After sending out the message, Naoki couldn't help but feel like an NPC assigning quests in a role-pying game. But sihe Pokémon who would live on the World Tree iure were closely tied to the hero's expedition team, it made seo let Bear Bear and Mew handle inviting them.

  After all, they were all good friends—living happily together, farming, and embarking on adventures as a unity. Just imagining that kind of life filled Naoki with warmth.

  By the time Naoki returo the ranch, it was already noon. He washed his hands and began preparing lunch for all the Pokémon.

  Today's menu lentiful as ever:

  Grilled steaks, Steamed sea bass, Pael, Fresh vegetable sads, Sandwiches, Nutritious PokéBlocks for energy, and delightful after-meal snacks

  The meal was nutritionally banced and catered to the preferences of every Pokémon on the ranch.

  "Bu-yii! Buu-Yii!"

  Naoki heard excited cries ing from the living room. When he looked over, he saw several Eevees chasing each other around the sofa, their tails wagging in pyful delight.

  In their frenzy, one Eevee actally stepped on Koraidon's tail. Koraidon, who had beeing with its eyes closed, opes golden eyes, startled.

  Yet, instead of bag off, the mischievous little Eevee began to dart around Koraidon pyfully.

  Koraido out a resigned sigh: "Raao…"

  "They're not scared of you anymore," Naoki chuckled as he carried the food into the dining room.

  When the Eevees first entered Koraidon, they were terrified. Over time, however, they realized it wasn't as fierce as it appeared and rarely lost its temper. Gradually, their fear turned into bold pyfulness.

  "Raao…" Koraido out anh, clearly giving in to its fate as the Eevees' favorite pymate.

  The moment Naoki ehe room, the Eevees quickly shifted their attention to him, crowding around and chirpiedly.

  "Buu-yi!"

  Naoki raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's going on?"

  Rotom Phone hovered over to trahe Eevees are asking, ' we evolve inter Eeveelutions now?' Rotom!"

  "Oh, you all want to evolve?" Naoki gnced around but didn't spot any of the evolved Eevees in the room. The Water-, Fire-, aric-type Eeveelutions, along with G and Umbreon, preferred spending time outdoors and were likely pying with Alcremie and the others in the pasture.

  The three unevolved Eevees nodded enthusiastically, chirping, "Eevee!"

  One of them even puffed up its chest, trying to show off its "strength."

  Naoki smiled wryly. Indeed, it had been about seven months sihe Eevees hatched, and they had grown signifitly.

  "All right. After lunch, I'll help you with your evolutions," Naoki agreed.

  The Eevees erupted into joyful cries, boung around iement.

  Meanwhile, one Eevee sat quietly nearby, seemingly ued in evolving. It was Naoki's partner Eevee, and it had chosen not to evolve, believing it could be just as strong in its current form.

  After all, Naoki often said that a partner Eevee had its own urength—it could unleash the incredible "Extreme Evoboost," a move that drew upon the power of all its potential evolutions!

  Once he calmed the excited Eevees, Naoki carried the remaining dishes into the dining room. He stood uhe eaves of the rand whistled loudly toward the pasture.

  In no time, a lively group of Pokémon came running back from every er of the ranch. They gathered at their food bowls, happily digging into the delieal Naoki had prepared.

  Later That Afternoon

  Far away in the Hoenn region, deep within a forest known as the Petalburg Woods, the se was one of serey.

  This dense forest was home to t trees and a diverse range of Pokémon. In its ter had oood an a, colossal tree. However, it had fallely due to its extreme age.

  A Pokémon called Treecko, whice built its around a giant tree, lost its home wheree fell.

  The three Pokémon from the Great Hero Expedition Team received this news from a wild Beautifly and rushed to the se to see if they could help the Treecko.

  Upon arrival, Mew and Teddiursa saw the colossal, withered tree lying on the ground, lifeless.

  "Mew..."

  "Teddi?"

  Looking at the fallehe Pokémo a pang of sorrow. Mew couldn't help but think of the World Tree back at Naoki's ranch.

  Would the World Tree someday meet the same fate? Would they, like the Treecko, lose their home too?

  Mew didn't know. Teddiursa didn't know. Even Zapdos didn't have an answer.

  After some hesitation, the three Pokémon decided to taaoki for advice.

  When the video call ected, Naoki's face appeared on Rotom's phone s.

  Mew and Teddiursa pressed their little faces together, looking at him early.

  "Mew!" (Naoki, will the World Tree wither iure?)

  Rotom traheir question, and Naoki's expression turo one of surprise.

  "Of course not!" Naoki assured them. "As long as this world doesn't perish, the World Tree will never wither. Did something happen?"

  Mew and Teddiursa nodded and stepped aside to show Naoki the fallen tree in the forest.

  Naoki immediately uood the situation.

  "I see. Don't worry, that kind of thing won't happen to the World Tree," he reassured them.

  Hearing this, Teddiursa and Mew let out sighs of relief.

  Naoki was about to say more wheiced movement behind the two Pokémon. Several figures darted through the bushes, and with a sharp whistle of air, several razor-sharp leaves flew past Zapdos's legs.

  "There's danger!" Naoki warned quickly.

  The three Pokémon immediately sprang into a and began sing the surroundings.

  Naoki soon spotted several green figures perched on nearby branches.

  Treecko—wild Treecko, native to the Hoenn region!

  Mew, Teddiursa, and Zapdos quickly noticed them too.

  Teddiursa stepped forward to iate. "Teddi! teddi!" (We're a traveling expedition team! We mean no harm!)

  Despite Teddiursa's expnation, the Treecko tio watch them warily from the trees.

  Naoki quickly pieced together the situation.

  "This is their territory," he expined. "To them, you're intruders. Pokémon like Treecko are known to fiercely defend their homes and intimidate anyone who gets too close. They're guardians of the forest."

  Judging by the earlier Flying Leaf attack, it seemed more like a warning shot than a full assault. If the Treecko had inteo attack, they wouldn't have missed.

  Mew floated closer and spoke gently, "Mew!" (We heard from other Pokémon that the giant tree here fell, so we came to see if we could help!)

  Zapdos, however, spread its wings, causing a loud crag sound as electricity coursed through its feathers.

  This startled the Treecko, who tensed up defensively.

  Suddenly, a deeper voice called out from the forest.

  The Treecko paused and turoward the sound.

  An older Sceptile emerged from the foliage, its movements deliberate and calm. The youreecko quickly leapt down to stand by its side.

  The Sceptile looked at Mew and Bear Cub. "Scep?" (You say you're here to help us?)

  Mew and Teddiursa nodded vigorously.

  "Teddi! Teddi!" (That's right! We're the Great Hero Expedition Team, traveling the world to help Pokémon in need!)

  The Sceptile gnced back at the fallen tree. "Scep..." (But this tree is already dead. It was too old to survive.)

  Hearing this, Mew and Teddiursa looked distressed.

  Mew floated closer to the massive tree and attempted to el its power to revive it. However, its efforts failed.

  This left the Pokémon feeling helpless, unsure of what they could do .

  Unwilling to give up, Teddiursa decred resolutely, "Teddi! Teddi!" (There must be a way!)

  "Excuse me." Naoki's calm voice came through Rotom's phone s.

  All the Pokémon turoward the sound, and the Treecko finally noticed the human figure ihe strange device.

  Naoki addressed the group, "Teddiursa, Mew, see if you find seeds from the fallen tree nearby. If you , Calyrex help revive it."

  Hearing this, Mew and Teddiursa's eyes lit up with excitement.

  The two Pokémon quickly flew to the fallen tree, carefully rummaging through branches and debris to find any intact seeds.

  Soon, Teddiursa let out a triumphant cry, holding up a tree seed it had found.

  "Well done!" Naoki enced. ", dig a hole in the open spad bury the seed there."

  "Teddi!"

  Teddiursa nodded and began digging with its small paws, w diligently uhe watchful gaze of the Treecko.

  Before long, it had dug a hole about teimeters deep. Teddiursa carefully pced the seed inside aly covered it with soil.

  Back at the ranaoki turo Calyrex.

  " you help them?" he asked.

  Calyrex nodded, its calm demeanor refleg its immense power. O had accelerated the growth of crops on Naoki's ranch, and with its current strength, this task was child's py.

  Calyrex closed its eyes, fog on the seed's location far away. Its power surged, activating the buried seed.

  Suddenly, a miraculous transformation began.

  The once-buried seed sprouted rapidly, breaking through the soil as a tender green sapling. The Treecko, watg closely, gasped in shock.

  Before they could fully process what was happening, the sapling grew again, its trunk thiing and branches spreading.

  In a matter of moments, the oy spaow held a magnifit, t tree, its opy stretg high above the forest.

  The Treecko stood frozen, their wide eyes refleg awe.

  Mew and Teddiursa cheered joyfully beh the tree.

  "Teddi!" (Now everything's okay again!)

  "Mew~" (Now the Treecko have a home again!)

  Naoki, the se through Rotom's phone, couldn't help but chuckle at the wide-eyed expressions of the Treecko.

  He thought back to areecko—Ash's starter Pokémon from the Hoenn region. That Treecko had evolved into a Sceptile, earning an impressive record in battle. It had eveed Darkrai during the Sinnoh League, a feat few Pokémon could achieve.

  Although it eventually lost to Latios, Sceptile's performance was nothing short of legendary.

  Refleg on these memories, Naoki sidered how fulfilling the Hero Expedition Team's daily life must be, traveling the world and helping Pokémon in need.

  He was about to tig when a knock at his door interrupted him.

  Trusting that Teddiursa, Mew, and Zapdos were fine, Naoki ehe call ao ahe door.

  Standing outside was Mayor Thomas.

  "Good afternoon, Naoki!" Thomas greeted warmly.

  "Good afternoon, Mayor Thomas!" Naoki returhe greeting. "What brings you here today?"

  The mayor nodded with a thoughtful expression. "The Spring Fishing test is happening the day after tomorrow. Are you pnning to participate this year?"

  Spring Fishing test…

  Hearing those words, Naoki's mind wao thoughts of the Pael he had enjoyed retly.

  One of the bes of the dish, Pael, was that it increased the eater's ce of catg rare fish.

  "Alright!" Naoki thought. Since he didn't have anything pressing to do, he might as well join the petition and have some fun.

  Mayor Thomas smiled with satisfa. "That's wonderful! The fishihusiasts in town have been wanting to challenge you. You haven't participated in the past two petitions, so this time they specifically came to me to see if you'd join."

  Naoki: "…"

  It suddenly all made seo him. When he first started the ranaoki caught a rge batch of fish with the help of Koraidon. The townsfolk assumed all those fish were caught by him. To the people of Kosaji Town, Naoki was a fishing legend with unparalleled skill—a veritable fishing master.

  His supposed prowess had bee a local legend.

  Naoki sighed inwardly at the misuanding.

  Mayor Thomas was beaming. "The petition will be held at Casseroya Lake, starting at 8 a.m. the day after tomorrow. Show them your incredible fishing skills!"

  Naoki: "…"

  It seemed that he would have to prepare Pael again.

  Meanwhile, in the Forest of the Hoenn region…

  To express their gratitude to the Hero Expedition Team, the Treecko held a feast uhe newly grown giant tree. They gathered fresh berries from the forest and arrahem ly in a celebratory ba.

  Sceptile approached Teddiursa and ha a rge, ripe berry.

  "Scep!" (You're incredible! You gave this giant, withered tree a new life!)

  Teddiursa accepted the berry happily and shook its head. "Teddi!" (That's all thanks to Naoki and Calyrex!)

  'Naoki? Calyrex?'

  Sceptile looked curious. Was Naoki the human it saw on the device?

  Teddiursa nodded enthusiastically. "Teddi! Teddi!" (Naoki is Naoki—the best human in the world! Calyrex is an amazing Pokémon who lives with everyo the ranch!)

  Mew floated over, joining the versation. "Mew~" (That's right! The ranch is wonderful!)

  Sceptile tilted its head. "Scep?" (Ranch?)

  Teddiursa's eyes lit up as it expined. "Teddi! Teddi!" (Yes! That's our home! There's an enormous tree there called the World Tree, and Naoki is building all sorts of fun things around it!)

  As it talked about the World Tree, Teddiursa suddenly remembered the ission Naoki had given the Hero Expedition Team.

  Looking at the group of Treecko, Teddiursa's excitement grew. These Pokémon were Grass-types, weren't they?

  With a bright expression, Teddiursa issued an invitation.

  "Teddi! Teddi!" (The World Tree is massive! Naoki is pnning to build an expedition guild, a Pokémon tavern, a farm, and even a restaurant there. Would you like to e and live with us? It would be so much fun if everyone lived together!)

  ...

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