章 61: Mysterious Intruder
Around noon, the rain finally ceased. The dark clouds in the sky dissipated, revealing bright but not harsh sunshine. Naoki removed the hood of his raincoat and looked at Dragonite, who was in a state of deep focus not far away.
He asked Koraidon, "Koraidon, do you think Dragonite will successfully learn Rain Dance?"
Koraidon yawned. "Gaah."
Suddenly, Dragonite's eyes snapped open.
And then, the sky shifted.
The recently dispersed dark clouds returned, gathering above Dragonite's head and colliding with each other.
Naoki felt a surge of excitement. Had it succeeded?
However, the expected rain didn't fall.
The dark clouds gathered quickly and dispersed just as fast. The weather turned sunny again.
Seeing that its Rain Dance attempt had failed, Dragonite looked up at the sky, appearing puzzled.
Naoki rode Koraidon to its side and asked, "What happened?"
"Roar."
Naoki followed its gaze to the sky, thinking, and then asked again, "Is it the same as with Thunderbolt earlier?"
Dragonite concentrated, and then a confused look crossed its face.
It didn't understand either.
Naoki fell into deep thought.
Thunderbolt was one of the most powerful Electric-type moves, and its difficulty to learn was correspondingly high. Judging by Dragonite's performance just now, it seemed to be imitating the process of lightning striking it and then being released. But it didn't understand the essence of Thunderbolt, so it failed to use it.
What about Rain Dance?
Dragonite had successfully summoned the dark clouds, just one step away from successfully performing Rain Dance, but it failed at the crucial moment.
However, Dragonite seemed to have learned something from this experience with the rain. This was progress. At least it could summon dark clouds now. With more practice, it would be able to master Rain Dance one day.
After all, this was only its first attempt, so it was already quite impressive.
Naoki was satisfied and couldn't help but think that Dragonite seemed to have become smarter. Although it had learned Thunder Punch by accident, it had comprehended the move on its own. For an ordinary Pokémon, this was truly remarkable.
Or had the lightning strike somehow made Dragonite more intelligent?
But then again, Dragonite had learned Dragon Tail within a few days, which meant its comprehension wasn't bad; it was just too straightforward and didn't know how to utilize moves effectively.
Recalling how easily he had fooled Dragonite before, Naoki felt this was a possibility. And this Dragonite was certainly hardworking enough!
If that was the case, then he had found a treasure!
After they returned to the ground, Naoki led Dragonite to the farmland and set the next training direction for it.
"Don't worry about Thunderbolt for now. Focus on mastering Rain Dance first. You can practice here from now on!"
"Roar~" Dragonite readily agreed. Even without Naoki's encouragement, it was determined to practice Rain Dance diligently until it succeeded.
Seeing this, Naoki smiled and said, "Once you've mastered it, I'll leave the task of watering the fields to you!"
"Huh?" Dragonite blinked, looking puzzled.
Naoki didn't explain but instead told Dragonite a story.
The story was about a Pokémon named Keldeo. Keldeo was hardworking and practiced drawing and swinging its sword every day. After ten thousand strikes, it finally mastered a unique and powerful skill called Secret Sword, which it used to defeat Kyurem, the Legendary Pokémon known as the strongest dragon.
Naoki then shifted gears and said with exaggerated flair, "Maybe you can only make it rain in a small area now, but as long as you keep practicing, one day, the whole world will be covered in your rain, and all Pokémon will look up to you."
"Roar!"
Dragonite's eyes lit up. Although it didn't know what Kyurem was or who Keldeo was, it all sounded very impressive!
It immediately took on the watering task, turned around, and stood in front of the farmland, starting to practice Rain Dance.
Naoki chuckled to himself. As expected, Dragonite was still so innocent!
He patted Dragonite's shoulder and said with a smile, "Work hard!"
Leaving Dragonite to practice, Naoki turned around, took off his raincoat, casually hung it on the fence, and walked towards the chicken coop.
On the way, Naoki continued to think about what kind of food could help Dragonite.
But his thoughts were limited, and he couldn't think of any food that could specifically enhance Dragon-type Pokémon.
This troubled Naoki.
What if he started with unconventional items?
For example, dragon teeth, dragon scales, and so on. Could grinding those into powder and cooking them for Dragonite make it stronger?
Naoki wanted to try, but those ingredients were difficult to obtain. While he could extract teeth and scales directly from Dragonite, it was still young and hadn't reached the age of shedding scales or losing teeth. Forcibly removing them would cause significant harm and be extremely painful.
Naoki continued to brainstorm.
His mind raced, from Pokémon moves to items in the games to various dragon-related things.
And then, it hit him.
Nature Power!
Nature Power: A Normal-type move that draws power from the surrounding environment to attack. The move's type and power change depending on the location.
From this move, he could deduce that the environment also contained different types of energy!
Fruits related to dragons.
Information about several kinds of berries flashed through Naoki's mind.
Leppa Berries, Oran Berries, Sitrus Berries, Pomeg Berries, and Durian Berries.
So, could he start with these types of berries?
Although it was possible to make dishes with berries, Naoki had a better idea.
Poké Puffs and Poffins!
Both were Pokémon snacks made from berries.
With this thought in mind, Naoki decided to visit the dessert shop in town after the weather cleared up tomorrow. For now, he needed to take care of the newly hatched chicks.
He entered the chicken coop and carefully observed the surroundings. The small, plum-shaped footprints were still there, but apart from that, there was no other sign of the intruder. This meant it hadn't returned during this time.
Naoki didn't dwell on it and decided to move on. Newly hatched chicks were very fragile and needed a warm environment with plenty of water and the right amount of food.
That's right, the right amount of food.
Unlike Pokémon, these little yellow chicks weren't very smart, and they didn't know when to stop eating. As long as there was food in the trough, they would keep eating until they literally ate themselves to death.
Therefore, Naoki discontinued the free-feeding system in the chicken coop and switched to hand-feeding, planning to resume free-feeding once the chicks grew older.
He added an appropriate amount of feed to the trough and closed the coop's doors and windows to prevent the chicks from wandering outside and to protect them from cold winds and rain.
After finishing all this, it was noon, and Naoki began preparing lunch for the many Pokémon.
After lunch, he started making Green Grass Dumplings with glutinous rice flour and grass. Since the Skiddo ate so quickly, he made a large batch this time. He worked until four in the afternoon, when the green dumplings were finally ready, steaming hot from the pot.
After setting the dumplings aside to cool, Naoki glanced at the time.
Wow! It was already 4:30. He had to start preparing dinner again!
After a busy day, Naoki felt tired, and his wrists ached, as if he had been playing a farming game for hours on end.
He moved a small stool and sat under the eaves, gazing at his thriving ranch. Although physically tired, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
"Phew, it would be great to have a hot spring!" he thought. When tired, he could soak in it and relax.
Unfortunately, Cascarrafa was located in the west of Paldea, and the surrounding terrain was mainly plains, snowy mountains, and lakes. There were no volcanoes, so natural hot springs were impossible.
However, it wasn't entirely out of the question. Naoki suddenly thought of a dish he had once made—Spicy Iron Nuggets.
That dish had an additional effect: slightly increasing the friendliness of a Heatran when fed to it.
If he could lure a Heatran here.
Then, he could dig a cave under the ranch, let Heatran create a magma pool in it, and build an artificial hot spring on the surface.
Heatran would get a caretaker and a new home, and he would get a hot spring.
Then, he could enjoy soaking in the hot springs with his adorable Pokémon.
The thought brought a smile to his face. However, imagination was one thing, and reality was another.
The old clock in the house chimed five o'clock sharp. It was time to prepare dinner.
Looking at the pile of ingredients waiting to be prepared, Naoki couldn't help but sigh.
No! The ranch also needed a Pokémon that was good at housework to help him prepare food and tidy up!
For example, Indeedee or Mimey. Both of these Pokémon were excellent at household chores.
Thanks to the Mimey in Ash's house in the anime, the idea that Mimey were capable of housework was deeply ingrained in people's minds. It could clean the yard, wake Ash up, and wash dishes. Not only that, it was also very intelligent and an all-around housework expert.
Indeedee's ability to do housework was no less impressive than Mimey's. After all, this Pokémon served as Nurse Joy's assistant in the Galar region.
There were both male and female Indeedee, and each gender had different strengths. A male Indeedee would be like a butler, staying by the owner's side at all times and taking care of everything. It would use its psychic powers to anticipate the trainer's actions and cater to their daily needs.
The female Indeedee was particularly skilled at childcare. It disliked fighting and could communicate with others by touching horns with its partner.
But whether male or female, Indeedee diligently cared for humans and Pokémon everywhere, seeking joy and gratitude. This was because positive emotions were its source of energy, and it used its horns to receive the positive emotions of other creatures and then convert them into its own energy.
However, it seemed that there were no Mimey living in the Paldea region. But there were Indeedee.
"It seems I need to pay more attention to information about Indeedee in the future," Naoki thought.
Because he had been so busy today, Naoki went to bed early after dinner.
...
The next morning, Naoki woke up feeling sore all over and dizzy.
His heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but think, "Could it be that have a fever?"
No way? It had just rained yesterday.
Naoki propped himself up and sat up in bed, looking around, his groggy brain trying to process the situation.
There was no thermometer or fever-reducing medicine at home, so it seemed he had to go to the hospital in town.
At that moment, Koraidon and Cyclizar, who were lying beside the bed, noticed his condition and approached with worried looks on their faces.
"Gaah."
"Cyclizar."
Naoki patted their heads and said with a smile, "It's okay. It's probably just a fever from the rain yesterday. It's a minor illness. I'll be fine after we go to town and buy some medicine."
With that, Naoki got up and started preparing breakfast.
Koraidon and Cyclizar followed closely behind, not leaving his side for a moment. Smoliv and Alcremie also looked worried.
Alcremie jumped onto the stove and said sadly, "Alcremie."
Dragonite, who had just come out of its Poké Ball and was about to deliver milk, immediately looked remorseful upon hearing the news.
"Roar."
Dragonite felt a pang of guilt. If it hadn't been practicing Rain Dance, Naoki wouldn't have gotten sick.
Seeing their concerned expressions, Naoki found it amusing. He sniffed and started giving instructions to the Pokémon.
"I'm really okay. Dragonite, go deliver the goat milk to Mrs. Dantes first. Koraidon, Cyclizar, Alcremie, Smoliv, you guys go wait outside. Don't crowd in here."
Dragonite, carrying its burden of worry, set off to deliver the milk.
The Pokémon that retreated outside looked at each other, exchanged a few words, and then started helping Naoki with the ranch work. Koraidon went to help Naoki water the plants, Cyclizar went to feed the Gogoat, and Alcremie brought salty snacks to the Nacli in the salt shelter.
Butterfree, perched under the eaves, saw this and flew inside. It landed beside the bed and looked at Naoki with concern.
Little Smoliv could only wander around anxiously.
Naoki watched the scene with amusement, but for some reason, seeing the Pokémon helping out gave him a feeling of "my children are growing up." It was like watching his own kids learn to help their parents with chores.
Good, you've become responsible.
Naoki smiled with contentment and continued preparing breakfast.
Due to his health, today's breakfast was simple. He just fried a few eggs, sliced some tomatoes, and made sandwiches with them.
Just as the sandwiches were ready, the Pokémon returned.
Naoki didn't have much of an appetite, so he let them eat first and went to the chicken coop to feed the chicks himself.
As he entered, he noticed a trail of small, plum-shaped footprints on the floor. It had just rained, and the ground wasn't completely dry yet. The unknown creature must have accidentally stepped in mud on its way in, leaving the footprints behind.
It looked like a creature that walked on four legs.
The intruder's target was clear: the chicken feed in the trough.
This time, Naoki was more cautious and decided to set a trap to catch this "thief."
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