As night fell, the entire ranch became shrouded in darkness.
The hens, having finished their day of grazing, led the chicks back to the Chicken House, nestled in the hay to rest.
The Nacli returned to the Salt House, clustered together and snoring softly.
After expending their energy, the Skiddo lay on the grass, resting their heads on their companions, listening to the rhythm of the wind across the meadow, and gradually closed their eyes.
The three Combee had a bountiful day as well, returning to the hive with a load of nectar. By tomorrow, their honey would be ready to harvest, and they couldn't wait to offer it to the "queen."
Inside the cabin, Naoki finished his evening routine, sitting cross-legged on the bed in just a thin T-shirt, adjusting the TV.
Cyclizar and Koraidon stood guard by the bedside, their necks craned towards it, while Alcremie and Smoliv were also drawn over.
Soon, Naoki tuned into a news program and stopped, leaning against the headboard to watch TV.
Suddenly, Naoki felt like something was missing beside him.
He turned to look around, his gaze locking onto Pawmi not far away, patting the bed while calling out, "Come over here, Pawmi!"
"Pamo?"
Hearing Naoki call, Pawmi scampered over in no time.
Naoki reached out and scooped it onto the bed, holding it in his arms.
"That's more like it! From now on, you sleep here with me!"
The small Pawmi was soft and cuddly, prompting Naoki to massage it like stroking a cat, pinching its ears, smoothing its fur, and squeezing its little paws.
Soon, Pawmi let out a content growl: "Paaa~mo~"
Naoki cuddled it in his arms and continued watching TV, with the well-behaved Pawmi lying still.
At that moment, Koraidon by the bed watched enviously: "Graaaa!"
Naoki glanced over and for a moment felt like he saw a big dog wagging its tail at the bedside, wanting to get up on the bed.
"...What do you want to do?"
"Gra-gra!"
Koraidon looked at Pawmi with envy.
Naoki understood instantly and mercilessly refused Koraidon, "No, you're too big. This bed is so small, you won't fit!"
It's just a poor single bed.
Koraidon felt extremely wronged and upset, even its head feathers drooped down on either side.
"Gra-gra..."
The usually dashing Koraidon appeared silly and pitiful in this state, looking rather miserable.
"..."
Naoki suddenly felt a bit soft-hearted, his annoyance dissipating, "Alright, I'll let you come up for a try."
"Gra-gra!"
Koraidon immediately perked up, the elegant feathers on its head standing erect with a swift "whoosh."
It pounced onto the bed like a big dog. However, the next second, "crack" was heard, and Naoki suddenly felt empty below, tumbling down.
The bed broke.
This made the already impoverished family worse off.
Realizing its mistake, Koraidon carefully looked at Naoki rubbing his rear, feeling very aggrieved, "Gra-gra..."
It wasn't intentional.
Naoki: "..."
He stood up from the floor, pulled out the broken bed leg underneath, and, seeing Koraidon's look, felt both angry and amused.
Standing at 2.5 meters tall and weighing 600 pounds, Koraidon's weight would probably be too much for any sturdy bed to bear.
A full 600 pounds, what concept is that!
Koraidon remained dejected the whole time.
Seeing its state, Naoki felt a twinge of helplessness, "Alright, we'll just buy a new bed in a few days."
For now, they'll have to make do with sleeping as is!
Without the bed legs, there was still a layer of boards to lie on. After rearranging the bed, Naoki looked over at Koraidon not far away, patting the spot beside him, saying, "Okay, now you can come over!"
Koraidon cautiously stepped forward, fearing it might break something again.
Naoki sat up, letting Koraidon lie behind him, acting as a pillow,
"This is your punishment!" Naoki said with mock seriousness.
"Gra-gra..."
While propped against Koraidon and cuddling Pawmi, Naoki continued watching TV.
Cyclizar, witnessing the whole process, was also called over by Naoki, lying beside the bed and watching Professor Oak's Pokemon lecture on TV with him.
————
The next morning, Keri arrived on time to help build the Pokemon House.
The once standing Pokemon House had already become a ruin over time, reduced to mere rubble.
Naoki did not choose another location and planned to rebuild the Pokemon House in the same spot.
Keri naturally had no objections, directing Machamp and Conkeldurr to completely demolish it here.
During the demolition, Keri surveyed the surroundings and slightly raised an eyebrow, "The layout of this ranch isn't bad!"
Naoki also looked around, having roughly divided the ranch into two areas after the initial plan.
One area was for raising Pokemon, while the other was for planting.
Therefore, when building the Chicken House, Salt House, and Pokemon House, he had specifically chosen particular locations to construct them, making the whole ranch appear less cluttered.
Each large area was further divided into more detailed sections.
For instance, within the farm area were separate plots for planting crops, for planting Berries, and even a decorative flower field.
"Not bad at all!" Listening to Naoki's introduction, Keri appeared somewhat surprised, "I feel like you aren't new to running a ranch, but rather an experienced rancher."
"Just learning by example!"
Naoki thought, managing a ranch in games might count as experience?
He had played many farming games, from the classic Harvest Moon titles to the later generations of Stardew Valley, and even Doraemon Story of Seasons.
Managing a ranch involves pre-planning to prevent it from looking messy and unaesthetic long-term, making rebuilding quite bothersome.
Keri smiled faintly, and taking advantage of Machamp's delay in demolishing the ruins, she strolled around the ranch with Naoki and occasionally offered some suggestions.
"That pond could be turned into a fish pond, for raising fish or Water Type Pokemon."
"Aren't these Berries too close? This way, they'll compete for soil nutrients, causing the Berries to be shriveled and sour due to insufficient nutrients."
"I actually recommend placing a scarecrow in the fields to prevent birds from messing around and eating your grown crops."
While speaking, the three Combee landed in front of the two.
Under their guidance, Naoki arrived at the hive and found the honey inside already brewed.
From afar, Naoki caught a whiff of the fragrance wafting out.
The honey was ready to be harvested.
Seeing this, Keri suddenly remembered something, turning to look at the back hill, she reminded:
"The honey brewed by the Combee can be smelled from afar, and since you're close to the hills, be cautious of wild Pokemon being drawn in to steal the honey. If you encounter aggressive ones, they might even harm the Pokemon on your ranch."