“The watermelon is so sweet!”

  On the ranch, people gathered, enjoying rge slices of watermelon, with juice dripping from their mouths. The Pokémon that apahe guests were also sav the watermelon.

  Kora's Machamp stood beside her, holding a rge piece of watermelon, happily mung away.

  After the watermelo, Pokémon like Pawmi, and Butterfree began chasing each other and pying on the wn.

  "It's a shame the watermelon is too big to fit in the fridge. Chilled watermelon would be perfe this weather," Mayor Thomas remarked with a hint ret.

  "I've got a solution!" Naoki thought to himself, finding this to be an easy fix.

  "Oh?" Mayor Thomas' eyes lit up as he turowards Naoki.

  Naoki sed the area and spotted G, who was hanging out with Alcremie, and called it over.

  After hearing Naoki’s request, Gmediately leapt onto the table.

  "Buyi!"

  With a wave of iergy, G sent a gust of cold air toward the watermelon.

  A thin yer of white frost formed on the surface, giving the watermelon a refreshing, frosty appearance.

  Mayor Thomas ughed heartily at the sight.

  "I’m getting old—I pletely fot that Ice-type Pokémon could help with freezing watermelons! Thank you, G."

  "Buyi~"

  G, feeling shy, quickly scurried over to Naoki. It wasn’t used to being around so many people, but being near Naoki gave it a sense of security.

  "Aw, it’s shy!" Mrs. Dantes remarked with a kind smile. "What a sweet little G."

  G, feeling even more embarrassed, tucked itself closer to Naoki.

  Naoki gently patted its head. "All right, go have some fun!"

  With that, G darted away, hidio Miltank.

  Mayor Thomas began passing out the chilled watermelon slices, while some of the children from the town and their Pokémon happily devoured the Pudding Naoki had prepared in advance.

  Naoki watched the se unfold, feeling deeply moved. It was the first time the ranch had ever been this lively.

  He sed the crowd, looking for his Pokémon.

  He spotted a group of Grass-type Pokémon gathered around Gogoat, admiring its release of powerful Grass-type energy with awe.

  Koraidon, Dragonite, and Cyclizar stood together, mung on watermelons while chatting about something with great enthusiasm.

  Nearby, Alcremie and Nacli were stacked on top of Naclstak, putting on a "brick stag" show for the other Pokémon, much to everyone's amusement.

  Butterfree and bee rexed iermelon, enjoying the sweet juice that pooled inside.

  Miltank rolled around joyfully on the grass.

  Pawmo, proudly wearing a red cape, was surrounded by a group of excited children. It shouted "Pawmo!" a into the air like a superhero, s off the ground.

  The children cheered in admiration as Pawmo struck a heroic pose, looking both strong and dashing.

  Meanwhile, Naoki was chatting with some of the townspeople.

  Hugh, the seed shop owner, approached, and they began discussing Bell.

  Naoki asked, "Did the method I suggested work?"

  Hugh hough his expression soon turroubled.

  "It did work. After that day, I adopted an Eevee egg from someone in town and gave it to Bell."

  "At first, Bell was very resistant. She was afraid the Pokémon in the egg would hatch at night and well, attack her while she slept."

  Naoki blinked, speechless for a moment. "Paranoia sure leads to some... unique s," he thought.

  "And then what happened?" Naoki asked, curious.

  Hugh tinued, "Eventually, I vinced her mother to reassure Bell that the Pokémon ihe egg was just a harmless Eevee. Bell finally accepted it and began trying to bond with the egg. This m, I even saw her make a warm little for it out of a b and a cardboard box."

  Naoki imagihe se and smiled. "That sounds like progress. Things seem to be going well."

  Hugh nodded again. "Yeah! I really hope Bell will tio care for it once Eevee hatches."

  Seeing the worry on both Hugh's and his wife’s faces, Naoki couldn’t help but sigh, feelihy for the challenges of parenthood.

  Though he had no children himself, Naoki tried to offer reassurance. "It’ll be okay."

  Just then, Lucy from Light Green Ranch approached, seeking advice from Hugh about crop pnting. Hugh bid Naoki farewell and turo help her with her questions.

  "Hey, it's so lively!" Kora and Ivan walked over with wide smiles.

  "Yeah!" Naoki grinned, enjoying the buzz of activity around the ranch. He g Kora, sensing she had something on her mind.

  Kora spoke up: "About that statue of the King of Bountiful Harvests."

  There was no mistaking it—she saw a business opportunity.

  "No problem," Naoki nodded. It was all for the King of Bountiful Harvests, after all.

  After thinking for a moment, he added, "I'll sketch out the general appearance of the King of Bountiful Harvests ter, and you carve it based on the drawing."

  As for how to sell the statues, Naoki trusted Kora would hahat. After all, she had been more tha at ving him to i in ranch facilities.

  It was only the beginning. Naoki imagined a future where the statue of the King of Bountiful Harvests could bee a on fixture in homes throughout the Paldea region, symbolizing the farmers' belief in prosperity.

  In time, every household might have a statue of the King, and the legendary Pokémon, who draws power from that belief, would grow stronger. Naoki smiled to himself, imagining the King of Bountiful Harvests s to new heights, all thanks to this small act of faith.

  He believed that after today's event, the legend of the King of Bountiful Harvests would spread among the farmers of Kosaji Town and beyond.

  Everything was falling into pce—he just had to wait for the wind of ge to carry the story of the King into the hearts of thousands of homes in Paldea.

  ————

  By the afternoon, the townspeople began leaving one by one.

  Naoki anticipated there would be plenty of trash left behind, but whe out to , he leasantly surprised to find the wively tidy.

  Thinking back, he realized everyone had made a scious effort to throw their trash in the bins before leaving.

  Stepping outside, he saw the trash overflowing with watermelon rinds.

  This trash bin was all thanks to Zack!

  The day after he arrived at the ranch, Zack had tacted the town's waste ma service, arranging for a trash bin to be delivered. Every m at six, someone came to empty the bin, taking the waste to the iion pnt.

  With the up already handled, Naoki decided to use the time to paint a portrait of the King of Bountiful Harvests.

  The image of the King was still clear in his mind, and having learo draw in the past, he was able to capture the regal form of the Pokémon with ease.

  As Naoki painted, Dragoood nearby, carrying a small red satchel, gently dozing off as it waited.

  When the portrait was finished, Dragoirred, stretched, and took the letter taining the drawing, pg it carefully into its satchel. With a mighty fp of its wings, it soared off toward the town.

  Naoki looked up at the sky and exhaled slowly, feeling satisfied.

  Turning to Koraidon and Cyclizar beside him, he smiled and asked, "Did you enjoy today?"

  "Ah, Roo~"

  "Raao~"

  The two Pokémon answered in unison, clearly happy.

  "Good to hear. You don't seem hungry yet, so I'll cook ter."

  The Pokémon had snacked quite a bit during the afternoon, nearly emptying Naoki’s refrigerator.

  After such a busy day, Naoki felt the fatigue setting in and decided it was time for a well-earned rest.

  As he returo his room, ready to colpse onto the bed for a nap, his phone suddenly rang.