After returning to the ranch, Calyrex and Dragonairs were still fast asleep.
Taking advantage of the quiet, Naoki worked in the garden, tilling the soil and planting the carrot seeds he had bought. Noticing that the ice carrot and shade root carrots in the fields were nearly devoured by the hungry Glastrier and Spectrier, he went ahead and planted more carrot seeds.
This time, there was no need for Calyrex's powers to accelerate their growth; they would grow steadily in their own time.
When everything was finished, it was already noon, and sister Indeedee had prepared a warm lunch.
The chill outside melted away as Naoki stepped into the cozy room, where the fireplace crackled, filling the space with warmth. He let out a sigh of comfort as he slipped into his cotton slippers and looked around.
Brother Indeedee and Pawmot, who had both slept through the morning, were already up, standing in the living room with sheepish expressions.
"Why are you two just standing there? Come over and eat!" Naoki called out casually, pretending not to notice their sleepy faces.
The Pokémon perked up with cheerful cries and dashed over to their table.
As they ate, Naoki's mind drifted to the thought of a cute pink Pawmot, and he couldn't help but ask with a grin, "Pawmot, how would you feel about changing your fur?"
"Pawmo?!" (What?!)
Pawmot looked startled, eyes wide.
It remembered a late-night movie it had watched with Glaceon and Alcremie while Naoki was away. The main characters were a group of Pikachu who lived happily together in a forest—until an evil spirit appeared one day.
This spirit, as the movie went, was a Pokémon whose fur had been stolen by a villain long ago. Now, it wandered the forest, filled with resentment, asking every Pokémon if they'd seen its missing fur. No matter what they answered, the spirit would strip the fur from any Pokémon it found, leaving only fear and terror in its wake.
The Pikachu in the movie didn't escape either and lost their beautiful fur to the spirit's curse.
Whenever he thought of that movie, Pawmot still felt chills down his spine.
And now, Naoki was asking him the very same question. Could it be that Naoki had become… the demon?
Pawmot: ==(●●|||)
Naoki noticed Pawmot's shocked expression and asked, puzzled, "What's with that look on your face?"
In response, the Pokémon group eagerly recounted the story of a wicked midnight demon that specialized in stealing the fur of Pokémon.
"How awful!" Naoki exclaimed, pounding the table as he stood up in indignation.
Pawmot and Alcremie huddled together, nodding. "Pamo!" (Exactly!)
"No way! I need to report this! That's not just a movie—that's a Pokémon horror classic!" Naoki declared. He resolved to stay up one night to investigate, curious to see just how intense this "movie" really was.
Pawmot and the others were still visibly shaken, and even Dragonite shuddered at the memory of the chilling scenes. Cyclizar, who hadn't seen the movie, looked completely lost, while Koraidon gave a resigned sigh.
"Ah, gah…" Koraidon muttered.
Seeing the Pokémon's genuine fear, Naoki softened. "There's no need to worry. It's just a movie. When I say changing your fur, I don't mean taking it off—I just mean changing the color."
Pawmot looked uncertain. "Pamo?"
Naoki encouraged him, "Do you want to give it a try?"
Seeing Naoki's excited expression, Pawmot felt a spark of curiosity and decided to go along with it.
"Great!" As lunch was wrapping up, Naoki placed a dyed fruit in front of Pawmot.
Pawmot eyed the sweet, fragrant fruit that looked a lot like a berry. Taking a big bite, he finished it quickly.
Within moments, his orange coat began to shift, slowly turning into an adorable shade of pink.
The Pokémon watching nearby gasped with delight, some expressing envy, others charmed by Pawmot 's new look.
Pawmot looked down at his new pink fur, feeling a little unsure at first. But as he noticed the bright, admiring looks from everyone around him, he started to feel a bit bashful, standing on the sofa, slightly dizzy from all the attention.
"Alcremie…"
Alcremie's eyes sparkled with excitement. Among the family, she had always loved pink things the most! And now, seeing Pawmot looking as pink and soft as whipped cream, she couldn't resist—she wanted to look that way too!
She turned to Naoki with hopeful eyes.
Naoki thought about Alcremie's usual color—a soft pinkish cream that matched her joyful personality perfectly. "But if you eat that fruit, it might change you to a color that's… a bit unexpected," Naoki explained gently.
Upon hearing this, Alcremie's excitement dimmed, her bright eyes losing a bit of their spark. She reconsidered, deciding that maybe her current color suited her just fine after all.
Naoki chuckled and reassured her, "Honestly, you look perfect in your current color."
Cheered by Naoki's words, Alcremie smiled, content with her natural look.
Meanwhile, Dragonite watched Pawmot 's transformation thoughtfully. He remembered a pink Dragonair back on Dragonite Island and thought,
'Maybe Naoki really loves this color! If I turned pink too, maybe Naoki would never look at another Dragonite again!'
With this amusing idea in mind, Dragonite trotted up to Naoki and looked at him eagerly. "Awoo!"
Naoki chuckled, guessing his meaning even without a translator. "...So, you want to change color too?"
Dragonite nodded enthusiastically. "Awoo!"
The thought of a Dragonite turning into a pastel pink one filled Naoki's mind, and he wasn't quite sure what to say. After a pause, he decided to give the Pokémon a bit of insight into the world of differently-colored Pokémon.
"Shiny Pokémon are truly special. They're incredibly rare—so rare, in fact, that only one out of thousands, sometimes even tens of thousands, is born with a different color."
"Just like its name, a Shiny Pokémon's coloring is very different from others in its species," Naoki explained with a smile.
"So far, you've probably seen one Shiny Pokémon—the pink Dragonair that visits the ranch regularly."
The Pokémon around him immediately remembered the group of Dragonairs who often came to play, recalling that one of them was indeed a unique shade of pink.
Naoki continued, "Different Shiny Pokémon have different colors. For example, Shiny Teddiursa is Green."
"Awoo?" Dragonite asked eagerly, clearly wanting to know what its Shiny color would be.
Naoki picked up a green vegetable leaf and held it up, "It would be this green color."
"Awugh!" Dragonite made a noise of distaste, clearly unimpressed, and quickly lost all interest in changing its color.
Naoki chuckled and continued, listing colors, "For Shiny Dolliv, it's golden yellow, Butterfree has Pinkish-Purple wings with green eyes, Cyclizar is a silver gray, and Koraidon has a gold shade with gray accent."
With all eyes on him, Naoki glanced around at his audience of curious Pokémon. "Got it?"
All the Pokémon nodded in understanding.
Naoki smiled, "The fruit that Pawmot ate is something called 'Dye Fruit,' which grows in our orchard. If more fruits like this grow, you can try them out for yourselves. One bite changes your color, and if you decide to go back to your original look, a second fruit will restore it."
...
In the afternoon, Kelly drove over to help Naoki with the stable construction.
As she pulled up, her gaze landed on a pink Pawmot happily zooming around the ranch with a small cape fluttering behind it.
Kelly blinked, surprised. "Is…is that Pawmot…pink?"
Naoki laughed. "It ate a fruit called the Dye Fruit, which can change the color of Pokémon."
"Oh, I see!"
At the sound of their voices, Pawmot turned and trotted over cheerfully.
Kelly's eyes sparkled at the sight of the pink Pawmot, who looked like an adorable plush toy come to life. She found herself instinctively reaching out to pet it but quickly caught herself, looking slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I've just never seen Pawmot like this before."
Naoki smiled, scooping Pawmot up and giving its little paw a gentle squeeze.
"Pamo~" Pawmot cooed happily.
"Isn't it adorable?" Naoki asked.
"Absolutely," Kelly replied, unable to take her eyes off Pawmot. "Completely adorable."
Pawmot let out a playful cry. Naoki smiled, thinking that Pawmot's adorable appearance might have some surprising advantages in battles.
Anyone meeting Pawmot for the first time would likely think it was just a cute, soft, and harmless Pokémon. But in truth, Pawmot could wield a hammer with sparks and lightning, striking down opponents with incredible strength.
Tinkatuff was already hard at work forging a special hammer for Pawmot, using Corviknight feathers that were highly conductive. With this hammer, Pawmot would soon reach its full potential—practically becoming a little "Thunder Lord" on the ranch.
Naoki gave Pawmot a gentle pat. "Alright, go have some fun!"
Pawmot let out a joyful cry and bounded off.
Kelly's gaze lingered on Pawmot as it trotted away. After a moment, she snapped out of her daze, finally remembering the main reason she'd come. Looking around, she asked, "Have you decided where to set up the stables?"
Naoki nodded, leading her to the side of the house and pointing to an open area. "Let's set them up here! It'll be easy to access when we head out."
Having so many mount Pokémon now, Naoki sometimes found it hard to decide who to take on his outings. But building the stables close to the house would keep all his companions nearby.
"Sounds good!" Kelly rolled up her sleeves and got to work, while her Machamp moved the tools and wood from her truck. Soon, the steady sound of hammering and construction filled the air.
The stable was a relatively small project, one they expected to finish within a few hours.
Meanwhile, Naoki wandered around the ranch, noticing that he hadn't seen Glastrier and Spectrier around. After a bit of searching, he found the two of them by the river in the orchard, drinking from the cool, clear water.
Just then, Calyrex appeared beside the two horses, joining them for a drink. Noticing Calyrex, Naoki approached with a smile.
"I didn't want to wake you, so I prepared some extra food for you," he said kindly.
Calyrex gave a gracious nod and replied, "Calyrex!" in his usual cheerful tone.
Naoki blinked.
Oops, he realized he'd once again lost the ability to understand the Calyrex words.
It wasn't a huge issue to keep eating seeds for translation, but Naoki thought it would be amazing if Calyrex could use telepathy.
Unfortunately, He didn't have that skill.
Naoki took a deep breath, and as he pondered, a thought suddenly struck him about the Calyrex's abilities. As everyone knew, Calyrex was a Grass and Psychic-type Pokémon. Given that some Psychic Pokémon naturally had telepathic abilities, could it be possible for tCalyrex to learn telepathy?
Curious, Naoki looked over at Calyrex.
Noticing Naoki's intent gaze, Calyrex tilted His head with a puzzled expression.
"Calyrex, have you ever heard of the ability called telepathy?" Naoki asked.
Telepathy? Calyrex seemed confused and shook his head, indicating He'd never heard of it.
Naoki explained, "It's an ability where you don't need to speak aloud or use a medium. You can directly communicate your thoughts to another person and understand theirs in return."
He thought of the Pokémon in the anime who had mastered this skill and tried to guess at the mechanics behind it. "Basically, you use your psychic powers to send your thoughts directly to the other person's mind, and then use those same powers to sense their thoughts. It allows you to talk without actually speaking."
Psychic abilities were indeed mysterious and powerful. If anyone was a master of them, it was Mewtwo.
In the anime, Mewtwo could probe deeply into a person's memories, even altering them or planting false ones. It could even erase specific memories if it wanted to.
Calyrex listened intently, contemplating the idea. He opened His mouth as if to say something, then hesitated, closing it again.
Telepathic communication? It was a new concept and one the Calyrex hadn't tried or even considered before.
In the past, whenever the Calyrex needed to communicate with humans, He would usually channel His thoughts through a human voice.
But now…
Calyrex closed his eyes, focusing carefully as he began to explore the method Naoki had described.
He gathered his psychic powers, wrapped his thoughts within them, and sent them gently into Naoki's mind.
A moment later, Naoki heard the Calyrex's voice, clear and warm, in his thoughts—
"Is this how it works?"
Naoki's eyes brightened, and he nodded eagerly. "Yes, exactly!"
As expected of a wise Pokémon, Calyrex had mastered it right away!
"I see... So that's how it's done... It's truly remarkable! I never realized I could communicate with humans in this way. This opens up so many possibilities!"Calyrex said, telepathically marveling at the discovery.
Seeing that Calyrex had learned telepathy, Naoki breathed a sigh of relief. His sore mouth from all the translation seeds could finally get some rest.
Turning to more practical matters, Naoki continued, "I've invited someone from town to help build a stable for Spectrier and Glastrier. After it's done, you can let me know if it feels right for them."
"Yes," Calyrex responded, nodding gently as he gazed lovingly at his two loyal horses. "My beloved horses are used to the vast, icy plains. But here... here is comfortable. I can sense they've taken a liking to your ranch."
Naoki looked over at Spectrier and Glastrier. At this stage, his bond with Glastrier was clearly stronger, as the ice horse was especially fond of the ice carrots he'd grown. Spectrier, on the other hand, was a bit more reserved.
As Naoki's gaze fell on Spectrier, he found the Spirit Horse looking back at him, with a pair of soft, soulful eyes.
Naoki and the Horse exchanged a warm glance before he chuckled and said, "Oh, I almost forgot! I've got grass cakes baking at home! I'll go get them. You can wait for me in the glass greenhouse."
Calyrex nodded graciously, and Naoki headed inside, retrieving the fresh grass cake from the oven. As he held the cake, information about its effects appeared in his mind.
[Grass Cake (A): A cake crafted with ripe summer grass, flour, MooMoo Milk, and whipped cream from Alcremie.]
Cooking Effect: Thousand Changes. When given to a Grass-type Pokémon, there is a small chance that crops grown with its Grass energy may undergo unique mutations.
Evaluation: This cake blends various flavors perfectly, beloved by Grass-type Pokémon. The Pokémon that enjoys it may even express their gratitude in surprising ways.
Naoki brought the cake, black tea, and tea set over to the greenhouse. As he arrived, he noticed Sinistea and Polteageist drifting in after him, following curiously.
When he opened the door, he saw the Calyrex already seated at the iron tea table.
Naoki set the grass cake on the table and was about to pour two cups of black tea when Sinistea and Polteageist floated toward the table.
Curious, Naoki asked, "You want some too?"
"Polteageist!"
Polteageist shook its head, smiling happily from within its teapot. It loved the cozy atmosphere of the greenhouse and appreciated Naoki's tea, which made it feel truly content. Now, it wanted to share its own carefully brewed black tea with Calyrex and Naoki.
Polteageist twirled around the teacups on the table, filling each with a fragrant, clear purple tea.
Once the cups were full, Polteageist joyfully danced among the flowers, inviting Naoki and Calyrex to try it with a cheerful "Bu!"
Calyrex was pleasantly surprised, quickly realizing Polteageist's intention.
He explained to Naoki, "This little one is inviting us to try its own tea."
Naoki's eyebrows raised in delight. He understood what a special gesture this was.
Polteageist's tea was renowned for its distinct flavor and aroma—a rare treasure not often shared. Typically, Polteageist kept its tea to itself, and any attempts to drink it would result in Polteageist spraying an unpleasant tea into the intruder's mouth. This "unwilling tea" would leave anyone chilled to the bone.
But now, Polteageist was openly inviting them to taste it.
This heartfelt gesture showed that Polteageist had started to trust him and Calyrex. Naoki smiled, touched by this adorable display of friendship.