https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-443-Guiding-the-Odd-Tree-Worms-in-the-Apple-Part-1-/12537898/
Chapter 443: Guiding the Odd Tree, Worms in the Apple (Part 2)
Chapter 443: Guiding the Odd Tree, Worms in the Apple (Part 2)
The fireflies that lived in the grass began to stir, their lights twinkling in the fading light.
When night fully descended, the fireflies gathered by the lakeside, illuminating the darkness.
The Pokemon from the ranch all gathered around, happily chasing and playing near the blanket.
Across the river, the group of Golduck sat obediently on the riverbank, cupping their chins with their hands, their eyes transfixed on the fireflies dancing above the water.
Odd also released all her Pokemon.
Electabuzz, Lanturn, Misdreavus, Plusle, Minun, and Electrode.
Having eaten together before, both groups of Pokemon were familiar with each other.
So when they met, Babo the Diglett immediately released a spark of electricity, using the unique way Electric-type Pokemon communicate to greet Minun and the others.
Buzzwole was still curious about Misdreavus, hovering in mid-air as it stared at the ghostly Pokemon without blinking.
Misdreavus was scared by its intense gaze and hid behind a rock.
Odd gazed at this fantastical scene, a feeling she had never experienced before welling up inside her.
Before this, she had visited many scenic spots.
The Million Volt Night View of Nector City, the Grandpot Lake's Grandpot Waterfall, the vast olive orchards in southwestern Padia...
As for the Frost-Covered Hands in Frostcover City, Odd had never been there because she disliked the cold.
But none of those places gave her the feeling she had now.
By the gently flowing river, the fireflies glowed softly as they danced, their reflections shimmering on the clear water, swaying gently with the current.
The peaceful night, the summery chirping of cicadas, the gentle evening breeze...
These were experiences one couldn't find in a big city.
"So beautiful!" Odd murmured, a smile spreading across her face. "Thank you, Naoki!"
Naoki propped himself up on his elbows, gazing up at the fireflies above the river, and said softly,
"I should be the one thanking you."
"Eh?" Odd was taken aback.
Naoki smiled. "Didn't you promote my ranch store in your livestream?"
Odd was completely stunned. "How did you know that?"
She had been so careful!
"Because your fans left messages on my store's bulletin board," Naoki replied, pulling out his Rotom Phone and finding those initial comments.
[Came here because of Odd's livestream! The milk here is delicious, sweet, and fresh, and the Dragonite delivery is super fast! Highly recommended!]
[It's truly amazing. Thanks to Odd, I found this treasure of a store. The vegetables are so fresh, and now my grandma doesn't have to go out shopping anymore. I'll definitely come back!]
And so on.
Odd's face turned bright red; this was so embarrassing.
"Thank you," Naoki said softly.
Odd truly was a kind person! If he remembered correctly, in the anime, Odd, as a livestreamer, often encouraged her fans and motivated them to cheer up.
Odd scratched her head awkwardly.
Just then, Naoki suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, did you take the Orbeetle Taxi here?" he asked.
Odd nodded. "Yup! There are taxi stations in both Nector City and Aroma Town, and you can fly directly here. It's very convenient!"
"How long does it usually take?" Naoki asked.
"Not too long, about six hours or so," Odd estimated carefully.
After all, Aroma Town and Nector City were on opposite ends of the Padia region, one in the far west and the other in the far east, so six hours was already quite fast.
Naoki asked in disbelief, "You took a six-hour taxi ride?"
Odd was puzzled. "Huh? What's wrong?"
Naoki: "..."
That's too slow, no, isn't that too troublesome for a round trip?
"Let Dragonite send you back tomorrow," Naoki said, feeling a headache coming on.
With Dragonite's speed, it could reach Nector City in half an hour, several times faster than Orbeetle.
Now it was Odd's turn to be surprised.
She felt a bit embarrassed. "Won't that be too much trouble?"
"It's no problem. Dragonite needs to make a delivery in Nector City anyway, so you can just ride with it," Naoki said.
"Okay, then. Thanks a lot!" Odd giggled.
Not far away, Gourleton and Motostoke were sitting in the grass.
Motostoke looked at Gourleton, confused. "Gaoh?" (Why can't we go bother Naoki?)
Gourleton's expression turned serious. "Agassi." (Because Naoki has something important to do.)
"Gaoh?"
Something important?
Motostoke immediately became more alert.
Gourleton looked at the two by the river, along with the Pokemon surrounding them, and scenes from the past flashed through its mind.
Its little master, Naoki's child, had once tugged on its arm, asking when it would come back.
Back then, it was still a Motostoke, and it had promised to return soon.
But it never made it back, and its little master never saw it again.
Thinking of this, Gourleton's mood sank.
However, it quickly shook off its gloom and perked up.
Because it had returned, and when it met its little master again, it would definitely say: I'm back.
The next morning, Odd rode Dragonite back to Nector City.
Half an hour after Dragonite left, Naoki received a message from Odd.
[Odd: Thank you, I had a wonderful time yesterday!]
Naoki smiled and replied with a smiling emoji before putting away his phone.
She greeted Naoki and then looked around curiously, her gossip radar tingling. "Where's your little girlfriend?"
Naoki was taken aback by the question. "What little girlfriend?"
But then, something suddenly occurred to him.
Could Clara be talking about Kishu?
Sure enough, Clara continued, "You know, that girl who came to the ranch yesterday!"
Naoki: "..."
"Don't be silly, she came here for a Trial challenge," Naoki shook his head.
However, a smile appeared on Clara's face as she said, "Oh? Is that so? But I noticed the way she looked at you was different!"
Naoki: "..."
What did she mean by 'different'? Could she be talking about Kishu? That didn't seem possible.
Without elaborating further, Clara bid him goodbye and continued her work with the construction Pokemon.
Naoki stood there, baffled.
He tried to make sense of it but eventually gave up. Besides, the video phone inside the house started ringing, distracting him from his thoughts.
Although Rotom Phones had become widespread in this world, video phones had not become obsolete.
Some Trainers didn't own Rotom Phones or had lost theirs, so they relied on the video phones available at local Pokemon Centers to communicate with their friends and family.
The video phone at Naoki's ranch was kept as a public phone for the ranch.
Usually, customers would call to place orders for vegetables, milk, or Tree Fruit.
When Naoki answered the call, a deep, rugged voice came through.
"Hello, is this Naoki's Ranch? I'm the owner of a confectionery store in the neighboring city. Our city is hosting a sweets competition, and I need fresh apples to make apple pies and candies. I'd like to place an order with you!"
"Sure, no problem," Naoki replied after clarifying the customer's needs. He asked the man to send over his location and contact information, assuring him that he would deliver the apples shortly.
Soon, Naoki had the customer's details.
Name: Cliff
Contact Number: 6937394
Address: Shop 3, Blue Bay Street, Bottler City
After hanging up, Naoki used a map app to check the distance between Bottler City and Aroma Town.
It would take about an hour and a half to drive there.
With the location confirmed, Naoki called over a few of his Pokemon assistants to head to the apple orchard across the river to harvest apples.
During this season, the apples in the orchard were plump and round, most of them a vibrant red, looking incredibly tempting.
Apple picking was a simple task, so Naoki had only called over Gourleton and Motostoke to help.
But upon hearing about the task, Eldegoss and Sirfetch'd eagerly volunteered to join in.
Naoki gave them a few cardboard boxes and instructed them to carefully place the picked apples inside.
Eldegoss and Sirfetch'd were quick learners, and they soon got the hang of it, picking apples deftly and packing them neatly.
Seeing that they were doing fine on their own, Naoki turned his attention back to his own work.
Initially, the Pokemon worked smoothly, but soon, a startled cry from Eldegoss caught Naoki's attention. It seemed like something had startled it.
Naoki and the other Pokemon turned to look at Eldegoss.
"What's wrong?" Naoki asked.
Eldegoss pointed at an apple on the tree.
"Gour!"
Following Eldegoss's finger, Naoki spotted an oddly-shaped "apple."
At first glance, it resembled an apple, but upon closer inspection, one could discern the differences.
Large eyes replaced the stem, and a pair of caterpillar tails protruded from holes at the back of the apple, along with two small fang-like markings at the bottom.
Clearly, a worm had infested this apple.
Looking at the peculiar apple, a name immediately popped into Naoki's mind.
Wurmple?
Perhaps startled by Eldegoss's shout, the Wurmple inside the apple quickly retreated, hiding within the apple and staying perfectly still.
Seeing the Wurmple, Naoki's first reaction was one of excitement. He had been anticipating the arrival of Wurmple in his apple orchard for a long time.
After all, mature Wurmple could help with the maturation of Tree Fruit and apples! With their help, the World Tree's orchard would flourish even more.
With this in mind, Naoki reassured Eldegoss, "Don't worry, it's just a Pokemon. Its name is Wurmple, and it's a Pokemon that lives inside apples."
Hearing this, Sirfetch'd's face lit up with curiosity.
Could Pokemon really live inside apples?
Meanwhile, Eldegoss looked terrified.
It was concerned that it might accidentally eat a Wurmple along with an apple one day.
"Gour..." Eldegoss's expression turned gloomy as it thought about this possibility.
Noticing the reactions of the two Pokemon, Naoki explained, "Don't worry, Wurmple doesn't live inside apples from the beginning. After they hatch, they find an apple to hide in and spend their entire lives there.
Dragonic Power, activate!
Being a Dragon-type, the Wurmple immediately sensed a friendly aura.
It paused for a moment, then poked its eyes out of the apple, curiously observing the situation.
Then, the Wurmple noticed the human standing in front of it.
Instinctively, the Wurmple wanted to hide, but soon, it realized that the friendly aura was coming from this human.
"Hello, Wurmple. I'm Naoki, the owner of this orchard. Don't be afraid; no Pokemon here will harm you." Naoki projected his goodwill toward the Wurmple.
The Wurmple regarded the human cautiously. Initially, it was filled with apprehension, worried that the human might eat it.
Immature Wurmples were extremely vulnerable, and various events could lead to their demise.
For example, if they lost the apple they lived in, their bodies would gradually wither as they lost moisture, eventually leading to their death if they couldn't find another apple.
Or, if the apple fell from a height, the Wurmple might be forced out of its home during the fall.
Aside from these accidents, they also had to constantly watch out for bird Pokemon predators.
Sometimes, even Illumise would mistake them for food and carry them back to their nests.
After all, they looked too much like apples.
However, the Wurmple soon sensed a special power emanating from the human in front of it.
It seemed like he was caring for it and even conveying his thoughts to it.
[Don't be afraid. No one here, Pokemon or human, will harm you.]
The Wurmple gradually relaxed its guard.
It knew that no Dragon-type Pokemon could resist the Dragonic Power.
"Alright, then, from now on, feel free to make yourself at home here!" Naoki said.
Once he helped the Wurmple evolve into a Silcoon or another form, the World Tree would have fully grown, and he could send the Wurmple to live there.
For Pokemon, that place would be an absolutely safe haven.
But before that, Naoki had one more thing to do.
"Come on, Wurmple, let me see your trait."
He conveyed his intention to the Wurmple.
The Wurmple listened, looking a bit confused. After a while, it seemed to understand what Naoki meant.
The Wurmple jumped to a slightly unripe apple nearby.
The next second, it released a peculiar wave of energy.
Affected by this wave, the unripe apple began to turn red at a visible rate, eventually becoming a fully ripe, bright red apple.
Witnessing this, two characters immediately popped into Naoki's mind—[Ripen].
This Wurmple's trait was perfectly suited for the orchard's ripening process! Pokemon with this trait could care for trees and help their fruits grow better and faster.
Naoki was delighted, but then he sensed the Wurmple's thoughts through the Dragonic Power.
[I ripened all the apples on this tree!]
"Hmm?" Naoki was surprised. "Really?"
The Wurmple gave an affirmative response.
Seeing this, Naoki turned to examine the apples on this particular tree, comparing them to the apples on the other trees.
Through his observations, he found that the apples on this tree had been ripe for quite some time, and the reason there was still an unripe apple was that the Wurmple hadn't gotten around to ripening it yet.
"Why did you do all this?" Naoki asked curiously.
The Wurmple's thoughts were quickly conveyed to him through the Dragonic Power.
[Because I ate one of your apples, so I wanted to ripen a few more to repay you.]
Naoki hadn't expected this reason.
"Have you been here for a long time?" he asked.
However, the Wurmple indicated that it had only arrived recently but had seen Naoki watering and caring for the trees before, so it knew this place belonged to him.
"I see." Naoki nodded, thinking that this Wurmple was quite thoughtful.
"Since that's the case, feel free to stay here for now! After some time, I'll take you to another place to live, a place without any dangers, where you can help tend to the orchard." Naoki said.
The Wurmple agreed.
Naoki placed it back on the tree, then led his Pokemon assistants to continue their work, packing the apples into boxes and loading them onto the pickup truck.
Once everything was done, Naoki climbed into the driver's seat and set off down the highway with a truckload of apples and a group of accompanying Pokemon, heading to deliver the order to his customer.
Meanwhile, in the vast mountains of the Hoenn region...
Mewtwo, who had been leading a group of cloned Pokemon—Meowth, Pikachu, and Grovyle—in search of a place to settle down and a purpose for its existence in this world, suddenly sensed a familiar aura.
It halted its flight and used its psychic powers to gently descend to the ground with the cloned Pokemon.
As soon as it landed, Mewtwo spotted two familiar figures in the dense forest.
One was a bear cub with a strong sense of justice.
The other was a mythical Pokemon it had once considered its mother, and with whom it had engaged in a fierce battle—Mew.
(End of Chapter)
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