Half an hour after Dragonite left, Naoki received a message from Lono.
[Lono: Thank you, I had a great time yesterday!]
Naoki chuckled, sent a smiling emoji back, and then put his phone away.
It's another fresh day, and there's plenty of work awaiting him at the ranch.
Just as Naoki was planting summer crops in the fields, Keri arrived at the ranch with the construction team.
She greeted Naoki and then looked around, gossiping: "Where's your little girlfriend?"
Naoki was dumbfounded on the spot: "What little girlfriend?"
But then Naoki suddenly realized something.
Could Keri be talking about Lono?
Sure enough, the next second, Naoki heard Keri saying: "It's the girl who came to the ranch yesterday!"
Naoki: "..."
"Don't talk nonsense, she came for the ranch's challenge trial." Naoki shook his head.
However, Keri smiled slightly, "Oh? Is that so? But I noticed she looked at you differently!"
Naoki: "..."
What kind of look? Did Lono look at him differently?
No way?
Keri didn't say any more, and after those few words, she took Machamp to continue the construction.
Leaving Naoki standing there, utterly confused.
But after pondering for a while and getting nowhere, he decided not to think about it.
Moreover, the videophone in the house started ringing, so Naoki put the matter aside and went inside to answer the call.
Even though Rotom phones are now widespread in this world, videophones haven't disappeared.
Because some trainers don't have Rotom phones, or they lose their phones in the wild, they can go to the local Pokemon Center and use the videophone there to contact family and friends.
The videophone at Naoki Ranch is still there, but it's used as a public phone for the ranch.
Guests often call to order vegetables, milk, berries, and whatnot.
Once the call connected, a gruff voice was heard on the other end.
"Hello, is this Naoki Ranch? I'm the sweet shop owner from the neighboring city. The city is hosting a dessert competition, and I need fresh apples to make apple pie and apple candy. I plan to order a batch of apples from you!"
"Sure, no problem." After understanding the man's needs, Naoki asked him to send over his location and contact information, assuring him the apples would soon be delivered.
Soon, Naoki received the guest's information.
Name: Cliff
Contact number: 6937394
Address: Cascarrafa City, Azure Bay Street, Shop No. 3
After hanging up, Naoki used the map app to check the distance between Cascarrafa City and Porto Marinada Town.
If driving, it would take about an hour and a half to get there.
Once the location was confirmed, Naoki began to call upon his Pokemon helpers to head to the apple garden across the river to pick apples.
This season, the apples in the garden were large and round, almost every one of them was red and tempting.
Picking apples is a simple task, so Naoki initially only called Koraidon and Cyclizar to help.
But upon hearing about this, Ogerpon and Gholdengo also eagerly ran over wanting to assist.
Naoki handed them a few boxes, instructing them to pack the unpicked apples into them.
Ogerpon and Gholdengo were very clever; just a glance was enough for them to learn how to do it.
They adeptly picked apples from the trees and placed them into the boxes.
Seeing their deftness, Naoki trustingly turned his attention away, continuing his tasks.
Initially, the two Pokemon worked smoothly, but soon Naoki heard Ogerpon cry out, seemingly startled by something.
Naoki and the other Pokemon immediately turned their heads to look.
"What happened?" Naoki asked.
Ogerpon pointed at an apple on the fruit tree.
"Ponnie!"
Naoki looked in the direction it was pointing, and saw a peculiarly shaped "apple".
At first glance, it looked very much like an apple, but upon closer inspection, the differences from a real apple were apparent.
Big eyes replaced the usual apple stem, a pair of caterpillar tails protruded from holes in the back, and two fang-like patterns appeared on the lower half of the apple.
Clearly, a bug had gotten inside that apple.
While observing that strange apple, a Pokemon's name immediately flashed through Naoki's mind.
Applin?
Apparently frightened by Ogerpon's shout, the Applin immediately shrunk into the apple, hiding motionlessly.
Seeing Applin, Naoki's first reaction was: It's finally here!
He'd been waiting for Applin to come to his apple garden for so long.
Because Applin with Ripen ability can help the berries and apples mature!
With them, the orchard on the World Tree can grow even better.
Thinking of this, Naoki paused his actions and said to Ogerpon: "Don't worry, it's also a Pokemon, its name is Applin, a Pokemon that lives specifically inside apples."
Upon hearing this, a look of curiosity crossed Gholdengo's face.
Could Pokemon really live inside apples?
Ogerpon, on the other hand, was filled with dread.
It was greatly concerned about accidentally eating an Applin inside an apple in the future!