Catching a mysterious and powerful Pokemon, teaching a weak little Caterpie to learn Electroweb...
Mr. Naoki must be a very skillful Trainer!
Carter looked over, visibly excited.
Naoki: "..."
He put on an awkward yet polite smile, "That was all the Caterpie's own effort, it's a very special Pokemon."
This wasn't wrong, apart from feeding Caterpie a few dishes, Naoki hadn't offered any other Helping Hand, it was all its own hard work.
To become a strong Pokemon, effort and luck are both indispensable.
However, Carter had a face full of "I understand, I understand" expression.
After all, these are Secret Moves that only Mr. Naoki has mastered.
Naoki didn't know what this kid was thinking, but from his expression and eyes, it seemed he had imagined some strange things.
Not wanting to continue this topic, he got up to prepare breakfast.
For today's breakfast, Naoki didn't choose to cook himself, instead, he took a lazy route by making a simple sandwich with smoked sausage and tomatoes purchased from Porto Marinada Market.
Nonetheless, Koraidon and Cyclizar still enjoyed it happily.
Carter and Delibird also seemed very grateful.
After breakfast, Carter got ready to leave the ranch, heading to the nearest town to replenish supplies, and then planned to return to Orange Academy.
With Delibird, he stood at the ranch's exit and waved goodbye to Naoki, "Goodbye, Mr. Naoki! Thank you so much for your hospitality! I will always remember you! Whenever I get a chance, I'll come visit you with Delibird!"
Naoki nodded slightly, "Go!"
Carter waved energetically, then turned and ran towards the direction of Porto Marinada Town.
Naoki stood in place watching his back, suddenly feeling a bit like the side characters Ash encounters in anime.
Sometimes providing help to passing Trainers, chatting with them about travels and Pokemon, after brief encounters they part ways, each continuing their journey in life.
Thinking of this, Naoki shook his head and smiled to himself.
Until Carter's figure could no longer be seen, he turned around and went to the utility room to start making a nest for Metapod.
He used a saw to cut the wood into planks, then took out some nails and nailed the planks into an open-topped wooden box.
Returning to the front cabin, Naoki laid fresh leaves inside, placed two Berries inside, then put Metapod in it, finally stringing the wooden box with rope and hanging it under the eaves where it wouldn't get rained on.
The open-topped box allowed Metapod to see the outside world, and also facilitated airflow.
After evolving from Caterpie to Metapod, Metapod no longer needed to grow through battles.
The entire Metapod stage is for getting ready for evolution, its hard shell protecting Metapod inside, while the body grows by constantly renewing cells.
Once it grows to a certain degree, Metapod will break out of its shell, transform into a butterfly, evolving into its final form, Butterfree.
Naoki looked forward to that day.
Thanks to the influence of Ash's Butterfree, Naoki also holds a bit of a childhood filter for this kind of Pokemon.
"Grow up quickly!"
Naoki reached out and touched Metapod's shell.
As if sensing his hopes, Metapod used Harden, its body shimmering with a translucent green glow, responding to Naoki's words.
It heard him.