Pokémon: Farm Story

Sometimes, people tend to overestimate their tolerance for surprises.

Natsume had always considered himself someone hard to faze. After all, as a transmigrator who had encountered a woolly llama deity firsthand, he thought there wasn't much left to shock him in the world of Pokémon.

Even if one day he woke up to find Groudon flying in the sky...

Okay, fine, that would still be pretty shocking.

Let's rephrase.

If one day he woke up and found a Gardevoir lying next to him in bed, Natsume believed he wouldn't be too surprised. He'd just sigh and reflect on how his ever-evolving XP preferences—refined through years of updates—had finally come into play.

Sure, his tastes were probably a bit old-fashioned compared to trendsetters, but his "good ballpark" did extend to humanoid, aesthetically pleasing non-human creatures.

That said, Natsume firmly believed he wasn't a furry. Sure, fluffy things were cute, and he did have a thing for humanoid forms, but he wasn't a furry. No debate about it.

Natsume simply appreciated beauty in all its forms.

Ahem, moving on.

What Actually Surprised Natsume

"Hello, Natsume-san."

Standing before Natsume was a teenage girl with twin buns tied atop her head and a sun visor perched jauntily. Her youthful energy practically radiated off her.

If it were just another random trainer stopping by his farm, it wouldn't have been anything unusual—there had been plenty of visitors coming for photo ops and battles lately.

What really surprised Natsume, however, was…

"My name is Mei. I'm a trainer who just started her journey this year."

Natsume's brain momentarily short-circuited.

Wait, what? Where am I?

Is this Ash's world?

I thought I transmigrated into a modern Pokémon setting!

And these names… they aren't from the Pokémon Adventures manga, are they?

Although momentarily startled, Natsume quickly composed himself. After all, zoning out during someone else's introduction would be incredibly rude.

"Nice to meet you, Mei."

Looking at the girl's familiar features and the smug-looking Snivy by her feet, Natsume was certain this was indeed that Mei from the Pokémon world.

Yep, Pokémon's Mei—not Mei-nee, I don't want to die! Mei from elsewhere.

"I'm here today to challenge you!"

Bowing slightly, Mei's voice carried a serious tone. Though polite, the burning determination in her eyes made her resolve crystal clear.

To Battle

Bringing his thoughts back under control, Natsume led Mei to the battle arena he had set up on his farm.

Standing on the battlefield, Mei's expression turned deadly serious. She raised a hand dramatically and called out, "Alright, my first choice is you—go, Snivy!"

The Snivy that had been swaggering by her feet raised its head confidently and sauntered onto the field. The pride in its gaze made it clear this Pokémon was used to winning its battles.

If a Pokémon constantly lost, no matter how strong it was, traces of nervousness and hesitation would inevitably show in its demeanor during battles. This Snivy, however, radiated self-assuredness—a testament to its frequent victories.

And yet, this confidence wasn't something deliberately cultivated.

Both Mei and her Snivy carried a fiery, unstoppable aura. For such a petite and adorable girl, Mei exuded an unexpectedly intense, hot-blooded energy.

"Alright, in that case…"

Just as Natsume was pondering which Pokémon to choose, a Corvisquire suddenly dashed out from behind him.

Its sharp gaze carried a glint of wisdom, as if to say, Leave this battle to me.

"Well, I'll leave it to you then, Corvisquire."

Seeing the eagerness in its eyes, Natsume couldn't bring himself to turn it down. Among all his companions, Corvisquire had the strongest craving for battles.

Partly, this was its natural fighting spirit—few bird Pokémon were truly mild-mannered.

But mostly…

It was because Corvisquire loved showing off.

The Audience

The farm's Pokémon had gathered around the battlefield to watch the match.

Ever since the battle arena had opened, trainers had frequently come by to challenge Natsume. Whether they won or lost didn't matter much—it was all about gaining experience. Watching battles had even become a daily pastime for the Pokémon living on the farm.

A special shoutout to the Zigzagoon squad, habitual audience members who always attempted to rummage through challengers' bags when they weren't looking. They'd already been scolded multiple times by Ursaring for this, but bad habits die hard.

Like calculus.

"Caw! Caw!"

Circling in the air, Corvisquire basked in the attention from the audience, feeling exhilarated.

Ah, this is what battles are about.

Without an audience, battles lose their meaning.

Corvisquire wasn't interested in fighting over resources or territory. It fought purely for the sake of showing off.

Because why else? Style, of course.

Natsume was well aware of Corvisquire's little motives. In fact, he'd been considering taking Corvisquire and a few other Pokémon to nearby small-scale competitions—perhaps ones hosted by shopping districts. After all, several Pokémon on the farm had started training themselves, and Natsume couldn't just ignore their efforts.

"Caw!"

The winds of destiny are especially wild today.

On the ground, Corvisquire mimicked Snivy's haughty stance, tilting its head upward to glance at others disdainfully.

This bird definitely had the potential to join the Uchiha clan—its mastery of condescending stares was almost perfect.

Snivy, arms crossed, snorted in response but said nothing.

Idiot.

Its expression said it all.

"Caw!"

Corvisquire remained unbothered, continuing its trash talk. Most of it was dramatic phrases it had picked up online—lines so cringe-inducing even Natsume struggled to translate them into something intelligible.

But as Natsume listened, an unsettling realization dawned on him.

Wait a second…

Why does this sound so familiar?

Holy crap, isn't this from the diary I wrote in middle school?!

Where the heck did this bird find that?!

Completely oblivious to the increasingly murderous aura emanating from behind it, Corvisquire grew even more animated with its theatrics.

Someone was about to get into serious trouble.

Standing silently beside Natsume, Lopunny shot Corvisquire a pitying glance.

Poor thing. Your doom approaches.

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