Porto Marinada Town was located in the northwest of the Paldea Region, a bustling seaside town.
From the original owner's memories, Naoki learned that the town was home to various local festivals.
For example, there was the Spring Festival, the Water Pokemon Rally, the Summer Fireworks Show, and so on.
These unique festivals attracted many foreign visitors, and coupled with the thriving livestock industry nearby, Porto Marinada Town gradually developed.
The place known as "Porto Marinada Market" was especially renowned.
Naoki walked along the street with Cyclizar, surrounded by all kinds of Pokemon accompanying pedestrians. The sea breeze greeted them, making for a leisurely stroll with an overall pleasant and comfortable atmosphere.
During this visit, besides purchasing food, Naoki had another important task.
He needed to visit the town's woodworking shop, general store, seed shop, and stores selling ranch Pokemon and ordinary animals.
"It was almost six o'clock now," Naoki worried that the shops might close soon. He thought for a moment and asked Cyclizar, "Are you hungry?"
"Gao!"
Cyclizar nodded and then shook his head. Its intelligence allowed it to see that Naoki had things to do, expressing that it could wait a little longer.
Seeing this, Naoki smiled reassuringly, patted its head, and said, "Good child, then let's go to the general store first."
"Gao~"
The town was not large, perhaps to ensure that the visitors from afar would not get lost. The positions of all kinds of shops were clearly marked on street corners and roadside billboards.
After locating the general store on the map, Naoki headed straight there.
After crossing a crossroads, a red-brick building appeared in front of Naoki.
It was dusk, and there weren't many people in the shop, only a bald uncle with glasses behind the counter playing with a Fidough.
Upon hearing the wind chime from outside the door, the uncle looked up and said, "Hey? A customer has come! Welcome!"
Naoki politely greeted him and then asked, "Do you have seasonings here?"
Uncle: "Yes! They're on the shelf in the back!"
Naoki went there and indeed saw various seasonings on the shelf.
Oil, salt, vinegar, soy sauce, flour, spices, red bean paste, butter, sugar, pepper powder...
The prices were clearly marked below the shelves.
For example, a bag of flour cost 200 League coins, a bottle of oil 100 League coins, and the red bean paste was 150 League coins, and so on.
Looking at these, Naoki was somewhat confused by the prices in the Pokemon World.
A small bag of flour and a Poke Ball cost the same; seeing it this way, the price of a Poke Ball didn't seem that expensive.
After thinking for a moment, Naoki decided to buy one of each seasoning.
When he brought the items to the counter, the shopkeeper's face showed a surprised expression. While taking out a packaging bag, he asked, "Just moved to Porto Marinada Town?"
"Yes," Naoki nodded.
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Well then, enjoy your life here in Porto Marinada Town! Alright, it's a total of two thousand eight hundred twenty League coins."
Naoki didn't hurry to pay but asked, "Do you have fishing rods here?"
"Fishing rods? Yes!"
Saying this, the shopkeeper turned around, took several fishing rods from the shelf behind, and placed them on the counter to introduce:
"Each fishing rod has a different price point. This one is 2000 League coins, and with bait, you can fish Pokemon and fish wherever there's water."
"This fishing rod costs 5000 League coins; it uses more advanced materials, so its performance is better than this 2000 League one, and it doesn't easily break."
"As for this one over here, it costs 15000 League coins. It's the latest advanced fishing rod, using top-notch materials in terms of both material and performance."
Naoki: "..."
His eyes lingered on the trio of fishing rods, eventually opting for the ordinary one priced at 2000, intending to use it for the time being.
"The total is four thousand eight hundred twenty League coins. Since you're a first-time shopper at our store, I'll gift you a free box of bait. Please visit often in the future!" The shopkeeper smiled and handed over a tin can.
"Thank you, shopkeeper."
Naoki accepted the goods and left the store.
His second stop was the woodworking shop, located at the edge of the town, with a forest behind it.
There was a stump at the door with a saw stuck in it.
Naoki was about to knock on the door when it automatically opened.
A strong woman with a pink ponytail and a headband walked out of the house.
After expressing his intentions, the woman led him to the workshop at the back.
"You're the new rancher?" the woman asked curiously.
Naoki was slightly taken aback, then realized that Mayor Thomas had likely spoken to her.
He nodded and said, "My name is Naoki."
The woman: "Just call me Keri."
"Alright, Miss Keri."
As Keri walked, she introduced the process of expanding the ranch house: "You haven't named the ranch yet, have you?"
Naoki shook his head, "Not yet, I just arrived here yesterday."
"Don't rush, I was just asking casually. Well, Mayor Thomas told me everything about your situation; you're here to learn about repairing the Pokemon House and expanding the residence, right?"
"That's right."
"Then I'll explain one by one. To repair the Pokemon House, you need 50,000 League coins and 300 pieces of wood. Once repaired, you can raise Miltank and Wooloo there. Of course, this price is a bit high for you right now."
"So, I recommend you start by building a Chicken House to raise ordinary chickens. The eggs they lay can also be sold for profit. The Chicken House requires only 20,000 League coins and 150 pieces of wood."
"Additionally, you need to build a silo on the ranch for storing feed. We'll give you a free silo with your first construction."
Hearing this, Naoki nodded thoughtfully and mentally noted these prices.
"What about expanding the house?"
"That's much simpler," Keri said, "Building a fully functional house costs around two million. We'll help you expand the second floor, add a separate kitchen and bathroom, and renovate the basement. Usually, ranchers use that space for winemaking."
"Besides these, our store offers custom furniture services. In addition to basic tables and chairs, you can purchase wallpaper, carpets, refrigerators, storage cabinets, various lamps, and more."
Five minutes later, Naoki walked out of the woodworking shop.
He calculated the remaining money in his mind and suddenly felt like he had many more things to do.
"Why do I feel busier than a 9-to-9 schedule?"
Naoki sighed and imagined the day when the ranch would return to its former glory, his face showing an expression of anticipation. By then, he could relax and truly enjoy a leisurely life as a rancher.
Since the Pokemon House couldn't be built yet, he didn't need to visit the store selling ranch animals for the time being.
Riding on Cyclizar, Naoki headed to his last destination, the seed store.
The owner of the seed store was a middle-aged man with brown hair and a slightly plump physique, wearing a brown coat.
When Naoki arrived, the owner was having dinner with his wife and daughter.
Seeing a customer coming, the owner immediately got up, "Welcome! Let's see what kind of seeds you're interested in buying."
Naoki wasn't sure himself; he only had one packet of turnip seeds given to him by the mayor.
With the owner's guidance, he saw a large variety of seeds on the shelves.
Potatoes, turnips, garlic, strawberries, cabbages, cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes, grass, and there were even some berry seeds like Pecha Berries and Oran Berries.
Naoki's eyes were dazzled, and the seed store owner explained, "These are crops and fruit trees suitable for planting in spring. They are easy to grow after artificial cultivation, and as long as you water and fertilize them on time, they will grow large and healthy."
Naoki silently nodded.
The seeds in this world were different from those in the Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley games he had played.
Here, a packet contained many seeds and could plant a large piece of land, unlike in games where one packet of seeds could only plant one square.
After pondering for a moment, Naoki decided to buy one packet of each seed, including the fruit trees.
The prices of these seeds varied, with the basic turnips costing only 60 League coins per packet, while strawberries and cucumbers were 120 and 150 per packet.
Altogether, all the seeds cost him 1,370 League coins.
As a result, the money from selling Black Truffles was down to 27,000.
Packing up the seeds, Naoki led Cyclizar out of the shop.
It was already dark outside.
Naoki looked at the stars in the sky, took a deep breath, and said, "Alright, time to have dinner!"
"Gah-oo," Cyclizar seemed a bit pitiful.
Naoki laughed and patted its head, then led it into a restaurant.
After a long day, he planned to eat out tonight.
The waiter handed over the menu, which included food specially prepared for Pokemon, aside from human dishes.
Considering Cyclizar, Naoki figured it would probably prefer meat.
He ordered a meat dish for Cyclizar and a berry set to reward it as a 'hardworking contributor' today.
Soon, the food was served.
Seeing Cyclizar gobbling down the food, Naoki felt happy inside.
Pokemon are so simple and cute~
He looked down at his aromatic vegetable stew and corn chowder as their details appeared before him.
Predictably, these dishes didn't possess special abilities to enhance Pokemon.
Naoki confirmed in his mind, "It seems only the dishes I make have that kind of power."
After dinner, Naoki went to the grocery store to buy ingredients for the next few days.
Since he still didn't have a refrigerator at home, he only bought enough for three days.
The weather wasn't too hot this season, so food stored in the house wouldn't spoil easily.
Carrying large bags, Naoki rode Cyclizar and headed home under the night sky, Pokemon in tow.
The air was a bit chilly at night, and the wind felt cold on the skin.
Cyclizar was afraid of the cold, but Naoki, riding on its back, felt warm, helping it fend off the chill.
At that moment, Cyclizar suddenly craved another bowl of hot soup noodles made by Naoki.
Cyclizar's speed was fast, returning to the ranch in less than thirty minutes.
The ranch was pitch black at night, and Naoki had anticipated this, so he made sure to bring a flashlight before leaving.
He fumbled in the dark for the flashlight, but before he could find it, he suddenly heard a "bang."
The sound was loud and was accompanied by the noise of trees breaking.
It seemed like something had fallen from the sky, crashing into the ranch and knocking over a bunch of trees.
Naoki was startled and finally found the flashlight, quickly taking it out and shining the light toward the ranch.
Soon, he saw a strange shadow in his family field.
Naoki was startled, and Cyclizar beside him stood up from its riding position, looking warily over there.
It sensed an unusual presence.
The flashlight beam hit that shadow; it remained motionless on the ground as if it were unconscious.
With the light, Naoki finally saw the true form of the shadow.
A scarlet body, a thick tail, luxurious and flamboyant dragon whiskers, and the airbag on its chest resembling a motorcycle tire.
That was...
Naoki stood there, dumbfounded.