As the World Tree neared pletion, its bustling activity hi the harmony of Pokémon w and living together. Naoki couldn't wait to see the looks of amazement on the faew and Teddiursa when they returned and saw the fully operational expedition base.

  Refleg on how Milotic had been drawn to the World Tree, Naoki realized its immense appeal to Pokémon. To describe it in terms of fantastical literature, the World Tree was akin to a sacred site overflowing with "spiritual energy". For Pokémon, the natural energy radiating from the tree was a dream-like draw, a sanctuary perfectly suited to their needs.

  Uanding this, Naoki returo the ranch. After enjoying a handful of transtion seed crisps, he gathered all the Pokémon. They assembled with curiosity.

  He swept his eyes across the faces of the Pokémon in front of him and asked, "The World Tree is almost ready. Does anyone want to move there?"

  Alcremie raised its small paw almost immediately. "Mree?" (Will you e live with us at the World Tree, Naoki?)

  Naoki smiled gently. "No, not for now. I built that pce for all of you to enjoy. You live there without w about me."

  The ranch was Naoki's life's work, structed with his own hands and enriched by years of memories. Leaving it wasn't an option. This was home.

  Alcremie thought for a moment before cheerfully deg, "Mree!" (Then I won't go either if you're staying here!)

  This set off a rea.

  "Ogi!" Ogerpon chimed in.

  "Bamo!" Pawmot agreed.

  "Raao!" Koraidon rumbled enthusiastically.

  "Gah!" Cyclizar let out a low, melodic sound.

  The Pokémon unanimously decided they wouldn't leave either. Wherever Naoki was, that was their home too.

  Naoki couldn't help but chuckle at their ear devotion. "I don't mean to send you away! I just thought the World Tree might suit you better. It's just a short walk from the ranch."

  "Pamo!" (Nope!)

  The Pokémon were resolute. They wao stay by his side forever.

  Naoki was deeply touched by the Pokémon's unwavering loyalty and affe. These Pokémon were more than panions—they were family. Deg not to press the matter, Naoki left the idea of relog them to the World Tree behind.

  With the Pokémon's decisioled, Naoki turned his attention tonite Express. The delivery service had grown immensely, but new challenges were surfag.

  For instance, a er had left a message oore's message board, asking if Dragonite Express offered crional delivery services.

  At first, Naoki politely responded, "Sorry, we don't currently offer crional delivery services." However, as the questions and demands grew louder, ers even anized a petition, pledging to pay higher fees if crional shipping was made avaible.

  Despite the demand, Naoki hesitated. Pokémon poachers and vilinous teams ran rampant in many regions, making it unsafe foo travel across borders. anizations like Team Rocket in Kanto and Johto, Team Aqua and Team Magma in Hoenn, and Team Gacti Sinnoh were notorious for targeting rare Pokémon.

  Even though sions, like Gar's Team Yell or Paldea's Team Star, posed little direct threat, the dangers in ions were enough to keep Naoki wary of expanding Dragonite Express beyond its current reabsp;

  The members of Team Yell are passionate fans of Marnie and Pokémon trainers from Spikemuth. They ofte to antics like occupying hotels, andeering transportation, and yelling during battles to support Marnie in her quest for the championship. However, even with their boisterous behavior, Team Yell never resorts to stealing Pokémon.

  As for Team Star, they weren't even on the radar at this point.

  It was due to security s in regions with such anizations that Naoki had loated to introduce crional delivery services. These areas posed risks that Naoki wasn't willing to take lightly.

  Now, however, the demand for crional deliveries had skyrocketed. A flood of messages, primarily from people in ions, filled the store's message board. Naoki was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of requests, which had reached thousands ht.

  Curious about the sudden surge, Naoki decided to dig deeper and tacted one of the ers who had left a message. What he discovered shed light ouation.

  As the saying goes, the hardest part is getting started.

  Initially, Dragonite Express and Naoki Ranch's oore operated iive obscurity. However, it didn't take long for them to gain tra, thanks to one unique feature: the use onite for deliveries.

  The y of a delivery service employing Dragonite quickly spread online, first by word of mouth and then through forums and social media.

  One particur post on a popur Pokémon forum captured widespread attention:

  [Shog! Fet standard courier birds like Pidgeot or Pelipper—this store uses Dragonite for deliveries! Have you ever seen anything like it?]

  The post detailed the inal poster's experience:

  "I'm a homebody who rarely goes out. My Mimikyu and I enjoy a peaceful life at home. One day, I ran out of Moomoo Milk and decided to buy some online. While browsing, I stumbled across a store only one delivery option: Dragonite Express.

  At first, I thought it immick. But curiosity got the better of me, so I pced an order despite the slightly higher delivery fee. Within minutes of paying, the app notified me that my milk was already en route.

  To my astonishment, less than ten mier, a Dragonite appeared at my door with a backpack, carefully unloading the two boxes of Moomoo Milk I had ordered.

  The whole experience was surreal. Not only was the delivery speed incredible, but I got to see a Dragonite up close! My Mimikyu and I were thrilled. The milk quality was exceptional, too. I highly reend Dragonite Express!"

  While many users were intrigued by the post, some skeptics dismissed it as an advertisement. The inal poster quickly responded, urging them to try it themselves.

  Soon, other users chimed in with their experiences:

  "It's legit! Dragonite Express is both effit and reliable. But I 't help but wonder: who owns this service? How do they have so many Dragonite?"

  "Could this be a venture by the Dragon Tamer family? Maybe they're stepping into the modern era!"

  When Hassel, the Dragon-type Elite Four member of the Paldea region, saw this ent, he initially assumed that the elders in the Dragon Tamer unity were starting to embrace modern advas like online shopping and i delivery.

  However, it didn't take long for him to realize something awkward.

  There simply weren't enough Dragonites in their Dragon Tamer circle to at for such a rge-scale delivery service

  He read through the post carefully until he noticed a reply from the inal poster to another curious user. The izen had asked about the name of the store suique delivery services.

  The inal poster responded: "The name of the store is Naoki Ranch."

  Hassel immediately ected the dots. "Oh, it's him! That expins everything."

  The name "Dragon Express" quickly became a trending topi Pokémon forums, drawing widespread attention.

  Meanwhile, at Naranja Academy iudent dormitory…

  Arven, who had retly started his semester, casually scrolled through the Pokémon forum. He couldn't help but chuckle at all the excitement surrounding Dragon Express.

  "What's all the fuss about?" Arven muttered.

  He had been a regur er of Naoki Ranch si opened. Over a month ago, he'd stumbled across a post about Dragon Express on the academy's campus forum. Intrigued, he looked it up and realized it was ected to Mr. Naoki.

  Knowing firsthand the quality of Naoki Ranch's products, especially the fresh Moo Moo Milk, Arven had started regurly. Even his Mabosstiff had taken a liking to it.

  Arven wasn't the only one using Dragon Express. Grusha, the Gym Leader of Gseado Mountain, and Larry, a dedicated worker for the Pokémon League, were also loyal ers.

  Grusha first heard about Naoki's store during a livestream by Iono. In one casual moment, Iono sipped from a bottle of milk on stream and excimed how incredible it was. She added, "By the way, they use Dragonite for deliveries! you believe that?"

  Curious, Grusha looked it up and became a regur er.

  Larry, oher hand, valued efficy above all else. With his demanding work schedule, time recious odity. "Time is money," he often said. Dragon Express's speed outperformed traditional services like Squakwbilly by miles. Sometimes, even on work trips, Dragonite would find him and deliver his goods with pinpoint accuracy.

  For Aoki, this level of venience made Naoki Ran indispensable part of his routine.

  As more people discovered Dragonite Express, word spread rapidly. Initially, most were captivated by the y onite making deliveries. However, soon enough, attention shifted to a specialty product sold in Naoki's store: "Life Goat Milk."

  Acc to the product description, this goat milk could instantly heal Pokémon injuries and even provide humans with signifit energy ah bes. The catch? It was sold iremely limited quantities—only 50 bottles per week!

  Naturally, curiosity about Life Goat Milk skyrocketed, ahusiastietizens began sharing their purchasing experiences:

  "That's right! Everything described above is absolutely true," a izen wrote with excitement. "Let me tell you, even though Life Goat Milk is pricey, its effects are worth every Poké Dolr! Holy, I think the shop owner is underselling it!"

  The post tinued with an astonishing cim:

  "The effects of Life Goat Milk are incredible. Even if a Pokémon is on the brink of colpse, just one sip restores its full strength instantly. Isn't that amazing? Oime, I entered a wild Pokémon far beyond my skill level while expl. Thanks to this milk, I survived to tell the tale!"

  Another user chimed in:

  "Haha, let me add—this goat milk isn't just for Pokémon. Humans drink it too. After just otle, you'll feel like you've got unlimited energy. Trust me, I've experie firsthand!"

  People unfamiliar with su item were stunned. "How something like this exist?" they wondered.

  For many in the Johtion, this revetion was especially striking. If the cims about Life Goat Milk were true, it seemed eerily simir to the legendary Sacred Ash of Ho-Oh.

  The Sacred Ash, a rare and revered artifact, was said to have beeed by the legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh. It possessed miraculous restorative powers—capable of reviving the near-dead, human or Pokémon alike, as long as even a sliver of life remained. However, only a handful of Sacred Ashes were left in Johto, carefully guarded by a families who believed in Ho-Oh's benevolence.

  And now…

  A small online shop seemed to be selling an equivalent of this sacred item in bulk?

  This revetio shockwaves through Ho-Oh's followers and the a families of Johto. "Could the goat milk e from a legendary Pokémon, like Ho-Oh?" they specuted in disbelief.

  For those devoted to the Rainbow Pokémon, this notion was almost sacrilegious. "If that goat milk truly es from a legendary Pokémon, how could the shop owner so casually sell it online?" they questioned angrily. "Such divine blessings should be preserved, not turned into a ercial product!"

  At the same time, curiosity grew within these a families. "If this milk really pares to Sacred Ash, we o see it for ourselves!" Many resolved to iigate the store further.

  The Pokémon Shopping app saw an unpreted surge in activity. Thousands of izens flocked to search for Naoki Ranch, eager to learn more about Dragonite Express and the famed Life Goat Milk.

  Many tried to p order, but they were soon disappoihe store's message read: "Crional delivery is currently unavaible."

  Frustrated, more and more people began leaving messages on the shop's message board, petitioning the owo enable crional delivery services.

  "Please! I'll pay extra for the postage!"

  "I don't care how much it costs. Just let us buy it!"

  The message board was soon flooded with thousands of suents.

  Naoki Reads the Messages

  Naoki, holding his Rotom Phone, browsed the post and scrolled through the overwhelming number of messages on his store's board. He fell silent.

  He could uand people's amazement at Life Goat Milk's effects. After all, it truly was remarkable.