Outside the Berry Grove, the furious Ogerpon gred ily at the faintly visible group of Bou.

  Upon hearing that a strange Pokémon had infiltrated the group he brought, Ogerpon was sed that he wao grab the culprit and smash it into pieces.

  It was his first time trying to do something nice for Natsume, and this happened.

  Unfivable!

  If Natsume hadn't held him back, Ogerpon would have barged in by now.

  Although it might sound arrogant, Ogerpon was fident that even if the entire group teamed up, they wouldn't stand a ce against him.

  Maybe not one Bou with a swing of his club...

  But two at a time should be doable.

  "Woof!"

  At Natsume's feet were Mightyena's mother and Persian, their eyes sharp and alert.

  Worried about misidentifying the right Bou or entering any surprises, Natsume had called in Mightyena's mother for backup.

  It’s worth mentioning that when Natsume found Mightyena's family, the father was trembling uhe pierg gre of the mother.

  In human terms, this would probably be like a married man hidi savings for himself, spending it all on snacks without sharing with his wife or kids.

  ly evil, but definitely a bit selfish.

  "Chuu!"

  A curious Steenee, led by Butterfree, emerged from the group, tilting her head as she looked at Natsume.

  Why had she been called out of the group so suddenly?

  "Here’s the thing, Steenee," Natsume said, croug down to her level, expining the situation from the beginning.

  The matter wasn’t too plicated. He just didn’t want any misuandings to arise, so he thought it was better to expin beforehand, even if it was a hassle.

  What Natsume didn’t notice was that behind him, Persian was tilting its head, staring at Natsume's kh an unreadable expression.

  "Chuu?"

  After hearing Natsume’s expnation, Steenee fell into deep thought.

  After a moment of p, she seemed to uand something and began expiniedly.

  In short, their inal habitat had been taken over by a powerful Pokémon, f her group to flee and gather as they traveled.

  Thus, Steenee wasirely sure if these Bou were inally from her group.

  However, among them, there was indeed one peculiar Bou.

  It always sat silently in a er, everything—joy, sadness, flict—with an air of detat, as though it were a mere observer.

  "I see," Natsume nodded, indig his uanding.

  "Then please lead us to them."

  "Chuu!"

  Steenee nodded firmly, a trace of indignation fshing in her eyes. At that moment, her thoughts aligned perfectly with Ogerpon’s:

  Find that weirdo and expose them!

  It didn’t take long for Natsume to locate the odd Bou.

  The process was surprisingly straightforward sihe target made no effort to hide.

  The strange Bou simply sat quietly to the side, keeping its distance from the others. Whenever another Bou approached, it would move further away—except for one particurly popur Bouhat could get close.

  Acc to Steehat specific Bou was the most well-liked in the group.

  Everyo along with it, and even Steenee had a good impression of it.

  Hearing this, Persian shot a quice at Natsume.

  Another charmer, huh?

  "Hello there."

  Hearing Natsume’s voice, the aloof Bou lifted its head and g him with its usual indifferent expression, showing ion to his presence, as if it had expected him.

  It made no move to respond, but Natsume didn’t mind.

  He had already anticipated that this Pokémon might not want to unicate.

  That’s why he brought Ogerpon and Persian along, just in case thied.

  These two were undeniably the top fighters on the farm.

  While Ogerpon didn’t often seek battles and cked experience, his sheer power surpassed Persian’s.

  Persian was now Level 54, a level higher than before.

  Ogerpon?

  Level 61—a force worthy of ae Trainer.

  Don’t ask why a Grass-type mythic is only at the Elite level.

  Even baby Lugia wouldn’t necessarily win against a certairic rodent at birth (crossed out).

  Still, with this setup, they weren’t invincible but could certainly hold their ground.

  "Graah!"

  The furious Ogerpon stepped in front of Natsume, radiating hostility. If you don’t expin yourself, yetting a club to the head!

  Sensing the animosity, the aloof Bou shrank back slightly, hiding behind the popur Bou.

  "Introdus were already made," the aloof Bou said.

  "You should already sense I mean no harm."

  "So, you show me your true form?" Natsume asked calmly.

  Yes, two of them.

  Although Mightyena’s mother had only detected one, Natsume was fident the popur Bou was also suspicious.

  Why did his intuition outmatch that of Pokémon?

  Let’s just say… that’s Arceus-given fidence.

  At Natsume’s request, the two Bou exged a gnce before smirking mischievously.

  In unison, they leaped into the air.

  Their cute forms shimmered momentarily before transf.

  When they wo small foxes stood before the group—one bck, one white.

  "Suo!"

  The pair of foxes stared at Natsume with trasting expressions.

  The birked slyly, as if plotting some mischief.

  The white fox, oher hand, looked pitiful, almost on the verge of tears.

  "Oh, it’s you two little troublemakers," Natsume said, surprised.

  Zorua and Hisuian Zorua.

  Although he had suspected something, he was still caught off guard.

  "Hehe."

  The bck Zorua covered its mouth, giggling at Natsume’s rea, while the Hisuian Zorua retreated shyly behind its terpart.

  "Graah!"

  "Chuu!"

  Both Ogerpon and Steenee were furious, itg to teach the foxes a lesson.

  "So, you slipped away when I tried to capture you, huh?"

  Calming his Pokémon down, Natsume turned back to the foxes.

  The two Zorua exged a gnce before the be stepped forward to expin.

  "Suo suo!"

  Actually…

  Gcell