In the evening, Zack drove over with the truck to pick up the goods.
He looked at the many Pokemon running around the ranch and grinned:
"It's getting more lively around here!"
Naoki stood by his side, watching the bustling Pokemon with Zack, and couldn't help but feel a kind of sweet trouble in his heart:
"I'm getting more and more exhausted, spending so much time every day making Pokemon food and taking care of them."
Zack laughed heartily: "Of course, it's a common trouble for every Pokemon Trainer. If you want to make it easier, I suggest you capture a caretaker-type Pokemon or hire a caretaker."
A caretaker-type Pokemon...
Naoki had considered this before, but it's too difficult to encounter these Pokemon in the wild.
As for hiring a caretaker, it's not something he needs to consider right now.
Because he's still living with a group of Pokemon in a small cabin, there's simply no place for a caretaker to stay.
Zack also realized this and then mysteriously said, "Of course, there's a third way."
Naoki asked, "What is it?"
Zack laughed aloud: "That's to find a girlfriend, get married, have a child, and run the ranch together as a family! How happy such a life would be! This way, when you grow older, your child can inherit your ranch and help care for the Pokemon here."
Naoki: "..."
"Better not." He said, temporarily putting aside this thought, as he preferred to enjoy this leisurely life for now rather than starting a family.
Seeing this, Zack shrugged: "Then there's no other way!"
He weighed today's milk and then loaded it onto the truck, saying, "Altogether, it's fifty-eight thousand six hundred League Coins, here you go!"
Naoki reached out and took it.
Zack jumped onto the truck and waved to Naoki through the window: "I'm off, see you tomorrow!"
"Bye-bye!"
Watching Zack's large truck drive away into the distance, Naoki turned around and started preparing dinner for the Pokemon.
Since he'd been busy all day, he was exhausted, so today's dinner was very simple.
He heated the pan with oil, took out a steak to fry, then sandwiched the fried steak between two slices of toast, added crispy and refreshing lettuce, and finally spread a layer of salad dressing, and thus a Naoki's Secret Sandwich was complete.
Naoki let Koraidon and the others eat first, while he took a few snacks to the cave at the back.
Compared to when he came here this morning, some changes had occurred in the cave.
Beside the Ice Stone were a few flowers that had been frozen, clearly brought back by Glaceon, gifts from Alcremie and Nacli.
Naoki placed the food in front of Glaceon and asked, "Do you like flowers?"
"Bui."
Glaceon gently nodded.
"That's great!" Naoki said with a smile, "Soon, I'll plant some other kinds of flowers in the ranch, they're all very beautiful, you'll see them soon."
"Bui..."
Glaceon's blue eyes revealed a hint of anticipation.
Naoki smiled slightly, then turned to leave without saying much more.
On his way past the storage room, he suddenly noticed the generator's energy bar was full.
"Hmm?"
Looking at the 100% power, Naoki was quite surprised.
But quickly, as if realizing something, he shouted loudly toward the front: "Dragonite!"
At the sound of a "roar," Dragonite appeared in the storage room.
Naoki pointed at the generator and asked, "Was this your doing?"
"Roar~"
Dragonite looked pleased.
At that moment, Naoki suddenly realized why this morning Dragonite was looking at the generator like that.
Because he had previously said watering could train Rain Dance, and delivering milk could foster determination, so naturally, Dragonite considered supplying power to the generator as special training!
"..."
Naoki was at a loss for words.
He thought for a moment, then slowly explained to Dragonite the function of the generator, such as providing electricity to the ranch, keeping the refrigerator running, and offering lighting, and so on.
After saying this, Naoki paused and asked, "Did it help you practice any moves?"
"Roar~"
Dragonite nodded its large head.
The feeling of energy attracting the Electric Type Energy inside it, like a flood bursting from a dam, was fascinating.
Dragonite couldn't help but wonder if using moves like this in the future with all its energy would make the moves' power immense?
It had tried before when Naoki wasn't watching but didn't succeed.
Dragonite felt it still needed more practice.
Naoki: "..."
Seeing Dragonite nod, Naoki was even more speechless.
Could this really help practice moves?
He was pleased Dragonite could be helped and also glad for the electricity it supplied to the ranch.
But there's a crucial point: the generator can't be overloaded, or it could explode!
Naoki warned Dragonite about such consequences and pointed to the energy bar, telling it that charging could only continue up to the full level, beyond which it would explode.
The consequences of an explosion would be serious, from burning the house down to posing life-threatening dangers.
After hearing this, Dragonite immediately widened its eyes, looking at the generator with some fear.
Fortunately, it had stopped just in time before...
"But don't worry too much, just pay attention and everything will be fine, or you can call me to charge here together," Naoki said, seeing Dragonite's frightened look.
"Roar." Dragonite nodded, indicating it would remember.
"Alright, go back and enjoy yourself!" Naoki said.
He then stayed to switch the ranch's power source from the power plant to this generator.
This way, they could save quite a bit on electricity each year!
After finishing this task, Naoki returned to the house to have dinner.
As usual, he turned on the TV and switched the program to the weather channel.
The female host on TV was reporting the weather for the next day.
"... It's expected that early tomorrow, the southwestern Paldea Region will experience some rainfall, but nothing major to worry about... Paldea Meteorological TV Station reporting!"
"Huh? It's going to rain?"
Naoki hurriedly got up to bring the clothes and bedding he had hung outside inside, and closed the Chicken House's door.
Late at night, Naoki was sleeping on the bed, holding Pawmi, when he was suddenly stirred awake by the continuous sound of rain outside.
Raindrops fell on the eaves, making a crackling sound.
"So it really is raining..."
Naoki looked out the window, seeing nothing but darkness outside and raindrops sliding down the window, leaving streaks of water.
Naoki didn't mind rainy days; on the contrary, this kind of weather was great for sleeping, especially with his beloved Pokemon by his side.
He turned over, stopped looking outside, and went back to sleep holding Pawmi amidst the muffled and noisy rain sound.
Meanwhile, at the Salt House.
A Nacli suddenly emitted a dazzling light from its body...