In the evening, Naoki was awakened by the sound of howling wind. He opened his eyes to find that it was already five-fifty. The TV was still on, and the weather forecast was being broadcast.

  The weather forecaster, dressed in an OL uniform and bck-framed gsses, was delivering the forecast with a serious tone:

  "Typhoon [Nuya] is expected to make ndfall in Paldea at 3 a.m. tonight. Due to the impact of [Nuya], coastal areas expect heavy rainfall over the hree days, apanied by occasional strong winds. Citizens are advised to close doors and windorepare in advance."

  Typhoon?

  Naoki was momentarily stunned as he looked at the map on the s. The nearby town, where his ranch was located, was right ih of the typhoon, meaning his ranch would also be affected.

  The e glow of the setting sun filled the entire room, but outside, the sky was already a dark, foreboding gray.

  Perhaps because they were tired, the Pokémon that had been pying outside had all returned indoors. Alcremie had hidden in a cupboard, Smoliv had curled up in a flowerpot, Pawmi was lying on the carpet by the door, yawning, and even Dragonite had returo its Poké Ball.

  Rainy days certainly had a way of making everyone sleepy.

  Naoki stared out the window for a while, then yawned himself and turo look at Koraidon, who was lying beside him. Being the rgest of his Pokémon, Koraidon was a formidable presence—even in its quadrupedal form, its height exceeded that of the rog chair Naoki was sitting in.

  Koraidon was sleeping soundly, its eyes closed, eyelids occasionally twitg slightly, its chest rising and falling with each breath, and its rge head drooping to one side.

  'You know, at first, I thought Koraidon looked a bit strange,' Naoki mused, 'but after spending some time together, I've e to find it pretty cute.'

  Naoki didn't want to disturb the peaceful atmosphere. The trast between the howling wind outside and the warm, well-lit room made him feel safe and tent. He watched Koraidon quietly for a moment, then reached out aly touched its cheek.

  Koraidon woke up instantly, its golden eyes snapping open, pupils narrowing as it momentarily looked alert. But as soon as it saw Naoki, it rexed, yawning and looking sleepily at him.

  "Ah, gah…" Koraidon murmured, still drowsy.

  Naoki smiled and got up from the rog chair. He picked up Pawmi from the carpet and carried it to the bed, then opehe door. The wind rushed in, cool and strong, and Naoki took a deep breath.

  "It's going to rain soon," he murmured.

  Koraidon stood up as well, shaking its head and regaining its energy.

  Worried that the strong winds might damage the facilities on the ranaoki decided to che everything before cooking dinner. He put on his shoes, grabbed his Poké Balls, and headed to the chi coop.

  After some time, the chicks that had hatched from the eggs had learned how much to eat on their own. They no longer he artificial feeding system, and the hens could now be allowed to feed freely.

  Naoki took out feed from the silo, filled the trough and water tank with chi feed and drinking water, and carefully secured the doors and windows of the chi coop. Satisfied that everything was in order, he left the coop and made his way to the salt house where the Nacli Pokémon lived.

  Ihe five Pokémon were stacked together, peering out the window with worried expressions. Ordinary Pokémourally afraid of oppressive weather like this. The sheer power of nature be terrifying.

  Seeing their , Naoki gently suggested, "Why don't you all return to your Poké Balls for the night? There will be strong winds early in the m. You e back out ohe weather clears up."

  "Salt, salt!" The Nacli Pokémon had no objes. They were uneasy about the gloomy, windy, and rainy ditions, so they nodded and agreed without hesitation.

  , Naoki headed to the sheepfold where his Skiddo were kept. The three mbs were lying there leisurely, mung on grass, seemingly unfazed by the approag storm.

  Naoki couldn't help but imagihe three Skiddo's fag the storm, holding leaf bdes in their mouths, and somehow defeating the typhoon with one swing. The thought made him smile, though he quickly returo reality, realizing that their current shelter—a simple feh an awning that en on all sides—wouldn't stand up to the force of a typhoon.

  After a moment of thought, Naoki decided it would be best to put the Skiddo's bato their Poké Balls.

  "You three don't want your wool to get soaked by the rain, do you?" Naoki asked. Seeing the Skiddo's nod in agreement, he tinued, "Then e here and spend the night safely."

  With the three Skiddo's safely in their Poké Balls, Naoki turned his attention to the beehive where the bee lived. Knowing that the bee wouldn't ve to collect honey on rainy days, Naoki sidered bringing them inside. However, the bee seemed relut to leave their hive.

  After thinking it over, Naoki realized that perhaps staying in their familiar beehive gave the bee a greater sense of security. With this in mind, he squatted down to ihe beehive's stability. The fs of the hive were firmly anchored in the soil, so there was little worry about it being blown away by the typhoon.

  Just then, the first drops of rain began to fall.

  Seeing the rain start, Naoki left enough honey for the bee to sustain themselves and quickly ran back to the shelter of the eaves. The wind ig up, and the storm was about to begin in ear. Safe uhe eaves, Naoki took a moment to breathe and prepare for the long night ahead.

  Butterfree had arrived early and erched on its , watg over Naoki, who was drenched by the rain below.

  "Mmm?" Butterfree hummed in .

  Naoki grinned up at it. "It's okay, don't wo ahead a some rest for the night!"

  "Mmmmm~" Butterfree responded, readily agreeing.

  With the preparations for the approag typhoon plete, Naoki breathed a sigh of relief and turo start cooking dinner. But before he could step inside, he heard a puzzled sound from Butterfree: "Mee-ee?"

  Naoki turned around and saw Mayor Thomas, a raincoat, hurrying toward him.

  Naoki was a bit surprised and quickly weled the mayor uhe eaves. "Mayor Thomas, why are you here?"

  Thomas, mindful of the mud on his feet, hesitated to go inside, not wanting to dirty the floor. He stood uhe eaves, looking around the ranch as he caught his breath. "I won't go in. I just wao tell you that the typhoon is ing, and you o be prepared. Make sure all the Pokémon and animals are indoors, lock the doors and windows, and secure the feed!"

  He had seen the weather forecast at home and, knowing that Naoki had retly moved to the area, worried that he might not have much experience dealing with typhoons. So he rushed over to offer his advice.

  Hearing Mayor Thomas' , Naoki felt touched. He smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, I've got everything ready!"

  "That's good," Mayor Thomas said with relief. "I don't have anything else to add. Since you're prepared, I'll be on my way!"

  With that, he released a Cyclizar from its Poké Ball, mou, and quickly rode off, leaving as hurriedly as he had arrived.

  Naoki stood uhe eaves, watg the old man disappear into the distance, and then shook his head slightly, filled with a sense of gratitude.

  'They're all good people—whether Pokémon or humans,' he thought to himself.

  There was Mayor Thomas, who looked out for him, Zack, who was always generous and open-mihe warm and patient old ranch owner, and the diligent Kora.

  Speaking of Zaaoki recalled that Zack was supposed to e by to collect goods today. However, with his Skiddo in a rest cycle and not enough rock salt from the Nacli, the only thing he had avaible to sell were the mushrooms growing in the cave at the back.

  Thankfully, Naoki had been proactive that m. He had already harvested the mushrooms and pced them in the shipping box.

  Remembering this, Naoki checked the box and found the payment Zack had left behind. He pocketed the mohe io start preparing dinner for everyone.

  The rain outside grew heavier, f a thick curtain of water. But ihe wooden house, a warm and peaceful atmosphere prevailed, a f trast to the dark and stormy night outside.

  ...

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