บท 206: Lugia
Alliance Calendar Year 198, early August, autumn.
Something exciting happened on the ranch that morning.
It was the harvest season for the fruits in the orchard they had planted together.
Naoki stood in the orchard, looking at the large, ripe fruits hanging heavily from the branches, and felt a wave of happiness.
"What a great harvest!"
The feeling of seeing something you planted with your own hands grow is incomparable!
With nothing else to do, he decided to take his Indeedee sister for a stroll through the orchard.
Sister Indeedee, who followed closely behind, was also happy.
But remembering Naoki's usual schedule, she couldn't help but ask, "Ai-e?" (Aren't you going to visit Mr. Giratina today?)
"Not today." Naoki shook his head, deciding to stay at the ranch and enjoy the orchard. Besides, he also had plans to decorate the glass greenhouse.
The greenhouse had been built a while ago, but he hadn't visited much since he had been busy with Giratina and the Water of the Reverse World.
To be honest, he hadn't been there often since his last trip to Giratina's Reverse World—maybe once a week at most.
Giratina wasn't the easiest to get along with, and the "Reversal" dishes hadn't shown much effect on the Pokémon at the ranch.
The three buckets of water weren't even used up yet; Naoki had stored them all in Glaceon's ice cellar.
"Ai eh."
Sister Indeedee nodded and didn't ask any further questions.
At that moment, something extraordinary caught Naoki's eye on a fruit tree.
Amid the rustling green leaves hung a plump, golden fruit!
Naoki's eyes widened. He focused his attention on the fruit, and suddenly information about it flashed in his mind.
[Golden Cranberry: A rare ingredient, a variant of the cranberry. Its aroma and nutrition surpass those of ordinary cranberries and are highly popular with Pokémon. When given to wild Pokémon, they become much easier to catch. It also significantly enhances the taste and quality of Poffins made with it.]
"Wow!"
This rare mutated fruit wasn't something that could grow on just any fruit tree. It was clearly cultivated by the Gogoats using its Grass-type energy!
Without hesitation, Naoki picked it.
Now that the berries were ripe, he could share them with the Pokémon on the ranch and see how they compared to ordinary cranberries!
Seeing this, sister Indeedee smiled and headed off.
A short while later, she returned using her telekinesis to carry a wicker basket into the orchard.
Since Naoki had hired two wild Dragonites, he had to make sure they had their daily Poffins, and the stock of berries at home was running low.
Before, they had to go to town to buy berries, but now things were different. The ranch had a bountiful harvest of fruit, so all they had to do was pick them straight from the orchard.
Naoki put the golden cranberries into the basket and continued strolling through the orchard.
As he picked the fully ripe fruits, he kept an eye on the branches, hoping to spot more mutated fruits.
Sure enough, after a short while, he found a second, third, and even fourth mutated fruit.
[Golden Phoenix Fruit], [Silver Banana Fruit], [Silver Cranberry Fruit]
By the time his basket was full, several more golden fruits had appeared as well.
Carrying the basket back to the lawn outside, Naoki poured the fruits onto the ground, creating a small hill, and began sorting through the pile, picking out the golden and silver ones.
"One, two, three... six, seven. Huh? So many?"
Three golden berries and four slightly less rare silver berries.
Naoki was amazed by the sight.
The probability of these tree fruits mutating was much higher than the crops he had planted in his field!
After the initial surprise, a sense of regret followed.
Berries of this caliber were best suited for making Poke blocks.
As the top snack in the Pokémon world, Poke blocks were considered a nearly perfect, all-around food.
Not only could they provide Pokémon with rich nutrition and energy, but they also made Pokémon's fur shiny and smooth, enhanced their maturity, and improved overall vitality. Plus, they could keep a Pokémon's belly full for quite some time.
In short, Poke blocks were far more beloved and effective than ordinary food.
Unfortunately, Naoki hadn't yet learned the method of crafting Pokéblocks using berries.
Last time, Ivan had promised to help him find a cultivator skilled in making Pokéblocks, but it seemed that person hadn't been found yet.
After carefully packing the fruits and storing them in the fruit storage cabinet at home, Naoki retrieved a dozen flowerpots from the utility room. With the help of Brother Indeedee, they carried them to the flower field.
Time flew by. It was already August, and soon autumn would give way to the cold grip of winter.
Though it wasn't quite winter yet, the whole world had recently been affected by a sudden cold snap.
A weather-related TV program reported that the sea around the distant Orange Islands had frozen over, and wild Pokémon from around the world were abandoning their habitats, rushing toward the islands across the frozen sea.
Naoki speculated that the events from the movie "The Power of One" had likely begun.
In that film, a fanatical collector named Lawrence III sought to capture Lugia, the guardian of the seas, as part of his collection. To accomplish this, he captured Moltres. This act throws off the balance of nature, which then causes Zapdos to move into Moltres' territory.
Lawrence III then attempts to capture Zapdos, and this causes further chaos. Eventually, Articuno, the Ice-type Legendary Bird, gets involved as well, leading to a battle between the three birds—Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno, which led to a disturbance in the weather across the world, freezing the seas.
At first, Naoki felt concerned about the situation.
But soon enough, the cold wave passed.
Naoki figured that Ash and his friends must have calmed the fury of the three legendary birds with the help of Lugia, restoring balance.
Although the Paldea region was far from the Orange Islands, the cold wave had made an impression. The temperature had dropped slightly, but the effects weren't too severe for the people.
However, it wasn't as easy on the plants.
The sudden drop in temperature had a visible effect on many of the flowers in Naoki's flower fields. They had wilted and looked like they were on the brink of dying.
Determined to save them, Naoki dug up the affected flowers, transplanted them into pots, and moved them into the newly built glass greenhouse.
The glass greenhouse, clean and tidy, bathed in sunlight through its brand-new glass panes, appeared bright and inviting. The temperature inside was higher than outside, thanks to the underfloor heating Kelly had installed in the basement. Even in the cold of winter, the greenhouse would stay warm.
The floor heating was powered by electricity, and all of the ranch's electricity was now generated by Pawmot.
Originally, Dragonite handled the ranch's power supply, but since Pawmo evolved into Pawmot, it has taken over the job and become a reliable source of energy for the ranch.
Naoki smiled at the thought, feeling proud of how dependable Pawmot had become.
With a satisfied expression, he placed the flower pots on the wooden stands inside the greenhouse. The pastoral style he had chosen for the decoration gave the space a cozy, rustic feel.
There was a light-colored wooden flower stand on each side of the room, with a small tea table and a cozy sofa in the middle. A bookshelf stood nearby, and an elegant chandelier hung above, casting a warm glow over the space.
The bookshelf was filled with books that Naoki had bought from town. Some told stories of young trainers embarking on journeys with their first Pokémon, eventually becoming world-famous Pokémon Masters. Others were lighthearted Pokémon fairy tales about wild Pokémon building nests in tree holes, rescuing each other, and playing happily together.
There were also darker tales, like one about a Caterpie that lived peacefully in the forest with other Pokémon until a Pidgeot invaded, killing all the Caterpie except for the protagonist. Fueled by a desire for revenge, the surviving Caterpie trained hard, eventually evolving into a powerful Butterfree. Using a combination of Silver Wind, Poison Powder, and Air Slash, it defeated the Pidgeots and avenged its fallen friends.
How did Naoki know all this? Well, because he had read a few of these books during his free time.
After all, in this world, there weren't smartphones or computers to play AAA games on.
At first, Naoki hadn't expected much, but after reading a few, he realized the local books were actually quite interesting.
Once all the flower pots were arranged on the stands, the greenhouse, which had felt a bit empty before, suddenly seemed warm and full of life. The blend of natural beauty and modern furniture gave the room a cozy, comforting atmosphere.
On snowy days, Naoki could picture himself relaxing here with his Pokémon, lying on the soft sofa and reading stories from the bookshelf. And if any of his Pokémon were curious, he could share the tales with them, too.
"All set!" Naoki said, pulling out his Psyduck-shaped watering can to give the flowers a drink. Then he turned to the Indeedee siblings and said, "Could you bring Combee and Butterfree here for me?"
"Ai Ai!" younger Indeedee chirped cheerfully, turning to leave the greenhouse.
Naoki glanced at the older sibling, who stood there looking as serious as ever and grinned.
"If you ever have nothing to do, feel free to come here," Naoki said with a chuckle.
"Ai Yi," replied the older Indeedee, nodding calmly, still wearing that little grown-up expression.
Naoki added with a smile, "Just think of this place as your home. We're going to be together for years, maybe decades."
"Ai Yi," the older sibling nodded again, keeping his serious demeanor.
Naoki sighed internally. 'He's always so serious!'
Before long, Sister Indeedee returned with Combee and Butterfree in tow.
Naoki smiled at them and asked, "So, what do you think? Do you like it?"
The three Combee and Butterfree opened their innocent eyes wide, looking around curiously.
A warm environment, beautiful flowers, a cozy home.
They loved it here!
"Mmmm~"
"Buzz~"
Seeing their happy expressions, Naoki's heart swelled with joy.
He thought for a moment and said, "When winter comes, I'll move the beehive and the wooden boxes here. You can live in the greenhouse!"
By then, the flowers in the glass greenhouse would be in full bloom, providing plenty of nectar. Butterfree and the Combee wouldn't have to worry about food anymore.
After finishing the decorations in the greenhouse, Naoki lingered for a while, enjoying the peaceful feeling of reading, drinking tea, and napping in such a lovely environment. Then, he finally got up and left.
Back on the ranch, the Pokémon were playing as usual.
Koraidon was lying on the grass, sunbathing, but Naoki noticed its eyes were glancing in his direction.
The Cyclizar was speeding across the lawn with Alcremie on its back, and five Naclstack were happily chasing after them.
Two wild Dragonite seemed to have gotten themselves into trouble. They sat on the grass looking rather dejected as they listened to another Naoki's Dragonite scolding them.
The Gogoats and Dolliv were gathered around the base of the World Tree, peacefully munching on berry snacks.
Naoki couldn't spot Glaceon right away, but when he noticed the flowers rustling nearby, he guessed it was probably out for a quiet walk.
The ranch was bustling with life! Naoki felt a deep sense of happiness. His life truly felt complete.
Just as he was about to prepare some Poffins for the Dragonite, Ivan arrived at the ranch, riding a Cyclizar.
Naoki noticed the letter in his hand and asked, "Oh? Is there another festival happening in town?"
Ivan curled his lips and said, "Autumn Horse Racing."
Naoki casually opened the envelope and, as expected, it was an invitation to him, as a rancher, to participate in the autumn horse race.
"This?" Naoki raised his eyebrows. The problem was, he didn't have a horse Pokémon yet, so he couldn't participate.
Ivan, still sulking over the money he lost in the spring horse race, grumbled, "I'm definitely not betting this time!"
Naoki: "..." He still remembers that incident!
Ivan glanced around the ranch. He hadn't visited in a while, and it seemed like there hadn't been any major changes.
Looking around, he didn't see what he was hoping for, so he asked, "You still haven't caught a horse Pokémon?"
Naoki shrugged, "Eh? There's no rush. There's plenty of time until the spring horse racing."
Ivan, covering his face in frustration, sighed, "Ah, it looks like I'll never get those Poke Dollars back. My poor money!"
Naoki: "…"
Ivan let out a long sigh, clearly losing hope over the whole thing. "Yeah, I get it. The ranch keeps you busy, so you don't have time to go out and catch a horse Pokémon. Oh well. If I can't win it back, I can't win it back!"
"Don't worry," Naoki said, trying to comfort him, "I'll find a way to help you win it back."
After all, they had made a deal before—Ivan would help Naoki find the Butler Pokémon, and in return, Naoki would help Ivan win back the money he lost in the spring race.
With the Butler Pokémon found, it was now Naoki's turn to keep his promise.
Ivan, no longer holding out much hope for horse Pokémon in winter, shifted the conversation to something more interesting.
"Naoki, have you heard?"
Seeing that Ivan wasn't in a hurry to leave, Naoki offered, "Why don't you come in and sit for a while?"
Ivan grinned, "Don't mind if I do!"
Naoki led him to the living room, and sister Indeedee kindly brought them both cups of tea.
After taking a big gulp, Ivan continued, "I've got some big news! I heard it while delivering mail. It's about a legendary Pokémon!"
"Hm?" Naoki's mind quickly cycled through the legendary Pokémon of the Paldea region.
Koraidon, Miraidon, Chien-Pao...
But Ivan's answer was unexpected: "It's the legendary Sea Guardian, Lugia!"
Naoki blinked in surprise.
Ivan went on, clearly excited, "You remember the cold wave that hit Paldea a while back, right? Turns out, it was all related to Lugia!"
"I heard from a tourist visiting from the Orange Islands that a collector there tried to capture Lugia, and in doing so, angered the Legendary Birds—Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres!"
"They caused such a huge mess. I heard the ocean even froze over, like the end of the world! Wild Pokémon from all over gathered on the frozen sea to watch them fight!"
Naoki, while not surprised (he had expected this), still listened intently.
But what Ivan said next caught him off guard.
"And get this—apparently, during the battle between the legendary Pokémon, two Teddiursa somehow got involved! Not only that, but they almost stole the treasure guarded by the Legendary Birds!"
"The three birds—Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres—immediately stopped fighting and chased after the two Teddiursa, but they couldn't catch them! They were furious!"
"In the end, someone managed to find the two bear cubs and convinced them to return the treasure, explaining it could cause a massive disaster if they didn't."
"It's weird, though. How could those legendary Pokémon, who are practically gods, not catch up to two little Teddiursa? They almost got away with it!"
Ivan pondered, "Maybe they had the Run Away ability? No, it's more likely Pickup! Pokémon with Pickup are always interested in shiny little trinkets!"
Naoki: "???"
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