Bab 176: Home
At five o'clock in the evening, Zack arrived at the ranch to collect the goods. Naoki eagerly helped him load the truck with vegetables, fruits, and melons.
Seeing Naoki's unusually cheerful expression, Zack raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Why are you so happy all of a sudden? Did something good happen?"
Naoki nodded enthusiastically. "Tomorrow, I'll finally have saved enough money to build a proper house! No more squeezing into this tiny wooden cabin."
Zack grinned widely. "Well, that's definitely something worth celebrating. Congrats in advance!"
After exchanging a few more words, Zack drove off in his truck, leaving Naoki with a quiet, growing excitement.
Back inside the cabin, Naoki sat at his desk and counted the money he had earned from the day's sales. He then pulled out the savings he had been gradually collecting over the past few months from his drawer.
"Alright... including what's in my bank account, I now have a total of 2,153,400 Pokédollars. Two million will go toward building the new house, and the rest can be spent on furniture and whatever daily essentials we need."
Naoki tapped his fingers on the desk as he silently planned out his next moves.
Building the house was just the start. He'd need more funds to furnish it properly. He also had to purchase wooden barrels for the cellar, where he planned to start making wine. And then there was the matter of the Pokémon tavern he dreamt of opening. That would require a bar counter, tables, and benches designed specifically for different Pokémon sizes.
'Once the Pokemon siblings arrive', Naoki thought, 'I can station them at the tavern to help with entertaining guests.
His thoughts were interrupted when several Pokémon that had been playing outside all day suddenly burst into the cabin. They crowded around Naoki, tilting their heads in confusion as they saw him deep in thought.
"Gah?" Koraidon nudged him curiously.
Naoki smiled and explained, "I'm just thinking about our new home. Tomorrow morning, we can start building it. It'll be a much bigger house with plenty of rooms, a living room, and more space for all of you to play."
At this news, the Pokémon's eyes lit up with excitement.
Alcremie was particularly thrilled, bouncing in place. "Mree?!"
Naoki chuckled, guessing exactly what Alcremie was thinking. After all, he had promised her something special before.
"That's right," Naoki said warmly. "I'll make sure you have your very own cream workshop. We'll have ovens, cream barrels, and all the tools you need to create delicious desserts."
"Mree!" Alcremie's eyes sparkled with delight, already imagining her dream kitchen.
Naoki turned to the rest of the Pokémon with a smile. "What about the rest of you? What kind of rooms would you like?"
He pulled out a bowl of peeled melon seeds as he asked, offering them to the eager group.
Cyclizar was the first to respond. "Gah!" it cried enthusiastically. (A warm room!)
Naoki thought about how Cyclizar always shivered in the cold. "No problem," he said with a nod. "We can install a fireplace in the living room. That way, the whole house will be cozy and warm during the winter."
Cyclizar let out a happy "Gaao~," clearly pleased with the idea.
Next, Naoki turned to Dragonite, whose eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"Oooh!" Dragonite exclaimed, raising its arms dramatically. (I want a big room! With a lake to swim in, a spot to sunbathe, and a place to watch the stars!)
Naoki blinked. "That's... a lot of requests."
Truthfully, Dragonite preferred the outdoors over being inside. At first, it used to sleep in its Poké Ball, but as it grew more accustomed to life on the ranch, it started sleeping on the grass under the stars instead of indoors.
Naoki scratched his head, trying to think of a room that could possibly accommodate Dragonite's needs.
Unfortunately, no room in the world could match that.
Naoki poked Dragonite's big belly and said with a grin, "There's no such room in the world, buddy. You'd better stick to sleeping on the grass outside! There's plenty of space, a lake for you to swim in, and you can watch the stars and bask in the sun. It checks all your boxes."
Dragonite's shoulders slumped slightly. No special room? Well, if that was the case, the grass wasn't so bad after all. Every night, it could still gaze at the stars and the moon.
"How about you, Koraidon?" Naoki asked, turning to the ancient beast.
Compared to Dragonite's grand demands, Koraidon was much simpler. "Agasi!" it declared. (I'll sleep in your room!)
Naoki blinked. "I should've seen that coming."
After scribbling down Koraidon's preference in his notebook, Naoki turned to Pawmo. "And you, Pawmo? Where do you want to sleep?"
Pawmo was full of excitement. "Pawmo!" (With Naoki, of course!)
"Alright, sounds good." Naoki patted Pawmo on the head and looked around the room. "So, are we all set?"
None of the Pokémon raised any objections. Everything seemed to be in order.
The next morning, Naoki headed to town to meet with Kelly, the local builder. Upon hearing Naoki's request to start construction, Kelly raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Already? That was fast!"
Naoki grinned. "Yup! I owe it all to the Miltank and the Gogoat."
"Well, that explains it," Kelly chuckled, thinking about those tireless goats. "Follow me!"
She led Naoki to a small workshop cluttered with blueprints and construction tools. The room was in disarray, with various sketches strewn across the table and floor.
Kelly sifted through a drawer, pulled out a few designs, and handed them over. "Here, take a look at these house plans. Let me know which one you like."
Naoki reached out to take the blueprints from Kelly and studied the two different house designs. One was a charming, Nordic-style country cottage, with its fairy-tale aesthetic, and the other was a traditional two-story Japanese-style mansion, reminiscent of Nobita Nobi's house from Doraemon.
Kelly smiled as she handed them over. "Take your pick!"
Naoki's gaze lingered on both designs, but his heart settled on the country cottage. The design reminded him of the house from Stardew Valley, a fitting choice for a ranch, with its warm, rustic charm.
"I'll go with this one," he said, pointing to the cottage.
Kelly nodded approvingly. "Good choice. It definitely suits the ranch. Now, let's move on to the internal layout."
She unrolled a more detailed blueprint. "Typically, we plan the key rooms on the first floor—bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom, and dining room. The second floor usually has a side bedroom, nursery, study, and two extra rooms that can be used for storage. There's also a cellar beneath the house, which can be used for wine-making or converted into a basement."
Kelly glanced at Naoki, her pencil ready. "Do you have any special requests besides these?"
Naoki relayed the requests from his Pokémon after their discussion the day before.
"A cream workshop, huh? For making desserts?" Kelly jotted it down. "That's easy enough to set up. Anything else?"
Naoki shook his head. "That should cover everything."
Kelly did some quick mental calculations. "The total cost for materials and construction will be about 1.8 million Poke Dollars. That includes flooring, carpets, and wallpaper, which you can choose."
She flipped to another page. "Our store also offers custom furniture—basic tables, chairs, benches, sofas, storage cabinets, beds, lights, whatever you need. You can furnish the house to your liking."
Naoki had anticipated this and nodded calmly. "I'd like ordinary wooden floors and wood-grain wallpaper throughout."
Kelly smiled and tucked her pencil behind her ear. "Got it. I'll get the materials ready. We'll start construction tomorrow morning, and it should take about one to two months to finish."
Naoki smiled, excited for what was to come. Finally, the dream of a larger, comfortable home for him and his Pokémon was becoming a reality.
...
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