Not Being a Trainer This Time

Chapter 37: Chapter 31: Video Phone

Naoki felt a bit awkward: ”I don’t have a phone yet.”

Professor Sada was slightly stunned.

She suddenly thought about the situation she had just seen outside.

This ranch seemed to have just started, and from the young man’s attire and living environment, his life seemed somewhat financially strapped.

Thinking of this, Professor Sada didn’t say much.

She simply said she would come back in the afternoon and left with little Arven.

Naoki looked at her back, bewildered, and turned around only when she was out of sight, looking at Koraidon hiding behind the door, secretly watching.

Naoki breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and smiled at it: ”They’ve left.”

Koraidon: ”Grrr...”

Naoki stepped forward and petted Koraidon like a dog. Koraidon was so comfortable that it almost purred with contentment.

Seeing it enjoy itself, Naoki teased, ”Do you like me that much?”

All in all, they had only lived together for half a month.

Upon hearing this, Koraidon opened its eyes, looking extremely happy, and began licking Naoki’s face wildly with its big tongue.

Nowadays, Naoki no longer felt afraid; he knew Koraidon meant no harm to him.

Wiping the slobber off his face with his hand, Naoki stood up, looked at the crops growing not far away in the field, and took a deep breath.

Professor Sada said she would come back in the afternoon, so it seems his adventure to Casseroya Lake will have to be postponed by a day.

Cyclizar was off chasing a butterfly again, it would still take some time before Metapod evolves into a Butterfree, Smoliv was sunbathing on the windowsill, and Alcremie was resting in its little nook.

Taking advantage of the free time, Naoki took Koraidon to the cave behind the wooden house.

As soon as they entered, they felt a refreshing coolness.

In the corner of the cave were rows of mushroom cultivation dishes, and after just one night, mushrooms had already started growing on them.

Naoki stepped forward to observe and used his golden finger to check the information on these mushrooms.

[Small Mushroom: A rare small mushroom that grows in forests and mountains, highly popular among enthusiasts and can sell for a great price to them. Used in cooking and as an exchange item in games. Highly valuable.]

Wow? Am I that lucky?

Naoki felt a little surprised.

Because if he remembered correctly, this small mushroom was a currency exchange item in the game, selling for 500 League coins each, much more valuable than eggs.

Apart from small mushrooms, other currency exchange items include big mushrooms and fragrant mushrooms.

A big mushroom can sell for 5000 League coins, and a fragrant mushroom can sell for a high price of 15000.

It’s said to be a very rare mushroom, making the entire surrounding area fragrant.

More often used in making expensive perfumes to sell to high society ladies than in cooking.

Unfortunately, there were no traces of them in the mushroom cultivation dishes, except for two small mushrooms and the rest were ordinary mushrooms.

Nonetheless, Naoki was quite happy. Mushrooms grow very fast, which means in a few days, he could sell these mushrooms, exchange them for 1000 League coins cash, and store them in his little treasure chest.

After checking the growth progress of the mushrooms, Naoki saw that it was still early and decided to take Koraidon on a trip to the back mountain.

Compared to last time, nothing much had changed in the back mountain.

The area was mostly inhabited by small and gentle Bug Type Pokemon and Grass Type Pokemon, which, upon seeing Koraidon, fled deeper into the forest.

Naoki didn’t give chase and instead took Koraidon along the river passing through the ranch.

He wanted to see if he could encounter some Water Type Pokemon and hire them to help water the fields.

Unfortunately, the river was home to mostly Magikarp and tiny Wishiwashi.

This left Naoki speechless, ”Looks like I’ll have to find Water Type Pokemon at Casseroya Lake.”

Unknowingly, it was already noon.

Naoki and Koraidon had found nothing, so they glanced at the sun and decided to return to the ranch.

Before leaving, Koraidon crouched down and called back to him: ”Grrr!”

Naoki thought it wanted to give him a ride back, so he flipped himself on.

But once he was settled, Koraidon beneath him suddenly transformed.

Its long whiskers changed into wings, its hind legs powered up fiercely, and with a leap, it soared into the air, flying steadily towards the ranch.

”Holy crap!”

Naoki was startled by Koraidon’s actions. As the ground below gradually shrank, Naoki, afraid of falling, quickly hugged Koraidon’s neck tightly and exclaimed, ”You can fly?!”

Koraidon seemed very happy and shouted loudly: ”Grrr!!”

Naoki then realized that Koraidon had not yet experienced any territory battles with the Koraidon in the game and was uninjured—it could fly from the very start!

Once the initial shock passed, Naoki’s emotions slowly calmed down. It was his first time experiencing riding a Pokemon in flight, and he couldn’t help but look around in wonder.

Koraidon’s flight altitude wasn’t exaggerated, not up to the clouds, but from its back, one could clearly see the scenery below.

The vast, endless forest, the tall back mountain surrounded by green trees, the distant ranch, Porto Marinada Town, and even the endless Paldea Sea.

Feeling the rhythm of the wind, Naoki’s heart was filled with joy.

This feeling was simply amazing!

————

At three o’clock in the afternoon, Professor Sada and Arven finally returned here.

She instructed a man wearing a blue duckbill cap and work clothes: ”This is the place.”

Naoki was slightly puzzled and couldn’t help but ask: ”What’s this?”

Professor Sada smiled gently and said: ”This is the latest model of the video phone, funded by the lab for your installation. With it, you can contact me anytime. Consider it a gift for taking care of Koraidon for us!”

Naoki: ”...”

He quickly realized Professor Sada’s intention—she was probably hoping to learn more about the lifestyle habits of the Koraidon beside him through him.

Sada earnestly expressed her gratitude to Naoki: ”Thank you so much for agreeing to help us research Koraidon’s ecological habits. You must really like Pokemon, right?”

Naoki nodded, his gaze falling on Cyclizar and Koraidon not far away, and smiled: ”They are smart, sensible, innocent, and pure. I think nobody would dislike them, right?”

Hearing this, Professor Sada also smiled slightly, said no more, and turned to leave with Arven. There was still work waiting for her in Zone Zero,

As Naoki watched those two figures, one large and one small, Professor Sada’s fate flashed in his mind.

She and her husband, Professor Turo, would one day die in the future due to an experimental accident that caused an explosion.