Carrying the bag of soil, Naoki strolled through the market once more, hoping to find something suitable for the other Pokémon on his ranch.

  Despite his efforts, he didn't e across anything simir, and with a sigh, Naoki decided to move on to his stop—the town's seed shop.

  The owner of the seed shop, a middle-aged man with slightly curly brown hair and a bit of a paunch, was easily reizable by his brown coat. As soon as Naoki ehe shopkeeper, who quickly reized the newer to town, greeted him warmly.

  "Good m! What seeds are you looking to buy today? Spring is almost over, and we've got some great deals on spring crop seeds!"

  Naoki gnced around the shop, soon spotting a fresh batch of seeds dispyed on a shelf. The packaging, in dark green bags, seemed to be a nod to the approag summer season. Several other ers, clearly farmers, were also browsing the summer seeds, indig that he wasn't the only one preparing in advance.

  "I don't need any spring seeds," Naoki replied. "I'm here to check out the summer seeds."

  He moved over to the shelf and began carefully seleg his options. Summer offered a greater variety of crops pared t. He sidered items like , wheat, hops, melons, pineapples, pumpkins, onions, and sunflowers. There were also many flowers, such as flowers, evening primroses, vender, and hyaths.

  Naoki pondered over his choices. His ranch primarily focused on animal husbandry, with most of his ine ing from rock salt, goat milk, and the mushrooms he cultivated in the cave behind the ranch, rather than from farming. Therefore, practicality was the key factor in his deaking.

  " could be a good choice," he mused. "Not only I sell it, but I also make boiled and pop—both popur snacks."

  "Wheat? Once I save enough to build a mill, I'll be able to process both wheat and into flour and animal feed."

  "As for hops. While I don't have a brewing celr on the ranch yet, I pn to have one built before winter. I wonder if the hops harvested in the summer be stored until autumn. If they , I could use the winter months, when pnting isn't an option, to brew some beer."

  He sidered pnting melons, pineapples, pumpkins, and simir crops as well. They could be sold, but they could also be used to develop new recipes. The same logic applied to sunflowers. In addition to enhang the ranch's aesthetics, the seeds from a field of sunflowers could be roasted into a tasty snack.

  With these thoughts in mind, Naoki decided to purchase a pack of each type of seed. As he paid, the shopkeeper g the seeds and couldn't help but ent, "You know, you don't have to buy every kind of seed. Managing all these different crops is a tough job for a rancher. Plus, each seed requires a different pntihod and has a uuration time. It could bee quite troublesome if something goes wrong."

  Hearing this, Naoki smiled and replied, "Don't worry, I have a special notebook where I keep track of everything. Besides selling these, I pn to use most of them for me and the Pokémon on the ranch."

  "Alright then," the shopkeeper said, nodding in uanding and refraining from further ents.

  After leaving the seed shop, Naoki made his way to the Happy Ranch.

  As he entered, he noticed the old man behind the ter, wearing reading gsses and engrossed in a neer. The geinkling of wind chimes alerted the old man to Naoki's presence. He looked up and smiled warmly.

  "Naoki, good to see you! okémon are you looking to buy today?"

  Naoki wasted no time and asked, "Is there any news about the ship transp the Miltank?"

  The old man nodded, his expression turning serious as he recalled the news he had received earlier. "Yes, I got word about it. The freighter carrying the Miltank entered a terrible storm at sea. It ran aground on a small isnd aually sank."

  Naoki's eyes widened, but the old man tinued, "Fortunately, the crew were well-prepared. With the help of some water-type Pokémon, they mao rescue the Miltank that had fallen into the water."

  The old man paused, his voice softening with admiration. "I also heard that while they were lost at sea, a Dragonite appeared and guided them back to nd. Without its help, they might not have made it."

  "Dragonite?" Naoki repeated, catg the signifit detail.

  The old man nodded, smiling. "Yes, it's a truly remarkable and kind Pokémon. Thanks to its help, the Miltank made it safely. They arrived at the ranch just yesterday. Would you like to go ahem?"

  Naoki, who had only ever tasted Moo Moo Milk but had never seen a real Miltank, couldn't hide his curiosity. He nodded eagerly, agreeing to take a look.

  Seeing Naoki's i, the old man stood up from behind the ter and led him through a small door at the back, which opened up to the ranch where many Pokémon were being raised.

  On a lush, green meadow, Naoki finally saw the group of Miltank. Iy, Miltank looked like a pink cow, with a spherical tail and a bck pattern on its head that resembled a bck hood, giving it a rather unique appearance.

  Their bodies appeared strong and sturdy, which expined why many trainers chose to use Miltank in Pokémon battles. The most famous of these trainers was Whithe Gym Leader of the Goldenrod City Gym.

  It was said that her Miltank was infamous for defeating tless challengers with its powerful Rollout move, being a nightmare for many trainers.

  "This is Miltank. Is this your first time seeing them in person?" the old man asked with a smile.

  Naoki nodded, replying somewhat vaguely, "I guess so! I've only seen them on TV before."

  "Miltank are truly mankind's best friends," the old man tinued. "The milk they produce has nurtured geions. Whether it's the people in the nearby Gar region or those far away in the Kantion, many have grown up drinking their milk."

  He paused for a moment and then asked, "Have you heard of Whitney?"

  "Huh?" Naoki was taken abaot expeg to hear Whitney's name here. "Whitney?"

  "That's right," the old man firmed. "She's a very famous Miltank traihe milk produced by her Miltank is sidered the best Moo Moo Milk. It's really something special!"

  The fi Moo Moo Milk. Naoki thought, paring it in his mind to the quality of fresh milk enhanced with a touilk pe].

  He couldn't help but admire Whitney's ability to raise Miltank to such a high standard.

  "Alright," the old man said, interrupting his thoughts. "How many Miltank would you like to buy?"