Porto Marinada Town is located in the northwest of the Paldea Region, it's a bustling seaside town.
From the memory of the original owner, it is known that this town has a variety of local festivals.
Such as the Spring Festival, the Water Pokemon Rally, the Summer-exclusive Fireworks Display, and so on.
These unique festivals attract many outsiders to travel here, and coupled with the development of animal husbandry around the town, over time, Porto Marinada Town has grown.
The place in town known as "Porto Marinada Market" is also widely renowned.
Naoki walks through the streets with Cyclizar, and pedestrians are accompanied by various Pokemon, strolling leisurely against the sea breeze, creating a pleasant and comfortable atmosphere in the air.
Aside from buying food, Naoki has another very important task to do this trip.
That is to visit the town's carpentry shop, grocery store, seed shop, and shops selling ranch Pokemon and ordinary animals.
"It's almost six o'clock now," Naoki was worried that those shops might close soon, he thought for a moment and said to Cyclizar next to him, "Are you hungry?"
"Gah-oh!"
Cyclizar nodded, then shook its head, smart enough to see that Naoki had things to do, thus expressing that it could wait a little longer.
Seeing its look, Naoki smiled appreciatively and patted its head, saying, "Good child, then let's head to the grocery store first."
"Gah-oh~"
The town isn't large, maybe to prevent visiting tourists from getting lost, whether it's at the street corner or on the roadside billboards, the location of various shops is clearly marked on the maps.
Finding the grocery store from above, Naoki headed directly there.
After crossing a crossroads, a red brick building appeared before Naoki.
It's evening, and there weren't many people in the shop, just a bald uncle with glasses sitting behind the counter, teasing a Fidough.
Hearing the wind chime at the door, the uncle lifted his head, "Ah? A customer! Welcome!"
Naoki politely greeted him and then asked, "Do you have seasonings here?"
Uncle: "Yep! On the shelf at the very back!"
Naoki went there, and indeed saw all kinds of seasonings on the shelf.
Oil, salt, vinegar, soy sauce, flour, spices, red bean paste, butter, sugar, pepper...
The price was clearly marked below the shelves.
For example, a bag of flour costs 200 League Coins, a bottle of oil 100 League Coins, while red bean paste is 150 League Coins, and so on.
Looking at these, Naoki was a bit puzzled by the prices in the Pokemon World.
A small bag of flour costing the same as a Poke Ball; in this sense, the price for a Poke Ball doesn't seem very expensive.
After pondering for a while, Naoki decided to purchase a portion of each seasoning.
When he brought the items to the counter, the shopkeeper showed a surprised expression, fetching a packaging bag and asked, "Just moved to Porto Marinada Town?"
"Yes." Naoki nodded.
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Then enjoy your life in Porto Marinada Town! Alright, it's a total of two thousand eight hundred and twenty League Coins."
Naoki didn't rush to pay but asked, "Do you have fishing rods here?"
"Fishing rods? We do!"
Saying that, the shopkeeper turned around and took several fishing rods from the shelf behind him, placing them on the counter and introducing each:
"Each fishing rod is priced differently, this one's 2000 League Coins, combined with bait, you can fish for Pokemon and fish wherever there's water."
"This rod is priced at 5000 League Coins, well, it uses more advanced materials, so in terms of performance, it's better than the 2000 one, and less likely to break."
"As for this one over here, it's priced at 15000 League Coins, this is the latest powerful rod, using top materials both in terms of material and performance."
Naoki: "..."
His gaze lingered over the three rods, and eventually, he chose the basic 2000 rod to use as a transition.
"It's four thousand eight hundred and twenty League Coins in total, considering you're our first-time customer here, I'll offer you a box of bait for free. Please visit more often in the future!" The shopkeeper said with a smile, handing over a tin can.
"Thank you, shopkeeper."
Naoki took the items and turned to leave the shop.
His next stop was the carpentry shop, located at the edge of the town, with a forest behind it.
There was a woodblock at the shop's entrance, with a saw stuck in it.
Just as Naoki was about to knock on the door, it opened automatically.
A woman with a strong physique, wearing a pink high ponytail and a headband, came out from the house.
After expressing his intent to her, the woman led him into the workroom at the back.
"You're the new rancher who just moved in?" The woman asked with some curiosity.
Naoki was slightly stunned, then realized that it was probably Mayor Thomas who had already briefed her.
He nodded and said, "My name is Naoki."
Woman: "You can just call me Keri."
"Alright, Miss Keri."
Keri introduced the process of expanding ranch houses as she walked: "You haven't named that ranch yet, right?"
Naoki shook his head, "Not yet, I only arrived here yesterday."
"No rush, I was just asking casually, well, Mayor Thomas has told me all about your situation, this time you've come to explore the repairs of Pokemon House and residential expansions, right?"
"Correct."
"Then I'll explain one by one. Repairing the Pokemon House costs 50000 League Coins and 300 pieces of timber, once repaired you can raise Miltank and Wooloo there, although this price is somewhat steep for you now."
"Therefore, I recommend starting by building a Chicken House first, where you can raise ordinary chickens, and selling their eggs can also earn money, a Chicken House only requires 20000 League Coins and 150 pieces of wood."
"Besides that, building a silo specifically for storing feed on the ranch is necessary, and it's free with your first build."
Upon hearing this, Naoki thoughtfully nodded, while memorizing these prices.
"What about expanding the house?"
"That's much simpler," Keri said. "Building a fully functional home costs about two million. We'll help you expand the second floor, add a separate kitchen and bathroom, and renovate the basement, which is usually used by ranchers for brewing."
"Besides these, our shop also offers custom furniture services. Besides basic tables, chairs, and stools, you can also purchase wallpapers, carpets, refrigerators, storage cabinets, various lighting fixtures, and more."
Five minutes later, Naoki walked out of the woodworking shop.
He calculated the money left on hand in his mind and suddenly felt like he had a lot to do.
"Why do I feel busier than the hectic 996 schedule..."
Naoki sighed, imagining the day when the ranch would be restored to its former glory. His face showed an expectant expression — by then, he could relax and enjoy the leisurely life of a rancher.
Since the Pokemon House couldn't be built now, there was no need for him to visit the shop selling ranch animals at the moment.
Riding Cyclizar, Naoki headed to his last destination — the seed store.
The owner of the seed store was a middle-aged man with brown hair, slightly obese, wearing a brown coat.
When Naoki arrived, he was having dinner with his wife and daughter.
Seeing a customer come in, the owner immediately stood up: "Welcome! What seeds would you like to buy?"
Naoki wasn't sure. He only had a pack of Turnip Seeds given by the Mayor at home.
Led by the owner, he saw a large array of different seeds on the shelves.
Potatoes, turnips, garlic, strawberries, cabbages, cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes, pasture, and even some Berry seeds like Pecha Berry and Oran Berry.
The variety made Naoki's head spin. The owner of the seed store explained: "These are all suitable for planting in the spring. They are well-cultivated and easy to grow, as long as you water and fertilize them on time, they'll grow big and nicely."
Naoki nodded silently.
The seeds in this world were different from those in Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley he played.
Here, a pack contains many seeds, enough to plant a large piece of land, unlike in the games where a pack could only plant a single square.
After a moment of thought, Naoki decided to buy a pack of each type of seed, including a few fruit tree seeds.
The prices of these seeds varied, starting at 60 League Coins for a basic pack of turnips, while strawberries and cucumbers were priced at 120 and 150 per pack.
All the seeds together cost a total of 1,370 League Coins.
With this, the money from selling Black Truffles would leave only 27,000.
Packing the seeds, Naoki left the shop with Cyclizar.
The sky outside had already darkened.
Naoki looked at the stars in the sky, took a deep breath, and said, "Alright, time for dinner!"
"Gah-ow..." Cyclizar seemed a bit pitiful.
Naoki smiled, patted its head, then led it into a restaurant.
After a long day, he planned to eat out tonight.
The waiter handed over the menu, which besides human food, also offered dishes specially prepared for Pokemon.
Cyclizar, being a Pokemon... would probably prefer meat?
With that in mind, Naoki ordered a meat dish for Cyclizar, along with a Berry combo to reward today's great contributor.
Soon, the food was served.
Seeing Cyclizar devour its meal with gusto, Naoki felt a delight deep within his heart.
Pokemon truly are simple and adorable creatures~
Lowering his head to his own aromatic serving of vegetable stew and corn soup, their information surfaced in his mind.
As expected, these dishes didn't have special abilities to boost Pokemon.
Naoki confirmed, "It seems only the dishes I prepare have that kind of power."
After dinner, Naoki went to the food store to buy ingredients for the next few days.
Without a refrigerator at home, he only purchased enough for three days.
Since it wasn't very hot this season, food kept in the house wouldn't spoil easily.
Carrying bags of supplies, Naoki rode Cyclizar, and in the night, they began the journey home.
At night, the air was a bit cooler, and the wind felt chilly on the skin.
Cyclizar was sensitive to the cold, but with Naoki riding on its back, it felt warm, dispelling the chill.
At that moment, Cyclizar suddenly craved another bowl of the hot soup noodles Naoki made.
Cyclizar was quick, taking less than thirty minutes to return to the ranch.
The farm was dark, as foreseen, so before leaving, Naoki brought a flashlight.
He fumbled in the dark for the flashlight but hadn't found it when suddenly, there was a loud "bang."
The sound was massive, accompanied by the noise of trees snapping.
It was as if something had fallen from the sky, crashing into the farm and toppling some trees.
Startled, Naoki finally grasped the flashlight and quickly turned it on, illuminating the path ahead.
Soon, he spotted a dark silhouette in his field.
Naoki was taken aback, and the Cyclizar beside him also stood up from its riding mode, gazing warily in that direction.
It sensed an unusual aura.
The flashlight beam shone on the dark figure, which lay motionless on the ground as if unconscious.
With the help of the light, Naoki finally discerned the true form of the shadow.
Crimson body, sturdy tail, extravagant dragon whiskers, and that chest resembling a motorcycle tire...
That was…
Naoki was stunned in place.