"I was going to ask why Sunshine Ranch's structure is so similar to Aether Foundation's... Oh well, I'll have plenty of chances later," William thought to himself as he walked through Saffron Village, looking for the carpenter's shop.
The village roads were better than the muddy path to his ranch; at least they were paved with concrete and quite level. Walking on them felt no different from city streets, except the passing vehicles were mostly wooden carts pulled by Pokémon like Tauros. Most villagers knew each other, and William saw many children playing together.
"Hurry up, hurry up!"
A group of children chasing a Pichu rushed past. Watching them, William unconsciously thought of his own past. After his parents divorced when he was ten, William rarely left home. Living with his mother in a villa on an island, he spent most of his time alone, idling away in a three-story mansion spanning hundreds of square meters. Although there were many ways to pass the time, no matter how much he communicated with online friends, a deep sense of loneliness always lingered.
"Not bad."
The children's figures faded into the distance, and William's memories grew hazy...
...
Carpenter shops were usually located near rivers. This was because, ever since craftsmen invented the first waterwheel long ago, they couldn't do without them. Using water current to power sawing machinery was both labor-saving and efficient. Even today, waterwheels remained indispensable equipment for carpentry workshops.
William followed the village road towards the river, hearing the creak, creak of a turning waterwheel from afar. Rounding the final corner, a distinctive wooden structure came into view. On a framework built from sturdy logs hung various wooden signs. The most eye-catching was a large wooden sculpture at the entrance: a lifelike Ursaring, over two meters tall, with even the texture of its fur carved in exquisite detail.
"Hello? Anyone here?" William gently pushed the half-open shop door, causing a bell to jingle clearly and melodiously.
The interior was bright. From the doorway, he could see directly up to the second-floor corridor. The first floor had no ceiling, instead opening directly to the wooden beam structure of the roof. Sunlight streamed diagonally through high skylights, forming pillars of light in the dust-filled air. The scent of pine wood was everywhere. Various semi-finished furniture pieces were stacked neatly against the walls on the first floor, and wood shavings and tools were scattered across the workbenches.
"Strange, no one here?"
William looked around the shop but found no trace of anyone.
"Ciino." Minccino jumped down from William's shoulder and began cleaning up the scattered wood shavings with its tail. It couldn't stand it anymore; this place had to be tidied!
Just then, someone else pushed the door open.
"Huh?"
The newcomer was a young man with green hair and a youthful face, who looked even younger than William.
"A customer? Where's the master?"
The green-haired youth ignored William and went straight upstairs. After a moment, a commotion could be heard from above.
"Master, you stayed up late again last night, didn't you!"
"None of your business!I'll sleep when I want!"
"There's a customer downstairs!"
"Huh?"A flurry of activity came from the second floor, followed by the sound of a wooden chair tipping over.
A middle-aged man with a silver, messy bird's-nest hairstyle and wood shavings all over his face rushed downstairs in a panic, nearly tripping over his own loose apron strings.
"Welcome to Saffron Woodworks!"
He tied his apron while wiping his face with his sleeve, only succeeding in smearing the wood shavings into a comical pattern. "I'm the owner, Oaknut! Need custom furniture or farm tool repairs?"
The Turtwig on William's head let out a "Twig!" cry. The shop owner finally noticed the Pokémon on his head, his eyes lighting up. "Oh my, this Turtwig is very well raised! Wait... that face..."
Oaknut picked up a monocle hanging around his neck, using it as a magnifying glass to study William's face closely.
"You wouldn't be... Old Man Macaw's grandson, would you? Can't be mistaken, you look just like him!"
Oaknut's voice suddenly rose several pitches, startling the green-haired boy on the stairs, who slipped and slid down on his backside all the way to the first floor...
"My, it's been so long! You've grown so much in just a few years."
Seeing Oaknut's familiar attitude, William searched the original owner's memories and recalled some things about this person. Oaknut, a carpenter's apprentice from the Hoenn region, had once studied woodworking under William's grandfather for a time. Many years ago, after William's grandfather retired from carpentry to focus on wood carving, this Oaknut had taken over, handling all the village's woodworking needs. He was someone who had had close ties with William's family.
Since returning to the Almia region, the original William had shut himself indoors. His last meeting with Oaknut had been over a decade ago.
"Mr. Oaknut, you're still the same as always, always smiling."
"Is that so? Can't be helped. A business needs to welcome customers with a smile. That's what Old Man Macaw said. I dare not forget... But you, you look quite spirited. The Mayor told me everything. You want to repair the fences and the Pokémon shed at that ranch, right?"
William nodded, then spoke. "Besides that, I was hoping to learn some woodworking skills from you, Mr. Oaknut. That way, if there are problems in the future, I can handle the repairs myself."
Upon hearing this, Oaknut, who had been all smiles, suddenly froze.
"Huh? You want to learn... woodworking from me? Didn't Old Man Macaw teach you?"
Seeing William continue to nod, Oaknut twitched slightly, as if he saw a fool throwing away a table full of delicacies to sample street food.
The green-haired boy, who had just gotten up, rubbed his backside and came over. "Huh? You want to apprentice under my master? Then I, as your senior brother, should seriously advise you..."
"Scram." Oaknut uttered one word. The green-haired boy slunk away dejectedly to clean the shop with Minccino.
"Sorry about that. That guy's name is Woody. He's an apprentice I took on just a few months ago. A complete idiot. Still can't even use a handsaw properly." Oaknut's face was full of resignation, but since he was the one who took him on, he had to bear with it and keep teaching. No wages, no room or board provided. How much he learned depended entirely on Woody's own effort. In short, Oaknut felt he was doing his duty as a master.
"Anyway, you can learn woodworking, but forget about a formal apprenticeship. Even if you're my teacher's grandson, if you can't devote yourself wholeheartedly to the woodworking trade, I won't take you as a disciple. That was the rule passed down when Old Man Macaw accepted me as his apprentice."
William just nodded again, saying nothing more.
Seeing William's reaction, Oaknut sighed softly. He was about to say something else when the door suddenly opened again.
A man wearing work pants stained with mud spots hurriedly burst in.
"Boss! Weren't you supposed to come fix my cattle pen today? Why haven't you..." The man stopped mid-sentence upon seeing there was another customer in the shop. "Ah, sorry, is this a bad time?"
Oaknut waved his hand. "No problem, no problem, Mr. Bull. We were just about to head out." He turned to William, his eyes suddenly lighting up. "Hey, William, are you free now? Perfect, come along to the site with us. We can start learning right there."
William nodded. "Okay, thank you."
"Woody! Get the tool cart out!" Oaknut yelled towards Woody, who was cleaning. He then turned back to Mr. Bull. "You head back and get things ready. We'll be right there."
After the man named Bull nodded and hurried off, Woody dragged a four-wheeled cart from the backyard. It was loaded with saws, hammers, nails, and various other tools.
"Master, everything's ready!" Woody wiped sweat from his brow, noticing William was still there. "Huh? You're coming too?"
Oaknut was already deftly putting on his work jacket. "William wants to learn some woodworking. Good chance to take him along to see how it's done. You're half a senior brother; remember to look out for him at the site."
Woody immediately straightened his back. "Yes! Senior brother guarantees the task will be completed!" He even winked at William.