After delivering the letter, Allen left.
Watching his silhouette gradually disappear, Naoki finally opened the letter in his hand.
[To Naoki:
This is the Porto Marinada Town Beach Management Office. We cordially invite you to attend a summer festival at the beach on the 31st of this month at 8 PM.
You will spend a wonderful evening with the townsfolk and Pokemon, watching splendid fireworks bloom in the night sky. As summer reaches its peak, we are eagerly looking forward to your arrival.
——by Porto Marinada Town Beach Management Office]
"A summer festival, huh..."
Naoki murmured softly, picturing the scene in his mind, then smiled, tucked the letter away, and turned to go back inside the house.
Just as Allen mentioned, sure enough, as soon as he returned home, he received a call from Mayor Thomas, telling him about the fishing competition.
"Naoki! The town plans to hold a fishing competition on the 20th of this month. You must come and participate! It will be at Lake Verity on the east side of town, starting at 8 AM. You can come with Allen, as he'll be participating too!"
Naoki: "..."
It seems he needs to brush up on his fishing skills a bit; otherwise, his title as the fishing king might be exposed.
Thinking this, Naoki replied, "Alright, I'll be there."
Mayor Thomas nodded with a chuckle, "Then good luck!"
At this moment, Naoki suddenly remembered something: "By the way, Mayor, do we need to prepare our own fishing rods and bait, or will they be provided?"
Mayor Thomas: "Oh right, I almost forgot to tell you, my memory is getting worse with age. You need to prepare those yourself, fishing rods and bait and all!"
"The competition is about who can catch the most fish within the given time, and the one with the highest number will win the champion title."
Prepare them myself?
Naoki nodded, "Okay, got it."
After hanging up, he calculated the time in his mind.
Today is May 7th, and the 20th is 13 days away. In these days, he needs to harvest the crops in the field and then plant the second batch.
Naoki stood by the desk, pondering while looking at the calendar.
He didn't notice at all that a few tiny figures had already crept up behind him, stealthily levitating on his shoulders.
Suddenly, Naoki felt something was off.
He quickly turned around and saw several Dratini and Dragonair with big white noses had appeared behind him without him noticing.
"Ah!"
The sudden scene startled Naoki, making him bump into the desk behind him.
On the other hand, the Dratini and Dragonair greeted him enthusiastically, seeming rather pleased: "Woo~"
"When did you all sneak over?! No, how did you even get here?!" Naoki was shocked.
Among the three Dratini, there was even a pink Shiny Dratini, and they were flying around Naoki.
The other two Dragonair, looking delighted, fixed their gaze on the Space Backpack placed on Naoki's bed.
Only then did Naoki notice that the zipper of his Space Backpack, which he had zipped up, had somehow been opened by someone and was lying quietly on the bed, with a few bottles of Berry Milk rolling out.
So these Pokemon sneaked into his Space Backpack when he wasn't paying attention and followed him to the ranch?
That's... quite bold! What if he was a bad person?
Naoki couldn't help but hold his forehead. His first reaction wasn't happiness but fright. With a serious expression, he said:
"Sneaking over here will make everyone on the island worried!"
Seeing him upset, the three Dratini and two Dragonair immediately lowered their heads, showing a pitiful appearance.
"Woo..."
Naoki: "..."
His heart softened, but he still asked, "Does anyone else know you came along?"
Dragonair shook its head. To avoid being scolded by Dragonite, they sneaked into the Space Backpack when all the Dragonite on the island were distracted.
"Forget it." Naoki sighed helplessly, then as he walked outside, he said, "Come with me. I need to figure out a way to inform the Dragonite on the island about your arrival."
The five Pokemon obediently followed him out to the grass.
Naoki's gaze swept around and finally spotted Dragonite near the riverbank, so he called Dragonite over.
When Dragonite saw the Dratini and Dragonair following Naoki, it widened its eyes and rushed over, clearly upset.
Upon learning from Naoki that these fellows had sneaked over, Dragonite started scolding them like an elder.
However, Dragonair wasn't afraid of Dragonite's scolding.
It secretly raised its eyes and softly said, "Woo..." (You used to run outside every day too, then one day you just never came back, and everyone thought you had been caught by bad people...)
Dragonite was momentarily taken aback. It thought carefully and realized its behavior wasn't exactly exemplary either.
Dragonair's words left Dragonite at a loss for what to say, and it could only scratch its head sheepishly, seeking help from Naoki.