Chapter 179:Rainy Night Stories ~ Manaphy's Heart Swap

Kiko held the hot water that Natsume had given her.

The experience in the space-time distortion had obviously left her with a significant shadow.

Especially now, when she saw Gyarados again and returned to her room alone, Kiko's mind began to replay memories of her time inside the space-time distortion.

Kiko recalled the scene when a group of Gyarados suddenly appeared behind her.

Their fierce faces seemed like they were going to swallow her whole.

Kiko shivered inexplicably.

She shook her head vigorously, trying to push those terrifying thoughts out of her mind.

“Can’t sleep?”

Natsume's figure suddenly appeared.

“No.”

Kiko wanted to say she was fine, but halfway through, she gave up.

Kiko sighed, “Natsume, I think I have a phobia of Gyarados.”

“Every time I close my eyes, all I see is the fierce face of Gyarados, and I feel like I’m about to be eaten.”

Natsume sat down by Kiko's feet and placed his hand on her leg. “Gyarados can indeed look quite frightening.”

“They have a rough personality and appear very fierce.”

While Pokémon had integrated into various industries and daily activities, many people still had fears of Pokémon.

After all, they possess immense power and destructive capabilities.

Facing a Pokémon is like facing a child with a gun.

Of course, most people, like Kiko, only have a fear of certain Pokémon.

But some are even afraid of all Pokémon.

After receiving understanding from Natsume, Kiko immediately began to share her worries.

“I used to not be afraid of Gyarados; I even thought they looked quite intimidating.”

“But ever since that space-time distortion incident, I seem to be filled with fear towards these large Pokémon.”

“But that’s not okay.”

“You know, my dream is to become a professional breeder.”

“But how can a professional breeder be afraid of Pokémon?”

Kiko said despondently, “If I keep feeling this way, there’s no way I can become a professional breeder.”

Natsume looked at Kiko and gently said, “Do you remember the first time you met Victreebel?”

“You were also quite scared of it.”

Kiko felt a bit embarrassed and said, “Well, after getting to know it, I realized it was actually a nice Pokémon.”

Natsume smiled, “Exactly.”

“We will encounter various problems along the way.”

“But we can always solve them.”

“Just like how you’re afraid of Gyarados now.”

Kiko looked at Natsume and asked, “So, Gym Leader Natsume, you mean I should try to understand Gyarados like I did with Victreebel?”

“But, but…”

Natsume shook his head slightly.

The Victreebel on the farm had all been raised domestically from a young age, so they lacked wildness.

But the Gyarados in the secret realm were different.

“Would you like to have a Pokémon battle?”

“Huh?”

“Me?”

Kiko pointed at herself.

Natsume nodded.

Kiko waved her hands quickly, saying, “I can’t handle a battle.”

“My Jigglypuff has never battled before.”

Natsume smiled, “You won’t be using Jigglypuff.”

“Then who will I use?”

Kiko looked at Natsume's expression and immediately understood his idea.

“Use Victreebel?”

“Exactly.”

Kiko hesitated, “Will Victreebel agree to it?”

“Victreebel likes you a lot, so I think it will agree.”

“I think you can try battling Gyarados and learn more about this type of Pokémon from the battle.”

Natsume looked at Kiko and said, “After all, even a professional breeder has to battle sometimes.”

Kiko recalled her time with Victreebel over the past few days.

Although Victreebel looked fierce, it was really quite well-behaved.

When Kiko cooked, Victreebel helped chop vegetables.

The leaves on its head acted like a tray, perfect for holding small ingredients temporarily.

They coordinated wonderfully.

Thinking of this made Kiko smile, “Yeah!”

“We make a great team!”

Natsume patted the blanket on Kiko, “Get some good rest.”

“But I really don’t want to leave; after I’m gone, everyone will probably miss your skills.”

Kiko looked at Natsume, who was sitting by her bed, thinking to herself, “Natsume really takes care of me.”

“No, he seems to be gentle with everyone.”

Could that gentleness towards her be something special?

Kiko's heart suddenly began to race.

She recalled what Mikoharu had said: if you want to know if a boy likes you, just close your eyes.

Kiko looked at Natsume and inexplicably shut her eyes.

Natsume was about to get up and leave.

But Kiko suddenly gazed at him and slowly shut her eyes.

Natsume was frozen in place at this scene.

Natsume liked all beautiful things.

The morning sunrise, the gentle breeze.

Cute Pokémon, and of course, beautiful girls.

The way to express liking for different things varied.

For beautiful girls, it was naturally about possession.

Natsume was a carnivorous life form, so he certainly preferred to eat meat.

However, Natsume valued dining etiquette.

After all, he wasn't very hungry and was somewhat picky.

With the atmosphere thickening, it was definitely time to enjoy a fine meal.

Just like his first time with Misaki.

Natsume placed his hand on Kiko's cheek.

Her body trembled slightly.

Outside the window, shadows that were once distant began to overlap.

Since it was completely their first time,

Her body was tense, and her hands tightly gripped Natsume's back.

On a rainy night, in a dimly lit room, stories often unfold.

Rumble~

Thunder roared.

A sudden gust of wind blew Jigglypuff off Noivern's back.

Jigglypuff's body was light, and it got blown away easily.

Jigglypuff flailed in the air, panicking.

Raindrops hit its body, soaking it thoroughly.

“Noivern!”

Noivern accelerated and caught Jigglypuff's round body.

In the sky, thunder rumbled.

The wind and rain poured down.

Noivern flew into the woods, navigating through the trees, heading toward the farm.

“Jigglypuff!”

Jigglypuff appeared frightened, crying out under Noivern.

Ahead, they arrived at the farm.

They finally reached their destination.

“Jigglypuff, come here.”

Gardevoir called Jigglypuff to her side and then handed it a towel to dry off.

“Jigglypuff.”

Jigglypuff told Gardevoir that it was scared just now and almost got blown away.

Fortunately, Noivern reacted quickly and caught it.

After being dried off, Jigglypuff joyfully scampered toward the room.

“Not so fast.”

Gardevoir shook her head gently.

“Jigglypuff?”

Jigglypuff looked at Gardevoir in confusion.

“They have something important to do.”

Gardevoir said, glancing at Sylveon.

“Sylveon.”

Sylveon shifted slightly to create some sleeping space on the sofa for Jigglypuff.

Jigglypuff scratched its head.

“Jigglypuff~”

Since they were busy with something important, it should not disturb them.

Jigglypuff opened a bag of potato chips, sat beside Sylveon, and began watching the midnight movie with everyone.

The rain outside intensified.

It looked like it wouldn’t stop tonight.

“Manaphy.”

Manaphy woke up very early, even earlier than Dodrio.

Upon waking, it noticed only Gardevoir and the others beside it.

Tears immediately welled up in Manaphy's eyes.

“Wah.”

Gardevoir quickly picked up Manaphy.

Manaphy continued to cry.

Manaphy was searching for Natsume.

Gardevoir carried Manaphy to the door of Kiko's room.

Click~

The door opened.

Natsume emerged, shirtless.

“Manaphy.”

Manaphy reached out its hand toward Natsume.

Natsume embraced Manaphy, saying, “Are you trying to call me daddy?”

“Manaphy~”

Manaphy stopped crying and looked at Natsume with a pitiful expression.

Natsume noticed that in just a short time, Manaphy's level had already risen to six.

"Are you hungry, Manaphy?"

"Manaphy~"

Manaphy nodded.

Natsume took a bottle of fresh milk from the fridge.

The bottle was about the same size as Manaphy.

Manaphy held the bottle in Natsume's arms and gulped down all the fresh milk.

"Slurp~"

Manaphy smacked its lips.

Arcevee jumped down from the sofa and greeted Manaphy.

Manaphy looked at Arcevee with curiosity.

Arcevee thought for a moment, then shook its body and transformed into Vaporeon.

"Manaphy~"

Manaphy brightened up and jumped down from Natsume's arms to hug Vaporeon.

"Vaporeon~"

Vaporeon ran outside with Manaphy.

"Manaphy?"

Manaphy glanced back at Natsume.

Natsume gently said, "Go have fun."

"Manaphy~"

Manaphy was growing quickly.

Last night, it felt like a freshly hatched baby to Natsume.

Now, it was like a three- or four-year-old child.

It had already started to play around.

Natsume looked outside; the sky was still dark.

The rain hadn’t stopped yet.

Natsume yawned.

"I’m still a bit sleepy."

As Natsume spoke, he noticed Gardevoir was staring at his neck.

"What’s wrong? Do you want to give me a bite too?"

Gardevoir thought for a moment, then suddenly leaned closer to Natsume’s neck.

A completely different sensation.

Natsume instinctively reached out, wrapping his arms around Gardevoir's slender waist.

Gardevoir’s waist was so thin that hugging her made him feel like he wanted to pull her entirely into himself.

Tighter, even tighter.

"Jigglypuff?"

"Sylveon?"

"Larvitar?"

Curious little heads popped out from the sofa, their small eyes watching Natsume and Gardevoir.

Gardevoir's face flushed, and she pushed Natsume away.

Natsume walked over to the sofa and playfully tapped each of Jigglypuff, Sylveon, and Larvitar on the head.

"No peeking next time."

"Zoroark."

Zorua rubbed its eyes, drowsily opening them.

Tap.

Natsume's finger knocked on it.

"Zorua?"

Zorua looked dazed at Natsume.

Why did you hit me?

"Ahem, just got carried away."

"Sorry about that, Zorua."

Zorua puffed up its cheeks and pounced on Natsume.

Natsume caught it in his arms. "Don’t be mad, I’ll get you something tasty."

"How about we order takeout?"

"Let’s see what you want to eat?"

It was rare to get up early.

Natsume was too lazy to make anything, so he decided to just order takeout for everyone.

“Sylveon~”

Sylveon raised its hand.

Larvitar followed suit.

“Jigglypuff~”

Jigglypuff did the same.

Natsume looked at them and said, “I’m not buying it for you.”

“Sylveon!”

Sylveon widened its big, sparkling eyes and looked at Natsume with a pitiful expression.

Oh no, his heart melted.

Natsume picked up Sylveon and said, “I’m just joking; I wouldn’t let our Sylveon go hungry.”

“By the way, you just used a Charm move, right?”

“Sylveon~”

Sylveon replied, “Not at all~”

“Let’s go check on Manaphy outside first.”

“Everyone can order together.”

Natsume walked outside.

Since it was still raining, Natsume used Psychic to shield everyone from the downpour.

In the river water...

“Manaphy.”

Manaphy nudged the Mudkip that was lying in the muddy ground.

“Mudkip~”

Mudkip pushed Manaphy’s hand away.

Mudkip turned over and went back to sleep.

“Manaphy.”

Manaphy nudged Squirtle next.

“Squirtle~”

Squirtle rubbed its eyes, then patted Manaphy before flopping back down.

“Squirtle~”

Squirtle looked just as sleepy.

Manaphy puffed up its cheeks.

Its two tentacles suddenly floated up, glowing with a flash of red light.

The red light connected Squirtle and Mudkip.

As Natsume stepped outside, he happened to see this scene.

“This must be Manaphy’s Heart Swap.”

Natsume curiously watched the changes that Squirtle and Mudkip would undergo next.

“Manaphy.”

Manaphy nudged Mudkip again.

“Squirtle.”

Mudkip rubbed its eyes and reached out to pat Manaphy.

Huh?

Mudkip suddenly froze as it looked at its own hand, then lowered its head to check its body.

“Why did I turn into Squirtle?!”

Mudkip panicked, feeling its body and quickly looking at the Squirtle lying nearby.

“Squirtle!”

Mudkip shook Squirtle awake vigorously.

“Mudkip?”

Squirtle looked puzzled at first, then displayed a shocked expression.

They touched each other's faces in terror and examined their own bodies.

“Mudkip!”

“Squirtle!”

Mudkip and Squirtle had swapped bodies!

“What a terrifying ability.”

Natsume walked towards Manaphy and said, “Manaphy, swap them back.”

“You scared them!”

Hearing that it was Manaphy’s doing, both Mudkip and Squirtle turned their gazes to Manaphy.

“Manaphy!”

They began shaking Manaphy’s body together.

Manaphy was jostled back and forth.

“Manaphy!”

Manaphy, unable to control its power while being shaken, suddenly emitted a burst of red light.

It shot out in random directions.

Natsume quickly dodged.

The red light hit Larvitar, while the other end connected to Mudkip.

Heart Swap was successfully used.

“Larvitar?”

Mudkip’s face showed a look of surprise.

Larvitar was now in Mudkip’s body.

At the same time, Mudkip’s consciousness, or rather its soul, was now in Squirtle’s body.

Squirtle had been swapped into Larvitar’s body.

Larvitar angrily walked up to Manaphy.

Pop~

With a slap, it hit Manaphy.

You messed up, you fool.

“Manaphy.”

Manaphy covered its head.

“Wah.”

Manaphy cried out loudly.

Seeing Manaphy crying, Larvitar panicked.

“Wah.”

Don’t cry!

Larvitar, now in Mudkip’s body, seemed unfazed and was even quite excited.

“Mudkip” stared at the river water, pondering for a moment.

Splash~

Mudkip jumped in.

Larvitar was a Pokémon that was four times weak to water.

Because of the heavy rain, the river water was currently flowing rapidly.

As soon as “Mudkip” hit the water, it panicked.

It flailed about in the water.

“Larvitar!”

Mudkip shouted, “Help me, I'm going to be swept away!”

Natsume watched the confusing scene unfold.

Manaphy was crying, while Larvitar was urgently trying to comfort it.

Mudkip looked like it was about to drown in the water, and Squirtle was frantically trying to rescue its own body.

Natsume sighed, “Kids are hard to handle.”

“Milotic.”

From the water, Milotic swam up.

Milotic gently nuzzled Manaphy’s cheek, and a wave of very gentle energy enveloped Manaphy.

Manaphy stopped crying.