Listening to Pokémon chat is a very iing thing.

  You gather a variety of information and intel from their versations.

  For example, a fire might have broken out somewhere in town, a rare Pokémon might have appeared, a Pokémon could have gotten lost, or two Pokémon might have dueled over love.

  Naoki never interrupted their chats; he just quietly sat behind the bar, reading a book.

  However, his Pokémon would occasionally join the versation and ask Quaquaval or Machamps a few questions.

  With the departure of Quaquaval and Machamps, the sky outside had pletely darkened.

  Naoki g the time—it was already 9:15 p.m.

  He looked out the window, and it seemed there wouldn't be any muests visiting tonight.

  Thinking this, Naoki was about to close the tavern for the night when the sound of barking and a motorcycle engine came from outside.

  Naoki was surprised.

  'Were there guests arriving so te?'

  He went outside to ched saw Officer Jenny, dressed in her poliiform, riding her motorcycle and chasing a Growlithe.

  The Growlithe was runniedly ahead, barking as it sprinted along.

  "Growlithe, where are you going?"

  Officer Jenny, chasing behind, looked worried.

  They had just fiheir patrol and were about to head home when Growlithe, the trusty partner of the police station, suddenly bolted off.

  The entire police force was stunned.

  Only Officer Jened quickly enough to jump on her motorcycle and give chase.

  Growlithe would run and then stop as if it were deliberately waiting for her, leaving Officer Jenny even more fused.

  'What oh was attrag Growlithe?'

  After some thought, Officer Jenny decided to follow the Pokémon and find out.

  They traveled along the dark tryside road aually arrived at a brightly lit ranch.

  Officer Jenny blinked, and her eyes nded on the man standing in front of a wooden building.

  Growlithe stopped in front of the man, barking happily at him.

  Officer Jenny turned off the motorcycle, got off, and looked at the se in fusion.

  Her frown deepened, and her expression grew serious.

  'Could this man be someone who used tricks to lure other people's Pokémon, only to steal them?'

  Out of professional instinct, Officer Jenny's hand drifted to the handcuffs at her waist, ready to act if anything suspicious happened.

  "Who are you?" Officer Jenny asked sternly.

  Naoki: "…"

  Naoki noticed Officer Jenny's movements and sighed, a bit exasperated.

  "Don't worry, Officer Jenny. I'm Naoki, from Naoki's Ranch. Yrowlithe probably heard about the tavern from other Pokémon and decided to visit."

  Officer Jenny blinked in surprise, her eyes studying Naoki before she removed her hand from her handcuffs.

  "Naoki's Ranch… I've heard about that in town."

  Naoki smiled and asked, "Growlithe, did you e to visit the tavern?"

  Growlithe wagged its tail excitedly and nodded enthusiastically: "Arf, arf!"

  "Then e on in!"

  Naoki chuckled and patted Growlithe on the head before weling both Officer Jenny and the excited Pokémon inside.

  Ihe tavern, Dragonair, Dratini, and Pawmo were still quietly chatting uhe warm light.

  As soon as Growlithe entered, it was immediately drawn to them and grew even more excited.

  "Arf, arf!" Growlithe barked happily. There really was a tavern just for Pokémon!

  Growlithe wasted no time anything and dashed over to the other Pokémon to greet them.

  Officer Jenny watched the se unfold with a helpless smile. "This little guy is too pyful."

  Naoki grinned.

  Officer Jenny, still processing the fact that there okémon tavern here, figured she might as well rest and have a drink to rex after a long day.

  But as she looked around, she realized there wasn't a drink menu.

  Notig her puzzled expression, Naoki went over to grab a white jug and two transparent gsses from the shelf.

  He poured some watermelon juice from the jug into the gsses, added a few ice cubes, and handed one of the gsses to Officer Jenny.

  "Our tavern specializes in serving Pokémon, but we're still his one's on the house," Naoki said with a smile.

  Officer Jenny was taken aback. "A tavern just for Pokémon?"

  "As you see," Naoki said, gesturing around.

  Officer Jenny turned her head and finally noticed—every "er" iavern okémon, not a single human in sight!

  "But… but…" Officer Jenny stammered, clearly amazed.

  "This is just my side job," Naoki said, chug as he pced the milk jug ba the shelf. "I love Pokémon, so I opehis tavern to see more of them. Watg them here makes me feel rexed."

  "This is really incredible!" Officer Jenny murmured.

  She looked at the iced watermelon jui front of her and politely thanked Naoki.

  Naoki shook his head to indicate it was no trouble at all.

  He gestured for Officer Jenny to sit at one of the tables to rest.

  Officer Jenny thought about it, then walked over with the two gsses of watermelon juice. She called rowlithe, but due to its body structure, it couldn't sit on the chair and just squatted on the ground.

  But frowlithe, that erfectly fine.

  Its big head barely rose above the table as it happily slurped the watermelon juice through the straw. While drinking, it sneaked curious g the other Pokémon chatting nearby.

  'It's so lively here!' Growlithe thought 'This pce is really fun.'

  Officer Jenny observed the yout of the tavern.

  As soon as you walked in, there was a bar with a wine ra the wall behind it. A small closet stood o it, and a refrigerator was oher side.

  The lights iavern glowed a warm e, and there was a red carpet at the entrance, giving the pce a cozy and weling atmosphere.

  On the left wall were simple drawings and photos, which looked like they had been made by children.

  Officer Jenny's attention was drawn to a particur photo. She stood up, uo resist walking over to take a closer look.

  The photo depicted a stunning cliff covered with lush grass and trees. A majestic waterfall tumbled down, f rivers that cut through the forests below as if they were the veins of the wild. The ndscape seemed to breathe with life.

  And on the grassy hill, a rge group of Pokémon stood together.

  Some of them were familiar, but others were Pokémon she had never seen before.

  There was Teddiursa, Meowth, and Pikachu.

  And a small Pokémon that resembled a pink kitten with rge blue eyes.

  This humanoid Pokémon had fine pink fur, a serious expression, and a rge tail. It looked relut to be in the photo, almost as if it didn't want its picture taken.

  Aside from this ohough, all the other Pokémon looked happy.

  Officer Jenny couldn't help but ask, "Are these Pokémos at the tavern too?"

  Naoki gnced up, seeing her in front of the photo wall.

  He shook his head. "No, that photo was sent to me by a friend who's traveling."

  "Oh," Officer Jenny said, her curiosity piqued. "I've never seewo Pokémon before. There really are still so many undiscovered Pokémon in the world."

  "Yeah!" Naoki smiled but didn't eborate.

  Before long, Growlithe had fis iced watermelon juice.

  Officer Jenny paid for the drinks, and si was getting te, she called Growlithe and prepared to head home for the night.

  However, Growlithe looked relut to leave. Seeing its expression, Naoki smiled and waved. "e baorrow! My tavern is open every day except weekends."

  "Arf Arf!"

  Growlithe's eyes lit up as it happily followed Officer Jenny. As they left, it barked twice, looking back.

  Naoki chuckled and called out, "See you tomorrow!"

  Watg the figures of Officer Jenny and Growlithe fade into the night, Naoki stretched and rexed. Theuro the remaining Pokémon and said, "Alright, time for bed!"

  "Buyi~"

  G beamed at Naoki, gave a sweet farewell, and ran back to its ice house.

  The three Miltanks yawned. Before returning to the Pokémon House, they each took a cup of their own fresh milk for a te-night treat.

  Dratini and Dragonair, already feeling drowsy, could hardly keep their eyes open. Still, they forced themselves to trot over and rub their cheeks against Naoki's affeately.

  Ohey had their fill of attention, they headed back to the ke, curling up and falling asleep uhe reflected glow of the moon.

  Dragonite, seeing this, stomped its feet in frustration, ahat the little dragons were stealing its trainer's affe. With a dramatic huff, it flew over and hugged Naoki tightly.

  Naoki: "…"

  He gently patted Dragonite's big belly, sighing, "Alright, time for you to sleep too!"

  Dragonite blinked down at him, then mimicked Dratini and Dragonair by rubbing its massive, pudgy face against Naoki's cheek.

  Naoki: "…"

  "Oof!"

  Dragonite, clearly pleased with itself, bounded away with joy. In its rush, it nearly knocked over a few things as it hurried out of sight.

  "Ah, gah…" Koraidon sighed, shaking its head at Dragonite's childish antics.

  It turo Naoki, who stood there, looking pletely helpless after all the face-rubbing.

  Naoki was keenly aware of Koraidon's gaze and thought that Koraidon wao rub his cheek too. So, with a resigned smile, he said, "Alright, e on then!"

  He ran forward and gave a Cheek Rub to each of the remaining Pokémon one by one.

  Koraidon's eyes widened: "Ah gah?!"

  Cyclizar couldn't believe it either: "Gah?!"

  Pawmo, however, eagerly flew into Naoki's arms, snuggling up affeately: "Pawmo~"

  As for the Alcremie, it had already goo bed early, retreating to its cozy without staying up te like the others.

  "Alright, let's all head bae a some sleep!" Naoki said cheerfully.

  He picked up Pawmo, and with Koraidon and Cyclizar following behind, they all walked home uhe gentle glow of the moonlight.

  ...

  The m, a new day had arrived.

  It was already July 5th, and the fields still y untouched, waiting for a fresh round of pnting.

  Naoki realized he couldn't keep putting off his work, so early in the m, he called Diglett to help till the fields and pnt a new batch of pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

  While mung on some seed crisps, Naoki also gathered a few other Pokémon to help out.

  Dragonite ractig its "Rain Dance" move by watering the nd, trying its best to summon rain.

  The Gogoat showed up as usual, using its "Grassy Terrain" to nourish and take care of the crops.

  As the Pokémon busily teo the fields, Naoki took a moment to che the World Tree seedling.

  [World Tree Seedling: A seed that has absorbed a tremendous amount of Grass-type energy. Thanks to the efforts of the Gogoat, it has undergone a mutation during its growth process. A great vitality is brewing i, and it will eventually break through the grouimated time remaining: 99,995 years and 363 days.]

  "It's reduced by two more days!" Naoki said excitedly.

  It was clear that the Gogoat's efforts were making a difference.

  Naoki turo look at the three Gogoat. "It seems like the Grassy Terrain ability is really speeding up the World Tree's growth!"

  But then again, because the Gogoat ending so much time tending to the seedling, it hadn't been doing its usual routine of dang every day. This made Naoki feel a little strange, as he had growo the sight of the goats dang like they were at a disco.

  Standing up, Naoki decided to watch the goats as they teo the pumpkins and sunflowers.

  At that moment, a sleek, bck luxury car came to a stop just outside the ranch.

  Sensing the presence of a stranger, Butterfree quickly flew over to inform Naoki.

  Naoki looked up and saw an entleman stepping out of the car. The man was dressed elegantly in a brown suit and a fedora hat, holding a gentleman's e. He had an air of sophistication.

  From a distahe old man spotted Naoki and smiled warmly, nodding in his dire.

  "Naoki!" the old man called out.

  "Mr. Sato!" Naoki excimed, excitedly reizing the distinguished visitor.

  This old man was the owner of the two small Pokémon that Ivan had introduaoki to more than two months ago.

  If Mr. Sato had shown up here...

  Naoki's heart skipped a beat, and he hurried forward to greet him.

  Sato still had that warm, kind demeanor: "I'm sorry, I got deyed with something and ended up arriving a bit te."

  "It's no problem at all," Naoki said, gng at the sleek bck luxury car. "Would you like to e inside for a cup of tea?"

  Sato chuckled, notig Naoki's gnce. "No need for tea, I've got to visit a friend ter."

  He turoward the back seat of the luxury car and called out, "e on out! We've arrived."

  The car door opened, and two small but well-dressed Pokémon resembling butlers silently stepped out.

  The taller of the two, with upointing horns, had a serious, stoic expression. The younger, with doointing horns, seemed meanding slightly behind her brother.

  Naoki thought, 'These must be the ones I met before.'

  The sister, her face warm and friendly, smiled when she saw Naoki. Her brother, however, frowned a bit, giving her a look of disapproval.

  The brother whispered, "Ai'e." (We agreed we'd observe this human first befetting attached.)

  The sister quickly adjusted her smile and replied quietly, "Ai'e!" (I know!)

  Naoki, havien a few pieces of transtion seeds earlier to uand his Pokémoer, overheard their versation and chuckled to himself. He didn't let on that he uood them, but he nodded inwardly.

  'They've grown a lot in two months,' Naoki thought. 'They're not the tiny ones I first met.'

  Old man Sato smiled kindly and introduaoki: "This is Mr. Naoki, who will be looking after you from now on. You met him when you were little, remember? He brought you pudding."

  The younger sister immediately brightened up and nodded enthusiastically: "Ai'e!" (Of course, I remember!)

  The older brother, still frowning, muttered, "Ai'e..." (We agreed…)

  The sister pyfully stuck her to: "Ai'e, ai'e?" (I know, I know! But brother, don't you remember how good the pudding was?)

  The older brother, recalling the taste of the pudding, hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Ai'e." (It was good.)

  His sister, fused, asked, "Ai'e? Ai'e!" (Then why don't you like this human? He's nid the pudding was delicious!)

  The older brother replied calmly, "Ai'e." (That's different.)

  He g his sister with , thinking baething a stray cat had told him at the manor. The cat had been abandoned by a human for being too weak, and though it was ter adopted by Mr. Sato, the memory of abando hau.

  As the older brother, he felt responsible for ensuring his sister wouldn't get hurt. "Ai'e." (We 't get too attached to a human before knowing if they'll abandon us. If he leaves us, we'll be heartbroken.)

  This is what Brother Indeedee had learned from a Mewoth in the manor who had been abandoned.

  The Mewoth had once been tamed by a human, but because the human thought it was too weak, they aba.

  Later, the Mewoth was fortunate enough to meet Mr. Sato, ted it. Sihen, it has lived happily in the manor.

  Because of this story, Brother Indeedee felt he had to protect his sister, making sure that this human wouldn't abandon them before they got too attached.

  Sister Indeedee seemed to uand, but not fully.

  Naoki, Brother Indeedee, who was trying so hard to protect his sister like a little adult, felt a mix of emotions.

  Without addressing the two Indeedees directly, Naoki turo Mr. Sato and said, "Mr. Sato, let me show you around the ranch!"

  As the owner of the Indeedees, Mr. Sato would surely want to know what kind of life they would have here, so Naoki o expihing iail.

  Sure enough, a bright smile appeared on Mr. Sato's wrinkled face.

  He chuckled and said, "Then I will respectfully follow your lead!"