Looking at the small sprouts in front of him, Naoki frowhinking carefully.

  Obviously, this mutation was caused by the grass energy from the Gogoat and the strange seeds he had given them.

  The [Grass Cake] must have pyed a role in this as well.

  But… why does it take so long for this thing to grow?! Has it even been 100,000 years since Arceus created the world?

  What kind of pnt would take so long to grow?

  Naoki quickly ran through the famous pnts/trees in the Pokémon world in his mind.

  The only thing he could think of was the Tree of Beginning.

  The image of that a, t tree from the movie appeared in Naoki's mind. It was led in the mountains, reag toward the sky. Its trunk was so massive it housed a unique ecosystem, with many Pokémon living is intricate maze of tunnels.

  No one knows exactly how the tree came to be or how long it took to grow to that size. Mew called it home, and Regice, Regirock, aeel guarded it, warding off any intruders.

  Some believe the tree is not made of wood at all but yers of rock resembling a tree. Others think it's a result of natural petrification over turies of growth.

  Naoki's brow furrowed.'Could it be that his Gogoat had somehow grown a new version of the Tree of Beginning?'

  'Wow. No wonder no crops in the field had mutated for over a month. They were busy secretly growing something big!'

  He pictured the grand Tree of Beginning, then looked down at the tiny sprout, barely as big as his fihe trast was ughable.

  He was desperate to know what kind of pnt this would bee.

  But clearly, unless he used some special method, he would never live to see it fully grown.

  After thinking for a moment, Naoki's eyes turoward the shrine dedicated to the King of Bountiful Harvests, a shrine he had often visited in reverence.

  If anyone could help, it had to be the King of Bountiful Harvests, right?

  Naoki hurried over to the shrine, lighting inse and making s.

  "Oh, great King of Bountiful Harvests! Your humble follower seeks your help! I promise to offer you endless green dumplings in gratitude!"

  ...

  Far away in the Gar region, the ed King, Calyrex, stirred.

  It was snowing heavily in the Tundra. The ndscape was bed in white, and snow piled high on the ground.

  In past years, the King of Bountiful Harvests would have been deep in hibernation during this time. His body was weak, and the cold was harsh.

  But retly, things have ged.

  With the help of his devoted followers, a steady flow of faith had beealizing him. Although he was still far from his full strength, he could now muster some of his powers.

  For this, Calyrex was deeply grateful.

  He thought about how his young follower had been so devoted, w tirelessly to spread his name in a world that had mostly fotten him.

  Not only that, the young follower had never asked for anything iurn, always helping in silence.

  The air around him was icy, but Calyrex's heart felt warm.

  This was the first time the follower had asked for help.

  "I will certainly assist you," thought the King of Bountiful Harvests.

  He focused his psychic powers, turning his attention to Naoki's situation.

  What he saw warmed his heart even more.

  Naoki had pced an enormous pile of fruits in front of the shrine, so much that there was hardly any space left. A few fruits had rolled off onto the grass, and Naoki flustered, hurried to pick them up and carefully put them ba top of the pile.

  Calyrex couldn't help but smile, amused by the young follower's devotion and eagerness.

  "Do you like me that much?" The King of Bountiful Harvests murmured to himself with a hint of amusement.

  "In that case, let me do something for you!"

  'A seedling? Helping a seedling grow to maturity?'

  That was simple enough for him.

  The King of Bountiful Harvests focused his mind and finally found the seedling that his devoted follower had mentioned, sitting on a small mound of earth in the pasture.

  There were three Gogoat surrounding the tiny sprout, guarding it with quiet patience.

  Paying no attention to them, the King of Bountiful Harvests gracefully raised his hand and began eling his energy to nurture the seedling.

  At first, everything seemed fine.

  But soon, as more and more of his energy drained away while the seedling remained unged, the King began to sense something unusual.

  "Hmm?"

  'What is this? Why… is it taking so much out of me?'

  A rare trace of astonishment flickered across his normally posed face.

  Meanwhile, Naoki had no idea that the King of Bountiful Harvests had answered his prayers. After leaving the at the shrine, he wandered back to che his Gogoat.

  As he approached, he casually gnced down at the seedling, expeg nothing. But what he saw shocked him.

  The time until maturity had ged! And the name had ged too!

  [World Tree Seedling: A seedling that has absorbed a great deal of grass energy. Due to the influence of the Gogoat's power, it has undergone a mutation during its growth. A tremendous vitality is now brewing within. It will take another 99,996 years to fully mature.]

  In an instant, four years had been shaved off its growth time!

  Naoki was stunned. "What the…?! It's actually a World Tree?!"

  'Wait… there be two World Trees in the same world?'

  After a moment of shoaoki's quick mind started analyzing the situation.

  The one in the Kantion is called the Tree of the Beginning of the World.

  But this tree, the oed by his Gogoat, didn't have the word "beginning" in its simply became a World Tree.

  The Tree of Beginning in Kanto has a symbiotiion with a Mew that lives within it. Wheree is harmed, Mew is affected, and vice versa.

  But this World Tree, grown by the Gogoat, wouldn't have that kind of problem.

  It seemed very likely that this tree could grow into something just as magnifit as the inal World Tree—a plete ecosystem of its own!

  What's even more exg is that the King of Bountiful Harvests has mao reduce the growth time of the World Tree by four years!

  When Naoki returns to the ranch, he pns to ihe King of Bountiful Harvests and his two beloved steeds over, treating them to all sorts of energy-rest dishes made from grass-type ingredients. Who knows, maybe he really will see the World Tree grow in his lifetime!

  The thought filled Naoki with excitement, giving him a new surge of motivation. He gnced over at the three Gogoat standing nearby.

  When this World Tree matures, the Gogoat that helped nurture it will have the honor of being reized by the tree. They could very well bee guardians of the World Tree, much like Regice, Regirock, aeel, defending it from invaders and being legends in their ht.

  Naoki's mind raced with ideas. Maybe he could even move his home up into the World Tree, living in a treehouse while farming ireetop opies. A ran the World Tree, a mansion on the World Tree, even a tavern on the World Tree—it all sounded like a dream.

  Turning back to the shrine of the King of Bountiful Harvests, Naoki pced a pile of fresh fruit in . Though the King couldn't physically eat them, he was sure the se would be appreciated.

  ---

  In the Gar region, at the Tundra, the King of Bountiful Harvests was slightly amused by the little believer's enthusiasm.

  "This little believer… he means well, but he's ly the sharpest," the King murmured to himself. "I'll have to watch over him a bit more carefully iure."

  The King of Bountiful Harvests, who once ruled over the Gar region with pride, couldn't help but refle how fotten He had bee by the people of His homend. It was disheartening.

  But thehought of the region where His devoted follower resided—a pce where agriculture thrived, resources were plentiful, and the people and Pokémon were kied and pure.

  In trast, it was clear which region had the better life now.

  The King sighed, feeling a little disappointed. "If only I could just… relocate!"

  But, of course, that wasn't possible. His current weakeate prevented him from relog His dominion or rest His full strength.

  His hopes rested on his little believer. If only that boy would e to the Tundra and help Him find his two disloyal steeds.

  For now, however, the King had used up much of His remaining energy. Exhausted, He o rest once more.

  In the cold, snowy expanse of the Tundra, the King of Bountiful Harvests closed His eyes, hoping that the ime He awoke, His loyal follower would have e to His aid.

  ---

  Naoki, oher hand, had no idea of the expectations the King of Bountiful Harvests had for him.

  As he pondered how much he had raised the King's favorability over the past few months, Naoki retty sure it wasn't a small number.

  After all, why else would the King of Bountiful Harvests grant his every wish—even if it had only been twice?

  For the current King of Bountiful Harvests, this may be everything to Him.

  Thinking of this, Naoki's focus shifted slightly from the two steeds to the Bud King.

  He returo the living room, g the dar hanging on the wall, and finally marked November 2nd with a pen. He po head to the Gar region that day to search for Spectrier, Gstrier, and the King of Bountiful Harvests.

  As for why not go in October…

  That brings us to an important point.

  The seasons in this world are very distinct:

  January through March is spring. In January, everything begins to bloom, and the snow slowly melts.

  April through June is summer, and the weather gets progressively hotter.

  July through September is autumn. The hot temperatures start to cool in early July, the skies bee clear, and the leaves turn vibrant shades of yellow and red.

  October through December marks the winter season. The temperature drops steadily in October, frost begins to form outside, and by mid-November, it starts snowing until the end of December.

  Naoki thought that sihis was his first year in this world, the animals and Pokémon on the ranch might not adapt to the cold weather during the first winter. He o stay, prepare everything for the season, and only then leave with peaind.

  He didn't know how long his jourht take. It would be risky if it started snowing while he was gone, leaving the Pokémon on the ranch vulnerable.

  Koraidon, however, felt that Naoki was overthinking.

  All the Pokémon on the ranch had experienced winter and seen snow before.

  But who was Naoki?

  If Naoki said something o be do had to be done. If Naoki told him to go west, Koraidon would never go east.

  Koraidohere was no Pokémon more obedient than himself. With a zy yawn, he y down in a cozy er of the living room, enjoying the warm, familiar atmosphere.

  Meanwhile, Naoki began his winemakiure.

  He pulled out all the hops and malt he had previously stored and started following the instrus in the ranch manual given to him by Mayor Thomas.

  Winemaking, he quickly discovered, was more plicated than expected.

  The process involved saccharification, filtering, boiling, cooling, and then pg the mixture into oak barrels to begin fermentation.

  Generally, the fermentation process takes about 15 days, but it's said that if the beer is stored in oak barrels for lohe fvor bees more refined and unique.

  Oak barrels also impart a special woody fvor, enhang the taste of the beer.

  In addition, fruit wines such as grape wine could also be brewed using this method.

  However, there was no vineyard on the ranch yet, so Naoki had no choice but to use berries to make wine instead.

  After finishing the beer, Naoki went to the nearby town to buy a variety of berries. He picked up items like Cheri Berries, Pecha Berries, and Starf Berries.

  Each berry had its own uaste: some were sweet, others spicy, and a few were sour.

  Since different Pokémon had different taste preferences, Naoki decided to experiment with all of them.

  The winemaking process took five days.

  Unlike in Stardew Valley, where you could just throw hops into a barrel and wait, real brewing was far more plicated, and the oak barrels were much rger. Naoki had to work hard in the celr, and during those days, he rarely went outside.

  By the time he and Koraidon filled the st oak barrel with wi was July 4th in the 198th year of the Alliance dar.

  Autumn had arrived, and the air felt cooler and fresher.

  Naoki stepped out of the house, enjoying the crisp autumn breeze, and stretched zily.

  He gnced down at his arm and turo Koraidon in surprise. "Have you noticed I'm looking a little paler?"

  "Ah, gah?" Koraidon looked him over, tilting his head, but didn't pay much attention.

  During the summer, Naoki had been busy w in the fields uhe bzing sun, which had made his skin darker and rougher. Now that he saw his skin lightening, Naoki was naturally delighted.

  He muttered to himself, "Seems like I'll o spend more time in the celr."

  He thought back to when he'd goo the market after a long day of farm work, and a teenage girl had called him "uncle" because of his rough, sun-worn appearahe remark had almost left Naoki feeling depressed.

  "I'm only in my twenties! How could I look like an uncle already?"

  Today's weather erfect—sunny with a gentle breeze. Although the nd wasn't plowed yet, Naoki figured it could wait a little longer.

  So, he asked Dragonite and Cyclizar t a rog chair to the wn, where they all lounged, enjoying the sun and pying with the grass.

  Pawmo, always used to Naoki's id-back behavior, y down beside him, happy to let Naoki pet him.

  However, as Naoki was running his hand through Pawmo's fur, he suddenly stopped, puzzled. "Eh? Pawmo, do you have lice?"

  "Bamo?!" Pawmo jerked up in shock.

  Naoki gently fiddled with Pawmo's fur and finally found a tiny grain of sand. "Oh, it's just sand. I thought it was something else."

  "Pawmo!" Pawmo gave Naoki a slightly offended look, feeling a bit embarrassed.

  Naoki chuckled, patting his head. "I was overthinking it. Even if you did have lice, you could zap them all away with Thunderbolt."

  Pawmo thought about this for a moment, realizing Naoki had a point, and rexed again, lying down to enjoy the sun.

  As they basked in the sunlight, a shadow suddenly passed overhead.

  Naoki noticed the sunlight dimming and opened his eyes, spotting a Pelipper that had flown over unnoticed.

  Its beak opened slightly, and a photograph gently floated down from its mouth, nding squarely on Naoki's face.