When Naoki received the bouquet from the Pokemon, he was both surprised and delighted.
"For me?" he asked.
"Buneary!"
"Bonsly!"
"Wooo!"
"..."
The Pokemon in front of him nodded in unison, their faces lighting up with expectant and happy smiles.
Naoki never imagined a day would come when a man like him would receive flowers. In his memory, bouquets were typically given to girlfriends, wives, mothers, or teachers.
Naoki was deeply moved. He reached out and patted and hugged each of the Pokemon in front of him.
These Pokemon he raised didn't disappoint him!
Naoki felt so happy that even his steps felt much lighter.
He hummed a little tune as he returned to the living room, getting ready to place the bouquet in the most conspicuous spot.
Although flowers may wither, the bond between him and these Pokemon would last forever.
However, just as Naoki's gaze swept over the bouquet, information suddenly surfaced in his mind.
[Gracidea Flower: A very precious flower. When given to certain Pokemon, it can change their form. On birthdays or anniversaries, some humans also use it to express gratitude by gifting it in a bouquet.]
"Gracidea Flower?" Naoki was slightly taken aback.
Isn't that Shaymin's favorite flower?
Shaymin, the mythical Pokemon of the Sinnoh Region.
They often live together in flower gardens, possessing magical powers that can purify toxins in the atmosphere and transform barren lands into gardens.
The legends of the Sinnoh Region speak of Shaymin's tales.
It's said that when people rejoice at the end of the harsh winter with the changing of seasons, offering gratitude to the heavens, Shaymin will appear to bloom flowers on desolate lands.
Among all the flowers, Shaymin loves the Gracidea Flower the most.
Because this flower can transform them from Land Forme to Sky Forme.
What's more concerning to Naoki is that Shaymin is a Pokemon that migrates with the blooming of the Gracidea Flower.
So here's the question, if he plants a field of Gracidea Flowers on his ranch, would it attract wild Shaymin?
Naoki immediately wanted to try, but unfortunately found that the current season was autumn, and with winter approaching, the entire land would soon be covered in snow and ice, unsuitable for planting.
Spring and summer are the blooming seasons for the Gracidea Flower.
If that's the case, then he'll just wait until next spring to plant them!
For now… there was another matter waiting for him.
Naoki went upstairs, turned on his computer, and through a forum private chat, informed Raifort of Gimmighoul's evolution into Gholdengo.
Raifort quickly replied.
She first congratulated Naoki and said she would visit to see the Pokemon if given the chance, mentioning that she is currently investigating the locations of shrines imprisoning the Treasures of Ruin and would collaborate with him in the future.
Naoki replied with an acknowledgment, logged off, and placed a call to the town's antique shop owner, informing him about Gholdengo's birth.
This was something he had promised the owner before.
After hearing the news, the antique shop owner immediately expressed excitement and wanted to see Gholdengo.
Naoki agreed and took Gholdengo to the antique shop while buying groceries in town in the afternoon.
"This is unbelievable… this is Gholdengo!"
The antique shop owner's eyes shone as he circled Gholdengo.
"This golden body, this dazzling brilliance, this powerful posture, this Pokemon is truly perfect!"
"Seeing Gholdengo, my life is complete!"
Naoki was quite speechless, "Isn't that an exaggeration?"
"Not at all, not one bit!" The antique shop owner's voice was full of awe, "The last appearance of Gholdengo was a thousand years ago, and now only legends of the Pokemon remain."
"Some say it's a treasure all explorers dream of, and acquiring Gholdengo grants one a lifetime of gold."
Hearing this, Naoki nodded slightly, as it was true—Gholdengo indeed had the ability to create gold.
Having fulfilled his promise, Naoki bid farewell to the antique shop owner and returned to the ranch with Gholdengo.
With everything settled regarding Gholdengo, he had nothing much left to do.
Oh wait, he almost forgot something!
Calculating the time, those Eevee Eggs upstairs might be hatching soon!
To witness Eevee's hatching firsthand, Naoki started keeping a watch on the seven Eevee Eggs from that day onward.
Time quickly passed to August 15, 199th year of the League calendar.
That afternoon, Naoki was in the kitchen making chicken soup when the Umbreon watching over the eggs upstairs suddenly ran down the stairs, shouting:
"Vee! Vee! Vee! Vee!"
Naoki was amused by Umbreon's silly running posture, but the next second, he realized something.
"The egg hatched?" Naoki asked quickly.
Umbreon nodded: "Vee!"
"Sister, come watch the pot for me!" Naoki called out, then headed upstairs with Umbreon.
By the time they reached the room, the first little Eevee had already hatched.
With dark, clear eyes, fluffy light-colored fur, and paws with pinkish pads…
Eevee was clumsily crawling out of the egg with a piece of eggshell on its head.
The newly hatched Eevee was so cute!
At that moment, Naoki felt his heart melt.
He quickly approached, joined by Glaceon and Umbreon, to watch over the little Eevee.
Soon, the little Eevee crawled out of the eggshell, looking at the human and two Eevees with its shiny black eyes.
"Its tail has a saw-like pattern, so it's a male Eevee." Naoki observed its tail and identified its gender.
Glaceon, seeing such a cute Eevee, immediately forgot all its previous pettiness.
It looked at Eevee with joy, softly saying, "Vee!"
Umbreon was also curious about this Eevee. Silently, it approached and sniffed out the smell on Eevee's body.
"Hello, Eevee!" Naoki greeted it with a smile.
The little Eevee looked at him with its dark eyes, then at the two big Eevees beside it, and responded somewhat clumsily, "Vee… Vee!"
Just then, the older Indeedee arrived with milk prepared for the newly hatched Pokemon.
Having been professionally trained, they knew how to care for newly hatched Pokémon.
Seeing this, Naoki made room and watched as the older Indeedee fed the little Eevee with a smile.
"From now on, he's your little brother!" Naoki told the two adult Eevees beside him.
However, just as he finished speaking, the remaining six eggs followed suit with cracking sounds.
Soon, one by one, little Eevees emerged with eggshells on their heads.
The newly hatched Eevees were still quite tiny, seemingly curious about everything in the outside world.
With so many Eevees, the older Indeedee couldn't look after them alone, so Naoki hurriedly called the younger Indeedee downstairs for more bottles of milk.
Perhaps smelling the milk, the little Eevees, having used a great deal of strength to hatch, all gathered around, hungry.
"Vee… Vee!"
Their tender cries echoed in the room.
These Eevees were calling while trying to climb onto Naoki.
Naoki, in a fluster, handled them, holding a bottle of milk in one hand.
Goodness, he wasn't even married yet and was going to have to become a "milk dad"!
Eventually, Naoki sat cross-legged on the carpet, enclosing all the little Eevees in his arms, adjusting the bottles with pre-installed nipples for them to suck.
Though a bit of a hassle, holding these fluffy little Eevees brought an unexpected sense of joy! So thought Naoki, the milk dad.