Chapter 53: A Friend's Visit
Chapter 53: A Friend's Visit
On the 4th of February, in the year 198 of the Pokemon League calendar, the crops in Naoki's ranch finally matured.
After breakfast that morning, Naoki changed into a set of blue overalls, ready to harvest the fruits of his labor. Just then, a familiar voice called out from beyond the ranch's gates.
Naoki turned to see Hiroshi approaching with a large travel backpack slung over his shoulders. From a distance, he waved energetically. "Hey, Naoki! I finally made it here!"
Naoki paused in his tracks and raised an eyebrow. "All done exploring Big Pot Lake?"
Hiroshi nodded, a little sheepishly. "Yeah, I ran into some students from Orange Academy along the way, which delayed me a bit."
Naoki put his work on hold as he had a guest. He invited Hiroshi inside for a chat.
But Hiroshi shook his head, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he surveyed the ranch, which was clearly a work in progress. "Did you manage all of this by yourself?"
The neat fields and pristine lawns spoke of a well-ordered and thriving ranch.
"To be precise, Golurk and Motostoke helped me a lot," Naoki admitted.
"That's incredible!" Hiroshi exclaimed.
Naoki couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's reaction. The crops could wait a little longer. For now, he decided to give Hiroshi a tour of his ranch.
"This is the sheep pen," Naoki explained as they approached the enclosure. "These Riding Sheep produce valuable sheep milk, making them a vital part of the ranch."
"Are these the three you caught before?" Hiroshi asked.
Naoki nodded, about to say more when one of the Riding Sheep stood up and lazily shook its head.
The next moment, a dense, green light emanated from its body.
The light sank into the ground, transforming the area into a vast Grassy Terrain.
Naoki: "..."
Hiroshi's eyes widened. "That's... Grassy Terrain? But it feels a bit different from the ones I've seen before."
Was it an illusion, or did it seem to cover a larger area than usual?
"It's Grassy Terrain," Naoki confirmed, at a loss for words.
The Riding Sheep had clearly mastered this move, to the point where it was almost becoming a Grassy Territory.
Over the past few days, the three Riding Sheep had been devouring numerous Grass Cakes.
The constant consumption of this magical dish kept their Grass-type energy perpetually satiated, and if they didn't release it, they would feel uncomfortable.
Unlike destructive moves like Sunlight Beam, Grassy Terrain didn't pose such concerns.
Thus, to expel the excess Grass-type energy from their bodies, the trio of Riding Sheep would use Grassy Terrain for extended periods each day.
Initially, Naoki had been worried about this behavior.
He had even made a special trip to the town bookstore to buy a related book, from which he learned a professional term:
"Energy Leakage."
This referred to situations where a Pokemon had an excess of internal energy that it couldn't control, leading to a leakage that could disrupt the surrounding environment.
For example, a Pokemon like the Magnemite Line might cause electromagnetic chaos in an entire town if its Electric-type energy went unchecked, affecting communication signals and power systems.
However, the Riding Sheep seemed different from the typical case of energy leakage, as it could control the energy emanating from its body.
"That's just too crazy!" Hiroshi exclaimed, his mouth agape.
Naoki thought to himself that Hiroshi hadn't seen anything yet. These three Riding Sheep sometimes used Grassy Terrain as a dance floor for their synchronized 'raves'!
But he kept that thought to himself.
"I couldn't tell how strong they were when I saw them battling Golurk the other time!" Hiroshi murmured. "Did you give them specialized training?"
The door to the Salt House was wide open, and inside, the Salazzle were chasing each other playfully around the rocks on the floor.
Seeing the group of Salazzle that he had once cared for, Hiroshi's face broke into a smile, and he greeted them enthusiastically.
"Hey, little guys! Long time no see!"
The Salazzle stopped their playful chase and turned to see the two standing at the doorway. The next second, their faces lit up with delight.
"Salazzle!"
"Do you remember me?" Hiroshi asked, pointing to himself.
The Salazzle responded affirmatively.
Naoki stood by, a smile on his face as he watched this heartwarming scene.
Hiroshi, meanwhile, observed the physical condition of the Salazzle and couldn't help but comment, "Looks like they've been doing well under your care! That's wonderful."
"Indeed!"
Naoki also felt a sense of emotion.
At that moment, they heard a cry from outside—a Salamence.
Hearing this voice, Hiroshi furrowed his brow in confusion.
Naoki explained, "It must be Salamence returning."
As he spoke, he bid farewell to the Salazzle and turned to leave the Salt House.
True enough, on the lawn outside stood Salamence, with a red waist pouch slung across its body.
It flew slowly towards Naoki and happily took out the money it had earned from delivering milk, offering it to him. "Roar~"
Naoki reached out to take the money, patting Salamence's head gently. "Good job. Now, go and have some fun!"
Salamence then went off to seek guidance on moves from Golurk and Motostoke, the two Dragon-type Pokemon. Over the past three days, it had re-learned Dragon Tail, but it yearned to learn more, so it started pestering the two Dragon-types relentlessly.
Hiroshi stared at Salamence's retreating figure, astonished. "Is that the Salamence that sat on the cliff top, gazing at the moon? You caught it?"
"Yep!" Naoki nodded. "Persistence pays off. Now, it acts as a courier at the ranch, helping to deliver fresh sheep milk to the town."
"Delivery... milk?" Hiroshi exclaimed, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"Is there a problem?" Naoki asked, perplexed.
"You actually let Salamence deliver milk!" Hiroshi muttered, incredulous. "Oh my! Don't you know how rare it is? Many people barely get to see one, let alone catch it!"
Naoki: "......"
He didn't see the connection between Salamence's rarity and its milk delivery duties.
After all, as a Pokemon trainer, even legendary Pokemon like Arceus, Dialga, and Palkia could be put to work in the fields.
There was nothing unusual about it.
If this world had a history of the Sinnoh region, that is.
But then again, Naoki recalled that the history lessons at Orange Academy did cover the Sinnoh region.
For instance, there was Professor Rowan and the first Poke Ball.
The rest of the tour was fairly standard.
Inside the chicken coop, the hens were diligently incubating their eggs, and according to their schedules, those eggs should hatch very soon.
The ranch would soon be bustling with new life.
As they finished the tour, the time had reached 8:30 am. The sun had risen, and the temperature was gradually climbing.
Naoki escorted Hiroshi back to the wooden house, intending to offer him a refreshing glass of juice.
Just then, as they reached the wooden house, Hiroshi's gaze landed on the Metapod hanging from the eaves.
His eyes were instantly drawn to it. "Is that... a Metapod?"
(End of Chapter)
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