Pokemon: Farm Story-Chapter 160: The Farm Nursery and the Scheduled Challenger

"Hmph-hmph~"

With a little dirt-covered trowel in hand, Bellossom cheerfully hummed a light-hearted tune as she dug along the riverside, scooping soil into a small flowerpot nearby, one shovel at a time.

It wasn't a popular song, nor was it some age-old melody.

Just a casual tune she hummed when feeling happy.

Even without structure or musical theory, the joy in her heart was unmistakably conveyed through the simplest of melodies.

Natsume had asked Bellossom to help out with the garden.

And she had gladly accepted.

Maybe it was because, after evolving, she no longer emitted a stench when excited, and her appearance had changed from a clumsy, silly look to something cute and dainty.

Now, Bellossom seemed much more cheerful than before.

It had to be said—improved appearance really does bring a person the simplest kind of confidence.

That wasn't meant in a negative way.

Just a fundamental sense of confidence in oneself.

"Hmm..."

Setting the trowel down, Bellossom wiped away the nonexistent sweat on her forehead.

Though she wasn't exactly an expert in gardening...

She felt like she might have some natural talent for it.

So she borrowed a phone from Corviknight and watched a few videos online to learn more.

She didn't quite understand why everyone insisted on planting things in flowerpots or why they had to dig up dirt from outside, but she followed the instructions anyway.

Online videos must have their reasons.

Naive as she was, Bellossom still had blind trust in the information she found online.

If she ever got into online forums or social media...

She might end up posting some legendary comments.

Unfortunately, she wasn't interested in those things.

For now, all Bellossom wanted was to quietly tend to her flowers.

Maybe she should ask Sandslash for advice later?

Even if Sandslash didn't grow flowers...

Surely planting flowers and growing crops or fruit trees had something in common?

Just as Bellossom was wondering if she should go dig up more soil, the once calm surface of the lake suddenly rippled.

She glanced at it but didn't think much of it.

There were plenty of Pokémon living in the farm's lake—seeing a few pop up for air now and then was nothing unusual.

At least, that's what she thought...

Until a huge bulge swelled up on the lake's surface, looking like it was about to erupt.

That's when Bellossom suddenly realized—maybe she should get out of the way?

She had only taken two steps with her short little legs—

BOOM!

A loud splash erupted behind her, sending water flying everywhere like a torrential downpour.

Caught off guard, Bellossom was soaked from head to toe, standing there in stunned silence.

She looked at the little bucket in her hand, now overflowing with water.

Then she looked up at the Manaphy hovering in mid-air, glancing around curiously after leaping from the lake.

A fog of emotion began to form in Bellossom's eyes.

But before her feelings could boil over—

A Pokéblock wrapped in psychic energy floated right into her mouth.

The sweet flavor hit instantly, making her eyes go wide.

This familiar taste...

It was just like the ones Natsume used to give her!

She instinctively chewed a few times—and then everything around her seemed to blur.

Manaphy, glowing blue all over, appeared right in front of her.

"Maana!"

You ate my treat—so no getting mad, okay?

After leaving those words behind, Manaphy darted off in a hurry.

Judging by the direction she went... Was that toward the center of the farm?

Wait a second—

"!"

Realizing the situation a beat too late, Bellossom dropped her little bucket and rushed off in a panic to find Slowking.

Slowking had told her: if you ever see a Pokémon you don't recognize showing up on the farm, let me know.

And for Bellossom, Manaphy was definitely a Pokémon she had never seen before.

One or two minutes later—

Inside the second-floor nursery of the house, Natsume sat at a square table, arms crossed.

To his left, Mew was sulking with a very annoyed look.

To his right, Slowking looked completely spaced out, lost in who-knew-what thoughts.

And directly across from Natsume sat Manaphy, perched upright in her seat, her face the picture of obedient innocence.

Behind Natsume, Chansey—wearing an apron—was happily humming a tune while preparing supplies to care for a Pokémon egg.

That very egg, brought here by Manaphy, was now resting quietly on a soft cushion.

"So what you're saying is... you want me to help you babysit?"

"Maana."

Manaphy nodded enthusiastically, eyes full of hope.

She might not have the strongest sense of maternal or paternal instinct, but she did take care of her newly born Phione for a few days—at least until they made it past their most fragile stage.

Once they reached the noisy toddler phase, she'd kick them out with zero hesitation.

You're not newborns anymore—it's time to venture out!

Go now, you Pokémon who've been alive for over ten days!

Forge your own legend in the boundless sea!

Manaphy had said those exact words to every single Phione she'd kicked out.

She'd done it so many times the speech had become automatic, to the point she wondered if she had unknowingly become some kind of tutorial NPC.

It was a weird feeling.

Manaphy still felt like a kid herself!

And yet here she was, having to raise kids of her own.

No matter how many times it happened, it always left her scrambling.

"Tch... You..."

Rubbing his forehead, Natsume suddenly didn't know what to say.

He had no doubt—if he agreed this time, every one of Manaphy's future kids would end up here too.

As for how a legendary sea-dwelling shut-in like Manaphy even had kids—that wasn't something Natsume particularly cared to understand.

You didn't need to know everything about legendaries.

"Maana?"

You really won't help?

Manaphy's eyes began to mist over as she watched Natsume hesitate, looking as though she'd burst into tears at any moment.

"I didn't say I wouldn't..."

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"Maana!"

Yay! Thank you, Natsume! You're the best!

Before he could even finish, Manaphy let out a gleeful cheer.

Absolutely over the moon.

Truly, a Water-type Pokémon through and through—

The control she had over her waterworks (tears) was nothing short of expert.

At least Bellossom hadn't mastered that skill.

"Mew!"

Hold it right there!

Suddenly, Mew slammed her paw on the table.

I'm a member of this household too! Don't I get a say?

Clearly, she was very displeased.

At the very least, ask for her opinion!

"Maana!"

Ten percent!

Manaphy leaned in and whispered to Mew.

"Mew!"

Twenty!

She raised her little paw, holding up four chubby pink fingers right in Manaphy's face.

Manaphy hesitated for a moment—but finally gave in.

Between babysitting and losing a few snacks, she'd rather just eat less for a few days.

After all, the snacks were Natsume's.

Not like it hurt to cut back a little.

And besides, as a legendary Pokémon, Manaphy had her own ways of trading for snacks with Natsume.

Unlike Mew, who was scatterbrained and could never save anything.

Manaphy had tons of collectibles back in her ocean shrine.

She'd even brought quite a few with her this time.

"Mew!"

No objections here!

With the dirty deal struck, Mew turned to Natsume and made her declaration.

You know how it is—Manaphy's my good friend!

I'm sure we'll have great chemistry together!

"Maana."

Having settled things with Mew, Manaphy turned to face Slowking, who still sat with hands folded, staring blankly at nothing.

He was right there—but his thoughts seemed miles away.

His gaze locked on the void.

It looked as if it were contemplating some profound philosophical question.

In reality, Slowking was simply trying to figure out how to survive safely if the world ever came to an end.

"Mana?"

"Yadon."

After a bit of hushed whispering, Manaphy and Slowking reached an agreement.

Slowking expressed his warm welcome to Manaphy joining their big farm family.

From now on, they were family.

To be honest, Slowking had never had any real objections.

If Manaphy wanted to come, then so be it. More playmates sounded fun anyway.

But Manaphy, determined to strike first, had laid out its conditions upfront and made it clear it was open to negotiations.

To satisfy Manaphy's desire to indulge, Slowking naturally haggled a little in return.

Manaphy gained a sense of security, and Slowking got something out of it, too.

A win-win situation, really.

At last, three Pokémon turned their gazes in perfect unison toward Natsume.

No, wait—four.

There was also Audino, hugging its little blanket.

At that moment, something in Audino's genetic memory for caregiving might have been activated.

It was growing increasingly fond of that Pokémon egg.

Just look at that egg—its patterns, its luster, all top-notch.

I really want to take care of this child.

Faced with all those eyes looking his way, Natsume let out a sigh.

"Alright, I'll leave this child in your care then, Audino."

"Adunee!"

Clenching its little fists, Audino signaled confidently: "Leave it to me!"

Fighting might not be its thing, but when it came to caring for little ones, it was a pro.

Trust me!

Watching Audino seemingly fired up with motivation, Natsume could only cheer it on.

"Phi?"

Phione popped out from who knows where, and curiously poked at the egg with its tiny hand, as if it felt oddly familiar.

Was it just an illusion?

There was definitely something familiar about this egg.

Had it seen it somewhere before?

Phione fell into deep thought.

While pondering, a familiar figure caught the edge of its vision.

It turned its head—and there was Manaphy, now in sight.

Manaphy, who had just been discussing the evening's plans with Mew, froze completely.

Here's a question: is there anything more awkward than being caught by your own kid while you're out partying?

Because that's exactly how Manaphy felt right now.

Manaphy usually kept to itself—not only because of its personality, but also to avoid being spotted by those Phione.

After all, it had booted them all out of the nest.

Every time they crossed paths, it got painfully awkward.

Especially when some of them weren't doing too well—Manaphy couldn't help but feel guilty.

Its brain running at full speed, Manaphy quickly dug up a whole set of pre-prepared apology-and-comfort lines from memory.

But then...

"Phi~"

Good afternoon~

Waving casually, Phione greeted Manaphy before turning right back to study the egg.

Having lived on the farm since birth, Phione was perfectly content with its life here.

There was Audino-neechan to take care of it, Chansey-neechan who was always stern but truly cared about them, and Boss Natsume, who constantly brought delicious snacks.

Everything about this place, Phione loved.

As for Manaphy?

Who's that? Doesn't ring a bell.

There just wasn't enough brain space to remember unnecessary people.

"Phew..."

Watching the calm, indifferent expression on Phione's face, Manaphy quietly let out a sigh of relief.

Great—didn't get roped into anything.

Looked like the kid was doing really well here.

This only strengthened Manaphy's resolve to send its own child to Natsume.

That way, it wouldn't be burdened anymore.

Phione could have a joyful childhood, and it could live freely, wander the world—

Everyone gets their happy ending!

Before long, the news of Manaphy moving into the farm almost hit the trending charts (scratch that).

In any case, Manaphy was now officially part of the farm.

Though truth be told, neither Natsume nor Manaphy took it that seriously.

To Natsume, Manaphy was just a visiting friend.

Who cared about formalities?

And to put it a bit harshly—

The human lifespan is just too short in the eyes of a legendary Pokémon.

Take Xerneas, for example. It might just be dozing off, and by the time it wakes, three generations of humans have come and gone.

All those people it once called friends or companions? Reduced to nothing but dust, long vanished from the world.

Only a stone marker with a name carved on it would remain, proof they ever existed.

Even the Aura Guardians and psychic elites—at best, they live a little longer.

But in the end, they too fade from the world entirely.

So Manaphy joining the farm—it was just a small game, really.

Just like those legendary Pokémon who make "contracts" with humans.

Decades or centuries pass, the human dies, the legendary leaves.

And everything returns to how it began.

That tale of humans and legendaries fighting side-by-side becomes nothing more than another hazy legend.

Watching Manaphy frolicking with Mew, Natsume couldn't help but space out a little.

Someday, he'd die too.

Death was something all humans had to face.

Natsume was no exception.

And frankly, he didn't want to face it—death or even aging.

The thought of himself growing old and decrepit... it was just too depressing.

If Mew and the others saw that side of him, they might be really disheartened.

"Yadon?"

"It's nothing, just happened to think of something,"

Natsume returned to his senses, smiled, and waved off Slowking's worried gaze.

"Oh right, let's do one final check tonight."

"Our first challenger will be arriving at the gym the day after tomorrow."

Forcing a change of subject, Natsume turned to Slowking.

Slowking stared at him for a few seconds—as if confirming something—then responded in that same leisurely, unhurried tone as always.

"Yadon~"

Already checked it over~

By the way, do you know who the first challenger is?

Times had changed. Gym challenges weren't walk-ins anymore.

After all, even with many gyms around, there were still far more trainers wanting to challenge them.

If it were all walk-ins, some of the more introverted kids might never get a chance their entire lives.

There'd always be some entitled jerk cutting in line wherever they went.

And those kinds loved to pick on the quiet ones.

So, for the sake of order and fairness, the League now promoted an online appointment system for gym battles.

Natsume had even downloaded the internal app made just for gym leaders.

It had a ton of features—

From communication platforms to trading hubs for gym leaders.

Naturally, it also showed which trainers had booked their challenges.

"I do know, actually."

More than that, I know them very well.

Seeing the smile on Natsume's face, Slowking nodded in understanding.

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