Besides feeding Nacli, he had something even more important to do.
That was to fish in Casseroya Lake and bring the catch back to the ranch for sale.
If this group of Nacli were to leave with him, the ranch would have five more mouths to feed.
Not only that, he would also need to ask Keri to build a Salt House specifically for the Nacli to reside in, making it easier to collect Rock Salt.
With the little money he had, it wouldn't be enough.
Looking at the marks left by the Nacli moving around on the ground, Naoki felt a twinge of heartache.
There were expenses everywhere, and he had to work hard.
"When you have time in the future, feel free to stop by my ranch, I'll make sure to give you a proper reception then."
Naoki informed the Traveler from the Galar region of the exact location of the ranch.
Yousuke's face lit up with a smile, "Alright, once I'm done with the Pokémon ecological survey here at Casseroya Lake, I'll head over."
He was very curious about what kind of ranch this young man had built.
Naoki smiled and nodded, turned around to say goodbye, and rode Koraidon back to the ranch.
Before setting off, he left the salty provisions in his backpack behind, knowing he needed to make a trip to town in the morning and might not return by noon.
By the time Naoki returned to the ranch, it was already late at night.
Even though it was very late, Cyclizar had not yet gone to sleep; it was lying under the eaves, watching the outside.
Seeing Naoki and Koraidon return, Cyclizar's eyes lit up, and it happily stood up.
Naoki stepped forward to pat its head, knowing that Cyclizar had been diligently watching over the ranch, and said with a smile, "Alright, I'm back, go get some sleep!"
"Gaao~"
Cyclizar went to rest, while Naoki went to the Chicken House to check the feed and water in the feeding troughs and the condition of the chickens.
When he saw that the water trough was nearly empty, he added more water, and only after busying himself did he go to sleep.
Early the next morning, after finishing his work at the ranch, Naoki went to town, found the fishing tackle shop using the roadside sign, and bought a few giant fishing nets from there.
Unfortunately, Metapod had not yet evolved into Butterfree; otherwise, he could make the fishing nets himself.
In the following days, Naoki became busy.
He and Koraidon shuttled between Casseroya Lake, the West Paldea Sea, and the ranch to catch fish, sometimes working until nearly dawn.
It wasn't just him; even Koraidon, this legendary Pokémon, was exhausted.
Though the work was tough, Koraidon didn't utter a word of complaint; instead, it felt happy and fulfilled.
Seeing him running back and forth between Casseroya Lake and the ranch, Yousuke could also sense the hardships of operating the ranch.
Once, when Naoki went to visit Nacli and deliver food, Yousuke couldn't help but say, "You're really pushing yourself too hard! Sometimes you need to relax a bit!"
Covered in sweat, Naoki handed Koraidon a bottle of juice to restore its energy and stamina, and said,
"There's a mountain of tasks waiting for me at the ranch, and a lot of mouths depending on me for food, I have to earn more money!"
"Alright then."
Realizing he couldn't change Naoki's mind, Yousuke turned his attention to the five Nacli in front of him as soon as Naoki and Koraidon left.
"Garganacl was captured by a Human Trainer and won't be coming back."
"You see? All the food these days has been given to you by that person. He really hopes you can follow him back to the ranch to live with him."
"Salt…"
The Nacli visualized Naoki working at Casseroya Lake, taking the time to visit them, and bringing them delicious food.
Even their leader might not treat them so well.
What's more, their leader had been taken away by a human and wouldn't return.
The Nacli showed expressions of gratitude.
The five of them exchanged glances and then decided to follow the human who protected them and brought them food, and leave here to live at his ranch.
Although the Nacli's understanding was still immature, at this moment, they vaguely felt that besides Naoki, no one in the world would treat them so well.