Special Soil

In response to Naoki's question, Teddiursa acted as if it knew nothing.

"Teddi?"

It pretended to be calm, with its dark round eyes wide open. Its clear eyes revealed a hint of innocence and ignorance as if it didn't understand what the human in front of it was saying.

'This little bear is quite good at playing innocent'!

Naoki was speechless. Seeing Teddiursa's expression, he didn't say anything further and turned around to prepare breakfast.

Today's breakfast consisted of MooMoo Milk, tree sap juice, sandwiches, delicious fried eggs that were perfectly golden and slightly greasy, and a few small cookies sprinkled with sugar.

Dragonite and the others loved these foods, but Teddiursa didn't seem very interested.

Under Naoki's gaze, it absentmindedly ate two Pecha Berries.

"Are you full?" Naoki asked. "Don't you want to eat something else?"

"Teddi."

Teddiursa shook its head and glanced at the food. It was far more interested in fruits covered in honey.

'Covering the fruit with a thick layer of golden, clear honey, licking the outer layer of honey first, and then savoring the fruit inside—it was the perfect treat'. The thought of it made Teddiursa drool.

"All right."

Naoki didn't push further.

After breakfast, he began working on the ranch, while watching Dragonite use Rain Dance.

He left Teddiursa in Pawmi's care.

Pawmi, who had arrived at the ranch a few days earlier than Teddiursa, was already very familiar with the place.

After receiving the task from Naoki, Pawmi eagerly led the way.

"Pawmi, Pawmi!" (Come with me! Naoki likes you very much. You'll be living here from now on. Let's go! I'll introduce you to everyone!)

Facing the enthusiastic Pawmi, Teddiursa thought to itself: 'I will never live here'!

It was only here for the delicious honey, and once it got the honey, it would disappear without a trace, leaving no one able to find it.

But not yet.

Teddiursa turned its head and looked in the direction of the beehive.

The group of Combee had started collecting nectar again, but it would be a while before the honey was ready.

'Patience, a qualified hunter must have enough patience', Teddiursa thought.

So, it followed Pawmi and explored the ranch.

Their first stop was the chicken coop where Pawmi often helped out.

Looking at the hens and fluffy chicks walking on the grass, Pawmi happily introduced the bear cub:

"Pawmi Pawmi!"

'Yeah.' Teddiursa glanced around but didn't show much interest.

This made Pawmi feel a little disappointed.

It hung its head with a gloomy expression, but soon cheered up again and took Teddiursa to the Salt House where the Nacli lived.

The five Nacli were still asleep, huddled together and snoozing peacefully.

Seeing this, Pawmi did not go over to wake the Nacli, but whispered to Teddiursa from a distance that these Pokémon could produce salty rock salt.

'Rock salt? Where's the sweet honey?' Teddiursa thought.

The baby bear began to imagine the delicious honey. It swallowed and asked, "Teddi?" (Do you know honey? It tastes much better than rock salt!)

"Pawmi?" 'Honey'?

Pawmi nodded happily.

It knows! The day before yesterday, Naoki prepared honey lemonade for them to drink, which was sweet!

Hearing this, Teddiursa was full of envy.

This also strengthened its determination to steal honey.

At the third stop, Pawmi led Teddiursa to the pasture where the Skiddo's lived.

Looking at the three lazy Skiddo's, Teddiursa didn't think much of it at first.

But suddenly, a terrifying energy burst out from the Skiddo.

The surrounding area was filled with a vibrant green halo, sharp leaves flew all over the sky, and one of the Skiddo's raised its head as thick beams of solarbeam straight past Teddiursa and into the sky.

Teddiursa: "?!"

It stood there, feeling the overwhelming power, and couldn't help but swallow.

'How terrifying!'

'Such a powerful move—if it had been hit'.

'What about the remaining Skiddo's?' Teddiursa thought, its mind racing.

At this moment, Teddiursa suddenly realized something—there were so many Pokémon on this ranch that were much stronger than it. Could it really steal all the honey with them around?

Not only these three Skiddo's but also the red Pokémon that looked very ferocious.

Teddiursa's mind, which had been clouded by thoughts of honey, suddenly cleared.

'If I get caught.'

Teddiursa didn't dare to imagine what the consequences would be.

At this moment, Teddiursa wanted to back out—it was really scared.

'What should I do?'

Looking at the three powerful Skiddo's, a drop of cold sweat appeared on its forehead, and it imagined itself being overwhelmed by their Solar Beam attack.

At this time, Pawmi beside it said reassuringly: "Pawmi Pawmi!" (Don't be afraid, the Skiddo's won't hurt us! They're all Naoki's Pokémon and will protect everyone on the ranch!)

However, Teddiursa had its own thoughts. It turned around and looked around, noticing that Naoki wasn't paying attention, and quickly found an excuse to separate from Pawmi.

Once out of everyone's sight, Teddiursa couldn't help but quicken its pace and ran away.

'Oh my Arceus! This place is too scary! I don't want honey anymore, and I'll never come here again!'

Just like that, Teddiursa was scared away by the Skiddo's.

...

When Naoki finished his work on the ranch and turned around to look for it, he couldn't find Teddiursa anywhere.

Naoki was puzzled, so he found Pawmi and asked, "Where is the baby bear?"

Pawmi looked confused: "Pawmi." It didn't know what had happened; the baby bear had suddenly disappeared.

Seeing this, Naoki raised his eyebrows slightly.

He asked Pawmi what had happened, and Pawmi demonstrated exactly what occurred.

After observing, Naoki looked surprised.

'Huh? Was it scared away by the Skiddo?'

He was speechless. He looked up in the direction of the back mountain and searched everywhere but couldn't find the baby bear.

Naoki couldn't help feeling a little regretful.

'I haven't even had a chance to spend enough time with it!'

He had originally planned to boil a basin of hot water to give the baby bear a bath after finishing work, then give it a good pampering session once it smelled nice.

As it turned out, the baby bear had been scared away before he could make a move.

Thinking of this, Naoki wondered if he might have gone too far.

'The poor thing is just a baby bear who wanted to eat honey. It was even willing to take risks for that honey.'

He looked into the distance thoughtfully, then turned back to the house. He took out the jar of honey from the cupboard, scooped out a small portion, and put it in a smaller jar.

Then he handed the jar to Butterfree and said, "Butterfree, take this jar of honey to the forest and see if you can find the baby bear."

"If you find it, make sure to tell it that stealing is wrong. If it wants honey, it can exchange something with me."

'If I'm right, the baby bear's Ability might be related to perseverance. But before it evolves into an Ursaring, its current Ability should still be Pickup.'

Pokémon with the Pickup Ability have a habit of collecting things from the wild, so it should be easy for it to find some berries or other items.

"Butterfree~"

Butterfree gently took the jar, then flew towards the back mountain with the honey in its grasp.

Watching it leave, Naoki took a deep breath and then refocused his attention on the ranch.

The second batch of crops in the field was growing, and it would take about half a month for them to mature.

Before he knew it, half of spring had passed, and summer was approaching.

Naoki murmured, "Should I buy some seeds for summer crops in advance?"

"Yeah, we still need to prepare. Otherwise, when the seasons change, there will be too much to do, and it'll be easy to get overwhelmed."

In addition, plans need to be made for each of the Pokémon living on the ranch.

The Skiddo don't require much attention right now. With plenty of grass around, they can grow without any issues.

Currently, Naoki needs to focus on Nacli, Dragonite, and Smoliv.

Help Nacli evolve into Naclstack and eventually into Garganacl.

Assist Dragonite in learning more moves.

Help Smoliv evolve into Dolliv, so they can start producing fresh and delicious olive oil.

"So, next, I can try to make more dishes using rock salt to see if I can create something similar to dumplings that could help Nacli grow. But since Nacli is Rock-type, I should consider using rocks and soil rich in minerals for the dishes."

Dragonite currently knows Wing Attack, Glare, Twister, Dragon Rage, Agility, Dragon Tail, Rain Dance, Thunder Punch, and is working on mastering Thunderbolt.

"It's a pity I couldn't create any dragon-type food," Naoki murmured. But since Dragonite is practicing Thunderbolt now, he plans to wait until it masters it before moving on to other moves.

As for Smoliv.

As a Grass-type Pokémon, Naoki has tried feeding it grass-based dumplings before.

But Smoliv doesn't like the sticky texture of glutinous rice skin. Besides, it has a very laid-back attitude and doesn't seem to care much about becoming stronger.

"Well, I'll have to start developing Grass-type dishes that suit Smoliv's taste and can help it grow," Naoki thought.

He planned to go to town today. Besides buying seeds for summer crops, he also wanted to check if the Miltank had arrived.

The last time he asked, the old man at Happy Ranch mentioned that the freighter carrying the Miltank might have encountered a storm and lost contact.

Thinking of this, Naoki rode Koraidon to the Town.

Since he rode Cyclizar to town last time, it was naturally Koraidon's turn this time.

This was the rule set by Koraidon, as it felt that alternating rides was the fairest way to avoid any sense of being left out.

The Town was as bustling as ever. On his way to the seed shop, Naoki passed by the Market.

He was thinking about Nacli and its evolution when he suddenly heard loud shouts coming from the market.

"Come and take a look! Freshly unearthed Sun Stone, starting price is 2,000 Poké Dollars!"

Sun Stone?

Naoki hurried over to the commotion and saw a crowd gathered around a stall.

On the stall was a fiery red stone that resembled the sun.

The stall owner was shouting with a smile on his face: "3,000 Poké Dollars, 3,000 once! 5,000 Poké Dollars, 5,500! 7,000! 7,000 Poké Dollars once, can anyone go higher?"

"Sun Stone, the magical Sun Stone that can make certain Pokémon evolve. You'll never regret buying it!"

"Wow! This gentleman is offering 10,000 Poké Dollars! Any higher bids?"

"…"

Naoki watched curiously from the outside, and the Sun Stone was eventually bought by a wealthy trainer for 60,000 Poké Dollars.

Then, the stall owner took out the second item for auction—a handmade Sweet Ball.

"Huh, I didn't expect there to be an auction here," Naoki remarked, a little surprised. In the games, the Market is known as a very eclectic place.

People here can auction anything, from Berries and Potions to rare evolutionary stones and even mysterious items like Arceus' Plates.

But in reality, it's not that extravagant. The rarest thing sold here might be an Evolution Stone.

Those weren't of much use to Naoki, so after a few glances, he turned away and continued to stroll around the Market.

He saw people selling crops and Moomoo Milk from their ranches, fish and seafood from nearby waters, and even some handmade prepared foods.

Naoki wasn't particularly interested in those. He walked through the food area and came to the stalls on the right side.

These stalls sold various Pokémon supplies, such as food, toys, and climbing frames for small Pokémon.

Naoki picked up a frisbee, weighed it in his hand, and asked, "Koraidon, what do you think of this?"

Koraidon looked at the frisbee, and an image popped into its mind of Naoki throwing it hard and it was running to fetch it.

It quite liked this game, so it nodded happily.

"Ah, gah!"

"Okay, let's buy it!" Naoki decided.

It just so happened that the ranch was short on some Pokémon toys.

The frisbee was reasonably priced at only 800 Poké Dollars, so Naoki paid for it and continued to browse the market.

Just then, he noticed a small bag of special soil at a stall selling Pokémon food.

The soil was in powder form and had a very distinctive color, almost metallic.

"What is this?" Naoki asked curiously.

The stall owner glanced at Koraidon beside him and replied with a smile,

"This is soil that's perfect for Steel-type and Rock-type Pokémon. It's rich in minerals and trace elements! It can greatly aid their physical growth!"

"Really? This is the first time I've heard of such a thing," Naoki said in surprise.

The stall owner nodded, still smiling: "Absolutely! This special soil is mined in Zapapico Town. It's a specialty of that area! And it's not expensive—a small bag like this costs only 1,500 Poké Dollars!"

"Many trainers who specialize in Rock- and Steel-type Pokémon buy this soil from me. I have it specially transported from the town of Zapapico!"

Hearing this, Naoki's first thought was that he had found the perfect ingredient to enhance dishes for Nacli!

'1,500 Poké Dollars isn't too expensive. Whether it works or not, I'll buy a bag and try it out first!' With this in mind, Naoki quickly said, "I'll take a bag!"

"Certainly!" the stall owner replied enthusiastically.