It was te at night, and everything was quiet, but the soft glow of dim lights filled the tavern.

  Naoki leaned on the bar, arms folded, watg as Cyclizar sipped on its jui the gentle dlelight. A warm smile crossed his face.

  The old-fashioned wall clock ticked softly, and before Naoki realized it, it was already hirty.

  Yet, he still wasn't sleepy. As he wiped down the dusty wine gsses, his thoughts drifted to the pns for the ing days.

  It was Juh, and there were only two days left before the end of summer.

  came autumn, with its golden leaves and cool breezes.

  The ge of seasons usually brought a rush of work—not only would the o be plonted, but it also had to be watered ailized.

  When Zack came to pick up goods earlier in the evening, he had mentiohat ranchers on other farms were nearly exhausted from the workload.

  In parison, Naoki felt quite lucky.

  With Diglett to till the soil and Dragonite, Cyclizar, and Koraidon to help with watering and sowing seeds, his tasks were much lighter. Fertilizing, however, still required more hands-on work.

  And on top of that, there was the winemaking.

  Winemaking wasn't as simple as tossing hops into an oak barrel; the process was intricate, involving several time-ing steps.

  Plus, Naoki knew nothing about it. He'd have to learire process from scratch.

  It was always hard to get started, but things would get easier once he got the hang of it.

  The ranch manual given to him by Mayor Thomas id out the entire winemaking process iail.

  In addition to traditional barley beer, there were also recipes for various fruit wines.

  Fruit wine could be made from ordinary fruits or special berries.

  Speaking of fruit, Naoki thought about the orchard on his ranch.

  In just one summer, the trees had grown signifitly, transf from tender saplings into healthy, sturdy fruit trees.

  At this rate, he should be able to harvest a rge basket of fruit by mid-autumn.

  The fruit trees he had pnted in spring would likely bloom and bear fruit a bit earlier.

  However, Naoki wasn't too keen on selling the berries—their market price was too low to bother. He decided he'd keep them as snacks for the Pokémon on the ranstead.

  Just then, several small figures fluttered through the door.

  Naoki gnced up to see Dratini and Dragonair entering the tavern.

  He was surprised. "Why aren't you all asleep yet?"

  "Woo~"

  The little dragons exged gheir eyes blinking ily.

  They had been asleep but woke up when they saw the lights on and decided to iigate out of curiosity.

  Naoki chuckled. "Well, since you're here, how about a drink?"

  The three Dratini and twerly came up to the bar.

  "We've got Moomoo Milk, fresh tree sap, and different fvors of fruit juice. What would you like?" Naoki asked.

  The little dragons peered at the sele on the bar, then ed their tails around the bottles, choosing their favorite drinks.

  Naoki poio the tables and chairs nearby. "Let's sit over there and enjoy them."

  The group quickly agreed, and they scampered over to a small round table, sipping their drinks and chattiedly.

  Cyclizar had fis drink and, after pg the empty cup down, stood by Naoki with an i look in its eyes, as if asking if there was anything else it could do to help.

  Naoki smiled and patted its head. "o worry. This is just a trial run. Take it easy."

  Besides, even if the tavern officially opehere wouldn't be too many wild Pokémon visiting at first.

  For now, the tavern was still retively unknown.

  In the beginning, it would mostly be the Pokémon from the ranch who would e here to drink and rex.

  Seeing how much Dratini and Dragonair seemed to enjoy the paoki decided to stay a little longer.

  Uedly, a short while ter, Koraidon also arrived at the tavern.

  Koraidon had woken up and, realized Naoki wasn't in the room.

  Koraidon panicked and ran outside, searg for Naoki.

  It looked through the living room, study, and bathroom, but Naoki was o be found.

  Finally, Koraido outside and noticed the lights on iavern.

  When it arrived, it saw Naoki smilily, chatting with Cyclizar.

  Koraidon: "…" It felt a little sad.

  Not long after Koraidon showed up, Butterfree and Alcremie also arrived at the tavern.

  Naoki, pying the role of bartender, asked eaon to order their favorite drink and thehem sit and chat.

  Amid the king of gsses, the tavern buzzed with life.

  Some of the Pokémon even joined in, ag like wild Pokémon ing to the tavern for a drink.

  Naoki: "…" He couldn't help but feel like he ying a game of house.

  Shaking his head, he felt both amused and a bit helpless.

  After spending so much time with these pyful and sometimes childish Pokémon, he realized that they'd made him a bit childish too.

  ...

  The day, after finishing his work on the ranaoki headed into town to buy seeds. He picked up a batch of , pumpkin, and sunflower seeds.

  These crops were ideal for both summer and autumn pnting, providing a good tinuous harvest.

  Even though the house was pleted, his work wasn't done.

  He o build a water mill before winter arrived.

  Ohe was harvested, he could grind it into eal at the mill or use it as chi feed.

  The sunflower seeds could be roasted into tasty snacks, though demand for them was always higher than he could meet.

  Winter would mean no crops in the fields, and they'd have to rely on stockpiles from summer and autumn.

  While greenhouses were an option, they were expensive, and right now, the need for them wasn't urgent.

  He had already harvested the sunflowers, and the shelled seeds had been made into seed crisps. Each piece provided a lot of energy, which was ve and effit.

  As for the pumpkins, they were versatile, perfect for queng thirst, and great for making soups and pes.

  Ivan had told Naoki about Halloween in the fall, where people carve pumpkins into nterns. The festival, held at night, attracts many wild ghost-type Pokémon!

  Naoki also had another idea—he wao see if he could grow extra-rge pumpkins.

  If successful, he'd store the pumpkins until wio make pumpkin pies for Butterfree, hoping it would grow into a huge Pokémowo meters tall—perfect for a big, cozy hug during sleep.

  After leaving the seed shop, Naoki headed to Kelly's wo shop.

  He had noticed that the floor of the old house was damaged from years of wear and tear, so he po repce it.

  When Kelly heard the reason for his visit, she promised to e by shortly.

  Naoki returo the ranch, and before he could even sit down, Kelly arrived, ready to help.

  Kelly and the Machamp beside her repced the wooden floor iavern. Seeing signs that the tavern had already been in use, Kelly was surprised.

  "Has it already opened for business?"

  "Yes," Naoki replied with a nod.

  Kelly was even more intrigued and guessed, "Is this taver to eain traveling trainers?"

  Naoki shook his head with a smile. "No."

  Seeing the fusion on Kelly's faaoki didn't hide the truth and expined with a grin, "This is a tavern that oertains Pokémon."

  Kelly's tone was full of surprise. "Only Pokémon?!"

  "Exactly," Naoki said. "Whether it's wild Pokémon living in the nearby mountains, Pokémon on the ranch, or even..." He g the Machamp standing beside Kelly, then tinued, "Pokémon who work and live with humans."

  "For example, after a long day of work, Pokémon who have been busy e here to have a drink, chat with other Pokémon, and just rex. This pce is for Pokémon only—no humans to bother them."

  Hearing this, Kelly blinked in surprise. "I think I get it."

  The two Machamps behind her exged surprised gnces.

  Could such a pce really exist?

  The Pokémon behind Kelly seemed excited by the idea.

  Respeg their i, Kelly smiled and said, "Feel free to e here and rex after work!"

  Machamp's eyes brightened with excitement.

  Kelly then asked, "What are the tavern's business hours?"

  Naoki had already thought this through. "From 7 PM to 10 PM, with weekends off."

  Kelly nodded, and then, uo tain her curiosity, asked, "What about fees? Some wild Pokémon may not have anything to give, like humans."

  Naoki smiled. "They give whatever they have. And if they don't have anything, that's fioo."

  Kelly was taken aback. "Aren't you worried about losing money?"

  Naoki shrugged. "Don't fet my main job! Running this tavern for Pokémon is just a hobby."

  Kelly suddenly remembered that Naoki also owned a rge ranch. With his daily ine, he could easily opeaverns if he wao.

  Plus, with fruit trees, Miltank for milk, and a winemaking business starting soon, the tavern could run self-suffitly without needing to purchase supplies.

  Kelly smiled and said, "What an enviable life! If that's the case, we'll definitely e and patronize your tavern!"

  By "we," she meant her Pokémon friends, including her Machamp and the old builder who stayed at home.

  Naoki returhe smile. "You're wele anytime."

  At 7 PM that evening, the tavern weled its first guests—two Machamp. It was their first visit, and although they felt a bit anxious, they were also excited.

  As the two ehe cozy tavern, they instinctively looked around. The warm ambiance greeted them, with the bar lined with various drinks and a red square carpet id out in front. dles flickered iro-styled dlesticks along the walls, adding to the charm.

  Inside, ly arraables, chairs, and benches created a weling space. The tavern buzzed with activity, as a group of Pokémon, including Dratini, Butterfree, Miltank, G, and Alcremie, gathered to drink and chat.

  One of the Machamp whispered, "Ni Ke...?" (It's so lively here! Is everyoo drink?)

  After eating more than a dozen seeds, Naoki smiled and asked, "What would you like to drink?"

  The Machamp mulled over their options before choosing spicy tree juid sweet-and-sour tree juice, theled at ay table. Naoki couldn't help overhearing their versation.

  Machamp #1: "Ni Ke, Ni Ke!" (Work is exhausting! I hardly get a ce to rest. Finally, a pce to rex!)

  Machamp #2: "Ni Ke." (True! But Kelly's been w just as hard. She's been building houses non-stop, but she'll get better soon.)

  Machamp #1: "Ni Ke, Ni Ke, Ni Ke!" (Yeah, Kelly works hard, but she's great to work with.)

  As the Machamp sipped their drinks, one of them said with satisfa, "Ni Ke!" (This tastes amazing! This pce is fantastic!)

  After finishing their drinks and lingering for a while, the two Machamps got up to leave. Before departing, they gifted Naoki two small wooden sculptures in the shape of Machop.

  Naoki leasantly surprised, realizing this was their way of paying for the drinks. He smiled, preferring these thoughtful gifts. He pced the small wooden sculptures oop shelf of the wine rack behind the bar.

  With most of the guests gone, Naoki handed over bartending duties to Cyclizar and Koraidon, theurned home to prepare dinner for everyone.

  ...

  Juh of the Alliance dar

  Naoki noticed something odd while milking the Gogoat. They seemed drained, listless, and very weak.

  "What's wrong?" he asked, frowning in . The Gogoat were usually full of energy, and this sudden ge was arming.

  The Gogoat weakly bleated, "Baa..." They turheir heads toward something nearby.

  Following their gaze, Naoki noticed a small sprout growing from the mound of earth the Gogoat had dug the day before.

  [Mutated Sapling: A seed sapling that has absorbed a signifit amount of Grass-type energy. Due to the influence of the Gogoat, it has undergone a mutation during its growth. Great vitality is brewing within it, but it will take 100,000 years to fully mature.]

  Naoki was stunned.

  "One huhousand years?!"

  His immediate thought was, "I won't even live long enough to see this tree fully grow!"