Chapter 69: Regarding the Broken Bed
Chapter 69: Regarding the Broken Bed
As night fell, the entire ranch was enveloped in darkness.
The mother hen concluded her day of grazing and returned to the chicken coop with her chicks. They settled down to rest on the pile of hay, content and cozy.
The Salt Rock Babies retired to the Salt House, curling up together and soon emitting soft snores.
The lambs, exhausted from their energetic frolicking, lay on the grass with their heads resting on one another, lulled by the rhythmic rustling of the wind in the meadow. Their eyes slowly closed as they drifted off to sleep.
The Three Bees had also had a productive day, gathering ample nectar, which they brought back to their hive. By tomorrow, their honey would be ready, and they would be eager to present their sweet offering to their "King."
Inside the wooden house, Naoki had finished his evening routine and now sat cross-legged on the bed, clad only in a thin T-shirt, fiddling with the television remote.
Motostiz and Golurk stood guard by the bedside, their necks craned as they gazed intently at the screen. Frosty Fay and Mini-F stood nearby, equally captivated.
Soon, Naoki tuned into a news program and paused his channel surfing, leaning against the headboard to watch.
Suddenly, Naoki felt something was amiss. He turned his head, scanning the room, and his eyes landed on Bulbasaur, who was sitting a short distance away. He patted the bed and called out, "Come here, Bulby!"
"Ba-mo?"
At the sound of Naoki's summons, Bulbasaur scurried over.
Naoki reached out and lifted the tiny Pokemon onto the bed, cradling it in his arms.
"That's more like it! From now on, you'll sleep here with me!"
Naoki began petting Bulbasaur, much like one would stroke a cat. He rubbed its ears, smoothed its foliage, and tickled its tiny paw pads.
It didn't take long for Bulbasaur to start purring contentedly, "Ba~mo~"
Naoki held Bulbasaur in his arms as he watched TV. Bulbasaur, with its gentle nature, lay quietly in his embrace.
At that moment, Golurk, standing by the bedside, gazed upon the scene with envy in its eyes. "Ga-si!"
Naoki turned his head, and for a moment, he imagined he saw a large dog standing by the bed, wagging its tail eagerly, longing to join them on the bed.
"What do you want?"
"Ah, Ga-si!"
Golurk looked longingly at Bulbasaur.
Naoki immediately understood and ruthlessly rejected Golurk's unspoken request. "No way! You're too big. This bed is tiny, and there's no room for you!"
It was just a humble single bed.
Golurk felt wronged and sad, its majestic feathers drooping vertically on both sides of its head.
"Ah, Ga-si..."
Golurk's forlorn expression, accentuated by its galloping form, made it look both goofy and pitiful.
"..."
Naoki's heart softened, and his anger dissipated. "Fine, I'll let you up for a little while."
"Ga-si!"
Golurk's spirits instantly lifted, and its magnificent head feathers stood erect once more.
It leaped onto the bed like an enthusiastic dog, but the next second, there was a loud crack, and Naoki felt himself falling. The bed had collapsed under their combined weight.
This was yet another blow to the already financially strained household.
Realizing its mistake, Golurk cautiously turned its gaze to Naoki, who was rubbing his sore bottom. "Ah, Ga-si..."
It hadn't meant to break the bed.
Naoki: "..."
He stood up from the floor, extracted the broken bed legs, and couldn't help but feel a mix of exasperation and amusement at the sight of Golurk.
Standing at a height of eight and a half feet and weighing six hundred pounds, Golurk's bulk was simply too much for even the sturdiest of beds to bear.
Six hundred pounds! That was no small weight!
Golurk hung its head in shame, its feathers drooping.
Naoki sighed, feeling helpless. "Forget it. I'll just buy a new bed in a few days."
For now, they would have to make do.
Without the bed legs, there was still a layer of plywood that served as a platform. Naoki remade the bed and gestured to Golurk, who was standing at a distance, patting the spot next to him. "Alright, you can come over now."
Golurk cautiously approached, stepping gingerly as if afraid it might accidentally destroy something else.
"Ga-si..."
Leaning against Golurk and holding Bulbasaur, Naoki continued to watch TV.
Motostiz, who had witnessed the whole process, was also called over by Naoki and lay by the bedside, watching the Pokemon lecture by Professor Oak on TV with him.
---
The next morning, Kishu arrived on time to help build the Pokemon house.
The original Pokemon house had long fallen into disrepair and was now a ruin.
Naoki chose not to change its location and decided to rebuild it in the same spot.
Kishu had no objections, and she directed Machamp and Conkeldurr to demolish the entire structure.
As the demolition process began, Kishu looked around and raised an eyebrow slightly. "The layout of this ranch is actually pretty good!"
Naoki also looked around. After the initial planning, he had divided the ranch into two main areas.
One area was for raising Pokemon, and the other was for farming.
As a result, when building the chicken coop, the Salt House, and the Pokemon house, he had carefully chosen specific locations to make the ranch look less cluttered.
Each main area was further subdivided.
For example, the farming area had separate sections for growing crops, tree fruit, and even a flower field for decoration.
"It's really well-planned!" Kishu exclaimed, sounding surprised. "It makes me feel like you're not a novice ranch owner but an experienced one."
"It's all thanks to my extensive research!" Naoki replied proudly.
He had, after all, played countless farming games, from the classic Ranch Story series to the later generation's Stardew Valley and Doraemon's Story of Seasons.
When it came to managing a ranch, he knew that advance planning was crucial to avoid a messy and unattractive layout, which would be a hassle to reorganize later on.
Kishu smiled faintly. Before Machamp finished demolishing the ruins, she took a stroll around the ranch with Naoki, offering suggestions along the way.
"That pond over there can be turned into a fish pond for raising fish or Water-type Pokemon."
"Are the tree fruit trees too close together? They might compete for nutrients in the soil, resulting in shriveled and sour fruit."
"I suggest putting a scarecrow in the crop field. Otherwise, birds might come and ruin your crops."
As they spoke, the Three Bees flew down in front of them.
Led by the bees, Naoki approached the beehive and discovered the honey they had been working on.
Even from a distance, he could smell the sweet fragrance emanating from it.
The honey was ready for harvesting.
Watching this scene, Kishu suddenly remembered something. She turned and looked toward the back mountain, offering a reminder:
"The fragrance of the honey produced by the Three Bees can spread very far. This ranch is quite close to the back mountain, so you should be careful that wild Pokemon might be attracted to steal the honey. If they encounter violent ones, they might even harm the Pokemon in the ranch."
(End of Chapter)
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