Naoki's process for making the steamed buns was simple yet meticulous. He carefully measured out the flour, sugar, and the special ingredient—Zapdos feather powder—inte mixing bowl. Adding a packet of yeast, he stirred the dry ingredients together before slowly p in warm water from the kettle, making sure the temperature was just right.

  As he mixed and khe dough, he noticed how the once-white flour turned into a striking lightning-yellow color, with a slight tingle in his hands from the electrical energy in the feather powder.

  "Looks good!" Naoki said, satisfied with the dough's sistency. "Time to let it rise."

  He covered the dough with pstic ced it in a warm spot, a aside to ferment. The warmth and sugar would help the yeast do its job, creating light, fluffy buns.

  By then, it was already six o'clock, and Naoki o start preparing dinner for all the Pokémon on the ranch. As he turo begiiced Cyclizar and Pawmi watg him ily.

  "Just a little longer, dinner will be ready soon!" Naoki assured them, scooping up Pawmi and smiling. "I think I've found a way to help you get stronger!"

  “Pawmi?” Pawmi looked surprised but eager.

  Naoki rubbed his cheek against Pawmi's soft fur. "You'll see soon," he said, setting Pawmi back down.

  “Pawmi~” Pawmi chirped happily.

  Meanwhile, Cyclizar, the first Pokémon Naoki had ever raised, watched the iion with a hint of envy in its eyes. “Gaao…” it sighed, clearly wanting to keep up with the others on the ranch.

  Naoki noticed this and asked, "Do you want to get strooo, Cyclizar?"

  Cyclizar nodded enthusiastically. “Ga-ao!”

  "Don't worry, I’ll figure something out," Naoki promised. He realized that while he had focused on strengthening other Pokémon, he hadn't yet devised a way to enhance his dragon-attribute partner.

  With the dough still rising, Naoki decided to use the time to get a better uanding of his Pokémon. He pulled out a notebook and started creatiailed profiles for eae, listing their favorite foods, temperaments, hobbies, and the skills they had mastered.

  He began with Dragonite:

  Name: Dragonite

  Temperament: Docile, silly

  Hobbies: Loves to practid perfect the moves it has mastered

  Favorite Food: Fragrant Poké Puffs, fried pork steak, grilled fish, steamed sea bass, Oran berries

  Skills Learned: Wing Attack, Gre, Tornade, Dragon Tail, Agility, Extreme Speed, Dragon Dance, Rain Dance, Hurrie, Thunder Punch, Thunder, and Thunderbolt

  With a detailed record like this, Naoki could ensure he met eaon's unique needs and preferences. As the ranch grew, this would help him keep everything anized.

  Calling Cyclizar and Pawmi outside, Naoki asked them to demonstrate the moves they had mastered. Pawmi first, showing off its agility as it darted across the grass.

  Naoki observed closely, murmuring the names of the moves as Pawmi performed them. "Scratch, Growl, Thundershock, Quick Attauzzle, wait, is that Charm? Looks like Pawmi ied that one from its parents."

  Naoki observed as Pawmi showcased its moves, noting everything dowiculously in his notebook. Pawmi, despite its eagerness, didn’t have a wide array of moves, most being quite basiaoki made sure to record them all before turning to Cyclizar, who .

  “Alright, Cyclizar, it’s your turn!” Naoki enced.

  Cyclizar responded with a determined “Gaao~” and began its demonstration. The otion attracted a small crowd of Pokémon from around the ranch, including Alcremie, the Nacli, Butterfree, G, and the Miltanks, whrazing nearby. Even Dragoched with keen i.

  Naoki smiled, seeing all the Pokémon gathered. It erfect opportunity to assess everyone’s progress without having to call them over individually. He refocused on Cyclizar, paying close attention to its moves.

  “Let’s see, Tackle, Roar, Rapid Spin, Dragon Tail, e, Hyper Beam, Earthquake."

  "You’ve got a det set of moves,” Naoki remarked, jotting everything down in his notebook. “You’ve done well, Cyclizar. I’ll figure out how to help you get even stronger.”

  Cyclizar's eyes sparkled with happiness at the praise, clearly motivated by Naoki’s promise.

  , Alcremie eagerly ran forward to showcase its moves, followed by the Nacli and Naclstack. Eaon had its moment, with Butterfree, bee, G, the Miltanks, the Gogoat, and Smoliv all taking turns. Dragoempted to join in as well, but Naoki gently stopped it.

  “I’ve been with you during all your training, Dragonite. I know your moves inside and out,” Naoki reassured, smiling at the affeate Pokémon.

  Dragonite pondered for a moment before realizing Naoki was right. tent, it ed its arms around Naoki in a warm hug.

  “Okay, okay, Koraidon is still waiting for me,” Naoki chuckled, patting Dragonite’s soft paws befently stepping away.

  Naoki then turned his attention to Koraidon. “It’s your turn, Koraidon.”

  “Ah, gah!” Koraidon responded enthusiastically, beginning its demonstration.

  “Sunny Day, Rock Smash, Fmethrower, Bulldoze, A Power, Drain Punch, Dragon Cw, Dragon Tail, Swords Dance, e, Agility, Quick Attack, Giga Impact. Wait, is that Hyper Beam or just a Loud Roar?” Naoki muttered to himself, momentarily puzzled as Koraidon’s powerful roar sent a gust of wind through the grass.

  After feeling the iy of the roar, Naoki o himself. “Ah, Roar it is.”

  He carefully wrote down all of Koraidon’s moves, then smiled at his Pokémon. “Great job, Koraidon. That’s all for now.”

  “Ah, gash~” Koraidouro Naoki’s side, clearly satisfied with its performance.

  Seeing that the evaluations were done, Naoki waved to the rest of the Pokémon. “Alright, everyone, you go py now!”

  The Pokémon gradually dispersed, going back to their activities around the ranaoki sat down uhe eaves, flipping through his notebook and p how to help Cyclizar grow stronger.

  “Maybe I could ask Cyclizar's a retive to help teach it,” Naoki thought, sidering the idea. He called Koraidon over and shared his pn.

  After hearing Naoki’s suggestion, Koraidon’s expression grew plicated, clearly processing the idea.

  Koraidon looked at the Cyclizar oher side a unsure about how to proceed. It wasn’t used to being in a teag role.

  Naoki noticed the hesitation and gave Koraidon a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “I’m ting on you to help the Cyclizar out! You don’t o do anything too plicated—just teach it the moves that are easier to learn.”

  “Gaao...” The Cyclizar g Koraidon nervously.

  Koraidoated but eventually nodded, realizing that this was Naoki’s request.

  “That’s settled!” Naoki said decisively, then turo the Cyclizar. “Don’t worry, Koraidon is a good Pokémon and won’t hurt you!”

  The Cyclizar looked up at Koraidon, who was now frowning slightly, its golden eyes log with the smaller Pokémon’s. After a moment, Koraidon sighed, accepting the role of mentor with a mix of relud determination. It khat it couldn’t refuse Naoki’s request.

  Seeing this iion, Naoki smiled warmly. “Great, I’ll leave you two to it. I’m going to start dinner!”

  With that, Naoki headed bato the house to prepare food for everyoonight’s dinner was going to be grilled steak again—a favorite among many of the Pokémon on the ranch, especially Dragohe Cyclizar, and Koraidon.

  As Naoki busied himself i, he couldn’t help but think about how much he ehis routine. Grilled steaks, goat milk, Fruit juice, sandwiches, and occasionally desserts like Poké Puffs and honey pudding were staples in his Pokémon’s diets.

  Once dinner was served and everyone was happily eating, Naoki took a moment to sit at his desk and review his ret finances. Over the past month, he hadn’t ied in any new facilities for the ranch, so his savings had steadily grown. Aside from the cost of food, Naoki had been able to deposit most of his earnings into the bank.

  The high-quality goat milk from the Gogoat's, pure rock salt from the Naclstad Nacli, and fresh milk from the Miltanks had proven to be valuable resources. Thanks to these, his savings had now reached over 900,000 Pokédolrs.

  Naoki had initially expected the Miltanks to produilk than they did, but he quickly learhat they drank a portion of their own milk, redug the overall output. Despite this, the ine from Moo Moo Fresh Milk was still substantial, though not as much as he had hoped.

  But Naoki was tent with the progress. If things ti this rate, he estimated that he could expand his home by the seonth of summer, rather than waiting until fall as he had inally phe idea of having enough saved up to make su iment in just a few months felt surreal.

  In his previous life, the thought of buying a house after w for just five months would have been unimaginable. However, he khat even with his current savings, it would still be a long way before he could afford a vil.

  As dusk settled over the ranch, all the Pokémon had returo their s. Naoki turned oV, letting the evening news py in the background as he hummed a little tune. He headed to the kit to che the progress of the dough he had set aside to ferment.

  Seeing that the dough had risen perfectly, Naoki took it out and pced it on the chopping board. He then divided the dough into equal portions and carefully rolled each pieto a round, smooth bun.

  Soon, twelve plump, yellow buns were ly lined up, ready to be steamed. Their bright yellow color was a stark trast to the usual white buns, and Naoki couldn't help but feel a bit anxious. He wondered if they were safe to eat. After all, the main po of bird feathers is protein, but who knew if the same applied to Zapdos’ feathers?

  Pushing aside his worries, Naoki pced the twelve buns into the steamer ahem to steam. He set an arm on his phone and stepped outside to wash up.

  The weather was getting hotter each day, and after a long day of work, Naoki felt the o rinse off the sweat. The ranch didn’t have a proper bathroom yet, so he made do by using the outdoor faucet on the grassy patear the door.

  After rinsing off, Naoki started washing his clothes. Summer clothes were thin, and they didn’t take long to wash. Ohey were , he hung them on the clothesline beside the house to dry.

  Just as he finished hanging the st piece, his arm went off, signaling that the buns were ready. Naoki hurried back to the kit and lifted the lid of the steamer, releasing a rich, fragrant aroma of freshly steamed flour that filled the room.

  The twelve buns sat i, eae looking soft and sweet. Naoki gazed at them, and suddenly, information about the buns appeared in his mind:

  [Lightning Bun (S+): A legendary dish made from the feather powder of a legendary Pokémon. It is said that eating it will allow oo harhe power of lightning.]

  [Cooking effebsp;Thunder God. After eating it, the Pokémon gain trol over thunder and lightning, much like the legendary Zapdos. In an instant, massive bolts of lightning will strike from the clouds. Limited to Electric-type Pokémon, and a Pokémon only e on its lifetime.]

  [ent: A unique dish in the world, perfect for your Electric-type Pokémon!]

  [Warning: Do not e indoors!]

  Naoki was momentarily stunned. His first thought wasn’t about the incredible effect of the buns but about Dragonite. Sihe effect was limited to Electric-type Pokémon, it meant Dragonite wouldn’t be from eating one.

  However, the thought of what these buns could do for aric-type Pokémon filled him with excitement. The review’s warning only heightened his curiosity.

  After a brief pause, Naoki called for Pawmi a outside to the grassy area. The night was clear, with no clouds in the sky. The stars twinkled brightly, and the moonlight illumihe ranch, making everything visible even without additional lighting.

  "Pawmi?" Pawmi, who followed Naoki outside, was full of fusion.

  Naoki ha a lightning buhis, and you'll bee stronger!"

  "Pawmi?"

  Hearing this, Pawmi's eyes lit up. It had almost unditional trust in Naoki. With its small paws, Pawmi took the steamed bun from Naoki's hand and eagerly began to eat.

  Naoki watched closely as Pawmi ate, curious about what would happen. At first, nothing seemed to ge. But as soon as Pawmi fihe st bite, a deafening thundercp echoed through the sky, shaking the entire ranch.

  Naoki looked up and saw something truly awe-inspiring. Dark, ominous thunderclouds were rapidly gathering in the sky above the ranch, f a swirling vortex. As the clouds ed, a massive lightning tornado began to take shape, spiraling downward. The sight was so intehat Naoki half-expected a legendary Pokémon to desd from the heavens.

  But there was no legendary Pokémon—only a massive bolt of blue lightning that shot down from the ter of the tornado, striking Pawmi with incredible force. The impact sent a shockwave through the area, causing Naoki to stumble backward. Just as he was about to fall, Koraidon appeared out of nowhere, catg him and helping him steady himself.

  "Aga..."

  The other Pokémon on the ranch, drawn by the otion, gathered around Naoki, watg the extraordinary event unfold. Pawmi was engulfed in the blue lightning, its eyes glowing with an intense blue-white light. It looked as though it was eling the power of a thuorm, its small body trembling uhe strain.

  Naoki was reminded of the legends surrounding Zapdos, the mythical Pokémon known for summoning lightning with a mere fp of its wings. The se before him seemed like something out of those aales.

  Suddenly, Pawmi let out a powerful cry.

  "Pawmi——!"

  Naoki's heart raced as he heard Pawmi's voice, filled with both pain aermination. He instinctively wao rush in and stop the process, but before he could move, something incredible happened.

  A blinding light enveloped Pawmi, and its form began to ge. It grew rger, its ears elongated, and it stood up on its hind legs, transitioning from its quadrupedal stao a more upright posture.

  It was evolving!

  The air around Pawmi crackled with electricity as its evolution pleted. Its fur, now more vibrant and spiked with energy, fluttered in the electric currents surrounding it. Pawmi slowly opes eyes, revealing a newfound resolve. It floated gently above the ground, suspended by the power of the lightning.

  Flying... Pawmi was flying!

  Naoki stared i the sight before him. In that moment, a whimsical thought crossed his mind—if he gave Pawmi a helmet, a red cape, and a hammer, it could easily cospy as the god of thuhor. And if there was a giant fe nearby, he might even sider crafting a hammer for Pawmi.