Chapter 541: Harvest, Returning to the Ranch
Chapter 541: Harvest, Returning to the Ranch
"So it was indeed Kapu-Fin's trial?"
Naoki's gaze fell upon the Z-Crystals in his hand.
One was blue, with a droplet-shaped mark in the center, resembling a sapphire and exuding a deep, clear aura.
This was the very item Naoki sought—the Water Z-Crystal, capable of enhancing Water-type Pokemon moves into the super-powerful Hydro Vortex.
In addition, there were two more Z-Crystals.
One crystal's color was almost identical to Eevee's fur, and the other bore a lightning-shaped mark—the Eevee-exclusive Z-Crystal and the Electric Z-Crystal.
Together with the Fighting Z-Crystal, Grass Z-Crystal, and Mythical Z-Crystal obtained earlier from Kapu-Roto, Naoki had accomplished all his goals for this trip to Alola.
Kapu-Fin sure was generous!
But come to think of it, how did it know the specific types of Z-Crystals he needed?
Did it perceive his desires through the illusory realm?
Naoki gazed at Kapu-Fin, an expression of confusion on his face, and after a brief pause, he questioned, “Did you produce the mirage-like illusion we encountered just now?”
Kapu-Fin thought of the adult's instructions and nodded lightly, "Fin-fin!"
Who would have thought that Kapu-Fin's mist possessed such power...
This was somewhat beyond Naoki's expectations.
Recounting the occurrences within the illusory realm of Huanjing, Naoki experienced a whirlwind of emotions.
He had originally wanted to observe Kapu-Fin, but now he no longer felt like doing so.
Oh well, since he had achieved his goal for this trip, there was no need to linger in the Alola region any longer.
With that in mind, Naoki patted the Pokemon by his side, recalled them into their Poke Balls, and turned to Kapu-Fin, saying, "Although I didn't particularly like the way of the trial, I still want to thank you."
"Fin-fin?" Kapu-Fin blinked, looking a little confused.
Naoki smiled gently, "Thank you for helping me realize how important they are to me."
Kapu-Fin paused for a moment, "Fin-fin..."
"Thank you for these Z-Crystals. I believe they will prove useful in the near future. We should be going now," Naoki said.
With that, Naoki turned and left the Hano Beach with Garchomp.
Kapu-Fin watched their departing figures until they were out of sight before disappearing from the spot.
After leaving Poni Island, Naoki rode Garchomp directly to Akala Island and returned to the ranch through the Ultra Wormhole.
While it was afternoon in the Alola region, it was the wee hours of the morning in the Pasio region.
Naoki adjusted the time on his Rotom Phone to the Pasio time zone and saw that it was already 4 a.m.
The Pokemon in the ranch were still asleep and hadn't noticed Naoki's return.
Upon returning to the ranch, Naoki didn't go inside immediately but stood on the grass, basking in the familiar evening breeze and gazing up at the deep night sky.
Not a single cloud marred the sky, and the stars and moon shone brightly, casting a surreal, dreamlike glow over the land.
"Garch?"
Seeing Naoki standing still, Garchomp turned its large head in confusion.
Naoki retracted his gaze and, looking at the place he had lived in for several years, said to Garchomp, "It's nothing. I was just thinking how good it feels to be home."
Garchomp blinked, as if it understood, then turned its head forward and agreed with a resounding, "Garch!"
Naoki took a deep breath and then took out the Poke Balls of his riding Pokemon and released them.
With a few flashes of white light, Mudsdale and the others appeared in the ranch.
Naoki pushed open the door and entered the living room, immediately waking the sleeping Charmeleon by the fireplace.
"Charmeleon?!"
Seeing that it was Naoki, it rubbed its eyes sleepily.
"Go back to sleep!" Naoki smiled and then quietly went into the kitchen to prepare some food for the few Pokemon who hadn't had their dinner yet.
After they had finished eating, Naoki lay down on the bed and dozed off.
To adjust his body clock, Naoki only slept for five hours.
When he opened his eyes again, the sun was already shining brightly outside, and warm sunlight streamed through the window. The sounds of wild bird Pokemon chirping filled the air.
Before Naoki could even sit up, an excited Eevee pounced on him, its tiny paws pressing against his chest as it asked eagerly,
"Eevee eevee?"
The Sylveon, Glaceon, and Flareon also jumped onto the bed, surrounding Naoki in a circle.
Early that morning, the Eevees had heard from Mudsdale the good news of Naoki's successful return with the treasure.
Before Naoki's departure, each Eevee knew that he was going to find something that would make them stronger.
So, naturally, they were all very excited about his return.
However, earlier that morning, Ninetales had paid a visit and told them that Naoki had returned very late and needed proper rest, so they must not disturb him.
Thus, the Eevees had obediently stayed at home all day, even refraining from their beloved World Tree.
Naoki had just woken up and was still a bit groggy, but when he saw his partner Eevee in front of him, he quickly came to his senses.
"It wants to use its exclusive Z-Move, Rainbow Boost, huh?" Naoki mumbled as he picked up his partner Eevee from the bed. "Can I just have a drink of water first?"
"Bui!" His partner nodded in agreement.
At his words, the Fairy Eevee in the bedroom scampered out and, in a flash, returned with a cup of water, offering it to Naoki with a cheerful "Bui~"
"Here you go, it brought this for you!"
Naoki: "......" If it's not an enemy, it's a spy! But he knew exactly what the Eevee were thinking, so after finishing the water, he got out of bed and took all the Eevee out to the ranch.
"Are you ready?" Naoki loaded the Eevee's exclusive Z-Crystal into his Z-Ring.
"Bui!"
The Eevee nodded their little heads enthusiastically.
"Great, let's begin!"
Naoki focused his mind, lightly touching the Z-Crystal on his ring.
In the next second, a dazzling burst of colorful light radiated from Naoki's body and poured into the Eevee before him.
Sensing the sudden surge of power within its body, the partner Eevee widened its eyes and let out a triumphant cry towards the sky.
"Bui—!"
A circle of invisible ripples spread rapidly from it, affecting all the other Eevee in the vicinity.
Touched by the ripples, the remaining Eevee paused, their bodies suddenly coursing with the same power!
Then, a magical scene unfolded.
The Leaf Eevee erupted in a verdant glow, its body transforming into a green orb that slowly ascended into the sky.
The Fire, Ice, Fairy, Moon, Sun, and Thunder Eevee all shone with brilliant lights matching their respective colors!
The rainbow radiance from their bodies streamed into the partner Eevee, igniting its entire being with a dazzling flame akin to a rainbow's glow!
The partner Eevee, overwhelmed by the power coursing through its body, looked down at itself in disbelief.
"Bui, Bui!" What incredible strength!
It now felt like its body was ablaze with an unquenchable flame, as if it had an endless supply of power!
"Bui!"
Having familiarized itself with this newfound strength, the partner Eevee turned to face Naoki, ready for a fight!
Naoki: "......" There's not even a challenger here?
"Bui......" The Eevee's face fell, evidently uncomfortable with this overwhelming power and no place to direct it.
Seeing its distress, Naoki thought for a moment before calling out to Gourgeist for help. He asked it to bring the large rock from across the river.
Gourgeist complied, quickly hauling the rock over to where the Eevee stood.
"Now, use all your power to strike that big rock!" Naoki instructed.
"Bui!"
The partner Eevee roared and, with its rainbow aura ablaze, slammed into the rock with tremendous force.
"Boom!"
The sound of the impact reverberated, and the large rock was reduced to smithereens by the Eevee's attack.
"Bui!" The partner Eevee was thrilled beyond measure, turning to Naoki and shouting excitedly. "Bui Bui!"
"Did you see that? It's so strong now that it can shatter such a huge rock into pieces with just one blow!"
Naoki: "......"
While smashing a rock might be effortless for the likes of Gourgeist and Aerodactyl, it was already quite an impressive feat for an Eevee that had hardly undergone any rigorous training.
Especially considering that his Eevee was no ordinary one.
Imagine, an Eevee that drank the life-enhancing Poke Milk daily and bathed in the energies of nature—how could it ever be ordinary?
Its physical attributes far surpassed those of a typical Eevee.
Naoki had even come across a video online of a trainer specifically drilling their Eevee, using rocks as mock enemies.
But the difference was stark—while their Eevee struggled to even leave a dent on the rocks, his partner Eevee had just effortlessly pulverized one!
At this moment, the rainbow radiance on the partner Eevee's body faded, signifying the end of the duration of its Z-Move, Rainbow Boost.
The initially elated Eevee suddenly felt its body grow weary and tired.
"Bui......" It looked at its body in confusion.
"Don't worry, this is just a side effect of using a Z-Move. Go drink some Poke Milk and then go play with the others!" Naoki reassured.
While the other Eevee had lent their power, they didn't feel as exhausted as the partner Eevee.
However, a few Eevee looked a bit glum.
They wished they could use such an awesome move too.
Just as Naoki was about to say something, he heard Ice Eevee speak up.
"Bui Bui!" (This is the compensation for Eevee not evolving!)
The other Eevee turned to look at it.
Ice continued, "Bui Bui." (Fire Eevee ate Naoki's Holy Muffin and gained powerful flames. Thunder Eevee ate the Lightning Muffin, enhancing the electricity within its body. Leaf Eevee consumed the grass growing on the World Tree daily, making its Grass-type powers exceptionally dense. And let's not forget about Sun and Moon Eevee, who could absorb sunlight and moonlight as energy!)
Ice looked at the partner Eevee and added, "Bui!" (Since Eevee didn't gain anything, this is its compensation!)
Upon hearing Ice's explanation, everyone realized that it made sense.
This was always a minor issue, and the Eevees soon let it go. Their partner Eevee had gained a powerful move, and now they could all play together at the World Tree!
The Eevees bade Naoki goodbye and scampered off happily.
Naoki gave an Ice Eevee a meaningful glance.
As expected of the Eevee he had spent the most time with—so reliable!
"Bu'yi..." Ice Eevee breathed softly.
After all, it had watched all the Eevees hatch from their eggs and grow up; it didn't want to see any discord between them.
Its feelings were probably similar to those of the Haxorus parents when they looked at their Axew, Ice Eevee thought.
No, it was different.
Ice Eevee recalled how the Haxorus parents had abandoned Axew's egg to him and decided that his initial thought had been wrong.
As the other Eevees ran towards the World Tree, they suddenly realized that Ice Eevee wasn't following and stopped to call out to it.
Only then did Ice Eevee hurry to catch up.
Watching the Eevees' retreating figures, Naoki shook his head helplessly.
He returned to the living room and put away the unused Z-Crystals—the Mew Z-Crystal, Electric Z-Crystal, and Fighting Z-Crystal—leaving only the Grass Z-Crystal for Sceptile and the Water Z-Crystal that Groudon could use.
With all the urgent tasks completed, all that was left to do was wait patiently at the ranch for Arceus to awaken and for the story to unfold.
However, as he was putting away the Z-Crystals, Naoki's gaze fell upon the Ultra Aura in the drawer.
It was a gift from Dr. Burnet during his visit to the Dimensional Research Lab a few years ago.
Naoki suddenly thought of something. Could Pokemon use Z-Moves while Ultra-Activated? Ultra Activation enhanced a Pokemon's moves, and Z-Moves did the same.
If so, it would maximize the attack power of Sceptile or Groudon.
With that in mind, Naoki immediately found Mudkip and tested it out using the Electric Z-Crystal.
The answer was yes.
With this, their chances of success had increased significantly.
All the preparations were now in place; they just needed to wait for Arceus to awaken.
On May 20, 201, in the summer of the League Calendar.
After his trip to Alola, Naoki's life returned to its usual peaceful state.
Today was the day that Happiny returned after mastering its skills.
After months of studying at the Pokemon Center, it had fully learned how to identify Pokemon injuries and Berries.
Early in the morning, it waved goodbye to Naoki and set off with a desire to help injured Pokemon, starting its career as a Pokemon doctor at the Explorer's Guild.
After sending Happiny off to the World Tree, Naoki returned to the ranch.
Summer had arrived, and the weather was getting hotter. He needed to get busy again, as his primary occupation was still that of a ranch owner.
The fields were planted with crops suitable for the summer season, and Axew stood by, summoning rain clouds to help with the irrigation.
Looking at the vibrant fields before him, Naoki felt a sense of contentment.
This was the life he wanted!
"Diglett, you've worked hard!" Naoki turned to the Diglett that had been helping with the farming and asked with a smile, "Is there anything you'd like to eat? You can place your order now, and I'll make it for you."
"Chik! Chik-chik-chik!" Hearing this, Diglett's eyes lit up, and it eagerly requested three supersized sandwiches so that each of its heads could enjoy a meal.
"Alright, I'll make them for you now," Naoki said with a smile.
As he returned to the living room, the video phone in the house suddenly rang.
"Hmm?"
Naoki was surprised because the video phone hadn't been used much since the advent of the internet age.
Although he had designated that number as the official line for Naoki Ranch, it rarely received any calls.
The people in town were familiar with the ranch and maintained the habit of placing orders directly with them.
Naoki answered the call, and soon Professor Oak's voice came through.
"Hello, is this Naoki?"
"Professor Oak?" Naoki was taken aback. "How did you get this number?"
"Haha, my Rotom Phone got lost, and I can only find your old number now," Professor Oak explained.
Naoki: "..."
"Well, what's the reason for your call today?" Naoki asked.
Professor Oak smiled and said, "I'm planning to hold a summer camp soon, but I haven't decided on a location yet. I know that your ranch is home to many Pokemon, so I wanted to ask if you have the time and space to host the camp for these children."
(End of Chapter)
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