The five Dragonair were eagerly following Naoki around.
Wherever Naoki went, they'd follow.
Naoki regarded them as though he had bought five Dragonair pendants.
It's winter now, and the pastures' fields are temporarily idle, no need for watering.
So, Naoki took the Corviknight Feathers he got from the Galar Region to the Berry Garden located in the southern part of the ranch.
In a month's time, Tinkatink had crafted its first hammer.
However, this hammer seemed a bit rough.
When Naoki arrived, Tinkatink was under a fruit tree, inspecting its hammer.
The Greedent was perched on a branch, gnawing on a Berry.
Not far away, in the forest, Maushold offspring, who had grown quite a bit, were playing hide and seek amidst the thick fallen leaves.
The addition of these wild Pokémon brought a lot of vitality to the Berry Garden.
Tinkatink frowned, looking very dissatisfied with its creation.
Naoki approached and curiously asked, "Is it finished?"
Upon hearing the voice, Tinkatink and the Greedent up above both looked up to see Naoki approaching.
Their eyes lit up, and then Tinkatink lifted the rough hammer for Naoki to see: "Waaah..."
Naoki inspected it closely and, unsurprisingly, found that the quality of the hammer was rather poor.
There were even rusty spots on it...
Undoubtedly, it was because of the poor quality of the materials Tinkatink used.
Tinkatink knew this as well; if only it had better metal.
But it had already scoured the area many times, finding no metal suitable for making a hammer.
Without a hammer, Tinkatink lived each day without a sense of security.
Thinking of this, its mood inevitably fell a little: "Waaah..."
Just then, Naoki smiled and pulled out a box of Corviknight Feathers from behind: "Ta-da! Look what this is?"
Tinkatink was slightly stunned, looking down to see the box full of dark, metallic feathers gleaming.
This, this, this is?!
Tinkatink's eyes widened in disbelief.
Isn't this the rare metal that only the mightiest Tinkaton in their tribe could find?
In its previous home, there were several Tinkaton, who wielded immense strength and often swung their hammers at flying Corviknight.
When those Corviknight were struck, they would drop some metal feathers resembling steel.
The Tinkaton said that using this metal to craft a hammer could smash anything.
Thus, owning a Corviknight Hammer became a dream for every Tinkatink in the tribe.
"It's for you," Naoki said.
Tinkatink was utterly shocked: "Waaah?!"
"That's right," Naoki patiently explained, "These feathers are a gift I brought back for you on this trip, and you can use them to forge a hammer that's uniquely yours."
"Waaah..."
Hearing this, tears welled up in Tinkatink's eyes, its heart filled with emotion.
This human named Naoki... is so wonderful!
Not only did he aid them and provide food and shelter, but now he's also gifted it a box of precious Corviknight Feathers!
Tinkatink was so moved it almost cried, biting its lip, teary-eyed: "Waaah!"
Never had anyone treated it so kindly!
Naoki was a bit puzzled: "...Alright, alright, it's just a few feathers, as long as they're useful to you. Also, once you've completed your hammer, I have a favor to ask: to craft a suitable hammer for Pawmot."
Hearing this, Tinkatink vigorously wiped its tears and nodded earnestly.
It was determined to craft the best hammer in the world for Naoki using these feathers!
With the Corviknight Feathers, Tinkatink bid farewell to Greedent and Naoki and went off to train in seclusion.
Naoki, touched by Tinkatink's serious demeanor, smiled reflectively, indeed, there are many diligent Pokémon in this world!
However, when he looked up, he saw the Greedent, round and plump from eating, clearly fatter than before.
Naoki: "..."
Alright, he took back what he said earlier, not all Pokémon are that diligent.
The Pokémon in the Berry Garden remained as they were.
Naoki strolled around, greeted Pokémon like Maushold, Surskit, Hoppip, and Shroomish, and checked on their wooden houses for any damage.
When it was Slakoth's turn, Slakoth was lazily lying on the thick fallen leaves, munching on a leaf.
At first, Naoki didn't feel anything was amiss until Koraidon let out a puzzled growl beside him.
"Argh?"
"What's up?" Naoki turned his head, following Koraidon's gaze to the Slakoth.
The next moment, realization dawned on him.
The fur color of this Slakoth had turned light purple!
Light purple... isn't this the color of a shiny Slakoth?
No way! He remembered clearly this Slakoth was an ordinary one.
After a brief moment of shock, Naoki stepped forward to check Slakoth's condition.
He felt around Slakoth's fur and soon found a spot where the fur was shorter than elsewhere.