Pokemon: A New Path
Naoki’s class- II [673]

The sun was already dipping lower in the sky. His tour of Blueberry Academy was over. It was time to return to his ranch, to his Pokémon, and to Elara.

The rest could wait for the official start of class next week.

Naoki said goodbye to Principal Cyrano and mounted Koraidon, soaring back toward the ranch.

Shortly after he left, in the faculty office, Briar sat at her desk and opened her computer.

She calmly resubmitted her application to the Paldea League, requesting permission once again to explore Area Zero, deep within the Great Crater of Paldea.

At the same time, at the Paldea League headquarters.

Rika stared at the application report on her computer screen. After a moment of silence, she turned to Geeta across the desk.

"Ms. Briar has submitted another request to enter the Great Crater of Paldea."

"Hm?" Geeta raised an eyebrow. "She still hasn't given up?"

In truth, Briar had been trying to gain permission to explore Area Zero for quite a long time.

As Heath's descendant, Geeta had no personal objection to Briar entering the crater for research.

But the situation was complicated.

The Paldea League was currently in active collaboration with Professor Sada and Professor Turo, who were conducting classified research in the depths of Area Zero.

And for now, both professors had explicitly requested that the existence of Paradox Pokémon remain a secret from the public.

As part of their partnership, Geeta and the League had agreed to keep those activities confidential.

"This is really giving me a headache," Geeta sighed, rubbing her temple. Then she said, "Reject Briar's application again. Same reason as before. Tell her the crater is extremely dangerous, and only trainers who've reached Champion rank are allowed to enter."

Geeta had met Briar in person before. As far as she could tell, Briar was more of a researcher than a field-ready trainer, and currently served as a teacher at Blueberry Academy. Her battle ability was quite limited.

"Yes, understood."

Rika was not surprised by the order.

She nodded and prepared the response.

[Paldea League: We are sorry, Ms. Briar. Due to the highly dangerous conditions within the Great Crater of Paldea and the presence of aggressive wild Pokémon, we are unable to grant access to anyone below Champion level at this time. Thank you for your understanding.]

...

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Koraidon touched down at the ranch.

Naoki climbed off and took out his Rotom Phone to check the time.

3:02 p.m.

They had left Blueberry Academy around 2:40. The trip took just twenty minutes, not too far at all.

The ranch looked peaceful, just as he left it.

The weather was warm and pleasant. The afternoon sun poured gently over the land, casting a golden glow across the entire ranch.

All the Pokémon that usually stayed indoors had come outside to bask in the sunshine.

Eeveelutions were stretched out on the grass with their soft bellies exposed, snoozing in the warmth.

Iono had brought the cradle outside, setting it in a sunny spot under the porch.

She gently rocked the cradle while sitting beside it, softly humming as she coaxed Elara and a drowsy Larvesta to sleep.

All around them, the Pokémon were relaxing together. Some napped, some played, and a few curled protectively around the cradle.

The ranch was full of life.

The three Legendary Beasts, Entei, Raikou, and Suicune, were lying not far away in the grass. They watched over the future Rainbow Hero with calm eyes, quietly enjoying this rare moment of peace.

When Naoki returned, Iono immediately looked up.

To avoid waking the baby or the nearby napping Pokémon, she mouthed silently, "You're back? Did everything go well?"

Naoki nodded, then stepped inside to grab a bench before settling down on the grass beside her.

"It went really well. Blueberry Academy is incredible. The Ecological Park, well, they call it the Eco Dome- has over two hundred different Pokémon species." His eyes lit up as he started recounting the day's events.

"Two hundred?" Iono raised her eyebrows, clearly impressed.

"That's what I'm saying. It's unbelievable. Even if you add together all the Pokémon here on the ranch and at the World Tree, there still aren't that many species in one place."

"Principal Cyrano said I can even catch Pokémon freely inside the Dome. Next time I go, I want to explore the entire area."

Iono gave him a look and said, "Hey now, we already have a house full of Pokémon. If you bring back more, we won't be able to manage them all."

Koraidon, resting nearby, gave an exaggerated nod in agreement.

"Ah gah!" it grunted, clearly supporting Iono's point.

Naoki sighed.

He just really loved those adorable Pokémon.

Like Alolan Vulpix, Litten, Popplio, Squirtle, Gengar... Each of them had their own charm. If they were roaming the ranch too, it would make things even more lively and fun.

Looking at the eyes of Iono and Koraidon, Naoki finally gave in.

"Alright, alright. With you around, that's more than enough," he said with a playful sigh.

"Agashi!" Koraidon barked proudly.

"That's right," Iono chimed in, nodding with satisfaction.

But then she added with a teasing smile, "Still, it depends on fate. If a Pokémon wants to live with us, we'll welcome it, but if you're just thinking of catching rare ones for collecting, then forget it."

"Of course. I've never done that," Naoki replied with a grin.

Every Pokémon on the ranch had come into his life through chance encounters. They weren't trophies. They were companions.

He wasn't like Goh, who threw Poké Balls at every wild Pokémon just to store them in a backyard he barely visited.

"Isn't that right?" Naoki whispered, glancing down at the cradle.

He saw Elara blinking awake. Reaching out, he gently pinched her soft cheek.

Elara flailed her tiny arms, babbling, and then, with surprising accuracy, chomped down on his finger.

It didn't hurt, but Naoki paused.

Wait... had her teeth started growing?

He leaned closer, peered into her mouth, and gasped. "Iono, I think Elara's getting her first teeth!"

"Huh?" Iono quickly leaned in.

Koraidon, curious, also leaned over with his massive head.

"Time really flies," Iono said with a wistful sigh.

It felt like just yesterday that Elara had been born, and now she was already teething.

Before long, she'd be crawling around, calling out for her parents.

Iono couldn't help but wonder, who would she call first? Mom or Dad?

The couple exchanged a smile, their hearts full of expectation.

...

In the blink of an eye, a week passed, and the calendar turned to May, Year 203 of the Alliance Calendar.

That morning, Naoki handed over the care of the ranch to Iono and the Indeedee siblings, packed a few Poké Balls in his coat, and flew off on Koraidon toward Blueberry Academy, rising like a pearl above the ocean.

Along the corridors of the school, several teachers greeted him warmly.

"Good morning, Mr. Naoki."

"Looking forward to your class today!"

Naoki nodded and responded politely to each of them.

Before long, it was time for class.

Naoki stood up from the staff lounge, stretched, and made his way toward the classroom with Koraidon quietly following behind.

When they entered, the classroom was already full of students. All of them turned toward the door, their faces lit with excitement.

Naoki's eyes swept across the room, and he quickly spotted Carmine, waving at him from her seat.

Next to her sat a young boy with dark hair and bright eyes.

Kieran.

Naoki blinked in surprise. Wasn't Kieran a first-year student? Why was he here in a senior class?

The truth was, ever since Carmine had heard that Mr. Naoki would be teaching at Blueberry Academy, she had rushed to tell her little brother.

Wanting to know how Mr. Naoki was doing, and eager for any news about Ogerpon, Kieran had quietly slipped into the upper-grade lecture.

Now, Carmine's face was glowing with enthusiasm as she waved again.

Kieran, on the other hand, sat straight-backed in his seat. He was just as thrilled, but his personality made him hold back. He didn't wave like his sister, but his shining eyes gave him away.

Naoki smiled and gave them both a small nod.

Then, turning to the rest of the classroom, he spoke with warmth.

"Alright. Before we get started today, I want to ask all of you something."

He paused, his eyes scanning the eager faces in front of him.

"Have you been getting along well with your Pokémon lately?"

"Yes!" the students chorused in unison.