At dawn, the ranch weled a new day.

  The first thing Naoki did after waking up was search for Calyrex to see where he had rested the night before.

  Living room... no.

  Sed floor… no.

  Kit… no sigher.

  Naoki searched for a while but couldn't find him, so he returo the living room. There, on the coffee table, he saw Polteageist and Sinistea—who had held a tea party all night—dozing off. Cyclizar y by the firepce, also looking drowsy, while the elder Indeedee seemed half-asleep.

  Seeing this, Naoki sighed with a gentle smile, "If you're all sleepy, go ahead a. I'll hahe ranch work today!"

  But the elder Indeedee shook his head vigorously, trying to stay alert, and replied, "Ai-ye!" as if to say he could still manage.

  Naoki chuckled but agreed. As he turo check the wine celr downstairs, he realized Calyrex must have spent the night outside.

  Wheuro the living room, he saw the elder Indeedee struggling to keep his eyes open while his younger sister watched with an amused smile.

  Naoki couldn't help but ugh softly. Just then, Butterfree nded by the rge window in the living room.

  "Hey, Butterfree," Naoki said, grinning, "could you use a little Sleep Powder on him?"

  Butterfree tilted its head, surprised, but after firming Naoki was serious, it fluttered over to Indeedee aly sprinkled some Sleep Powder.

  Soon, the elder Indeedee drifted off to sleep.

  "Alright, you help take your brother upstairs to rest?" Naoki asked the younger Indeedee.

  "Ai-ye~" she agreed with a cheerful nod, lifting her brother with her psychic powers and guiding him to his room.

  Pawmot, Alcremie, and G were also sleeping soundly nearby. Naoki decided not to disturb them and iook Koraidon outside to look around the ranch.

  Though it wasn't snowihe temperature had dropped below ten degrees, so many Pokémon preferred to stay cozy in their s.

  As soon as Naoki and Koraidon stepped outside, they spotted Calyrex in the meadow, lovingly stroking his trusted steed. Hearing them approach, Calyrex turned and greeted Naoki with a kind smile.

  He spoke warmly, but Naoki could only smile back, realizing that without any transtion seeds, he couldn't uand what Calyrex was saying.

  Naoki sighed thoughtfully, "I still have some sunflower seeds from st fall's harvest. I'll have to make another batch of transtion melon seed crisps ter." He paused, a bit puzzled, and added, "If only there were a dish that could let us talk directly with Pokémon."

  In this world, powers that allow humans to unicate with Pokémon are incredibly rare. The Aura, the power of Viridian, or advanced psychic abilities are all exceptional and hard to e by. Creating food with such effects would require an incredibly high level of ary skill—something he couldn't manage just yet.

  With a warm smile, Naoki turo Calyrex. "Good m! Did you rest well st night?"

  Calyrex nodded with gentle grace, "Calyrex!"

  Beside him, Gstrier, the Snowstorm Horse, pawed the ground with an impatient snort. Naoki didn't need a transtion to uand what it wa was hungry and eager for its favorite food, the ice carrots.

  Spectrier, the Ghost Horse, remained calm and reserved, standing quietly with a serene look in its eyes.

  Naoki pced some fresh berries in front of the two horses, watg as they both leaned down to sniff the fruits, momentarily distracted. Despite their ck of enthusiasm, hunger won out, and they eventually started eating.

  "Seems like Spectrier and Gstrier aren't really fond of ordinary berries…" Naoki mused to himself. It looked like he'd o set up a special field for their preferred crops soohan pnned.

  He addressed the two horses with a gentle promise, "Give me a moment. I'll go milk the Gogoats and then e back to pnt carrots for you."

  This seemed to satisfy Gstrier, who tinued nibbling the berries without further pint.

  Naoki gave Calyrex an uanding nod and the off with Koraidon, carrying a milk bucket to the Gogoat enclosure. Ihree eager Gogoats waited, each bending down pliantly for milking, then trotting off to enjoy their favorite grass dumplings.

  Nearby, Calyrex observed the se thoughtfully, his gaze resting on the peaceful Gogoats and the vibrant pnt.

  He had thought this was just an ordinary ranch, but there seemed to be more here thahe eye. Everything in this pce was brimming with mystery.

  After milking the three Gogoats, Naoki headed to the henhouse to collect the eggs id the previous night. Then, he and Koraidoo the Pokémon House to gather the Moo Moo Milk collected by Miltank using automatic milking maes. They stored it in the warehouse alongside the Gogoat milk, ready for Zack to pick up ter that afternoon.

  During this time, the twonites fronite Isnd, along with five Dragonairs, arrived to help. Seeing Naoki, they all trotted over with cheerful greetings. Naoki weled eae warmly and watched as the twoook the milk from sister Indeedee and flew off to make deliveries in town.

  Meanwhile, the five Dragonairs happily followed Naoki around the ranch. Wherever he went, they trailed right behind him. Naoki chuckled, thinking of them as his "Dragonairs ente."

  Si was wihe pasture nd was currently at rest, needing no watering. So, Naoki headed to the orchard in the southern part of the ranch with a Corviknight feather he'd brought back from the Gar region. During Naoki's abseinkatuff had already finished f its hammer.

  As Naoki arrived, he saw the Tinktuff examining its work, clearly unhappy with the results. Above, a small Mino perched on a branibbling on a berry. Not far off in the woods, a family of Tandemaus who had grown quite a bit since arriving, pyed hide-and-seek among the thick fallen leaves. With these wild Pokémon now part of the ranch, the orchard felt more alive than ever.

  Naoki watched as the Tinkatuff frow its hammer.

  Naoki walked over and asked curiously, "Is it finished?"

  Hearing his voice, Tinkatuff and the Mino sitting nearby looked up, their eyes lighting up as they saw Naoki approag. Tinkatuff proudly raised the rough hammer it had crafted to show him.

  Naoki examihe hammer and noticed its poor quality—it even had a few rusty spots. The subpar materials Tinkatuff had used were clearly to bme. Tinkatuff khis too and seemed a bit downcast, realizing that if it had better materials, the hammer could be much stronger.

  Without a solid hammer, Tinkatuff felt a little insecure, and it sighed, "Tuff…"

  Naoki smiled, then reached behind him and pulled out a box filled with glimmering bck Corviknight feathers. "Ta-da! Look what I brought!"

  Tinkatuff's eyes widened in disbelief. A whole box of feathers with a metallic gleam.

  These were the rare metal feathers from Corviknight, a material only the mightiest of Tinkaton from its tribe could collect. Tinkatuff remembered stories of the Tinkaton in its homend who wielded powerful hammers crafted from such feathers. They'd evehese hammers to fend off Corviknight in the sky, colleg the metal feathers the birds shed when struck.

  In Tinkatuff's tribe, owning a hammer made from such sturdy metal was a lifelong dream for every young smith.

  Naoki k down and said, "These are for you."

  Tinkatuff blinked iuff?!"

  Naoki tinued with a warm smile, "Yes, these feathers are a special gift I brought back just for you. Now you use them to make a hammer that's truly yours."

  "Tuff…"

  Hearing this, Tinkatuff's eyes shimmered with gratitude. It was deeply moved by Naoki's kindness.

  'Naoki… he really is the ki human I've ever met!'

  Not only had Naoki rescued them, and provided food and shelter, but now he had also given it a precious box of Corviknight feathers!

  Tinkatuff was so touched that she nearly cried. She bit her lip, her eyes glistening with gratitude. "!"

  No one had ever shown it such kindness before.

  Naoki looked a bit fused. "Alright, alright, it's just a few feathers," he said with a gentle smile. "I'm gd I could help. Besides, after you finish your hammer, I have another favor to ask—could you help Pawmot make a hammer that suits him?"

  Hearing this, Tinkatuff quickly wiped away her tears and nodded with determination. With these Corviknight feathers, it was going te the best hammer it could and present it to Naoki as thanks.

  With the precious feathers in hand, Tinkatuff waved goodbye to Naoki and its panion Mino, heading off with newfound resolve to begin his work.

  Naoki watched her go, touched by the little Pokémon's dedication. He chuckled, thinking there truly were hard-w Pokémon everywhere!

  Just then, his gaze shifted, nding on the Mino nearby, who had definitely put on some weight si time.

  Naoki: "…"

  Well, maybe not all Pokémon were as industrious.

  Naoki tinued his stroll through the orchard, greeting familiar Pokémon like Tandemaus, Hoppip, and Foongus. He ied their small woodeers to ensure everything was in good shape.

  Then he came to Skoth, lounging fortably in a bed of fallen leaves and nibbling a leaf. At first, nothing seemed amiss, until Koraido out a surprised cry.

  "Ah gah?"

  "What is it?" Naoki turned, following Koraidon's gaze to the Skoth.

  It only took a sed for Naoki to realize—this Skoth's fur had turned a light vender!

  'Lavender… Could it be a Shiny Skoth?'

  That seemed impossible; he distinctly remembered this Skoth as an ordinary one.

  Intrigued, Naoki approached aly examined Skoth's fur, notig a small patch where the fur was shorter. It was the spot where its fur had once been burned.

  'This was defihe same Skoth. The little guy hadn't been repced.'

  'But… why had its color suddenly ged?'

  'Could it be the Painter Pokémon who dyed its fur?'

  Curious, Naoki approached the Painter Pokémon, Smeargle who was busy creating colorful art orunk of a fruit tree, and asked, "Smeargle, do you know why Skoth's fur looks different?"

  Smeargle looked momentarily puzzled before perking up with a cheerful, "Smeee-ar!"

  It set down its brush, led Naoki over to Skoth's tree, and pointed upward.

  Following Smeargle's gaze, Naoki noticed a pink fruit led quietly among the branches—a fruit he'd never seen before.

  [Dye Fruit: A special ingredient. Wheen, this fruit ges a Pokémon's color. It be ed raw or cooked for different effects.]

  Naoki was stunned. 'Had this fruit mutated to produce such a unique effect?'

  Thinking baaoki realized that the Gogoats often came to this orchard, using their Grass energy to help nourish the trees as they grew.

  'Could that be why this strange fruit appeared here?'

  'Dye Fruit... could this mean I could create a shiny Pokémon effect?'

  'If Koraido, it might turn bck. If Pawmot tried it, maybe it would bee an ultra-rare pink Pawmot.'

  Naoki pictured a pink Pawmot in his mind. The idea was irresistibly cute.

  He searched through the nearby trees, hoping to find more, but this seemed to be the only Dye Fruit avaible. The other one had already beeen by Skoth!

  Carefully, Naoki picked the remaining Dye Fruit and pocketed it.

  Just then, sister Indeedee appeared, calling him to breakfast.

  Naoki thanked Smeargle and patted Skoth before heading back to the house.

  Sitting at the breakfast table, he pondered who he might give the Dye Fruit to.

  "Of course, I should ask the Pokémon first," Naoki mused, recalling that differently-colored Pokémon could sometimes be viewed as outsiders by their peers.

  "Should I offer it to Koraidon?"

  He khat Koraidon would likely accept without hesitation. With its fide probably wouldn't mind standing out.

  But there was only one Dye Fruit, and once used, its effect would be perma. Who knew wheree would produother one?

  After some thought, Naoki decided to put the fruit away until he could discuss it with his Pokémon.

  After breakfast, Naoki began roasting seeds, finishing them off with a drizzle of syrup to create a sweet, crispy fvor.

  As Naoki finished up his work, it was already ten in the m.

  Naoki munched on a few pieces of the freshly made seed crisps before heading to the ranch to find Calyrex to discuss the creation of a special field.

  "Snow is due in about two weeks, and it'll be too cold for most crops to grow, so I thought I'd leave the fields until spring," Naoki expined.

  Calyrex looked at him, surprised that Naoki could now uand Him. "But why?" He asked, puzzled. "With my power, crops could flourish even in the coldest snowfields."

  Naoki chuckled. "Holy, I was hoping for a bit of a break."

  "A break?"

  "Yeah," Naoki admitted. "I've been busy in the fields from spring through fall. If I keep going through winter, I'd never have a moment to breathe. I think it's important to rest now and then."

  Calyrex nodded in uanding. "Yes, that kind of work all year round be exhausting."

  Naoki smiled and expihat he po save the main fields for seasonal crops. For the carrots that Gstrier and Spectrier loved, he po open a separate field.

  So, Naoki tapped on a mound beside the farmnd. A Diglett soon poked its head out, looking up at Naoki with curious eyes.

  "Could you help me make a couple of new fields here?" Naoki asked.

  The Diglett gave a cheerful nod, diving underground to start digging. In no time, two ly turned fields appeared, thanks to Diglett's efforts.

  Calyrex watched in awe, murmuring, "You really are cherished by all these Pokémon."

  Diglett, having fis work, returned happily, and Naoki rewarded it with a treat. "I give them food and shelter, and they help me with the ranch work. I suppose it's a kind of mutual care."

  "It's more than that," Calyrex replied. "They seem to genuinely care for you."

  Naoki smiled, then took the carrot seeds he'd prepared and phem in the new fields.

  Calyrex then mounted Gstrier, eling its iergy into the left field. Frost quickly covered the soil, turning it into a perfect ice field. Afterward, the King teleported to Spectrier and ihe right field with ghostly energy, transf the soil into a dark, misty ground.

  Finally, Calyrex unleashed a radiant blue light from the flo His head, whiveloped the two fields. Within moments, carrot sprouts broke through the soil, and as the light faded, the fields were brimming with fresh id shade root carrots.

  The Diglett watg nearby gasped is eyes wide.

  Gstrier snorted excitedly and trotted into the ice field to mun the carrots, while Spectrier calmly began nibbling on the shade root carrots in its field.

  Seeing them both happily grazing, Naoki felt a deep sense of aplishment. "Now, I grow their carrots whehey need."

  Calyrex gave a nod of approval before casting a thoughtful gaze toward the nearby pasture, where the Gogoats tended a small, vibrant seedling.

  "There's something else I've been curious about," He said.

  Naoki raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

  Calyrex looked at the flourishing seedling, his expression intrigued. "That sapling… I sense a remarkable life for it. It feels as though the vitality of nature itself is within that."