At eleven o'clock that evening, Naoki and Koraidouro the ranch after a long day's work. Even though it was te, the ranch was still brightly lit.

  Siurning from Casseroya Lake, Naoki had been w on the ranch's stoh. Without professional equipment, he couldn't grind the stones into sbs, so he resorted to using wooden boards to create a pathway through the pasture.

  They had been busy w te into the night. To provide light, Naoki made torches from wooden sticks and oil-soaked cloth, pg them along the sides of the path. Once darkness fell, lighting a torch illuminated a rge area, bringing a bit of life to the rander the firelight.

  It was te, and Cyclizar, who had been waiting for Naoki's return, had already fallen asleep uhe eaves. Naoki didn't wake it, but instead worked with Koraidon to pour the fish from their into the ranch's small ke.

  Without a vehicle, their fishihod was quite cumbersome. Naoki would scatter bait on the ke, attrag fish to gather. Then, he and Koraidon would each take a and fish in separate areas. Whes were full, they would airlift them back to the ranch.

  Finally, they would pour the fish into the ke and wait for Zack to collect them the following evening. As long as Koraidon flew quickly enough, they could transport the fish back before they suffocated. Of course, some fish didn't make it, and Naoki would often cook them into dishes to reward Koraidon.

  For veniehey had pced ara-rge fishi the bottom of the ke beforehand. This way, when Zack came to collect the fish, he could simply gather the 's four ers and haul up all the fish at once.

  It's worth mentioning that to make fish colle easier, Naoki had returhe few Magikarp he had casually tossed into the river back to their inal habitat.

  "Thanks for your hard work!" Naoki wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve and said to Koraidon with a smile.

  Koraidon also wiped its face with its rge paws, "Koraidon~"

  Naoki looked around and, seeing that it was getting te, said, "Let's call it a day!"

  They returo the , and Naoki woke Cyclizar, letting it go io sleep. Meanwhile, he went to the kit to prepare a te-night snack.

  The hey made woke up Smoliv and Alcremie, who opeheir eyes and looked over. So, Naoki made two extra servings.

  After their enjoyable midnight snack, Smoliv and Alcremie went back to sleep. Koraidon, exhausted from the long day, no longer had the energy to pete with Cyclizar. It returo its spot, yawned, and fell asleep with its paws as a pillow.

  Cyclizar stood o Naoki, chirping softly. Naoki removed his dirty work clothes, revealing a thin white t-shirt underh.

  "It'll get easier soon," he reassured Cyclizar, stroking its head. "Nothing out of the ordinary happened on the ranch today, right?"

  Cyclizar, having diligently guarded the house, shook its head and chirped, "Cyclizar!"

  "Good job," Naoki smiled. "You've earned a treat."

  "Cyclizar."

  Naoki patted its shoulder again. "Alright, it's getting te. Go to bed. I'll join you after I finish the ating."

  Cyclizar obediently went to rest.

  Naoki pulled out his ledger and recorded the day's ihe ranch's main source of reveely had been the fish they caught in Casseroya Lake and the Paldean Sea. Naoki hadn't sold the eggs from the hens; instead, he used them to make various egg dishes to reward the Pokémon.

  After dedug the cost of bait and fishis, they had earned a total of 43,320 Pokédolrs in the past five days. By selling the fish in the ke tomorrow, bined with their remaining money, his savings would exceed 50,000 Pokédolrs.

  Despite the exhaustion of the past few days, Naoki felt a surge of motivation as he looked at the drawer full of mohe hard work had made him stronger, his muscles more defined, and his skin more tanned. He was starting to look like a real rancher.

  "This is great. I finally take a good rest!" Naoki stretched zily, leaning ba his chair and pting his pns for the day.

  With the money he had earned, he po go to town and find someoo build the salt shelter. Although he didn't know if the Nacli would agree to e to the ranch, it wouldn't hurt to prepare in advance. Additionally, he o buy more Poké Balls so he could return to Casseroya Lake while the shelter was being built and try to capture the Mareep, Skiddo, and Tropius.

  By the time those tasks were pleted, some of the first batch of crops he had pnted would be ready for harvest.

  After the harvest, the nd would o be plowed again and the batch of seeds pnted.

  As these thoughts ran through his mind, Naoki g the old-fashioned clo the wall and realized it was nearly one in the m.

  Naoki sighed. "Time for bed."

  .....

  The m, Naoki headed to the friendly shop in town and bought ten more Poké Balls. Although they cost him 2,000 Pokédolrs, Naoki believed that the Pokémon he caught with them would gee far more value than that.

  Leaving the shop, he made his way to Kora's wo shop, located in a forest on the edge of town. Kora, dressed in blue overalls, was chopping wood with an axe.

  Seeing Naoki approach, Kora raised an eyebrow. "I heard from Zack about what you've been up to tely. He said you and Koraidon have been catg a lot of fish and making a good profit. You're w hard!"

  Naoki smiled. "After all, there are so many Pokémon waiting for me to raise on the ranch. I have to work hard!"

  Kora looked the young man up and down. pared to their first meeting, he was visibly stronger, his skin more tanned, and he looked healthier overall.

  "Not bad," Kora plimented. "You're being more and more like a real rancher! Have you met any of the other ranchers around here?"

  Naoki shook his head. "I haven't had time to visit them yet. What are they like?"

  Kora chuckled. "Each of them is a strong individual. Years of farm work have made them quite robust. I have a feeling you'll be like them one day."

  Naoki shrugged nontly. He had never been too ed about his appearance.

  After a brief chat, Kot down to business. "So, what do you wao build this time?"

  "A salt shelter," Naoki replied.

  After careful sideration, he had determihat raising Nacli and colleg rock salt for sale was one of the most profitable ways to make money. So, he prioritized the stru of the salt shelter.