Pokemon: A New Path

The next morning, after breakfast, Yosuke began packing. He was leaving the Paldea region to explore other areas.

Before departing, he said to Naoki, "If you have the chance, you must visit the Galar region. It's a truly beautiful place."

Naoki nodded. "If I have the time."

Yosuke flashed a bright smile, waved goodbye to Naoki, and set off on his journey alone with his backpack.

Naoki stood at the ranch entrance, watching his receding figure until he was out of sight. Life was like a moving train with many stops along the way. Some people suddenly entered our lives, while others got off at their station, bidding farewell and wishing each other well.

Life went on.

Naoki shook his head gently, turned around, and went back to the ranch.

The weather was still sunny today, with no rain in sight. There was no way to help Dragonite practice Rain Dance.

After finishing his daily chores, Naoki looked at the empty ranch and decided to buy some decorations to plant, like flowers.

Not only would they beautify the pasture, but they would also help the newly evolved Butterfree collect pollen, providing it with a suitable habitat.

So, at nine-thirty in the morning, Naoki rode Cyclizar to the seed shop in the town, where he bought a few bags of flower seeds and a Bag of Holding for 20,000 Pokédollars.

Tulips, irises, hyacinths.

They returned to the ranch, cleared a new patch of land, and planted the flowers together. Soon, there would be a beautiful flower field here.

Looking at Butterfree beside him, Naoki smiled and said, "It will take about 20 days for these flowers to bloom. Then you can collect pollen and nectar here."

"Butterfree~" Butterfree was delighted. It looked forward to that day.

Naoki fell into deep thought. As everyone knew, some Pokémon's personalities changed after evolving. Ash's Charizard was a prime example.

So the question was, had Butterfree's personality changed?

Thinking of this, Naoki asked, "Butterfree, how do you feel now? Do you still want to work hard to become stronger like you did as a Caterpie?"

"Butterfree."

Butterfree thought carefully and realized it no longer seemed to have that urgent desire to become stronger. Instead, it wanted to live a good life and protect this ranch.

But protecting the ranch also required strength, just like the Butterfree in the forest protecting Caterpie from bird Pokémon.

So, it would still work hard to train!

"That's great!" Sensing Butterfree's perseverance and determination, Naoki smiled and patted its head. "Then keep working hard. I'll help you too."

"Butterfree!"

Before they knew it, it was noon.

Naoki returned to the house and started preparing lunch. While handling the ingredients, he reflected on recent events.

The Caterpie's evolution had made him realize something: all the Pokémon on the ranch could evolve. Smoliv would evolve into Dolliv, Skiddo into Gogoat, and Nacli into Naclstack. After evolving, their appetites and productivity would significantly increase.

But without levels and experience points, Naoki had no way of judging their current growth stage and could only wait patiently. However, the prospect of training all these Pokémon to their final forms was incredibly satisfying and exciting!

Perhaps this was the true joy of being a trainer.

...

Today was February 5th, two days before the Cherry Blossom Festival. Work on the ranch wasn't too busy, so Naoki took this opportunity to start observing the weather with Dragonite, hoping for rain tomorrow.

Unfortunately, it had been sunny for two consecutive days. There wasn't even a cloud in the sky, let alone rain. This made Dragonite quite sad.

Despite the sunny weather, the day of the Cherry Blossom Festival finally arrived. It was Naoki's first time attending such a large-scale event, and he couldn't help but feel excited.

The letter mentioned that ranchers could bring some of their ranch specialties and set up stalls to sell them. Naoki looked at his modest ranch and pondered.

What should he bring to sell? Turnips? Tomatoes? Cucumbers? Eggs?

No, those were too common. There were several farms and ranches nearby, and others would likely be selling the same things.

So, what about goat milk and rock salt? Naoki thought it was feasible, but it lacked a bit of novelty.

At that moment, he remembered the dish he had made yesterday—the boiled pork slices that made Cinderace breathe fire!

Although there were restaurants in the Paldea region, they weren't numerous, and the flavors had been adjusted to suit local tastes. It wasn't authentic.

Sharing the food of his with the locals seemed to align with the Cherry Blossom Festival's theme. Moreover, the price of such cuisine was much higher than that of ordinary crops, so he could make a good profit in a day!

With this idea in mind, Naoki immediately began preparations.

It was seven in the morning, an hour before the Cherry Blossom Festival was set to begin. Naoki rode Koraidon, his pocket filled with Poké Balls.

Alcremie, Smoliv, and the Nacli, safely tucked inside their Poké Balls, were looking forward to today's event.

At seven in the morning, with an hour left until the Cherry Blossom Festival began, Naoki rode Koraidon, his pocket full of Poké Balls.

When Alcremie, Smoliv, and the Nacli heard that Naoki was going out, they immediately expressed their desire to come along.

So, except for the three Skiddo, all the Pokémon on the ranch were brought along.

Following the directions provided in the letter, Naoki soon arrived at the Cherry Blossom Orchard. It was a vast park filled with numerous cherry trees, their branches laden with clusters of bright red cherries.

From a distance, Naoki could see the open space designated for the festival within the orchard. The space was quite large, with neatly arranged wrought iron stalls. Many people had already gathered, most of them owners of nearby farms.

Elisio, the owner of the cherry orchard, was busy greeting them.

At that moment, he noticed someone riding an unfamiliar Pokémon slowly descending from the sky. At first, Elisio was a bit confused, but when he recognized the rider's face, coupled with what Mayor Thomas Clavell had told him, he guessed, "Naoki?"

Naoki looked at the sturdy man with a thick brown beard in front of him, guessed his identity, and greeted him politely, "Hello, Mr. Elisio."

"Haha!" Seeing that he had guessed correctly, Elisio gave a hearty laugh. "Finally, we meet! Forgive me for not visiting your ranch to say hello. You know, this is the cherry harvest season, and we've been quite busy. But now that we're done, welcome to the festival, Naoki!"

Naoki smiled.

Elisio then noticed what Naoki was carrying and exclaimed, "You brought food? Wonderful! I can already smell the delicious aroma. We've prepared stalls for you in advance. Just pick an empty spot! Soon, everyone from town and tourists from other cities will be here, and there will be many Trainers passing by too!"

"Okay!" Naoki nodded and, with Koraidon, found an empty stall.

He took out the cooking pot and ingredients from his Bag of Holding and set them up on the stall. Once everything was ready, Naoki released his Pokémon.

"Everyone, come on out!"

With flashes of white light, the Nacli and Alcremie appeared behind the stall. They sensed the lively atmosphere, and happy expressions appeared on their faces.

Naoki picked up the five Nacli and arranged them in a row on the stall as a display, while Alcremie and Smoliv stood behind them, adding a touch of charm to the stall.

Cyclizar and Koraidon stood on either side of Naoki, ready to assist him.

Dragonite sat behind the stall. With nothing to do, it leaned against a cherry tree to rest. Butterfree perched on the stall, curiously observing the nearby crowd.

For today's offerings, Naoki had prepared [Boiled Pork Slices] to energize Fire-type Pokémon, [Pecha Berry Juice] to restore stamina and quench thirst, [Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes] for its sweet and sour appetite-boosting qualities, and [Steamed Eggs] so smooth they would make a Pokémon's body slippery.

The price of each dish varied. The most expensive was the boiled pork slices, priced at 800 Pokédollars. Since the portions weren't large, Naoki didn't charge too much.

He hung a sign with the prices listed in front of the stall. Everything was ready, just waiting for customers!

At that moment, an elderly woman with blonde hair and a serene expression at the nearby turnip stall caught his attention. She walked over with a cane, looked at the neatly arranged Nacli in front of the stall, and praised with a smile, "My, what cute little fellows! Are these all your Pokémon?"

Naoki introduced them with a smile, "Yes, they live with me on the ranch. After hearing about this event, they followed me here to participate."

The old lady was about to say something else when a childish voice piped up from the side. "Dad, look over there! A Dragonite! It's a Dragonite! And a Butterfree and an Alcremie! Wow! There are also so many Nacli! They're so well-behaved, standing there motionless, so obedient!"

Naoki looked up and saw a little girl, about seven years old, running towards him excitedly, holding an adult's hand. She looked at Alcremie on the stall and couldn't help but exclaim, "So cute!"

"Alcremie~" Alcremie beamed.

The man behind her looked at Koraidon and asked in surprise, "What kind of Pokémon is that?"

Naoki introduced it with a smile, "Its name is Koraidon, and it's my most reliable partner."

Hearing the words "most reliable," Koraidon puffed up its chest.

"Gaah!"

'That's right, it was Naoki's most reliable partner and his favorite Pokémon'!

"Koraidon?" The man murmured, hearing the unfamiliar name. "I've never heard of it before.

Compared to the imposing Koraidon, the little girl was clearly more drawn to cute Pokémon like Alcremie. She gazed at Alcremie longingly.

Alcremie, being clever, pointed to the sign in front of the stall. "Alcremie~"

The girl looked over and saw the sign listing the dishes. She asked innocently, "Do you want me to buy one of these dishes?"

So cute! Buy, buy, buy!

The girl turned and called out, "Dad! I'm hungry!"

The man sighed in resignation and took out his wallet to buy a glass of juice and a bowl of steamed eggs for his beloved daughter.

The father and daughter then continued their stroll through the garden.

Naoki exchanged a knowing glance with Alcremie, giving it a look of approval for a job well done.

Alcremie looked proud. "Alcremie~" It was very clever indeed!

As time passed, more and more people arrived at the Cherry Blossom Orchard. In addition to people, there were also numerous Pokémon.

Some were carried by passing trainers, much like how Ash would visit nearby towns with Pikachu when he heard about competitions or events during his travels.

Some were Pokémon raised in the Cherry Blossom Orchard, such as Cherubi and Cherrim, which were small and about the same size as Nacli, and a Herdier that patrolled the area, guarding the orchard. 

Others were wild Pokémon living nearby, such as flocks of Chatot perched on branches, attracted by the lively atmosphere, and Rolycoly rolling in the mud on the forest floor.

The festival hadn't officially started yet, but Naoki was already sitting on a bench, curiously observing the Pokémon carried by the trainers.

"Sprigatito, the Grass-type starter of the Paldea region."

"Is that a Quaxly? Its waddle is so funny."

"Wow, there's actually a trainer who caught a Charcadet. I wonder if it'll evolve into an Armarouge or a Ceruledge."

"A Bellibolt? Iono's signature Pokémon."

"One, two, three, four, five, six. Vulpix really does have six tails. They're so fluffy and cute! I'd love to bury my face in them." He imagined holding Vulpix in his arms, showering it with kisses, and sleeping with it every night, just like cuddling a cat.

Unfortunately, that Vulpix wasn't his, and Naoki could only dream. He looked at the Vulpix nestled in its trainer's arms, its two soft paws dangling, and felt a surge of envy.

Before he knew it, it was eight o'clock.

Elisio, the orchard owner, looked at the growing crowd and cheerfully announced, "Welcome, everyone, to the Cherry Blossom Orchard! I now declare this year's Cherry Blossom Festival officially open! Please enjoy yourselves!"

At the same time, Naoki welcomed his second customer.

A male trainer with a Litleo, wearing the Naranja Academy uniform.