The property Alex ended up buying was the cheapest farm available, located at the northernmost and easternmost edge of the farmland in the area. This meant his farm would be the first to get hit whenever a Pokémon flood rolled in.
The farm ultimately had direct access to the forest where he could easily farm for food for the Pokemon. It also had the open space necessary to host Elite-ranked fights and Champion-ranked fights in the future.
The building in Saffron City might have been cheaper and more convenient overall but ultimately, Alex would outgrow it in the future. He would have to eventually relocate to a farmland anyway just so he doesn't commit mass murder while training his Champion-ranked Pokemon.
Upon purchase, Alex discovered additional requirements and benefits tied to the property.
Apparently, the nearby farmers had pooled money to build a wall that would isolate Alex's land from the rest of the farmland. They also required him to install a device at the northeasternmost point of his property—one that constantly monitors for incoming Pokémon floods. Finally, he was prohibited from building any wall that would isolate his property from the bordering forest.
It became clear that they intended for Alex's farm to act as a buffer—bait, essentially—so they would have enough time to escape if disaster struck. The final restriction ensured that any flood couldn't be redirected south or west, toward their own lands.
In return for these conditions, they offered Alex a substantial bonus: a 50% expansion of his land. They added the northeastern portion of the adjacent property to the west of his own, at no additional cost and without increasing his produce quota.
Originally, Alex's land measured 150 meters along the northern border with the forest and 300 meters along the eastern border, forming a rectangle. With the expansion, it now formed a right angle, with the northern border extended to 300 meters as well.
The unexpected land bonus was a welcome surprise, as it allowed Alex to triple the number of hydroponic greenhouses and double the number of berry orchards he could construct.
The requirements and restrictions had been presented as a request, meaning Alex could have refused to sign the paperwork—but he gladly accepted, especially with the added land. He would have to sort something out with the bank later.
Once Alex paid for the property and finalized the paperwork, he and the girls made their way to the new farmland, only to find the entire location reduced to rubble. The Pokémon that had passed through had truly stomped everything into the ground.
All the buildings were gone, and the farmland was overgrown with weeds. A five-meter-tall wall had been built, blocking Alex's view of the farmlands to the south and west. It also ensured that any approaching Pokemon flood wouldn't see anything of interest beyond his property.
"I feel like they want us to die here," Kaia said sadly. She had expected something underhanded, but nothing this extreme. Farmers were supposed to be a tight-knit community that looked out for one another—not pull something like this.
"It's not that bad. At least I get to train my Pokémon safely," Lyra commented. She was excited for the chance to train while having a secure place to return to.
They toured the property before Alex, Elara, Maris, and Kaia gathered to discuss the specifics, taking into account the current state of the land and its positioning.
"I need the battlegrounds there," Alex said, pointing to the northeastern corner of his property.
The designated area measured 150 by 150 meters, occupying a third of the total land. Conveniently, it was also positioned at the center of the property other than a small pathway to pass through to the other side.
"The houses can go here," Maris added, motioning just south of the imagined battlegrounds.
The area totaled 150 meters by 50 meters—enough space to fit ten 15 by 15 meter two-story houses and a 50 by 50 meter mansion, with plenty of room left over for pathways and extra space.
"My fruit trees can take what's left of the space between the houses and the southern border," Kaia said thoughtfully.
The area measured 150 meters by 100 meters, enough to accommodate a thousand fruit trees with plenty of space left over for Pokémon to roam freely.
"Then my hydroponics farm can take the rest," Elara said as she highlighted the entire area west of the battlegrounds.
Totaling the same size as the battlegrounds at 150m by 150m.
With that, they wrapped up their preliminary measurements to report to the construction company and the industrial manufacturing facility.
"Great! Now, are you sure you don't want us to contribute to the farm, Alex? We get a stake in the income and our own private houses, after all," Maris said.
"Yup. I need you to leave the house if you decide to stop working for me. It wouldn't be fair to you or your future family, since I'd need a replacement for the position—and they'd deserve a house too. This isn't a residential community; it's a place of business," Alex replied.
"What if we just married you?" Elara asked with a mischievous grin.
"Then you wouldn't need the house. You could stay with me in the mansion," Alex replied.
"You mean the Pokémon house?" Kaia teased with a laugh.
Alex's mansion was a building designed to house over a hundred Pokémon. The staff were allowed to leave their Pokémon there while living in their own houses. It made things easier for the groomer-masseuse, the breeder, and the cook to have all Pokemon have a common area.
It would also be where most of their work was done. Essentially, it functioned as an office building, workshop, kitchen, Pokémon residence, Alex's home, office, server room—everything.
With their estimates completed, they returned to Saffron City to begin the construction process.
In total, they needed a mansion, ten houses, and nine greenhouses built on the property.
The construction company quoted 25 million Pokedollars for the construction costs, which would leave Alex short by three million. This figure didn't even include the hydroponic system that still had to be installed.
The mansion would have three floors in total, accommodating all the workshops and offices. The Pokémon rooms would vary in size, taking up about half the mansion's space, while the remaining area would be used for offices, the server room, workshops, and Alex's enormous living space, which was about the size of a house. After all, it was his new home.
The houses would each be 15m x 15m, with the second story housing four large bedrooms and baths.
The greenhouses would measure 50m x 50m x 10m and could hold approximately 3,300 hydroponic system units each. Constructed from reinforced glass, the greenhouses would feature a drainage system connected to a water filtration system capable of reusing the unabsorbed nutrient solution for efficiency.
Additionally, the greenhouses would be wired to power the hydroponic systems, lights, and ventilation fans. All of which would be connected to a single large scale generator that can be charged by Electric type moves.
Next, they visited the industrial manufacturing facility and ordered 29,700 units of the hydroponic system.
Each unit consisted of three layers, with two stems per layer, providing six vegetables per unit. The unit featured a belt system that rotated to bring the vegetables to the harvester, regardless of the height.
It also included a mist sprinkler that could automatically mist the vegetables according to their preferred schedule. All units could be connected via a thin hose to deliver the nutrient solutions automatically.
Unfortunately, each unit cost 5,000 Pokedollars, bringing Alex's total to 148.5 million Pokedollars. In comparison, the cost of a reverse osmosis water filtration system was negligible—they practically gave it to him for free.
The total cost of Alex's farm so far was 178.5 million Pokedollars.
This was why Alex headed to the League bank next to secure a loan. He handed over the blueprints, estimates, and his incomplete, unpublished scientific paper. He claimed he needed the amount to gather enough data to add to the paper for publication.
What he didn't expect was for his paper to flag a League representative.
Alex's name had been added to the watch list ever since his first paper, which had been a significant discovery despite the low quality of data. He was never properly rewarded for it; they had simply given him elevated access, which came in handy when he captured Don.
Now, he submitted another paper, which was immediately reviewed while Alex continued with his introduction to the hydroponics system.
As far as the League representative was concerned, the idea was a genius way to reduce the space required for farming. Just a single layer would double or triple the yield of small crops, and adding more layers would multiply a farmer's yield even further.
This would cause a lot of farmers to lose income if it were published immediately, so they decided to place Alex under an NDA until the League could ease the economic impacts of the sudden rise in vegetables and other potential crops.
As for his loan? It was simply given to him under the guise of a grant. It was their way of silencing him and buying them time to sort out the potential mess.
-----
Support me on Patreon
patreon/babywrath