https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-118-Power-Generation-on-the-Ranch/12537129/
Chapter 117: Good Friends
Chapter 117: Good Friends
The small pearl in Naoki's hand emitted a beautiful silver radiance.
Looking at it, Naoki could almost imagine how Bear and Mew had found it.
Perhaps it had fallen from a pearl-producing Pokemon, eventually washing up on shore after being tumbled by the sea over the years.
Coincidentally, Bear and Mew, on one of their adventures, happened to pass by and spotted it.
Bear, with its Pickup ability, thought this shiny object was pretty, so it picked it up.
Since they couldn't speak human language, they found some paper and used their mud-covered paws to leave their marks - a signature of sorts.
Perhaps it was Bear's idea, as it eagerly pressed its tiny paw print onto the paper first.
Mew, intrigued by this, thought it was fun and followed suit, adding its own paw print.
After that, they together entrusted the paper and pearl to their good friend, a Peliipper, asking it to deliver these items to the ranch in the Paldea region.
However, Naoki was perplexed.
How did the Peliipper know the exact location of the ranch?
After a moment of contemplation, he arrived at a probable answer.
The human world operates by its logic, and the Pokemon world has its own set of rules and dynamics.
Take, for instance, the stray Meowths roaming the city alleys; they form an extensive network beyond human sight, sharing information with their companions.
Or the Pikachu that gather to dance during full moons, revering the moon as a deity, reminiscent of ancient human clans.
"What a shame..."
Naoki couldn't help but think that he should have bought Bear a camera before it left.
That way, Bear could have sent back photos of its adventures and the places it visited, giving him a glimpse into their travels.
But since he had now received this pearl and postcard from Bear, it indicated that their journey was going well.
Naoki's worries dissipated, and he looked up at the sky; the Peliipper was already out of sight.
He glanced at the pearl in his hand, his mind conjuring images of Mew and Bear.
Mew, the very Pokemon that Team Rocket had spent decades searching for, had simply wandered into his life like this.
In the end, they never found Mew, only discovering a fossil of its eyelash, from which they created Mewtwo using genetic engineering.
"I wonder what Sakaki would feel if he knew about this," Naoki mused.
Sometimes, the human mind wanders to far-flung thoughts, disconnected from the immediate reality of one's life.
Like now, as Naoki playfully envisioned himself traveling to the Tokiwa Gym with Bear, Mew, Golurk, and their riding goat.
The expression on Sakaki's face would surely be priceless.
Unlike other regions with varying degrees of security issues, the Paldea region was devoid of any truly evil organizations.
Even the Star Association was just a group of formerly bullied students who had united to stand against bullying.
Nevertheless, this peaceful and tranquil life was pleasant.
Returning to his room, Naoki carefully kept the small pearl and the postcard with the paw prints, placing them in a drawer along with Bear's previous savings.
Motostoke was hungry, its stomach growling audibly. It stood pitifully behind Naoki, calling out for food like a hungry child seeking its mother.
But Motostoke was still a baby itself, only a few months old and not yet a year.
Naoki knew it was time to start preparing dinner.
For tonight's meal, he decided to make fragrant pan-fried meat patties, accompanied by nutritious fruit juice and milk.
He took the ingredients from the fridge and set to work.
Only when the sun had completely set, and darkness enveloped the ranch, was dinner finally ready.
Naoki served the hot food, letting Golurk and the others eat first while he took a Pokemon snack and a sandwich to the ice house at the back.
Opening the door, a gust of cold air rushed forth.
The Eievui, lying on the icy rock, immediately opened its eyes upon hearing the noise.
Naoki placed the food in front of it and said with a smile, "I don't know what you like to eat, so I prepared these for now. Try them and see if you like them."
"Bu'yi..."
Eievui was astonished.
It looked down at the unfamiliar food before it, wondering: Would they proactively provide food for Pokemon here?
Naoki squatted beside it and said, "Let me introduce myself properly. I'm the ranch owner of this place, and all the Pokemon you met today have come from different places to live here with me."
"Providing food for the Pokemon in the ranch is the responsibility of a qualified ranch owner, so go ahead and enjoy your meal!"
"Bu'yi..." Eievui blinked, hesitating to touch the food.
In its eyes, the fact that this human had helped it find such a wonderful place to live was gratitude enough.
Moreover, this person had also protected it from that Abomasnow.
Eievui felt indebted, and the thought of accepting food without having done anything in return made it uncomfortable.
Naoki was taken aback by this display.
"You're not going to eat?" he asked.
The Eievui settled back down on the icy rock.
Naoki could guess what was running through its mind, and he found the situation amusing. "All the fruit growing on this ranch is mine. If you want to go pick fruit in the middle of the night, it's not much different from what you're doing now, is it?"
"Bu'yi?!"
The Eievui's face registered shock. What was going on?
Naoki's mind flashed back to the earlier incident where the Eievui had refused his offer of fruit juice, and he surmised that this Eievui didn't like feeling indebted to others.
That was probably why it was turning down his offer of food.
In a way, this personality quirk made it quite adorable.
However, this Eievui was completely oblivious to its current predicament.
The Eievui was filled with doubt.
Suddenly, it felt as though it had fallen into some sort of trap.
But the sincere expression on the human's face made it second-guess its suspicions.
Naoki didn't bother to explain himself, as he had his own plans.
The Eievui must have a lot of questions right now, and if he didn't provide any explanations, it would naturally turn to the other Pokemon on the ranch for answers.
That would be a great opportunity to foster relationships and build connections.
With that in mind, Naoki stood up and bade the Eievui goodnight. "Well then, goodnight, Eievui!"
He exited the ice cave and returned to the wooden house, where he found Sonaisien in the kitchen, busy making cream. "Sonaisien, do you still want to be friends with Eievui?"
Sonaisien loved making friends, and all the Pokemon on the ranch were its buddies.
Yan Stone, Bubo, the lazy riding goat...
At the mention of this, Sonaisien nodded, "Ma..."
But then it hung its head dejectedly, feeling let down because the Eievui didn't seem interested in befriending it.
Noticing this, Naoki called it over and whispered something in its ear.
Sonaisien's eyes lit up as it listened, "Mama?!" Could it really become friends with the Eievui like this?
Naoki nodded, "Of course. It just looks cold on the outside, but it has a warm heart. In human terms, we'd say it's 'cold on the outside, hot on the inside.'"
Sonaisien looked at Golurk and asked, "Mama?" What about Golurk?
Naoki glanced at Golurk and replied, "It's hot."
"Mama!" I understand!
Sonaisien nodded happily.
After giving his instructions, Naoki headed to bed, cradling Bubo in his arms.
After over a month of his meticulous care, the once frail Bubo had regained a healthy physique, its fur now sleek and fluffy.
Bubo snuggled up next to Naoki, its eyes drifting towards Sonaisien. It couldn't help but ask, "Ba mo?"
"Rest assured, they'll become good friends!" Naoki patted its head reassuringly. "Get some sleep now. I have a little task for you tomorrow."
He wanted to test out the power generator that Ke Li had installed.
"Ba mo!" Bubo's curiosity was piqued.
Compared to Dragonite, Golurk, and the riding goat, Bubo felt like a tiny blade of grass in the shadow of a towering mountain.
It was just too weak.
The meek Bubo yearned to be of more use to Naoki, just like Dragonite, the riding goat, and the dairy tank.
Naoki had been incredibly kind to it, not only bathing it but also preparing nutritious meals, much like a mother would.
Yet, Naoki wasn't its mother. They had crossed paths by chance, and he had welcomed it into his life, even forgiving it for stealing food.
Bubo wanted to do more, but it couldn't water plants or produce milk.
Thus, when Naoki mentioned a task for tomorrow, it felt thrilled at the prospect.
"Ba mo?" it asked eagerly. What kind of task?
Naoki kept it a secret, "You'll see tomorrow. For now, it's time to sleep."
And so, Bubo closed its eyes and started snoring softly, eagerly awaiting the morning.
Looking at the adorable Bubo, Naoki couldn't help but admit that he found it utterly endearing.
What a well-behaved little Bubo! Just like family, it wanted to contribute and share the workload.
A smile spread across Naoki's face as he gently stroked Bubo's cheeks.
"Sleep tight!"
---
At 8 p.m., most of the Pokemon on the ranch had already drifted off to sleep.
Sonaisien made its way to the ice cave, holding a freshly picked tree fruit in its hand. This was Naoki's suggestion—to bring a small gift.
Hearing footsteps outside, the Eievui inside the ice cave immediately opened its eyes, its gaze alert and fixed on the direction of the door.
From outside came a cheerful "Mama!"
It was the Sonaisien from earlier, the Eievui thought.
The Sonaisien was greeting it.
True to its nature, the Eievui hadn't planned on responding, but remembering Naoki's earlier words, it silently hopped down from the icy rock.
The Sonaisien outside felt a bit nervous, unsure if the Eievui would speak to it as Naoki had predicted.
Just then, the door was pushed open, and an Eievui emerged from within.
There it is! Sonaisien's eyes brightened at the sight, "Mama!"
"Good evening!" it greeted enthusiastically.
Abomasnow didn't seem to mind and cheerfully handed over the tree fruit in its hand, asking, "Mama?" (Let me show you around the ranch! There are lots of Pokemon living here, and we're all good friends.)
Good friends... The term lingered in Eievui's mind.
With its curiosity piqued, it didn't refuse Abomasnow's offer but instead gently lifted its front paw and followed Abomasnow, beginning to familiarize itself with the place.
Abomasnow enthusiastically introduced the surroundings as they walked alongside each other.
Eievui, cautious as always, surveyed the area as it moved, a habit it had developed during its time in the snowy mountains.
"Mama!" (Over there live the riding goats. Don't be fooled by their lazy appearance; they're actually pretty amazing! And next to them is Mini-Fu, who came here with me.)
Upon hearing this, Eievui glanced in their direction.
In just a glance, it sensed an incredible amount of natural energy emanating from that area.
The concentration of natural energy there was astonishing, rivaling even that of its icy stone in the snowy mountains! Its instincts told it that if it hadn't gone to the snowy mountains but had ended up here instead, it might have evolved into something else entirely!
"Bu'yi..."
Eievui was stunned by this realization.
Meanwhile, Abomasnow seemed completely unfazed, as if this were an everyday occurrence.
It continued leading the way, pointing out the houses as they passed by, "Mama... Mama!" (This is where Yan Stone, Dairy Tank, and the hens live, but it's quite late now, so they're already resting... I'll introduce them to you tomorrow, okay?)
"Bu'yi."
Next, they arrived at an orchard.
Abomasnow explained that all the fruit trees and crops here were planted by Naoki, and by autumn, the trees would bear delicious fruit.
Hearing this, Eievui finally understood what Naoki had meant earlier.
It asked softly, "Bu'yi?" (Have you always lived here?)
Abomasnow nodded, "Mama~" (Yeah!)
Eievui: "Bu'yi?" (Don't you need to find your own food every day?)
Abomasnow shook its head, "Mama." Of course not! Naoki prepares delicious meals for them!
Eievui was perplexed, "Bu'yi?" (Why does Naoki provide food for you?)
Abomasnow paused at this question, seemingly unsure of the answer itself.
It asked Eievui to wait a moment and then scampered back to the house, waking up Naoki, who had just dozed off.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Naoki yawned and asked, "What's up?"
Abomasnow: "Mama?" (Why do you make so much delicious food for us?)
Unfortunately, Naoki couldn't understand a word it was saying.
But Golurk, who was sleeping on the floor, answered without opening its eyes, "Ah gah see." (It's because Naoki likes Pokemon.)
Abomasnow, satisfied with the answer, scurried back out, leaving Naoki bewildered.
He yawned again, feeling a wave of sleepiness wash over him, and laid his head back down on the pillow to continue sleeping.
Naoki: zZZ
Eievui watched as Abomasnow rushed back, unsure of what to say for a moment.
Abomasnow excitedly shared the answer it had gotten with Eievui.
Eievui paused, taking in this revelation.
So, it was because Naoki liked them that he provided food?
Noticing Eievui's confusion, Abomasnow thought hard, recalling the other Pokemon on the ranch, and said to Eievui, "Mama!" (Naoki prepares food for us, and we help him with ranch work!)
Golurk helps Naoki with farming, Aerodactyl waters the plants, Combee collects honey, the riding goats produce goat milk...
And Abomasnow itself makes delicious cream! Hearing this, Eievui was perplexed, "Bu'yi?" (Why?)
Abomasnow replied, "Mama!" (It's because we like Naoki, too!)
They liked each other...
Eievui fell silent.
Just then, a gentle breeze blew by.
It carried a scent that Eievui had never encountered before.
Eievui looked up, drawn to a beautiful flower field in the distance, a sight that couldn't exist in the snowy mountains.
Its gaze was captivated by the vibrant flowers.
It walked closer, lowering its head to inhale the fragrant aroma of the blossoms.
In that moment, Eievui felt as if it had finally understood something fundamental.
After their tour, Abomasnow bid Eievui farewell at the entrance of the ice cave, hesitantly asking, "Mama?" (Can we be friends?)
Eievui was taken aback by the question.
It thought of the tree fruit Abomasnow had given it earlier, the enthusiastic tour of the ranch, and Abomasnow's dejected departure earlier in the afternoon when it hadn't received a response.
After a moment of silence, it finally responded.
"Bu'yi."
Abomasnow was overjoyed, happily waving goodbye, "Mama!"
See you tomorrow!
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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