"Wow!"
Naoki widened his eyes, quite shocked as he watched the scene unfold.
He only knew that Naclstack could produce more Rock Salt, but he hadn't expected it to be this exaggerated.
The amount produced in one go exceeded what used to be gathered in two weeks before!
Nearby, the ecstatic Naclstack looked at the pile of Rock Salt, then at Naoki: "Stack! Stack~"
Life on the farm, carefree as it was, hadn't erased Naclstack's past memories.
It still remembered how Naoki protected them, cared for them, rescued them from the dangers of the wild when they were powerless, and brought them back to the farm, even building a beautiful house for them.
Naclstack never forgot these things for even a moment.
At this moment, the simple and pure-hearted Naclstack was expressing its gratitude to the human in front of it in the only way it knew.
This was all it could do.
Affectionately, Naclstack nudged Naoki with its blocky head.
Though the language barrier existed, Naoki miraculously felt the emotions of this pure-hearted Pokémon.
It was expressing gratitude towards him!
The emotions of the Rock Pokemon were as simple and profound as a mountain.
Naoki was touched and patted Naclstack, saying, "Thank you, Naclstack, I can feel your sincerity."
"Stack~"
The four unevolved Nacli nearby were incredibly envious.
They jumped around beside him, uttering cries of "Nacli, Nacli."
Seeing this, Naoki laughed and picked them up one by one, saying, "You guys also have to work hard! But remember, Naclstack isn't the final stop, there's the mightier Garganacl ahead."
"Nacli!" They would try their best!
Suddenly, Naoki remembered that Garganacl was over two meters tall.
If all five Nacli evolved into Garganacl, their current Salt House would become very low and cramped for them.
"Looks like I need to ask Keri if she can build a bigger Salt House," Naoki murmured to himself.
Then he went back to the cabin and fetched a bag, preparing to collect that pile of Rock Salt while mentioning Nacli's evolution to Alcremie.
Sure enough, upon hearing the news, Alcremie immediately expressed a desire to see for itself.
So Naoki took Alcremie to the Salt House.
Upon seeing Naclstack for the first time, Alcremie's eyes showed a shocked expression: "Alcrem..."
Was this really the tiny Naclstack it used to know?
In front of Nacli, Alcremie had always been the big sister leading them around to play.
Now upon seeing Naclstack, larger than itself, Alcremie suddenly felt a reversal in roles.
Its little followers became bigger than itself overnight...
Naclstack, on the other hand, didn't notice Alcremie's thoughts. It greeted Alcremie happily: "Stack~"
As Naoki was busy collecting the Rock Salt, he said to Alcremie: "Once Naclstack evolves again, they'll grow even larger! Then they'll be bigger and taller than me!"
"Alcrem?!" Alcremie was even more shocked.
Naoki continued, "Then you can stand on Garganacl and let them carry you around to play."
In his mind, he imagined five Garganacl lifting Alcremie high.
At that time, Alcremie would become a Garganacl knight.
Hearing this, both Nacli and Naclstack felt very happy, looking forward to that day.
"Alright then, I'll just put these salts back in the house. Do you want to come with me, or stay here and play with Nacli?" Naoki stood up and asked.
Nacli and Naclstack really wanted Alcremie to stay and play.
Seeing the familiar look in Naclstack's eyes, Alcremie suddenly realized it didn't matter how they changed; they would still be the friends playing by its side.
So Alcremie no longer hesitated and nodded joyfully, indicating it wanted to stay and play with Nacli.
"Okay then." Naoki smiled, "You guys have fun; I won't disturb you!"
He carried that bag of Rock Salt away from the Salt House.
The rain outside hadn't stopped, and once Naoki had put the salts away, Dragonite, who had gone to deliver milk, had also returned.
It landed under the eaves, and Naoki stepped forward to take off the bag hanging from its waist and then took out a towel to dry its rain-soaked body.
A lot of work cannot be done on a rainy day.
The fields don't need watering, and the hens can't graze, so Naoki gave Pawmi and Dragonite a day off to rest at home.
Dragonite sat on the floor, with a basket of small breads that Naoki had made by its side. These breads were small enough for Dragonite to devour in a single bite.
Pawmi watched this scene with admiration.
Ever since witnessing Dragonite release so much electricity yesterday, Pawmi had been in awe of Dragonite.
Naoki noticed this and suddenly realized how interesting it was to observe the interactions between different Pokémon.
Just like Alcremie and Nacli, Butterfree and Combee, Gogoat and Smoliv, Dragonite and Pawmi, and all the Pokémon giving flowers to Glaceon.
Of course, the most amusing of all was Koraidon and Cyclizar.
It turns out, even Pokémon get jealous because of each other's relationship with their Trainers.
For example, now Naoki sat on the carpet watching TV, leaning against Cyclizar, and suddenly noticed Koraidon's expression full of jealousy.
So Naoki stood up, made a cup of the red tea Mrs. Dantes had once gifted him, then casually sat down next to Koraidon.
Koraidon's face immediately lit up with a happy expression.
Seeing this, Naoki moved back beside Cyclizar.
Koraidon began to feel jealous again.
"Pfft!" Watching this scene, Naoki couldn't help but laugh.
Koraidon, focusing intently on the distance between Naoki and Cyclizar, finally noticed Naoki's behavior. Its eyes widened in shock, seemingly unable to believe it.
"Ah gah hiss!"
Then, it turned away, sulking.
Naoki hurriedly approached to console it, "Alright, I didn't mean to. Come watch TV together!"
Koraidon lay on the carpet with its eyes closed, pretending to be asleep, but its twitching eyelids betrayed it.
Beside them, Cyclizar was looking over with a clueless expression, gazing at Koraidon: "Gao ow?"
Koraidon pretended not to hear anything.
Naoki said, "Cyclizar, Dragonite, and Pawmi are all watching you!"
Upon hearing this, Koraidon couldn't sit still anymore.
It always thought its past self was silly, but now its behavior seemed unchanged from before.
How could it let Cyclizar see it like this?!
Koraidon was mortified and desperately wanted to leave.
But at that moment, Naoki patted the spot next to him, "Come watch TV with us!"
Koraidon: "..."
In its helplessness, Koraidon ran over and lay behind Naoki, acting as his cushion.
Cyclizar didn't understand Koraidon's actions and tilted its head looking at Koraidon: "Gao ow?"
Koraidon closed its eyes.
Not listening, not hearing, turtle chanting scripture.
Seeing this, Naoki wanted to laugh but managed to hold it in.
This Koraidon's personality was really too cute!
Externally flashy and dominant, yet reliably steady, occasionally revealing a hint of silliness just like the goofy Cyclizar.
Naoki took its large claw in his hand.
Hmm, what should he say at this moment?
"You are all my wings?"
He fell into thought, but just then, a piece of news on the TV caught his attention.
"...Starting today, the newly discovered Terastalization by Professors Sada and Turo will officially be included in battles. Can this innovative battling method revolutionize the Trainer industry? Stay tuned!"
Then the screen showed a scene of two Trainers in battle, both using Terastalization.
Seeing this scene, Naoki was somewhat surprised.
Terastalization is only now being used in Trainer battles?
He thought it had started long ago!
"No wonder the Trainers I met before didn't use Terastalization," Naoki murmured.
But this also proved that now was still a very early time, Arven was just a few years old, and his parents were still around, meaning there's at least ten years before the Scarlet and Violet storyline begins.
Ten years later...
By then, he'd already be thirty!