Chapter 175: Melon Thieves in the Moonlit Night
Chapter 175: Melon Thieves in the Moonlit Night
In the evening, Naoki set up camp under the starry sky with his group of Pokemon.
During the summer days, while the weather was sweltering, the nights brought a pleasant coolness. Stars twinkled above, and the deep grass rustled with the song of unseen insects.
Naoki lay on his side, his head pillowed on his arm, gazing up at the heavens while his Pokemon companions lounged around him. Several tiny Dratinis curled up on his stomach, their eyes drooping sleepily, tired out from their playful antics during the day.
"You know," Naoki began, his eyes fixed on the starry expanse above, "they say that Pokemon called Clefairy live up there. Long ago, they traveled to our planet in spaceships."
Tyranitar was intrigued, while the others were less interested but politely turned their attention to their trainer.
"Garchomp?"
"Tyrantrum?"
"It's just something I heard," Naoki said with a shrug. "But I can assure you that beyond Clefairy, there are other powerful Pokemon dwelling in the vastness of space."
Like Deoxys.
Tyrantrum immediately showed keen interest. "Tyrantrum?" (Can I see them?)
Naoki pondered for a moment. "Maybe someday."
It was still early days, and human technology had not yet advanced to the point of extensive space exploration. Their journey into the cosmos was likely just beginning.
He thought of the Mossdeep Space Center in Hoenn's Mossdeep City, the very place where humans launched their exploration of the universe.
Tyrantrum's excitement was palpable.
Next to it, a Burmy expressed shock at the capabilities of humans. To it, the concept of exploring the infinite vastness of space was unimaginable, having spent its life in the wild.
"Wormadam..." It couldn't hide its awe.
Naoki chuckled. "Don't underestimate humans."
As the Pokemon turned their curious gazes upon him, Naoki continued, "They may not possess the abilities you have, but they have intelligent minds and dexterous hands, capable of creating all sorts of amazing machines."
"In fact," he added, "there are numerous powerful Pokemon who have fallen to human ingenuity. Like the Sea God, Lugia, who governs ocean currents and monsoons, or Raikou, known as the Incarnation of Lightning..."
Naoki's thoughts turned to Mewtwo. "And that's not all. Humans can also use advanced techniques to create incredibly powerful Legendary Pokemon."
"Vespiquen?" The Combee inquired eagerly.
"Mewtwo," Naoki replied, a hint of awe in his voice.
As the night deepened, the insects in the grass fell silent, leaving only the gentle evening breeze and the luminous moonlight illuminating the ranch.
Across the river, six Goldeen were captivated by the nearby farm, their eyes gleaming with desire.
The scent of ripe fruits was irresistible, and the Goldeen couldn't help but drool.
The fragrance seemed to take form, like a pair of large, white hands beckoning them with enticingly curled fingers.
Finally, one of the Goldeen couldn't resist any longer.
It gracefully leaped into the water and swam across, soon followed by the other five, their curiosity getting the better of them. They mimicked their companion, tilting their heads in confusion before joining the foray.
Quietly, they made their way into the farm, each one fixating on a different delicacy. One found a watermelon and, after a moment's hesitation, rammed its head into the fruit, splitting it open. It happily buried its face in the juicy treat.
The others soon joined in, plucking corn cobs, tussling with a pineapple, and getting lost in a vast field of sunflowers, their mournful cries echoing through the night as they tried to find their way out.
Naoki and his sleeping Pokemon were startled awake by the piercing cries that cut through the night sky.
He bolted upright, his eyes widening as he took in the scene before him. For a moment, he was at a loss for words.
The moonlit night, the melon field, and the little thieves...
Should he pay his respects to the Skitty with a fork?
Caught red-handed, the Goldeen panicked, scurrying about with their heads tucked under their fins, trampling flowers and crops in their haste.
Naoki's eyebrows furrowed, and with a sweeping gesture, he roused the Pokemon by his side into action.
In no time, the intruders were rounded up and brought before him.
Facing the six Goldeen, heads tucked under their fins and looking rather sheepish, Naoki wondered if they could even understand his words.
After a long pause, he asked flatly, "What are you doing?"
"Gol! Gol gol gol!"
His question seemed to startle them even more, and they began spinning in circles, their eyes wide with something akin to fear.
Tilting their heads at each other, one of them reached out and slapped the other.
The other mimicked its action, and with two crisp slaps, both Slowpoke tilted their heads in confusion, looking at each other as if they had forgotten what had just happened.
Naoki: "..."
These guys aren't a bunch of idiots, are they?
But then he recalled the information about Slowpoke as a Pokemon species, and he found it understandable.
You see, Slowpoke occasionally generate uncontrollable psychic powers in their brains, which cause them headaches and tears. This constant headache is a nagging issue for them.
The more intense the headache, the stronger the psychic power, and when they can no longer withstand it, the power explodes outward.
During these episodes, the nagging headache seems to temporarily subside, but perhaps due to the influence of their psychic powers, they don't retain any memory of what transpired.
This peculiar behavior has puzzled Pokemon scholars for many years.
Because using their psychic powers causes them pain, Slowpoke tend to avoid doing anything at all, passing their days in a daze. Coupled with their perpetually blank expressions, they give off the impression of being rather unintelligent and dopey.
What was Naoki to do with these Pokemon?
Scolding them didn't feel right, but neither did letting them off the hook.
After some contemplation, Naoki instructed Garchomp to catch them and send them one by one across the river.
Garchomp obediently carried out the task, while Naoki went into the fields to gather the crops that had been trampled by the Slowpoke, handing them over to Garchomp to feed to the Slowpoke.
The Slowpoke, of course, were incredibly grateful, sitting on the opposite riverbank and burying their faces in the juicy watermelons.
The next morning, all the crops in the fields were ripe.
After milking his goat mount, Naoki donned a straw hat and ventured into the scorching sun to begin harvesting the crops.
The last time he had cultivated this land, he had cleared a large area, and now, with all the crops ripe, he and Garchomp felt a bit overwhelmed by the workload.
Just then, Naoki noticed the group of Slowpoke on the opposite riverbank, staring longingly at them.
A bold idea popped into his mind.
What if... he hired these Slowpoke to help with the harvest, just like he had done with Diglett before?
All he would need to do is provide them with some food.
There was an abundance of crops growing in the fields, far more than a few Slowpoke could ever eat.
The more Naoki thought about it, the more he liked the idea. So, he called over Garchomp and whispered his plan into its ear.
Upon hearing the plan, Garchomp didn't look too surprised.
It nodded and then walked straight to the riverbank, beginning to communicate with the group of Slowpoke.
Naoki didn't know what they were saying, but before long, he saw the Slowpoke cross the river and join Garchomp on their side.
Intrigued, Naoki watched the group of dopey Slowpoke before him, observing their behavior. Seeing that they didn't seem bothered by headaches, he asked, "Do you all understand?"
"Slow!" they replied.
Garchomp commanded, "Gar!"
Instantly, the Slowpoke sprang into action.
They waddled into the fields, and soon emerged carrying various fruits and vegetables, which they piled onto the grass.
Naoki was pleasantly surprised to see them working so efficiently, and he raised his eyebrows in astonishment.
They learned so fast?!
He had thought it was a good idea, but soon, a problem arose.
As one Slowpoke attempted to lift a large watermelon, it realized it didn't have the strength, so it decided to resort to using its psychic powers.
But as the light in its eyes began to glow, the Slowpoke felt an intense pain in its brain, as if someone was squeezing its head.
"Slow!" it cried out, falling onto its backside and clutching its head with its hands. Beads of sweat even formed on its forehead.
Naoki was startled by this display and quickly rushed over to check on the Slowpoke.
"It must have stimulated its brain when it tried to use its psychic powers," he mused.
After a moment of thought, Naoki instructed the Garchomp beside him, "Help me take care of these Slowpoke, and make sure they don't use their psychic powers."
With that, Naoki mounted Garchomp and rode at top speed to the Pokemon Center in Mossdeep City, where he purchased a box of special medicine from Nurse Joy to treat the Slowpoke's headaches.
After feeding the medicine to the Slowpoke, they returned to their dopey state.
Naoki: "..."
He suddenly regretted his decision.
Not only had they not helped with the work, but he had also ended up spending money on the medicine.
Dragonite immediately carried the watermelons across the river.
The Slowpoke tilted their heads, their attention drawn to the Dragonite carrying the watermelons, and then they all hopped and skipped towards the other side of the river.
"The Diglett are so well-behaved," Naoki commented.
Hearing this, the few Hackragon and Miniragon that had smuggled themselves from Dragonite Island flew over.
"Wrum!"
Naoki: "You guys are well-behaved too, but remember, don't go into the Diglett holes again. You'll just get stuck and have a hard time getting out."
Thinking about the embarrassing situation they had gotten themselves into, the Miniragon felt ashamed and turned away, refusing to face him.
Dragonite watched this scene with amusement.
It wanted these Miniragon and Hackragon to quickly return to Dragonite Island.
So, when it saw the Miniragon's reaction, Dragonite quickly ran over and asked, "Wrum?"
It was offering to help them get back to Dragonite Island if they wanted to return.
The Miniragon stole a glance at Naoki and shouted, "Wrum!"
It was saying, "I'm angry! I want to go home!"
Unfortunately, due to his upset stomach, Naoki hadn't been eating many translated sunflower seeds these days, and he couldn't understand what the Miniragon was saying.
Seeing that Naoki didn't react and was still working with his Coalossal and Thwackey, the Miniragon looked aggrieved, as if it was about to cry any second.
Dragonite inwardly sighed, knowing something was amiss.
Sure enough, the next moment, it saw the Miniragon flying towards Naoki, landing in front of him with a misty gaze in its large eyes.
"What's going on?" Naoki was surprised.
The Miniragon didn't say anything but flew onto his shoulder and wrapped its small body around his neck like a scarf.
Naoki was charmed by the Miniragon's action and gave it a kiss on its white, big nose.
The Pokemon beside them were both surprised and envious.
Seeing the envious expressions on the faces of Coalossal, Thwackey, and Dragonite, Naoki's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly changed the subject, "Back to work! We won't finish in time if we don't hurry!"
He was just joking, of course; he wouldn't dare do something like that to a large Pokemon.
Raising Pokemon was like raising children. You could kiss them when they were young, but once they grew up, you wouldn't be able to do such things anymore.
Although Thwackey was not even a year old, its height had already reached an impressive 1.7 meters, a fact that couldn't be ignored.
Which father would kiss their 1.7-meter-tall child?
Fortunately, the work in the fields was truly busy, and after feeling a bit down, everyone threw themselves into their tasks.
Coalossal, Thwackey, and Dragonite worked together to gather the crops and pile them on the grass, while Naoki, with a basket on his back, started harvesting hops.
He didn't plan on selling these hops but intended to store them for brewing beer.
There were a lot of hops, enough to brew two batches of beer this time.
You could usually harvest hops twice during the summer, which would provide enough for brewing through the autumn and winter seasons.
In addition, the wheat he had previously planted to make malt was also ready for harvest.
Naoki planned to harvest the hops first and then cut the wheat. As for the corn, pineapples, watermelons, and pumpkins, he left those crops to the Pokemon in the ranch.
During the harvest, Naoki kept an eye on the crops, looking for any more mutations.
Unfortunately, it seemed that this batch of crops only produced two types of mutated produce: the 'Size-as-you-wish' pumpkins and the 'Glowing' pineapples.
Feeling a bit disappointed, Naoki also felt that, given the probability, having two mutations was already quite good.
So, when Dr. Olin arrived at the ranch with her Piplup, the first thing she saw was the Coalossal, who was treated as a treasure by the institute, doing farm work.
Dr. Olin's expression was one of shock, as if she had just witnessed something unbelievable.
Previously, she had only heard Naoki talk about how gentle the Coalossal was, but she had never imagined that it would be this docile.
In Dr. Olin's impression, Coalossal, a Pokemon from ancient times, was always wild, fierce, aggressive, domineering, and extremely possessive.
But now, it was actually helping Naoki with farm work! Dr. Olin was left speechless.
Moreover, from the skilled way Coalossal was working, it was clear that it had been helping out with ranch chores quite a bit during its time there...
(End of Chapter)
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