A question mark popped out over Gary's head.
"?"
Professor Oak looked at him and asked with a smile, "How about it? Want to go have a look together?"
*
On May 27th of the League year 201, the summer camp team led by Professor Oak officially arrived in the Paldea region.
After a series of complicated transfers, they finally reached the ranch at two o'clock in the afternoon on the 27th.
Naoki stood in the ranch with Pokemon like Koraidon and Cyclizar to welcome Professor Oak's arrival.
From a distance, he saw Professor Oak coming here with seven or eight children around five or six years old.
And when Naoki saw that figure beside Professor Oak clearly, he suddenly froze in place.
Is that... Gary?
While in a daze, Professor Oak had already walked up to Naoki, smiling and extending his hand to Naoki:
"Long time no see, Naoki!"
Naoki came back to his senses and responded, "Long time no see, Professor Oak. How have you been lately?"
"Except for being a bit busy, everything's pretty good!" Professor Oak said.
While the two were chatting, Gary was also observing this place full of rare and mysterious Pokemon, as Professor Oak had mentioned.
But when he clearly saw the surroundings, he also froze in place.
Orderly fields, towering barns, vast berry gardens, and the grass filled with herds of Miltank...
The place Grandpa talked about turned out to be a ranch?!
Gary's eyes were instinctively drawn to the Pokemon beside the young man named Naoki.
One was crimson, muscular, with an airbag on its chest resembling a motorcycle tire, a mysterious Pokemon.
One was dark green, shaped like a lizard, with a tire-like airbag on its chest, a Pokemon.
Both were Pokemon that he had never seen before... Gary was quite amazed.
And at this moment, Naoki and Professor Oak finished their greetings.
Professor Oak stepped aside and introduced the seven boys and girls wearing shorts, short sleeves, and sun hats:
"Everyone, Naoki Ranch is the destination for our trip. We will carry out a three-day summer camp here, and this is the owner of the ranch, Mr. Naoki."
Hearing this, the curious boys and girls immediately looked at Naoki.
"Ex-Excuse us! Mr. Naoki!" a shy, timid girl said.
"Wow! Mr. Naoki, you have so many Pokemon here! You're amazing! Are they all the Pokemon you captured? They look so cool!" an enthusiastic, lively boy exclaimed, staring excitedly at Koraidon.
Naoki smiled, patting Koraidon's head, and nodded, "That's right, they are Koraidon and Cyclizar. Follow me!"
"Everyone, remember to keep up, don't get left behind!" Professor Oak reminded.
"Yes!" The voices of the group of children were full of anticipation and excitement.
Seeing so many mysterious Pokemon, it's truly an exciting thing!
Under the guidance of the rancher, the children began to explore the ranch, looking around eagerly.
Gary also calmed down and started silently observing the Pokemon he had never seen before living here.
At this moment, Gary felt very fortunate to have agreed to join his grandfather for this summer camp activity.
Just then, several Dragonite appeared in the sky.
A child living in the Kanto region immediately recognized those Pokemon.
"Wow! It's Dragonite!"
Hearing this, Gary looked up, and the next second, he saw a sky full of Dragonite flying overhead, then slowly landing in the ranch.
Gary: "!!!"
So, so many Dragonite!
Professor Oak glanced at his grandson with a smile, as if to say: See? I didn't lie to you, did I?
And soon, another child noticed the bag carried by the Dragonite.
"It seems like the Dragonite is carrying something!" a boy exclaimed in surprise.
Naoki glanced over and introduced with a smile: "Those Dragonite are the delivery workers of the ranch, the packages they're carrying are filled with fresh milk and crops ordered by customers."
"Huh?!"
"What?!"
Two voices came simultaneously, one was the incredulous voice of the children, and the other came from Gary.
Naoki turned his gaze to Gary.
Gary then realized his own blunder, and couldn't help but ask: "Are all those Dragonite delivery workers?"
"That's right, they're currently working as delivery personnel at the ranch." Naoki nodded.
"But..." Gary was momentarily speechless.
Using such rare and powerful Pokemon like Dragonite for deliveries, isn't that too extravagant?
In Gary's view, the Dragonite had high talents and strong abilities, making them excellent candidates for Pokemon battles...
Naoki naturally understood what Gary meant.
He remembered that Gary was the type to capture Pokemon whenever he encountered them, and would capture several of the same kind.
Because he believed that even within the same species of Pokemon, there were differences in strength; in the anime, Gary captured over two hundred Pokemon in less than a year.
Thinking of this, Naoki smiled and said to Gary: "Rattata is a Pokemon, Dragonite is also a Pokemon, as long as they enjoy it, what difference does it make who does this job?"
Gary was slightly taken aback.
This made him think of the argument he once had with Ash.
At the time, he thought the number of Pokemon captured was more important, while Ash believed the relationship with Pokemon was paramount.
So later, he wanted to capture all the Pokemon in the world, while Ash wanted to befriend all Pokemon, regardless of their strength, rarity, or not.
His grandfather said they were both right, because everyone has their own way of treating Pokemon.
Thinking of this, the now more mature Gary gently nodded: "I understand."
Seeing this, Professor Oak gave him a look of approval.
However, the next second, Professor Oak's peripheral vision suddenly noticed the group of Wo-Chien, Ting-Lu, Chi-Yu, and Chien-Pao quietly passing by.
His eyes were instantly drawn to those four Pokemon.
"Wow! Those Pokemon are?!"
"Wow! Such beautiful Pokemon!" The children nearby were also captivated by Chien-Pao and its companions.
"Them?" Naoki introduced: "They are Legendary Pokemon passed down from ancient times in the Paldea Region!"
"Legendary Pokemon?!" Everyone was astonished.
Gary was also completely stunned.
The rarity and strength of Legendary Pokemon far exceeded that of ordinary Pokemon; one might be acceptable, but this ranch actually had so many at once?!
It's important to know that some Trainers never encounter even one Legendary Pokemon in their lifetime!
"That's right." Naoki smiled and nodded: "Speaking of their legends, it gets a bit complicated..."
Then, he explained the legend of the Treasures of Ruin in detail to Professor Oak and the children.
"...The Paldea Ancient Kingdom thus went downhill, the King feared their power, so he invited a Pokemon Envoy to imprison them, and later thanks to an archaeologist, they managed to reappear in this world."
Upon hearing that the Treasures of Ruin nearly destroyed a kingdom, the children showed frightened expressions.
A girl furrowed her brows in worry: "So, are they very dangerous?"
"Yes, yes, if they stay at the ranch, will they destroy the ranch one day?" another boy asked fearfully.
Professor Oak and Gary also looked to Naoki, awaiting his answer.
Under everyone's gaze, Naoki gently shook his head.
"No, their essence is not that of Dark Pokemon, it's just that they were affected by the King's greed, which led to their impaired judgment."
"Now, the Treasures of Ruin, no, they should be called the Four Blessings, perhaps influenced by my desire to run the ranch well, their power has also changed."
"Wo-Chien can prevent pests in the farmland and ensure bountiful crops, Ting-Lu can bless the soil to be fertile, Chi-Yu can bring good luck to people through flames, Chien-Pao can protect people and Pokemon during heavy snow." Naoki explained slowly.
Hearing this, Professor Oak's face showed a curious expression:
"Legendary Pokemon that change according to the Trainer's heart? Such Pokemon exist in this world!"
While Gary thought: If these four Pokemon are captured by Trainers who love battling, won't they become extremely adept at battling Pokemon?