At three in the afternoon, Naoki smoothly returned to the ranch.
He patted the head of the Cyclizar that approached him and took the Ice Stone and Glaceon to the cave behind the house.
"Come out, Glaceon!"
Naoki took out the Poke Ball. Accompanied by a flash of white light, Glaceon's figure appeared in the somewhat dim and cool cave.
"How about we take a look around here?"
As Naoki spoke, he took the Ice Stone out of his space backpack and placed it in the center of the cave.
"Glee…"
Glaceon curiously looked around.
Hmm, this cave is quite small, and there aren't any strange holes in the rock walls. It looks pretty safe.
Next, we just need to transform this place into an ice cave!
At that moment, a few curious little heads peeked in from outside the cave, looking inside.
These were Alcremie, five Naclis, Butterfree, and Cyclizar.
Sensing so many unfamiliar auras, Glaceon immediately became vigilant. Its body temperature dropped rapidly, and its blue fur froze, transforming into sharp ice needles, as if it were bristling.
Naoki was slightly taken aback, then turned and saw the row of little heads at the cave entrance. He quickly waved his hand and introduced them to Glaceon:
"It's alright, they're also Pokemon living around here, different from Froslass!"
"Glee?" Glaceon looked over at them.
Noticing its gaze, the bubbly Alcremie cheerfully greeted it, "Maa~"
Under its lead, the Naclis all voiced, "Yen, Yen."
Butterfree happily flapped its wings, "Fwee~"
Cyclizar also signaled a welcome with a "Raaow!"
They were used to Naoki occasionally bringing new companions from outside.
Curious about what the new companion was like this time, they all came over to have a look.
Glaceon blinked its eyes, seeing that they were indeed different from Froslass, it relaxed, and its fur returned to being soft.
Seeing this, Naoki happily said, "Alcremie, I'll leave the task of showing our new companion around the ranch to you."
"Maa!"
Alcremie clenched its little hands, promising to accomplish the task!
"Get to know everyone first. I have some things to do, but don't worry, nobody will grab that stone from you," Naoki said.
He planned to go to the town to find Keri to help install a door for the cave.
Without a door, the cold air would escape, and the icehouse couldn't be made.
Entrusting Glaceon to Alcremie, Naoki rode Koraidon to Porto Marinada Town.
After he left, Alcremie enthusiastically started communicating with Glaceon.
"Maa!" (Hello there!)
The Naclis mimicked, "Yen, Yen."
"Glee…"
Glaceon found it all very unfamiliar and didn't know how to respond.
It lay on the Ice Stone, watching the chattering group of Pokemon with open eyes.
Initially, Alcremie was lively, but gradually its tone lowered, until no more words came out.
Seeing no expression on Glaceon's face and no response, Alcremie thought it didn't want to listen, and left the cave with the Naclis and Butterfree, heading to the grass outside.
Watching Alcremie turn away disheartened, Glaceon, who had been listening, opened its mouth as if trying to say something.
But the group of Pokemon had already left the cave.
When Naoki returned from town, he saw Alcremie and the others sitting listlessly on the grass.
He couldn't help but ask, "What happened here?"
"Fwee…"
Butterfree hung its head low, looking towards the cave.
"Did Glaceon hurt you?" asked Naoki.
Butterfree shook its head.
Thinking of Glaceon's cold demeanor from before, Naoki asked, "Did it ignore you?"
If he hadn't found a common topic using the stone, Glaceon probably wouldn't have interacted with him either.
The Pokemon nodded their heads.
"Maa…"
Naoki glanced toward the cave and reassured, "Don't be upset; maybe it's just not used to the environment on its first day here. Give it some time; it's actually a good Pokemon."
Upon hearing this, Alcremie perked right back up.
Naoki chuckled, "That's the Alcremie I know!"
At this point, Keri, who came to install the door, also arrived at the ranch.
Naoki let Alcremie and the others go play, and then took Keri to the cave.
Seeing Glaceon in the cave, Keri was very surprised, "You brought back an Ice Type Pokemon so quickly?"
Naoki nodded, looking into the cave at Glaceon, which lay on the Ice Stone with its eyes closed, seemingly asleep.
Keri just asked casually, and then started installing the wooden door at the cave entrance.
The wooden door was 2.2 meters tall, with a square door hole at the bottom for Pokemon to come and go freely.
If Glaceon wants to bask in the sun, it can slip out through this door hole.
"All done!"
Soon, the door was installed.
Keri opened the door, only to see the inside of the cave pitch black.
Naoki also noticed this. He turned, examining the cave wall, pointing to a weaker spot and asking, "Is it possible to install a window here?"
"Of course." Keri nodded.
Having already planned ahead after hearing Naoki's plans, she brought all the supplies for doors and windows.
With Machamp's help, a hole was quickly opened in that spot.
Keri measured the distance, then began installing the window.
Light streamed through the windows into the room, brightening the icehouse.
"All done, the total is 3000 League Coins!" Keri handed her tools to Machamp, asking it to take them back to the car.
3000 League Coins was quite reasonable, and Naoki paid without hesitation.
Keri smiled as she took the money, got into her car, and waved goodbye to Naoki through the window:
"See you next time! If you have other house renovations, feel free to contact me!"
Naoki: "Will do."
After seeing Keri off, Naoki returned to the cave.
Glaceon seemed to have started influencing the place; in such a short while, the temperature dropped inside, like the air conditioning had been turned on.
No wonder it's an Ice Type Pokemon!
Naoki thought again about Alcremie and the others' earlier state, and couldn't help but say:
"Alcremie and the others didn't mean any harm; they just wanted to be friends. Maybe you could try giving them a little response."
"Glee…" Glaceon thought of Alcremie and the others' earlier actions.
In the wild, it had no friends and was accustomed to being alone.
Respond?
Thinking of this, Glaceon gently nodded, "Glee."
It would give it a try.
"That's the spirit!"
Naoki exhaled with relief, bade farewell to Glaceon, and turned to leave the cave, heading to the front.
Glaceon's situation couldn't be rushed, but Naoki wasn't in a hurry. Knowing this Pokemon was inherently good was enough.
As for now…
Naoki raised his head, gazing at the sunset clouds in the sky.
It's almost dark, and he should prepare dinner for everyone!
Just as Naoki was about to head back to the house, a Pelipper suddenly landed above him.
Looking at this unfamiliar Pelipper, Naoki was a bit surprised.
The Pelipper looked at him too, as if confirming this human's identity. It opened its mouth, dropping a postcard and a small pearl with a beautiful silver sheen.
After delivering the items, Pelipper flew away.
Naoki bent down to pick up the pearl and postcard from the ground.
Though called a postcard, it was actually a piece of patterned stationery.
The stationery had no text, only two distinctly different paw prints.
One resembled a bear's paw, while the other seemed like the paw of a feline.
Seeing these items, two names instantly flashed in Naoki's mind.
It was Teddiursa and Mew!