Pokemon: A New Path

Using Dragonite to water the plants, riding on mysterious Pokémon that aren't even recorded in the Pokédex, and now seeing these three unbelievable Skiddos.

'What on earth is this place?' Max thought, bewildered. 'There's no way Naoki is just an ordinary country farmer!'

After a moment, the light faded.

Three larger Gogoat stood before them, their previous energy surge now gone, making them appear no different from ordinary Gogoat.

But Naoki knew better. The energy hadn't disappeared; it had simply returned to the Gogoat's bodies, ready to be used whenever they wished.

Thinking of this, Naoki stepped forward and carefully checked his Gogoat. "Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?" he asked gently.

The three Gogoat gradually adjusted to their new forms, feeling out their bodies before each one shook its head slightly.

"Meeh..."

"That's good. Go on, have fun!" Naoki sighed in relief and waved them off. The Gogoat happily trotted away.

He returned to the camp and sat down, still pondering why his Skiddo had suddenly unleashed such a dramatic burst of Grass-type energy.

"Mr. Naoki?" Max called out hesitantly.

"What's up?" Naoki replied, pretending not to know what Max was about to ask.

Max hesitated, then asked cautiously, "Were those three Skiddo also raised by you?"

Naoki smiled politely and answered modestly, "It's all thanks to their own efforts."

'All thanks to them eating those grass dumplings like their lives depended on it,' Naoki thought with a small smirk.

'So scary', Max thought, his mind racing.

The intensity of the energy released by those three Gogoat just now—it felt comparable to the power of the Elite Four in the Paldea region.

'If Naoki can train Skiddo to this level, what kind of power do the other Pokémon on this ranch have?' Max wondered.

Subconsciously, Max glanced at the seemingly innocent Dragonite sitting on the grass, happily munching away at its food, and then at the other Pokémon like Butterfree, who seemed just as ordinary.

'Are they, the same?' he thought, trying to wrap his head around it.

But since the Pokémon weren't showing their true strength, Max had no way to find out.

That afternoon, Max decided it was time to move on to the next town, so he didn't linger for long.

As he prepared to leave, he said his goodbyes to Naoki.

Naoki and Koraidon stood in front of the ranch to see him off. "Safe travels!" Naoki called out with a wave.

"Well, I wish you good luck with your work too!" Max said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. The Fuecoco perched on his shoulder gave a cheerful cry, and the Poké Ball containing his newly captured Fletchling was securely tucked in his pocket.

The two exchanged farewells, and Max turned to continue his journey with the Pokémon he had just captured by his side.

Naoki watched him go before turning back to the ranch, ready to resume his work as a rancher.

Although most of the day's work on the ranch was already completed, Naoki didn't rest. Instead, he sought out the three newly evolved Gogoat, eager to observe the changes in them.

First, he focused on their personalities.

Before evolving, the Skiddo had a cute and laid-back demeanor, often lounging around the grass, lazily munching on grass blades.

Even after evolving into Gogoat, this habit hadn't changed much. The only noticeable difference was that they no longer emitted that strange glow when eating grass dumplings.

"It's likely that the evolution has significantly increased the energy capacity of the Gogoat," Naoki mused, recalling a theory Miss Joy had once shared with him.

She had explained that a Pokémon's evolution is a massive leap in their life stage, built upon the foundation they had before evolving. The stronger that foundation, the more powerful the Pokémon becomes after evolution. The glowing in the Skiddo earlier was likely because they had reached the limit of their energy capacity.

'So, are there any other changes?' Naoki wondered.

With that in mind, Naoki called the three Gogoat over and asked them to demonstrate the moves they had mastered.

The Gogoat responded, moving with newfound strength and agility.

They showcased a series of Grass-type moves: Vine Whip, Leech Seed, Razor Leaf, Worry Seed, Synthesis, Horn Leech, Leaf Blade, and their most proficient move—Grassy Terrain.

Waves of green energy rippled out from the Gogoat, spreading across the ranch. The ground beneath their hooves seemed to come alive, as if thousands of blades of grass were gently swaying in the breeze.

The range of the Grassy Terrain expanded further and further, and with the combined effort of the three Gogoat, it eventually covered most of the pasture.

Naoki couldn't help but gasp at the sight.

'This is incredible!'

Instead of just calling it a Grassy Terrain, Naoki felt a more fitting term would be "Grass Realm."

'Yes, that's right—the Grass Realm!' he thought, awe-struck.

With their Grass Pelt ability enhancing their defenses and their Grass-type energy absorption at its peak, Naoki was certain that, aside from Koraidon, no other Pokémon on the ranch could rival these three Gogoat.

Naoki's mind raced as he imagined the potential of his newly evolved Gogoat in a 3v3 team battle. Their performance would be nothing short of extraordinary.

With their ability, the Gogoat wouldn't take any damage from Grass-type moves; instead, their attack power would increase. Naoki could see it clearly: they would start by activating Grassy Terrain, boosting the power of Grass-type moves. Then, the other two Gogoat would use Grass-type moves on their companion, not to harm them, but to further amplify their attack power.

The Grassy Terrain would enhance the strength of those moves even more. With their attacks maximized, the Gogoat could finish off their opponents with a powerful Grass-type move like Leaf Blade, or in his mind's eye, a mighty "Sacred Sword" move.

Naoki could almost see it—a Gogoat holding a glowing sword-like leaf in its mouth, delivering a decisive and devastating blow to its opponent.

But before his thoughts ran too wild, Naoki called out, "Okay, let's stop here!"

The Gogoat halted their demonstration, letting out friendly, contented sounds.

"Baa..."

Naoki smiled, reaching out to pat their heads. "Go on, go play!"

The Gogoat happily trotted off, leisurely strolling across the grass, munching on the fresh blades.

Watching them, Naoki took a deep, contented breath. 'They've grown up so much,' he thought with a touch of pride. 'My cute little Skiddo have matured and can hold their own!'

What pleased him even more was that in addition to the increase in strength after their evolution, the Gogoat were now producing more milk as well. Their milking cycle had shifted from once every two days to once a day, meaning the ranch could produce even more goat milk daily, boosting its profitability.

The only thing that hadn't changed was their need to burn off excess energy by dancing around.

Later that evening, Zack arrived to collect the goods. He looked at the full buckets of milk, an expression of surprise crossing his face. "You're already raising Miltank?"

Naoki chuckled. "Not quite, but I did build the Pokémon House recently. Compared to the Skiddo, Miltank provides a more stable income."

Zack nodded in agreement. "That's true."

He began testing the quality of the milk, following the usual procedure. But as soon as he got the results, his eyes widened in shock.

"The quality is so high?!" Zack exclaimed.