Slowpoke—a Pokémon known for being brilliantly dense.

  It’s famous for its sluggish reas and its unsuitability for battles. Evetacked, it takes Slowpoke a good four or five puo realize it’s being hit, and awo or three puo think about fighting back.

  Though some individuals are a bit smarter, as a species, Slowpoke isn’t ideal for bat, especially in its unevolved state. Their battling style is, well, ckluster. Half the time, they fet what strategy they were supposed to use.

  Things improve signifitly ohey evolve, particurly into Slowking. At that point, the difference is night and day—one is universally seen as dim-witted, and the other sees everyone else as dim-witted.

  That said, Slowpoke has its merits. They’re geured aionally stable, even when faced with the most unruly kids. Plus, their tails secrete a sweet substand eveaaturally over time, making them a sought-after delicacy.

  Still, these qualities describe normal Slowpoke. The oanding before Natsume? Definitely not normal.

  At the edge of the farm, Natsume and the Slowpoke locked eyes in silence.

  Its dull, dead-fish eyes cked any worldly desire. Yet, uher Slowpoke, it didn’t exude cluelessness. If anything, it seemed more… speechless.

  To put it another way, it was the differeween a brainless fool and someone who has simply given up on life.

  This Slowpoke’s gaze wasn’t that of an idiot. It was more akin to someone who was utterly fed up.

  And standing behind it was a Mudkip.

  As one of the most popur Water-type starters, Mudkip’s potential was undeniable. Sert, its final evolution, boasted a baat distribution, great abilities, and broad move ce. Water/Ground typing was only weak to Grass, and it could even Mega Evolve.

  Mega Sert was the epitome of brute force among Pokémon.

  “Ah, crap,” Natsume muttered, catg himself spiraling into his old trainer mi. He spped a hand over his face, a wry smile creeping onto his lips.

  Though he had sworn off being a trainer, old habits clearly died hard.

  Seeing the Mudkip startled by his suddeure and the Slowpoke growing even more exasperated, Natsume chuckled and asked, “Do you guys have any thoughts about joining the farm?”

  “Slow?”

  “Mud?”

  Both Pokémon responded with fusion—one unsure of what to do, the other w what it could do.

  “Ah, right,” Natsume said, scratg his head. It was a silly questioher of them seemed ready for anythi.

  “I’ll take you both to the pond ter,” he offered. “The view there is pretty nice.”

  The pond was lio an underground river, attrag a variety of Pokémon that came a. Perma residents were rare, though this had ged retly.

  Natsume had started tossing crushed PokéBlocks into the water, essentially “chumming” to attraon. Naturally, the pond’s popution began to grow.

  Expining the pond’s setup and safety precautions, Natsume reassured the duo, “Be careful of the currents. They be tricky.”

  After patting the dirt off his pants, Natsume addressed the rest of the group: “Alright, everyone, let’s head to your new homes.

  “I’ll be around the farm most of the time, so if you have any issues, e find me. If you ’t find me, one of the others will help.”

  Behind him, a gaggle of excited Pokémon followed like students on a field trip. None dared misbehave uhe watchful eye of the bossy Persian.

  ---

  Meanwhile, the Mightyena family had resumed their patrols, a duty they’d grown aced to.

  Though the area was vast, Natsume’s generosity made up for it. Free food, free lodging, and even training sessions for their offspring—it was hard to pin.

  But something wasn’t sitting right with the Mightyena mother.

  She narrowed her eyes at a particur Bourailing at the back of the group.

  It wasn’t the smell—that was muddled from mingling with others. No, it was something about its movements.

  They were… strange.

  It felt like mixing hot tea with a spsh of cold frog water—something just didn’t belong.

  Quietly, she called over her smartest child, a Pooa with a red scarf around its neck, and whispered a few instrus.

  The pup nodded, slipping away unnoticed while the rest of its clueless siblings remained distracted.

  The mhed, gng at her oblivious mate.

  He had grown duller since joining the farm. While she knew he wasn’t the sharpest to begin with, this was almost too much to bear.

  “Fet it,” she muttered. “He’s sleeping outside tonight.”

  ---

  Back with Natsume, the jouro the pond was slow. Slowpoke’s pace dictated the speed of the entire group.

  At one point, Natsume sidered carrying it, but he quickly dismissed the idea.

  Not because it was tiring, but because of those eyes.

  Looking into them stirred an inexplicable irritation in him. Something about that deadpan gaze made his blood simmer.

  Gcell