Silverstone - Pokémon Rancher

Chapter 03

By BigTofu

Anthony Silverstone

Snatching my whip off the ground with a grumble, I stood and stared down the herd of a few hundred Tauros. The information ROB gave me said that there was something closer to 600 Tauros on this ranch and on my lands, so that could only mean they were spread out across the place, and I would need to track them all down.

That was fine, I could do just that, I had the Pokemon and I had the skills to get it done. Walking over to Ace, I untangled the rope from the saddle and packed it away before reaching into the pack on the side and pulling out treats. Everyone in my current team was given a treat as I allowed them the chance to catch their breaths. The herd eyed me warily from across the way but I ignored them to walk over to where the Alpha had landed.

In the spot wasn't a Pokemon, just the great ball it was captured in as it had stopped shaking for some time now. I couldn't lie and say that I wasn't a happy camper, I had easily caught three Pokemon that were clearly stronger than their natural counterparts. That means I would either have to check over the ranch with a fine tooth comb, or thank ROB for giving me such awesome luck.

From the look of the herd of Pokemon and their health status, I had half a mind to see if they were eating from a berry tree, but that could wait for later.

"Nova, round them up," I called with a circular motion above my head, the best bud vanishing with a burst of speed to obey my commands. A hand shot out and kept my Charizard from flying off and doing the same thing, I had other plans for him as I unleashed Tauros #2.

The light was muted, but when it cleared, the Pokemon it showed was slightly limping, but he was very much rearing to go. I punched my hand forward, "Champ, takedown, now!"

My Charizard roared as he jumped into a launching leap as he smashed himself into Tauros #2 head first.

"Dominate it and make sure it stays down," I ordered as I watched the rest of the herd. One of the smaller Tauros stepped forward, but my whip arm was just too quick. A snap crack of the whip left a mean mark on the ground near the Pokémon, and it backed up with a weary expression on its features.

Good. I then walked up and placed my hand along Charizard's nape, having him lean forward nice and menacingly towards Tauros's face. "You are my herd; on my lands, you will obey or become food."

The possibility of food was all Charizard needed to know before hot saliva fell from the fangs of his open maw onto the muzzle of the Tauros. There was a little sizzle, then the smell of burned hairs hit me, but I ignored it for the steady eye contact with the pinned Pokemon. It would comply or become BBQ, and it needed to learn how serious I was in this matter. I have 820,000 acres of land to take care of with no type of monitoring systems in place. ROB must be really enjoying this episode of Silverstone as I run around trying to solve the massive mess in my lap.

It took Charizard pressing down with his massive feet before the Tauros finally submitted to me as his trainer. Holding my gaze, I waited for him to pull a fakeout that never came. So, I had Champ remove his leg as I reached into my pouch and pulled out a potion. I gave Tauros #2 three sprays across the bruising, cuts, and other minor injuries. I then took a step back and allowed him to heal as I raised my hand and motioned for Ace.

I waved off Charizard to go and make peace with Tauros as Ace landed on my left. The Tauros took one look at me, then at Champ, and I could tell it wanted to bolt. Champ saw this before a grin formed on his features. I was fine with that, pokemon were just like animals, they needed not only structure, but also a hierarchy.

Every ranch Pokemon will know that me and mine were very much in charge here. Ace leaned down a bit as I took out one of the treats and offered him a nibble. Nova reappeared next to my right and I had to give the goodest boy his own treat along with Champ who noticed that he was the odd man out. Tauros #2 got one because I wasn't a dick.

Once everyone got their treats, I left Champ and the Tauros to their thing, made Nova lay down at the side and stepped into an open area with Ace.

"Ready buddy?" I asked my Pokemon as he let out a strong caw with his wings spread. "Alright then."

Pulling my arm back, I did a nice curve throw as I released Tauros #3 as Ace took to the air in a rush of speed and on silent wings. Tauros #3 let out a very loud and angry Moo as he checked his surroundings, zeroed in on me, and came right for that ass-whooping.

"Lock it down with a Twister!" I commanded as Ace appeared next to Tauros #3 in a burst of speed. Ace let out a mighty caw as the wind kicked up and trapped the other pokemon inside its center. "Ride the wind Ace."

Tauros #3 didn't like that. He glowed with some light as he braced himself, and I could only think that he used Endure. For some reason, I felt it before I saw it as the aura around Tauros #3 shifted to that of a light blue. His mouth opened as a flurry left his mouth, and my eyes narrowed as I tried to figure out what attack that might be.

At his multiple near misses, Tauros #3 got angrier and angrier, but when the attack frosted over some of the ground, I finally understood how dangerous the attack it was using was.

"Ace, Aerial Ace into Wing Attack, get him off his feet." I gave my command as the whip in hand flicked out as I prepared myself for what was going to happen next. It was clear that Tauros #3 was listening because the moment Ace came in for that body hit. Tauros #3 switched gears and tried to turn the point of impact into a body slam.

My whip was already moving before the Tauros could brace itself and shift into an attack. My hand was already up as the whip snaked through the air, and instead of lashing, it wrapped around one of Tauros #3's back legs. There was no need to yank on the whip as I had already set my feet, so while I could barely hold it, that split-second stutter was all Ace needed to knock the Pokemon on its ass when Tauros #3 tried to leap into an attack.

Ace struck Tauros #3 like a wrecking ball and sent it smashing into the ground, leaving a trail of blood and fur behind it. Hmm, I wasn't expecting that since Ace was on the lighter side, but I figured that speed plus its size could do such massive amounts of damage.

Again, things from the games weren't adding up nor things from the anime. It was clear that there was a lot more physics at play here than I was expecting, and I was alright with that. In all honesty, it was a bit of a shame that Pikachu might not be able to tank Legendaries, but I would cross that bridge once I got there. I had more than enough on my plate along with a series of things to be very aware of.

There was a series of moo's from the herd, but I ignored them as they went silent from Nova shifting his attention towards them. Blasted cows, well, blasted Tauros, causing me headaches. There were still multiple herds that I would need to track down and tag, for now though. I stood over the absolutely beaten Tauros #3 as it weakly raised its head towards me. Ace landed to my left with a smug look, tilted its head back and puffed up its chest.

My brave bird deserved all the love because he did a damn good job. I allowed Ace to enjoy the win as I knelt down and used the rest of the potion in the bottle. This Tauros was far too damaged for the plans I had so I put him back in the pokeball as I went back to the clearing.

The sun was up at and the time marked things as a little past high noon, which meant I would need to sort this out quickly and head back to the house. Nova took this as the sign that he was next as he stood from where he was standing guard.

"I know, boy. This one's all yours." I said as I ran my hand through his massive mane. The ground around us was no longer a nice-looking field of flat lands, no. If anyone came across this place, it would be clear that a battle had taken place here.

The grass was upturned in sections, holes in others, and then there was blood splatter, it was all a scene. Nova set his paws and braced himself, flames wrapped his frame, maw and forelegs. The pokeball in my hand felt heavy as it rolled across my palm. I then caught the pokeball between two fingers as I flicked the command button to activate it with my thumb as I swung my arm in a high arc.

The Pokeball made it ten feet before it burst open with life. Nova took off before the light could clear, but when it did. The light cleared to show a massive pokemon filled with muscles, broad of back with not a lick of fear in its eyes.

The Alpha Tauros locked eyes with me and all I could see was rage, too bad for him, I wasn't the opponent that he should be worried about. Arcanine slammed into the Alpha Tauros while going full speed with Flare Blitz. Alpha Tauros bucked hard which threw Nova off, I felt a chill as light gathered in the maw of Alpha Tauros.

No fucking way!

"Nova, get outta there, Extreme Speed!" I yelled, panic filling me as I could recognize the charge of a hyper-beam.

Alpha Tauros started his blast into the ground, which caused a small localized earthquake, kicked up dust that obscured my vision. This turned out to be a bad thing as the Alpha Tauros showed its intelligence as it then used the dust cover to sweep its hyper-beam up and around.

My reaction was instinctive and reflexive, as I dove out of the way. I could feel the beam's power and oppression as it missed me by bare inches. My ears rang, sweat ran down my back and my fight or flight instinct had kicked in again as red circled my vision.

I wanted blood.

"Nova, Extreme Speed into Thunder Fang, cripple it," I commanded as I envisioned what I wanted to happen. The aura within me swirled in a way that I never knew was possible as I felt it flow from my body and into Nova.

The aura that wrapped Nova's frame shifted from that of flames and crimson heat to that of thunder and crashing force. Something inside of me clicked as I started to move as Nova also moved. Alpha Tauros still had eyes set for me and me only and it was not ready for Nova as he savaged its leg,

I was halfway to the battle when I gave out another command, "Fire Spin with the leg!" I barked which sent Nova into a spin with the Alpha Tauros. The Pokemon did not like that but I was already throwing out more commands before it could think of what to do next. "BREAK ITS SPIRIT WITH CLOSE COMBAT!"

Nova released the limb and the Alpha Tauros took the chance it was given as a purple aura flared a bit in its eyes and around its head and horns. The fool had chosen to use psychic type energy for this attack, ha!

Rock, Paper, Scissors, I won bitch!

The psychic energy around the Alpha Tauros collapsed as Nova got in really close and went primal on the Pokemon. I said and did nothing as fur flew along with sod and grass, eventually, Nova came out on top, a gigantic paw pressed firmly onto the chest of the Alpha Tauros.

Nova's massive jaw was wrapped around his opponent's throat as he growled nice and deep. I said nothing as I walked up and stared into the Alpha Tauros eyes, the rage and defiance was still there, but there was nothing it could do. All it would take was a command from myself and Nova would finish the job. A simple command and one of the major pains in my ass would be taken out. I wanted to give that command, but I knew what I was looking at, the Alpha Tauros was perfect for being used as a breeder.

His genetic offspring alone would be able to fetch me a good price on the open market, but that shot way up if I offered breeding rights. I didn't even want to know how it came about or even begin to understand, but one thing was for certain. Pokemon had egg group breeding types. It was part of the knowledge that ROB had pushed into my head and I shuddered to think of how expansive the Field Egg group was along with the images of how the pokemon-doctors went about discovering such a thing.

Once his size and various other things were put up onto the breeder-net, people would be offering a lot for his seed.

Suppressing a shudder at the thought that brought up those very clear memories. I stared down at the defiant Pokemon, then with a snort, I pulled out the Pokeball and recalled him. Let him stew in stasis for a bit, I can deal with him once we get back home.

Reaching into my pack, I pulled out another potion as I gave Nova his inspection, "Alright buddy, let's get you taken care of so we can head back home."

Arcanine gave me a booming woof as he basked in with his win. I gave it a thought then took out a jerky from the pack and gave it to the goodest boy. As the best bud ate his jerky, I looked over a hand as I felt the aura within me stir to my demands. Azure blue flames sprang forward as it wrapped my hand from fingertip to elbow. I could only grimace at the sight of the flames as I realized that I was no longer a normal human, I was now an anime human with all that it entails.

Granted, I was taking all of this rather well, I would have at least liked the option for this change to my biology instead of it being forced onto me. At least then I would be able to ask a few questions, now I was assed out with aura with no instructions on how to use it.

I continued to play with the aura even as I grumbled like an old man, it took a bit of work, alot less than I honestly thought it would. Yet, I think that was only because I was keeping things simple which was a classic military approach to things.

KISS, KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID.

The aura gathered into the point of my index finger as I pointed it towards the treeline. I could admit at least how stupid I felt at this as I went through my Toby Miguire Spider-Man phase as I tried to pull the trigger. I went through the phrases shoot, pew pew, bang bang, and all manner of things until I figured out how to pull the mental trigger. I pulled the trigger and what happened next was so freaking embarrassing that I felt my face heat up and if I had any less melatonin, I would be blushing right now.

The trigger pulled and the aura glop just went forward and plopped onto the ground. For all that build up it was so sad that not even I wanted to show my face. Nova beside me chuffed a few chuckles as he watched my embarrassingly pitiful performance.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, laugh it up." I muttered as I gave the aura gun a second try. This time, I added compression, then rotation, took a firm stance, one hand bracing the other. The wind kicked up around me as it felt like the world stood still, sat up and paid very close attention to my actions.

I pulled the mental trigger, the air stilled as bright azure blue erupted from the tip of my finger, the earth underneath me shifted as I slowly drifted back. The world lost its light as everything went black and white for a microsecond that felt forever. Then the color of the world came back as my hand kicked upwards hard from the recoil as I was also blasted off my feet.

The world roared before going silent, then popped as my ears rang with tinnitus. I coughed as I caught the breath that was knocked from my lungs. I tried to sit up only to find that my hands felt weak, so with a groan, I rolled over to my stomach and used my old training as I folded my hands underneath me and propped myself up on my elbow.

Taking air deep, I then pushed hard as I then twisted back over to my ass allowing myself to sit proper. Now that I was no longer on my back, the first thing I checked was my hands and found my riding gloves shredded, that's not good.

My hands were red and swollen, but after more inspection, I found nothing broken, ripped or torn. That was an absolute godsend as I checked myself over some more and found my shirt ripped, my trench coat torn, but that was nothing compared to what happened to the lands before me. For that, you could see where I was standing as I had left grooves in the ground by my legs, but it was the small trench in front of where I was standing that made the biggest impression on me.

The trench was easily over ten feet long, three feet wide and at that distance, I could see where my aim was a bit off. It had taken off the upper section of the tree I was aiming at. It was a little far, but I could easily tell that multiple trees got their tops groomed.

As I took all of this in, the sting from my arms finally stopped as feeling returned to them. I stood up with a sigh and checked my surroundings and found Nova covered in dirt as he gave me a pitiful whine. Going over, I inspected my best bud and found that he was more than a little okay. It would seem that since I decided to use the full potion spray on his wounds the first time around, it was still in his system and retroactively helped him heal.

That being said, Nova was in far better condition than I was at this point in time. After a few behind-the-ear scratches, I gave the goodest boy's massive head a small nudge as I waved for Ace to come over and he gave a nervous shift from one leg to the other before gathering the courage to approach. Once he was closer, I grabbed a second potion and hissed at the pain from my hands as I forced myself to hold another potion and spray it over my forearms, hands and chest.

I checked my wrist and found the face of my watch had cracked. Luckily, I wasn't wearing my father's watch, so the watch being broken wasn't that much of an issue for me. The issue was that the X-transiver was brand new and already broken. That was five hundred Pokedollars down the drain, sigh. At least I bought multiples because this was a ranch, and you should always have backups for things.

"Champ, you're on overwatch, Nova, take the lead and keep those two in line," I called as I started to hand out orders. I had created a simple watch in the sand, did the four directions and then placed my water bottle in the middle of the circle. The casted shadow helped me understand that it was a bit after two.

The feeling of being a moron hit me over the head as I found my phone. The same phone I had put away at the start of this mess because I didn't want it to break while on my person. First thing i did before checking text was to look at the time and found that my little nature clock was close enough.

It was about twenty after two, which gave me plenty of time since once I checked the map. I found that it would take me somewhere around an hour to get back to the ranch. GPS put me at twenty minutes by flight, but I had a herd of animals with me so that was out the window. I then checked calls and found a single missed call with a lot of text. Bulma had sent a message about the lab being built and she was going to move the gear in. The other text was about her rambling on about pokemon energy, their malleable nature and a lot more.

With a shake of my head, I decided to dismiss it all, but then stopped, Bulma was a companion and I should treat her as one instead of like a minion. Turning, I took a picture of Nova, Ace and Champ, then took a picture of the Tauros that I had gathered. All of those were sent over along with a brief explanation along with my eta to the ranch.

My plan was to come in from the west since that allowed me to skip around a mini forest and a lake I had found on the flight out. That, I would need to visit later I thought as I looked over the map and noticed all the grey shaded areas. I had hoped to clear those areas once I introduced radars and relay stations across the ranch. As it was, the signal on the phone showed I was on the very edge of the service which barely allowed my text to be sent back.

Once all of the updates were sent, I got on Ace's back before giving his side a pat, and it was time to ride.

---

Ace touched down inside of the pen as I called out with a whistle and made a motion for Champ and Nova to direct the Tauros into the enclosure. After locking the gate to the enclosure, I went around its perimeter with Nova and Ace while I left Champ to continue his overwatch duties. The two Tauros I captured didn't have any issues as they followed behind me.

I would need names for them, but that's a later project, as I finished my loop around the enclosure. Finding it up to standards, I rounded the team up as I met Bulma on the porch. Standing next to her was Nurse Joy, but she wasn't wearing her normal Nurse Joy attire.

"Anthony, this lady said she has a delivery but won't let Me sign for it." Bulma stated with a pout, then Put her nose into the air. Little Chewie was perched on the railing next to Bulma, and it was clear he was picking up on her mannerisms. He also put his nose into the air. "Pika!"

Nurse Joy just smiled at them both, then turned towards me with a raised brow. "I take it you're Anthony Silverstone, yes?"

Putting a hand out, I rested it on top of Nova's massive head, "That I am, but the better approach would be to introduce yourself ma'am. I can recognize a Joy anywhere even if you're not dressed like one."

The Joy did a little dip of her head while also going into one of those little royal curtsies. "You may call me Agent Joy, and I work with the auction house."

That did it for me as I remember how much freaking money I had spent in the freaking place. It was such A coincidence that I felt ROB had to have pushed things in that direction just to get a laugh. I found it far unlikely that there would be a troubled Chansey for sale at the same time I was planning out the build of my medical building. That same freaking Chansey had me sweating as the price kept going up and up.

A pokemon that came out at four hundred thousand sold as two point five million before other bidders felt it wasn't worth it. I had seen the video of the little fluff ball, and let's just say her bedside manner could do with some improvements.

"Do I call you Nurse Joy or Auction Joy or is it Action Joy?" I asked with a chuckle as I offered a hand to shake.

The Joy gave me a look over even as she shook my hand, "Today i'm just a Courier Joy," she gave me a brilliant smile with a small titter. "I just need a signature, and a trainer card before I can turn these over to you."

I was fine with that as I was already reaching for my wallet. The Joy checked my cards, against the information she had before allowing me to sign for the package. Once everything was in order, she placed her backpack down as she pulled out a very large class case with multiple pokeballs on a velvet cushioned surface.

At my side, Bulma was muttering something about gravitational or magnetic localized locking or some such. Joy smiled at her even as those eyes flicked to the Capsule Corps logo on Bulmas chest. Hmm, it would seem that they might be aware of the possible competition to Silph CO. That could be more than anything why they sent a Joy instead of some ordinary minion. I would need to get my own hyper competent Joy or Jenny. Hell, I might just get lucky and snag both.

Joy turned back to see the smirk I sent her, Joy only returned a raised brow as she handed me the pokemon case. I said my thanks as she slung the bag back onto her back before excusing herself. I watched as Joy walked onto my destroyed lawn, and gave the construction crew a look even as she released her massive Togekiss. Then Joy was in the air and turned into a speck in the distance before I turned to Bulma.

Bulma had her little tablet out as one of her hands flew across its surface at speeds. "Why'd you let her go off like that?"

I chuckled, "I don't enjoy spies being in my midst" was my smooth reply as I reached for the ball with Eevee written on the little golden tag.

Bulma stopped what she was doing then narrowed her eyes at me. then looked off towards the direction Joy flew. "Are you sure?"

With a snort, I gave a nod of the head before placing down the pokemon case and then melting into one of the porch seats. Nova didn't even wait for a signal as he came over and put his massive head into my lap. I gave him a few scratches behind the ear while motioning for Bulma to take the seat next to my own. Chewie jumped from the rail to Bulmas shoulder and I watched her hand go to a shoulder and scratched him under the chin.

Tilting my head a little, "I see you two are getting along mighty fine."

Bulma blushed, as she looked away from my direction. She didn't say anything But I could see Chewie puffing his chest as he placed paws on hips. That was good, really good and it said I was doing the right thing. I already had plans to transfer him, but it wouldn't work if they were incompatible.

Reaching for my waist, I also pulled his pokeball off the locking mechanism as I gave a hum while undoing the trainer functions. So much of their technology used aura in some capacity, more so with all the pokeballs. It took a bit of your aura and imprinted it onto the pokemon. It was also why the call back feature was so effective.

I continued to work as I forced myself not to spin off on a tangent thought. I offered the first ball and gave minor instructions on how Bulma could get it locked to her, then watched as she returned Chewie to his ball then out once more.

Then I held out the brand new pokeball. I sighed. Bulma, there is a lot heading our way, and I'm not always going to be there to protect you, as much as I will try." I started to say, then held a hand up. Chewie is only a start to the line of defenses I want you to have, but I have another that may interest you."

Bulma frowned at me, "is this about the spy thing? Aren't you being a little too paranoid?" She still took the pokeball though as she rolled it across her palm with a thought.

"Yes and no," I said, then motioning in Joy's direction. "She has nothing to report, but we did Set up a lot of companies under the umbrella of Silverstone. Once they discover the power of your mind. Problems will begin to happen and we're not as large as your company back home. Plus, I felt you might deserve a treat for dealing with my shit attitude all the time."

She narrowed her eyes at me even as she went through the trainer functions of the pokeball to imprint her aura. Since I was a smart man, my hands were over my ears before the pokemon was released. The seal she unleashed sent Nova into a spiral as Bulma hit all new highs with her vocal notes.

Bulma acted as all ladies did when she saw some cute, fluffy and very much friend size and shape. Poor Eevee never had a chance as she snatched it up and buried her face into its fur.

Covering my ears barely worked as I had to shake my head to relieve myself of the sonic attack that was Bulma's screech. Reaching for my pouch, I offered Chewie a treat as he had jumped from Bulmas lap and hid underneath her chair.

At the side Nova whined from the sudden attack of sound. Standing, I gave myself a good stretch even as Bumla shot up from her seat.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Bulma Yelled excitedly as she pulled me down and placed multiple kisses across my face.

Her soft lips met mine as her arms wrapped around my neck and pulled me in closer. Taking the signal for what it was, I returned the kiss deeply as I double palmed her backside and gave her a nice lift. Legs locked around my waist as tongues dualed for dominance.

It took a bit, but eventually we did have to split for both to get some air. She shot me a devilish smile, then gave me one last peck on the lips, shimmied out of my hands then vanished with both of her pokemon.

After watching her go, I went inside to wash up before heading out back to find Gio.

---

When I found him, Gio was standing next to a really massive Machamp that wore a clearly custom hard hat and safety vest.

All around, people moved with a purpose as various pokemon worked alongside them. I noticed Golems, Geodude, Gravelers, Machokes and so much more as they covered the worksite, I was honestly impressed.

Once he was finished the gruff man turned and offered me a hand to shake, "Mr. Silverstone, glad to know your back."

I shook his hand with a chuckle, "Glad to be home, I see your guys have been busy." I replied as I made a motion towards the lab building with a medic building attached. I had also noticed that they had shifted the work ahead to the right which allowed a lot of space. Only Bulma's work building and the medical station were on the left.

Everything else was on the right, and I could see that they were in the middle of building both the bunk house and my custom Pokemon stable. I had my own way of doing things, and I felt Pokemon, just like dogs, might want their own space. For now, it would have about ten Pokemon rooms, the same as the hunk house.

Gio directed me closer and once I checked, I found him using fire types to cook the concrete with ground types to dig and move the earth for the other buildings. I turned a corner and snorted as I found my Rosie using her tk to move materials around and sort them with the help of Gios guys. A little bit away, Machokes were flexing to impress her with their muscles.

Placing my fingers to my lips, I blew a whistle to get my Pokemon's attention. She waved back at me as she slowly lowered the materials. Once she was finished, she teleported over and latched onto my back like a shoulder loli as she rode me around the rest of the construction area.

Once we finally reached the area that I was aiming for Gio finally grunted as he looked around and noticed the fire pit. He blinked a few times when turned to look at me, I smiled at him. "A promise is a promise, and you were able to not only get Bulma's lab up and going, but also the medical facilities. For that, I'm going to show you guys how I throw down with some BBQ."

I placed my finger to my lips again as I blew a loud whistle, then yelled towards the sky, "CHAMP, ROUND BACK!" I called and got the construction boss's attention. "Let your guys know things should be ready in about an hour. "

Gio grunted, "There are eighty mouths to feed, one hundred and sixteen Pokemon."

My hand slashed through the air, "I gave my word, my word, I shall keep." Plus, I would rather you guys have a full stomach once finished instead of going into the night hungry, tired, and battling between a shower or a hot meal."

Gio never got to say anything as Champ came soaring over the house with a roar. The two Tauros that I had captured earlier today were looking around. I could see their slight shiver due to being scared of all the new experiences. A finger snap drew their attention as I directed them to move to the side. Champ again was left in charge as I pointed out the cherry wood for the fire and tasked him with stoking the flame.

When I entered the house through the backdoor, I went straight for the ice box, as I had Rosie levitate the meat for me.

I had tri-tips, ribs, sausages, and even chicken.

Being who I was meant I had bought a month's worth of meat, yet I was going to cook it all within a single day. I was honestly alright with that because it would put me into the workers' good graces, and they would work harder to make sure the work got finished not only faster but with pride as they double-checked their work. They wouldn't want to disappoint me, the person who feeds them good food.

Rosie lent a hand as I got to work with all the spices as I double marinated all the meats. My hands and thoughts moved quickly with Rosie following right along with barely any prompting as I had allowed her into my mind. With the meat placed on the grill, I shared a look with Champ as I glared at him and impressed upon the mini dragon that I would not be happy if he ate anything without permission.

Once that was enforced, I left the mini dragon to keep a sharp eye out while I diced potatoes, chopped hard boiled eggs with a few veggies. Dash some mayo, sweet onions and some chopped celery before doing my sprinkle of paprika, salt, pepper and then some good ole fashion Larry's.

Already a lot of time had elapsed since I started, so the moment I removed the top of the grill. The scent aroma came out and pulled everyone's attention. My pokemon might have been salivating before but now they were fully drooling. Some of the guys who had started to filter in as they closed out their works gulped as they shuffle stepped closer.

"Nova, make sure they stay back," I said, commanding a few to raise their hands in surrender. Ignoring the people who started to gather, I took my seasoning spray and gave the tri-tips and ribs a nice glaze. The sausages got flipped and shifted as I started to add in a few buns.

My hands worked with swift speed and grace as I buttered buns, toasted them on the griller, and then put them to the side. Next were the flour tortillas as I built up a really nice stack of them. Those were put under a covering as I had Princess clean a couple of rocks before putting them in a metal container with water to get boiled by Champ.

Once they were nice and hot, I put them in a group, and threw a platter on top along with some napkins before putting the buns and tortillas onto the large platter. More and more people gathered as I found that the sausages were finished and I moved those to their own platter with warm stone underneath. Things quickly got into a groove from there as half of the ribs got finished and got a nice glazing of BBQ before I let them slow smoke for a bit.

Nova and Champ got the nice juicy ends from two tri-tips while I had Rosie act as an intermediary with the Mackoes to get the Pokemon food out. I had sprung for the real fancy stuff that had actual meats and veggies dried and chopped instead of the kibble. Hell, three of the big bags I ordered from a company that made it fresh and to order. I had more carnivores on my team than herbivores, so I wanted to make sure their food was fresh along with the rest.

Anyway, the Pokemon that didn't eat meat were served a nice meal of grilled vegetables and Pokemon food, while the others got a mixture of cooked meats and their Pokemon foods. I found that a lot of the people here didn't mind that I decided to feed the Pokemon first before letting them form a kango line to serve themselves from the rest that was ready.

When I got to the ribs, I found that Nova was standing right at my side, his own Pokemon food long forgotten as he stared at the grill along-side Champ. The same Charizard that liked to play at being the bad Pokemon was trying to give me babydoll eyes as he stood there, claws clasped before him.

Rolling my eyes at the two, I pushed them away to eat their own food, promising they could get any of the leftovers. I still snuck them each two ribs before leaving them to eat. It had to be the noise and activities of eating, along with the aroma, that finally pulled her from that lab-turned lair.

With a chuckle, I gave her a smile and waved her over, it was time to feed my money-making genius.

Authors Note's ::::

The ranch is underway, and I've introduced the Guardians' Aura, which will be a big thing in the story, just like it was in the movie. Also, how many people caught that YuYu Hakusho reference, guns will work sure, but there are pokemon that bullets just won't be able to effect. The same thing with humans, get to that level of aura mastery, and bullets just sting.

Plus, I have a clan and family type thing going on in this AU that I haven't introduced yet.