Chapter 120: Night in the Rain
Chapter 120: Night in the Rain
In the evening, Zack arrived in his truck to collect the day's produce. Seeing the myriad of Pokemon running about the ranch, he broke into a wide grin. "Your place is getting livelier by the day!"
Naoki stood beside him, a touch of sweetness in the mild annoyance he felt as he surveyed the rambunctious Pokemon. "I'm getting more tired, too. Taking care of them and preparing their food takes up a lot of my time every day."
Zack laughed heartily. "Of course! That's a common dilemma for any Pokemon trainer. If you want to ease your burden, I suggest getting a housekeeper-type Pokemon or hiring a human housekeeper."
A housekeeper-type Pokemon... Naoki had considered this option before, but such Pokemon were rare in the wild.
As for hiring a human housekeeper, that wasn't a necessity for him right now. Living in a small cottage with the Pokemon, he had no extra space to offer.
Zack seemed to realize this and continued, a mischievous glint in his eye, "Of course, there's a third option."
Naoki asked, "What's that?"
Zack laughed boisterously. "Find yourself a girlfriend, marry her, have a kid, and the three of you can run the ranch together! What a blissful life that would be! And when you're older, your child can inherit the ranch and care for the Pokemon here."
Naoki: "...Let's forget about that for now." He wasn't ready to think about settling down just yet. For now, he wanted to savor the relaxed and carefree life he had.
Zack shrugged. "If that's how it is, then so be it!"
He weighed the day's milk and loaded it onto the truck. "Today's total is 58,600 Pokedollars. Here you go!"
Naoki took the money.
Zack hopped into the truck and waved through the window. "See you tomorrow!"
"Bye!" Naoki watched the truck disappear into the distance before turning to prepare dinner for the Pokemon.
Exhausted from the day's work, he opted for a simple meal. He heated oil in a pan and fried some meat patties. Placing the patties between two slices of toast and adding crisp lettuce and a spread of salad dressing, he created a special sandwich.
Naoki let Golurk and the others eat first while he brought some snacks to the cave at the back of the ranch.
Since his visit in the morning, the cave had undergone some changes. Next to the ice stone were several flowers, frozen in ice—clearly, the work of the Ice Eevee, who had brought back the flowers gifted by Froslass and Solosis.
Naoki placed the food in front of the Ice Eevee and asked, "Do you really like flowers?"
"Bu'i," the Ice Eevee replied with a slight nod.
"That's wonderful!" Naoki smiled. "In a while, I'll plant some other types of flowers on the ranch. They're all very beautiful, and you'll get to see them soon."
"Bu'i..." The Ice Eevee's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Naoki smiled faintly and turned to leave. As he passed the storeroom, he noticed that the generator's power gauge was full.
"Hmm?" He was surprised to see the 100% charge.
Then, as if remembering something, he called out, "Dragonite!"
A loud "Drgaonite!" echoed in response, and soon, Dragonite appeared in the storeroom.
Naoki pointed to the generator and asked, "Did you do this?"
Because he had mentioned that watering could exercise Prayer and delivering milk could temper willpower, Dragonite naturally took the task of supplying power to the generator as special training!
"...”
Naoki was at a loss for words.
He thought for a moment, then slowly explained to Dragonite about the function of the generator, such as how it could provide power to the ranch, keep the refrigerator running, and provide lighting, among other things.
Pausing here, Naoki asked, "Did it help you practice your moves?"
"Drgaonite!"
Dragonite nodded its large head.
The electricity that attracted the power within its body, causing the Electric-type energy to surge forth like a flood or tsunami, felt very peculiar.
Dragonite's imagination ran wild, and it wondered if the move's power would become incredibly strong if, in the future, it used a move like this and unleashed all its energy into it.
Earlier, when Naoki wasn't paying attention, Dragonite had tried, but it hadn't succeeded.
Dragonite felt it needed to practice more.
Naoki: "..."
Seeing Dragonite nod, Naoki didn't know what to say.
Could this really help with move practice?
He was glad it could help Dragonite, and he was also happy that Dragonite could provide electricity for the ranch.
However, one thing to note was that the generator must not be overloaded, or it would explode!
Naoki informed Dragonite of this consequence and pointed to the power gauge, telling it that it could continue to charge, but once the gauge was full, it must stop, or the generator would explode.
The consequences of an explosion were severe; it could burn down the house or even cost their lives.
Upon hearing this, Dragonite immediately widened its eyes, looking at the generator with a hint of fear.
Thankfully, it had stopped in time...
"But don't worry too much; just be careful, or you can call me to come and charge it together." Seeing Dragonite's fearful expression, Naoki reassured it.
"Drgaonite!" Dragonite nodded, indicating that it would keep that in mind.
"Okay, then you can go back to playing!" Naoki said.
He stayed behind to change the ranch's power source from the power plant to this generator.
This way, they could save a significant amount of money on their annual electricity bills!
After finishing this task, Naoki returned to the house and started eating dinner.
As usual, he turned on the TV and switched to the weather channel.
The female host on the TV was reporting the weather for the next day.
"It is expected that in the early hours of tomorrow morning, the southwestern region of the Padia area will experience rainfall. However, there is no need to worry, as the rain will not be heavy... This has been the Padia Weather Channel report!"
"Eh? Rain?"
Naoki quickly got up to retrieve the laundry and bedding that had been drying outside, bringing them back into the room, and closing the door of the chicken coop.
Late into the night, as Naoki slept in his bed, hugging Pupple, he was suddenly awakened by the continuous sound of rain outside.
The raindrops fell on the roof, creating a pitter-patter sound.
"So it really is raining..."
Naoki looked out the window; the outside world was pitch-dark, and rainwater streaked down the window, leaving trails of water marks.
Naoki didn't dislike rainy days; on the contrary, this kind of weather was perfect for sleeping, especially when cuddling with a beloved Pokemon.
He turned away from the window and, hugging Pupple tightly, fell into a deep sleep amid the dull, monotonous sound of the rain.
Meanwhile, in the Salt House...
A Saltrock suddenly erupted with a dazzling light...
(End of Chapter)
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