Carter's attention was drawn to Koraidon, who was now yawning zily.

  Naoki noticed Carter's curious gaze and expined, "Are you traveling?" He assumed, based on Carter's attire, that he was a wandering trainer, much like those he had seen in the anime.

  Carter nodded. "Yes, I am. By the way, what should I call you?"

  "Just call me Naoki," he replied. "I retly took over this abandoned ranch."

  Naoki uood the e Academy's liberal arts curriculum, whiced students to explore the Paldea region and challenge gyms instead of attending traditional csses.

  "Alright, Mr. Naoki, thank you for your hospitality," Carter said, notig the single bed and pulling out a sleeping bag from his backpack. He unfurled it on the flng at Koraidon from time to time. Finally, curiosity got the better of him. "What kind of Pokémon is that?"

  Naoki recalled that Koraidon's name had been given by Professor Olim, the researcher who discovered it. The name might not yet be widely known.

  "I'm not sure," Naoki answered truthfully. "I entered it retly, and it doesn't seem to be in the Pokédex yet."

  Carter's eyes widened with excitement. "A newly discovered Pokémon! Mr. Naoki, did you catch it?"

  Naoki looked at Koraidon. "Catch it?" he repeated, unsure if that was the right term.

  "Wow!" Carter excimed, his voice filled with envy. "You must be a very skilled trainer, Mr. Naoki!"

  Naoki shook his head. "No, I'm just a rancher."

  Carter looked unvihe aura emanating from Koraidon was incredibly powerful. How could someone capture such a Pokémon without being a strong trainer? It was on knowledge that catg a Pokémon required defeating it in battle, proving one's strength and earning its respect. Only then would a Pokémon willingly enter a Poké Ball.

  Naoki, unsure how to respond, g the clock. It was getting te, so he decided to retire for the night.

  Carter, exhausted from his ordeal, gratefully crawled into his sleeping bag and quickly fell asleep.

  The night passed peacefully, and Carter awoke early the m.

  He g the bed; Naoki was still asleep. Quietly, Carter slipped out of bed, grabbed Delibird's Poké Ball, and headed outside.

  The m light revealed the ran full detail. rows of crops, freshly tilled earth, and signs marking each plot stretched out before him. The distance made it difficult to read the signs, so Carter walked closer to the fields.

  "Turnips, potatoes..." he read aloud, impressed by Naoki's meticulousness. It was clear that Naoki had put a lot of care into managing the once-abandoned ranch.

  Inspired by the sight, Carter held up Delibird's Poké Ball. "We 't sck off either, Delibird!"

  With a fsh of white light, Delibird materialized in the air.

  "Let's get some exercise before breakfast!" Carter decred, brimming with energy.

  This was his training routih Delibird. Every m, they would run ps around the schoolyard before eating.

  "Bibi!" the bird Pokémon chirped in agreement, then took off, cirg the ranch with Carter jogging below.

  After a few ps, they stopped to rest under a tree at the edge of the pasture. "Alright, let's practioves!" Carter said. "Have you mastered Icy wi?"

  "Bibi!" Delibird nodded fidently.

  Just then, Carter noticed a wild Caterpie perched on a branch above them.

  His eyes lit up. "Delibird, let's battle this Caterpie!"

  "Bibi!"

  The Caterpie, hearing the otion below, looked down with a calm gaze.

  Wanting to battle?

  The Caterpie met Delibird's gaze without a hint of fear.

  Seeing Caterpie's readiness, Carter issued his and, "Delibird, use Icy wind!"

  "Bibi!"

  A surge of iergy gathered around Delibird as it fpped its wings, sending a bst id wind towards the Caterpie on the branch.

  "Even though Ice isn't super effective against Caterpie, Delibird has been training hard. Its Icy wind should be much stronger now. Defeating a Caterpie shouldn't be a problem," Carter thought fidently.

  Everyone kneie was notoriously weak, with little defense against other Pokémon besides spitting out fragile silk threads. He watched the Icy wind attack with anticipation.

  However, the moment, the Caterpie surprised him. It calmly faced the oning attad swiftly spun a web of silk in front of itself. The amount of silk was astonishing, f a seamless shield in mere seds.

  The Icy wind collided with the web, freezing it solid. But the frozen web, noed like an umbrel, shielded the Caterpie behind it.

  "What?!" Carter excimed, taken aback.

  Before he could react, the icy web shattered, and a rge crag with yellow electricity shot out from behind it. The Delibird, caught off guard, was hit by the Electroweb.

  A surge of electricity coursed through its body, causing it to cry out in pain. Its eyes rolled back, and it fainted.

  Carter stood frozen in shock, disbelief etched on his face.

  If he wasn't mistaken, the move Caterpie had just used was Electroweb.

  But how was that possible?!

  "Is this even the same Caterpie I knew?" Carter wondered aloud.

  Just then, he heard footsteps approag from behind. He turo see Naoki walking towards them.

  Before Carter could speak, the wild Caterpie jumped down from the tree and scurried over to Naoki's side.

  Carter's eyes widened in surprise. "Mr. Naoki... is this Caterpie yours?"

  "Yes," Naoki nodded, gng at the unscious Delibird. "Did you battle it just now?"

  The state of the Delibird suggested it had beeed by Caterpie's Electroweb. Electric attacks were super effective against Flying types, and the surprise factor likely pyed a role as well.

  Carter blushed, embarrassment washing over him. "I'm so sorry! I thought it was a wild Pokémon."

  Naoki was about to respond when a brilliant white light enveloped the Caterpie. Its body began to transform rapidly.

  The once soft body hardened, its numerous legs disappearing, repced by a smooth, crest-shaped form. A green bump appeared on its back, and its bck eyes half-closed.

  As the light faded, the Caterpie was gone, repced by a brand new Metapod.

  Carter's jaw dropped. "It evolved!"

  Naoki smiled. "I suppose you helped it achieve its evolution."

  "No, I 't take credit for that," Carter stammered, still in shock.

  Naoki picked up Metapod and began walking back to the . "Let's head baside. Your Delibird needs some attention."

  Carter followed, his mind rag with questions.

  Naoki looked down at Metapod and said, "gratutions on your evolution."

  Metapod, uo speak or move mu this stage, simply blis eyes in aowledgment.

  In the wild, Caterpies typically sought out a safe location before evolving, hanging themselves from a branch with their silk. This Caterpie, however, had instinctively sought Naoki's prote, trusting him to provide a safe haven for its transformation.

  Naoki, uanding this, asked before pg Metapod down, "Would you like to stay inside or outside? If you want to stay outside, just blink once."

  Metapod blinked slowly.

  Naoki nodded. "Alright, I'll make a box for it ter."

  Metapod blinked gratefully, uo express its thanks in words.

  Naoki pced Metapod on a soft b and turned his attention to Carter's Delibird. The bird Pokémon was still unscious, its body twitg slightly from the residual electrical energy.

  "Just mix Cheri and Pecha Berries together and feed it to Delibird," Naoki instructed, retrieving the berries from his basket and preparing a mixture for the injured Pokémon.

  Soon, Delibird opes eyes blearily, regaining sciousness. Carter breathed a sigh of relief, but then his thoughts returo Caterpie's impressive dispy.

  "Mr. Naoki," he asked, still in awe, "how did you do it?"

  Naoki was fused. "Do what?"

  "How did you train that Caterpie to be s?" Carter crified.

  A Bug-type Caterpie defeating a Ice-Flying type Delibird in one move was astonishing enough. But the fact that the Caterpie used Electroweb, a move it shouldn't naturally know, was even more unbelievable. Unless someone had specially trai, there was no way it could have learned such a move on its own. But even then, it would be incredibly difficult, requiring a secret teique to teach a Caterpie, a Pokémon without any i electrical abilities, to use aric-type move. Even a top-tier trainer might not be able to pull it off.

  Carter's mind raced. Naoki had captured a mysterious and powerful Pokémon and taught a weak Caterpie to use Electroweb. Mr. Naoki must be an incredibly skilled trainer!

  Naoki, however, simply smiled awkwardly. "That was all Caterpie's own effort. It's a very special Pokémon."

  This wasirely untrue. Besides feeding Caterpie, Naoki hadn't provided any training. The Caterpie's growth was a result of its owermination and a bit of luck. Both hard work and fortune were necessary for a Pokémon to reach its full potential.

  Carter nodded knowingly, interpreting Naoki's response as a humble refusal to divulge his secret trainihods.

  Naoki, sensing Carter's assumptions, decided to ge the subject. "It's getting te," he said, rising to prepare breakfast.

  He kept things simple, making sandwiches with smoked sausage and tomatoes from the Mesagoza Market. Koraidon and Cyclizar eheir meal, as did Carter and Delibird, who expressed their gratitude with happy chirps.

  After breakfast, Carter prepared to leave. He o restock his supplies in the own before returning to the e Academy.

  He stood at the edge of the ranch with Delibird, waving goodbye to Naoki. "Thank you so much for your hospitality, Mr. Naoki! I won't fet your kindness. I'll e visit again with Delibird when I have the ce!"

  Naoki nodded with a smile. "Safe travels."

  Carter waved enthusiastically, then turned and ran towards Mesagoza.

  Naoki watched him go, feeling a sense of kinship with the many supp characters Ash entered in the ahey would offer assistao passing trainers, sharing stories of their journeys and Pokémon, before parting ways to tiheir own lives.

  Shaking his head with a smile, Naoki waited until Carter was out of sight before turning back to the shed. It was time to build a home for Metapod.

  He used a saw to cut the wood into pnks, then assembled them into aop wooden box, seg the pieces with nails. He lihe box with fresh leaves and pced two Pecha Berries inside for sustehen, he gently pced Metapod inside and hung the box uhe eaves, out of the rain.

  The open design allowed for ventition and provided Metapod with a view of its surroundings.

  After evolving from Caterpie, Metapod no longer o battle to grow. Its entire pupal stage was dedicated to preparing for evolution. The hard shell protected its body as it underwent a transformation, stantly renewing its cells.

  When it reached a certain size, Metapod would break free from its shell, emerging as a Butterfree in its final form.

  Naoki looked forward to that day. He had fond childhood memories of Butterfree, thanks to Ash's Butterfree in the anime.

  "Grow up strong," Naoki whispered, gently toug Metapod's shell.

  As if sensing his encement, Metapod responded by activating Harden, a soft green glow enveloping its body.

  It had heard him.