Speaking of Horse-type Pokemon, Naoki's favorite, and the one he currently has the strength to capture, is Rapidash.
There are two kinds of Rapidash: one is the regular fiery type, and the other is the Galar Region form, the Galarian Rapidash.
This Pokemon has blazing flames on its back and mane, looking both cool and stylish as it runs.
If a Trainer wears a helmet and rides it, they could start cosplaying as an Undead Knight right away.
However, these horses inhabit vast plains, and their numbers aren't many, so capturing them poses a certain challenge.
Hanging up the phone, Naoki turned to the kitchen to continue preparing dinner for the Pokemon.
There are still many things waiting for him at the ranch, like setting up supports in the fields for the growth of hops as the weather gets hotter and summer approaches.
The paths in the ranch that were damaged while the Pokemon were playing also await his repair.
Besides that, he also has to take care of the Pokemon on the ranch.
In such circumstances, he simply can't leave for long.
"Maybe I should just forget it this time," Naoki thought.
After all, it's only his first year in this world, and thinking it over, there's no rush to participate in the horse race contest.
There's plenty of time in the future, and ten days is just too short. Even if he captures a Horse-type Pokemon, there wouldn't be enough time to train it properly.
Moreover, he hasn't even developed food that can make Pokemon run faster.
Life moves slowly, and if he misses this year, there's always next year.
Besides participating in the horse race, there was something else Naoki wanted to do.
That is to go to Glaseado Mountain to see if he could encounter some Ice Type Pokemon that suits his fancy and bring it back to the ranch.
At this moment, the oil in the pot was heated, and Naoki used tongs to place two fresh steaks onto it.
The frying pan immediately emitted a sizzling sound.
Once the steaks turned golden, Naoki skillfully flipped them and sprinkled some black pepper and other seasonings on top.
Soon, two sizzling, juicy steaks were ready.
The aroma of the cooked steaks wafted through the room, and Naoki served them onto a plate, handing it to Koraidon and Cyclizar, asking them to eat on the side.
Next, he had to prepare meals for Dragonite, Pawmi, and Beautifly.
The sky outside had already darkened, and after a day of playing, the many Pokemon said goodbye to their companions and returned to their little nests.
After dinner, Naoki, as usual, took a flashlight to patrol the ranch grounds.
Seeing that Miltank, Nacli, Gogoat, and the hens were all fine, he went back inside.
He took off his boots, prepared to wash up and then go to bed.
Just then, Naoki suddenly noticed something was missing from the windowsill.
He looked around and turned to Pawmi, asking, "Have you seen where Smoliv went?"
"Pawmi..."
Pawmi shook its head.
Noticing this, Naoki paused what he was doing and went to the Gogoat's pen.
Sure enough, he saw Smoliv lying on the grass there.
It was cuddled up on a patch of grass, taking a nap. Hearing the approaching footsteps, Smoliv was startled awake, instinctively opening its eyes.
Seeing that it was Naoki, it relaxed again.
"Not going back to sleep?" Naoki asked.
"Smoliv~"
Smoliv gently shook its head, indicating that it liked this place and preferred staying here.
"Alright then."
Seeing this, Naoki was a bit helpless but said nothing further.
He always chose to respect the Pokemon's wishes.
So from that day forward, Smoliv officially moved into the pen to live with Gogoat.
————
The next morning, after finishing the tasks on the ranch, Naoki rode Cyclizar into town.
The temperature at Glaseado Mountain is very low, covered in snow all year round. Without adequate preparation, it's not advisable to head there.
Therefore, upon arriving in town, Naoki went to the store and bought a set of thermal gear.
The set consisted of four parts: a thermal coat, gloves, windproof goggles, and snow boots. These are essentials for going to Glaseado Mountain.
In addition, he also needed to purchase some portable kerosene stoves for lighting fires.
Once everything was ready, Naoki didn't set off immediately but went to Keri's cottage to consult her about the ice cellar.
After listening, Keri seemed a bit surprised and slowly said:
"Hmm, usually when you're expanding a house, you can choose to build a cellar underground, but turning a cellar into an ice cellar might affect the house above, you know, cold air can seep through the ground and spread into the house."
Naoki thought about it and realized she was right, so he continued to ask, "What if I dug an ice cellar in another part of the ranch?"
"I wouldn't recommend you do that."
After thinking for a moment, Keri offered her suggestion:
"Rather than digging a new hole on the ranch to make an ice cellar, I suggest you remodel the cave behind your house into an ice cave."
"If I remember correctly, you're currently using it to grow mushrooms, right?" Keri asked again.
Naoki nodded. The cave contained several mushroom cultivation trays, and every few days, some mushrooms would grow.
The types of mushrooms were common and ordinary. Initially, Naoki was very intrigued and would pick some mushrooms for making soup or cooking.
Later, when the novelty wore off, he ended up throwing all the mushrooms into the shipping box for Zack to sell in town.
Now that he thought about it, there really was no better place to convert into an ice cellar.
And it wouldn't require much work; with an Ice Type Pokemon moving in, a natural ice cellar would gradually form.
"Got it," Naoki thanked Keri.
Keri smiled and seized the opportunity to promote her furniture:
"I just got a new batch of professional cooling equipment. Are you interested? They're not expensive, only..."
Naoki replied helplessly, "I'm planning to capture an Ice Type Pokemon to help with the remodel."
"What about power generation facilities?" Keri continued her pitch: "They can absorb and store the electricity released by Pokemon, and if the Pokemon's energy is sufficient, it can power the whole ranch!"
Hmm?
Hearing this, Naoki was instantly intrigued.
Seeing his expression, Keri's smile grew even more radiant: "It's not expensive, only thirty thousand League coins for one unit."
Thirty thousand...
The price was indeed reasonable.
If he had this power generation device, it would save him a huge amount on electricity bills in the future.
The ranch has Pawmi, an Electric Type Pokemon.
Dragonite can also use Electric-Type moves, so borrowing some electricity from them shouldn't be a problem.
With this thought, Naoki immediately planned to buy one and have it installed.
This way, if there's another power outage due to a typhoon or other severe weather, he could generate his own electricity.