"Pawmi!" Pawmi was startled by the sudden "cheek rubbing" and let out a surprised cry.
"You smell nice!" Naoki said, taking a deep breath before releasing Pawmi.
"It's just that you're a bit too thin and malnourished. Maybe you'll feel better once you gain some weight." Naoki made a mental note to create a "nutritional supplement" plan for Pawmi, then put it down on the ground. "Okay, go play!"
"Pawmi." Pawmi finally snapped out of its daze. It wasn't unfamiliar with Naoki's behavior. Pawmi often nuzzled and rubbed against each other, rolled around on the grass together, and played with each other. It was a way of expressing friendliness and affection.
But this was the first time a human had treated it this way.
Pawmi felt a bit shy, thinking: 'This human is so nice! Not only did he take me in, but he's also so friendly.'
Combined with the warm bath it had just received, Pawmi felt much cleaner and refreshed. Its fur was no longer dirty. Pawmi loved this feeling. Pink hearts seemed to appear above its head, a sign of its growing affection.
Realizing this was Pawmi's first official day on the ranch, Naoki planned to have Koraidon give it a tour and introduce it to everyone. But remembering how Pawmi had been afraid of Koraidon yesterday, he changed his mind and said to Cyclizar, "Cyclizar, take Pawmi around and show it the place."
"Cyclizar!" Cyclizar readily agreed, stood up, and left with Pawmi.
Naoki started his daily work.
He took out a ball of grass dumplings for the Skiddo from the cupboard, and on his way to their pen, he checked on the Combee.
Early in the morning, the three industrious Combee had already begun collecting nectar. When they saw Naoki, they didn't seem as wary as they had been yesterday. Instead, they gently landed beside him and buzzed happily.
"Buzz~!"
Then, the three Combee led Naoki to their hive and showed him the honey they were brewing inside. Their joyful buzzing seemed to say, "Just wait a little longer, and the honey will be ready!"
Seeing this, Naoki was pleasantly surprised.
He immediately recalled what the old man had said yesterday. The Combee at the Pokémon Center didn't need a Vespiquen. They would consider the rancher as the "Queen Bee," the leader of their colony.
The queen bee played the role of leader in a Combee colony. She raised the young and guided the other Combee. The rancher who cared for them and provided food was, in some ways, no different from a queen bee to the Combee.
Therefore, they would work just as hard to collect honey for the rancher as they would for a queen bee. These Combee were also intelligent. They could think and had their own values. Compared to living with a Vespiquen in the wild, this life of being cared for by a human and never having to worry about going hungry wasn't much worse.
It was a process of mutual selection.
Realizing this, Naoki stopped worrying. He reached out and patted the head of one of the Combee, smiling and saying, "Thank you for your hard work! Let's do our best together!"
"Buzz~"
The three Combee continued collecting nectar, while Naoki went to the goat pen and poured the grass dumplings into the feeding trough.
Before he knew it, it was milking time again.
He brought the milking bucket and skillfully began milking the Skiddo. The Skiddo's grazed on the grass, seemingly enjoying the process.
Naoki touched the Skiddo's round belly and had a thought.
"Have you gained weight?" he asked suspiciously.
Skiddo: "Maa...?"
Naoki pushed aside its wool and widened his eyes upon seeing the Skiddo's round body.
"How did you get so chubby in just one month!"
The Skiddo bleated innocently, "Maa~"
Naoki checked the other two Skiddo's and was surprised to find that they had also gained a lot of weight.
This made him chuckle. "You guys have become big fluffy sheep. Aren't you afraid of attracting a Mightyena to come and eat you?"
It wasn't that he disliked their plumpness; it was just that overeating could easily impact their health and lead to various diseases.
But the Skiddo looked confident.
"Maa."
The next second, green energy surged from their bodies, and almost instantly, the entire pen was enveloped in Grassy Terrain. The Skiddo's huddled together, with the one that had battled Koraidon taking the center position. The other two, one on the left and one on the right, performed a dazzling transformation in front of Naoki.
They each formed uniquely shaped Leaf Blades, then held them in their mouths, assuming a battle-ready stance.
Although they didn't know what a Mightyena was, they were certainly not defenseless herbivores!
Naoki: "..."
"Alright, alright, calm down and put away your powers!"
If a wild trainer had witnessed this scene, they would probably have been terrified.
Naoki waved at them helplessly, and the three Skiddo's obediently returned to their normal state. Naoki was concerned that their weight gain might negatively impact their health.
While contemplating whether to ask a Pokémon doctor to examine the Skiddo's, he said to them, "It's not that I'm forbidding you to eat, I'm just worried you'll get sick if you overeat."
He elaborated, using humans as an example. "If we get too fat, it can lead to a series of problems, like high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and we're more likely to die from heart disease."
The three Skiddo's stood in a row, listening intently, with confused expressions on their faces.
"Maa?"
Watching the anime in the past, Naoki had only paid attention to Ash and the Gyms, not really focusing on the issue of Pokémon getting sick. He only knew that Pokémon, like humans, could catch colds, have fevers, and suffer from loss of appetite. Even though they were magical creatures that could breathe fire and water, they could still be in danger from these minor ailments.
Just like in the anime, after Ash risked his life to deliver a wild Pokémon with a fever to the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy had said, "It would have been terrible if you had brought it any later."
So, what about obesity?
Naoki fell into deep thought. For matters like this, it was best to consult a professional. It was better to address this sooner rather than later, before any real problems arose.
The first person Naoki thought of was Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center in Mesagoza.
Looking at the three Skiddo's, Naoki decided to head into town after feeding the chickens and the Nacli.
But before that, he had to water the fields. Since Dragonite hadn't mastered Rain Dance yet, watering had to be done manually.
After watering the plants and bidding farewell to Koraidon, Naoki rode Cyclizar to the town.