The m, after breakfast, Naoki noticed that the grass in the pasture had grown signifitly taller.

  Sihere wasn’t much else to do, he grabbed a sickle and started cutting the grass. As he worked, he collected the cut grass, intending to save it to make grass dumplings for his Gogoat.

  However, the ranch was so vast that even after several hours of bor, his back ag and s, he hadn’t fihe job.

  "Huh!" Naoki stood up, stretg his sore back, and sighed. "It looks like it's time to i in a wn mower."

  With that thought in mind, he gathered his tools, removed his leather gloves, aurhe sickle to the utility room.

  When he came back out front, Naoki saw Koraidon teag Cyclizar some moves, with Dragonite joining in to learn as well.

  "Looks like I'll have to ride another Pokémon to town today," Naoki mused, not wanting to interrupt their training.

  After some sideration, he headed to the sheepfold, seleg one of the Gogoat. He mou, patting its side gently.

  "Let's go to town!" Naoki said.

  "Mea!" The Gogoat bleated happily.

  The evolved Gogoat stood about 1.8 meters tall, easily able to carry an adult of average weight. Naoki rode it past Koraidon, Cyclizar, and Dragonite, calling out to them:

  "I’m heading to town, you all keep practig!"

  "Raao!" Koraidon responded.

  "Gah!" Cyclizar added.

  "Ooooh!" Dragonite chimed in.

  The three Pokémon bliheir attention ba their training.

  Koraidon initially wao apany Naoki, but it was busy with its duties. It could only watch as Naoki and Gogoat trotted off.

  It was Naoki’s first time riding a Gogoat, and pared to Koraidon and Cyclizar, the experience wasn’t all that different—except that Gogoat was much furrier and softer to sit on.

  What fasated Naoki the most was Gogoat's intelligence.

  By simply pg his hands on the pair of horns atop its head, Naoki found that the Gogoat could sense his thoughts. It responded by turning, speeding up, or slowing down, all acc to his will.

  In some ways, riding Gogoat felt even more intuitive than riding Cyclizar.

  "No wohis Pokémon has been helping humans for over 5,000 years," Naoki thought, appreciating Gogoat's reliability and e to its rider. It truly endable Pokémon.

  The only downside is that it would be nice if it didn’t glow.

  Looking down at the Gogoat beh him, which suddeed a bright green glow while running, Naoki couldn’t help but shake his head in disbelief.

  "How is this any different from those fshy mounts in cheap online games?" he thought, humorously recalling advertisements that promised: Top up 998 a a luxurious, glowing mount instantly!

  Shaking off the ridiculous parison, Naoki steered his Gogoat to stop at the side of the road. "Release the energy in your body first!" he said, giving the Pokémon a ce to burn off the excess power.

  "Meaa..."

  Without hesitation, Gogoat started dang wildly. Grass-type energy poured out, creating a lush, vibrant green field around them.

  But that was just the beginning.

  The Gogoat unleashed a flurry of Grass-type moves: Leaf Bde, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, and even Sor Beam, oer the other, as if it had an endless well of energy.

  Watg this dispy, Naoki couldn’t help but wonder if all this exertion utting a strain on the Pokémon. Would stantly releasing so muergy cause any disfort or fatigue?

  Yet, the gleeful expression on Gogoat's face told him otherwise.

  Naoki: “…”

  The green glow tio spread, and soon the otion attracted several wild Pokémon, who gathered around to wat curiosity.

  More and more Pokémon arrived, fasated by the radiant dispy.

  As Naoki observed, he noticed something peculiar—the duration of Gogoat's "performance" seemed to be getting longer, and it showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.

  Even after releasing all that energy, Gogoat still had an expression that said it wasn’t quite satisfied.

  It seemed like just using these moves wasn’t enough to vent the excess energy building up inside.

  Naoki sighed, falling into thought.

  Clearly, the excessive energy was a result of the rge amounts of Grass Dumplings they had beeing daily.

  But cutting off their favorite food wasn’t really an option. The three Gogoat had grown quite attached to the Grass Dumplings, and stopping the feed would likely upset them.

  "So, besides dang, what other ways are there to burn off this extra energy?" Naoki pondered.

  The first thing that came to mind was battling. pared to simply using moves, a good fight could effectively help Gogoat el that energy in a more productive way.

  And…

  Naoki recalled the time his Gogoat had eagerly tried to challenge Koraidon to a battle. It was clear that Gogoat didn’t shy away from a fight.

  With this thought in mind, Naoki looked at his Gogoat, which had finally calmed down and was standing proudly in front of him. He asked, "Gogoat, if I asked you to battle other Pokémon, would you be up for it?"

  “Baaaah?!”

  Gogoat's eyes widened with excitement.

  Naoki: “…”

  Sure enough, Gogoat was truly a lively and aggressive Pokémon at heart!

  Life on the ranch was all about eating and sleeping, so the Gogoat often just lounged zily on the grass, giving the impression that it was slow and easygoing. But deep down, it was full of energy and ready to take on any challenge.

  After a moment of thought, Naoki asked again, "What if your oppo was a very powerful Pokémon?"

  "Meaaa!"

  In an instant, an enormous, exaggerated bde of grass materialized in Gogoat's mouth, radiating with power.

  "Not a o invader will survive!" its stance seemed to decre. The Gogoat was ready to defend the ranch from any challenger.

  "Alright, alright, calm down. We’ll talk about battles ter. Let’s put the magic powers away for now!"

  Gogoat retracted the glowing energy, and Naoki climbed ba its back, resuming the ride toward Kosaji Town.

  As they journeyed forward, Naoki thought about how to help Gogoat—and the oats—vent all that pent-up energy while also satisfying their strong desire for battles.

  "Taking them to battle other trainers?" he mused. "No, that won’t work. There's too much ranch work to keep up with, and I don’t have the time for long trips."

  He sidered having the Gogoat pete with Dragonite and Cyclizar. "That might work," he thought, "but three Gogoat's would be too much for just Dragonite and Cyclizar to handle."

  As Kosaji Town came into view, an idea suddenly sparked in Naoki’s mind—a memory of several young trainers wearing the uniforms of Naranja Academy.

  Got it!

  "If I offer the ranch as a pce where trainers could e and practice their skills, I could attract young traio battle against my Pokémon," Naoki thought, the pn ing together in his mind. "They’d gain valuable experience, and my Gogoat's would have an outlet for their energy through battle, keeping them fit and active."

  And the best part? The ranch’s magical dishes could help restore the Pokémon's energy after each fight, so there wouldn’t be any risk of them getting overly tired or hurt.

  It was the perfect solution—everyone would be.