Not Being a Trainer This Time

Chapter 166: Chapter 133: Grass Trial

Just like playing a game, the player challenges the dungeon and gains tons of experience from it.

If there are Pokemon with high comprehension, they might be able to learn some move techniques from Gogoat.

Naoki had already thought of a name for this ”dungeon.”

It’s the Grass Trial!

If other Pokemon are interested, maybe they can participate too.

Like Dragonite, who is diligently training to become stronger.

It can test the effect of Rain Dance + Hurricane + Thunder on challengers.

Naoki felt a slight stir in his heart, but the specifics needed to be planned in detail later.

As for now, he needed to buy a lawnmower first.

Upon entering Porto Marinada Town, Gogoat slowed its pace.

Its hooves made a clattering sound on the red brick path of Porto Marinada Town.

Naoki’s attention was drawn to it.

He looked at the beautiful red brick path below, and thoughts of the simple wooden path at his ranch came to mind.

It was laid using excess wood from the ranch, full of rustic charm, though it also had a very plain and tidy appearance. However, its lifespan was indeed very short.

After a few heavy rains, the wood on the ground becomes soft and rotten, and Naoki even thought they wouldn’t last through the summer.

”Hmm, it’s time to formally plan the roads in the ranch.” Naoki thought to himself.

Otherwise, on rainy days, the roads would be full of muddy puddles, and just going out would make his shoes muddy.

At such times, having a red brick path could avoid such problems.

It was convenient; he was heading to Keri’s shop, and could inquire along the way.

The town was still bustling as usual within days of his last visit.

As Porto Marinada Town is by the sea, many tourists from inland areas would especially come here to see the ocean.

Speaking of the seaside, Naoki remembered Allen once mentioned that every summer, the town would hold a grand fireworks festival there.

At that time, people would gather by the sea, setting up a lively market that would sell sushi, takoyaki, and oden-like snacks.

But now, it’s only the beginning of the month, so there’s still quite some time until that day.

Gathering his thoughts, Naoki rode Gogoat towards Keri’s shop.

When he arrived, Keri was sitting on a wooden stump beside the house, surrounded by a group of Grass Type Pokemon.

There were summer form Deerling, fragrant Bounsweet, a cute Sprigatito, and a Mankey.

Keri was feeding Pokemon snacks to them, and upon hearing a sound, she turned her head, and upon seeing Naoki, her face lit up with a smile:

”Changed mounts this time?”

Naoki jumped down from Gogoat and said, ”The Cyclizar are practicing moves at the ranch, so I let Gogoat bring me here.”

He glanced at the group of Pokemon and asked, ”Are they Pokemon from the forest?”

Naoki remembered Keri once mentioned some injured wild Pokemon would come to her for help.

Keri nodded gently, ”Yes! It’s rare for these little guys to gather today. I had nothing much to do, so I came over to play with them for a while. Somehow, being with them always brings a rare sense of peace to my heart.”

”Maybe that’s the charm of Pokemon?” Naoki said with a smile, looking at the Sprigatito snuggling at Keri’s feet: ”Sprigatito is quite a rare Pokemon!”

Sprigatito, the Grass-type Starter Pokemon of the Paldea Region, is a very popular Pokemon.

Keri looked down at Sprigatito tenderly and said, ”Whether common or rare, Pokemon are no different to me. Maybe it’s because I’m not a Trainer!”

Naoki paused, then agreed, ”True.”

Whether it’s the commonly seen Mankey by the roadside or the rare Sprigatito deep in the woods, aside from their appearance, they all have a pure heart.

Keri stood up with a smile and asked, ”What are you here to buy today?”

Naoki: ”A lawnmower. The wild grass at the ranch is growing too fast, and Gogoat and Miltank don’t eat much of it, so I plan to cut it all down.”

Upon hearing this, Keri couldn’t help but say, ”Pokemon living at your ranch are really fortunate.”

Naoki raised an eyebrow: ”Hmm?”

Keri explained, ”Few Ranchers would go through the trouble of preparing individual meals for them every day like you do.”

After all, whether Gogoat or Miltank, their food in the wild is usually wild grass and flowers. Occasionally, if they’re lucky, they might come across Berry trees and pick a few Berries to eat.

Whereas those raised on the ranch mostly eat fodder and feed bought from the store.

By comparison, Naoki treats his Pokemon very well indeed.

Naoki understood what Keri meant and laughed, ”That’s why my gas bill each month is several times higher than other ranches!”

Keri chuckled and then led the way ahead: ”Come with me!”

The two went inside, and Keri pushed out several lawnmowers from the warehouse, introducing them one by one:

”Look, these are all of them, each with different prices and performances. The cheapest here is 5000 League Coins. It’s an older model that makes a lot of noise during use. The others are similar, but different brands have different prices.”

Naoki nodded thoughtfully, looking through them all, and finally picked a push-type lawnmower, spending 7000 League Coins.

Then, Naoki asked, ”By the way, do you have red bricks here? I want to lay a red brick path at the ranch.”

”Yes, we do.”

Keri nodded, recalling the size of Naoki Ranch in her mind, and then thoughtfully said:

”However, I suggest you first properly plan the areas of the ranch. Otherwise, if you lay the red brick path now, it might obstruct future construction of other facilities, and you’ll have to redo it, which would be quite troublesome.”

”True.” Naoki nodded, thinking about it and deciding to go back to the ranch to plan it out first: ”I’ll go back and check, and come back when I’m ready.”

”Of course, no problem, always welcome,” Keri nodded with a smile.

After leaving the town, Naoki directly returned to the ranch.

Gogoat went back to the pen, and he took paper and pen, summoned Dragonite, and flew into the air, looking down on the entire ranch from above, sketching out the rough terrain and the locations of various buildings.

However, Naoki didn’t immediately start planning the ranch, as he still had other tasks to attend to.

He handed the paper and pen to Cyclizar to place on the desk, then pushed the lawnmower to start trimming the grass in the ranch.

The ranch is huge; even though many facilities have been added, there’s still a large piece of land lying idle.

According to the original owner’s memory, it used to be a pasture.

The original owner’s grandfather once raised dozens of cattle and sheep Pokemon there.

As Naoki pushed the lawnmower, he calculated the size of the ranch in his mind.

Currently, about a quarter of the whole ranch is utilized.

He usually didn’t feel it, but now that he’s mowing the lawn, goodness! This place is enormous!

Naoki thought of the vast Cherry Garden of the Elif family, wondering how their family of four managed to plant so many cherry trees.

It’s overwhelming!