A regur mold was carefully removed from a device resembling a steamer. Inside was a translut, jelly-like block of energy food, glistening uhe light.

  “Phew.”

  Wearing thick gloves, Natsume exhaled softly as he pced the mold aside to cool down.

  O reached the right temperature, he would cut it into smaller portions—ready-to-serve pokéblocks. One such cube could sustain a Pokémon for several days. Of course, this excluded Pokémon like Snorx, infamous for their insatiable appetites.

  “The first batch, done.”

  Looking at the first pokéblocks he had crafted sining to the farm, Natsume nodded with satisfa.

  It seemed his skills hadn’t dulled. While he had only been on the farm for a few days, hands-on tasks like these always required regur practiaintain proficy.

  “Buneary!”

  “Mino!”

  At the doorway, Buneary and Mino she air, their eyes sparkling at the entig aroma wafting through the room.

  The freshly made pokéblocks emitted a warm, fruity st uo berries—a rare and tantalizing treat for the two little Pokémon.

  Seeing their eager expressions, Natsume took off his gloves aed the cube's temperature. Although still warm, it had cooled enough to be safe to touch. He sliced a small piece off, divided it into three portions, and hahem to Butterfree, Buneary, and Mino.

  Mino and Buneary received their portions as if they were precious treasures. Uo wait, they immediately took a bite—only to yelp softly after burning their mouths.

  “Fuwah fuwah!”

  Both Pokémon instinctively blew on the food to cool it down, their reairr each other.

  “Briii!”

  Butterfree floated over, sensing their struggle. Its psychic pently lifted the freshly prepared energy cubes, while a light breeze stirred from its fluttering wings.

  Move: Tailwind.

  “Mino!”

  “Buneary!”

  Grateful for Butterfree’s help, the two Pokémon tinued blowing on their portions. Ohe cubes were cool enough, they popped them into their mouths, their faces lighting up with sheer bliss.

  Watg this, Natsume recalled a popur meme:

  Reporter: “Do you know what happens when you eat too much junk food?”

  Man: “You smile with happiness.”

  Of course, pokéblocks were far from junk food.

  Turning baatsume began preparing the batch. While pokéblocks teically had a shelf life, no trainer ever let them go to waste. Anyone who did should sider managing a warehouse instead of Pokémon.

  As he washed some berries, a dirt-colored blur rolled toward the house, followed by a pink streak zipping close to the ground.

  “Sandshrew! Sandshrew!”

  Sandshrew rolled to a halt just before crashing into the house, expertly perf a drift and side-parking maneuver. It then trotted excitedly io find Natsume.

  Furret, oher hand, wasn’t as skilled. Although it mao avoid a direct collision, it overshot the house by several meters before ing to an awkward stop.

  When Furret finally returned indoors, it saw Sandshrew receiving several pouches from Natsume. The seriousness with which Sandshrew held the bags made it look like a dedicated otaku cradling a collector’s edition of rare merdise.

  Furret tilted its head but didn’t bother asking. It simply filed Sandshrew uhe category of "odd Pokémon."

  The farm seemed full of quirky Pokémon, from Mightyena Sr., who acted like a goofy dad, to the Zigzagoon and Pooa perpetually bickering. Now Sandshrew had joihe ranks, along with the Corvisquire upstairs who endlessly recited TV catchphrases.

  “Good work, Furret.”

  Natsume handed Furret a piece of pokéblock as a reward. Taking a towel from Buneary, he wiped his hands before patting Furret on the head.

  Feeling the warmth of Natsume’s palm, Furret closed its eyes in te, its tail swaying rhythmically. At that moment, it finally uood why Mightyena Sr. ehese pats so much.

  My apologies, Mightyena Sr. I misjudged you before. You're not stra all.

  With that, Furret mentally removed Mightyena Sr. from its bcklist and tinued sav Natsume’s attention.

  Meanwhile, Natsume discussed the day’s tasks with Sandshrew.

  “These transparent bags tain regur grains, while the ones with patterns hold seeds for Prosperity Grains.”

  “We’ll divide the farmnd into four ses—twur grains and two for Prosperity Grains.”

  “Sandshrew!”

  Although it didn’t fully grasp why there had to be four ses instead of two, Sandshrew assured Natsume it uood.

  Sitting on the doorstep with its pouches and an pokéblock, Sandshrew’s excitement alpable.

  Watg farming videos on the unal tablet had stirred something deep within it. Now, holding the seeds, Sandshrew felt a profound awakening—its Farming Spirit had been kindled.

  Upstairs, Corvisquire paced bad forth, refining its battle bos—not strategies like "Toxic Stall," but stylish moves for fir. Essentially, it ractig taunts to mock oppos after a victory.

  Amid its dramatic rehearsal, the egg in Natsume’s incubator wobbled ever so slightly.

  Inside, a small life impatiently waited to emerge, eager to experiehe world.

  As dusk fell, the setting sun paihe horizon with hues e and red.

  Deep within its cave, Ogerpon stretched zily and performed a series of warm-up exercises.

  "Hum!”

  In a little while, it would go meet the human from yesterday.

  g its tiny fists, Ogerpon cheered itself on.

  You do this, Ogerpon. There’s nothing scary out there. Just ordinary things. Absolutely nothing to fear...

  But as it peeked outside, doubt crept in.

  It’s terrifying! Why did I think I could do this?!

  “Hmmm—”

  The cave echoed with Ogerpon’s panicked cries.

  Gcell