Chapter 23: Chickens
Chapter 23: Chickens
"Eevee, Ninetales, Pikachu?"
Chris paused for a moment before shaking her head. "Sorry, I haven't seen any of them around here. The forest near the carpentry shop is home to Pokemon like Spinarak, Nincada, and Budew."
"I see," Naoki replied, a hint of disappointment in his voice. However, he also understood that some things couldn't be rushed, and he was confident that he would eventually encounter these Pokemon on his future adventures.
Time flew by, and three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Today was the day the chicken coop would be completed.
Naoki stood in front of the small structure, built with a combination of wood and stone. He peered inside, taking in the details of the enclosure.
The coop wasn't very large. The floor was covered with a layer of yellowing hay mixed with soil, compacted by a professional machine to form a unique surface.
On the left side of the coop were feeders, with a water trough nearby for the chickens to quench their thirst.
Next to the feeders was the storage area for hay and feed, connected to an external silo.
Indeed, as part of the construction of the chicken coop, Chris had provided a silo free of charge.
The silo was tall and imposing, built with red bricks and stones, making it a striking feature of the ranch.
In one corner of the coop, a pile of thick hay and a hay fork were stacked, alongside a unique circular grass nest surrounded by wooden boards.
"What's that for…?" Naoki asked, curious about the setup.
With the construction complete, the elderly craftsman and the Machamp behind him began loading their tools and the stone crusher onto the truck.
Chris stayed behind to give Naoki a tour of the new chicken coop.
"That's for hatching eggs," she explained, pointing to the circular grass nest. "It's also called an incubator. When you place eggs inside, the mother chickens will automatically go there to incubate them. After some time, baby chicks will hatch.
If you don't want to buy all your chickens from town, hatching your own is a great alternative."
Naoki nodded, understanding the process.
Chris stepped into the coop and continued her explanation. "Every morning, you'll need to bring feed from the silo and fill these wooden troughs. Also, make sure to keep the water trough filled with fresh water. The chicks will feed themselves.
However, it's important to note that while you can be generous with the feed, you must never skimp on it. If the chicks don't eat enough, they'll be unhappy, and that will affect the quality of the eggs they lay.
Additionally, on sunny days, you can open the door of the coop and let the chicks out to roam, but be sure to enclose the area with a fence. We don't want any chicks wandering off and getting lost."
Naoki nodded, committing all of Chris's instructions to memory.
A wooden fence… he could certainly make one himself, although he lacked experience in that area.
Sensing his concern, Chris offered a solution. "Actually, my shop just finished making a new batch of wooden fences. If you need it, I can help set up a fence around the entrance of the chicken coop."
"How much?" Naoki asked, a bit hesitant.
"Not much," Chris replied. "Just 1,500 Pokedollars."
Hearing the reasonable price, Naoki breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't gone fishing much in the past few days and had very little to show for it. After building the chicken coop, he was left with around 16,000 Pokedollars.
He would need to use some of that money to buy chicks later in the afternoon, so an expensive fence would have required careful consideration. But 1,500 Pokedollars was well within his budget.
Without hesitation, Naoki paid the amount, and Chris waved to the two Machamp, who began unloading the wooden fence from the truck with their muscular arms.
Naoki: "..."
Kishu took the hammer from the elderly craftsman and, with Aura's help, used the wooden fence to enclose the chicken coop.
As the last panel was hammered into the ground, she pointed to the area directly across from the coop's entrance and said,
"You can build a hydropower mill there. With it, you can grind your own flour and make chicken feed. It's not expensive, only 15,000 Pokedollars, and we'll help prepare the necessary materials and facilities."
Naoki: "..."
He suddenly realized that Kishu had planned everything in greater detail than he had, leaving him momentarily speechless.
Seeing his expression, Kishu's face lit up with a merchant's smile. "When you're ready, come find me at the carpentry shop! See you later!"
With that, she climbed into the truck, driven by Aura, who had learned driving skills, and they left the ranch.
Naoki watched as the truck disappeared from view before turning towards the newly built chicken coop on his ranch.
Regardless, the chicken coop was complete, and it was time for him to embark on his poultry farming endeavor!
That afternoon, Naoki left Motor Lizard to watch over the ranch while he rode Golurk to Rustboro Town, a promise he had made to Golurk earlier.
Golurk was thrilled and almost seemed to fly down the narrow country road.
It was much faster than Motor Lizard, and in less than ten minutes, it had brought Naoki to Rustboro Town.
Golurk transformed into its running form, with four limbs on the ground, and kept pace alongside Naoki.
Occasionally, trainers with their Pokemon passed by on the street, so people weren't too surprised by the situation. However, curious glances were occasionally directed at Golurk, a Pokemon they hadn't seen before.
After all, it was new to them.
Naoki ignored the stares and quickly made his way to the town's ranch.
Although it was called a ranch, it didn't focus on livestock farming. Instead, it mainly sold regular animals and ranch Pokemon.
Due to the nature of these sales differing from the black market's Pokemon trades, the League permitted this type of transaction openly.
The ranch was named Happy Ranch, and its sign depicted a grinning Miltank with an open mouth.
Naoki entered with Golurk, and inside, they found a kind-faced, white-haired elderly man who was wearing reading glasses and looking down at a newspaper in his hands.
Hearing their footsteps, the old man looked up and was startled by Golurk's massive shadow.
But upon seeing Naoki beside Golurk, he relaxed and patted his chest, exhaling, "You startled me. I thought a wild Pokemon had barged into the store! Are you here to buy ranch animals?"
Naoki was a little surprised. "How did you know?"
Pride shone on the old man's face. "Of course! Mayor Thomas told me recently that a new rancher had moved into town, and that must be you, right?"
Naoki nodded slightly. "It's me."
"Ha ha!" The old man laughed. "My guess was right!"
He folded the newspaper and set it aside, then stood up and led the way, saying,
"In that case, follow me to the back ranch and see what animals and Pokemon you need!"
(End of Chapter)
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