April 1, 198th year of the Alliance dar.

  The summer sun shone brightly over the lively ranch. The Nacli, led by Alcremie, cmbered on the evolved Naclstack, pyfully running around the grassy fields. G y nearby, quietly their antics, her frosty fur gleaming in the m light.

  In the blooming flower field, Butterfree and the three hardw bee buzzed diligently, gatheriar from the vibrant flowers. The Miltank herd leisurely chewed on the dewy, fertile grass, basking in the warmth of the sun. Meanwhile, Pawmo, wearing his red cape, floated above the chi coop, keeping a watchful eye over the clug hens.

  The Gogoat, too, crowded around the trough, eagerly dev grass balls. Not far from them, Smoliv stretched out its green leaves, soaking in the sunlight with relish.

  Over in the farmnd, Naoki was busy direg his Pokémon as they worked together.

  "Koraidon, could you get the seed box from the utility room? It's the big one on the left side of the door," Naoki called out.

  "Dragonite, don't rush with the rain just yet. Oh, have you delivered milk today? You have? Good. Let's wait until the seeds are pnted before you start the rain dance."

  He turo Cyclizar and asked, "How’s that Dragon Cw move ing along? Did you learn it well from Koraidon?"

  "Gaao!" Cyclizar echoed proudly, noddihusiastically.

  "Excellent!" Naoki praised, "Let's see it in a. Use Dragon the ground."

  Cyclizar flexed its cws, a bright white glow surrounding them. With a swift strike, the cws sshed through the soft earth, leavi furrows behind.

  "Well done!" Naoki grinned, watg the marks. "You’ve nearly mastered it."

  "Gaao~" Cyclizar looked down, embarrassed but pleased.

  "Alright, keep going!" Naoki enced.

  With his hoe in hand, Naoki began w alongside Cyclizar, both w in rhythm—hoe digging into the earth, cws striking in time. Together, they made short work of the pnting preparations.

  Ohe nd was ready, Naoki took the seeds from Koraidon and called over his Pokémon team. Koraidon, Dragonite, and Cyclizar stood in line, each holding packets of seeds.

  "You've all seen how to pnt, right?" Naoki asked, looking at his team.

  "Ah, gah!" Koraidon nodded.

  "Ouch~" Dragonite followed.

  "Gah!" Cyclizar piped up.

  "Great! But just to be sure," Naoki added, "I'll show you one more time."

  Taking a handful of seeds, Naoki carefully pced them in the holes they'd dug, expining, "Pce the seeds like this, cover them lightly, but don't put too many in at once. If they pete for nutrients, none will grow properly."

  The three Pokémon appeared to fully uand Naoki's expnation.

  To crify even more, Naoki tinued with an analogy: "Think about the Gogoat. Every day, I give them a set number of Grass Dumplings, just enough for them to share. But if ten mogoat showed up, there wouldn’t be enough food to go around. They’d all start losi, getting weaker, aually, they’d fall sick from malnutrition."

  With this parison, the Pokémon grasped the cept.

  "Alright, let’s get started!" Naoki directed, looking over the various seeds they had. "Cyclizar, you’re in charge of pnting the wheat seeds. Head over to that field!"

  "Koraidon, you've got watermelon seeds. See that field over there? That’s where you should pnt them."

  "And Dragonite, you’ve got melon seeds, so pnt them in this se right here."

  Following Naoki’s instrus, the three Pokémon eagerly set to work.

  Meanwhile, Naoki grabbed a bag of hop seeds and headed toward a different plot, where he had already set up supports for the pnts. He carefully phe seeds one by one, w methodically.

  A few days earlier, with some extra free time, Naoki had recimed a rge patch of nd on the ranch. He divided it into four ses, where he pnted , pumpkins, pineapples, and sunflowers.

  Naoki had big pns for the sunflower field. Not only were sunflowers beautiful, but they were practical too. The seeds could be used to make oil or roasted into sunflower seeds. He imagined spending cold winter nights indoors, watg TV and snag on roasted sunflower seeds.

  Eveer, Alcremie could produce caramel cream, which he could use to make caramel-fvored sunflower seeds—a treat perfect for cozy evenings.

  He sighed slightly as he thought about Smoliv. If only Smoliv had evolved, he wouldn’t o buy oil from town. The oil Smoliv would produce would be more than enough for the ranch’s daily needs.

  Time flew by, and before Naoki k, noon had arrived. The fields were fully pnted.

  Naoki could feel the heat intensify as summer truly began to make its presenown. The sunlight was strong, and the dry air seemed to settle over the ranch like a warm b. It was the perfect weather for Pokémon like Smoliv, who thrived on verting sunlight into nutrients.

  Taking a break from their hard work in the fields, Naoki gnced over and spotted Smoliv sprawled on the grass, basking tentedly in the sun. Its small leaves seemed to be abs every bit of light, energizing it.

  After finishing up in the fields, the rest of the Pokémon were visibly tired, their chests heaving with exhaustion. Naoki led them to the faucet to wash off the sweat and cool down.

  "Great work today, everyone!" he said, grateful for their help.

  Dragonite, always the practical one, decided to take matters into its own hands. It used Rain Dance, summoning a small dark cloud that floated above the grass. Within moments, the sun was obscured, and a gentle rain began to fall over Dragonite's chosen patch of the ranch.

  Dragonite happily shook its head in the drizzle, clearly enjoying the cool down. Outside the small rain cloud's reach, however, the rest of the ranch remained uhe hot summer sun.

  Naoki chuckled at the sight, shaking his head in amusement. At the edge of the ranch, he noticed a group of wild Psyducks that had been curiously watg the se unfold. They propped their tiny paws up on their heads, clearly eager to join in on the fun. They hopped around on the grass, their wide eyes full of excitement, as if waiting for permission to jump in and enjoy the rain with Dragonite.

  These wild Psyducks had been drifting down the river a few days ago and had made the grassy area opposite the ranch their temporary home. Perhaps the slower currents in that part of the river allowed them to settle down easily.

  Naoki smiled at the thought of wild Pokémon visiting his ranch, remembering the other times bird Pokémon flew by Pokémon wandered in. It was always fun to watch these moments of peaceful iioween wild and domesticated Pokémon.

  Refog oask at hand, Naoki grabbed a dry towel and began helping Cyclizar and Koraidon dry off. As he wiped them down, his mind wao lunch. Feeling the heat of the day, the thought of cooking something light and refreshing popped into his head.

  Then it struck him—a new idea for a summer dessert.