Chapter 180: Popcorn Explosion
Chapter 180: Popcorn Explosion
The Nine-Tails had been sleeping for a long time. In its dreams, it laughed and cried, its emotions fluctuating between joy and sorrow, as if it had returned to those beautiful and innocent times of the past.
Naoki and the group of Pokemon by its side watched with complicated feelings. Seeing the graceful girl in a kimono from their memories now as an elderly woman with wrinkles, white hair, and a stooped back, they couldn't help but be moved by the passage of time.
… No wonder the Nine-Tails had been so sad, willing to travel far and wide just to see that person again.
However, it seemed that the Nine-Tails had finally fulfilled its wish.
When it woke up, its face had regained its calm and silent expression, but there was a hint of gentleness in its eyes that hadn't been there before.
It got up from under the tree, its nine tails shimmering in the sunlight as it walked over and solemnly expressed its gratitude to Naoki.
"I will never forget this day," it said.
"It was nothing, really," Naoki quickly shook his head and waved his hands dismissively. "I'm just glad I could help."
Then he asked, "Where will you go now?"
At this question, the Nine-Tails looked into the distance. It didn't give a direct answer, simply saying, "Where I need to go."
Naoki was slightly taken aback but nodded in understanding. "Well, then. We wish you a safe journey."
It was just a shame that the tavern wasn't built yet. The Nine-Tails would have been its first guest.
Naoki felt a twinge of regret at this thought.
The Nine-Tails looked at the human before it with grateful eyes and gave a slight nod. Then, it threw back its head and let out a melodious call. With flames under its feet, it ran towards the distant horizon and eventually disappeared from sight.
Naoki gazed in that direction, his heart filled with emotion. But when he turned back, he saw the group of Pokemon on the ranch looking at him with tearful eyes.
Naoki: "..."
The Mini Dragons and Hakutens had never seen a Pokemon like the Nine-Tails before, nor had they met their own trainers or experienced such deep and heartfelt emotions.
Yet, this did not stop them from being touched by what they had witnessed.
The three Mini Dragons and two Hakutens had shining tears in their eyes. They were moved by the profound bond between the Nine-Tails and the human, and they envied the Nine-Tails for having found such a wonderful human companion.
Relating this to themselves, these five young Pokemon looked at Naoki pitifully, wondering if they would ever share such a deep connection with him.
"Hmm?"
Naoki thought for a moment, wanting to say something.
But before he could answer, the Aerodactyl by his side clenched its fist, its knuckles cracking.
Determined, its knuckles were definitely determined.
"Roar!"
With a serious expression, it marched forward and dragged away these five pesky juniors, telling them that Naoki was its trainer and that they could only direct their affections towards it, the one and only Aerodactyl!
Naoki: "..."
He could only say, "The most important thing in life is to learn to live in the moment and enjoy the present."
The group of Pokemon listened with half-understanding.
Naoki spread his hands helplessly. "Don't you think the future is too far away? If we spend every day anxious about the future, won't we be wasting this precious time?"
"Whether happy or sad, it's still a day. Why not spend each day happily?"
"So, don't worry about the future. I promise you, each one of you is special to me in your own way," Naoki said sincerely.
For some reason, he suddenly felt like his words resembled those of a heartless casanova.
Because all living beings could get jealous, just like the cats and dogs he had cared for in his past life.
Pokemon may be smarter, but they weren't exempt from this trait.
For now, he just wanted them to know that each of them held a unique place in his heart, as that was truly how he felt.
True to his words, the group of Pokemon were visibly moved after hearing this.
Naoki: "..." This won't do. He'd have to start researching longevity-enhancing dishes!
The Nine-Tails was gone, and the ranch returned to its usual bustling atmosphere, as if the legendary Pokemon had never been there.
Due to the Nine-Tails' visit, Naoki had missed this year's fishing competition.
He heard about what happened afterward from Evan. The champion had been a dark horse—a middle-aged man wearing a red and white hat. In just four hours, he had caught twenty-eight Magikarp, securing the top spot in the fishing competition.
People nicknamed him "Magikarp Man." After his surprising victory, he continued on his journey with a cheerful smile.
The next morning, Kishu continued her work on the ranch construction.
Meanwhile, Naoki began a new round of crop planting.
With the pleasant weather, he planned to expand the farming area and plant more hops.
Early in the morning, Naoki arrived at the mole's hole and shouted inside.
Soon, a tiny Diglett poked its head out, looking at him with curiosity.
"Dig?"
Naoki smiled and said, "I have a task for you today."
At these words, Diglett's eyes lit up.
Ever since it was hired by Naoki, it had been living in the underground cave with the group of Salandit, enjoying the delicious food prepared by Naoki every day.
Diglett was deeply grateful, and it diligently awaited its boss's calls, eager to contribute in any way it could.
However, it had been waiting for a long time without any tasks from Naoki, and it felt ashamed to keep eating his food.
So, when it heard that there was something for it to do, Diglett immediately became excited.
"Digga!"
Seeing Diglett's enthusiasm, Naoki raised an eyebrow.
Was this little Diglett so passionate about work?
But for him, it seemed like a good thing.
So, Naoki brought Diglett to the plot of land he intended to develop and said, "This is the spot. I want to ask you to till the soil here so I can plant more crops."
Diglett immediately understood.
It eagerly dug into the ground, turning into a small mound that moved swiftly.
The soil tilled by Diglett visibly softened at a rapid pace, emitting a pleasant earthy fragrance.
In no time, a neatly tilled field appeared before Naoki.
Looking at the transformed land, Naoki was very satisfied.
It seemed that Diglett's species was indeed efficient at their work, which explained why they were so welcomed by farmers.
"Hmm, next up is setting up the trellis and planting the hops," Naoki thought to himself.
The previous batch of hops had already been harvested and stored away for future brewing.
However, the amount he had wasn't quite enough, so Naoki planned to expand the scale of his hop garden.
It was almost noon by the time Diglett finished tilling the entire field.
With the scorching heat, it was already exhausted and drenched in sweat. Seeing this, Naoki fed it a bottle of juice milk and then asked it to rest in the cool underground until the afternoon.
Diglett obediently agreed and quickly scurried into the underground passage.
Naoki, on the other hand, returned to the house and glanced at the old-fashioned wall clock. Realizing it was already late, he decided to prepare lunch first and work on building the trellis for the hops in the afternoon.
Today's lunch was again sandwiches, grilled meat patties, and juice milk. However, due to the hot weather, Naoki also added refreshing dishes like chilled watermelon and cream ice slushies to the menu for the Pokemon.
It's worth mentioning that he had also tried cooking with the previously harvested pumpkins, pineapples, onions, and other vegetables and fruits.
But the results weren't ideal.
Without the ability to change the size and the glowing effect, the dishes made from ordinary pumpkins and pineapples only provided recovery and energy-boosting effects.
This left Naoki feeling quite disappointed, thinking that perhaps his cooking technique wasn't up to par.
However, most of the crops had been sold to save up for the house construction, leaving him with only one or two of each type, which wasn't enough for proper experimentation.
"Maybe I'll have to wait until the next batch of crops matures to try again," Naoki mused to himself.
The afternoon sun was blazing, and Naoki had no desire to work outdoors in the heat. So, he and the group of Pokemon lounged in the air-conditioned room, watching TV.
A cooking show was on, and the host was teaching viewers how to make a delicious and popular snack for children—popcorn.
Watching this, Naoki suddenly remembered that the corn in his field was also close to maturity.
He noticed the Pokemon beside him were captivated by the popcorn on the screen, and he couldn't help but feel a bit speechless.
He provided them with delicious food every day, yet they still seemed so greedy...
However, they probably hadn't tasted popcorn before. Since they had some free time after lunch, Naoki went to the cornfield, plucked a few ears of corn, and asked the muscular Gurdurr to help remove the kernels. After cleaning them, he began to make popcorn, following the instructions from the cooking show.
The sound startled the Pokemon behind him, and they gathered around, curious about the commotion in the pan.
Ordinary corn kernels swelled and burst, transforming into golden popcorn.
The popping sounds grew louder, like a string of firecrackers going off in the pan, rapid and relentless.
Gradually, the popping slowed, and the corn kernels disappeared, replaced by plump, fragrant popcorn.
Naoki lifted the lid, and a whole potful of "chubby" popcorn eagerly emerged.
Seeing this, Naoki mentally cursed; he had put in too much corn! He quickly grabbed a prepared bowl to catch the overflowing popcorn and emptied the pan into it.
He glanced at the aromatic popcorn.
Instantly, information about the popcorn appeared in Naoki's mind.
[Explosive Popcorn (B)
: A simple snack made from corn. When paired with cola, it's the perfect combo for a movie night.
Dish Effect: Explosion Specialization lv1. When fed to a Pokemon, their explosion-type moves will be enhanced, increasing their power.
Evaluation: A delightful snack that's very popular with children.]
"Hmm? Explosion specialization?"
Naoki immediately began recalling explosion-related moves in his mind.
First was the infamous Self-Destruct...
This move was almost like a suicide attack, causing an explosion that damaged all Pokemon in battle, but left the user on the brink of death.
Then there were stronger variations like Explosion, Head Charge, and Steam Explosion.
If moves with "explosion" in the name counted, there was also Flare Blitz, Metal Burst, and the mythical Z-move, Genesis Supernova...
While they sounded useful, they weren't that practical for the Pokemon he currently had with him.
Wait a minute!
Not all of them were useless.
Naoki suddenly remembered the description of Golurk's signature move.
All-Out Pummeling: While transforming, it violently slams into the target, causing an ancient explosion. If it hits a weakness, the power increases even further.
Now, the question was, could this move be classified as an explosion-type move?
There was only one way to find out.
Naoki thought as he handed over the steaming hot popcorn to the group of Pokemon.
He wanted to see for himself if the popcorn had any effect, so he called out to Golurk after it had eaten some.
"Agas?"
Golurk emerged, looking confused.
Naoki led it to a grassy area and said, "Show me your All-Out Pummeling one more time."
Golurk blinked, unsure why Naoki suddenly wanted to see this move, but it complied.
Naoki stood still, holding his breath.
Golurk spread its arms and leaped into the air. The colorful feathers on its head transformed into wings, and as it descended, it morphed and slammed into the ground with ferocious force.
"BOOM!"
The ground shook with a massive explosion. Naoki felt the earth tremble beneath his feet, and his ears rang with the reverberation. A cloud of dust obscured his vision.
Naoki accidentally inhaled some of the dust and coughed a couple of times, his eyes anxiously fixed on Golurk.
As the dust settled, Golurk stood in a massive crater, its expression confused and perplexed.
What happened? It had clearly held back its strength.
When Naoki saw the crater, he gasped and felt his vision darken as he nearly fainted on the spot.
It was the grass he had just trimmed!
Damn it! He had underestimated the destructive power of a legendary Pokemon! But who could blame him? Golurk was a highly enigmatic Pokemon.
Who would've thought that this Pokemon, similar in appearance to a Motostoke Drednaw, was a cover legendary like Groudon and Kyogre?
"Hold on, hold on," Naoki forced himself to focus on Golurk's move. "Looks like your All-Out Pummeling was enhanced by the popcorn."
"Agas?!?" Golurk was initially startled but then realized what must have happened. "Agas."
(End of Chapter)
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