Story time[368]

Naoki cleared his throat, settling comfortably on the sofa.

"Alright, then let me tell you a story I heard from the Galar region."

He began, "A long time ago, in a peaceful little village called Appleton, the townsfolk lived happily, surrounded by lush apple orchards. But one day, a fearsome dragon Pokémon appeared. It destroyed the orchards and took the mayor's daughter, leaving the town in terror."

Naoki paused for dramatic effect, glancing at the captivated Pokémon before continuing.

"Just when the villagers thought all hope was lost, a kind and courageous Sylveon arrived in the town. Hearing of their plight, Sylveon decided to face the dragon. After a series of brave efforts, it not only rescued the mayor's daughter but also drove the dragon away, restoring peace to the village. From that day on, Sylveon became a beloved protector, living happily with the townsfolk."

Eevee and Glaceon both looked dreamy-eyed, clearly enchanted by the tale.

"Bu-yi!" Eevee chirped excitedly, its admiration for Sylveon evident.

However, the story hadn't gone unnoticed by the ranch's Dragon-type Pokémon. Dragonite, lounging nearby, rose with an indignant cry, "Awoo!" It seemed to object to the portrayal of dragons as villains.

Cyclizar nodded hesitantly, agreeing with Dragonite, while Koraidon let out a resonant growl in protest. The three Dragon types formed a united front, demanding an explanation.

Naoki chuckled awkwardly. "It's just a story, you three. If you want, I can tell you a tale about brave Dragon-types saving the world tonight."

"Raao!"

Koraidon replied eagerly, immediately agreeing.

Dragonite and Cyclizar nodded as well, seemingly appeased.

"Alright, alright," Naoki said with a laugh. "I'll tell you a story tonight, I promise."

Turning his attention back to Eevee, he asked, "So, have you made up your mind? What kind of Eevee do you want to evolve into?"

Without hesitation, Eevee tapped the image of Sylveon with its paw pads. "Bueeeee!" it declared enthusiastically.

Naoki sighed, a wry smile spreading across his face. "Well, it seems like this little Eevee has a heart set on becoming a dragon-slayer."

"Are you sure?" he asked one last time.

Eevee nodded vigorously. "Buyi!"

"Alright, then," Naoki said. "From now on, we'll work toward evolving you into Sylveon."

He began recalling how Sylveon evolved in the games. "If I remember correctly," he mused aloud, "you'll need to form a strong bond with your trainer and learn a Fairy-type move to evolve. Looks like we've got some work ahead of us."

Naoki didn't mind, though. Time wasn't an issue.

As the day wore on, Naoki let Eevee and Glaceon play together while he headed out to the orchard with Koraidon and Cyclizar. A fresh batch of berries had ripened on the trees, their vibrant colors gleaming in the sunlight.

Seeing the bountiful harvest, Naoki made up his mind. "These berries will make perfect Poffins."

The orchard was brimming with fruit, but thanks to the diligent help of the Pokémon, the picking process went smoothly.

The harvested fruit was collected into baskets, and by the end of the day, they had filled six large ones.

What caught Naoki's attention, though, were two distinctly shimmering fruits mixed in with the harvest.

[Dyed Fruit: Special ingredient. When eaten, this fruit changes the Pokémon's color. It can be consumed directly or used in cooking.]

The memory of Pawmot eating one of these fruits and becoming a Shiny Pawmot immediately resurfaced in Naoki's mind. Now, there was an opportunity for two more Pokémon to become Shiny on the ranch!

The question was: who should get them?

Naoki's first thought was Koraidon. Its sleek black Shiny form was undeniably cool and intimidating. But then his gaze shifted to Eevee.

If Eevee ate the Dyed Fruit, its evolution into Sylveon would turn it into a Shiny Sylveon, transforming its color palette from pink to a charming blue. That image tugged at Naoki's heart.

"It's decided," he thought with a grin. "One of these will go to Eevee!"

But that still left one more fruit.

As Naoki considered his options, his eyes fell on the playful Dragonair nearby. Among them was one distinctive pink Dragonair.

Everyone knows that a Shiny Dragonair retains its unique coloration through evolution… until it becomes a Dragonite. Shiny Dragonite's green hue, while rare, was... divisive, to say the least.

After mulling it over for a moment, Naoki made his decision. He waved at the pink Dragonair, who flew over, curious.

"Woo?" Dragonair tilted its head inquisitively.

Naoki crouched down and held out the Dyed Fruit. "If you eat this, your color will change to match your companions. Do you want that?"

Dragonair blinked at the fruit, hesitated for just a moment, then opened its mouth and devoured it in one bite.

Immediately, a radiant light engulfed its body. In the glow, Dragonair's pink scales gradually shifted to a uniform tone, identical to the others in the group.

The nearby Dragonair gathered around, their cries of amazement filling the air. They circled their newly transformed companion, who was now indistinguishable from the rest.

Dragonair looked at its reflection in the nearby water, seemingly startled. But its expression soon changed to one of excitement. It clearly wasn't sad about losing its distinctive pink color—in fact, it seemed overjoyed to finally match its friends.

Naoki smiled warmly. "Just as I thought," he said softly.

He reached out, patting Dragonair gently on the head. "Alright, you all go back to playing. I still have work to do!"

The Dragonairs huddled together, murmuring among themselves, before collectively deciding to follow Naoki. Their intentions were clear—they wanted to help.

Naoki glanced at the six baskets of fruit. While he appreciated their enthusiasm, he couldn't ignore the obvious: Dragonair didn't have hands.

"You could pick them up with your mouths," he thought, "but that seems inconvenient…"

Before he could figure out a solution, Koraidon and Cyclizar had already stepped in. They effortlessly moved the last basket into place, completing the task.

Seeing this, Naoki turned to the eager Dragonair and said with a chuckle, "I appreciate your kindness, but you're still a bit too small for this kind of work. Let's wait until you evolve into big, strong Dragons—then you can help out, alright?"

"Woo…" The Dragonair drooped their heads, visibly disappointed.

The Dragonairs perked up quickly, their spirits reignited with determination.

"Wooo". 'Becoming a big dragon…' they thought collectively. 'Does that mean evolving into Dragonite?'

Yes! When they evolved into Dragonites, they could finally assist Naoki, just like those Dragonites they admired so much! Their hearts filled with resolve, the Dragonair made a silent pact to train harder and grow stronger for Naoki's sake.

Naoki, oblivious to the aspirations brewing in the Dragonair's minds, simply smiled at their cheerful demeanor. "Alright, you guys keep playing. I need to take these berries back to the house."

With that, Naoki hopped into the driver's seat of his pickup truck, Koraidon and Cyclizar following closely behind. They drove the berry-laden truck to the front of the house, where he and the two Pokémon began unloading the fruits into the kitchen.

Naoki carefully separated the berries into two groups. One portion was set aside for making Poffins and berry juice, while the rest was reserved for a new experiment—developing Poke blocks.

Poke block creation was no simple task. While there were pre-established recipes for various Poke blocks, the rare and specialized formulas were often kept secret, leaving Naoki to figure things out on his own.

At present, he only had a handful of recipes: a Poke block for attracting Poipole, one for feeding Snorlax, and a few others. However, those weren't enough to meet his growing needs on the ranch.

His first project? Improving the Poke blocks meant for Snorlax.

Since evolving into Snorlax, its appetite had grown significantly, and the original Poke block was no longer sufficient to satisfy its colossal hunger.

Naoki set to work, mentally adjusting the recipe as he gathered ingredients.

"Let's see…" he muttered. "Snorlax needs more energy and calories now. I'll swap out the Eggant Berry for Grepa Berry—it's much higher in energy content. That should help."

He sifted through the berries. "As for flavor… Pecha Berry is sweet, which is fine for most Pokémon, but not Snorlax. It prefers something richer. Exotic fruit would work better here."

Naoki carefully noted the adjustments. "We'll also need to increase the quantity to match its appetite."

With the plan set, Naoki began making the Poke blocks by hand.

Manually crafting Poke blocks wasn't as convenient as using an automated berry mixer, but it gave Naoki more control over the process.

Step by step, he peeled, blended, heated, and stirred the berries. The scent of the rich fruit mixture filled the kitchen.

Finally, the first batch of Poke blocks was ready. Naoki pulled them out of the oven and examined their appearance: they were dark, almost black.

His optimism faded as he inspected them closer. The Poke blocks were duds—no energy-boosting effects at all.

"Failed, huh?" Naoki muttered, setting the batch aside. He wasn't surprised. Trial and error were part of the process.

He leaned against the counter, reflecting on the possible mistake. "Maybe the ratio of Berry to Exotic Fruit was off… Or I overcooked it during the heating stage."

Undeterred, Naoki gathered more berries and began his second attempt.

This time, he adjusted the fruit proportions slightly and paid closer attention to the heating process.

The second batch? Another failure.

"Still no good?" he sighed, but instead of frustration, his determination grew.

By the time the third and fourth attempts failed, Naoki was deep in thought, tweaking the recipe with each attempt.

On his fifth attempt, Naoki noticed a promising change. The Poke block no longer turned black but instead shimmered with a peculiar indigo-purple hue.

Realizing the potential significance of this result, Naoki eagerly inspected the block's details.

[Snorlax Food: Special Poke Block for Snorlax. Made using advanced fruit compression technology, it condenses dozens of high-energy berries into a single cube. One cube is enough to fully satisfy a Snorlax's hunger.

Note: Not suitable for consumption by ordinary Pokémon.]

"Success!" Naoki exclaimed, holding the cube triumphantly. His persistence had paid off, and the challenge of feeding Snorlax was now much simpler.

Excited, Naoki washed his hands and jotted down the recipe for the Poke block in his notebook.

Naoki had two important notebooks he used to keep track of his discoveries:

The Cooking Encyclopedia: This contained detailed recipes and preparation methods for special Pokémon dishes, along with their effects.

The Complete Book of Poké Blocks: This book recorded all his Poké Block formulas and their effects.

With the addition of the new Snorlax Food recipe, Naoki felt a surge of accomplishment.

Still brimming with enthusiasm, Naoki decided to experiment further. This time, he didn't have a specific goal in mind. Instead, he mixed and matched random berries to create new Poke blocks, observing how different combinations influenced their effects.

Hours passed as Naoki worked diligently, and before he knew it, the sun had dipped below the horizon.

Though he wasn't a professional breeder, Naoki managed to discover some useful formulas by the end of the day.

[Grass Poke Block: Attracts Grass-type Pokémon. Placing it in the wild guarantees the appearance of Grass-types.]

[Bug Snack: Attracts Bug-type Pokémon. Its taste is highly appealing to them and works like a charm in the wild.]

While the results weren't groundbreaking, Naoki was satisfied with the progress. "It's a start," he muttered, examining the small collection of blocks he'd produced.

To test their appeal, Naoki shared the cubes with Butterfree, Gogoat, Arboliva, and, all Pokémon with Grass or Bug attributes. The response was overwhelmingly positive.

Seeing their enthusiasm, Naoki grinned. Even if he hadn't created anything extraordinary, the Pokémon were happy, and that made the effort worthwhile.

After dinner, Naoki had planned for an early bedtime. However, his plans were thwarted when the ranch's dragon-type Pokémon—Dragonite, Cyclizar, and Koraidon—gathered around him expectantly.

Naoki sighed, smiling despite himself. He'd promised them a bedtime story about heroic dragon Pokémon, and they weren't going to let him forget.

He led the eager Pokémon outside to the riverbank, where fireflies danced in the soft glow of moonlight. The serene setting made for the perfect storytelling atmosphere.

While sitting under the starry sky, Naoki mulled over his options.

Although he knew fairy tales like the one about Sylveon defeating dragons were popular in the Galar region, he wanted something that would uplift his dragon Pokémon instead of casting them as villains.

Then it hit him: the legendary tale of Rayquaza, the majestic dragon Pokémon who brought peace to a warring world.

With the dragons gathered around, Naoki began his tale:

"Once upon a time...."

.....

Bonus Chapter