Alliance dar Year 199, April 5th.

  The ship docked safely in the Paldea region.

  A Wingull sracefully across the clear sky, chirping as it desded onto the top of a tall lighthouse. The se was idyllic—golden sandy beaches stretched along the coastline, meeting the azure waves of the sea. Beyond, modern skyscrapers loomed, symbolizing the prosperity of Levincia City, the Paldea region's hub of teology and erce.

  Naoki stepped off the ship, apanied by his trusted Pokémon, Koraidourning to his hometown after such a long journey, he felt an immense sense of relief and joy. Taking a deep breath, he stretched and looked around.

  “Ah, it’s great to be back,” he said, smiling at Koraidon. “e o’s head to the mall and pick out some gifts for everyo the ranch.”

  “Ah, gah~!” Koraidon replied enthusiastically, its voice resonating deeply yet joyfully.

  Naoki decided to keep his return a surprise. He hadn’t called the ranch to inform anyone—he wao see their reas firsthand. Walking through the lively streets filled with bustling crowds and vibrant storefronts, Naoki eventually reached his destination: Levinbsp;City Mall.

  The mall stood as a testament to the city’s adva—a sprawling plex filled with everything one could imagine. From appliao groceries, fashionable clothing to Pokémon supplies, the mall had it all.

  Naoki made a beelio the third floor, where he purchased a berry mixer to create Pokeblocks. With his first errand plete, he took the elevator to the twelfth floor, home to the gift se.

  To avoid drawing attention in the bustling mall, Naoki released his Pokémon in two groups. The first batcluded G, Alcremie, Pawmot, and Ogerpon.

  The Pokémon gathered around Naoki, looking up at him expetly.

  Naoki addressed them with a warm smile. “Alright, this is the Pokémon toy se. If you see anything you like, go ahead and grab it! I’ll take care of the rest.”

  “Alcremie!”

  “Bu-yi~!”

  “Oge!”

  "Pawmo"

  Their cheerful cries filled the air as they dispersed like excited children, expl the shelves lined with colorful toys and accessories. Naoki trailed behind with a shopping cart, a grin on his face as he watched their antics.

  Alcremie stopped at a shelf filled with jars htly ed dy. Standing on its tiptoes, it pointed eagerly at a particurly fancy jar.

  “Alright, I’ve got it!” Naoki said, pg the dy jar into the cart. Alcremie hopped into the cart right after, curling up tentedly.

  Moments ter, Pawmot returned with a rge box of cereal from the lower floor, pg it carefully in the cart. Seeing Alcremie lounging inside, Pawmot cmbered in as well, making the cart creak slightly us weight.

  “Alright, you two,” Naoki chuckled, pushing the cart f soon trotted back, a small plush dinosaur in its mouth. It g the other Pokémon in the cart, its gaze lingering with a mix of curiosity and envy.

  Naoki, notig the hesitatioly picked up G. “e on, you join them,” he said, pg it into the cart amid surprised but happy yips.

  Watg this, Koraido out aed sound and lowered its head toward the cart, clearly wanting to join the fun.

  “Absolutely not!” Naoki said, pushing Koraidon's face away with both hands. “You’ll break it!”

  Hearing this, Koraidon drooped its head dramatically, letting out a low, pitiful growl. “Ah, gah…”

  Sighing, Naoki softened. “Alright, I’ll get a pickup truck whe home, and we’ll go out together. Sound good?”

  “Ah, gah!” Koraidon immediately perked up, as if a literal dark cloud had lifted from its head.

  Meanwhile, Ogerpourned holding a Pikachu mask. Spotting the others enjoying themselves in the cart, it let out an eager cry and flitted toward them.

  As Naoki walked down the aisles, he carefully selected gifts for the Pokémon back at the ranch.

  “This plush bed is perfect for the Cyclizar—let’s get a few.”

  “These antler hats from the holiday colle are adorable! One fonite, another fonairs.”

  “Oh, look at these sungsses. So sleek! Elder Indeedee will love this.”

  "In that case, I'll give this blue silk scarf to my sister Indeedee, as a gift."

  "This piece looks like charcoal that a Fire-type Pokémon would enjoy. Let’s buy it for Slugma."

  …

  After walking several rounds through the mall, Naoki finally finished choosing gifts for everyone.

  By now, Koraidon's cart was overflowing with items.

  Notig that Pawmot and Ogerpon were beginning to look tired from their pyful antiaoki recalled them into their Poké Balls and released Dragonite, Cyclizar, and Flutter Mane in their pce.

  He repeated what he had said earlier to the first group: "Go on, pick whatever you like."

  The three Pokémon eagerly dashed off, their excitement palpable.

  Dragourned first, hugging a rge plush salted fish doll. It looked tent as it imagined snuggling with the toy at night.

  Cyclizar took its time wandering the aisles before settling on a box of assorted snacks. Its face lit up with joy at the thought of sharing the treats with everyone back at the ranch.

  Flutter Mane, meanwhile, followed the smell of food and floated down aor toward the meat market. It stopped in front of a stall selling fresh steaks and bones, staring ily at the dispy.

  The butcher, startled by the eerie-looking Pokémon, froze in pce.

  Naoki rushed over just in time aly pushed Flutter Mane away, saying, "You get all the fresh meat you want back at the ranch. There's o buy it here."

  "Flurrr…" Flutter Mane seemed to uand, relutly turning away. But before leaving, it grabbed a rge chew bone designed f Pokémon to gnaw on.

  Naoki took the bone and ied the bel. Seeing Flutter Mane’s sharp e teeth, he suddenly realized what it wanted.

  "So your teeth feel itchy, huh?" he murmured, pieg it together.

  Since arriving at the ranch, Flutter Mane had grown aced to eating cooked food. With o hunt for itself, its teeth hadn’t had the natural sharpening they would have gotten from biting prey. This likely left them feeling unfortable.

  "This is my ht," Naoki admitted to himself.

  "Alright then," he said aloud. "We’ll take this chew bone."

  Flutter Ma out a soft sound of satisfa before returning to its Poké Ball on its own.

  Turning back tonite and Cyclizar, Naoki smiled. "Alright, shopping’s done. Let’s head home!"

  Both Pokémon nodded in agreement before disappearing into their Poké Balls as well.

  Finally, Naoki turo Koraidon, who had been quietly following him the eime. "And you? Is there anything you want?" he asked with a grin.

  "Raao," Koraidon replied, shaking its head with a smile.

  "Really?" Naoki raised an eyebrow.

  "Raao," Koraidon firmed with a nod.

  Naoki stared at it thoughtfully, sensing there was more to its silence.

  Koraidon shifted its weight and goward the exit. Its body nguage was clear: it wao go home.

  "If you don’t choose something now, you might regret it ter," Naoki teased lightly.

  Koraidon tilted its head as if to say, "I’ll take my ces."

  "Alright, then," Naoki chuckled. "Let’s head back, and I’ll figure out the best poke blocks for you ter."

  With all the shopping pleted, Naoki paid for the items and stuffed them into his travel backpack. The bag was nearly bursting at the seams by the time he was finished.

  As he stepped out of the mall, the sun was high in the sky, signaling that it was already noon.

  Koraidon's stomach let out a loud rumble, and Naoki realized he was feeling hungry too. After some thought, he decided to grab a meal in Levincia before heading back to the ranch.

  As Naoki strolled through the bustling streets, Koraidon walked beside him, its presence drawing the attention of tless passers-by. The sight of the majestic dragon Pokémon made heads turn and whispers ripple through the crowd.

  Naoki, however, was used to this by now. Ign the curious stares, he sed the area, hoping to find a restaurant that served traditional Paldean dishes.

  Just as he passed a small dessert shop, a familiar voice, tinged with excitement, called out to him.

  "Hey! Mr. Naoki?"

  Naoki turoward the voice to find Iono, with her Mage perched pyfully atop her head, beaming at him in surprise.

  "It's really you! I thought my eyes were pying trie!" Iono’s expressihtened even more as she approached. "What brings you to Levincia?"

  "I just got back from the Union," Naoki expined. "Levincia is the only city with a direct ferry to Unova."

  Iono nodded in uanding before her eyes nded on Koraidon. She then asked with a grin, "Have you had lunch yet? If not, let me treat you! sider it a thank-you for all your help st time!"

  Naoki hesitated. sidering the number of Pokémon he had with him, he felt it might be inve. He opened his mouth to dee politely, but before he could say a word, Koraidon’s stomach rumbled again, louder than before.

  Naoki: "…"

  Iono burst out ughing, her voice as bright as her trademark demeanor. "I think that answers my question! Perfect timing—I haveeher. I know a great restaurant you’ll love!"

  Naoki: "…"

  Her enthusiasm left him no room to refuse. With a resigned smile, he followed Iono’s lead to a charming little restauraled in the heart of Levincia.

  Onside, Iono immediately sprang into a, sing the menu with an energy only she could exude. "Mr. Naoki, how about some mapo tofu?"

  "That works."

  "And shredded pork with green peppers?"

  "Sure."

  "What about baked eggs?"

  Naoki gave a small shrug. "I’m not picky. Whatever works is fine."

  "Great, that makes it easy!" Iono said, her grin widening. She waved the waiter over. "We’ll have these dishes, five bowls of rice, and some Pokémon snacks too!"

  The waiter jotted everything down but paused, looking a bit startled. "Miss, are you sure? This seems like quite a lot. the two of you finish all of this?"

  Naoki blinked, his face filled with quiet puzzlement.

  The waiter notiaoki’s puzzled expression and handed him the menu.

  Naoki took a gnce, and his fusion turo exasperation. Nearly every dish had been marked with a bold checkmark by Iono.

  “We probably won’t be able to finish all of this,” Naoki said, his voice tinged with disbelief.

  Iono smiled sheepishly, scratg the back of her head. “Well, I wasn’t sure what you liked to eat, Mr. Naoki, so I figured I’d order everything. Besides, it’s not just the two of us eating—your Pokémon are here too!”

  Naoki sidered this for a moment. With big eaters like Koraidon, Dragonite, and Flutter Mane, finishing the food might not be entirely impossible. “Alright, let’s go with this,” he finally relented.

  The waiter, still looking a bit uook the menu a, albeit somewhat nervously.

  As they waited for their food, Ionht up the ranch’s trials with an eager glint in her eyes. “By the way, Mr. Naoki, siook the challenge, have any ym Leaders visited your ranch?”

  “I don’t think so,” Naoki replied, shaking his head. “Not before I left, at least. But I’ve been away for a week, so I ’t say for sure.”

  Iono sighed, looking slightly disappointed. “I was really hoping to see their reas!”

  Naoki gave her a skeptical look. “Is it really that big of a deal? It’s not like the trials are impossible. As long as challengers uand the trial meid use proper type advahey succeed.”

  He thought back to Leon’s Charizard, which had easily overe the Grass Trial thanks to its clear type advantage. His Charizard breezed through the Grass Trial with no issues. If Charizard do it, Alder’s Vola certainly could as well.

  “True, but Gym Leaders usually specialize in a siype,” Iono tered. “What happens when someone like Kofu, from Cascarrafa, tries to challehe Grass Trial? His odds would be even worse than mine were!”

  Naoki smirked, a gleam of mischief lighting up his eyes. “I’ve been thinking about that. I’ll eventually add trials for different types. That way, challengers pick trials suited to their strengths.”

  Iono paused, narrowing her eyes at him. “...”

  Naoki simply grihe picture of a savvy capitalist.

  With a resigned sigh, Iono decided to ge the topic, her gaze drifting to Naoki’s -cut appearance. “By the way, did you cut your hair? And no beard? You look a lot younger now.”

  Hearing this, Naoki straightened up in his seat, a hint of pride in his expression. “I don’t look like an old man anymore, do I?”

  He had been silently fuming ever since kids started calling him “uncle.” It was tolerable ing from children, but when someone his age—or worse, younger—did it, it stung.

  Iono gave him a thumbs-up. “You look great!”

  Koraidon chimed in, “Raao!” as if its agreement.

  Naoki chuckled, pleased. “You know what, Iono? Just call me Naoki from now on. None of this ‘Mr.’ business—it feels weird.”

  He had always been addressed casually, whether in his previous life or this one, and he preferred it that way.

  Iono grinned brightly, her enthusiasm as boundless as ever. “Alright, Naoki it is!”

  Her energy was iious, and for the first time in a while, Naoki found himself rexing, a genuine smile lingering on his face.

  ....

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