The issue with the World Tree had finally been resolved, and Naoki let out a relieved sigh.

  Now, all that remained was to let the World Tree grow gradually within the Reverse World. As firatina's warning about altering the world's rules and attrag Arceus's attention, Naoki wasn't overly ed.

  Surely, the God of Creation wouldn't take issue with pnting a tree, would He? Besides, the World Tree only beed the world, f growth and harmony. Naoki dismissed the thought and moved on.

  With the tree gone, fewer trainers visited the ranch, allowing Naoki's life to return to its peaceful rhythm.

  The ranch's development tieadily.

  One m, after pleting his daily chores, Naoki decided to visit the store in town to purchase a batch of Wooloo for produ purposes.

  Upon arrival, he was surprised to find Rachel running the store alone.

  "Where's yrandfather?" Naoki asked casually.

  Rachel smiled and replied, "Grandpa went to the Kalion to attend a funeral. One of his old friends passed away a few days ago, so I'm managing the store for now."

  "I see…" Naoki nodded, choosing not to press further.

  Rachel then asked, "So, Mr. Naoki, are you here to adopt any Pokémon for your ranch? I help you with that!"

  "Do you have any Wooloo avaible?" Naoki inquired.

  "Of course!" Rachel's face lit up. She opehe store's back door aured for Naoki to follow.

  Behind the shop y a sprawling ranch filled with various Pokémon. Naoki had been here a few times before, so the yout felt familiar.

  There were Noibat roosting irees, Miltank grazing on the open grass, Nacli gathering in the caves, and even some Fbébé fluttering around the flowers.

  As they walked, Naoki noticed several Pokémon that didn't seem suited for produ, including Machop, Sudowoodo, and Bellossom.

  Curious, he asked, "What's the story with these Pokémon?"

  Rachel gnced over at them before replying softly, "Oh, those are Pokémon Grandpa rescued from the wild. Do you remember the wildfire that broke out on the mountain st year?"

  Naoki nodded in uanding.

  Rachel tinued, "Many people from the town helped with the rescue efforts, and we mao save a lot of Pokémon. Grandpa initially po release them bato the wild after their injuries healed, but most of them seemed fasated by the human world and didn't want to leave."

  "Instead, Grandpa decided to keep them here, hoping to find traio adopt them or send them to farms where they could help with daily tasks."

  "I see," Naoki said thoughtfully.

  He khis ranch store wasn't like those run by unscrupulous Pokémon hunters. The Pokémon here were offered for adoption with only a small fee required to cover basic care expenses.

  Rachel smiled and asked, "Would you like to take a look at these Pokémon, Mr. Naoki?"

  Naoki hesitated briefly before nodding.

  With Rachel's signal, the Pokémon in the grassy area quickly gathered around them.

  There was Machop, Sudowoodo, Bellossom, Oddish, Poliwag, and even an Eevee.

  Naoki's eyes lingered on the fluffy Eevee, which seemed outgoing and cheerful. Unlike his G back at the ranch, this Eevee radiated airely different energy.

  The Eevee looked up and greeted Naoki with a bright, "Bu-yi!"

  "Quite aroverted Eevee," Naoki mused.

  Rachel began introdug the Pokémon one by one.

  "This is Machop," she said, gesturing toward the muscur Pokémon. "It's incredibly strong and easily help with heavy lifting."

  Machop flexed its arms, proudly showing off its muscles.

  Moving to the Pokémon, Rachel smiled and said, "This is Sudowoodo. While it 't help with physical bor like Machop, it makes for an excellent decorative addition to any ranch. Just be careful—it's afraid of water and will freeze in pce if it gets wet!"

  To demonstrate, Sudowoodo immediately stiffened, blending seamlessly into the surrounding trees, almost indistinguishable from a real one.

  Naoki was momentarily speechless, recalling that some people were utterly fasated by Sudowoodo.

  There were even magazines dedicated to these "tree Pokémohusiasts," whose fans obsessed over the length and angle of Sudowoodo's branch-like arms. It was said that the greehe Pokémon appeared, the more popur it became among such fans.

  Rachel notiaoki's expression and chuckled. "Sudowoodo is just one of many options. Now, this little one here," she said, gently patting the head of a Floette, "might be small, but it's fantastic at tending flowers!"

  When Naoki g the Floette, his thoughts immediately jumped to AZ's Eternal Floette—a mythical, unique version of Fbébé with extraordinary power and an unfettable story in Pokémon lore.

  It wasn't something anyone could obtain, even in the games.

  "This one is Oddish," Rachel tinued. "It may look simple, but when it evolves into Bellossom, its flowers are absolutely stunning!"

  Naoki hesitated. Oddish's evolution path offered two choices: the noxious Vileplume or the elegant Bellossom. However, whehought about Vileplume's pu secretions—so potent they could incapacitate people within two kilometers—he decided against it.

  "This is Poliwag!" Rachel gestured to the little Water-type Pokémon. "It's great with its Water Gun and help with irrigating farmnd. But unfortunately, it's already reserved by a local farmer."

  Naoki smiled and shook his head. "That's fine; I already have a Pokémon at my ranch for watering duties." He was referring to his Dragonite, who had mastered moves like Rain Dand Water Pulse.

  Rachel grinned and moved on. "Now, this little one is the st Pokémooday," she said, croug to gently pet the Eevee. "This cheerful and lively Eevee also came from the back mountain. It's very friendly and easy to get along with!"

  "I've already noticed," Naoki said as he squatted down to take a closer look at the Eevee.

  The appearance of an Eevee was undeniably charming. Its resembo a fox was evident, with its brown fur ated by a fluffy cream-colored ruff around its ned a simirly cream-tipped tail.

  Its petite frame rested on four furry legs, each adorned with soft pink paw pads. Its long ears twitched attentively, and its lively brown eyes sparkled with curiosity above its tiny, button-like bose.

  "Eevee~"

  At that moment, the Eevee sat serenely on the grass, gently swishing its big, bushy tail while tilting its head. Its wide, i eyes radiated pure charm.

  "Boom!"

  Naoki felt like his heart had just been struck by arrows. His pulse raced.

  He had to have this Eevee.

  Rachel noticed his expression and stifled a giggle. "Looks like you're an Eevee fan, Mr. Naoki!"

  Naoki smiled and leaned closer to the Eevee. "Hello, Eevee. My name's Naoki. It's so o meet you."

  "Eevee!" the Pokémon replied, its high-pitched cry brimming with excitement.

  Rachel k down and asked softly, "Eevee, Mr. Naoki is a very kind person. Would you like to live with him on his ranch?"

  The Eevee didn't hesitate, noddihusiastically. "Eevee!"

  "It seems that Eevee likes you too!" Rachel said with a warm smile. "Then, Mr. Naoki, I'll leave this Eevee in your care from now on."

  "Absolutely!" Naoki replied with enthusiasm, nodding firmly.

  He crouched down, patted his shoulder, and said to Eevee, "e on, hop up!"

  The little Eevee eyed the spot for a moment, then joyfully leapt onto Naoki's shoulder, mimig the iic partnership of Ash and Pikachu.

  "Good girl," Naoki said, gently rubbing his cheek against Eevee's soft fur. "I've got some errands to run, but once we're done, I'll take you back to the ranch."

  Eevee, utterly tent, stood quietly on Naoki's shoulder, her fluffy tail swaying slightly as they walked together toward the pen of Wooloo.

  In the grassnd enclosed by wooden fences, a rge flock of Wooloo was lounging uhe sun, their wool glistening like fluffy white clouds.

  Wooloo's faces and legs stood out against their woolly white bodies, giving them a charming, round appearahey resembled walking, oversized cotton balls.

  "How many Wooloo are you pnning to buy, Mr. Naoki?" Rachel asked.

  Naoki pondered for a moment before answering, "Eight should do."

  He figured that any more would make the ranch feel cramped and difficult to manage.

  "Got it." Rachel nodded and walked over to opee to the enclosure, inviting Naoki to step io make his sele.

  These Wooloo, bred domestically, were calm and well-adjusted to humans. They grazed aed undisturbed, showing no signs of panic at Naoki's approabsp;

  As Naoki sed the pen, he realized the Wooloo looked almost identical, as though they had been perfectly copy-pasted.

  Deg to keep things simple, he gestured toward the eight Wooloo closest to the gate. "Let's go with these eight."

  He reasohat with proper care at the ranch, all of them would grow into healthy, robust Wooloo. Their current dition didn't him mubsp;

  Rachel smiled, aowledging his choice. She called over the selected Wooloo, and they obediently followed her. "Would you like me to help transport them to your ranch?"

  Naoki shook his head with a grin. "No need, I drove here. I'll take care of it."

  "Uood," Rachel replied. She led the eight Wooloo outside to Naoki's pickup truck, setting up a wooden ramp to ect the ground to the vehicle's bed.

  One by ohe Wooloo trotted up the ramp aled into the truck, filling its snugly with their fluffy forms.

  After seg the Wooloo and pleting the payment, Rachel g Naoki again and asked, "By the way, Mr. Naoki, do you know how to care for Wooloo properly?"

  Naoki chuckled. "Feed them fresh grass and berries, let them roam and bask in the sun as much as possible, and shear their wurly when it grows too thick, right?"

  Rachel nodded. "That's right. The wool on Wooloo grows tinuously throughout its life. Even if you shear it pletely, it only takes three months for it to grow back to its inal fluffy state."

  "But you o be careful. If their wool grows too long, they won't be able to move properly. So, Mr. Naoki, keep an eye on how fast it grows and make sure to shear it when it's ready."

  Naoki was already familiar with this, so he nodded and said, "I'll keep that in mind."

  Wooloo wool rized material. Zack often collected it, and it was highly valued for making durable clothing and carpets, which were popur everywhere.

  After bidding farewell to Rachel, Naoki started his journey back to the ranch, his cart loaded with eight Wooloo.

  This time, her Koraidon nor Cyclizar apanied him.

  The reason? Koraidon was busy teag Cyclizar how to master a few moves.

  When Naoki first withis unusual sight, he was taken aback. But soon, he couldn't help but feel delighted about the growing camaraderie betweewo Pokémon.

  Koraidon must have been impressed by Cyclizar's determination and persistence, deg to take it us wing!

  If that's the case, Naoki thought, then he couldn't fall behiher.

  As he drove, his gaze shifted to the little Eevee sitting in the passenger seat, safely buckled into its harness.

  He began p an important question: What should this Eevee evolve into iure?

  He already had a G back at the ranch, so an was unnecessary.

  That left him with other options: Freon, Vaporeon, Jolteon, or Leafeon.

  Luckily, he had the necessary evolution stohe Fire Stone, Water Stohuone, and Leaf Stohat the adventurous Pawmot had collected before.

  Beyond those four, there were still Espeon, Umbreon, and Sylveon to sider.

  With so many potential evolutions, Naoki found himself uo decide for the moment.

  He g the Eevee again, noting the heart-shaped pattern on its tail.

  This little detail firmed that the Eevee was female, as male Eevee tails had a jagged, saw-toothed pattern.

  "It's a shame it's not male," Naoki mused with a tinge ret.

  If it were male, maybe it could pair with G bae and give me a bunch of Eevee eggs, he thought whimsically, much like his hardw Dragonite.

  Eevee were notoriously rare in the wild due to their geistability and plex breeding patterns, making them a precious addition to any trainer's team.

  Naoki even harbored a dream of creating an "Eevee army," with Eevee representing every evolution type. Two Eevee alone wouldn't suffice for that vision.

  "Well," he cluded, "I'll live with this Eevee for a while and see what it wants to evolve into."

  Ultimately, Naoki decided to respect Eevee's feelings a choose its own evolutionary path.

  The pickup truck rolled into the ranch, with Naoki giving two quick honks of the horn to alert the Pokémon oh to step aside. Ohe way was clear, he drove straight to the area across the river where the new part of the ranch was located.

  Naoki had already prepared the enclosure in advance, building a sturdy fehat surrounded a small hillside. Now, all that remained was to release the Wooloo into their new home.

  The reason for the fence was simple: Pokémon like Wooloo are known to roll into objects with siderable force, and it wouldn't be good if they mao escape. Naoki chuckled as he recalled the start of the Sword and Shield adventure, where Hop's Wooloo crashed into the Weald Forest's barrier.

  Diagonally opposite the Wooloo pen ple orchard. The trees there were still young and hadn't borne fruit yet, but Naoki wasn't in a rush. He decided against asking Calyrex to fast-forward their growth.

  For Naoki, the joy of pnting fruit trees with his Pokémon y in the process, not the results. Besides, the ranch's finances were currently stable, so there was neo maximize produ.

  After safely settling the Wooloo, Naoki headed back across the river with Eevee perched happily on his shoulder. He sought out Alcremie and G, then gathered the rest of the Pokémon to make introdus.

  Naoki smiled warmly aured to Eevee. "Everyohis is Eevee! Starting today, Eevee will be living here on the ranch with us."

  The group weled Eevee enthusiastically. Alcremie, Pawmot, and Arboliva surrouhe newer, expressing their delight with joyful cries.

  Eevee, with its cheerful and lively personality, beamed at the warm wele. It wasn't long before the little Pokémon began pying with Alcremie and Pawmot, both equally eid pyful.

  Watg this heartwarming iion, Naoki couldn't help but smile. "You all take good care of each other now!" he enced.

  Meanwhile, from a short distance away, G watched the se quietly. It observed the new Eevee fitting in so effortlessly, pying exuberantly and, most notably, demanding cuddles from Naoki.

  G's tail twitched, and an unfamiliar feeling bubbled up i had never asked Naoki to hold it or sought attention in that way before. What if Naoki liked this new Eevee more? A troubling thought lingered in G's mind.

  Not far away, Koraidon y sprawled on the grass, soaking in the sun. It watched the drama unfold with a knowing sigh.

  "Raao…" (Ah, I see. Finally, someone uands my plight.)

  G still fixated on the new Eevee, had only one word fshing through its mind: Vixen.

  ...

  If you're ied, you read up to chapter 411 at patreon./Keepsmiling818