Naoki was overjoyed as he looked at the newly evolved Eevees.

  "All that's left now is to get a Z-Ring and Eevee's exclusive Z-Crystal. Once we have that, the Eevee army will be plete," he thought excitedly.

  The exclusive Z-Move, Extreme Evoboost, els the bined power of all Eevee evolutions, allowing partner Eevee to unleash its ultimate move. Unfortunately, Z-Rings and Z-Crystals are uo the Alion and are unavaible in other parts of the Pokémon world.

  Naoki couldn't help but marvel at the variety of mystical items in the Pokémon universe.

  In addition to the Z-Ring, there are Mega Stones aones from the Kalion, whiable Pokémon to Mega Evolve. Then there's Dynamax and Gigantamax, uo the Gar region, aallizing, exclusive to the Paldea region.

  Two years ago, Naoki had received a Tera Orb as a gift from Dr. Sada and Dr. Turo. However, sitles rarely occurred on the ranch, the Tera Orb had been tucked away in a drawer, gathering dust.

  The Dynamax Band from Gar was another intriguing item, but its use was limited to the Gar region. Pokémon couldn't Dynamax outside its boundaries.

  Of all these, Naoki's favorite was Mega Evolution, also called Super Evolution.

  Mega Evolution unlocks a Pokémon's hidden potential for a short time, allowing them to surpass their normal limits. However, it requires a deep boween trainer and Pokémon. This mutual trust and e ehat the Pokémon reaches its full potential, driven by their shared feelings.

  "Bonds and friendship... that's what it's all about," Naoki mused. The cept never failed to stir his heart.

  However, there was a downside. Among all the Pokémon on his ranot a single one was capable of Mega Evolution.

  Whether it was Dragonite, Butterfree, Alcremie, Gogoat, or Cyclizar—none of them had the ability to Mega Evolve.

  Naoki sighed, feeling a bit dejected.

  "Why didn't they give Dragonite a Mega Evolution?" he grumbled. "It's one of the coolest pseudo-legendaries ever!"

  Shaking off his frustration, Naoki decided to focus on something productive. He headed bato the house to brainstorm new recipes for the Pokémon on the ranch.

  Just as he was about to step ihe sound of a motorbike broke the tranquil atmosphere.

  Kelly, riding her bike, pulled up in front of the house. She hopped off the bike and handed Naoki a rolled-up blueprint.

  "Here, I've sketched the designs you requested. Take a look a me know if there's anything you'd like to ge. If it's all good, I'll start stru tomorrow," she said with a smile.

  Naoki took the blueprint and unrolled it, his eyes lighting up as he studied the detailed drawing.

  At the ter was a dome-shaped wooden building. Hanging above the entrance was a sign that read, Exploration Guild Headquarters.

  Brang out from the tral building were various facilities:

  An Item Shop for selling potions, antidotes, and other ies. A Pokémon Hospital to treat injuries. A Pokémon Tavern where Pokémon could gather and socialize. A Café for rest aion. A Restaurant for dining. Dormitories with charming designs. Warehouses for st food and berries. Training rooms for honing bat skills.

  Surrounding the guild were fields dedicated t and orchards frowing berries and fruits.

  The attention to detail amazed Naoki. The buildings were designed with an adorable aesthetic, perfectly plementing the whimsical and dreamlike nature of Pokémon.

  Kelly expined, "Although these buildings are made from wood, I'll be using Goldenwood, a highly durable material. After undergoing special treatment, it won't deteriorate even after a thousand years."

  Naoki wondered about the mysterious Goldenwood Kelly mentioned. 'It should be a wood uo the Pokémon world.'

  He nodded in approval. "Let's use the best materials for everything. Go all out."

  The ranch's ine was now so substantial that Naoki no longer o worry about expenses. With the oore thriving as well, he had the financial flexibility to use only top-quality materials.

  Kelly, already aware of Naoki's low-key yet powerful status, smiled and nodded.

  "No problem. I'll make sure everything is the best quality. Is that all for now?"

  "Thanks for your hard work," Naoki replied.

  Kelly chuckled lightly. "I guarahat if Mayor Thomas and the others found out about this, they'd be shocked."

  Naoki raised an eyebrow curiously.

  Kelly tinued, "A capable man like you, living quietly in a small town like Kosaji, running a ranch—it's surprising, to say the least."

  Naoki couldn't deny it. His current lifestyle wasn't what he had initially pnned; it had developed naturally over time.

  "Better not let Mayor Thomas know. He might faint," Naoki joked.

  Kelly nodded in agreement. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. I'll start stru tomorrow m."

  "Perfect," Naoki said.

  With the design finalized, the step was stru. Kelly, already mentally anizing the logistics, left to gather the necessary building materials.

  That Evening

  As Naoki prepared dinner for the Pokémon, a sudden thought struck him: What if I could create Rare dies in real life?

  In the games, Rare dies are described as items packed with energy that instantly increase a Pokémon's level.

  "If I could make those, I could level up Pokémon instantly. Imagine feeding 100 Rare dies to an Eevee—I'd have a team of level 100 Eevees and bee unstoppable!"

  The idea thrilled Naoki, and he immediately set out to try.

  Though he had no experience making dy, he recalled a cookbook he had bought in town.

  First, he added sugar, syrup, and water to a pot over medium heat, stirring stantly. Ohe mixture thied, he added golden honey from the bee's hive.

  Finally, he poured the syrup into molds to cool.

  After a while, the dy hardened into amber-like pieces.

  A notification popped up in Naoki's mind:

  [Honey dy (C)] dy made with golden honey, exuding a sweet aroma.

  Effect: Lures bear Pokémon from hiding. Wheo bear Pokémon, it greatly increases their affe.

  ent: A popur treat among bear Pokémon.

  Naoki bli the description. "It's not a Rare dy?"

  He sighed in mild disappoi.

  Even so, Naoki casually fed the honey dies to Pokémon with a sweet tooth, like Alcremie and Pawmot.

  "The key to Rare dy must be its energy tent," Naoki mused. "But what kind of energy would work?"

  Deg to experiment further, he asked Indeedee to el psychiergy into the syrup.

  "Indeedee?"

  fused but willing to help, Indeedee focused her psychic powers into the mixture.

  However, as soon as the energy ehe bowl, it exploded. The syrup spttered everywhere.

  Naoki sighed as he surveyed the sticky mess.

  "Let's this up first," he muttered, grabbing a rag to wipe dow.

  After rest order, he sidered another approach. "If Pokémon energy doesn't work, what about an item imbued with energy?"

  Naoki's mind turo the leaves of the World Tree as a source of energy.

  He remembered using them oo bake a leaf cake, which signifitly enhahe abilities of his Gogoat, Calyrex, and Arboliva. Calyrex had remarked that the leaves tained an abundance of natural energy.

  With this idea in mind, Naoki headed to the Reverse World and carefully picked a leaf that was rger than himself.

  Ba the kit, he cut the leaf in half with a sharp kit knife, setting aside the unneeded portion to feed his Gogoat. The Pokémon eagerly munched oritious gift.

  Using a juig mae, Naoki ground the leaf into a thick paste, then filtered it to extract the pure green juice. He added the juice to a prepared syrup mixture and stirred thhly. The final step was to boil the co, pour it into molds, a cool to set.

  When the process was plete, a batch of dark green dies sat before him.

  [World Tree dy (A+)] : This dy is crafted from the leaves of the World Tree, ri natural energy. It brims with life-enhang nutrients.

  Effeature's Force Lv. 3 – Grass-type Pokémon that e this dy will signifitly enhaheir ability to trol Grass-type energy. This newfound trol aids in cultivating pnts and increases their growth rate.

  his effect works only on Grass-types and is effective for one use per Pokémon.

  ent: "A magical dy with a deep e to nature."

  Naoki sighed as he ied the dy. It wasn't the mythical Rare dy he had envisioned, but in a way, this was just as valuable. Enhanced energy trol could accelerate a Pokémon's growth, improve their battle efficy, and refiheir abilities.

  Not a bad oute at all.

  He decided to feed the dies to the Grass-type Pokémon at his ranch: Leafeon, Tropius, Gogoat, Calyrex, and Arboliva. Each of them glowed with energy after ing the treat, visibly brimming with newfound vitality.

  Naoki also kept three dies aside as a wele gift for the Treecko trio who had retly decided to make the World Tree their new home.

  That evening, after dinner, Naoki prepared to head to bed. His usual habit of sleeping with the Eevees had ged somewhat now that most of them had evolved.

  Vaporeon preferred the tranquil waters of the ranch's ke and had taken to sleeping there instead of indoors. Simirly, Leafeon had chosen a patch of fertile grass uhe open sky as its resting pce.

  Though it had been his suggestion that they find a spot they were most fortable in, Naoki couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness as he watched them leave.

  "Ah," he thought wistfully, "the kids are growing up and finding their own paths."

  But his mencholy didn't st long. Freon, warm and full of energy, leapt onto his chest.

  Sensing Naoki's mood, Freo out a cheerful cry, saying it would stay with him no matter what.

  Umbreon, Jolteon, Sylveon, and Espeon, who were already snuggled in their s, echoed Freon's se. Even Pawmot, Dratini, and Cyclizar chimed ihusiastically.

  Naoki felt a wave of emotion and, uo resist, picked up Freon and kissed it gently on the forehead.

  Freon's eyes sparkled with delight as it wagged its tail eically, basking in the affe.

  "Ah, gah!" Koraidon, who had been sprawled on the floor nearby, noticed the gesture. Its wide eyes glistened with an almost ical look of longing, resembling a giant puppy desperate for attention.

  Naoki chuckled at the sight. "Alright, you too, big guy," he said, pnting a kiss on Koraidon's forehead.

  However, this act of affe backfired spectacurly. The other Pokémon quickly caught on, all cm for their share of Naoki's love.

  One by one, Naoki obliged, kissing eaon on the forehead while ughing. "You're all such spoiled children, you know that?" he said, shaking his head fondly.

  In respohe Eeveelutions squeaked in unison, insisting they would always be Naoki's babies, no matter how much they evolved.

  Dratini, lying curled up near Naoki's pillow, raised its head a out a soft cry as if to say, "Me too! Don't fet about me!"

  Naoki reached out to gently boop its h a finger, smiling. "Alright, alright. Now, go to sleep!"

  One by ohe Pokémoled down, their eyes closing peacefully as they drifted into slumber.

  Naoki, still smiling, pulled out his Rotom Phone. He posted a picture he had taken earlier of the entire Eevee family, captioning it with a heartfelt expression of joy.

  Soon, the photo was flooded with likes and ents:

  [Iono]: Wow! All your Eevees evolved? They're so adorable!

  [Geeta]: Looks like your dream of creating an Eevee paradise has e true!

  [Alder]: What a ce! My Vola retly had its sed life moment. It's about to bee a parent too! Looks like I'll be raising Pokémon alongside you soon.

  Naoki chuckled as he read through the ents, replying to eae. He hadn't had much time retly to catch up on Iono's streams, and the thought crossed his mind to che on her. Opening the PichuTV app, he searched for her el but found that she wasn't live at the moment.

  Instead, he browsed her profile, scrolling through the tent she had uploaded. Most of the videos were of Iono battling trainers who visited her gym. While iing, the repetitive nature might expin why her follower t wasn't as high as expected.

  Just then, a message notification popped up from Iono herself.

  As soon as Naoki clicked on the video, he received a message from Iono greeting him.

  After chatting with her briefly, Naoki learhat the nightlife in Levincia City had just begun, and she had just got off work and reparing to go back to rest.

  [Naok: Is being a Gym Leader really this hectic?

  [Iono]: Absolutely! The influx of trainers from ions has been overwhelming. It's not just me—all the ym Leaders in Paldea are sed!

  Reading her reply, Naoki couldn't help but wonder. Was this massive influx of trainers because of the Calyrex? He recalled reading online about trainers from Gar threatening to relocate to Paldea permaly.

  "Geeta must be thrilled," he thought, picturing the Champion standing atop the Paldea League's headquarters with an uncharacteristic grin, murmuring, "Talent... so much talent!"

  ...

  Bonus Chapter