Porto Marinada is located in the northwest of the Paldea region, a bustling seaside town.
From the original owner's memories, Leo knew that this town hosted a variety of local festivals.
There was the Spring Festival, the Water Pokémon Rally, the summer-exclusive Fireworks Festival, and more.
These unique festivities attracted many tourists from out of town. Coupled with the thriving ranching industry nearby, Porto Marinada had developed into a prosperous hub over time.
The "Porto Marinada Market" in town was particularly famous.
Leo and Cyclizar walked along the streets. Pedestrians passed by, accompanied by all sorts of Pokémon. Walking in the leisurely sea breeze, the air was filled with a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere.
Leo had come for more than just food; he had an important agenda.
He needed to visit the carpenter's shop, the general store, the seed shop, and the stores selling ranch animals and Pokémon.
"It's almost six o'clock." Leo worried that the shops might close soon. He thought for a moment and turned to Cyclizar. "Hungry?"
"Gaa-ow!"
Cyclizar nodded, then shook its head. Clever as it was, it realized Leo had business to attend to and indicated it could wait a bit longer.
Seeing this, Leo smiled warmly and patted its head. "Good boy. Come with me to the general store first."
"Gaa-ow~"
The town wasn't huge. perhaps to prevent tourists from getting lost, maps marking the locations of various shops were clearly displayed on street corners and billboards.
Locating the general store on the map, Leo headed straight there.
After crossing an intersection, a red brick building appeared in front of him.
It was evening, so the shop was quiet. A balding, bespectacled man sat behind the counter, playing with a Fidough.
Hearing the wind chimes at the door, the man looked up. "Oh? A customer! Welcome!"
Leo greeted him politely, then asked, "Do you have seasonings?"
"We do! On the shelf all the way in the back!"
Leo went to the back and, sure enough, found a wide variety of seasonings.
Oil, salt, vinegar, soy sauce, flour, spices, red bean paste, butter, sugar, pepper...
The prices were clearly marked below each item.
A bag of flour cost 200 League Dollars, a bottle of oil was 100, red bean paste was 150, and so on.
Looking at these prices, Leo struggled to understand the economy of the Pokémon world.
A small bag of flour cost the same as a Poké Ball. Looking at it that way, Poké Balls didn't seem that expensive.
After thinking for a moment, Leo bought one of every seasoning.
When he brought them to the counter, the owner looked surprised. As he bagged the items, he asked, "Just moved to Porto Marinada?"
"Yes," Leo nodded.
The owner smiled. "Well then, enjoy your life here! That'll be 2,820 League Dollars."
Leo didn't rush to pay. Instead, he asked, "Do you have fishing rods?"
"Fishing rods? We sure do!"
The owner turned around and pulled a few fishing rods from the shelf behind him, placing them on the counter. He introduced them one by one:
"Each one is in a different price range. This one is 2,000 League Dollars. Pair it with some bait, and you can catch Pokémon and fish anywhere there's water."
"This one is 5,000. The materials are higher quality, so it performs better than the 2,000 one and is harder to break."
"As for this one over here, it's 15,000. It's the latest Super Rod model. Top-tier materials and performance."
Leo: "..."
His gaze lingered on the three rods, but he ultimately chose the ordinary 2,000-dollar rod as a stopgap.
"That brings the total to 4,820 League Dollars. Since it's your first time shopping here, I'll throw in a box of bait for free. Please come again!" The owner smiled, handing over a small tin can.
"Thanks, boss."
Leo took his items and left the shop.
His second stop was the carpenter's shop, located at the edge of town, backed by a forest.
There was a wooden stump outside with a saw stuck in it.
Just as Leo was about to knock, the door opened automatically.
A strong woman with a pink high ponytail and a hairband walked out.
After Leo explained his purpose, the woman led him into the workshop in the back.
"You're the new ranch owner, right?" she asked curiously.
Leo paused, realizing Mayor Thomas must have spoken to her too.
He nodded. "I'm Leo."
"Call me Robin."
"Okay, Miss Robin."
As they walked, Robin explained the process for expanding the ranch buildings. "You haven't named the ranch yet, have you?"
Leo shook his head. "Not yet. I only arrived yesterday."
"No rush, I was just asking. Mayor Thomas filled me in. You're here to ask about repairing the Pokémon barn and expanding the house, right?"
"That's right."
"I'll go through them one by one. Repairing the Pokémon barn costs 50,000 League Dollars and requires 300 pieces of lumber. Once it's fixed, you can raise Miltank and Wooloo there. Of course, that price is a bit steep for you right now."
"So, I recommend starting by building a Coop. You can raise ordinary chickens there, and selling their eggs is a good way to make money. A Coop only costs 20,000 League Dollars and 150 pieces of lumber."
"Besides that, you'll need to build a Silo to store fodder. We'll give you a free Silo with your first construction."
Leo nodded thoughtfully, memorizing the prices.
"What about expanding the house?"
"That's much simpler," Robin said. "Building a fully functional house costs about 2,000,000. We'll add a second floor, a separate kitchen and bathroom, and renovate the basement. Usually, ranchers use the basement for brewing wine."
"We also offer custom furniture. Besides basic tables and chairs, you can buy wallpaper, carpets, fridges, cabinets, lighting, and so on."
Five minutes later, Leo walked out of the carpenter's shop.
Calculating his remaining funds, he suddenly felt overwhelmed by the number of things he needed to do.
"Why does this feel busier than my 9-to-5 job..."
Leo sighed, imagining the day the ranch would be restored to its former glory. A look of anticipation appeared on his face—by then, he could relax and truly enjoy the leisurely life of a rancher.
Since he couldn't afford the Pokémon barn yet, there was no need to visit the animal shop for now.
Climbing onto Cyclizar, Leo headed to his final destination—the Seed Shop.
The owner was a slightly chubby middle-aged man in a brown coat.
When Leo arrived, the family was having dinner.
Seeing a customer, the owner stood up immediately. "Welcome! What kind of seeds are you looking for?"
Leo didn't know. He only had the packet of Turnip seeds from the Mayor.
Guided by the owner, he looked at the shelves filled with various seeds.
Potatoes, Turnips, Garlic, Strawberries, Cabbage, Cucumbers, Radishes, Tomatoes, Fodder, and even Berry seeds like Pecha and Oran Berries.
Leo was dazzled. The owner explained, "These are all suitable for spring planting. They've been cultivated to be easy to grow. Just water and fertilize them on time, and they'll grow big and strong."
Leo nodded silently.
Seeds in this world were different from Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley.
A single packet contained many seeds, enough for a large patch of land, unlike games where one packet covered one square.
After some thought, Leo decided to buy one packet of everything, including the fruit tree seeds.
Prices varied. Basic Turnips were 60 League Dollars a pack, while Strawberries and Cucumbers cost 120 and 150 respectively.
The total came to 1,370 League Dollars.
This left him with about 27,000 from the truffle sale.
Packing up the seeds, Leo left the shop with Cyclizar.
It was dark outside.
Looking at the stars, Leo took a deep breath. "Alright, time for dinner!"
"Gaa-ow..." Cyclizar looked pitifully hungry.
Leo smiled, rubbed its head, and led it into a restaurant.
After a hard day's work, he decided to eat out.
The menu offered both human and Pokémon food.
Cyclizar... probably liked meat, right?
Leo ordered a meat dish and a Berry set meal for Cyclizar to reward the day's MVP.
Soon, the food arrived.
Watching Cyclizar gorge itself, Leo felt genuinely happy.
Pokémon really were simple, cute creatures.
He looked down at his own aromatic Vegetable Stew and Corn Potage. Information floated up.
As expected, these dishes had no special buffs.
Leo confirmed his theory: "Only food made by my hands has that power."
After dinner, Leo bought groceries for the next three days at the market. Lacking a fridge, he couldn't stock up too much, though the cool spring weather would keep things fresh for a while.
Laden with bags, Leo rode Cyclizar home through the night.
The night air was chilly, the wind biting.
Cyclizar disliked the cold, but Leo's warm body on its back helped drive the chill away.
In that moment, Cyclizar suddenly really wanted another bowl of Leo's warm noodle soup.
Cyclizar was fast. They were back at the ranch in under thirty minutes.
The ranch was pitch black. Anticipating this, Leo had brought a flashlight.
He was fumbling for it in the dark when he suddenly heard a loud BANG.
It was a massive sound, accompanied by the cracking of timber.
Like something had fallen from the sky, crashed into the ranch, and flattened a patch of trees.
Startled, Leo finally grabbed his flashlight and shone it toward the noise.
In the beam of light, he saw a strange dark shape in his field.
Leo jumped. Cyclizar immediately stood up from Ride Mode, staring warily at the intruder.
It sensed an unusual aura.
The flashlight beam hit the dark shape. It was lying motionless on the ground, seemingly unconscious.
By the light, Leo finally saw it clearly.
A scarlet body, a thick tail, flamboyant dragon whiskers, and a tire-like sac on its chest.
It was...
Leo froze in place.