Only Dick stood excitedly on the side.
Naoki glanced at him and asked, "What about Dick?"
Dick's eyes were bright, and he said with determination, "I want to become a Trainer as awesome as Mr. Naoki!"
Naoki: "..."
The other kids were amazed and looked at Dick, puzzled: "Eh? Mr. Naoki is a Pokemon Trainer?"
Dick looked confused and responded, "Haven't you noticed? Mr. Naoki is a Trainer with a Dragonite Legion! To make so many Dragonite behave, Mr. Naoki must be really powerful!"
"Wow!"
The other kids showed expressions of enlightenment and gazed at Naoki admiringly.
"He's amazing!"
"He's even better than the top Champion!"
"That's right!"
Naoki: "..."
Heaven knows, he really isn't.
Naoki smiled politely and said, "The top Champion is the most incredible Trainer in our Paldea Region, and she's quite a charismatic person."
Upon hearing this, the children's attention immediately shifted.
A boy quickly asked, "Eh? Does Mr. Naoki know the top Champion?"
Naoki thought for a moment and replied, "You could say I know her!"
"Wow!" He quickly followed up, "Have you had Pokemon battles against each other? Can the top Champion's Pokemon beat your Dragonite Legion, Mr. Naoki?"
Naoki: "..."
He said helplessly, "It's not as exaggerated as you say. I don't have a Dragonite Legion. There are only three Dragonite in the ranch altogether."
Dick looked confused: "But I saw there are five Dragonair here with you, Mr. Naoki? They'll evolve into Dragonite in the future."
Another girl counted with her fingers: "Five Dragonair plus three Dragonite, that's eight Dragonite altogether! Wow, so many Dragonite, incredible!"
Another boy said, "I've watched a movie with my mom where a Trainer led five Dragonite to fight against a bad nation's army! That Trainer single-handedly devastated the bad nation with just five Dragonite!"
"And Mr. Naoki has eight. He might even conquer a city and become King himself!"
Naoki smiled politely: "...It's a time of peace now. Doing that would get you arrested by Miss Jenny and Growlithe."
The boy thought carefully and then nodded: "That's right!"
Somehow, it was already five in the evening, and Zack drove over with a big truck to pick up the goods.
Upon seeing Zack, Naoki patted a boy's head and said with a smile:
"Alright, kids, it's getting late. Let's wrap up for today!"
The boys realized they had played here too long, and if they returned home too late, their parents would worry.
So the kids waved goodbye to Naoki and his Pokemon: "Goodbye, Mr. Naoki, goodbye Cyclizar, goodbye Koraidon, goodbye Dragonite!"
"Gao～"
"Ah-gah-shi～"
Several Pokemon waved goodbye to the children too.
Watching their bouncing figures leaving the ranch, Naoki felt a bit uneasy and sent Dragonite to escort them home.
"Awoo～"
Dragonite obediently followed them.
From a distance, Zack saw this and laughed heartily: "Looks like you're really popular with the kids!"
Naoki sighed with emotion: "Mainly because they're all well-behaved. No one dislikes obedient kids, right?"
"Haha! Good kids are certainly likable." Zack agreed and said, "Alright, today's goods... let me count, a total of forty-eight thousand League coins. Here, take it!"
Naoki reached over to accept it, then helped Zack load the goods onto the truck.
"See you later!"
Sitting in the driver's seat, Zack waved through the glass at Naoki, then drove away from the ranch.
After seeing the vehicle disappear at the end of the road, Naoki turned back to his house to prepare the evening meal with his sister, Indeedee.
Midway, Dragonite returned to the ranch.
Naoki looked up at it and asked, "Was everything smooth?"
Dragonite happily nodded: "Awoo～"
"That's good." Naoki smiled gently, "You worked hard, go rest well, dinner will be ready soon."
"Awoo～" Dragonite agreed cheerfully.
Naoki had prepared a particularly sumptuous feast for dinner today.
Pan-seared patties, chicken and mushroom stew, sandwiches, milk pudding, Berry cake, aromatic Baofen, stewed ribs, steak, pumpkin soup, pumpkin cookies...
Almost every food Pokemon loves was included.
The Pokemon ate happily, and Naoki was pleased watching them.
After dinner, Naoki thought about what the kids said this afternoon.
He first found his Dragonite and asked it, "By the way, Dragonite, do you guys hibernate during the winter?"
Dragonite blinked its big eyes, looking quite confused: "Awoo?"
What's hibernation?
Naoki thought for a while and explained, "That means when it gets really cold, do you guys hide in caves and sleep?"
Some Pokemon have this habit.
It's hard to find food in the winter, so to conserve energy, these Pokemon eat well before winter comes, then hide in their warm nests to sleep until spring comes and everything revives.
After Naoki's explanation, Dragonite understood and nodded its big head: "Awoo!"