"Vee~! "
"Vee-vee~! "
"Veeee~! "
The three Noibat quickly surrounded Hayato Sora, their excitement practically overflowing.
They handed him a gleaming golden trophy.
The trophy felt heavy in his hands, and three small claw marks were etched into the cup's surface—left there intentionally by the Noibat.
This was the first honor they had ever earned, something with deep sentimental value.
Three pairs of eyes—six eyes in total—looked straight at Hayato Sora.
They were clearly waiting for praise.
Hayato Sora understood their feelings perfectly.
It was just like a child who scored 100 points on a test, eagerly waiting to show it off and receive recognition from an adult.
Once he understood that, there was no way he would dampen their enthusiasm.
"You three were amazing, Noibat."
"Vee~"
Such a simple sentence, yet it made their hearts feel as sweet as honey.
The Noibat crowded around him, pushing their heads forward so he could pet them.
Hayato Sora rubbed all three heads with both hands for quite a while before they finally calmed down.
Just then, Cinccino ran over with the Flabébé, and when the little Pokémon saw the trophy on the grass, they gasped dramatically.
"Li-li~!"
(It's the champion's trophy! Noibat, you're incredible! That's a perfect score!)
The Flabébé began dancing happily in midair.
With Hayato Sora's praise in their ears and their friends' admiration and awe, the Noibat were practically floating.
Their faces even flushed faintly red with excitement.
After getting the Noibat's permission, Cinccino carried off the trophy proudly while the Mareep and Flabébé followed behind.
Hayato Sora stepped closer to the Noibat.
"Here—this is your championship reward."
He attached small red paper flowers to the sides of their wings.
"Vee~!"
Winning the championship, receiving praise from their friends, and now even earning red flowers—
The Noibat felt like they might die from happiness.
They returned to the cave in a blissful daze.
After the Noibat left, Cyclizar, who had been pretending not to care, walked over.
It grabbed Hayato Sora's pant leg and tugged at it.
Their eyes met.
Cyclizar's expression practically said:
"What about mine? Where's mine?"
"I didn't forget about you."
Hayato Sora patted Cyclizar reassuringly.
"Let go first—you're about to pull my pants off."
He stuck a red flower onto Cyclizar's forehead and sent it off to rest.
He still had more roads to pave.
Today, he hoped to finish several main roads around the ranch.
From the ranch gate to the ranch house.
From the ranch house to the stable, Mareep village, the cave, and the lake.
To make future ranch expansion easier, he also built a wooden bridge across the river, connecting both banks.
The happiest Pokémon was undoubtedly Cinccino.
With the new bridge, it could finally play on the other side of the river.
No more walking all the way around the lake.
As soon as the bridge was finished, Cinccino ran over to ask Hayato Sora for permission.
After he nodded, it immediately called the others.
A crowd of Pokémon dashed onto the bridge.
They leaned over the sides to watch the water flow beneath and bounced up and down on the planks.
The bridge was sturdy.
Even with five Mareep, Cinccino, and Morpeko jumping on it, it barely shook.
"Brr?"
Seeing this, one of the Mudsdale eagerly wanted to try stepping on it too.
Just as it lifted a hoof—
Hayato Sora quickly stopped it.
"You three definitely can't walk on it."
"Brr?"
"The wood used here is pretty ordinary. It won't hold your weight. Let's just go around, okay?"
"Brr-brr~"
Mudsdale stepped closer and gently nudged him with its nose.
Then it exposed its bare neck, silently asking for head pats.
When Hayato Sora placed his hand on its body, he suddenly felt several lumps.
"Huh? Mudsdale, why is your mane all tangled?"
After lifting the long hair, he discovered several matted clumps of fur.
He checked the other two Mudsdale as well.
They were exactly the same.
Every time they "bathed," they clearly just splashed some water on themselves and called it a day.
Understanding the cause, Hayato Sora sighed helplessly.
"You haven't rolled in mud today yet. I'll give you a proper bath."
"Brr…"
Mudsdale looked reluctant and tried to sneak away.
Hayato Sora called Kangaskhan over to keep watch while he returned to the ranch house to grab the bathing tools.
Then he led the Mudsdale to the river mouth where the stream met the sea.
He started by rinsing their legs—especially above the knees.
Too much dried mud there could disrupt their running balance.
Under Mudsdale's stiff posture, he applied Pokémon shampoo.
"Li-li~!"
Cinccino jumped up excitedly, eager to help.
It had long wanted to wash Mudsdale properly.
If Hayato Sora hadn't previously reminded it not to force its own preferences onto other Pokémon, it would have done this a long time ago.
But now that Hayato Sora himself was doing it—
Cinccino finally had its chance.
A fiery determination burned in its eyes.
This time, it was going to clean Mudsdale inside and out.
Hayato Sora assigned Cinccino to wash the body while he used a brush and shampoo to clean the mane and tail hair.
Unlike other horse Pokémon, Mudsdale's hair was extremely thick and dense.
Cleaning it was incredibly time-consuming.
Even after brushing once, he kept finding hidden clumps of dried mud tangled inside.
Together, human and mouse conducted a full-body cleaning operation.
By the time the three Mudsdale were finally cleaned, several hours had passed.
The sun was already setting.
"Li-li!"
Standing nearby, watching the Mudsdale shake water from their bodies on the grass, Cinccino felt exhausted but extremely satisfied.
This—
This was the Mudsdale it wanted to see.
"It's getting late," Hayato Sora called out.
"Don't go rolling in mud again. After dinner, go straight to sleep."
He packed up the tools.
"Brr~"
Mudsdale shifted awkwardly.
They felt strangely exposed—almost too clean, like something was missing.
Seeing Hayato Sora leaving, they trotted behind him step by step.
Following closely like loyal little attendants.
This was one of Mudsdale's ways of expressing trust and dependence.
By following him, they were acknowledging Hayato Sora as the leader of the herd.
Back at the ranch house, Hayato Sora lifted the yawning Cinccino off Mudsdale's back.
He rubbed its fluffy ears and habitually squeezed its soft belly while teasing it with a finger.
"Thanks to Cinccino today. You helped a lot."
Cinccino hugged his finger with its tiny paws and let out a soft sound.
"Li-li~"
Its eyes were already half-closed.
"So sleepy already?"
Hayato Sora chuckled and gently patted it.
"You can't sleep yet. Eat dinner first."
It was rare for Cinccino to get sleepy this early.
He asked the Meowth to watch over it while he hurried into the kitchen to cook dinner.
During dinner, Cinccino was already so tired it could barely keep its eyes open.
After just a few bites—
It fell asleep.
No matter how much they tried to wake it, it didn't budge.
With their main energy source gone, the other Pokémon also became sleepy not long after finishing dinner.
Everyone said goodnight to one another.
Then they all went to bed.
A rare early night for the entire ranch.
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