Kalos Region — Outside a half-abandoned farm along Route 12.
A young man with short brown hair that reached his eyebrows stood in front of the farm, sighing with emotion.
Beside him stood a massive Pokémon. It walked upright on two legs, its entire body brown, with armor-like protrusions protecting the joints of its shoulders and legs.
Standing nearly three meters tall, from afar it resembled a towering monster—almost like a living Godzilla.
"Kangaskhan , this will be our home from now on."
The boy named Hayato Sora stepped forward and patted the giant Pokémon's thigh, his excitement impossible to hide.
"Kaang~!"
The Kangaskhan cried out happily at Hayato Sora. With a stable home at last, she could finally think about raising offspring.
She lowered her head and looked at the empty pouch on her belly.
Recently, as she approached adulthood, her instinct to nurture a child had grown stronger, making her somewhat irritable.
Having spent years together, Hayato understood Kangaskhan's condition better than anyone.
He gently patted her leg in reassurance.
"Don't worry. Let's head inside first."
As he finished speaking, Kangaskhan reached out, lifted Hayato effortlessly, and placed him on her shoulder. One human and one Pokémon walked through the broken side gate into the farm.
From his elevated vantage point, Hayato could see everything inside the ranch clearly.
"A ranch that only costs 100,000 Poké Dollars… I guess I shouldn't have expected much ."
What greeted his eyes was complete decay.
Untended weeds had overrun the entire pasture, growing wildly for years.
Some were so tall they reached Kangaskhan's waist.
"Kangaskhan, clear a path."
Hayato pointed toward the ranch house that could barely be seen through the dense weeds and trees.
"Slash!"
With a sharp metallic sound, brilliant white light flared from Kangaskhan's claws.
As she strode forward, arcs of slashing light swept across the field, cutting down large patches of weeds at their roots.
Within moments, a clean path from the gate straight to the ranch house had been cleared.
Standing before the ranch house, Hayato 's eyes gleamed.
At that moment, the system notification that had been stuck in his mind for so long sounded again.
[Ding! Ranch Core detected. Bind this ranch?]
"Yes."
Hayato responded silently.
In the next instant, a white light swept out from his body, covering the ranch house before expanding across the entire property until the whole ranch was enveloped.
At the same time, a translucent azure interface panel appeared before his eyes.
[Ranch Lv.1]
Owner: Hayato
Area: 500 hectares
(Mountains, plains, lakes, beaches)
Facilities:
• Ranch Cabin (Lv.0)
"…Hmm?"
After waiting a moment, Hayato looked around.
"That's it? At least give me a beginner gift pack."
[New Player Gift Pack has been distributed.]
"Oh, so you're not a useless ability after all."
He quickly opened the gift pack floating before him.
Two items appeared.
[Kangaskhan ite]
A mysterious Mega Stone that allows Kangaskhan to Mega Evolve when held.
[Key Stone]
A stone containing mysterious energy that enables a Trainer to trigger Mega Evolution in a Pokémon holding a compatible Mega Stone.
"System… I misjudged you."
Feeling the smooth warmth of the stones in his palms, Hayato grinned.
Mega Evolution was not unusual in the Kalos Region.
Professor Sycamore had recently been appointed an Alliance Pokémon Professor due to his research on Mega Evolution.
During his earlier travels, Hayato had battled several Trainers capable of Mega Evolution.
As for the results…
About three wins out of ten.
His carefully trained Kangaskhan had once been knocked out in three seconds—seven punches in a row.
"Kangaskhan, this gem is for you."
"Kaang?"
Kangaskhan sniffed the stone curiously, clearly sensing the powerful energy sealed inside the Kangaskhan ite.
After examining it for a moment, she carefully placed it inside her pouch.
A gift from Hayato had to be protected properly.
Hayato stored the Key Stone in a compartment of his waist bag. Tomorrow, when he went to Shalour City to purchase supplies, he planned to ask a craftsman to make two bracelets—one for himself and one for Kangaskhan .
The pair circled around the ranch cabin once, and Hayato quickly reached a conclusion.
The cabin was far too dilapidated.
It would have to be rebuilt from scratch.
Just as his gaze settled on the building, a small interface window popped up in the corner of his vision.
[Ranch Cabin Lv.0 → Ranch Cabin Lv.1]
Cost:
• Poké Dollars: 10,000
• Wood: 450
Description:
Rebuild your ranch cabin. Provides a single bed, fireplace, and optional decorations.
Building Effect:
Energy Recovery Lv.1 — A warm cabin that belongs only to you. Sleeping here with a Pokémon companion will allow you to wake up refreshed the next day.
This was the power of his ability—the system called Harvest Ranch Story.
It was strikingly similar—about ninety percent—to a farming simulation game he had played in his previous life.
Hayato wanted to repair the cabin immediately.
Unfortunately, that wasn't possible right now.
First, he didn't have enough Poké Dollars. Raising Pokémon was expensive. Buying this ranch for 100,000 had already consumed most of his savings, and the little money he had left needed to cover food and daily expenses.
Second, he lacked wood. There was a small forest to the east that belonged to the ranch, so Kangaskhan could gather some there later.
For now, rebuilding the cabin would have to wait.
"Grrr…"
Just as Hayato was thinking, the unmistakable rumble of a stomach growling sounded nearby.
Hayato jumped down from Kangaskhan's shoulder.
"We've been busy all morning—it's about time for lunch. Kangaskhan, wait a moment."
Without hesitation, Hayato got to work.
After all, People and Pokémon need food to stay strong—skip a meal and you'll feel it.
The same applied to Pokémon.
His Kangaskhan was much larger than average and consumed a lot of energy, so skipping meals wasn't an option.
Hayato unpacked his camping set, pitched a tent, and took out the ingredients he had prepared earlier.
Meanwhile, Kangaskhan watched for a moment before quietly walking toward the sea of weeds.
If Hayato was cooking, she shouldn't be idle.
White light gathered around her claws as she turned into a relentless harvesting machine, darting through the weeds while leaves flew everywhere.
Out in the wild, meals didn't need to be fancy.
From the Shalour City Department Store, Hayato had bought sliced toast, bacon to heat up, and freshly cut tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and pickles.
Layer by layer, he stacked the ingredients onto the bread.
Soon, an enormous deluxe burger was born in his hands.
"Hmm?"
Hayato blinked in surprise.
"Even the food I make has a description?"
[Deluxe Burger (C Rank)]
Description:
A luxurious burger made with multi ple ingredients. Balanced nutrition with both meat and vegetables. Recommended to enjoy with Moomoo Milk.
Cooking Effect:
Energy Recovery (Small) — Quickly restores a Pokémon's stamina and grants the Full Belly Boost buff for 30 minutes.
"Energy recovery, huh?"
Hayato was pleasantly surprised.
Glancing toward Kangaskhan , he waved.
"Kangaskhan, lunch time!"
A gust of wind swept through the grass as Kangaskhan sprinted over in seconds.
"Here. Give it a try."
"Kaang~!"
Kangaskhan eagerly sniffed the burger before swallowing it in a single bite.
Delicious…
For the first time, Kangaskhan experienced such a satisfying taste.
Moments later, a surge of energy spread through her entire body.
She threw her head back and roared excitedly, eyes blazing as she stared at the vast sea of weeds across the ranch.
Kangaskhan Weed-Clearing Mode: Activated.