After the initial surprise, Naoki quickly regained his posure.

  After all, Geeta had mentioned before that gym leaders who had the time could visit the ranch to challerials and hoheir bat skills, aiming to improve their strength.

  Naoki had initially thought that Larry would be the first to arrive.

  Uedly, it was Iono, a gym leader from the Levincia Gym—far across the Paldea region—who made an effort to e first.

  He couldn't help but he sheer determination ahusiasm this gym leader must have had to travel such a distance. In Naoki's mind, Iono had just earhe bel of being an "a taker."

  At that moment, Iono finally shifted her focus away from Zapdos and waved enthusiastically.

  "Hey there~! Hello, hello~! I'm Iono from the Levincia Gym! The Chairwoman told me about the trials here, so I rushed over to challehem!" she said, her voice lively and full of energy.

  Naoki nodded and replied with a polite smile, "Hello. The Chairwoman did inform me in advahere are several trials on the ranch, but we're just about to have lunch, and the Pokémon havee, so we'll o start the trials afterward."

  "Ah... I uand!" Iono said, nodding, but the sound of a loud rumble from her stomach betrayed her.

  She had flown early that m from Levincia to Kosaji Town and rushed straight to the ranch upon nding, skipping breakfast and lunbsp;

  Iono's cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she awkwardly tried to cover her stomabsp;

  Naoki g her and pieced together the situation.

  He had thought gym leaders visiting the ranch would likely treat it like other trainers had—helping Pokémon improve their battle skills while occasionally purchasing local specialties like Gogoat milk.

  "It seems you haven't had lunch yet. If you don't mind, feel free to join us for lunch," Naoki offered kindly.

  "Really? Is that okay?" Iono's eyes lit up. This way, she wouldn't o dey her schedule further.

  Naoki nodded in firmation, and Iono immediately bowed gratefully. "Thank you so much!"

  Hearing the versation, several Pokémon gathered around curiously, watg Iono with wide eyes, intrigued by the newer.

  Naoki turned back to Zapdos, still standing nearby. "Would you like to stay and have lunch with us?" he asked.

  "Chewi!"

  Zapdos let out a sharp cry, shaking its head proudly. It had to return quickly, as Teddiursa and Mew were waiting for its return.

  "Alright, I'll paething for you to take back," Naoki said, noting the state of the satchel. From his earlier touch, he could tell its supplies were nearly depleted.

  Naoki walked bato the house, rummaged through his supplies, and packed food and medie for Zapdos. By the time he fihe satchel was full to bursting.

  "There we go," Naoki said, gently patting the satchel before reag up to stroke the soft, fihers along Zapdos' neck.

  "Say hi to them for me!"

  "Chiu!"

  Zapdos let out a cry, fpping its powerful wings. With a single leap, it unched into the air and disappeared into the sky.

  Naoki stood for a moment, watg the majestion vanish into the distance.

  Iono approached quietly, her eyes wide with astonishment as she looked around.

  "Mr. Naoki… Zapdos is part of your ranch too?" she asked, her voice tinged with awe.

  Naoki nodded, slightly surprised by her reition. "Have you seen any other Zapdos before?"

  Iono shook her head, her excitement unmistakable. "No, but that's the legendary Electric-type Pokémon! It's the kind of Pokémon every Electric-type specialist dreams of entering!"

  Naoki: "…"

  'I almost fot that Iono is aric-type gym leader.'

  "It's nothing special," Naoki replied modestly. After all, this Zapdos wasn't really his—it was simply a friend of Mew and Teddiursa, part of their traveling group.

  "As expected of a trainer praised by the Chairwoman!" Iono's admiration was evident.

  To her, it was incredible that Naoki had a e with such a rare Pokémon. Even more impressive was the way Zapdos flew off so casually—it was as if it were just another helper on the ranch.

  But Zapdos as a postman? That was -level extravaganbsp;

  "Wow!" Iono excimed, her enthusiasm untainable.

  Naoki smiled politely but said nothing further. He didn't mention the hero exploration team or Zapdos' true role.

  At that moment, Sister Indeedee appeared in the doorway. She had already set the table for lund was now here to call them inside.

  "Ai-Ye" 'e in! Lunch is ready!' she called.

  "Thank you for the invitation, Mr.Naoki!" Iono responded, following Naoki into the house.

  Wheered the dining room and saw the vish spread, her eyes widened. "Wow, this looks amazing!"

  "It's a celebration," Naoki expined, pg the Poké Ball and photo that Zapdos had delivered onto a et. "Two new Pokémon joihe ranch today, so we're weling them with a feast."

  He then picked up a small bowl of berry snacks and walked to the firepce, pg it gently on the floor. A Slugma slowly crawled out of the hearth, its eyes lighting up at the sight of food. It eagerly begaing, drawing a soft smile from Naoki.

  "There are so many Pokémon here!" Iono marveled, her gaze sweeping the room.

  Her eyes darted across the space, taking in the various Pokémon lounging in the living room. There was Cyclizar, Indeedee, an unfamiliar Pokémon (Koraidon), G, Alcremie, Dragonite, and a lot onairs.

  Then her gaze nded on something truly special—a shiny Dragonair, its pink-and-tender hue standing out among the others.

  "Wow! A shiny Dragonair!" Iono's eyes sparkled with delight. "It's so cute!"

  At that moment, a cheerful sound came from behind.

  "Pamo~"

  Pawmot flew into the room, looking equally excited. The sunher outside had given it the ce to let the hens out of the chi coop to bask in the sun, but now the aroma of the feast had drawn it inside.

  It hurriedly floated toward the table, eager to join the meal.

  Hearing the call, Iono instinctively turned her head toawmot.

  But when she saw the Pokémon clearly, her mouth fell open in astonishment.

  Could that pink Pokémon with a red cape and a silver hammer in its hand really be...!

  "Pawmot?"

  Pawmot tilted its head, curious about the unfamiliar presen the house.

  Naoki stepped forward to introduce her. "This is Iono, aric-type gym leader. She's here to take part irials on the ranch."

  Pawmot immediately caught on.

  It clutched the small hammer tightly in its paws and stared at Iono with a determined glint in its eyes. "Pawmot!"

  Io her heart melt. The Pawmot's ess was off the charts! She couldn't resist rushing forward to hug the fluffy Pokémon. "So adorable!"

  Startled, Pawmled free, pushing Iono away gently with its soft paw pads before scurrying to hide behind Naoki.

  Iono ughed nervously, scratg the back of her head. "Hehe, sorry about that. I've never seen a shiny Pawmot before! It's unbelievably cute!"

  As the words left her mouth, a realization struck Iono.

  'Wait a minute—why a Pawmot float like that?'

  Naoki noticed her perplexed expression and expined, "Pawmot is quite u has incredible trol over electrical energy and use eleagic levitation to fly."

  "That's incredible!" Iono excimed in awe. "Even as a gym leader specializing iric-types, I've never seen anything like this!"

  Naoki smiled. "Actually, one of the trials at the ranch is a Lightning Trial, where you'll battle Pawmot. If you're ied, it could be a good challenge for you."

  "That sounds amazing! I'm definitely choosing the Lightning Trial!" Iono said eagerly. Then, with a grin, she added, "It's funny—usually I'm the one being challenged, but now it's my turn to be oher side. This is so exg!"

  Naoki chuckled, pulling out a chair as a few Pokémon gathered around.

  Iono sat across the table, her eyes gleaming at the spread of food. "I'm going to eat!" she decred enthusiastically.

  Naoki: "…"

  He couldn't help but think, She's so full of energy!

  This was the first time he'd entered someone so eager and expressive about a meal, and he found her enthusiasm oddly refreshing.

  Iono's eating style was far from refi was lively and spirited.

  As she ate, Naoki observed her quietly.

  Something about her demeanor seemed a little different from what he'd imagined. He had expected a gym leader to be more formal, but Iono's presence brought a lightheartedhat was iious.

  However, Naoki's attentio drifting to the two Mage perched on her head.

  The metallic spheres twitched and moved subtly, catg his eye.

  "Huh? Mr. Naoki, are you looking at Mage?" Iono asked, notig his gaze.

  Naoki blinked, a little surprised. "Are they real Mage?"

  "Of course!" Iono grinned. "They've been with me sihe beginning of my journey!"

  As if to prove her words, the two Mage floated slightly above her head, spinning pyfully before returning to their spots.

  Naoki's eyebrows rose in astonishment.

  He had always assumed they were decorative hair accessories. To discover they were real Mage left him genuinely surprised.

  If he recalled correctly, each Mage weighed about 6 kilograms. That meant she had been carrying around 12 kilograms on her head this whole time.

  'How strong is her neck?!'

  Still, remembering the absurd feats trainers like Ash had pulled off—such as lifting Nebby—Naned himself to the extraordinary logic of this world.

  He shifted his attention back to his meal, silently finishing his food.

  Lunded with Iono lookiremely tent. She leaned back slightly, pattiomach, and said with a wide grin, "Mr. Naoki, your cooking is amazing!"

  Naoki smiled humbly. "It just takes practice."

  "Hehe, you're being too modest!" Iono ughed.

  As she spoke, she couldn't help but recall what she'd imagined before ing here.

  A few weeks earlier, the regional leader of the Paldea area had approached her and several ym leaders, assigning them a peculiar task: to train at Naoki Ran Kosaji Town.

  The annou had sparked a flurry of curiosity among the gym leaders.

  None of them had heard much about the ranch, and the leader provided little expnation beyond the importance of the task.

  Before arriving, Iono had imagihe ranch owo be an elderly farmer—perhaps someoh a long white beard, dressed in overalls, and carrying the aura of wisdom gained from years of ranch work.

  But the moment she arrived, reality shattered her assumptions.

  Standing before her was a tall, broad-shouldered man with a rugged appearance. His was dusted with dark stubble, and his presence exuded fideher than age.

  'Wait a minute,' Iono thought, reition dawning. 'Isn't this the guy from the show "Men and Dragons"?'

  She vividly remembered watg the show, where Dragonites worked as delivery Pokémon. The ses were so memorable they left a deep impression on her.

  Seeing him now in perso surreal.

  Naoki wasn't wearing a farmer's hat, nor did he have the stereotypical look she had expected. He was intimidati approachable.

  Iono found Naoki surprisingly approachable after spending some time with him. He olite, skilled in cooking, and clearly loved Pokémon—a bination that made him uedly easy to get along with.

  "Unaoki!" Iono excimed enthusiastically, ready for a. "I'm ready! Let's start the trial!"

  Naoki, who had only just returned from a long journey and hadn't had time to up, nearly choked. His eyes widened in disbelief. "What did you just call me?"

  Realizing her blunder, Iono quickly corrected herself with a sheepish grin. "I mean—Mr. Naoki."

  Naoki: "…"

  With a sigh, he handed Iono some Pokémon food and motiooward her team. "Feed your Pokémon first."

  During lunch, there hadn't been enough room at the table for all the Pokémon, so Iono hadn't released hers. Naoki had noticed.

  "Thank you so much, Mr. Naoki!" Iono said gratefully.

  Naoki nodded and headed io freshen up. Entering the bathroom, he caught his refle in the mirror and immediately uood why people like Iono and Carmine had taken to calling him "Uncle."

  His tan from w uhe summer sun, u hair, and rugged stubble gave him a much older appearance. bined with the demanding agricultural exge trip in Kitakami Township, he hadn't thought much about grooming.

  On top of that, the hearty ranch diet—ri goat milk, fresh produce, a—had built his physique into something more akin to a seasoned outdoorsman. He looked like he could be the cousin of Bruno, the Elite Four member from the Kantion.

  Naoki sighed as he picked up a razor and began tidying up. After shaving and brushing his hair, his face looked siderably younger and more refreshed.

  Wheurned outside, Iono was kneeling on the grass, feeding her Pokémon. Naoki took a quid mentally identified her team: wattrel, Bellibolt, Luxio, Electrode, and Mismagius. Along with the two Mage perched on her head, there were seven Pokémon in total.

  Hearing the sound of Naoki's footsteps, Iono turned and froze, her eyes wide with surprise. "Mr. Naoki?"

  Naoki gave a modest nod. "Yes?"

  "Wow!" Iono excimed, her amazement apparent. "May I ask—how old are you?"

  "Twenty-one," Naoki replied.

  Iono gasped. "You're only three years older than me!"

  Naoki chuckled lightly. "If young city folks worked on a farm for a few years, I'm sure they'd look like this too."

  Iono nodded in uanding, impressed by the transformation that hard work on the ranch could bring.

  Naoki didn't dwell on the versation for long and transitioo the main topic. "Are you ready to start the trial? Are you sure you want to take on the Lightning Trial?"

  Iono turo her team, her voice full of energy. "Everyone, are you ready?"

  "Gummo!"

  "Watt!"

  "Magius!"

  Each of her Pokémon responded enthusiastically.

  "Hehe, looks like everyone's ready!" Iono turned back toward Naoki, her excitement bubbling over. "The's begirial!"

  Naoki: "…Pfft!"

  Iono paused, realizing her mistake. "Oops! I got it wrong again. I'm used to weling challengers at the gym. I'll get the hang of it!"

  Naoki chuckled and reassured her before leading Pawmot, who wore its signature red cape, to the other side of the battlefield.

  The other Pokémon—Cyclizar, Flutter Mane, Dragonite, Arboliva, and G—gathered he sidelio watch the matfold. Even the normally reserved Naclstaon clustered around, intrigued by the uping battle.

  Sister Indeedee walked to the ter of the battlefield, a whistle in hand. She raised it to her lips and blew, signaling the start of the trial.

  Iono pointed dramatically toward the field, her voice brimming with enthusiasm. "Electrode, you're up first! Let's pass this trial like a Mage jumping over a magic gate!"