At 9:25 in the m, the weather was clear and sunny. Above stretched a vibrant blue sky, adorned with a few fluffy clouds drifting zily in the gentle breeze.

  A pickup truck loaded with berries and filled with lively Pokémon cruised along a quiet try road.

  In the car, a CD pyed a soft, melodie. It was said that the singer of this song was a Jigglypuff who loved perf.

  The lively Alcremie, the Pawmot, and other Pokémon followed the rhythm, chirping along, filling the truck with an iious, cheerful atmosphere.

  Naoki drove attentively, his mind drifting to what he knew about Artazon Town.

  Located just south of Kosaji Town, Artazon Town was a quintessential rural settlement. Its residents relied heavily on agriculture, making it feel less developed pared to Kosaji Town. However, it was famous for its vast sunflower fields.

  The drive wasn’t long. About ten minutes after leaving the ranaoki spotted the first golden fields of sunflowers stretg out ahead of him.

  Among the sunflowers, a few Sunflora swayed gently, their leafy arms outstretched as they basked in the sunlight alongside the pnts.

  “Sunflora,” Naoki mused, recalling the Pokémon’s name as they came into view.

  As he neared Artazon Town, traffic picked up slightly, with more vehicles and trainers visible along the road.

  Some of the trainers looked young and eager, likely drawn to the town by the uping test. It reminded Naoki of the cherry blossom festival held in Kosaji Town.

  As the truck rolled into the town, Naoki followed the girl’s dires and navigated to the town’s ter.

  The girl who had visited his ranch to order berries stood chatting with another young woman. Upon spotting Naoki’s truck, she waved enthusiastically, calling out, “Over here! Over here!”

  Naoki steered the vehicle toward her, parked, and jumped out.

  Pawmot, the G, and the other Pokémon peeked curiously out of the windows, taking in the new sights and sounds of the bustling town.

  The girl’s eyes lit up in amazement as she noticed the Pokémon.

  “So many Pokémon! Wait... are those Dragonairs?! Wow, such rare Pokémon!”

  Naoki smiled modestly.

  “How lucky!” the girl gushed, looking enviously at the impressive lineup of Pokémon.

  Naoki turo the Pokémon irud gave instrus. “Koraidon, Cyclizar, start unloading the berries for our er!”

  “Ogerpon, Pawmot, you hop out and py nearby, but don’t waoo far!”

  “Oge!”

  “Pawmot!”

  The Pokémon cheered in unison and quickly dispersed, expl the unfamiliar surroundings with eager curiosity.

  Naoki, along with Koraidon and Cyclizar, began unloading crates of berries from the truck bed.

  Soon, the truck was empty, and the girl carefully ted the boxes before handing over the remaining payment.

  “Thank you so much, Mr. Rancher! Without your help, we wouldn’t have been able to host the Bug Catg test!”

  Naoki waved it off with a smile. “It was no trouble at all. I’m gd I could help.”

  “Oh, that reminds me!” The girl’s expressihtened as she added, “Would you like to stay and participate in the test tomorrow?”

  Naoki blinked in surprise. “Are you sure?”

  “Of course!” she said enthusiastically. “Normally, there’s a registration fee, but since you helped us so much, you participate for free!”

  Naoki hesitated. He wasn’t particurly ied in Bug-type Pokémon, preferring the softer, furrier Pokémon instead. But the idea of experieng a test like this intrigued him.

  After a moment’s thought, he nodded. “Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

  “Great!” the girl said happily. “You don’t o prepare anything. We’ll provide snacks to attract Bug-type Pokémon for all the trainers.”

  “Is there anything else I should know?” Naoki asked.

  “Oh, yes!” The girl added, “During the test, you ’t use your own Pokémon to battle the wild Bug-types. You’ll o rely on the snacks we provide—and your charm as a trainer!”

  Naoki chuckled. “So it’s all about snacks and charisma, huh? Got it.”

  The girl nodded. “Exactly! The test starts tomorrow m at 9:00 iure park south of town. We’ll spend today preparing all the snacks with the berries yht.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Naoki said, bidding farewell.

  He called his Pokémon bato the trud started the drive back to the ranch.

  ...

  That afternoon, Naoki began w on pns to expand the area oher side of the river.

  He hopped ontonite’s bad soared into the sky, sketg a topographic map of the nd below.

  Using his pen, he drew out several straight roads brang from the stone bridge, dividing the area into distinct ses.

  Naoki examihe rgest piece of nd in the upper-left er of his map and thought:

  "This grassnd will be perfect for raising Wooloo."

  The ft terrain, coupled with gentle slopes and unobstructed sunlight, would ensure lush grass growth, making it ideal frazing.

  As for why Wooloo was chosen over Mareep, it was simple—Mareep’s wool disappears o evolves into Ampharos.

  "This plot here could be used to raise some other productive Pokémon," he mused, imagining a few specifion.

  Tropius, which could produce bananas, and Sawsbud Deerling, known for their seasonal specialties like tea leaves, came to mind.

  Naoki had wao raise a Tropius since he started the ranch, but he had never e across ohey were absent even from the Pokémon shop in Kosaji Town, likely because their profits were sidered too modest pared to other productive Pokémon.

  Picturing the possibilities, Naoki wrote down Tropius and Sawsbu two other ses of his pn.

  The tea leaves from Sawsbuck’s antlers brewed into bck tea were not only delicious but a favorite among him and the Pokémon on the ranch. Plus, the brewed tea could be shared with Sinistea and Polteageist, enhang their happiness—an all-around be.

  Naoki decided to leave the remaining plots open for now, to see if other Pokémon or ideas came to mind. If none did, he would turn the spato a pyground for Pokémon, plete with slides, sandpits, and seesaws.

  Oher side of the road, he po dedicate nd to agriculture, such as growing bright red apples.

  Once he finalized the yout, Naoki patted Dragonite on the bad said, "Alright, let’s head down!"

  "Awwooo!" Dragonite responded, desding to the ground.

  Naoki then called trio, pointing toward the nd across the river: "I’m leaving this area to you!"

  "Dig dig dig!"

  Dugtrio chirped in agreement, quickly iing the nd befetting to work. With its evolved effid long-term experien cultivation, Dugtrio swiftly plowed the field with precision.

  In no time, the nd was ly prepared.

  "Great job!" Naoki said, patting Dugtrio on its head. "I’ll make some new poke blocks for you ter."

  "Dig dig dig!" Dugtrio’s eyes sparkled with excitement, eagerly anticipating its reward.

  Returning to the ranch's living room, Naoki opened his savings box. After ating for his ret purchase of the pickup truck, he realized he still had enough funds to buy some apple saplings.

  As for finding Pokémon like Tropius and Sawsbuck, he po explore nearby locations like Gseado Mountain or Casseroya Lake, hoping to enter some in the wild and bring them back to the ranch—just like the Skiddo.

  "I'm heading into town. I’ll be ba half an hour." Naoki called out to the Pokémon before hopping into his truck.

  When he reached Kosaji Town, he parked and stepped into Hugh's Seed Shop. Upon hearing Naoki’s request, Hugh chuckled and guided him to the backyard.

  "You’re in luck! We just received a new batch of apple saplings. Take a look—how many do you want?"

  Naoki sed the backyard and saw around a hundred saplings ly arranged.

  Nahly estimated the size of the field that Dugtrio had prepared and said, "Thirty trees should do."

  "Alright," Hugh replied. "Do you wao deliver them ter?"

  Naoki shook his head with a smile. "o trouble you this time. I ha myself."

  Hugh looked surprised but quickly uood when he spotted the pickup truck parked by the road.

  "You bought a truck? When did that happen?" Hugh asked, clearly intrigued.

  "Just a few days ago," Naoki replied. "With the ranch expanding, having a truck is a lot more ve. We ’t keep relying on Koraidon and the others to haul everything."

  Hugh chuckled. "That makes se’s a great idea. Alright, let me load the saplings for yht away!"

  Naoki drove the truck back to the ranch with the saplings loaded in the bed. Together with Koraidon and Cyclizar, he spent the eernoon pnting the apple saplings in the field.

  By the time the sun began to set, they had pleted the creation of a brand-nele orchard.

  Naoki washed his hands in the river, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked over the orchard with satisfa. "All done! Now we just o let these apple trees grow. By year, we’ll have a beautiful orchard full ht red apples!"

  As the thought crossed his mind, he suddenly remembered a potential problem: Pokémon like Applin, which burrow into apples and hide there, might find the orchard irresistible. While they were fasating Pokémon, their habits could spell trouble for the apples.

  "Well, we’ll deal with that when it happens," Naoki muttered. He decided to view the potential influx of suon as an opportunity to enrich the ranch’s ecosystem.

  Notig how dirty Koraidon and Cyclizar had gotten during the day’s work, Naoki waved to them. "Alright, let’s head back. Time for a bath!"

  Naoki asked sister Indeedee, to handle dinner preparations while he took Koraidon and Cyclizar to the bathroom. He started the bath, and the two Pokémon obediently stood uhe shower as Naoki rihe mud from their bodies.

  He applied a fragrant Pokémon-safe shampoo and worked it into a foamy ther using a bath sponge. Cyclizar, being pyful, mao get some foam up its nose, causing it to sneeze repeatedly.

  Koraidon, watg from the side, gave Cyclizar a look of disapproval.

  "Raao…" Koraidon grumbled in a low voice, clearly annoyed.

  But karma came quickly. As Koraidohed in through its nostrils, it actally sucked in a mouthful of foam and began sneezing just as Cyclizar had moments before.

  "Pfft! Hahaha!"

  Naoki couldn’t help but burst out ughing as he turhe showerhead toward Koraidon to rinse off the foam. "Still want to look down on Cyclizar now?"

  Koraidon: "..."

  Cyclizar, meanwhile, grinned ily. "Raao~!"

  Annoyed but trying to maintain its pride, Koraidon flicked its tail, turned away, and refused to look at Cyclizar.

  Naoki didn’t bother coaxing it right away. Instead, he finished rinsing Cyclizar, dried it with a soft towel, and gave it a sniff before nodding approvingly. "You smell great. Alright, head to the living room and wait for dinner!"

  Cyclizar happily sped out of the bathroom, leaving Koraidon to gnce over its shoulder. Naoki waved it over. "Alright, your tur’s get the rest of the soap off."

  Relutly, Koraidon shuffled back toward him. As Naoki worked to rihe foam, he chuckled and said, "Why do you dislike Cyclizar so much? It’s not even two years old yet—it’s still a baby in human terms."

  "Raao…" Koraidon grumbled, uue.

  "Everyoarts somewhere, you know," Naoki said, his tole but firm. "Cyclizar is still young. Give it time, and it’ll grow smarter and stronger. I have a feeling it’ll bee an incredible Pokémon someday."

  After all, the effects of the birthday cake take time to fully ma.

  However, upon hearing Naoki’s words, Koraido even more flicted.

  Did Naoki truly hold it in such high regard and trust it so deeply?

  Refleg on its journey, Koraidon realized it had indeed lived up to Naoki’s faith. It had bee a strong Pokémon—one capable of proteg Naoki and its younger self from harm.

  Memories of the past flooded Koraidon’s mind as it let Naoki dry its body with a mix of relud gratitude.

  "Alright, go downstairs and wait for dinner!" Naoki said with a smile, gently patting Koraidon’s head.

  Koraidon responded with a quiet nod, its mind preoccupied. It desded the stairs and g Cyclizar, who was joyfully loungihe dining area.

  Inside, Koraidon was torn. Naoki could now uand its thoughts, which meant it could tell Naoki about the future—everything it knew. But doing so might lead to dire sequences.

  Fragments of past versations resurfaced in Koraidon’s mind, particurly discussioween Naoki, Professor Sada, and Professor Turo about the perils of time travel.

  Koraidon vividly remembered Professor Sada’s words: “If someone from the future were to alter events in the past—like preventing their grandparents from meeting—that persoence would be erased, along with everything ected to it.”

  At that time, Koraidon had been a Cyclizar, and suplex ideas had left it bewildered. Naoki had patiently expihese cepts, emphasizing the dangers of tampering with time:

  "If you py with time, time will py with you."

  Now, Koraidon found itself grappling with the very sario it oruggled to uand.

  If it revealed the future to Naoki, everything that followed would ge. Naoki would undoubtedly take steps to prevent the tragedies ahead. Yet, if events were altered, Cyclizar would never fall into the “time mae,” and without that event, Koraidon would never be born.

  In that case, Koraidon would vanish—ceasing to exist along with the timeli sought to protect.

  Koraidon shuddered at the thought. It didn’t want to disappear. It wao stay by Naoki’s side, to tinue sharing moments with him.

  But as it looked at its younger self—i, eager, and oblivious—a wave of pity washed over Koraidon.

  If it said nothing, then its past self would ehe same pain, the same hardships, and the same terrible experiehat had shaped its present.

  Koraidon’s golden eyes reflected a mixture of sorrow and fusion as it gazed silently at its younger terpart.

  'At least… let it stay with Naoki,' Koraidon thought sadly.

  ...

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