Chapter 250: Changes at Towada Lake

"We're here."

Natsume gazed at the treehouse ahead, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Natsume, is this the Oranguru cabin you mentioned?" Diancie asked curiously, walking beside him.

"Yeah, let's head up," Natsume replied, stepping forward.

Crunch, crunch~

The snow beneath their feet made crisp, crackling sounds.

Natsume led Diancie and Gardevoir up the wooden stairs of the treehouse and inside.

Outside, the cold was biting, but the interior of the treehouse was warm and cozy. This was likely due to the Sizzlipede curled up inside, its Flame Body ability radiating heat. Around it, several other Pokémon huddled close—a few Swablu, a couple of Altaria, and two Shinx.

Inside, Oranguru seemed unchanged, still sitting behind the counter as usual, fiddling with its collection of cups. At the counter, a Bibarel was grooming its fur, while Yuki sipped on a cup of hot tea.

Yuki looked up in surprise as Natsume entered. "What brings you here?"

Natsume smiled. "I saw on the news that the mountains are buried in snow, so I thought I'd come check it out."

Thanks to teleportation, traveling from the south to the north was as easy as visiting a neighbor for Natsume.

"Still, it's pretty lively here," Natsume remarked, glancing around at the Pokémon in the room. "Everyone’s taking shelter from the storm, huh?"

"Yeah," Yuki replied, watching as Natsume took a seat beside her. "A blizzard’s about to hit, so any Pokémon passing through stop here to rest and wait it out."

She gestured toward the Swablu and Altaria. "They’re actually planning to migrate south."

"Migrate?" Natsume looked at the group of Altaria and Swablu. "Migration sounds like a good idea."

"Swablu?" One of the Swablu opened its eyes and peered curiously at Natsume.

Natsume smiled and pulled out some Pokémon snacks he had brought with him.

"Swablu~" he called softly, holding out the treat.

The Swablu tilted its head, as if considering, then hopped over to Natsume’s side.

"Good girl," Natsume said, gently stroking the Swablu’s fluffy feathers.

Yuki watched the scene with a smile. "Natsume, your affinity with Pokémon is truly unmatched."

Natsume chuckled. "You’re too kind."

"Let me introduce you. This is Princess Diancie from our farm."

Diancie bowed politely to Yuki. "For now, I’m just Natsume’s student. Please call me Diancie."

Yuki gave a slightly puzzled look but nodded. "Understood. I’m Yuki, one of the rangers here and a good friend of Natsume’s."

Natsume laughed. "Enough with the formalities. Diancie, what would you like to drink?"

He ordered a fruit tea for himself, and Gardevoir followed suit.

Diancie nodded. "I’ll have the same."

Oranguru gave a slight nod. "Coming right up."

Diancie’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as she looked around the counter. "May I come behind the counter to take a closer look?"

"Of course," Oranguru replied.

"Thank you so much!" Diancie beamed, stepping behind the counter.

Yuki, cradling her cup of tea, smiled at Natsume. "You’ve taught Diancie well, it seems."

Natsume shrugged modestly. "Diancie was already a good kid to begin with. So, how’s everything been around here? Anything interesting happening?"

Yuki sighed, staring into her cup. "Well, the snow came earlier than usual this year. And for some reason, a lot of wild Pokémon have been migrating from the other side of Towada Lake."

"The other side? You mean from the Diamond City area in Frozen Bear Country?"

"Exactly," Yuki confirmed. "We looked into it, and that area seems to be the source of most of the migrations. On my way here, I even ran into a pack of Weavile."

Natsume frowned thoughtfully. "If that many Pokémon are migrating, something big must be happening over there."

Yuki nodded. "Pokémon are always more perceptive than humans. I’m a bit worried, but that area is under Frozen Bear Country’s jurisdiction. Their rangers are highly skilled, so I’m sure they’ve got it under control."

Natsume smirked. "You saying that makes me feel like something’s definitely going to go wrong."

Yuki quickly waved her hands. "Let’s not jinx it. By the way, Natsume, you’ve been making quite a name for yourself lately. A lot of the ranger girls have started idolizing you as their ideal boyfriend."

Natsume laughed. "That’s a bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?"

"Not at all," Yuki insisted. "I mean, even a legendary Pokémon like Diancie has come to study under you. And your farm just built a Dynamax Battle gym. Speaking of which, the Japan League and Great Britain have been arguing about that."

"Oh?" Natsume raised an eyebrow. "I hadn’t heard. What’s going on?"

Natsume rarely concerned himself with league politics. As long as he didn’t interfere with the league’s operations, the Japan League was content to let him do as he pleased—especially given the growing influence of his farm.

Yuki explained, "From what I’ve heard, Great Britain and the United States are pressuring the Japan League to return a batch of Lucky Stars. Apparently, the U.S. originally purchased them from Great Britain, but the Japan League is sticking to the high seas salvage principle."

The high seas salvage principle was simple: if you could recover something from international waters, you were entitled to 90% of its value, with only 10% going to the original owner.

Natsume nodded in understanding. "I see."

Yuki smiled. "It’s been going on for a while now. Most likely, it’ll just fizzle out without any resolution."

Bang!

Just as Yuki finished speaking, a Delibird burst through the treehouse window in a panic.

"Hey hey!" it cried, frantically opening its tail-like pouch and looking to Oranguru for help.

Yuki’s expression immediately turned serious. "Has someone run into danger?"