient. These two terastal shards should be sold for money."
Luo Mu shook his head. The Paldea region has abundant reserves of terastal shards. When crystals that randomly appear throughout the region break, there's a chance they'll produce terastal shards, and there are many fragmented terastal shards of various types for sale on the market.
It even spawned a group of people who make a living by exclusively collecting terastal shards.
Luo Mu did not capture the Crabominable. The taste of crab pincers dropped by wild Crabominable and those dropped by domesticated Crabominable are worlds apart, completely incomparable. Most restaurants specifically note that they require crab pincers from wild Crabominable when purchasing them.
Luo Mu followed Luxray to a flat spot in the mountains, set up a tent, lit a bonfire, and placed a small pot over it to steam the Crabominable's crab pincers.
Breaking open the crab pincers revealed about six or seven catties of tender white crab meat. Steaming it over water was enough to fully bring out the deliciousness of the crab meat.
Luo Mu once had a meal at the Treasure Eatery with Brother Aoki, a corporate slave, after challenging the Normal-type Gym.
At that time, a chef at the Treasure Eatery heard that Luo Mu had once found a pair of wild Crabominable's crab pincers and had only boiled one of them to eat, and he couldn't help but sigh with regret.
That way of eating was simply a waste of a precious resource. The chef immediately introduced Luo Mu to the best cooking method for Crabominable's crab pincers.
Unfortunately, Luo Mu didn't bring soy sauce, only portable seasonings like salt and chili powder. Otherwise, with the deliciousness of the crab meat in the pincers, dipping it in a little soy sauce would have been enough to make one's eyebrows fall off from the sheer deliciousness.
White steam wafted upwards. Luo Mu wasn't worried that the bonfire and the smell of food would attract wild Pokemon.
Not to mention that no wild Pokemon nearby could withstand three moves against Luxray, even the Snarl from Luxray after its Terastallization earlier would deter most wild Pokemon from foraging at this time, even if they smelled the delicious aroma.
Keeping track of the time, Luo Mu unhesitatingly lifted the lid after the mental countdown ended. In the misty white steam, tender white crab meat lay on the crab pincer shells. The crab meat and the clear, fresh broth that had steamed out emitted a sweet aroma. Just a sniff caused Luo Mu's mouth to water at an extremely rapid pace.
The finest ingredients often require only the simplest cooking methods.
Luo Mu and Luxray exchanged glances. Disregarding the scorching temperature of the crab shells, they each picked up/held a crab shell, their faces filled with excitement as they savored the delicious crab meat.
The thick, tender, distinctly fibrous white crab meat could be slurped to extract extremely fresh and sweet soup, coupled with the wonderfully soft and tender texture. Just swallowing this mouthful of crab meat made Luo Mu feel that all the hard work of the past year was worth it.
Luxray's eyes were also shining as it ate, its star-shaped tail tip wagging joyfully.
Luo Mu ate a small portion of the crab meat, while Luxray ate the larger portion.
However, their eating speeds were almost evenly matched.
Just having enjoyed this top-tier delicacy, Luo Mu felt that his trip out was already worth it.
Luo Mu planned to take the remaining crab pincer back as a specialty for the other Pokemon to share, as it wasn't good for just him and Luxray to eat alone.
The temperature at night in early spring was not high, but Luo Mu felt a warmth spread through his entire body after eating the crab meat, and he no longer felt cold in the chilly wind.
Luxray's sensation was even clearer than Luo Mu's; not only was its internal energy full after eating the crab meat, but its physical functions also showed a slight improvement.
The next day, early morning.
Luo Mu and Luxray finished packing early and returned down the mountain the way they came. The lake they were heading to was about a few hundred meters east of the foot of the mountain.
They walked quickly, arriving at their destination in less than ten minutes.
The lake was located in the center of a small wetland, with many wild Pokemon that live in wetlands scattered around it.
Although there were no super rare late-blooming Pokemon like Goomy's young, Pokemon like Wooper and Quagsire, Psyduck and Marill, or Barboach could be seen distributed.
Luo Mu observed that the wetland environment would make it much easier for Swampert to build a canal to divert water. It was not yet clear what specific Pokemon and fish were in the lake, but the water storage was very sufficient, and filling the large pit on his farm would not risk a drop in the water level.
As for the water quality...
Luo Mu walked to a drier edge of the lake, squatted down, and pulled out a water quality test kit from his large backpack.
He dropped the collected lake water onto the test kit. After about three minutes, no two red lines indicating unclean water appeared on the test kit, which meant the lake water met all the conditions.
Luxray came over, nudged Luo Mu with its head, and let out a short, hurried purr.
Luo Mu freed a hand to pat its fluffy head and said with a smile, "No problem. We can bring Swampert over to divert water when we go back."
With one worry resolved, before heading back, Luo Mu decided to wander around the wetland to see if there were any suitable Water-type Pokemon to kidnap... ahem, adopt!
Wooper, Psyduck, and Marill didn't quite meet Luo Mu's expectations.
If most Wooper are too active and boisterous, then their evolution, Quagsire, is the other extreme: slow to react, good-tempered, and leisurely, practically the Pokemon version of a Capybara.
Psyduck is too dazed, and Golduck is more suited to fishing with fishermen than working on a farm.
As for Marill, the Water Mouse, and Azumarill, the Water Rabbit, they are more suited for beating up Salamence with Play Rough (confirmed).
Luo Mu's gaze roamed over the lake, hoping to find a Water-type Pokemon that would be a good fit for the farm.
About five minutes later, Luo Mu's eyes were practically watering, and he finally spotted a Pokemon that had just swum ashore not far away.
Slippery blue skin, a round body without hands, a feathery, rounded tadpole tail, and a black swirl pattern on its abdomen!
The Tadpole Pokemon—Poliwag!
This Pokemon's initial form might be similar to Psyduck, Marill, or Wooper.
But after two stages of evolution, one of Poliwag's branch evolutions from Poliwhirl, Politoed, has a unique ability that makes it one of the most suitable Pokemon for Luo Mu's farm!