Opening the Pokedex, he displayed the three evolutionary forms to Applin.
"Which form would you like to become?" Naoki asked.
Applin's round eyes rolled around as it listened to what Rotom had just said, quickly eliminating Dipplin and Hydrapple from consideration.
It didn't want other Applin vying for apple habitats with it, and if it evolved into a Hydrapple, seven bugs would have to live in one apple—just thinking about it felt cramped.
So it was left with Flapple and Appletun.
For Flapple, it needed to eat a Tart Apple, but Applin disliked the sour taste and preferred the sweet taste of Sweet Apples.
Thus, it made its decision quickly.
"Do you want to evolve into Appletun?" Naoki noticed where Applin's gaze lingered.
"Applin!" Applin let out a growl, confirming.
"In that case, I'll go buy you a Sweet Apple," Naoki said.
He opened his online shopping app and searched for the evolution item 'Sweet Apple' for Applin.
Soon, the app displayed a list of Sweet Apples, ranging from 1000 to 2000 League Coins.
Compared to other evolution items, these magical apples were quite cheap.
Naoki found a store, added it to the cart, chose the fastest Pelipper Delivery, and placed the order.
Compared to Dragonite Delivery, Pelipper deliveries from other stores were considerably slower.
After waiting about two days on the farm, a Pelipper with a satchel finally arrived leisurely.
It landed outside the farmhouse window, knocking on the glass with its large beak.
Naoki opened the window, and the Pelipper settled on the windowsill, pulling a rosy apple from its bag with its beak and placing it in Naoki's hand.
Then, Pelipper handed Naoki a delivery note.
Naoki glanced at it, signed his name to confirm receipt, and the Pelipper turned away, flying off leisurely.
"So laid-back!"
Naoki couldn't help but remark, then turned around to the Apple Garden to give the Sweet Apple to Applin.
Applin took a bite of the sweet apple.
The next moment, a burst of white light emerged from its body.
Within the glow, Applin's form quickly began to change.
From a tiny apple, it gradually transformed into a brand-new Pokemon standing about half a meter tall.
Appletun was born!
Appletun's appearance resembled a turtle, with its high, arched back covered in lattice-like confections, retaining the eyelids from its Applin days.
It looked chubby and incredibly cute.
Especially as Appletun was enveloped in a layer of sweet nectar, smelling wonderfully fragrant.
Naoki looked on, satisfied with the scene.
An Appletun with the [Ripen] ability, a perfect match.
"Hello, Appletun!" he greeted the Pokemon before him.
"Awoo!" Appletun lifted its head slightly clumsily to respond, its nature appearing as docile as a cow.
"Next, I'll take you to a new Apple Garden, but don't worry; it's as safe as the farm," Naoki said with a smile.
"Awoo~" Appletun made a gentle growl, eagerly looking forward to the place.
Thus, Naoki brought Appletun to the World Tree.
That Apple Garden had been planted with Mewtwo and others a few days ago, and blessed with Calyrex's power, it was already producing large apples.
As soon as Appletun arrived, it was captivated by the orchard teeming with fruit.
It gazed at the red apples hanging from the branches, its eyes sparkling with excitement.
The apples were big and round, and just looking at their exterior, one could imagine how sweet and juicy the flesh was.
The mere thought made one's mouth water.
"Alright, from now on, you'll live here! Use your Ripen ability to help nurture more apples here," Naoki said.
"Awoo~"
On the way here, Appletun listened to Naoki introducing the place.
It knew many Pokemons lived here, all great friends.
Appletun loved the place and decided to stay, using its abilities to cultivate more delicious apples for everyone.
Thus, another endearing 'old farmer' was added to the World Tree's residents.
When Naoki returned to the farm, it was already noon.
"Indee?" His younger sibling Indeedee came forward, asking Naoki what to have for lunch.
"Let's eat whatever!" Naoki replied casually.
The Eevees, Ogerpon, Gholdengo, Butterfree, Farfetch'd, Flutter Mane, Alcremie, and Garganacl had all gone to play at the World Tree.
These Pokemon weren't coming back for lunch, and Naoki wasn't worried about them going hungry since the World Tree had plenty for them to eat,
leaving only Koraidon, Cyclizar, Pawmot, and Dragonite at home, along with Combee, Gogoat, Miltank, and Wooloo.
Aside from Koraidon, Cyclizar, and Dragonite, Naoki had prepared the food for the other Pokemon ahead of time; he just needed to feed them during mealtimes.
Such as Grassy Seeds for Gogoat, fresh pasture and Pokeblock for Miltank, honey for Combee, and carrots for Glastrier and Spectrier.
As for himself, he'd eat something simple; it was summer, hot, and he didn't have much appetite.
But before that, Naoki still went to cook a few dishes for Koraidon and the others.
He grabbed a sandwich and sat on the sofa, browsing Hoenn Region-related news.
Since the recent incident of a Team Aqua member provoking and getting captured by the Hoenn League,
Red Leader and Archie might have restrained their men, as there were no signs of Team Magma or Team Aqua members online.
Thinking about the consequences of Groudon and Kyogre's battle, Naoki switched to his forum account and posted a thread online.
[Predictions on Team Magma and Team Aqua's objectives and actions, potential crisis in Hoenn Region.]