https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-594-Reemployment-at-the-Galar-Hero-Ranch/12938830/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-596-The-Birth-of-the-Beastmaster-Girl/12938832/
Chapter 595: Winter Vacation, Teddy's Gift
Chapter 595: Winter Vacation, Teddy's Gift
On November 20th, League Year 202, after several days of heavy snowfall, the snow finally stopped.
Early in the morning, when Shizuru pushed open the door, he saw that the outside world was completely covered in a winter wonderland.
Thick white snow had buried the paths in the ranch, making it even inconvenient to go into town.
Various Pokemon poked their heads out from behind Shizuru, observing the situation outside.
Shizuru turned around and saw this scene, and asked with a smile, "Do you want to help me clear the snow?"
"Agghh..." Skiddo shivered.
It wasn't that it was afraid, but rather a reaction to the cold wind on its body.
Babu Tubba wasn't bothered by the cold; it patted its chest and flew outside.
Eevee, its partner, cautiously extended its paw pads and touched the snow in front of it. The next second, a chill spread through its pads and into its body, causing Eevee to shiver and quickly retract its paw.
"Bui!"
"If it's too cold, you can continue playing in the living room!" Shizuru looked up at the sky, "The snow has stopped, and the sun will be out soon. It should be warmer by noon, so you can come out and play then!"
"Building snowmen, having snowball fights, and playing hide-and-seek in the snow maze—there are so many games to play in winter that you can't play in other seasons!"
"Bui!" Led by Eevee, the Eevees nodded in agreement, deciding to wait until later to come out and play.
Seeing this, Martial Bear Master let out a silent sigh. Without saying a word, it picked up a shovel and headed outside to help Shizuru clear the snow.
Shizuru watched this scene with a smile, feeling that Martial Bear Master was indeed reliable!
"Ah gah!"
Gogoat, standing nearby, also picked up a shovel and started working, not wanting to be outdone by Martial Bear Master.
Shizuru was already used to this kind of situation.
He casually grabbed another shovel and, with the help of several Pokemon, cleared the snow blocking the path and shoveled it to the side, creating several pathways.
Paths leading to the chicken coop, the Pokemon house, and the underground cavern...
Once everything was done, Babu Tubba directed the Metaleer Cubs to carry a food box filled with food out of the house.
The Metaleer Cubs were full of enthusiasm and worked diligently. There were four Metaleer Cubs on each side of the box, carrying it on their shoulders, while the lead Metaleer Cub stood on top, directing the other eight.
They carried the food box to the stable and placed the black carrots and ice carrots inside the feed troughs of the Spirit Mare and Snowstorm Mare.
Then, the Metaleer Cubs carried the food box to the Riding Goat's shed, the Big Milk Tank, the Braided Sheep's house, the Salt Rock Golem's and Tri-Nimbus' underground cavern, delivering food to them.
Once all the work was completed, the Metaleer Cubs chirped and chattered as they returned to the living room, waiting for their meal.
Aikanshi, the younger sister, served them a large box of bottle caps and coins for breakfast, placing it in front of the Metaleer Cubs.
The group of Metaleer Cubs happily devoured their meal.
Meanwhile, in the ranch, Shizuru had already started building an ice maze for the Pokemon to play hide-and-seek using the shoveled snow.
The maze was located in a spacious open area, and to build it better, Shizuru specifically brought out a spatula and piled up the white snow, creating walls that were about two meters high.
Building this maze took Shizuru the entire morning, and almost all the snow from the ranch and the surrounding area was moved to this spot.
At noon, the Pokemon warming themselves by the fireplace in the house heard Shizuru's shout.
They rushed out and saw that a beautiful snow maze had appeared in the ranch.
"Bui..."
The Eevees exclaimed in unison.
The mischievous Eevil Pom and Seviper were already eagerly observing the maze.
"Alright, go inside and play hide-and-seek!" Shizuru said with a smile.
The Pokemon cheered and rushed into the snow maze that Shizuru had spent the entire morning building, starting their game.
"Why don't you join them?" Shizuru turned to Martial Bear Master and Gogoat.
However, the two Pokemon felt that as larger Pokemon, they couldn't roll around in the snow like the smaller ones.
So, Martial Bear Master and Gogoat shook their heads, declining the suggestion.
Shizuru suddenly remembered that they had been helping him all morning, "After working all morning, you must be tired too. Let's go back and rest. Lunch will be ready soon."
He had already seen the cooking smoke rising from the chimney.
Hearing this, Gogoat and Martial Bear Master readily agreed.
Shizuru, along with the two Pokemon, returned home, and as he turned around, he saw Qi Shu preparing lunch in the kitchen.
He quickly stepped forward to take over, "Weren't you not going to do this kind of work anymore?"
Aikanshi, who was helping in the kitchen, sighed, "Aye..."
She had already tried to persuade him!
Qi Shu smiled sheepishly, "It's not that hard, huh?"
"Why are your hands so red?"
Shizuru glanced down and, as expected, saw that his hands were bright red, like a giant pig's hoof.
"I was building a snow maze for the Pokemon, so I guess they got frozen?" Shizuru wasn't too concerned, after all, he was in good health.
Qi Shu touched his hands and immediately exclaimed, "So cold!"
Shizuru quickly withdrew his hand, fearing she was too cold, and crouched down to look at the Magcargo eating Tree Fruit under the stove.
"It'll be fine after some roasting. Don't worry, go and rest! Leave lunch to me and my sister."
Aikanshi, the sister, nodded in agreement, "Aye!"
She went to support Qi Shu and wanted to help her sit on the couch in the living room.
Qi Shu could only reluctantly agree, "Alright then."
After they left, Shizuru started cooking lunch for everyone while humming a little tune.
Just then, the door opened, and three petite figures rushed in from outside.
Shizuru turned and saw the Heroic Explorers, who had been traveling for several months, finally returning to the ranch.
Their return didn't surprise Shizuru too much, as Teddy had already informed him a few days in advance using the Lotad Phone.
"You're back? Did you enjoy your travels?" Shizuru asked.
"Yeah!"
Teddy nodded happily.
Dreamy and Bikitini were also delighted.
On their return, they had brought many gifts for Shizuru! Aikanshi, the sister, helped Qi Shu to the couch and then turned to fetch some honey buns, honey tea, and Poke Puffs from the cabinet for Teddy and the others.
After traveling for so long, their stomachs must have been growling by now.
As expected, the three Pokemon, upon seeing the snacks, immediately started indulging with great excitement.
They had braved the wind and snow to return to the ranch, and now, both Teddy and Dreamy felt a sense of relaxation throughout their bodies.
Shizuru added the ingredients to the pot, covered it, and started simmering soup. During this time, he went to the living room to watch Dreamy, Teddy, and Bikitini perform a food review in front of him.
"Gifts?"
"Yeah!"
Teddy wiped his mouth and nodded vigorously. He brought out his travel backpack, which had some snow on it, indicating they had rushed back from the Unova Region through the snowstorm.
Teddy opened the zipper and started taking out the items inside.
"Yeah, yeah!" (This is a treasure I found in a cave!) Teddy said, holding a giant golden orb.
"As expected, Pokemon with the Pickup ability can't resist shiny jewels!" Shizuru thought.
"Yeah!" (These are Tree Fruits that we got from helping other Pokemon!)
The giant golden orb, Tree Fruits, glass marbles, round stones...
Teddy took out one item after another that he had picked up.
Dreamy and Bikitini joined in as well.
Dreamy held a plastic flower, and Bikitini held a brightly colored mushroom.
"Miu!"
"Nini!"
These were the treasures they had brought back!
Shizuru: "..." Even Dreamy and Bikitini had caught Teddy's "Pickup" habit.
He took a glance and realized that Dreamy's flower was an ordinary plastic one, while Bikitini's was a poisonous mushroom.
[Poisonous Mushroom: An inedible ingredient, but a favorite of some Poison-type Pokemon.]
Shizuru: "..."
"Miu?" Dreamy looked puzzled. Did Shizuru not like it? This flower was so magical, as it would never wither, so she picked it up!
Shizuru finally realized that although the plastic flower looked ordinary, to Dreamy, a flower that never withered was probably very precious.
He took the flower, found a vase, and placed it inside, "Thank you, Dreamy, I like it a lot."
"Miu!" Dreamy was delighted.
Bikitini, on the other hand, remembered the mushroom soup that Teddy and Dreamy had mentioned. Holding the poisonous mushroom, he said excitedly, "Nini!"
Shizuru: "Wait, that's a poisonous mushroom! Eating it will make you faint!"
"Nini?!" Bikitini was shocked. He thought the color of the mushroom was so pretty.
"The brighter the mushroom, the more poisonous it is," Shizuru explained to Bikitini. There were no Poison-type Pokemon on the ranch, so this mushroom was useless to them.
But this was Bikitini's thoughtful gesture, and Shizuru eventually accepted the poisonous mushroom.
Teddy's gifts weren't over yet. He patted his backpack and finally took out a metal box.
Shizuru immediately noticed the words "Flying Cloud Ice Cream" written on it.
"Yeah!"
Teddy was thrilled. He opened the lid, revealing the ice cream inside, as white as clouds.
This was the gift they prepared for Shizuru! A specialty from the Unova Region, Flying Cloud Ice Cream, a rare treat said to be unavailable in other regions!
They learned about this from the local Pokemon in Flying Cloud City!
Shizuru also noticed the information about Flying Cloud Ice Cream.
[Flying Cloud Ice Cream: A specialty ice cream from Flying Cloud City in the Unova Region. It can cure all abnormal conditions of a Pokemon.]
"Huh?" Shizuru was surprised by the seemingly magical effect of Flying Cloud Ice Cream.
If his memory served him right, this ice cream wasn't easy to come by. Even in Flying Cloud City, there was a purchase limit, and it was said that each person could only buy it once a day.
It seemed that Teddy had put in a lot of effort!
"I really like this gift," Shizuru said, reaching out to pat Teddy's head.
"Mmm~"
At noon, to celebrate the Heroic Explorers' safe return once again, Shizuru prepared a lavish lunch for them.
After lunch, the constant traveling had taken a toll on Teddy, Dreamy, and the others, both physically and mentally. So, after filling their stomachs, the three Pokemon curled up on the sofa and fell into a deep sleep.
Shizuru sat nearby, watching this scene, and for some reason, he suddenly recalled the first time he had met Teddy.
"Teddy has changed the most among all the Pokemon over the years," Shizuru said.
Qi Shu, sitting beside him, turned to look at him, "Huh? Weren't they like this before?"
Shizuru nodded, "Before I met Teddy, I had already heard of his reputation from other ranch owners. Back then, Teddy was very cunning. He often used his cute appearance to trick other ranch owners into giving him food and drinks, and he would steal their honey when they weren't looking."
Qi Shu was stunned, as she had never heard Shizuru mention this before.
"And then?" she couldn't help but ask.
"Later, Teddy came to my ranch... After going through some things, I decided to adopt him. Teddy has a kind heart. During a festival held by a local ranch owner, he apologized to the other ranch owners."
"After that, he met Dreamy, and they formed the Heroic Explorers together, starting to help Pokemon in need."
As Shizuru spoke, he couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.
"The relationship between humans and Pokemon is truly magical."
Qi Shu understood his sentiment and smiled, nodding, "That's right! Pokemon are the best creatures in this world. Many of my fans have also been saved by Pokemon!"
The couple silently watched the sleeping Pokemon in front of them, and although neither spoke, the same thought crossed their minds—
It was wonderful to have met them.
After the heavy snowfall, Shizuru began preparing for the upcoming Lunar New Year.
On a clear day, he drove his old pickup truck with Gogoat to Zekin Town for a shopping spree.
Vegetables, meat patties, New Year gifts for the Pokemon, new clothes for himself and Qi Shu, and baby supplies for their soon-to-be-born child.
Baby formula, diapers, small blankets, a crib, and more.
Since Qi Shu's due date was between December and January, they had to prepare everything in advance; otherwise, it would be too late.
Shizuru finished his shopping and was about to head back when he heard his Lotad Phone ring in his pocket.
He took it out and saw that it was Yushi calling. He answered the call, and Yushi's face appeared on the screen.
"Happy New Year, Shizuru!" Yushi greeted him with a smile.
Shizuru raised an eyebrow, "Isn't it a bit early for New Year's greetings?"
"I'm giving you an early blessing because I'm afraid I'll be too busy with the Paldea League around that time. You know, the closer it gets, the busier it becomes," Yushi sighed helplessly.
"You're working hard!" Shizuru said.
"By the way, if I calculate the time, your child with Qi Shu should be born soon, right?" Yushi asked.
Shizuru was a little surprised. How did Yushi remember this so clearly?
"The reward I promised you is ready! But it seems like you don't lack anything, so I plan to keep it for your child. It can be a talisman for her."
Talisman? This piqued Shizuru's curiosity.
"What is it?"
However, Yushi smiled mysteriously, "It's a secret! You'll find out when the time comes!"
Shizuru: "..." He was intrigued.
Yushi seemed busy, as Shizuru saw Shinli hurrying over with a stack of documents, which she handed to Yushi.
Yushi turned to say a few words to Shinli, then spoke to Shizuru, "Well, that's all for now. Remember to let me know as soon as the baby is born! I'll definitely visit as soon as I can."
(End of Chapter)
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