https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-134-The-Laziness-of-the-Riding-Goat/12537145/
Chapter 133: Summer Nights and Fireflies
Chapter 133: Summer Nights and Fireflies
Naoki turned around and headed back to the wooden cabin, intending to freeze some ice cubes in the refrigerator with ice molds. That way, he wouldn't have to trouble his Ice Eevee for ice all the time.
On his way back, Naoki spotted Motu Lizard practicing moves with Gorloton after finishing its cream slushie.
He paused and stood beside Gorloton, watching the diligent Motu Lizard intently.
It had to be said that Gorloton was an excellent teacher, and Motu Lizard was an attentive student.
Naoki had been observing the interactions between these two Pokemon.
Initially, Gorloton didn't seem too interested in teaching Motu Lizard.
And Motu Lizard felt intimidated by Gorloton's fierce and menacing appearance.
Despite this, Motu Lizard persevered.
Witnessing its determination, Gorloton's attitude gradually softened, and it began to teach with more dedication.
The move they were practicing seemed to be Dragon Pulse.
It was a Special Attack that involved channeling the dragon-type energy within the body to the mouth and then releasing it all at once toward the enemy.
Gorloton's teaching method was direct and simple. It first demonstrated the move and then had Motu Lizard follow its actions.
However, from Motu Lizard's perspective, it could only see Gorloton releasing the Dragon Pulse but couldn't quite grasp how to do it itself.
As a result, Motu Lizard struggled to find the knack of this move.
Naoki watched from the sidelines for a while before offering a suggestion: "Try concentrating the dragon-type energy in your body into your mouth?"
Hearing this, Gorloton let out an exasperated cry, "Ah Ga-si..."
It had already explained this technique to Motu Lizard, but the latter, being its past self, was indeed a bit slow on the uptake.
"Ga-oh?"
Motu Lizard blinked and tried again.
It gathered all the dragon-type energy in its body into its mouth, causing its cheeks to puff out from the excess energy.
"That's it! Spit it out!" Naoki encouraged.
Motu Lizard tried with all its might to expel the energy, but it failed, and the energy was swallowed back into its stomach.
Motu Lizard opened its mouth wide, as if it had burped, releasing a puff of air.
Naoki: "..."
Gorloton: "..."
It was simply too embarrassing to watch.
Motu Lizard's face turned red, and its eyes glistened with unshed tears, looking like it was about to cry.
"Ga-oh..."
"It's okay, don't rush. Take your time," Naoki reassured, stepping forward to comfort it.
Motu Lizard nodded and resumed its diligent practice.
Naoki stood by and watched for a while before leaving Gorloton and Motu Lizard to their training. He returned to the cabin to continue with his own tasks.
On the grass, Gorloton continued to guide Motu Lizard in learning the move.
As it watched the diligent Motu Lizard, Gorloton's mind gradually drifted back to its past self.
It reminisced about many things, and perhaps, when it was a Motu Lizard itself, that other Gorloton had looked at it with the same eyes.
When it was about to fall into the time machine, the other Gorloton had rushed over to stop it, but failed.
Maybe, just maybe, that Gorloton had also accepted it in its heart back then?
Gorloton was a bit confused. Sometimes, it couldn't even tell if it was Gorloton or Motu Lizard.
Although it didn't understand what was happening, as long as it could return to Naoki's side, that was enough.
Watching its past self studying earnestly, Gorloton thought that perhaps it hadn't been that foolish after all?
Wait a moment!
If it and Motu Lizard were the same individual, then did that mean that all this time, it had been despising itself?
Gorloton suddenly realized this fact.
It couldn't help but think that maybe it should be kinder to itself and, together with Naoki, help its past self become as smart and sensible as it was now.
---
The starry sky on a summer night was always so beautiful.
As usual, Aerodactyl lay on the grass, gazing at the stars above.
The gentle evening breeze caressed its body, feeling like a soothing massage from Naoki.
Aerodactyl felt utterly relaxed.
Suddenly, a rustling sound approached from the side.
Aerodactyl turned its head and saw Motu Lizard walking over.
Its mind recalled how Motu Lizard had been practicing moves with Gorloton these past few days, and it remembered how Motu Lizard had expressed its fear of Gorloton previously.
Aerodactyl asked curiously, "Roar?" (Are you no longer afraid of Gorloton?)
Motu Lizard shook its head, looking a bit confused. "Ga-oh... " (I don't know why, but it doesn't seem as scary anymore...)
Aerodactyl seemed pleased.
It still couldn't figure out Dragon Pulse.
"Roar..." Aerodactyl shook its head, indicating that it didn't know how to do it either.
The two Pokemon sat there in silence, looking forlorn on the grass.
Just then, Naoki finished washing up and stepped out to check on the chicken coop. As he passed by, he spotted Aerodactyl and Motu Lizard.
"I was wondering why I didn't see you two inside. So, you came out here to stargaze?" Naoki smiled as he walked over and sat down beside them. "What's wrong? You both look so glum."
"Ga-oh..."
Seeing Motu Lizard's expression, Naoki guessed, "Is it because you still can't use Dragon Pulse?"
Motu Lizard nodded, its face filled with dejection.
Naoki offered comfort, "Don't worry too much. Maybe you just haven't found the knack yet. Keep trying, and one day you'll surely understand it and become as strong as Gorloton."
"Ga-oh?" Motu Lizard tilted its head, looking curious.
Talking about Gorloton reminded Naoki of a folk tale. He smiled and shared it with Motu Lizard, "By the way, there's a deep connection between you and Gorloton. Some urban legends say that Gorloton is what you looked like in the past."
Motu Lizard looked perplexed, not understanding a word.
Naoki thought for a moment and explained, "It means how you looked a long, long time ago."
"Apart from Gorloton, there's Miltank. It's said that Miltank is how you'll look a long time from now. One is from the past, the other from the future, and you are the present."
"Ga-oh?" Motu Lizard was even more confused.
This made it think of the evolutions of the Pokemon on the ranch.
Then a question popped into its head—could it evolve into Gorloton and Miltank? At this thought, Motu Lizard's eyes lit up.
If it evolved, would it become as strong as Gorloton? Naoki felt that Motu Lizard might have misunderstood something, but he didn't dwell on it. He simply patted Motu Lizard's head and said, "It's fine if you don't understand. The eras they live in are too distant for us to comprehend."
Hearing this, Aerodactyl, who was sitting beside them, couldn't help but ask, "Roar?"
What about it? Did Aerodactyl also have past and future forms? Although he couldn't understand Aerodactyl's words, Naoki could guess the gist from its expression and eyes.
He was about to shake his head when he suddenly recalled the enormous Aerodactyl shrouded in mist that had once appeared near Mitsugu's lighthouse in the anime.
There was a rumor that this massive Aerodactyl was an Ancient Aerodactyl, similar to the three Ancient Pokemon sealed in the mountains behind Masara Town—Ancient Jigglypuff, Ancient Gengar, and Ancient Geodude.
With this in mind, Naoki replied, "Maybe."
Just then, other Pokemon started gathering around.
Butterfree, Diglett, Spritzee, and Gorloton...
Butterfree had seen Naoki sitting on the grass stargazing and flew over to join him.
As for Diglett, Gorloton, and Spritzee, they had grown tired of waiting for Naoki to return to the house and went out to look for him.
Naoki looked at them all and continued answering Aerodactyl's question, "Perhaps a long, long time ago, Aerodactyl had bodies as huge as mountains."
Bodies as huge as mountains... How terrifyingly powerful would that be? Aerodactyl widened its eyes, imagining such a scene.
Naoki sat on the grass, smiling as he enjoyed this tranquil summer night with his Pokemon companions.
He looked at the empty grass and felt something was missing, so he went back inside to fetch a picnic blanket, which he spread out. Then he placed various snacks on it.
Lucky Pudding, Berries, Strawberry Milk, Berry Juice, Honey Bread, Sandwiches, Cream Slushies, and Grass Dumplings...
Naoki asked Spritzee to call everyone over.
Spritzee happily agreed.
Soon enough, Eievui, Gogoat, Lickilicky, Lickitung, Audino, Minun, and Combee had all gathered on the soft grass.
Eievui's eyes were fixed on the cream slushy on the picnic blanket, its expression clearly showing how much it wanted to eat it.
Noticing this, Naoki handed the cup to Eievui and took the opportunity to ruffle its head affectionately.
"Bu yi~"
The Ice Eevee lowered its head and quietly began to lap up the cream slushie with its tiny tongue.
Naoki then took out some grass dumplings from the picnic basket.
The three Riding Mountain Goats, enticed by the smell, immediately shuffled over.
Naoki stroked their soft fur as he fed them the grass dumplings.
"Hmm, maybe I can use this grass to make some other dishes," Naoki thought.
Ideas like grass ice cream, grass pie, and grass cake popped into his mind.
Since he already had all the equipment needed for baking cakes at home, Naoki decided to try making a grass cake the next day to give the Riding Mountain Goats a change of flavor.
"Meeeh!"
At that moment, as if sensing his thoughts, the three Riding Mountain Goats suddenly looked happy and licked him with their tongues, which still carried a faint grassy scent.
Startled by their actions, Naoki quickly withdrew his hand from their horns.
Soon, he realized that the Riding Mountain Goats had sensed his thoughts through his hand!
This was the special ability of the Riding Mountain Goats.
By butting horns, they could sense each other's feelings and even read their trainer's thoughts through subtle differences in how they were being petted.
Naoki asked in surprise, "You sensed my feelings?"
The Riding Mountain Goats narrowed their eyes happily. "Meeeh~"
"What good boys!" Naoki said as he patted the middle one, the same one that had battled Gorloton and was the leader of the other two.
After evolving from Riding Kid to Riding Mountain Goat, it had won a horn-butting contest and thus become the leader.
After finishing the grass dumplings, the three Riding Mountain Goats lay down nearby.
Naoki then turned his attention to the Big Milk Can rolling around not far away.
This Big Milk Can had a lively and active personality, and its signature move was 'Rollout'.
Watching its movements, Naoki suddenly had an idea for a traditional snack that could enhance the Big Milk Can's rolling move—a donkey roll.
The question was, could this snack be used to strengthen the Big Milk Can's rolling technique?
"I'll try making it some other time," Naoki thought to himself, making plans for the future.
He ate a Lucky Pudding and then started playing with the Saltax that had come over, Saltrock and Saltsow.
First, he stacked Saltax on top of each other and then placed them all on Saltsow's body.
Naoki tilted his head as he watched Saltsow, suddenly feeling that this Pokemon's art style was very different from that of the others.
It was very blocky and didn't look like a creature from the Pokemon world; instead, it looked like it belonged in the game 'Minecraft'.
At that moment, the Butterfree beside him seemed to have noticed something and exclaimed, "Beedrill!"
Naoki turned his head, following Butterfree's gaze to the small river flowing slowly in the night, now illuminated by scattered yellow-green lights.
They danced gently on the river, in the quiet night.
Those were... fireflies?
Naoki was surprised because fireflies were supposed to appear in July and August.
But soon he realized that the climate in this world was very different from his previous life, with distinct seasons and a warm, humid climate year-round due to the ranch's proximity to the sea. So, it wasn't strange for fireflies to appear.
Gradually, more and more fireflies gathered by the river, forming a beautiful galaxy that flowed slowly in the night.
"Mama~"
Milktank was stunned by this sight and let out a soft murmur.
The other Pokemon also turned their heads in unison.
Naoki couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, it's so beautiful!"
In his previous life, he had always been busy in the city and never had the chance to see such a sight.
Perhaps, this was the charm of nature?
Beautiful and yet so approachable.
Not just them, but even the group of Slowpokes on the other side of the river had noticed this magical scene.
One of the Slowpokes tilted its head, wanting to reach out with its paw to touch the fireflies.
But before it could reach them, it fell into the river with a plop and then climbed out, looking bedraggled.
The Slowpoke didn't seem to mind the river water on its body as it continued to stare at the fireflies above.
Obviously, it, too, was captivated by this beautiful sight.
Watching them, Naoki couldn't help but think that perhaps, in this regard, humans and Pokemon were not so different.
Whether human or Pokemon, they were all a part of nature.
(End of Chapter)
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