"Amazing!" Leon deeply admired this great Pokemon.
He carefully put away the wooden carving and planned to buy a few more when he left, to give them to Hop, Sonia, Chairman Rose, and his mentor's family.
Consider it a special souvenir from the Paldea Region!
The two of them started talking again about the various trials at the ranch.
Leon seemed quite interested in these trials.
So, Naoki explained the various trials at the ranch to him in detail.
"As of now, this ranch has four trials in total: Gogoat's Grass Trial, Dragonite's Storm Trial, Pawmot's Thunder Trial, and Alcremie's Metronome Trial."
"Metronome Trial?" The first two were understandable, but the third one sounded a bit strange.
Naoki nodded, "Yes, the Metronome Trial. This trial is limited to Pokemon that can use Metronome, and they can only use the move Metronome."
"Compared to the other trials, this one is a test of luck, and you can earn rewards by passing it."
"A test of luck, huh? Sounds interesting! Too bad I don't have a Pokemon that can use Metronome with me." Leon felt a bit regretful.
The ranch was full of intriguing things, and he wanted to try almost everything.
Luckily, his Pokemon had all regained their energy.
Thinking about this, Leon was eager to challenge the Storm Trial and Thunder Trial.
But just then, a beeping sound suddenly came from his pocket.
Naoki's attention was drawn to it, and then he saw Leon take out a fiery red, pager-like device from his pocket.
Leon pressed a button, and a young voice came out:
"Big brother! Where have you gone? The Galar League is looking everywhere for you! They even came to the house!"
Leon felt a bit embarrassed, he cleared his throat and said, "I'll be back soon, and I'll contact Chairman Rose later, oh yes Hop, I brought you an awesome gift this time!"
"What kind of gift? Big brother is the best!" The young voice replied with obvious excitement.
Leon grinned, "It's a secret!"
"Huh?" The other side sounded disappointed.
"Alright, you'll know when I get back, that's it for now, I'm hanging up!"
After saying this, Leon hung up the phone.
"Your brother?" Naoki asked in surprise.
Leon nodded, "Yeah! That boy is quite reckless, I bet he's stressing out during my time away from Galar."
Of course, it's Hop! Naoki thought.
"Alright, I need to head back, I've spent too much time away, there's still a lot to do in Galar!"
Leon stood up, glanced at Koraidon and Calyrex not far away, feeling a bit of regret, and then turned to Naoki.
"It's settled then, next time I come over, show me everything you've got for a battle, I've been looking forward to it!"
Naoki: "..."
Just wait! He'll soon have Naclstack teach Gogoat how to perform Rock Slide, to help Gogoat regain confidence from Charizard.
Leon left, and before departing, bought a few bottles of goat milk from him, saying he would take them back to the Galar Region as a treasure.
Watching Leon's silhouette ride away on Charizard, Naoki silently wished in his heart for him not to get lost again, and to return to the Galar Region smoothly.
Unknowingly, it was already noon.
Naoki was preparing to head back to make lunch for everyone when he heard the sound of the video phone as soon as he entered the door.
Naoki went up to answer.
Geeta's face appeared on the screen.
"Leon has already arrived at the ranch, right?"
Naoki: "He's already left, said the Galar side is looking for him."
Geeta smiled slightly, her tone curious, "So, did he battle with you? Who won?"
"Leon won." Naoki said helplessly, "He challenged the Grass Trial at the ranch, and finally defeated my two Gogoats with Charizard, which counters them."
Geeta also had a Gogoat and deeply understood how this Pokemon feared Fire+Flying Pokemon like Charizard.
"But you've done very well; managing to defeat two of the Galar Champion's Pokemon." Geeta offered a smile of praise, "You truly have the talent I've recognized!"
Naoki: "..."
Listening to Geeta's tone, it felt as if he had already become a Paldea League employee?
Geeta began thinking about Naoki Ranch's Grass Trial.
She had tried it before, and it indeed helped challengers hone their skills and grow.
Perhaps she should send the Gym Leaders from the Paldea Region over for special training?
As she pondered, Geeta found this method feasible, and she proposed the idea to Naoki.
Finally, she asked him, "What do you think?"
Naoki: "... Those Gym Leaders are probably quite busy, right? I saw Larry juggling several tasks at once, and he's exhausted."
"They're indeed very busy usually." Geeta coughed lightly and said, "But every year, Gym Leaders can take a vacation and don't have to stay at the gym waiting for challengers."
Naoki: "..."
Heartless Paldea League! Even squeezing the vacation time from Gym Leaders!
"I can't give a suggestion on this matter," Naoki said.
In his heart, he was actually quite eager to meet the Gym Leaders from the Paldea Region.
Mainly because the students from Paldea Academy had varying levels of strength, including many novice trainers, who sometimes couldn't help Pawmot and Dragonite gain experience.
And if Gym Leaders came by...
Just great for using them as Gym Leader Level opponents to harvest experience, to train Pawmot and Dragonite in battle techniques, helping them grow stronger.
Thinking of this, Naoki continued, "However, I always welcome challengers here."
Upon hearing this, Geeta smiled, "So it's settled then? Yes, just consider it a special task assigned to them."
The two of them reached some kind of agreement, and Geeta happily hung up.
Perhaps the Paldea League could use this opportunity to elevate the strength of the Gym Leaders overall!
Then let trainers traveling from other regions feel that the Paldea Region has the most talent and strength!
As for Naoki and his ranch... Let's just treat it as the hidden boss of the Paldea Region!
Geeta would be happily inviting trainers from other regions to go there to challenge.
Naoki didn't know what Geeta was thinking, but he could vaguely guess some of it.
But he was just a small rural farmer and couldn't change the chief champion's ideas.
After hanging up, Naoki planned to check on the Gogoats, have a chat with them, and give them encouragement.
He stepped out of the house, and as he walked onto the grass outside, he suddenly felt a shadow looming over him.
Accompanied by a gradually nearing "Zap" call, Naoki had just looked up when a strong gust of wind blew before his eyes.
Soon after, a sharp-eyed, proud-looking bird-type Pokemon with sharp feathers all over its body landed in front of him.
That's... Zapdos?!
Naoki widened his eyes in disbelief.
Teddiursa and Mew were riding on the back of this Zapdos.
As soon as it landed, both Mew and Teddiursa jumped down.
Teddiursa leaped up, throwing itself into Naoki's arms.
This must be the Zapdos that the Heroic Expedition Team befriended at the power plant, Naoki thought.
His eyes moved from Zapdos to Teddiursa and Mew, surprised, "How did you return so quickly?"
"Zap Zap!"
After a brief hug, Teddiursa jumped down from Naoki.
Alongside Mew, Teddiursa came to Zapdos's side, joyfully introducing to Naoki:
"miu～"
"Zap Zap!" (We invited our good friend to come live at the ranch with us!)