At five in the evening, Zack arrived at the ranch right on time with his truck.
Naoki was in the process of planting the last Berry seedling into the ground with Koraidon and Cyclizar. He had just finished watering it when he heard Zack's hearty voice coming from behind.
"Did you do all this? So fast? It's been less than a day?!" Zack was somewhat stunned as he looked at the newly transformed ranch.
The fields, once overtaken by weeds and trees, were now clean and tidy. Each plot of land was square and orderly, with the soil slightly damp, as though it had just been watered.
Naoki turned around and smiled at Zack, saying, "It's all thanks to them."
As he spoke, he stepped aside to reveal Koraidon and Cyclizar beside him.
Zack was slightly taken aback, then looked up to see, in addition to the Cyclizar he saw yesterday, another Pokemon had appeared by Naoki's side at some point.
A Pokemon he had never seen before.
It had a tall physique, a strong build, muscular limbs and body, and a robust, powerful tail...
"Who is that big guy?!" Zack widened his eyes again.
He swore, he had never seen such a Pokemon in the Paldea Region!
As a truck driver who traveled far and wide, Zack had visited various places in his early years and had seen countless Pokemon.
He was quite knowledgeable about the Pokemon inhabiting the Paldea Region.
Although not a Trainer himself, if he encountered a Trainer on a journey from the Orange Academy, he couldn't resist having an exciting Pokemon battle with them.
But… he had never heard of such a Pokemon.
Naoki was not surprised by Zack's reaction, as currently, besides Professor Sada, no one had seen Koraidon.
After some thought, he didn't reveal Koraidon's name, but honestly said, "I don't know where it came from either. It appeared injured at the ranch last night, and Cyclizar and I saved it. To thank us, it stayed to help with the work."
"I see…" Zack mumbled, nodding, looking at the unfamiliar Pokemon, he added, "It seems to like you a lot! If you can meet it, it means you are destined."
Having his doubts answered, Zack didn't say much more and turned to look at the delivery box, asking, "Did you find any mountain goods like black truffles today?"
"No, but I did catch some fish."
As he spoke, Naoki went under the eaves, picked up a bucket full of fish, and placed it in front of Zack.
Zack squatted down and looked into the bucket. Seeing the scene inside, he exclaimed in surprise, "Wow? So many?!"
For a novice rancher, this kid's fishing skills were way too impressive?
"Let me see…" Zack released his own Pokemon, a Conkeldurr, and directed it to move the glass fish tank specially used for holding fish down from the truck.
"Bass, carp, catfish, herring… Wow! And two rainbow trout! These are rare and difficult to catch! Your fishing skills are amazing!"
Zack was full of admiration. He stood up and gave a thumbs up, "Awesome!"
In response, Naoki gave a slightly embarrassed yet polite smile.
Zack took out a ledger and started calculating the accounts.
"Bass is 300 LL per fish, carp 120… rainbow trout is 1200, hmm, altogether it comes to 3680 LL."
After finishing his calculations, Zack put away the ledger, took out his wallet, and began settling the account, "Not bad at all. I hope there will be such a haul tomorrow as well!"
Indeed, in any world, fishing is a primary source of income at the beginning… Naoki thought to himself as he took the money.
Upon completing the transaction, Zack turned to leave, as he needed to collect goods from other ranches and farms and then deliver them to Porto Marinada Market and other nearby cities overnight.
Suddenly, Zack remembered something.
He stopped, turned back, and asked, "By the way, have you thought of a name for this ranch yet?"
A name?
Naoki paused.
Zack grinned and said, "A good name can also become a brand for the ranch, letting more people know about it! When the harvest festival is held in town, nearby ranches can compete to see whose crops are of the best quality, and the winning ranch receives a mysterious grand prize sponsored by the town!"
Naoki understood.
To be honest, he hadn't yet decided on a name for the ranch.
However, he was always decisive when it came to such matters.
So, after thinking for just a few seconds, Naoki came up with a name: "Let's call it Naoki Ranch!"
Simple, memorable, and not too flashy.
"Using your name, huh? Nice! Then Naoki Ranch it is!" Zack said with a smile, "I really look forward to the day this name is known all over Paldea!"
Naoki: "..."
Zack left.
Naoki watched him go, then turned around to face the newly revitalized plot fields before him.
After returning from the back hills, he saw the soil had more or less recovered, so he planted the purchased crop seeds with Koraidon and Cyclizar.
There were many kinds of seeds, and Naoki disliked chaos, so he specifically divided the fields into different sections based on the seed types before planting.
Potatoes, turnips, garlic, spring wheat, strawberries, cabbage, cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes.
Besides that, he also bought some Berry seedlings earlier.
Like Oran Berry, Pecha Berry, Cheri Berry, and Nomel Berry.
These Berry seedlings were allocated a separate plot of land, which Naoki intended to develop into a dedicated Berry Garden.
Ordinary Berry prices in this world are very cheap, with Oran Berries selling for only 20 LL each.
So Naoki wasn't planning on making money from them but instead intended to use them to make fruit cakes, fruit yogurts, and fruit pies for Cyclizar and Koraidon to enjoy.
After busying himself for a few hours, Naoki felt completely exhausted.
But looking at the orderly fields in front of him, he felt a peculiar sense of satisfaction.
"Hmm, there are quite a few crop seeds planted the first time."
Worried about making mistakes, Naoki thought for a moment and decided to make some wooden signs to stick into the soil, labeling each section by crop type for easy identification.
He had seen a saw in the storage room behind the house that could be used for cutting wood.
But it was getting late, so Naoki planned to do it tomorrow instead.
Stretching, Naoki relaxed, removed his mud-stained rubber boots, washed his face at the faucet, and changed into lightweight sandals.
Just as he turned his head, he saw Koraidon and Cyclizar, covered in dirt, with muddy feet and tails.
"..."
Naoki sighed helplessly and said to them, "Stand still, I'll hose you down!"
The two Pokemon immediately stood still, obediently.
Naoki picked up the hose and began washing them down, ensuring all the mud was rinsed off. Both large creatures shook off the water droplets in unison afterward.
Naoki got splashed, suddenly feeling that they resembled two large dogs.
With that odd thought, he returned to the house, grabbed towels, helped dry Koraidon and Cyclizar, then ushered them inside.
The wooden floor of the cabin, which Naoki scrubbed meticulously clean, had not a speck of dust, and to avoid dirtying it, he would change into different shoes when leaving or entering.
By now, night had fallen deeply.
Koraidon and Cyclizar lay lazily on the floor.
Cyclizar couldn't stop yawning.
Koraidon looked at its former self with some disdain.
Under the warm-toned lights in the house, Naoki, in his cozy slippers, stood at the stove preparing their dinner.
Hmm, what should we eat tonight?
Originally, Naoki wanted to cook something new, but he was worn out from the day's work, so he decided to take it easy in the end.
He simply pan-fried some meat patties, and with pre-sliced bread and some lettuce and ham, made a well-balanced sandwich.
"Enjoy!"
Naoki placed the sandwiches in front of the two Pokemon, then grabbed his share and sat at the desk, updating the rest of the entries in the day's ledger.
Spring of Year 198, January 6th.
Income: Fish +3680
Expenditure: 0
Remaining Funds: 32490
After completing the records and finishing dinner, Naoki contentedly flopped onto the bed.
Sleep!