Chapter 118: Power Generation on the Ranch
Chapter 118: Power Generation on the Ranch
Naoki woke up early the next morning and, after a quick breakfast, dove straight into his daily chores. He fed the chickens and collected their eggs, replenished the grass pellets in the riding goats' trough, bottled the milk from the dairy cows, gathered the rock salt produced by the Saltrocks, and carefully poured the honey harvested by the Combees into glass jars.
Setting some of the produce aside for his own consumption, he placed the rest next to the delivery box for Zack to pick up later in the afternoon.
As he finished up, the nearby Pidgeot completed its watering duties, leaving droplets of water suspended in the air, shimmering in the sunlight to create a miniature rainbow. Pidgeot admired the spectacle alongside Butterfree, both seeming to enjoy the peaceful moment.
"Huh..." Naoki exhaled, brushing the dust off his hands as he contemplated Ice Eevee's situation, making his way towards the back of the ranch.
Upon pushing open the wooden door, a rush of cold air greeted him. Naoki shivered involuntarily as his eyes adjusted to the sight within—the cave had undergone a remarkable transformation, clearly the handiwork of Ice Eevee.
The once soft earth was now covered in a smooth layer of ice, with patches of untouched snow lingering in the corners, and the walls were encased in a glistening coat of frost. Stepping inside, Naoki felt as though he had wandered into an Eskimo's ice house.
In the center of the icy cave lay the Frost Snow Stone, with Ice Eevee curled up on top of it, seemingly having made the chilly stone its bed.
"Looks like you've settled in nicely!" Naoki praised, a smile spreading across his face. "This place looks amazing; you did a fantastic job!"
It was the first time Ice Eevee had received a compliment, and it made its heart flutter with a mix of shyness and pride, though it kept these emotions hidden, simply lowering its head and averting its gaze.
It's nothing, Ice Eevee thought to itself.
Naoki, noticing the empty plate on the ice, bent down to pick it up, asking, "Did you enjoy the food I brought yesterday?"
Ice Eevee hesitated for a moment before nodding gently. "Bui..." it replied.
What could it offer in return? Like the Frost Cream Fairy had said last night, Naoki provided food, and in exchange, they would lend their powers.
Unaware of Ice Eevee's inner monologue, Naoki collected the plate and made his way back to the kitchen, retrieving fresh food from the refrigerator to bring to his new companion.
"Here, eat up! Once you're done, feel free to explore outside, but be careful. I still have work to do. It's safe here, though; no wild Pokemon will attack without provocation." Naoki paused, then added, "If you have any questions or need anything, you can ask the Frost Cream Fairy or Golurk. You remember Golurk, right? The red Pokemon you met yesterday."
Ice Eevee nodded in understanding. "Bui."
Naoki, seeing this, smiled and bid Ice Eevee farewell before stepping back outside, where he was immediately greeted by an eager Pichu.
"Hold on a second," Naoki said to the tiny Pokemon, placing the plate back in the kitchen before leading Pichu to the storage room.
The generator stood quietly in the corner, a reminder of the unique resources that Pokemon represented in this world. Each Pokemon, with its distinct attributes, could bring about different changes to a trainer's life. Fire-type Pokemon could start fires, Water-types could irrigate fields, Grass-types tended to plants, and Electric-types, like the one he was about to meet, could generate electricity.
"Pika!" Little Buibui nodded happily, indicating its willingness to help.
"Good boy," Naoki patted its head and then placed it on the metal ring, "Don't be nervous, now use your best Electric-type move!"
"Pika!"
Buibui responded cheerfully and stood up, rubbing its cheeks vigorously with its tiny paws to stimulate the electricity sacs.
Gradually, sparks of electricity were generated through the friction.
"Pika—chuuu!"
Soon, with a vigorous cry, a bolt of electricity was released from its paws.
The electricity was automatically drawn into the generator's metal ring, designed to absorb Electric-type moves.
The move appeared to be the Electric-type "Thundershock," not very powerful, but it was the strongest move little Buibui had mastered so far.
Naoki recalled the level at which Buibui learned Thundershock in the game—level 3.
This indicated that Buibui was indeed very weak, even smaller than a Magnemite.
It had been taken away from its parents by a Pidgeot before it could fully master its hunting skills, leaving it alone and vulnerable.
Soon, the Thundershock was completely absorbed.
Naoki glanced at the generator's power gauge and saw that it wasn't even 1% full.
"Looks like we'll need to step up Buibui's training plan," he thought.
Looking at the power gauge, Naoki recalled what Claire had said earlier—if the generator was fully charged, it could provide electricity for the ranch for half a year.
Currently, the ranch's electricity came from a nearby power plant.
Today, he was merely testing the generator's functionality, and so far, it seemed to be working fine.
Naoki had a rough idea, and just then, little Buibui sat in the machine, looking dejected.
It felt sorry for only being able to provide such a small amount of electricity.
Naoki wasn't too concerned and comforted it, "It's alright, I'll make you some new dishes to help boost your body later."
Ideally, he could create something like the Grass Dumplings, which enhanced Electric-type abilities.
But finding ingredients related to lightning was no easy task.
If he used Thunder Stones, their hardness might end up chipping Buibui's teeth.
Hmm, this was a challenging task indeed.
(End of Chapter)
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