Chapter 74: I Got a Free Teddiursa?
Chapter 74: I Got a Free Teddiursa?
A... Teddiursa?
Naoki's eyes widened in surprise as he read the letter in his hand, his first thought being how there could be such a Pokemon.
He pondered for a moment, then carefully kept the letter aside and thanked the postal Mr. Mime before turning back towards the direction of the back mountain.
Had the scent of honey attracted it?
He was curious to see this Teddiursa, known as the "Great Demon King."
But before that, he needed to prepare.
The beehives were almost full, so Naoki retrieved a jar from his house to harvest some honey.
The freshly brewed honey was a clear golden color, flowing slowly in the jar and emitting a tempting sweet fragrance.
This was top-quality honey, perfect for cooking and making juices.
Many Pokemon would be attracted to it, and even if smeared on a tree trunk, it would lure a large number of honey-loving Pokemon.
Naoki collected all the honey from the hive and stored the full jar indoors.
The letter mentioned the presence of a Teddiursa, but he didn't know its exact movements or habits.
With not much work left on the ranch for the afternoon, he spent his time at home, watching television.
The world's TV programs were quite interesting, with Pokemon-related content everywhere.
Weather forecasts featured a Poliwhirl by the host's side, cooking shows had Jigglypuff making appearances, and there were even various movies produced by Pokemon Hollywood.
However, what caught Naoki's attention the most was the annual treasure-hunting activity that was about to begin.
On a news program, a reporter with a microphone was interviewing a student in an Orange League uniform, asking which city they planned to visit first to challenge the Gym.
Time passed slowly, and soon, the sun was setting.
The orange sunset shone through the window, and the twilight added a dreamy beauty to the dozing Mini-Fy on the windowsill.
Naoki turned off the TV and left the room. Taking advantage of the remaining daylight, he inspected his ranch, then refilled the feeders for his riding Wooloo, the Salandit, and the chickens.
By the time he finished his chores, the sun had mostly sunk below the horizon, and night was falling.
Naoki strolled leisurely across the lawn, gazing at the sky and contemplating what to have for dinner.
Just then, on the path leading to the back mountain, he suddenly spotted a small figure.
More precisely, it was a Teddiursa.
Here it comes! Naoki's heart skipped a beat as he recalled the letter from Sanshui Ranch.
The Great Demon King Teddiursa had finally arrived!
Naoki stood his ground and stared at the Pokemon for a few seconds.
The Teddiursa before him was tiny, with a crescent moon pattern on its head, making it look extremely cute. It seemed lost, blinking its jet-black eyes innocently.
This appearance was designed to evoke maximum sympathy from humans, causing them to let down their guard.
It was a Teddiursa's trick.
Thus, it had chosen this moment intentionally. No one would leave a lost little Teddiursa alone in the wild.
Especially under the cover of night, when a lost little bear seemed even more pitiful.
Come on, let's go! The Teddiursa revealed an evil smile in its heart, but its face looked pitiful.
It struggled to resist the urge to glance at the location of the honey, quietly swallowing its saliva.
It was all worth it. As long as this human took it home, then when night fell and everyone was asleep, it could sneak away with all the honey.
That was the Teddiursa's plan.
Looking at the Teddiursa before him, Naoki's heart stirred, and he suddenly thought of a better idea.
A smile spread across his face as he took a step forward.
"Oh dear, whose Teddiursa is this? How did you end up here alone at this late hour?"
The Teddiursa put on a cute act, replying, "Umm..."
Then, it saw the human looking around, seemingly concerned: "You poor thing, did you get lost?"
Gotcha!
Behind that innocent facade, the Teddiursa secretly curled up its lips in a cunning expression.
Hearing those words, it nodded vigorously, pretending to be pitiful: "Umm, umm..."
Yes, it was a poor, lost Teddiursa, so they should take it home quickly! That was always how it went. In the past, humans would immediately offer to take it home upon hearing that it was lost.
However, the Teddiursa's expected response didn't come.
"So cute!" Naoki exclaimed, hugging the cub close.
He had expected the wild Teddiursa to smell awful, but to his surprise, it had a sweet fragrance reminiscent of honey.
Due to its young age, it hadn't evolved into a Circle Bear yet, and its fur was incredibly soft.
If the Teddiursa had been a regular Pokemon, Naoki might have held back, but this little cub was a con artist, using its adorable appearance to deceive others.
In this situation, he saw no need to hold back and decided to go with the flow, indulging in the cub's cuteness for now.
Moreover, he had already stored the honey in a safe place, hidden from sight, and had even assigned Vanilluxe to guard it.
With so many Pokemon in the room, there was no way the Teddiursa could steal all the honey under their watchful eyes.
Naoki's actions startled the cub, and it instinctively tried to push him away with its claws. But midway through the motion, it suddenly remembered its true purpose for being there and retracted its claws.
"Endure! I must endure! The sweet, delicious honey is within my reach!" the Teddiursa thought to itself.
For the sake of honey, it endured the humiliation and decided that it would steal every last drop of honey this human had stored.
At that moment, the Teddiursa saw Naoki finally stop, and it breathed a sigh of relief.
Naoki carried the little bear cub back to the wooden cabin.
The cub's heart was filled with joy at the sight.
"Hook, line, and sinker!"
But the next second, the Teddiursa felt something was wrong.
It seemed like the human was preparing dinner.
It was placed on a wooden stool, and when it lifted its head, it found itself surrounded by a group of Pokemon.
Gourgeist, Rhyperior, Salamence, Buneary, and Vanilluxe...
The sight of the red-skinned lizard made the Teddiursa break out in a cold sweat.
"What kind of Pokemon is that? Its aura is so terrifying! If it finds out my true intention, I'm done for!"
The Teddiursa's heart was filled with dread, but it forced a friendly smile and took the initiative to greet the lizard: "Yimo~"
"Agassi?"
Gourgeist's eyes spun, seemingly lost in thought, and it ignored the Teddiursa, choosing to lie down nearby and wait for dinner instead.
The lively Buneary, however, greeted the cub warmly.
"Bamomo~" Don't be scared, Naoki is a very nice person!
"Yes, very nice," the Teddiursa agreed, forcing a smile and chuckling softly.
Soon, Naoki returned with dinner in hand.
Although the meal was sumptuous, the Teddiursa's mind was occupied with thoughts of stealing the honey, leaving it with little appetite for anything else. Even with Naoki's hospitality, it only ate one berry.
After dinner, Naoki washed up and went to bed early.
Pretending to be unaware of the Teddiursa's intentions, he said, "Since you're lost, you can spend the night here. In the morning, we'll see if we can find your way home."
"Yimo~" On the surface, the Teddiursa happily nodded, but its mind was plotting something else.
It planned to wait until the dead of night, when everyone was deep asleep, to make its move.
It would steal all the honey and escape back to its nest in the forest, where it could enjoy the sweet treat to its heart's content.
The very thought excited the little bear.
But the next second, it found itself scooped up by Naoki and tucked into a warm blanket.
Teddy: "?!"
Buneary hopped onto the bed and comforted the cub. "Bamomo~" Don't be scared. Naoki is just showing his affection by rubbing his face against yours.
The Teddiursa forced a smile and said, "Yimo..."
The lights in the room were turned off.
The Teddiursa closed its eyes, feigning sleep while waiting for the right moment to make its move.
Time passed slowly, and after a while, the room was pitch-black, with everyone and every Pokemon seemingly asleep.
The Teddiursa opened its eyes wide, its vision sharp enough to see clearly even in the darkness.
It propped itself up on its paws and surveyed the room.
The human before it had his eyes closed, and his breathing was steady.
The red Pokemon and another Rhyperior lay at the foot of the bed, their heads resting on their paws, seemingly asleep as well.
"Now's my chance!"
The Teddiursa's heart raced as it prepared to quietly get up and make its escape with the honey.
Had it been found out? The cub felt a bit guilty.
In all its experiences, this was the first time it had encountered such a peculiar human.
Clearly, the other humans at the ranch had only taken it into their houses, and none of them had ever hugged it to sleep like this.
After a while, the human made no further movements.
The Teddiursa closed its eyes, pretending to be asleep.
A long time passed, and all around it became completely quiet.
In the deep stillness of the night, when all was silent, it was the perfect time to make its move!
The human seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep as well, for he had unconsciously pulled his arm away and turned over some time ago.
Now's my chance! The Teddiursa quickly crawled out of the blanket and carefully gripped the bedsheet, sliding down to the floor under the moonlight, tiptoeing across the floor.
It passed by the sleeping Gourgeist and Rhyperior, relieved that they hadn't woken up.
With the door getting closer, the Teddiursa's heart was filled with joy.
It thought about how it had endured such humiliation and hardship all day long, and this was the moment it had been waiting for.
Damn that human! How dare he stick his face to its belly, something only those close to it were allowed to do! Now, it would take its revenge and steal all the honey!
Finally, it reached the door.
The Teddiursa gently pushed the door open a crack and skillfully squeezed through.
Once outside, the Teddiursa immediately ran towards the beehive.
The familiar beehive stood in the grass, bathed in moonlight.
The three Combee were stacked together, sleeping soundly inside.
The Teddiursa approached the beehive, but when it saw the situation inside, it was stunned.
Where was the delicious, sweet honey?
Why was there nothing there?
It pawed at the beehive, only feeling a bit of residual honey.
What was going on? The Teddiursa's face showed confusion, and a look of disbelief flashed in its eyes.
Had it been cheated? Thinking about how it had endured such humiliation all night, only to end up with nothing, the little bear felt utterly dejected.
What should it do now? The Teddiursa stood at a crossroads in its life, feeling lost for the first time.
Should it give up on the honey in this ranch and leave? Or should it stay and try to find out where the human had hidden the honey, then look for an opportunity to steal it?
The Teddiursa wanted to choose the latter option, but that was too dangerous.
Based on its observations, the Pokemon in this ranch were not to be trifled with.
If it were discovered, the consequences might be dire.
The Teddiursa licked the honey residue off its paw, tasting the sweet flavor, and its heart was soon made up.
No! It couldn't just let this go!
With that in mind, the Teddiursa turned around and headed back to the wooden cabin.
In the moonlight, Vanilluxe watched the Teddiursa's movements, puzzled.
"Chiri?"
Unaware that its actions had been noticed, the Teddiursa squeezed back through the door crack and was relieved to find that no one had woken up.
It climbed back into bed, snuggled into the blanket next to the human, and pretended that nothing had happened, then closed its eyes to rest.
After a while, Naoki quietly opened his eyes and looked at the peacefully sleeping Teddiursa, thinking that this little cub had quite a bit of perseverance.
If it evolved into a Cirbear, its ability would probably become Stamina.
However, since that was the case, he wouldn't hold back.
With that thought, Naoki curled his lips into a smile and closed his eyes to sleep.
The next morning, Naoki woke up to Bulby's cries.
As he opened his eyes, he saw Bulby lying on his chest.
"Bulby!"
The sunlight shone through the window, marking the start of a new day, and Bulby cheerfully greeted him.
Seeing Bulby's adorable form, Naoki reached out to pat its head, smiling as he said, "Good morning!"
"Bulby!"
Naoki got out of bed and turned to look at the awake Teddiursa.
Playing along, he asked, "Good morning, little bear cub. Do you remember where you got lost? Are there any adults at your home? For example, is there a Cirbear or something? Where did you live before?"
Hearing these questions, the Teddiursa was at a loss for words.
Should it answer all of them?
But for the sake of honey, it decided to continue the act.
(End of Chapter)
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