Naoki called over the Dragonite on the ranch. Dragonite's eyes lit up when it saw the generator.
'Did Naoki prepare this machine just to help me practice my Electric-type moves?' Dragonite wondered, recalling how it had been practicing Rain Dance in the fields and Storm in the sky. If it kept using Electric-type moves on this machine, then.
Naoki began explaining to Dragonite how to use the generator, but he soon noticed something off about the way Dragonite was looking at it.
"What's on your mind?" Naoki asked, sensing Dragonite's enthusiasm.
By now, Dragonite had completely convinced itself that the generator was a tool specifically designed to help it practice its Electric-type moves. Overjoyed, Dragonite hugged Naoki tightly.
"Oof!"
'Naoki is so thoughtful!' Dragonite thought happily. 'Just like how I've been practicing Rain Dance and Storm every day, now I can practice my Electric-type moves with this generator!'
Naoki, still caught in Dragonite's embrace, felt a bit puzzled. 'I think Dragonite might be misunderstanding something.'
Before Naoki could clarify, Dragonite had already begun supplying electricity to the generator. Since it was much larger than Pawmi, Dragonite couldn't stand on the generator like Pawmi had, so it placed its chubby paws on the metal ring.
A crackling sound of electricity surged from Dragonite's fists, which was quickly absorbed by the generator.
Naoki turned to watch as the generator's energy bar rapidly climbed.
1%... 3%... 4%... 12%... 23%... 37%...
It finally stopped at 48%.
Seeing this, Pawmi's eyes shone with admiration.
"Pawmi!" 'So cool!'
But Dragonite had reached its limit. It had expended all its electricity and could no longer perform any more Electric-type moves. In gaming terms, its PP (Power Points) was completely drained.
"That's enough, you've done a great job!" Naoki praised, patting Dragonite gently.
He then brought both Pawmi and Dragonite back to the front room and took out two bottles of iced honey lemonade from the refrigerator. It was a drink he had prepared earlier, designed to eliminate fatigue and restore energy.
Dragonite and Pawmi sat on the grass outside the door, enjoying the breeze and sipping their honey lemonade.
Once the two Pokémon were settled, Naoki returned to the utility room, where he took out tools and wood and began working on a hop stand using the workbench.
With summer approaching, it was time to start planting the seeds for the summer crops he had purchased earlier. Crops like corn didn't need supports, but hops did. The hop vines would grow along the supports set up by Naoki, allowing sunlight to reach every leaf, which was essential for growing hops for brewing.
Of course, brewing beer required more than just hops; he also needed water, malt, and yeast. Freshwater was readily available at the ranch, and yeast could be purchased in town. As for malt, Naoki had stored plenty of it, having grown and harvested spring wheat over the past two months. He had decided not to sell the harvest but to keep it for brewing and other uses.
Finally, Naoki planned to put the hops and other ingredients into the brewing barrel, store it in the cellar, and wait for about a month for the brewing process to be completed.
He was eager to see what kind of magical effects the beer he brewed would have. The only regret was that the winemaking process had specific requirements for the environment and temperature. If it weren't necessary to store the wine barrels in cool, temperature-controlled cellars, Naoki would have loved to scatter them all over the mountains.
Though the ranch didn't have a cellar yet, Naoki wasn't too worried. He figured he could store the hops and barley for now and begin brewing once a cellar was built. With the current profit rate of the ranch, he expected to save up the $2 million needed to expand his home by mid-autumn at the latest.
Since crops couldn't be grown in the winter, Naoki planned to use that time to focus on winemaking.
As time passed, and the sun climbed higher in the sky, Naoki completed one hop support bracket after another. He directed Koraidon and Cyclizar to move them to the front of the property. By now, the sun was fully up, casting warm light over the ranch.
Under the eaves, Dragonite and Pawmi, having finished their honey lemonade, were lounging comfortably. Their upper bodies rested in the shade while their lower bodies basked in the sunlight, and they were both fast asleep, looking perfectly content.
Naoki watched them with a smile. Just then, Cyclizar suddenly let out a call, drawing Naoki's attention. Following Cyclizar's gaze, Naoki spotted Glaceon emerging from the ice cave, making its way to the pen where Alcremie, Nacli, Pawmi, and Butterfree were gathered.
The Gogoat, having finished their dance, were lazily chewing on grass balls in the shade, while Smoliv dozed beside them.
Naoki was pleasantly surprised to see how quickly Glaceon had integrated into the ranch's daily life.
Alcremie held a wildflower in her hand, and the five Nacli were gazing up at Glaceon with hopeful expressions. In front of them lay a few small flowers.
Glaceon hesitated for a moment, and just when Naoki thought it might refuse, Glaceon let out a gentle gust of freezing wind, preserving the flowers in ice.
The Nacli were overjoyed, and Alcremie happily offered the frozen flower to Glaceon. "Mree~"
Naoki didn't fully understand the exchange, but Koraidon did. Alcremie was telling Glaceon, "If you freeze it, it won't wilt! Keep it where you sleep, so you can see it every day when you wake up."
Alcremie had learned this trick from Naoki, who would often put food in the refrigerator to keep it from spoiling.
Glaceon was taken aback. It hadn't expected Alcremie's request to help freeze the flowers was meant as a gift for it.
Seeing what Alcremie did, the five Nacli followed suit, offering their flowers to Glaceon. Smoliv and Butterfree watched happily, hoping Glaceon would accept the gestures of friendship.
Though Naoki didn't fully grasp what was happening, he couldn't help but smile at how well everyone was getting along.
"Alright, time to get back to work!" Naoki said with a grin.
"Raao~" Koraidon and "Gaao~" Cyclizar responded enthusiastically, and the three of them set to work building the hop supports.
It was March 15th. Although summer was still half a month away, Naoki could start planting some summer crops. He knew he'd be busy today, not only building supports for the hops but also re-plowing the land to prepare for planting summer crops like pumpkins, corn, and pineapples after the spring planting season ended.
Pumpkins could be used for making pumpkin pie and pumpkin porridge. Corn could be cooked directly, made into popcorn or corn chowder, and even used to prepare ribs. Pineapples could be turned into sweet and sour pork with pineapple sauce or pineapple rice.
When these crops matured, Naoki looked forward to making even more delicious food for everyone on the ranch!
...
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