Naoki: "???"
Staring at the screen, at the giant Dragonite standing like Godzilla over the endless sea.
At that moment, Naoki felt a sense of unprecedented bewilderment.
What's going on?
As everyone knows, there's only one giant Dragonite in the Pokémon World.
It appeared only once throughout the whole anime, in the original series at Bill's Lighthouse.
Bill tried to explore the mysterious creature loitering on the sea by using its call to make the giant Dragonite think it was the sound of a companion, luring it near the lighthouse.
However, the giant Dragonite didn't find any companion there. After destroying Bill's Lighthouse, it vanished into the ocean and was never seen again.
And now, it has appeared in the Paldea Region!
Is this giant Dragonite the same one from before?
If so, why on earth would it have crossed half the planet, relocating from the Kanto Region to the distant Paldea Region?
Moreover, it caused such a commotion, even alerting the Paldea League, which dispatched top-tier Champion-level personnel.
Naoki's face was full of question marks.
Naoki initially thought this had nothing to do with him.
But suddenly, as if remembering something, he abruptly stood up, opened a drawer storing postcards sent back by Teddiursa and Mew, and took out the latest letter.
The letter clearly depicted a lighthouse, a Dragonite, the ocean, and a Krabby.
Wait a minute!
Naoki's eyes widened, and an unbelievable idea suddenly emerged in his mind.
Could it be that this giant Dragonite was tricked here by Teddiursa and Mew?
So, did he misinterpret what Teddiursa and Mew meant yesterday?
They didn't encounter a normal Dragonite, but happened to come across the giant Dragonite loitering near Bill's Lighthouse!
With this realization, Naoki was shaken to his core.
"This is outrageous..."
How did Teddiursa even dare!
It actually managed to coax the giant Dragonite to the Paldea Region, seemingly to find him and the Dragonite, but he simply can't afford to take care of it!
The ranch would surely be destroyed, wouldn't it?!
Naoki was a mess in the wind.
But soon, he calmed himself down, comforting himself: "Maybe it's not here for me."
After all, he couldn't think of any reason to link himself with the creature.
After pondering for a moment, he decided to stay calm and observe the situation first.
If he went and found out the giant Dragonite wasn't there for him, it would indeed be awkward.
After having breakfast, Naoki first went to the Salt House to check on Dudunsparce's progress.
When he got there, he was surprised to discover the entire Salt House had undergone drastic changes.
This Dudunsparce seemed to have a talent for construction. It had dug through the original floor, and the extra earth had formed a cave on the ground.
Inside the cave, there was a passageway extending downward. Out of curiosity, Naoki stepped inside.
The passageway wasn't steep nor as narrow as imagined. Even three people walking side by side could easily fit, fully accommodating a Garganacl.
Continuing forward, after about three minutes passing through the passageway, the view instantly broadened before him.
Gazing at everything before him, Naoki was shocked.
In just one night, Dudunsparce had dug out a massive Underground Cave!
The interior of the cave was incredibly spacious, with sturdy soil pillars supporting the ground above at intervals, which Naoki assumed were to prevent collapses.
Moreover, in the corner, there was a small underground lake. Whether it originally existed or was specifically dug out by Dudunsparce was unknown.
Naoki was amazed. Truly a Pokémon worthy of Keri.
In such a large space, not to mention five Garganacls, even ten more could easily fit!
He walked around the place, finally spotting Dudunsparce asleep in a corner.
With the noise, Dudunsparce opened its sleepy eyes.
Seeing its appearance, Naoki couldn't help but say with a laugh, "You're incredible!"
He placed the prepared food and juice in front of Dudunsparce.
Dudunsparce glanced down, opened its mouth, ate, and continued sleeping soundly on the ground.
Naoki didn't disturb it; he returned to the surface, considering that with such a large space, he could perhaps capture some other Pokémon living in caves to coexist with the Garganacl.
Pokémon like Geodude, Drilbur, Golurk, Rhyhorn, to enrich the Pokémon ecosystem of the ranch while satisfying his collection habit.
With time still early, Naoki started milking Gogoat, and together with Cyclizar Koraidon, moved the filled milk barrels aside, then took out two bottles and handed them to Dragonite for milk delivery.
After finishing this task, Naoki went to the beehive, collected half of the Honey brewed by Combee, and set them aside, ready to make honey lemonade later.
In the blazing summer, savoring an ice-cold honey lemonade would be absolutely delightful.
Once everything was done, it was 9 a.m.
Keri arrived at the ranch, evidently anticipating the results of Dudunsparce's work, so when she arrived, she laughed and asked:
"How is it, are you satisfied?"
Naoki nodded repeatedly: "Satisfied, I'm incredibly satisfied, your Dudunsparce is truly amazing!"
Keri smiled slightly: "Dudunsparce has always been a hardworking Pokémon, it's been learning construction with me for seven years now."
Naoki realized: "Seven years... no wonder."
Keri: "Now that the work is done, I'll take Dudunsparce back then."
Naoki nodded: "It's sleeping down there now."
Keri acknowledged, then went into the Underground Cave, and retrieved the sleeping Dudunsparce back into the Poke Ball.
"I have to work at other ranches, so I'll go now. See you later!"
"Mm."
Watching Keri's figure disappear, Naoki finally stretched and flexed his body.
With all the work done, he had the rest of the day free to himself.
So he played with the proud Glaceon until it was thoroughly embarrassed before he stopped.
Seeing Glaceon hastily running back into its Ice Cave, Naoki burst into laughter.
To make it up to Glaceon, he turned and took a large tub of creamy ice slush out of the fridge and placed it in the Ice House for Glaceon to enjoy slowly.
After all, the temperature in the Ice House was low, and with natural Ice Stone, he didn't have to worry about the creamy ice slush going bad.
At noon, after having lunch, Naoki wanted to follow up on the news of the giant Dragonite.
He turned on the TV, switched to the news channel, and sure enough, saw the traces of the giant Dragonite there.
The Paldea League seemed intent on broadening the search for its companion by broadcasting this news 24/7.
Looking at the giant Dragonite on the screen, Naoki found himself wondering.
No one's gone yet. Is it really here for him?
But why? He wasn't its companion.
Naoki's mind was racing.
Soon, he suddenly noticed something.
IF the giant Dragonite was indeed lured by Mew and Teddiursa, then it might very well be searching for another Dragonite!
And Teddiursa had only met one Dragonite, which was the milk-delivering Dragonite at his ranch.
So, when encountering the giant Dragonite looking for a companion, it mistook them for companions and told the giant Dragonite about the milk-delivering Dragonite which it had seen.
Thus, the giant Dragonite, in search of a companion, traveled all the way to the Paldea Region.
Therefore, the actual purpose of the giant Dragonite wasn't to find him, but to find his Dragonite!
"Could it really be like that?"
Naoki fell into deep thought.
If that's the case, then he really ought to go and take a look.