Pokémon: Farm Story

Fu Gakuji, dressed in formal attire, waited at the entrance of the farm. As the newly appointed mayor, he had a lot on his plate.

Yet, at this moment, he showed no impatience, simply standing there quietly.

In this world, strength ultimately dictated everything.

A person capable of defeating a Legendary Pokémon—setting aside age—was akin to those powerful, reclusive masters often depicted in novels. Though Natsume usually carried himself with an easygoing demeanor, that didn’t mean he was genuinely mild-tempered.

Having taken over as mayor at his age, Fu Gakuji prided himself on his sharp instincts.

Even disregarding matters of strength, who in their right mind would go around making unnecessary enemies?

“Mayor Gakuji, good morning.”

A flash of blue light signaled Natsume’s arrival at the farm’s entrance, accompanied by Slowking.

Don’t ask how Slowking learned Teleport.

Mew taught it.

Seeing Natsume’s youthful face, Fu Gakuji couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

Young and handsome. Incredibly powerful.

Single-handedly reviving an abandoned farm.

Even after defeating a Legendary Pokémon, he showed no hint of arrogance—remaining as steady and composed as ever.

A young success—if that phrase applied to anyone, it was undoubtedly someone like him.

Compared to Natsume, Gakuji couldn’t help but feel a bit… unaccomplished.

As Fu Gakuji sized up Natsume, Natsume was also observing him.

A mayor under thirty?

Promotions really move this fast nowadays.

Natsume vaguely remembered that the title "mayor" often sounded down-to-earth. In many anime, mayors were usually depicted as laid-back neighborhood elders with nothing much to do.

But in reality, mayors weren’t like that.

For most ordinary people, becoming a mayor was already the highest rank they could reach.

And most of them were middle-aged.

This was the first time Natsume had ever seen a mayor as young as Fu Gakuji.

Another young success.

If it were him… he probably wouldn’t be able to pull it off.

Both Natsume and Fu Gakuji shared a silent moment of admiration for each other.

“Natsume, we meet again.”

“This time, I have some matters I’d like to discuss with you.”

Gathering his thoughts, Fu Gakuji smiled as he spoke.

The real purpose of his visit was to further strengthen his ties with Natsume.

Just having someone of this caliber living in town was a source of security.

Anyone with half a brain would try to keep him around.

Gakuji knew full well that Natsume’s stage would never be limited to this small town.

Someday, he would step onto a far greater stage and showcase his strength to the world.

For now, all Fu Gakuji could do was leave a good impression.

“That’s more or less the situation.”

Gakuji briefly explained his purpose.

In short, the town planned to improve the roads and enhance transportation infrastructure.

A few wider roads would be built leading to Natsume’s farm, so he came in advance to inform him.

It would be troublesome if the construction accidentally disturbed the Pokémon living on the farm.

Fu Gakuji didn’t think the construction crews—those rowdy types who liked to throw their weight around—would stand a chance against Natsume’s Pokémon.

In fact, deep down, he wouldn’t mind seeing those troublemakers get a lesson.

But it was best to avoid unnecessary incidents.

Another thing—plans were in place to build a new battle facility.

It might be located not far from the farm.

Strictly speaking, it wouldn’t just be a battle facility—many new public projects were already in the works.

They just hadn’t been finalized yet.

Gakuji also wanted to hear Natsume’s thoughts on it.

For some reason, this felt a bit humbling.

Scratching his head, Fu Gakuji quickly dismissed the thought.

What a joke—these would all be his accomplishments in the future.

During his tenure, he would significantly improve road infrastructure and construct numerous public facilities.

If the higher-ups had money to give, why not take it?

And if they didn’t?

Well, they could always try negotiating with Natsume—the guy who defeated a Legendary Pokémon.

These days, even getting things done required checking whether the town had the budget.

Finally, a good reason to get some funding—better make the most of it.

“I have no objections.”

Natsume wasn’t too familiar with these matters.

But since Fu Gakuji had it figured out, he had no reason to disagree.

Let the professionals handle professional matters.

No need for him to give unnecessary opinions.

That was how Natsume saw it.

The real reason he agreed so readily, though, was because Slowking had been nodding approvingly the whole time.

Compared to Slowking, Natsume sometimes felt like his own brain was a cheap toy camera from twenty years ago, while Slowking’s was the most advanced, cutting-edge model.

It worked, but it was nowhere near as good.

Since Slowking saw no issues, Natsume naturally had no objections.

From today onward, Slowking is officially my external brain.

Stealing a glance at Slowking, Natsume made up his mind.

And at that moment, Slowking...

“Yadon.”

Today’s brain activity had reached its limit.

Time for a break.

With that, Slowking silently removed the Shellder from its head and entered a complete mental shutdown.

In this state, Slowking’s IQ could probably rival an empty soda can on the street.

“Yadon~”

Its gaze grew unfocused, each eye looking in a different direction.

Drool—symbolizing its immense wisdom—began to trickle from the corner of its mouth.

Ah, what a nice day~

Natsume quickly looked away.

Yeah… he should probably rely on his own brain a bit more.

Whoever heard of an external brain that just goes on strike?

“And finally, there’s one last thing…”

As Fu Gakuji spoke, his voice gradually faded.

It was like a duck getting its neck squeezed.

His expression turned blank—mirroring Slowking’s.

“What’s wrong, Mayor Gakuji?”

Natsume looked at him in confusion.

The next second, he understood why.

“Woo!”

I told you not to follow me!

A very irritated Cresselia flew ahead.

“Phi, Phi!”

A curious Phione trailed closely behind.

Chansey had mentioned that Cresselia could grant beautiful dreams and that its feathers possessed mysterious abilities.

Phione was very curious about this.

“Manaa~”

Behind Phione, a Manaphy with a smug grin followed leisurely.

That’s what you get for stealing my snacks today.

Annoying, isn’t it?

Just like that, three Legendary Pokémon casually strolled past Natsume.

As they passed, they even greeted him one by one.

Manaphy, ever the mischievous one, even rummaged through Natsume’s pocket in search of snacks.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t brought any today.

All that was in his coat… was cat fur.

It was from Purrloin.

For some reason, that little rascal loved his clothes.

It didn’t like sleeping with him, but it loved napping on his clothes—preferably the ones he had already worn, still carrying his scent.

So sometimes, Natsume would leave his clothes on the couch.

After a while, he would find them covered in fur.

Purrloin liked to show him all the bizarre sleeping positions a soft cat could manage.

Much cuter than Persian.

Ever since evolving, Persian always looked grumpy—like someone owed it money.

Some cats just had a naturally grumpy-looking face.

“Mayor Gakuji?”

After seeing off the three restless troublemakers, Natsume turned back to Fu Gakuji—only to find his brain completely fried.

Right now, his mind was like a warzone after a bomb had gone off.

All he could think about was—Three Legendaries?!

Because school textbooks covered some of the more human-friendly Legendary Pokémon, it hadn’t taken him long to recognize Cresselia and the others.

Wait… no, it was five.

Suddenly, Fu Gakuji remembered the small green Pokémon from Natsume’s battle with Ting-Lu.

That was a Mythical Pokémon.

And then there was Ting-Lu itself, which Natsume had already captured.

So all of a sudden… Natsume had five Legendary Pokémon?!

Sir… are you the Legendary Pokémon Guy?!

Gakuji opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But his throat was too dry—his voice caught in his throat.

Even though Cresselia and the others seemed friendly, even gentle…

He knew what Legendary Pokémon were.

No exaggeration—any Legendary Pokémon with ill intent toward humans was a walking catastrophe.

Even the three “dumb birds” that people often joked about online weren’t an exception.

That was precisely why schools taught about Legendary Pokémon—to prevent some clueless fool from accidentally offending one and triggering disaster.

And history had proven… it had happened before.

“You alright?”

“Ahem… I’m fine. Just… a little shocked.”

His voice was hoarse as he let out an awkward chuckle.

He had already tried to set his expectations high for Natsume.

But now, Fu Gakuji realized—he had still underestimated him.

This… this was completely beyond the scope of what a town mayor should even be dealing with.

Of course, Gakuji understood that not all of these Legendary Pokémon were necessarily captured by Natsume. Some might simply be friends.

But when it came to Legendary Pokémon, was there really a difference between gaining their friendship and capturing them?

Even if they weren’t officially caught, that didn’t stop Natsume from asking them to battle or assist him when needed.

No matter how he looked at it, having the friendship of five Legendary Pokémon meant that Natsume effectively had the power of five Legendary Pokémon.

“About that last thing you wanted to discuss…”

Seeing that Gakuji had finally snapped out of his daze, Natsume tactfully steered the conversation back on track.

He had no interest in lingering on the previous topic.

Something about it just felt… off.

“Ah, right. Here’s the situation.”

“Given Lienshan Town’s location and its relationship with neighboring towns…”

“The county is considering setting up a new site for distributing starter Pokémon to rookie trainers.”

Typically, these matters were handled directly by government-affiliated breeding facilities.

Or, at the very least, by established partner organizations.

But Natsume’s farm was a unique case.

For one, this area was fairly remote, making trips to the county rather inconvenient.

And secondly—though it wasn’t explicitly stated—Natsume’s presence played a major role in this decision.

“I see.”

Natsume nodded in understanding.

This wasn’t something that particularly interested him.

It sounded like a lot of effort with little reward.

At least, that was how Natsume saw it.

He already had his hands full managing the little troublemakers on his farm.

And now they expected him to take care of an additional batch of excited rookie trainers every year?

What a joke.

After some polite conversation, Fu Gakuji finally left the farm—his steps a little stiff as he walked away.

Arceus only knew what was going through his mind right now.

Initially, Fu Gakuji had even considered suggesting that Natsume become a Gym Leader or something similar.

But now?

Yeah… no. Forget it.

Every other Gym out there had normal Pokémon.

Meanwhile, at Natsume’s Gym…

"Since you’ve chosen the path of a trainer, it’s time for you to challenge a Legendary Pokémon!"

Then, he’d throw out a row of Poké Balls.

“This is Ting-Lu, this is Cresselia, this is Manaphy, this is Ogerpon.”

"Come on, kid, pick your opponent."

…That was an image too wild to even imagine.

As he silently got into his car, Fu Gakuji felt his already battered worldview shatter just a little more.

At first, he had thought that defeating a Legendary Pokémon at 19 was already absurd enough.

But now, Natsume had somehow become The Legendary Pokémon Guy?!

At this point, it wasn’t even about strength anymore.

Many people could go their entire lives without ever encountering a Legendary Pokémon.

Even those who did might only catch a glimpse—no chance for actual interaction.

And even if they did interact, what, did they think all Legendary Pokémon were friendly?

Just making it out alive was considered lucky.

“Well… this isn’t so bad.”

Suddenly, Gakuji chuckled to himself.

In a way, this was actually a good thing.

There was no conflict here.

Natsume had a calm and steady personality, and Fu Gakuji had no intention of ever being on bad terms with him.

Yeah… this was just fine.

That being said…

Glancing at his phone, Gakuji noticed a message from Natsume.

Before leaving, they had exchanged contact information.

He had assumed it was just a courtesy, but unexpectedly, Natsume actually messaged him for a brief chat.

One topic stood out—Natsume mentioned a Legendary Pokémon in his farm, a certain Ogerpon.

The way he phrased it suggested that something was coming up soon.

That was something to keep an eye on.

Previously, Natsume had said that Ogerpon was a kind-hearted Pokémon, completely different from the folklore surrounding it.

Gakuji wasn’t sure about the details just yet.

But it wasn’t hard to imagine that myths and reality wouldn’t always align.

That kind of thing happened all the time.

Back at the Farm…

After Fu Gakuji left, Natsume dragged a still-brain-dead Slowking back toward the farm.

This guy was like a giant lump of solid meat—heavy as hell.

If it weren’t for the fact that Natsume was physically stronger than most Pokémon, he might not have been able to drag Slowking at all.

“You—put this back on already!”

Snatching the Shellder out of Slowking’s hands, Natsume shoved it back onto the Pokémon’s head.

“Yadon.”

With the Shellder back in place, Slowking’s eyes immediately regained their clarity.

Clearly, he was back to normal.

Seeing Natsume walking ahead, he quickly caught up.

Just as he was about to say something, a sharp cry rang out from above.

“Piiiiiidge—!”

A massive golden bird shot into the sky like an arrow.

Its shimmering feathers gleamed under the sunlight, as if sculpted from pure gold.

Then, at its highest point, Pidgeotto’s entire body was engulfed in a dazzling white light.

“It’s evolving.”

“Slowking, take me over there.”

Seeing Pidgeotto begin its evolution, Natsume’s face lit up with excitement.

Finally—this guy was finally evolving.

“Yadon.”

Hands clasped behind its back, Slowking nodded.

With a flash of blue light, both of them vanished from sight.

High above the farm, the glow of evolution slowly faded.

And a magnificent golden Pidgeot soared across the sky.