Chapter 182:A Day with Manaphy at the Farm

Morning light painted the sky in soft hues.

Manaphy sat alone on the roof of the farm cabin, gazing out toward the sea.

The farm was peaceful at dawn.

The asphalt road below the mountain was empty, devoid of people or Pokémon.

Dew gently dripped from the leaves, and the morning breeze brought a hint of early autumn chill.

Time seemed to pause in this tranquility.

Dodrio leisurely trotted toward the farm cabin.

Seeing Dodrio wake, Manaphy waved happily, “Manaphy~”

After greeting, Manaphy slid down the rooftop slide to the ground floor.

Several Petilil were resting beneath the window.

Their leaves swayed gently in the morning breeze.

Manaphy ventured inside.

At the cabin's entrance were indoor shoes and a coat rack.

Natsume's jacket hung there, along with Squirtle’s sunglasses and a bag belonging to Miss Onami, who was staying over.

Two Sewaddle nestled on the shoes, while Zorua lay on a cushion with Larvitar sleeping on its back.

“Larvitar~”

Larvitar seemed to be having a pleasant dream.

It wrapped its arms around its belly, wearing a mysterious smile.

Manaphy darted between them.

The Eevee lay soundly asleep, their fluffy tails draped over the steps.

One Eevee per step.

They leaned to the left or right, or slept in the middle.

Manaphy playfully hopped over them, like a game of hopscotch.

After climbing the stairs, it reached Natsume's room.

The door was unlocked.

Manaphy pushed the door open and went inside.

Natsume’s bed was large; though Lopunny, Sylveon, and Gardevoir were there, plenty of space remained.

Such a big bed; even with Natsume and several people and Pokémon playing games on it, there would be no issue.

Manaphy bounded onto the bed, passing by Lopunny's ears.

“Lopunny~”

Lopunny’s keen hearing picked up on it instantly.

As soon as Manaphy entered, Lopunny heard it.

“Manaphy~”

Manaphy chirped a good morning to Lopunny.

Lopunny sat up, retracting its ears that draped over Natsume's stomach.

“Manaphy~”

Manaphy hopped onto Natsume’s chest.

“Morning, Manaphy.”

Natsume, looking at Manaphy on him, yawned.

“Manaphy~”

Manaphy tugged on Natsume’s arm, coaxing him to rise from the bed.

“Manaphy, you’re up even earlier than Dodrio.”

Yawning, Natsume asked Manaphy, slightly amused.

“Manaphy~”

Manaphy was full of energy, its tone lively.

Natsume entered the bathroom, standing before the mirror.

Manaphy leaped onto the sink, turning on the faucet.

Washing his face, Natsume felt much more awake.

He picked up Manaphy again, holding it under the faucet, and laughed, “You wash up too.”

“Manaphy~”

Manaphy giggled joyfully.

It grabbed water flowing down and splashed it at Natsume.

With playful antics, the bathroom became soaked.

A new day at the farm began just like that.

Natsume changed into his clothes and walked to the large living room downstairs.

Onami was already seated at the dining table.

She was looking at the ancient texts that Natsume had given her.

“Morning.”

Natsume greeted Onami.

Onami looked up at Natsume and smiled, “Good morning, Gym Leader Natsume.”

“Are you planning to stay here for a while?”

Natsume sat next to Onami and casually picked up a piece of bread from the table.

“Well, I thought once Manaphy hatched, we’d need to start preparing for its return to the sea, so I cleared my work schedule.”

Onami explained to Natsume, “Of course, the main reason is that this place really feels like a relaxing vacation spot.”

“So, please, Gym Leader Natsume, let me stay here a little longer.”

Natsume shrugged and said casually, “I don’t mind.”

“If you like it here, then stay.”

Manaphy wasn’t interested in Natsume and Onami’s conversation.

After quickly finishing its breakfast, it joined Larvitar and the others in running around under the table.

“Squirtle~”

Squirtle rushed inside, grabbed its sunglasses, put them on its head, and then beckoned to Manaphy.

“Manaphy~”

Manaphy and the others followed Squirtle outside.

“Houndoom~”

The Houndoom, Mightyena, and Rockruff were already waiting.

Manaphy and the others each found a big dog to hop onto.

“Awooo~”

With a howl, the farm's big dogs began their patrol for the new day.

They ran through the garden, past the gazebo, watching Cutiefly and Combee dance among the flowers.

“Teddiursa~”

Teddiursa was there too.

Teddiursa waved to everyone.

Then, a Mightyena stopped in front of Teddiursa.

“Teddiursa~”

Teddiursa jumped onto Mightyena’s back and joined the patrol.

After passing through the garden, they entered the large orchard on the farm.

“Heracross~”

Two Heracross were on the trees, sipping tree juice.

Seeing the approaching Houndooms, they waved.

“Heracross.”

One Heracross lost its grip and tumbled down with a thud.

It landed right on the Bulbasaur resting under the tree.

Heracross blinked.

Slurp~

“Bulbasaur!”

Bulbasaur, seeing Heracross starting to drink on it, angrily swung out with Vine Whip.

Pop Pop~

The crisp sound of Vine Whip snapping echoed.

“Heracross.”

Heracross quickly covered its head and ran behind the tree.

“Bulbasaur!”

Bulbasaur angrily used Razor Leaf.

Heracross hurriedly retreated further away.

“Beedrill.”

Curious Beedrill came buzzing over to watch.

However, with Bulbasaur’s good-natured personality, seeing Heracross plead from a distance, it stopped its attack.

“Manaphy~”

Manaphy greeted Bulbasaur.

“Bulbasaur~”

Bulbasaur, who was initially grumpy, smiled again upon seeing Manaphy.

It extended its Vine Whip and plucked a Berry from the tree for Manaphy.

Manaphy happily accepted it.

“Bulbasaur~”

Bulbasaur hopped behind Manaphy.

“Houndoom~”

The Houndoom and others pressed forward.

Passing through the orchard, they entered the Pikachu territory.

With Pichu and Pikachu around, there was no need to worry about any raids.

In the trees and grass, Pikachu could be seen everywhere.

“Pikachu~”

An early-rising Pikachu jumped from a tree, offering Manaphy a Berry.

Manaphy accepted it, enjoying Pikachu’s Berry while feeling the speed of Houndoom’s sprint.

Beyond Pikachu’s forest was the valley of the Miltank.

To the left of the valley was Tyranitar’s residence.

Tyranitar had hollowed out a mountain to make a lair.

Apart from Noivern occasionally bringing Woobat there for a couple of days, other farm Pokémon rarely visited.

“Larvitar~”

Larvitar shouted loudly into the cave.

Bam~

The ground shook slightly.

Tyranitar yawned and slowly came out.

“Larvitar~”

Larvitar jumped off Mightyena and ran to Tyranitar.

Tyranitar picked up Larvitar.

Since being rescued by Natsume, Tyranitar had been living in this small mountain at the farm’s perimeter.

If all the land where Tyranitar and others lived were included, the farm now covered over ten thousand acres.

However, if only the cultivated land was counted, it fell short of that.

“Larvitar~”

After greeting its mother, Larvitar returned to Mightyena’s back.

They continued toward Miltank’s valley.

“Moo~”

By then, the Miltank had already stepped out of their shed.

They gathered in groups, basking in the sun, munching on grass, and enjoying a leisurely life.

The Meltan carried metal buckets as they approached.

Several Scyther were also active there.

“Scyther~”

Scyther eyed the few remaining trees.

Fury Cutter!

Swish~~

The trees fell, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The Scyther’s territory was to the right of Miltank Valley.

The Scyther's daily routine was quite relaxed.

Their task was to chop down trees every day.

Of course, sometimes they were called by Sandslash to help with mowing or to partake in a Pokémon battle at the gym below the mountain.

“Houndoom~”

Houndoom sniffed the air.

Houndoom sensed an unfamiliar scent.

It looked around in confusion and then glanced at Mightyena.

The Mightyena also picked up the strange scent.

However, despite detecting this unfamiliar smell, they didn’t see any Pokémon.

“Manaphy?”

Manaphy looked at Houndoom.

Manaphy noticed the Houndoom’s unusual behavior.

“Houndoom.”

Houndoom relayed its discovery to Manaphy and the others.

“Manaphy~”

Upon learning of a mysterious Pokémon intrusion, Manaphy and the others were immediately excited.

Manaphy quickly instructed everyone to spread out, determined to find this mysterious intruder.

“Manaphy~”

Manaphy pushed aside a clump of grass but found nothing inside.

Mudkip was nearby, grunting as it dug a hole.

The trees around Miltank Valley had been chopped down by the Scyther, making the area look quite barren.

This left Manaphy and the others feeling uneasy.

Gurgle gurgle

“Meltan!”

At that moment, a Meltan suddenly let out a startled cry.

The Meltan stared in shock at the metal bucket in front of it.

The fresh milk inside the metal bucket was visibly decreasing in volume.

Meltan looked around; besides itself, there were no other Pokémon around the metal bucket.

“Meltan!”

Meltan's panicked voice quickly caught the attention of its smaller Pokémon.

“Manaphy!”

“Bulbasaur!”

Manaphy and Bulbasaur gathered around.

They watched as the milk in Meltan's bucket rapidly diminished until it was empty.

Zorua and Larvitar both showed expressions of shock.

“Burp!”

At that moment, a burping sound echoed from the metal bucket.

“Bulbasaur.”

Bulbasaur immediately used Vine Whip.

Smack!

Vine Whip wrapped around something.

“Bulbasaur~”

Bulbasaur swung its Vine Whip with force, slamming it toward the ground.

Thud!

A muffled sound followed.

“Kecleon!”

A green Pokémon appeared, looking pained.

It lay on the grass and then let out a loud sound as it expelled the fresh milk it had just drunk.

This was a Kecleon.

Kecleon, a Normal type Pokémon, could change its body color to blend completely with its surroundings.

It was the master of invisibility in the Pokémon world.

“Meltan!”

Meltan glared angrily at Kecleon.

An interesting aspect of this world is that, despite the different species of Pokémon, their language is universal.

Kecleon wiped its mouth, lifted its head, and saw Meltan standing there fuming.

“Hey, that’s the fresh milk I worked hard to squeeze out! You not only drank it but then you spat it out!”

Meltan angrily tapped its head.

Kecleon covered its head and defended itself, “It was this guy who knocked me over, otherwise I wouldn’t have wasted it!”

Kecleon glanced toward Bulbasaur.

Bulbasaur clearly refused to take the blame.

“Bulbasaur?”

“Is it my fault? Who told you to steal it?”

Bulbasaur said, looking at everyone, “What should we do with this thief?”

“Zorua~”

Zorua was the first to speak, “When dealing with intruders, we should definitely make them lost in illusions until they’re done for.”

Zorua added that in its previous group, they used to do things this way.

“Kecleon.”

Kecleon suddenly looked fearful at Zorua.

“Larvitar~”

Larvitar said, “We could throw it in the river as punishment.”

“That sounds painful.”

Ever since Larvitar got kicked into the water by Mudkip, it had thought that was definitely a form of torture.

Kecleon turned to look at Larvitar.

“Kecleon?”

Kecleon said, “I just had a little fresh milk, not enough to drown me!”

“Bulbasaur~”

Bulbasaur suggested, “We can let Victreebel handle it.”

“Victreebel eats anything.”

Hearing Bulbasaur's words, Kecleon felt its legs go weak.

What a terrifying place this is!

“Manaphy~”

“Everyone, don’t scare it! Let’s take it back to Natsume~”

“Bulbasaur~”

Bulbasaur tightened its Vine Whip.

Manaphy patted Houndoom beside it, saying, “Please take us back~”

“Houndoom~”

Houndoom nodded slightly.

“Bulbasaur, you all get on Houndoom’s back.”

“Bulbasaur~”

Bulbasaur tightly tied up Kecleon and climbed onto Houndoom’s back.

Manaphy seemed to naturally have a leader's charisma.

The small Pokémon on the farm were all willing to listen to Manaphy.

In front of the farm cabin, Natsume was sitting at the entrance, enjoying Onami’s elegant performance.

“Come forth, Swanna!”

Onami released a Poké Ball.

Out floated countless vibrant Minccino.

This was Swanna’s Bubble Beam.

“Whirlpool!”

Amid the colorful bubbles, a Whirlpool began to condense.

It sparkled with a blue glow under the sunlight.

Looking up, Natsume noticed that Swanna had somehow positioned itself above the Whirlpool.

The water flowed like blue droplets swirling around Swanna’s body.

Swanna spread its wings, and the Whirlpool trembled and dissolved into countless water droplets that fell gracefully all around.

Swanna landed smoothly amidst the water droplets.

“Wow~”

Natsume clapped, saying, “What a beautiful entrance.”

For a coordinating Trainer, their performance begins from the moment a Pokémon appears from its Poké Ball.

Onami smiled and said, “Thank you~”

“Manaphy~”

Manaphy’s voice came from nearby.

Natsume looked ahead to see Houndoom and Mightyena running toward him.

“Houndoom~”

The Houndoom slowed down gradually.

Rockruff didn’t slow down at all and jumped directly at Natsume.

“Woof~”

Natsume caught Rockruff and gently patted the rocky collar around its neck, saying, “What’s wrong, Rockruff?”

“Woof~”

Rockruff looked back at Manaphy and Bulbasaur behind it.

“Bulbasaur~”

Bulbasaur threw Kecleon in front of Natsume.

“Kecleon.”

Kecleon trembled nervously, looking up at Natsume.

“Manaphy~”

Manaphy relayed what had happened to Natsume.

“What’s going on?”

Onami paused her training, curiously looking at Natsume and asking.

Natsume explained, “This Kecleon sneaked some fresh milk from the farm and was caught red-handed by Manaphy and the others.”

“Kecleon!”

Kecleon hurriedly knelt down in front of Natsume.

Kecleon had already figured out who held its fate.

“Kecleon.”

Kecleon looked up at Natsume with a pitiful expression.