Pokemon: Farm Story

As night fell, Natsume, having worked tirelessly all day, decided to order takeout for himself.

Tonight, he didn't feel like cooking.

Making Pokéblocks was enjoyable, but cooking…

Well, everyone knows that cooking involves far more than just frying up a dish.

Buying ingredients, washing, prepping, frying, plating, and cleaning up afterward—frying is merely the easiest part, while the others are the real time and energy drain.

Since he'd been busy all day, Natsume just didn't feel like going through all that tonight.

"Thanks, Delibird."

Taking the delivery from the Delibird, Natsume waved at it in thanks.

The Delibird perched on his windowsill gave him a polite wave in return.

Unlike the courier Delibird from before, this one wasn't carrying a large bag.

Delibird's tail doubles as a pouch, though its capacity is somewhat limited. That's why the previous Delibird needed to carry a bigger bag for extra items.

Watching the Delibird disappear into the night sky, Natsume sighed in reflection.

"Working late delivering food… must be tough."

He suddenly regretted not offering the Delibird a Pokéblock.

When it came to Pokémon, Natsume had always been forgiving and fond. Even for Pokémon just passing by, he wouldn't hesitate to show them kindness.

Humans, however? Natsume wasn't nearly as patient or kindhearted.

It's like how the faults of humans—laziness, obesity, round faces, or small eyes—might annoy people, but those same traits on animals? They're endearing.

A lazy cat gets cuddled, a chubby dog gets hugged... but no one hugs you (strikethrough).

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Natsume placed the steaming takeout on a small round table.

"Leee."

Nearby, a shiny Furret, having just finished its daily training, lay sprawled comfortably on the floor.

Its body curled into a perfect C shape, making it the perfect makeshift couch for Natsume to lean against.

"You've grown bigger, haven't you?"

Leaning against the shiny Furret's fluffy body, Natsume rubbed its fuzzy head.

It seemed noticeably larger than when it first arrived at the farm. By now, its body length had exceeded the norm for its species by at least half.

Despite its increased size, the Furret's speed hadn't dropped at all. In fact, it was so fast that it could now rival Persian for the title of the farm's swiftest Pokémon.

"Leee?"

Have I?

The shiny Furret tilted its head in puzzlement. It wasn't entirely sure. Maybe?

Growing bigger didn't feel as obvious to it. After all, who really notices themselves getting taller day by day?

But it did notice that it had been getting faster lately.

In fact, it could now outrun most of the Pokémon on the farm during their training sessions.

Great! The training's working!

Tomorrow, I'll train even harder!

Resolved, the shiny Furret silently vowed to keep pushing itself.

---

After quickly finishing his meal, Natsume followed his usual routine of checking on the Pokémon around the house.

The Minccino, fresh from cleaning, was taking a bath.

Lopunny was tidying up.

The Hisuian Zorua was playfully chasing Togepi.

Corvisquire was engrossed in watching videos on its Poképhone, occasionally mimicking lines it found amusing.

Persian and Butterfree were deep in conversation, as usual, sharing topics they always seemed to have in common.

Then there was Zorua… playing some sort of wobble game on top of an egg?

"Wait a second…"

Natsume stared at the scene, dumbfounded.

"Where did you get that egg?"

He didn't recall any Pokémon on the farm laying an egg recently.

Surely, no Pokémon would secretly lay an egg, abandon it, and disappear, right? That seemed way too far-fetched.

"Suo suo!"

Perched atop the egg, Zorua raised a paw, as if trying to explain.

It wasn't stolen! Zorua found it at the bottom of the lake. It was just doing a good deed!

"Found it?"

"Suo suo!"

Zorua nodded enthusiastically. It had sensed a familiar presence and followed it to investigate.

"What do you mean by a 'familiar presence'?"

"Suo."

You know, like someone I know!

Zorua scratched its head, struggling to articulate.

It had never been great at explaining things, and being asked to do so now felt awkward.

It was like asking Togepi to explain why it always demanded a "friendship fee" from its Lopunny senior—some things were just hard to put into words.

"Even after hearing that, I still don't get it," Natsume muttered, scratching his own head in frustration.

One was bad at explaining; the other was bad at understanding. Both sides found the conversation exhausting.

Finally, after some back-and-forth, they reached a conclusion:

"Forget it. Let's not overthink it for now."

Natsume decided to let it go.

The egg was here, so it was here.

"Just make sure you take care of it properly."

He trusted Zorua enough to handle the responsibility.

"Suo suo!"

Zorua eagerly nodded. It was thrilled with this arrangement—no need to explain further!

While it didn't particularly enjoy babysitting, playing with the egg was fun.

For now, Zorua lay atop the egg, wobbling back and forth like it was on a rocking horse.

"Alright, enough for today. Time to sleep," Natsume said.

He retrieved Togepi's old incubator, filled it with nutrient fluid, and carefully placed the egg inside.

Behind him, a large crowd of curious Pokémon gathered, all eager to see the mysterious egg.

"Tomorrow, I'll need to buy more nutrient fluid... and some berries too."

Looking at the egg soaking in the green fluid, Natsume began planning tomorrow's errands.

With his schedule set, he slung an arm around the shiny Furret's neck and dragged it upstairs like a giant sack of fluff.

The Furret, utterly spent from the day's activities, didn't resist—it was like a soft, furry pillow being dragged along.

Following them upstairs were Togepi, clutching its blanket, and Lopunny, carrying its pillow.

These two insisted on sleeping with Natsume every night.

Lopunny had its own pumpkin-shaped beanbag chair to sleep in, while Togepi and the shiny Furret always nestled in bed with Natsume.

At least, that was the current arrangement. Togepi might change its mind after evolving.

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