Year 198 of the League Calendar, May 6th, Summer.
The weather was getting hotter. Except for doing farm work, Naoki spent almost every day at home under the air conditioner, watching TV and making desserts with Alcremie to share with everyone on the ranch.
As time passed, the crops in the fields began to grow and mature one after another.
The vines of the hops climbed the trellises, golden-yellow pumpkins and dark green watermelons lay quietly on the ground, and the corn grew tall, though not fully ripe yet.
The wheat and pineapples were also almost fully grown, but still needed some time before they matured.
Of course, what pleased Naoki the most was the Sunflora Field full of sunflowers.
The golden flower heads faced the sun, with green stems and leaves below, looking extremely beautiful.
Looking at all of this, even though he had anticipated it, Naoki still felt very miraculous.
The growth cycle of crops in this world was unbelievably fast.
These sunflowers had bloomed and grown seven days ago, and now, under the nurturing energy of Gogoat, they were starting to mature.
Naoki braved the hot sun to inspect the crops in the field.
[Pumpkin: A crop used for cooking, will be ready for harvest in 3 days.]
[Watermelon: A cool and refreshing summer crop, already ripe and ready for harvest.]
[Corn: Not yet ripe, will be ready for harvest in 10 days.]
[Hops: A crop for brewing barley beer, not yet ripe, will be ready for harvest in 10 days.]
"Looks like the other crops will have to wait a bit longer," Naoki thought to himself.
Right now, only sunflowers and watermelons could be harvested from the field.
Remembering the mutated giant watermelon from last time, Naoki walked into the watermelon patch and Sunflora Field. Using his Golden Finger, he carefully checked each watermelon and sunflower, wanting to see if there were any changes.
However, the result was somewhat disappointing.
In the entire two fields, not a single mutated crop was found.
"The mutation probability is really low."
Feeling a bit disappointed, Naoki quickly recovered, reminding himself that only two types of crops had matured, and many others remained.
Turning his gaze towards the nearby pumpkin patch, his eyes filled with renewed anticipation.
Time to start the harvest!
Naoki called over Koraidon, Cyclizar, and Dragonite to lend a hand, picking the ripe watermelons and piling them in the shade.
He planned to sell part of these watermelons, send some to Glaceon's Ice House to chill, and keep the rest for culinary experiments.
The giant watermelon from last time was entirely consumed, so he hadn't had the chance to see what dishes could be made from watermelon.
By the time the work was done, it was already ten in the morning.
Naoki split open five watermelons for the Pokémon, allowing them to sit in the shade and enjoy.
The three Gogoats and Miltank each received one, the three Combee shared one, and Naclstack showed no interest in watermelons; they preferred dirt and Berries sprinkled with salt.
Watching the Pokémon relish the treat, Naoki felt the entire ranch was brimming with the joy of harvest.
He smiled, turned, and cut down a mature sunflower, plucking the almost bursting sunflower seeds to roast later for snacking during idle times.
In this age without advanced mobile networks, sunflower seed snacking was a great way to pass the time.
Gathered from one sunflower, the seeds filled a large basin, which Naoki washed, dried, and borrowed a bowl of caramel cream from Alcremie.
He then added the sunflower seeds, a bit of Rock Salt, and caramel cream into a pan, stirring continuously.
About twenty minutes later, the sunflower seeds were fully roasted.
Once it was ready, Naoki turned off the heat and poured the caramel-scented seeds into the basin.
Looking down, the information about the seeds appeared in his mind.
[Translation Nuts (B+): Roasted with caramel cream and Purifying Salt.
Cooking Effect: Language communication (minor). After consumption, able to understand Pokémon language, one nut translates one word, effect cumulative.
Evaluation: A very nice little snack, filled with the aroma of caramel cream. Eating it makes one feel happiness. It's the best choice for leisure time.]
Hmm? What is this?!
Naoki widened his eyes in disbelief, staring at the basin of seeds in front of him.
To verify the effect of this dish, he nibbled two nuts, then ran outside to find the Butterfree relaxing under the eaves, shouting:
"Butterfree?"
Butterfree turned its head, and seeing Naoki, a joyful expression appeared on its face: "Um-ee um-ee?" (What um-ee?)
Naoki: "!!!" He really understood!
Returning inside, he held the bowl of nuts, grinning like a fool.
Undoubtedly, the practicality of this bowl of nuts far surpassed all the dishes he had made before!
Half a month ago, he was envious of the Gardevoir capable of Telepathy, and now he could directly communicate with Pokémon.
Enabling the eater to communicate directly with Pokémon…
Pairing this with fatigue-recovery dishes, the effect could rival the rare Power of Viridian!
Invincible!
Naoki immediately began devouring the nuts voraciously, and after consuming an unknown number, he ran to the grass outside, finding Dragonite and other Pokémon enjoying their watermelon.
Naoki shouted: "Dragonite!"
Startled, Dragonite turned its head: "Aoo?" (What's up?)
Naoki chuckled: "Nothing much, just came over to chat with you."
Dragonite: "Aoo… Aoo?" (Why suddenly like this… haven't we always been able to chat every day?)
Naoki grinned: "That's because, now I can directly understand you!"
"Aoo?!" (What?!)
"Gao?!" (What?!)
"..." (What?!)
Hearing this, the Pokémon looked over, faces filled with surprise and curiosity.
Dragonite continued to chatter, asking how it was possible since Naoki couldn't understand before.
Then, they saw Naoki mysteriously produce a small nut.
Naoki: "It's because I made a snack that allows me to understand you!"
"Gao?" Cyclizar eyed the nut, puzzled.
Naoki explained the effect of the nut: "…It allows me to understand you, each nut makes me understand one word."
Upon hearing this, the Pokémon were all surprised.
How magical?!
However, as they talked, Naoki heard Dragonite's words revert to "Aoo, aoo."
Naoki: "..." It seemed the accumulated word count had run out.
Looking toward the distant fields, he made an important decision:
From today, expand the planting of sunflowers!