Chương 35: Nacli
"Is this Dragonite?" Looking at the black shadow's outline, Naoki immediately envisioned the plump, round body of a Dragonite. He wanted to ask Yosuke about this Pokémon, but when he looked up, Yosuke was deeply engrossed in his drawing.
Naoki decided not to disturb him and continued flipping through the sketchbook. However, his thoughts were consumed by the image of Dragonite, and he lost interest in the subsequent Pokémon like Golett, Slowpoke, and Shroomish.
After over an hour, Yosuke finally put down his pencil. Looking at his finished artwork, he exclaimed, "Perfectly done! Take a look!"
He handed Naoki the drawing of Koraidon. On the paper, Koraidon lay peacefully beside Naoki, its large head resting on his legs. Naoki was absorbed in reading the sketchbook, creating a natural and heartwarming scene.
"Amazing!" Naoki gave a thumbs-up and asked, "Have you been learning to draw for a long time?"
Yosuke scratched his head. "Not really. My parents enrolled me in an art class, but I only attended for three months before leaving to travel. I'm still practicing."
Naoki didn't know much about art. Yosuke put away his pen, satisfied, and closed the sketchbook. He then asked with interest, "Are you also a trainer traveling around?"
"No," Naoki shook his head. "I'm a rancher. I currently run a ranch. If you ever need eggs, you can come to Naoki Ranch, east of Cascarrafa." Naoki took the opportunity to promote his ranch's products.
Yosuke's eyes widened in surprise. "A rancher?"
"Yup!"
"Wow," Yosuke replied. "I initially thought you were a trainer who came to Casseroya Lake to catch Pokémon. There are many different types living here. I often see trainers coming here to catch Pokémon these days."
Speaking of wild Pokémon, Naoki turned back to the page with the Dragonite-like drawing and asked, "Is this Pokémon still around?"
"You mean that one? Yes, it's still there!" Yosuke replied, surprised. "Are you interested in it too?"
Naoki didn't deny it. "If it's not too much trouble, could you tell me about it?"
"Of course!" Yosuke recalled, "I spotted it a week ago."
"At that time, I was investigating a Pokémon native to the Paldea region, on an island in the lake west of Casseroya Lake. It was mimicking the appearance of sushi."
"Out of curiosity, I wanted to get a closer look, but for some reason, I was suddenly attacked by a Croconaw."
"In a panic, I fell into the lake and was chased by a group of Finneon. I ended up washed ashore on a cliff. When I looked up, I saw this Pokémon sitting on the cliff, gazing at the moon."
"But in the evening, Casseroya Lake gets foggy, and I couldn't see it clearly. I could only make out a blurry shadow."
"There's no Pokémon like that in the Galar region. I was captivated by it and started observing it. I later discovered that it would arrive there promptly at 7 o'clock every night."
"It stays there until five in the morning the following day, then flies back to the sea without fail. Rain or shine, it's always on time!"
"It's a shame I don't have a flying Pokémon. I can't reach that height." Yosuke's face was filled with regret, but then he suddenly remembered the flying Pokémon right in front of him! His eyes lit up. "Could you take me to see what it really looks like? I just want to observe it!"
"Well, I could." Naoki hesitated.
The mysterious Pokémon wouldn't appear until seven in the evening, but he couldn't stay here for long. He had to return to the ranch and prepare dinner for the Pokémon.
After a moment of thought, Naoki asked, "It stays there all night and doesn't leave, right?"
Yosuke nodded. "That's right."
"How about this," Naoki proposed, "I'll come back here after 7 pm." He explained the tasks he still needed to complete at the ranch.
Yosuke immediately agreed. "No problem, I'll wait for you here!"
After making the agreement, Naoki rode Koraidon away from the watchtower. He looked at the five Poké Balls in his hand and started pondering which Pokémon he should bring back to the ranch.
First and foremost, the ranch currently needed Nacli the most because of their ability to produce valuable salt.
According to the Rancher's Guide given by Mayor Clavell, Nacli naturally shed salt particles as they move. Therefore, people build special shelters for them with a unique floor covering to collect the salt. On average, one Nacli can produce a small bag of about 500 grams of rock salt every five days.
The market price for such a small bag of rock salt is 3,000 Pokédollars. The reason for the high price is that rock salt is rich in minerals, and long-term consumption is beneficial to both humans and Pokémon. Moreover, this rock salt can be applied directly to Pokémon to quickly heal their injuries.
Excluding the cost of raising them, one Nacli can earn over 2,500 Pokédollars in five days, which translates to 15,000 per month. With ten Nacli, a rancher could earn 150,000 Pokédollars monthly. And once they evolve into Naclstack, their salt production increases even further.
If the rancher treats the Nacli well, providing daily food and spending time playing with them, keeping them happy, healthy, and illness-free, the profits are substantial.
With this in mind, Naoki guided Koraidon to the location where he had previously spotted the Nacli, following the memory of its location. It was on the east side of Casseroya Lake, near a rocky area on Glaseado Mountain. There was a cave in the back, which seemed to be where the Nacli lived.
Naoki gently patted Koraidon's neck. Koraidon gave a cry and landed in front of the cave.
Several Nacli that had been basking in the sun and playing on the rocks sensed an unfamiliar presence and fled in panic, scattering back into the cave.
Naoki thought, "Am I really that scary?"
Although his initial approach had failed, Naoki wasn't discouraged. He took out his prized delicacies—salted dried fish and salted plums.
Worried that suddenly entering the cave would scare the Nacli, Naoki chose to stay outside and started tossing the dried fish and plums into the cave.
...
Thank you all so much for the power stones and support! Since we've reached our second milestone, let's set this week's target at 600 power stones. If we can reach it by Saturday, I'll post 3 additional chapters.
Also, I've been posting advance chapters on my Patreon page. If you want to read ahead and support me, please check it out!
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