Paldea League Headquarters.
Geeta looked at the reply on her phone screen, and her feelings were a bit complicated for a moment.
Not far away, Rika was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Seeing Geeta like this, she stayed silent for a while: "…He didn't accept it?"
"Sigh." Geeta let out a breath and laid out the plan she'd originally had: "I was going to have Lono give him a proper tour of Levincia City, then follow it up with a seven-day beach vacation over there!"
She had even bought the tickets already, but Naoki said he wasn't going.
Rika thought about it carefully, then said: "All the farmers are busy harvesting crops right now. Maybe Naoki just doesn't have the time!"
Geeta was scrolling on her phone, just about to say something, when she suddenly saw a trending topic online.
The trending topic said that Galar's strongest Champion Leon had left the Galar Region and was currently on a cruise ship headed for the Paldea Region.
The post was by a Paldean who had recently gone traveling in the Galar Region to see its local specialty: Dynamax battles.
Now that the trip was over, that person was planning to take a cruise back to Paldea, and ended up running into Leon right on the ship, even taking a photo together.
In the photo, Leon was grinning wide, showing his white teeth, his smile looking incredibly hearty.
Leon? What's he coming to the Paldea Region for again? Is he looking for Naoki?
Geeta suddenly remembered how Leon had come by last time asking them about Naoki.
An alarm bell went off in her heart on the spot.
Could Leon be planning to invite Naoki to join the Galar League?
Absolutely not!
Geeta's expression suddenly turned serious.
She solemnly laid out her suspicions to Rika.
After listening, Rika opened her mouth, completely speechless: "Chairwoman, that's a bit much…"
"Rika, help me pack up, I'm going with you to visit Naoki!" Geeta made up her mind.
Just right, she'd been planning to head to the ranch anyway to see what Naoki was busy with, and at the same time sound him out a bit, see what he was thinking.
So he wouldn't end up like her, putting major life events like marriage behind work.
Rika: "…"
She sighed and said: "Alright, I got it."
*
Meanwhile, over at the ranch, Naoki had also received the news that Leon was coming by the ranch to visit him.
Leon said he was currently on his way to the Paldea Region and was expected to arrive in about two days.
Two days… Naoki thought it over carefully and realized that would be just about when he finished everything he needed to do on the World Tree.
He organized his wording in his head, then replied.
[Wing King: Alright, then once you get ashore remember to take a Squawkabilly Flying Taxi straight here, don't go getting lost again.]
[Leon: Haha, sure, don't worry, I'll definitely arrive on time this time!]
On the other end of the screen, Leon replied, a bit embarrassed.
Ever since learning his lesson from getting lost last time, he had simply given up on traveling by Charizard and chose a cruise ship, a form of transportation with a fixed route.
Leon figured that way he probably wouldn't get lost, right?
But there was nothing he could do about it—he'd had a terrible sense of direction since he was a kid.
Which was actually kind of embarrassing to talk about.
When he first started traveling, he would often get lost, to the point that even his Charmander was forced to learn how to read maps to guide him.
Later, that Charmander evolved into a Charizard and became the most reliable partner at his side.
*
The next day, Naoki brought the Pokemon from the ranch and Calyrex along to the World Tree to speed up the World Tree's Growth.
With the blessing of Calyrex's tremendous power, a thick green radiance burst forth from the World Tree.
A moment later, the light faded away, and the World Tree, having absorbed a huge amount of energy, returned to its original appearance.
Although its exterior hadn't changed much, Naoki knew that now there were only the last two months left before this World Tree fully matured!
Naoki looked up at the World Tree in front of him, and in the next second, the World Tree's information automatically surfaced in his mind.
[World Tree (Mature Stage): A seedling tree that has absorbed a vast amount of Power of Grass. Because of Gogoat, an aberration occurred during its Growth. Boundless Life Force is brewing within, eventually breaking through the earth. It is said to be able to support an entire world and use Natural Energy to nourish all living things. Time remaining until fully grown: 19,850 years.]
"Next up, once in May, and when June comes, we can officially launch the World Tree Ascension Plan!" Naoki was filled with excitement.
It wasn't just him—Calyrex standing to the side was also feeling something hard to put into words right now.
It had never imagined that in Its lifetime, It would actually be able to cultivate such a great existence!
"It truly makes Us look forward to it." Calyrex murmured softly.
Just then, a flash of white light appeared around them, and a moment later, Mewtwo's figure appeared on the Sky Island at the base of the World Tree.
It looked at Naoki and the group of Pokemon with suspicion and uncertainty, then turned its gaze to the World Tree in front of it.
From the look on its face, it was obvious that it had also just sensed the change in the World Tree.
"Don't worry, that was Calyrex helping the World Tree with its Growth." Naoki cut straight to the point: "That's Calyrex's power. It can accelerate the growth of flowers, grass, and trees, making them mature in an instant. It's just that the World Tree needs too much energy, so we have to do it bit by bit."
"I see." Mewtwo nodded calmly and turned its gaze toward that big-headed Pokemon over there.
It remembered that the other party was in that group chat as well.
These days, Mewtwo had been quietly lurking in the group chat, watching the other two Pokemon talk.