The next morning, Naoki opened his eyes and heard the pattering sound of rain outside.
Looking out through the window, the world outside appeared gray and the sky was overcast.
It's raining.
The spring rain softly draped over the newly planted crops.
"At least it saves me the trouble of watering them," Naoki thought.
On rainy days, Naoki didn't want to get his feet muddy, so he decided not to go out for activities like fishing or gathering mountain produce.
Instead, he stayed at home rearranging his old house, moving furniture around to suit his preferences.
He moved the desk under the window, so that in the future, when reading, he would have a broader view and wouldn't feel as constrained as before.
The bed's position remained unchanged, as the corner wall gave him a sense of security.
As for the cabinet...
Naoki circled it once, finally deciding to move it to the other side, using it as a divider between the resting area and the kitchen.
However, as Naoki directed Koraidon to move the cabinet, he was surprised to discover a dusty fireplace behind it.
The inside of the fireplace was pitch black, with some scorch marks still remaining.
Naoki leaned in to take a closer look and found that the fireplace seemed to be in working condition.
Since he had nothing else to do, he began cleaning out the old soot and ashes from the fireplace.
Soon, the fireplace was cleaned thoroughly, and looking at it, Naoki couldn't help but think, "This is quite a pleasant surprise!"
This way, when winter comes, he could light up the fireplace to heat up the house, without worrying about shivering in the cold.
As someone living in the modern world as a salaried worker, it was his first time encountering something like a fireplace.
Speaking of fireplaces, Naoki remembered the fairy tales he read as a child in storybooks.
Like the warm scene of Mama Bear knitting sweaters for Baby Bear in front of a fireplace, with Baby Bear playing with a ball of yarn nearby.
Honestly, such a life is quite enviable.
Of course, it would be even better with a few more Pokémon.
Like the adorable Eevee, the warm Vulpix, the cute Pikachu, and the lovely Skitty.
"This is true living!"
Naoki couldn't help but remark.
If he hadn't crossed over, he might be rushing to catch the subway to work in the heavy rain by now.
However, what's past is past, and moreover, there's nothing to miss there.
Seizing the present is most important.
Naoki shook his head. It was a bit stuffy inside, so he opened the door to let the breeze in.
Sitting at the desk with the cool wind blowing, Naoki began to flip through the "Pasture Encyclopedia," checking information about spring crops.
Including how to fertilize, growth cycles, and potential harvest times, etc.
Cyclizar and Koraidon didn't disturb his reading, quietly lying by the door listening to the rain.
And at that moment, Koraidon seemed to sense something unusual.
It suddenly straightened up, taking a couple of steps forward.
"Kaa-seeh?"
Hearing the sound, Naoki turned his head and saw Koraidon peeking its head out the door, looking to the side.
"What's the matter?"
"Kaa-seeh."
Koraidon tilted its head, looking at that familiar Caterpie.
Seeing its actions, Naoki also got up to take a look.
Looking at the Caterpie curled up under the eaves, drenched by the rain, Naoki showed a surprised expression.
"Caterpie?"
As if hearing his voice, the Caterpie weakly opened its eyes, looking over.
"Si-ooo..."
Witnessing this, a bold idea immediately emerged in Naoki's mind.
Could this Caterpie be the one he used to test the effects of the rice dumplings yesterday?
Why did it follow him here?
Surprised, Naoki observed the state of this Caterpie and noticed it seemed very weak, so he brought it inside, helping it dry off and wrapping it in an old blanket.
"Si-ooo..."
Seeing the human's actions, the Caterpie's eyes were full of gratitude.
It had followed since yesterday.
But due to its slow speed and encountering some Pokémon attacks on the way, it didn't arrive until after dark.
The strength of those Pokémon was formidable, and previously, Caterpie could only flee from them. But after devouring that magical fruit, it had gained the ability to fight.
Even if it couldn't defeat them, its resilient Bug Silk could entrap them.
Realizing its newfound power made the Caterpie even more grateful to the human who helped it.
It wanted to become stronger, so other Pokémon wouldn't dare look down on it, and that's why it came.
However, it worried that it might disturb the other party, so it stayed outside the door.
Naoki brought a plate of warming hot juice and placed it in front of the Caterpie.
Watching it sip the juice, Naoki pondered whether the Caterpie got overexcited and wanted to follow him like Ash's Heracross in the anime.
After thinking for a while, Naoki tentatively asked, "Do you want to choose me to be your Trainer?"
The Caterpie stopped drinking, feeling its body warming up, and nodded repeatedly: "Si-ooo!"
"But I'm not a Trainer!" Naoki shrugged, "As you can see, I'm just an ordinary rancher and don't know how to train Pokémon."
Regarding Pokémon training, he only had plenty of theoretical knowledge from watching anime, and no practical experience.
"Si-ooo..."
The Caterpie looked a bit disappointed.
Naoki scratched his head, realizing that in the Pokémon World, even a bug is so smart.
To become stronger, this Caterpie proactively followed him and learned from the legendary Yang Shi Cheng Men Lixue...
If he didn't show some gratitude, it would be unreasonable.
Naoki pondered deeply.
Caterpie was a rather weak Pokémon, but its evolved form, Butterfree, was quite good, capable of spreading pollen across the crops on the ranch, aiding their growth.
Thinking of this, Naoki added, "I'm not a Trainer, so I can't train you like a Trainer would, but I might be able to find other ways to help you become stronger. Even so, do you still want to follow me?"
With so many kinds of cuisine, who knows, one day he might create a dish that enhances the abilities of Butterfree or Caterpie.
Though the probability wasn't one hundred percent, so Naoki used the term "might."
If the Caterpie was willing, he would let it stay on the ranch to help with the work.
The Caterpie understood the meaning of these words, looked down at the blanket wrapped around it, and then at the juice in front of it, which warmed its body.
This human is so kind!
Not only did he rescue it in the wild, but he also gave it the fruit that made it stronger, and now provided it a blanket and food.
At that moment, Caterpie no longer chose this human solely to become stronger.
——It liked this human.
Thinking of this, the Caterpie nodded.
"Si-ooo~"
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