Being a Parent

Naoki had no choice but to get up and answer the phone. As the video call connected, Dr. Sada's familiar and confident face appeared on the screen.

Seeing her, Naoki immediately perked up.

"Dr. Sada?"

Dr. Sada smiled. "Long time no see, Naoki. How have you been lately?"

Reflecting on the past few days, Naoki smiled and nodded. "Everything's been going well."

He knew the reason for Dr. Sada's call, so he called out toward the door.

Soon enough, Koraidon's scarlet figure appeared in the room.

Naoki smiled. "Say hello to the doctor."

Koraidon looked at the screen, and with a happy cry, said, "Raao~"

Dr. Sada watched the bond between Naoki and Koraidon and smiled. "You seem to be growing closer."

"Actually, Koraidon has always been very well-behaved," Naoki said, glancing at his Pokémon.

"This is really surprising," Dr. Sada said, pondering for a moment. "Maybe your Koraidon is special."

She reflected on her recent work. To see if Koraidon and Miraidon could live harmoniously with humans, she and her husband, Dr. Turo, had introduced their son Arven to the Pokémon. 

But the results weren't as promising as they had hoped.

'Why?'

Dr. Sada sank deeper into thought.

Watching her on the screen, Naoki started thinking about Dr. Sada and Dr. Turo's work, and how their focus had affected their son, Arven.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Naoki decided to speak up.

"Doctor, have you encountered any difficulties with your experiment?"

Dr. Sada didn't expect that question. After a pause, she shared their challenge: "Arven's relationship with Miraidon and Koraidon hasn't been ideal."

"I don't understand," she continued. "Even though Koraidon and Miraidon won't attack humans once caught in Poké Balls, they still remain on edge around us."

Naoki thought about the more aggressive Koraidon from the game and offered a guess. "Could it be due to their more aggressive personalities? Even among the same species, Pokémon can have different temperaments."

Dr. Sada nodded but seemed uncertain. "That's not quite it. Their personalities aren't as docile as your Koraidon's."

Naoki hesitated for a moment, then spoke again. "There might be one more factor."

Dr. Sada looked surprised. "Oh?"

Naoki continued, "It might be because of Arven."

Dr. Sada froze, startled by the suggestion.

Naoki explained, "You and Dr. Turo have dedicated so much time to your research that Arven might feel neglected. He may think that Miraidon and Koraidon have taken his parents' attention away from him, and that could be why he's struggling to connect with them."

Naoki didn't need to say more—Dr. Sada understood the rest.

She frowned slightly and fell into deep thought.

Naoki remained silent, giving her the time she needed to process the information.

Unexpectedly, Dr. Turo, who hadn't appeared on the screen until now, stepped into view. His calm demeanor contrasted with Dr. Sada's.

"It seems we've overlooked something important," Dr. Turo said, his tone measured. 

"Thank you for the reminder, Naoki."

Naoki thought to himself that he simply didn't want to witness the tragic fate of Arven, whose parents would both die in the future.

As he watched Dr. Sada and Dr. Turo deep in thought, Naoki struggled with how to warn them about the explosion at the Fourth Observatory in the future—a disaster that would take their lives. 

However, no matter how much he thought about it, Naoki couldn't come up with a good solution.

If he revealed the plot directly and told them about the impending danger, the two doctors might not believe him. Even if they did, their obsession with research would likely prevent them from taking any precautionary measures.

Just as Naoki was about to say something, Dr. Sada spoke up, "That's all for today's communication."

After a brief pause, she added, "Once we finish our research here, Turo and I will visit Arven. See you next time, Naoki."

Naoki hesitated but eventually nodded. "Okay."

"Forget it," he thought. "I'll wait until next time."

After all, there were still at least seven or eight years before the incident would occur. By then, Naoki figured he would be more familiar with the two doctors and could explain the situation in detail.

Naoki, now wide awake, decided to start steaming another batch of green grass dumplings for his Gogoat. 

As he looked at the steaming dumplings in the pot, he suddenly remembered that these green grass dumplings might have an effect on the King of Bountiful Harvests.

Green grass dumplings could provide Grass-type energy to the King of Bountiful Harvests.

As long as the King consumed enough grass dumplings, combined with the energy drawn from the faith of the nearby farmers, He wouldn't lack energy.

Naoki imagined that perhaps the King of Bountiful Harvests could become like the Gogoat, unable to contain His energy unless he releases it regularly.

But unlike Gogoat, who simply releases energy through bursts of activity, the King of Bountiful Harvests could use His energy to bless crops and make flowers bloom.

Naoki also remembered that green grass dumplings could occasionally cause crops influenced by the King to mutate, creating a positive cycle between the two.

In the game, after helping the King of Bountiful Harvests recover His two steeds, the King would agree to travel with the player.

Naoki wondered, "Will the real-life King of Bountiful Harvests act the same way?"

He mused on the possibility that one day, the King of Bountiful Harvests might visit the ranch in person.

For some reason, a vivid picture appeared in Naoki's mind.

—The King of Bountiful Harvests was having afternoon tea at the ranch. He sat elegantly on a chair, with grass cakes and green grass dumplings neatly arranged on a small round table in front of Him. In His hand, the King held a cup of black tea, a specialty from Kitakami Township, sipping it with grace and poise.

Naoki couldn't help but think, 'The image is quite beautiful.'

If the King of Bountiful Harvests were willing to come to the ranch, Naoki wouldn't mind hosting a tea party for him every day, preparing a delightful spread of afternoon tea and snacks. 

But all of this was based on the premise of the King's willingness to come.

As the legendary ruler of ancient Galar, it remained uncertain whether the King of Bountiful Harvests would ever leave His homeland.

Until that day, Naoki knew he had to work hard to gather enough offerings and devotion to draw the King to the ranch, much like a faithful believer building a kingdom for the god he worships.

Of course, Naoki's efforts were definitely not just for the King's two steeds. 'No way!'

————

April 16, Year 198 of the Alliance Calendar, Summer.

That morning, something big happened at the ranch.

Three more Nacli evolved into Naclstack!

The evolved Naclstack had grown so large that their current living quarters were too cramped to contain them.

Early in the morning, Naoki began instructing them to dig out more space and expand their living quarters.

However, the group of Nacli that had grown up in the house had no idea how to go about this.

"Nac...s..."

They exchanged confused and sorrowful looks, making low, aggrieved noises, clearly indicating that they didn't know how to help with the expansion.

Naoki sighed. "Well, that's a problem."

He fell into deep thought, wondering how to solve this.

Meanwhile, the lone Nacli who hadn't yet evolved looked at the four towering Naclstack in front of it. It seemed on the verge of tears, clearly overwhelmed by being the only one left behind.

Seeing its sad expression, the thoughtful Alcremie immediately stepped forward to comfort Nacli, gently patting its body with her tiny hands.

Naoki caught a glimpse of the scene from the corner of his eye.

He had always been impressed by this particular Nacli.

When it was in the wild, this Nacli had been the weakest in its group, appearing a little malnourished.

Naoki had always taken a laissez-faire approach to the salt production of the Nacli family. For this reason, he hadn't paid much attention to the fact that Nacli had been following Alcremie around the ranch all day.

Naoki didn't want to lock them up just for the sake of harvesting rock salt.

Now, seeing the sad expression on this Nacli, he immediately stepped forward and comforted it warmly:

"Don't be sad! Even if you can't evolve in your lifetime, I'll still take care of you forever!"

The other four Naclstack looked on with envy.

"Nac... Nacli…"

Nacli felt both anxious and touched.

Though it was touched by Naoki's words, it didn't want to go through life without evolving into a Naclstack!

It wanted to provide more rock salt to Naoki, just like the other Naclstack had!

Seeing Nacli's conflicted expression, Naoki realized he had said the wrong thing.

Scratching his head, he quickly changed the subject. "Don't worry! I'll do my best to help you evolve next time!"

...

As promised, here's the extra chapter! The next goal is 1500 Power Stones