As night fell, the entire ranch was enveloped in darkness.
The hens, having finished their day of foraging, returned to the chicken coop with their chicks, settling down on the hay to rest.
The Nacli returned to their salt shelter, huddled together, and began to snore softly.
The Skiddo, having expended their energy, lay down on the grass, resting their heads on each other, listening to the rhythmic sound of the wind rustling through the grass, and closed their eyes.
The Combee had also had a productive day, returning to the hive with plenty of nectar. By tomorrow, their honey would be ready, and they would present it to their "queen" first.
Inside the wooden house, Naoki, freshly showered, sat cross-legged on the bed in a thin t-shirt, adjusting the TV. Cyclizar and Koraidon stood by the bed, craning their necks to watch, while Alcremie and Smoliv were also drawn to the screen.
Soon, Naoki found a news program. He leaned back against the headboard and started watching.
Suddenly, he felt like something was missing.
He looked around and spotted Pawmi not far away. He patted the bed and called out, "Come here, Pawmi!"
"Pawmi?" Hearing Naoki's call, Pawmi approached.
Naoki reached out, picked it up, and held it in his arms. "That's right! You can sleep here with me from now on!"
The little Pawmi was soft, and Naoki petted it like a cat, gently scratching its ears, smoothing its fur, and tickling its paw pads.
After a while, Pawmi let out a contented sigh, "Pawmi~"
Naoki held it in his arms and continued watching TV. Pawmi was well-behaved, simply lying there without moving.
At that moment, Koraidon, standing beside the bed, looked at the scene with envy. "Gaah!"
Naoki turned his head and, for a moment, imagined a large dog standing beside the bed, wagging its tail and wanting to join him.
"What do you want?"
"Gaah!"
Koraidon looked at Pawmi enviously.
Naoki immediately understood and then ruthlessly rejected Koraidon. "No, you're too big. This bed is too small for you!"
It was just a pitiful single bed.
Koraidon felt so wronged and sad that even the feathers on its head drooped and fell limply to the sides.
"Ah gaah.."
Koraidon looked particularly silly in its riding form, and this dejected look made it seem even sillier and a bit pitiful.
"..."
Naoki's heart softened, and he couldn't stay mad. "Okay, fine. You can come here."
"Gah!"
Koraidon perked up instantly, the magnificent feathers on its head springing back up.
It leaped onto the bed like an excited puppy, but the next second, there was a loud "crack." Naoki felt the support beneath him give way, and he tumbled onto the floor, landing on his backside.
The bed had collapsed.
This left the already struggling household in an even worse state.
Realizing its mistake, Koraidon looked at Naoki, who was rubbing his sore bottom, and said apologetically, "Gah."
It hadn't meant to.
Naoki: "..."
He stood up, pulling the broken bed legs out from under him. Seeing Koraidon's expression, he felt both amused and exasperated.
Koraidon, standing at two and a half meters tall and weighing Three Hundred kilograms, was simply too heavy for even the sturdiest bed to handle.
A full 303 kilograms.
Koraidon felt dejected, its head hanging low.
Seeing its reaction, Naoki couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, alright. I'll just buy a new bed in a few days."
For now, it was time to sleep!
Even without the legs, the bed frame could still support them. After making the bed, Naoki looked at Koraidon, patted the space beside him, and said, "Okay, you can come up now!"
Koraidon cautiously walked over, worried about breaking something again.
Naoki sat up and let Koraidon lie down behind him, serving as a pillow.
"This is your punishment!" Naoki said in a mock-serious tone.
"Gaah."
With Koraidon as his pillow and Pawmi in his arms, Naoki continued watching TV. He called Cyclizar over, and it lay down next to the bed, watching Professor Oak's Pokémon lecture with him.
...
The next morning, Kora arrived on time to help build the Pokémon House. The original building had become dilapidated and fallen into ruin after years of neglect.
Naoki chose to rebuild on the original site, and Kora had no objections. She directed the Machoke and the other construction workers to demolish the remains of the old building.
During the demolition, Kora looked around and remarked, "The layout of this ranch is well-planned!"
Naoki also surveyed the area. After some initial planning, he had roughly divided the ranch into two zones: one for raising Pokémon and the other for farming.
Therefore, when building the chicken coop, salt shelter, and Pokémon House, he had chosen specific locations to maintain a sense of order on the ranch.
Each large area was further subdivided for specific purposes.
For example, within the farmland area, there was land designated for growing crops, another for fruit trees, and even a flower field for decoration.
"Very impressive!" After listening to Naoki's explanation, Kora seemed surprised. "It makes me feel like this isn't your first time running a ranch, but that you're an experienced rancher."
"It's just from what I've learned and observed!"
'Maybe running a ranch in games could also count as experience', Naoki thought. He had played many farming games, from the classic Harvest Moon series to the more recent Stardew Valley, and even Doraemon: Story of Seasons.
To run a successful ranch, you had to plan in advance, otherwise, it would become messy and unsightly later, and rebuilding would be a hassle.
Kora smiled slightly. While the Machoke continued demolishing the ruins, she strolled around the ranch with Naoki, offering suggestions from time to time.
"That pond could be turned into a fish pond, used to raise fish or Water-type Pokémon."
"Aren't these fruit trees a bit too close together? If so, they'll compete for nutrients in the soil, and the fruit might become dry and sour due to lack of nourishment."
"I also suggest you put a scarecrow in the farmland. Otherwise, some birds might come and cause trouble, eating your crops."
As they were talking, three Combee landed in front of them.
They led Naoki to their hive, where he was surprised to find freshly brewed honey inside. Even from a distance, Naoki could smell the sweet fragrance emanating from it.
The honey was ready to be harvested.
Seeing this, Kora suddenly remembered something. She turned her head and looked towards the back mountain, offering a word of caution:
"The scent of honey brewed by Combee can be smelled from far away. This place is quite close to the back mountain. You need to be careful that wild Pokémon might be attracted to steal the honey. If you encounter aggressive ones, they might even harm the Pokémon on your ranch."