https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-486-Zapdos-and-the-Lightning-Mantou/12537998/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-488-New-Year-s-Celebrations-and-Spring-s-Arrival-New-Crops-/12538000/
Chapter 487: Beating Up the Father-in-Law
Chapter 487: Beating Up the Father-in-Law
With the year drawing to a close and the bitter cold keeping everyone indoors, the people of the Pallet region stayed nestled in their homes, rarely venturing out.
One afternoon, Kishu, after waking up from her afternoon nap, noticed that someone was missing from the house.
"Hmm?" She furrowed her brows in surprise. "Where's Dad?"
The woman sitting on the sofa, weaving a scarf from Ariados silk, looked a little guilty as she replied, "Oh, some of his old friends came to visit today, and they all went out to the city for lunch together."
"I didn't know Dad had old friends," Kishu said, even more puzzled.
"Maybe they're friends he made during his travels when he was younger?" the woman suggested.
"I see," Kishu said, letting it go. She turned her attention to feeding her Electabuzz and the others their breakfast.
Naoki, like the rest of the people in the Pallet region, spent his days indoors, leisurely passing the time with his Pokemon, rarely venturing out due to the cold.
However, he was surprised to find that even in this weather, there were still Trainers who came to the ranch for challenges.
One afternoon, as Naoki was watching a Pokemon battle livestream, he heard a knock on the door.
This surprised him. Who could be visiting in such weather?
Perhaps Mayor Thomas or Mrs. Tantes needed his help with something urgent?
With that thought, Naoki hurried to open the door. But when he did, he was greeted not by the mayor or Mrs. Tantes, but by a stranger—a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in a gray winter coat and scarf, looking rather robust.
Naoki paused for a moment before politely asking, "Who are you looking for?"
"The owner of this place," the man said, looking directly at him. "Are you Naoki?"
"...Yes, that's me," Naoki replied, a realization dawning on him. He invited the man in, saying, "It's freezing out there. Come in and have a cup of tea to warm up first."
"He has manners, at least," the man thought to himself.
Following Naoki into the house, the man discreetly surveyed his surroundings.
The fireplace was roaring, filling the air with warmth, and the floor was spotlessly clean, with Pokemon toys scattered about.
A Motostoke, a shiny Barboach, two Butler, a Spritzee, and a Pokemon he had never seen before were lounging by the fireplace.
Just as he had expected, there were quite a few Pokemon living here.
From the looks of the Pokemon, each one had smooth fur and seemed full of vigor, clearly well cared for by their owner.
This indicated that Naoki was a kind and compassionate person when it came to his Pokemon.
The man nodded inwardly and took a seat on the sofa.
One of the Butler quickly brought over a cup of steaming tea for him.
After braving the snowy winds on his journey here, the man felt the warmth of the tea spread throughout his body, chasing away the chill.
"So, you're here for the trial challenge as well?" Naoki asked.
Trial? The man's expression remained unchanged, but he was puzzled inwardly. What trial? Isn't this a ranch?
"Yes, I've heard about it, but I haven't delved into the details yet. Can you explain it to me?" the man said.
This was quite normal; there were often Trainers who had only heard about the special training trials offered at Naoki's ranch and came to challenge them.
Naoki didn't think much of it and proceeded to explain, "Currently, there are four trials on the ranch: the Grass Trial, the Electric Trial, the Storm Trial, and the Finger Wagging Trial."
"The Grass Trial involves battling my riding Pokemon, Gogoat. The Electric Trial is against a Barboach, the Storm Trial is with a Noivern, and the Finger Wagging Trial is more about luck; only Pokemon that can use the move 'Finger Wag' are eligible to participate."
Hearing this, the man realized that things might not be exactly as he had imagined...
"Except for the Finger Wagging Trial, the others require you to have a certain number of Gym badges to participate," Naoki continued.
"The Grass Trial requires eight badges, while the Electric and Storm Trials need four. Which one would you like to challenge?"
"There's that condition as well?" The man was taken aback.
Naoki nodded helplessly. "The gap in Pokemon strength can be quite significant, so we need to ensure a certain level of balance for an effective trial."
Pokemon strength gap? The man was skeptical. Back in his day, he was a talented Trainer who had collected all eight Gym badges and challenged the Elite Four.
Since that was the case, he decided to take on the Grass Trial directly!
Naoki nodded. "Alright, but you'll need to show me your Gym badges first."
The man felt a bit embarrassed. "I didn't know about this requirement. I left the eight badges I collected at home and didn't bring them with me."
Naoki was speechless.
This was the first time he had encountered such a situation.
However, judging from the man's age, he didn't seem like a novice Trainer fresh out of the starting gate.
After a moment's thought, Naoki decided to trust him.
"Alright, I'll make an exception this time," he said.
As if on cue, the snow and wind outside ceased.
Naoki glanced at the weather and then led the man out to the ranch's battle arena.
The man immediately spotted the three Gogoat lazing under a shed, munching on some berries.
Naoki was taken aback for a moment before nodding. "Yes, they usually take on the task of milk production. All the sheep milk sold at the ranch is provided by them."
The man frowned slightly, instinctively thinking that these Pokemon engaged in production work weren't the boy's main team.
After all, how strong could milk-producing sheep be?
"Don't you have any stronger Pokemon? Weren't you a traveling Trainer before? Show me your strongest team and let's have a Pokemon battle!" the man said, full of confidence.
Hearing this, Naoki couldn't help but have a big question mark floating above his head.
This uncle sure had a big mouth!
"My Gogoat is also one of my main team members," Naoki replied politely.
Aside from those few legendary Pokemon, Gogoat's strength was indeed one of the top contenders in the ranch.
"My strength is quite formidable. Your rules won't work on me because collecting all eight badges was something I did thirty years ago," the man said, shaking his head.
In other words, compared to those ordinary Trainers, he and his Pokemon had an additional thirty years of battle experience.
Naoki was speechless.
"To be honest, the stronger Pokemon are part of the hidden trials of the ranch. If you want to challenge them, you need to pass the basic three trials first," Naoki explained.
Upon hearing this, the man became interested.
"Then let me see your strength first!"
The two walked to opposite ends of the battlefield, and Naoki decided to leave the snow on the ground, using the snowy terrain to his advantage.
Naoki sent out his Gogoat, while the man sent out a Pokemon that resembled a Kamen Rider.
A Durant!
The battle officially began!
Durant started with a piercing screech, then jumped high and pounced toward the Gogoat.
The Gogoat remained calm and collected, its determined eyes showing no sign of panic.
Naoki had already seen through the Durant's weakness and quietly commanded, "Swallow Return."
The next second, Gogoat's movements suddenly accelerated, and it ran to the side.
Durant immediately gave chase, but it didn't realize it was a feint. When Durant adjusted its pounce, it was too late to change course!
After teasing Durant with its agile movements, Gogoat's horns glowed with a milky-white aura.
The aura transformed into a wind blade and struck Durant with full force.
"How is this possible?!" the man exclaimed in shock. Why was the Gogoat's reaction speed so fast?
Although he was surprised, he maintained his calm and commanded, "Low Kick!"
Durant, having been knocked to the ground, calmly gave a signal with its eyes. As it got up, it spun its right leg and kicked Gogoat's leg.
"Well done! That's it!" the man encouraged, excited to see his move land.
However, the next second, he witnessed a terrifying scene.
A green glow emanated from Gogoat's body and instantly transformed into a hemispherical aura, enveloping the entire battlefield.
"That is..." The man's eyes widened.
Durant sensed the crisis and looked around warily.
"Gogoat, use that move!" Naoki instructed.
"Meeeh," Gogoat bleated in acknowledgment.
The Gogoat lowered its body, and the green glow from its mouth quickly condensed into a huge Grass-type Sacred Sword.
The man was stunned. What move was this?!
"Durant, get out of there!" he shouted, sensing the impending danger.
But it was too late. The Gogoat, with the leaf blade in its mouth, slashed at Durant.
In an instant, the green glow engulfed Durant.
The huge explosion sent Durant flying, and it landed in the snow, unable to battle anymore.
The man stared at the Gogoat in disbelief.
Based on its performance, could these Gogoat really be just ordinary milk-producing sheep? The man began to doubt his life choices.
"I'm sorry, but you didn't pass the Grass Trial," Naoki said regretfully, shaking his head.
Hearing this, the man snapped back to reality.
He looked at Naoki with a heavy expression, feeling that he had lost face.
Just the other day, he had planned to show off his Gym Leader-level strength to this kid.
"... ..."
After a moment of silence, the man shook his head. "No, let's go again! I have even stronger Pokemon!"
With that, the man sent out another Poke Ball.
Accompanied by a flash of white light, a cool-looking Pyroar appeared on the battlefield.
However, a minute later, what had happened to Durant repeated itself.
"Again!"
Thirty seconds later, a Talonflame fell in defeat!
"No, I have more Pokemon!"
Twenty seconds later, a Delphox fell, unable to move!
"I don't believe it!"
Fifteen seconds later, a Magnezone was out of commission!
"... ..."
Five seconds later, a Primarina was taken down with one move.
Thus, all six of the man's Pokemon were defeated, and Gogoat achieved a remarkable six-win streak.
Kishu's sister, Ai Guanshi, stepped forward to help heal the fallen Pokemon with sheep's milk.
The man's face turned ashen, his eyes narrowing in anger as he stormed off with his Pokemon.
Leaving Naoki standing there, bewildered.
What a strange man...
"Baa?" Gogoat also looked perplexed.
Naoki decided not to dwell on it, patting Gogoat's head affectionately. "You've done well. Go and get some rest now!"
"That kid, so rude!"
Back at home, the man plopped down on the sofa.
His wife looked at him in surprise. "Is he not a good person?"
"... " The man opened his mouth to speak but then hesitated. Aside from the Pokemon battle, the boy had been polite, and he clearly took good care of his Pokemon.
Judging by how the Pokemon at the ranch behaved, they all seemed to adore him. Just from that, the man could tell that Naoki wasn't a bad person.
Seeing her husband's expression, the woman immediately understood.
She chuckled and asked, "Did he beat you?"
Man: "..."
He grit his teeth, anger flashing in his eyes. "I'll have you know that he only used one Pokemon to defeat six of mine!!!'
The woman burst out laughing. "You asked for it!"
"Hey now, that's enough." She gently soothed her husband. "From what I can tell, he seems like a decent person."
"I just wanted to make sure he could take care of our daughter, even if he wasn't a great Trainer."
"But now it looks like he's not only good to Kishu, but also an exceptional Trainer. That's something to be happy about, right?"
"And, did you even introduce yourself properly?"
Man: "..."
He felt embarrassed thinking about how he had boasted about challenging Naoki's stronger Pokemon.
"Never mind, I need some quiet time."
He lay down on the sofa, closing his eyes to feign sleep.
Seeing her husband like this, the woman became curious about this young man named Naoki.
She wanted to pay him a visit and see what he was like.
But with the new year approaching, she knew she wouldn't have the time.
"Oh well, I'll visit him in the spring!"
She made up her mind to wait for warmer days.
Time flew by, and before they knew it, it was the last day of the year 200 in the Pokemon League calendar.
Early in the morning, Naoki's ranch began preparations for the new year celebration.
This was Naoki's third year in this world and his third year with Motostoke and the others.
After this new year, it would be their fourth year together.
It was quite a sentimental thought—the once-abandoned ranch had undergone a complete transformation.
And now, so many Pokemon called this place home.
Naoki, who was preparing the New Year's Eve dinner, paused to look around the house.
Ai Guanshi and her brother were decorating the house with ribbons and lights, adding a festive atmosphere.
Eguibo was by the window, gazing at the snow outside with stars in his eyes, a picture of contentment.
Motostoke was by the fireplace, organizing his toys and scarves—gifts from Naoki—which he kept neatly in a storage box.
Golleton was next to Motostoke, "causing trouble" as he seemed envious of Motostoke's abundance of toys.
However, he had plenty of toys of his own... Was he a case of the grass being greener on the other side? Naoki couldn't help but think.
Paputo was enjoying macadamia nuts and chestnuts with his parents, a special treat prepared by Naoki.
It was the new year, and Naoki had brought Paputo's parents over from the World Tree so that the family could be together.
From upstairs came the sounds of the Eevees playing.
Noivern and Minidraco sat on the floor, happily munching on fried fish snacks that Naoki had given them.
And Reiquang, the once-famous King of Galar, was still engrossed in his phone, now a self-proclaimed Phone King.
Seeing his Pokemon so happy and content, a smile spread across Naoki's face.
Just then, the town's mail carrier, Aven, arrived at the ranch.
"Naoki, you've got mail! It's New Year's greetings from the folks in town!"
Aven was as lively as ever.
"Thanks for your hard work!" Naoki took the letters, exchanged New Year's wishes, and then saw Aven off as he had other deliveries to make.
Opening the envelopes, Naoki found they were mostly New Year's greetings from the townspeople.
There were also notices from shops about new crops and flower seeds available for the upcoming year, inviting Naoki to purchase them if the ranch needed any.
(End of Chapter)
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