Pokémon: Farm Story

Under the dim sky, Ogerpon sat quietly near the entrance of the cave, waiting for night to fall.

"Hmmm..."

Staring at the desolate landscape outside, Ogerpon's mind began to wander.

When exactly had it arrived here?

It couldn't remember. Perhaps it had been one or two months ago. Back then, neither humans nor Pokémon liked it in the place where it lived.

For some reason, they all seemed to dislike it.

After several failed attempts to make friends, Ogerpon made a decision:

I'll leave this place and start a new life somewhere no one knows me.

So, on a moonless and windy night, Ogerpon packed its small belongings and set off on a journey.

It had no destination or specific requirements, just an impulsive decision to leave.

The journey wasn't a kind one.

Despite trying hard to stick to remote paths, it still occasionally encountered rangers.

When trainers discover an exceptionally rare Pokémon they've never seen before, their reactions are predictable.

It wasn't just humans. Even the Pokémon it encountered weren't friendly.

No Pokémon wanted a newcomer stealing food in their territory.

Fleeing time and time again, Ogerpon eventually stumbled into the area near the farm.

It found this hidden cave in a barren patch of land and decided to settle down.

After arriving, Ogerpon spent some time adapting to the environment.

Food was scarce, but it was safe.

A few nights ago, it discovered the farm. Venturing in for a little exploration, it was accidentally spotted by a human.

At that time, Ogerpon panicked.

Fortunately, that human hadn't attacked it.

"Hmm!"

Unsure how much time had passed, Ogerpon came to its senses as the sky grew darker.

It stood up, slapped its small face lightly to stay alert, and donned its carefully prepared "stealth outfit" before setting off.

Just as it was about to leave the cave, something came to mind. It turned back, rummaged through the cave's depths, and pulled out two glass marbles, clutching them tightly.

"Hmmm!"

Standing at the cave entrance, Ogerpon cheered itself on.

You can do this!

After taking a deep breath, it somersaulted forward, tumbling out of the cave and vanishing into the tall grass.

A few seconds later, it cautiously poked its head up to observe. Confirming no Pokémon had noticed it, it began crawling forward in a prone position.

Though crawling, its speed was surprisingly on par with a human walking briskly.

Is this the power of a Legendary Pokémon? (Not really.)

With its "twisted and shadowy crawling," Ogerpon managed to reach the edge of the farm just as night fell.

"Woof..."

Inside the newly repaired doghouse, Mightyena's ears twitched before its eyes snapped open.

This small doghouse was built by the construction team while they were repairing the fence earlier in the afternoon.

Since there were leftover materials, the lead craftsman had made it for fun during his break, even hanging a sign that read "Doghouse."

Mightyena quietly exited the house, its eyes sharp and alert.

It had caught the scent of something unfamiliar!

Its keen gaze scanned the surroundings and eventually locked onto a small figure attempting to climb over the fence.

Hmm, green, wearing strange clothes, very small, and looking quite timid.

Ah, now it remembered—this was the one Natsume had mentioned.

Natsume had said not to bother it if it came by and to just let it in.

The vigilance in Mightyena's eyes faded. With a yawn, it turned back to the doghouse to rest.

It had the night shift later, so it needed to catch up on sleep.

As for its rowdy pups who'd gotten into a fight with some Zigzagoon and Poochyena earlier in the day, Mightyena decided it would teach them how to fight properly starting tomorrow.

Back in the doghouse, Mightyena looked at its foolish offspring and shook its head.

What could it do? They were its pups, after all.

Though clumsy and dimwitted, they were still its responsibility.

After confirming Ogerpon had climbed over the fence, Mightyena pawed at its bedding, found a comfortable position, and lay back down.

"Hmmm..."

Finally, it was inside.

After climbing over the fence, Ogerpon didn't linger. It leapt forward with a "belly flop," disappearing into the bushes to hide.

Only after catching its breath did it notice a faint, enticing aroma.

Sniffing carefully, Ogerpon realized the scent was familiar.

It was the kind of smell it remembered from Pokémon that had been caught by trainers.

But this aroma was much richer.

Unconsciously, Ogerpon followed the scent, its feet moving as if guided by an invisible force.

When it came to its senses, it was already in front of a two-story building.

This seemed to be where that human lived.

A shiver ran down Ogerpon's spine, and it quickly ducked back into the bushes.

Through a small gap, it peeked at the house.

In its eyes, the house stood out against the night, a warm anomaly dispelling the darkness and fear.

Even at this distance, it could faintly hear the lively sounds from within.

Changing its angle slightly, Ogerpon managed to see through an open window.

The human it had seen before was busy with something, surrounded by several Pokémon who occasionally took something from the human's hands and eagerly ate it.

They looked so happy.

Ogerpon stared blankly at the scene before it.

A complicated emotion welled up in its chest.

"Hmm..."

Clutching its chest, Ogerpon hung its small head low.

What was this feeling?

It was strange and unfamiliar.

Am I... hungry?

Having lived alone in the wild for so long, rarely interacting with humans or even other Pokémon, Ogerpon couldn't quite understand its current emotions.

They were hard to describe—just uncomfortable and unpleasant.

---

"How is it? Do you like the taste?"

Inside the workshop, Natsume cut off some edges from a freshly made batch of Pokéblocks and handed them to his Pokémon.

He'd spent the entire afternoon experimenting with various basic recipes he hadn't tried before.

With so many formulas in his mind, there were still plenty left to test.

His Pokémon took turns expressing their opinions.

Minccino and Sandshrew found it average, while Buneary and Furret seemed to enjoy it more.

"Meow~"

Persian, sitting by Natsume's side, perked up its ears as if noticing something.

It rubbed against Natsume's hand and gestured for him to look outside.

"There..."

Following Persian's gaze, Natsume spotted a small head hanging low in the darkness.

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