บท 197: Rotom
In addition to Mrs. Dantes, who had ordered milk earlier, and the seed shop owner Hugh, Naoki Ranch has recently received many more orders from the townsfolk.
Some people ordered the magical goat milk produced by the Gogoat, some requested rock salt, others wanted fresh eggs, and many ordered the MooMoo Milk produced by the Miltank.
Although similar products are sold in town, people believe that milk freshly squeezed from the ranch is fresher, more natural, and tastes better.
One customer even ordered a basket of sweet corn, saying they wanted to enjoy steamed corn.
Naoki and Koraidon delivered the corn together.
Meanwhile, Dragonite was responsible for delivering the rest of the orders: milk, goat milk, and eggs.
Over the past few months, Dragonite has become more familiar with town than Naoki himself.
Dragonite enjoys the job, especially since it receives so much praise while working.
Among all the customers, Dragonite's favorite is Mrs. Dantes and her husband, who live on Blue Sea Street in the northeast corner of town.
This kind and gentle elderly lady loves to bake cookies and always has a few treats ready for Dragonite.
At first, Dragonite was nervous about accepting the cookies because Naoki had told it not to accept gifts from customers without permission, so it politely declined.
But Mrs. Dantes was too insistent. When Dragonite refused, she practically forced the cookies into its mouth, saying it was a new flavor she had just developed, and she'd be very upset if Dragonite didn't try them.
Dragonite had no choice but to accept.
Later, back at the ranch, Dragonite discussed the situation with Naoki.
After a lengthy conversation between man and Pokémon, they decided to deliver milk to Mrs. Dantes in a larger glass bottle from then on, as a thank-you for her generosity.
Now, Dragonite was showing the two wild Dragonites around town, introducing them to the customers who ordered milk.
"Awoo, awoo!" (Remember these houses! Every morning, Naoki will prepare fresh milk, and you just need to deliver it!)
The wild Dragonites blinked in confusion: "Awoo?" (And then what?)
Dragonite: "..."
Dragonite felt a surge of frustration. These two were even more clueless than it had been.
Thinking of the future Naoki had planned for it, Dragonite sighed and patiently explained:
"Awoo—" (You can't just drop the milk off and fly away. You have to land in front of the door, knock, and wait for the humans to come out and collect it.)
"Awoo!" (And don't forget! Delivering the milk is not the end. Humans will give you money in exchange for the milk. Bring the money back to Naoki, and he'll make delicious Poke Puffs for you!)
At the mention of Poke Puffs, the two wild Dragonites' eyes lit up with excitement.
'This sounded pretty easy!'
Dragonite assigned each Dragonite to specific clients to deliver milk.
At the end of the lesson, it added: "Awoo!" (I'll take care of Mrs. Dantes!)
Dragonite wasn't too concerned about the other customers, but delivering milk to Mrs. Dantes, who baked cookies just for it, was something it wouldn't give up.
The two wild Dragonites had no objections to this arrangement.
After everything was explained, the three Dragonites left town and flew back to Naoki Ranch.
They had come in a hurry, strolled through town, and then left just as quickly.
Their eye-catching flight through the sky attracted the attention of not only the townspeople but also a few Pokémon trainers camping in the countryside.
"It's a Dragonite! I saw it in the Pokémon Encyclopedia at the academy!"
"Why is a Pokémon like that here?"
"Dragonite is rarer than anything I've ever seen! I'm going to catch one!"
"Let's go, Pikachu!"
"No way, I saw them first! I'm catching one!"
"Let's see who can do it first!"
Two young men wearing Orange Academy uniforms charged after the Dragonites, filled with determination.
The girl who stayed behind sighed, holding her forehead. "Really, those two are so impulsive. Haven't they thought that these Dragonites might belong to a trainer?"
She glanced at the tent they left behind, then gritted her teeth and chased after them, abandoning the tent.
...
Back at the ranch, Naoki stood by the lake, looking at the five familiar Dragonairs. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
The five Dragonairs were the first to greet him with a cheerful, "Woo~"
Naoki blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. He walked up to the lake to observe them.
Including the shiny Dratini, there should have been two more Dratini here.
But last night, all three had evolved into Dragonair.
Judging by the situation, it seemed the two Dragonairs hadn't evolved yet.
Maybe they hadn't gathered enough experience points?
Naoki studied the five Dragonairs, who were innocently gazing back at him with wide eyes.
With a sigh, Naoki gave in: "Well, since you're here, you might as well stay."
With them around, the ranch was sure to have good weather and bountiful harvests.
Naoki stood up and looked around.
He didn't see Dragonite anywhere and guessed it must have gone to deliver milk.
Naoki wasn't in a rush. He took Cyclizar and Pawmot for a morning jog while inspecting the ranch.
Today, Naoki had a new project: transforming the flower field.
After giving it some thought last night, Naoki came up with two renovation ideas.
The first plan was to build a support structure in the middle of the flower field, allowing the flowers to naturally climb and form a beautiful flower arch.
Leave a space in the middle, cover it with pebbles, and place tea sets, tables, and chairs there.
That way, on weekdays, Combee and Butterfree can rest on the supports while Naoki can sip tea beneath them.
The second option was to build a transparent glass greenhouse using a large amount of glass.
The advantage of this is that, even in the cold winter, the flowers and plants can grow safely inside.
Tables, chairs, and tea sets could be placed inside as well, allowing people to enjoy tea and admire the flowers in winter, just as elegantly as in spring.
Both options had their perks, and Naoki found it hard to decide between them.
At that moment, Dragonite returned.
What surprised Naoki even more was the sight of two other Dragonites following behind it!
When the two Dragonites saw him, their eyes lit up.
Naoki: "..."
He immediately recognized the familiar feeling—they were the two food-loving Dragonites.
Naoki wasn't slow to figure things out. Seeing the red bags slung over Dragonite's shoulder and its proud expression, Naoki quickly realized that Dragonite had been showing the two wild Dragonites around town to familiarize them with the delivery routes, paving the way for the future Dragonite Express Company.
"Did they agree?" Naoki asked quietly.
Dragonite nodded confidently.
Naoki smiled. "That's great."
Since Dragonite was getting everything in place, Naoki knew he couldn't fall behind either.
After thinking for a moment, Naoki decided to write a notice and post it on the bulletin board in the square of the town.
As for the content, he had already figured it out:
"Naoki Ranch now proudly offers Dragon Express services! Fresh eggs, nutritious milk, magical goat milk, and plump pumpkins—delivered straight to your doorstep by Dragon Express!
Interested? Call 5376898!
Note: Currently, we do not support cross-city or cross-region shipping!"
And why wasn't cross-city delivery supported?
Well, for now, the Dragonites were still unfamiliar with other towns, and there wasn't any navigation system to guide them.
Speaking of navigation, the first thing that came to Naoki's mind was Rotom.
Rotom is a very unique Pokémon, capable of inhabiting various appliances like refrigerators, washing machines, and even mobile phones and computers.
When the famous Rotom Phone was released, it spread quickly throughout the Pokémon world.
This device, which could search and store Pokémon information, came equipped with map navigation, communication functions, and even a camera—making it incredibly popular among trainers.
Naoki imagined how useful it would be to equip each Dragonite with one of these to help them with deliveries, and to keep one at home so he could stay in touch with any Dragonite out on delivery.
Unfortunately, the Rotom Phone hasn't been invented yet.
"Ah, I guess I'll have to be patient and wait."
After all, smartphones hadn't even been invented yet.
Even if Naoki found Rotom, there wouldn't be much he could do with it.
Whenever this thought crossed his mind, Naoki would sigh and mutter about how the technological advancements in this world were progressing in strange ways.
As for inter-regional deliveries.
It was common knowledge in the Pokémon world that Dragonite's flying speed far exceeded that of airplanes.
Even though Dragonite could fly around the planet in sixteen hours, Naoki didn't plan on letting them deliver goods to other regions just yet.
Why? Because other regions weren't exactly stable at the moment.
Take Kanto and Hoenn, for example. It would be disastrous if members of Team Rocket, Team Magma, or Team Aqua pretended to be customers, placed fake orders, and set traps for Dragonite during deliveries.
They could easily capture Dragonites using such tricks, and that would be an enormous waste of time—not to mention dangerous for the Dragonites.
Naoki cared too much about their safety to take such risks.
"No, aside from getting them equipped with Rotom Phones, we also need to find ways to make Dragonite stronger," Naoki pondered.
While he didn't expect them to surpass Koraidon in strength, they should at least be comparable to Gogoat in terms of endurance and power.
---
After breakfast, Naoki started preparing the two food-loving Dragonites' favorite treat, Poke Puffs.
With brother Indeedee handling most of the daily housework, Naoki no longer had to worry about household chores. Brother Indeedee ensured everything stayed in order, giving Naoki plenty of time and energy to focus on making delicious dishes for the Pokémon.
Sister, Indeedee, who had never learned how to make Poke Puffs, watched with curiosity. She loved cooking and was intrigued by the process.
Seeing her interest, Naoki raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you want to learn how to make Poke Puffs?"
"Ai Ai!" sister Indeedee nodded eagerly, excited at the opportunity. Could she really learn?
"Of course!" Naoki smiled warmly, ready to teach her the process of Poke Puff-making.
"First, you place the berries in a pot with cold water and heat it up. You need to stir it constantly to infuse the flavor into the Poke Puff," he explained.
"But be careful with the timing. If you cook it for too long, the batter will turn mushy, and no Pokémon will want to eat that."
"Once the batter is done, you pour it into the mold and bake it in the oven," Naoki concluded.
Sister Indeedee listened intently, absorbing all the details.
After Naoki finished his explanation, he stepped aside and asked, "Would you like to give it a try?"
"Ai ah~" She responded happily, eager to try her hand at making Poke Puffs.
Unlike humans, Psychic-type Pokémon like Indeedee could use their telekinesis to prepare food, allowing them to handle ingredients and kitchen tools without touching them.
Naoki watched in amazement as the spoon, enveloped in blue psychic energy, stirred the mixture with precision.
Judging from her control, it was clear that she had an exceptional talent for telekinesis.
"Great job! Now that the batter is ready, go ahead and pour it into the mold, and we'll pop it into the oven," Naoki instructed.
She happily followed his directions, carefully using her psychic powers to pour the batter evenly into the mold before placing it into the oven.
"All we have to do now is wait twenty minutes," Naoki said.
He had planned to wait with her, but just then, a sudden commotion from outside the ranch caught his attention.
Naoki glanced toward the source of the noise and turned toward sister Indeedee. "Can you watch the oven for me? I'll go check what's happening outside."
"Ai ah~"
When Naoki stepped outside, he saw three students from Naranja Academy, all wearing their uniforms, gazing in amazement at the three Dragonites basking in the sun on the grass.
One of the boys noticed Naoki and quickly realized the three Dragonites weren't wild Pokémon. His expression shifted to shock as he hurriedly said:
"Excuse me! We're students from Naranja Academy. We followed those Dragonites here. Sorry, we didn't know they were your Pokémon!"
Naoki raised an eyebrow, mildly amused. 'So they were drawn here by the Dragonites?'
"That's fine."
He thought for a moment that they were here for the Green Grass Trial!
"Don't worry about it," Naoki replied with a smile, glancing at the Dragonites. "They're the Delivery Dragonites of the ranch. You probably saw them on their way to deliver goods to town."
"Delivery?" The trio looked at him in disbelief, eyes wide.
Naoki chuckled. "Yes."
Hearing this, the three students exchanged uncertain glances, nervously swallowing. Even though Naoki had explained it, something still felt... off.
What they didn't know was that, at one point in time, Naoki had been 'borrowed' by Arceus, the god of Pokémon, to help with farming—but that only happened in a video game.
This wasn't the first time Naoki had encountered people who were shocked to see Dragonites delivering milk. He had gotten used to it and remained calm.
At that moment, their attention shifted to Pawmot, wearing a small red cloak, fluttering from the coop towards the water trough.
"That's... Pawmot?!" one of the boys stammered, eyes wide.
"And it's flying!"
Pawmot fluttered over, affectionately nuzzling Naoki's cheek before zooming into the house to drink water.
The trio stared, awestruck, at the door where Pawmot had disappeared.
Just then, the girl among the three gasped. "Look at those Pokémon!"
The two boys turned their heads.
In the next second, they spotted several Dragonair lounging on giant pumpkins in the field.
"That's a shiny Dragonair!" one of the boys exclaimed, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
Shiny Pokémon were incredibly rare—one in a thousand, if you were lucky!
At that very moment, Koraidon walked out of the house, searching for a shady spot to lie down and watch Naoki work. As usual, it greeted Naoki with a familiar growl, "Raao!"
The three students turned their heads once again.
This time, they locked eyes with Koraidon, who looked majestic and powerful. Their expressions screamed shock as if they were seeing something completely new.
"A Pokémon I've never seen before!" one of the boys shouted, his voice full of wonder.
Naoki sighed internally.
'There are so many trainers who've never seen the world,' he thought with a bemused smile.
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