Uhe night sky, the farm y in utter silence.

  On the sed floor, Natsume slept soundly otress he'd brought along.

  The furniture wouldn’t arrive until the m, so he had no choice but to make do for the night.

  That was the pn, at least.

  ---

  “Chii?”

  As the farm settled into darkness, many Pokémon began to stir.

  A curious little Rattata poked its head out from the bushes.

  It had noticed earlier that afternoon—after such a long time of the farmhouse beiy—that someone had moved in.

  This discovery left the little Rattata rather displeased.

  To it, the abandoned building was a well-established “secret base,” shared with its siblings for endless adventures.

  And now, a stranger had taken over.

  “Chii!”

  Rubbing its nose resolutely with its tiny paw, the Rattata made up its mind.

  It would give this uninvited guest a "special surprise"!

  But as the little troublemaker schemed, it failed to notice the looming shadow that had silently crept up behind it.

  When the clouds shifted, and moonlight bathed the se, the silhouette of a rge predator became clear.

  The Rattata froze, only now realizing it had been discovered.

  Thwack!

  A paw glowing with pale white energy swept through the air and smacked the Rattata with unerring accuracy.

  The unfortunate rodent soared in a graceful arc, boung a few times on the ground before disappearing into the undergrowth, dazed.

  “Grr...”

  The Persiarag its paw, cast a dismissive g the unscious Rattata before turning back to its nightly patrol.

  Everyone knows cats are noal.

  And for this Persian, its first night at the farm meant only ohiablishing its territory.

  Its tail swayed nguidly as it padded silently through the grass, its soft paw pads making no noise.

  The Persian rgely ighe Pokémon that resided on the farm, sparing only a brief gnce.

  It was only when any dared approach the house that its sharp gaze locked onto them.

  Then, swift a was taken.

  Us vigint watch, the first night passed without i.

  ---

  M

  As dawn broke, the farm’s Pokémon were greeted by an unusual sight.

  The human who had arrived yesterday had returhis time leading a procession of other humans into the farm.

  “This sofa go in the living room on the first floor,” Natsume instructed.

  “And that small bed goes in the guest room upstairs, the one closest to the staircase.”

  Effitly direg a team of Machop and Maovers, Natsume got everythi up.

  Oisfied, he paid the movers their due.

  “With the house set up, it’s time to get acquainted with the farm’s residents.”

  Natsume crossed off [Set Up House] on his trusty notebook and began expl the farm with his three Pokémon: Persian, Butterfree, and Rookidee.

  Yesterday, during his visit with the mayor, he had only managed a quick survey of the area.

  Today’s goal was twofold:

  1. Announce his preseo the Pokémon living on the farm.

  2. Recruit new partners for the work ahead.

  After all, this was the world of Pokémon.

  Who farms by hand anymore?

  Wouldn’t it be better to have a Sandshrew dig through tough soil or a Diglett plow the nd?

  Electrion like Mage or Pikachu could gee power, while the likes of Psyduck or Lotad handled irrigation.

  In both daily life and specialized tasks, Pokémon had bee integral to human society.

  As a farm owhe more Pokémon the merrier—as long as he could afford to care for them.

  With Persian ag like a hound ready to pounce, Butterfree s above as a scouting fal, and Rookidee providing a mascot-like cheerfulness, Natsume felt like a jungle hualking through his own domain.

  “Sand?”

  As they passed a small mound of dirt, a curious Sandshrew poked its head out, its dark eyes full of curiosity.

  It tilted its head, unsure of the human’s iions.

  “Hello there, Sandshrew. I’m the new owner of this farm.”

  “I’d like to invite you to be my partner,” Natsume said, croug down to meet the Pokémon at eye level.

  “Sand? Sand-sand?”

  ‘What do I get out of it?’

  The Sandshrew, sensing no malice from Natsume, felt oddly drawn to him but still had its reservations.

  Uanding its question, Natsume reached into his bag and pulled out a small tainer of energy cubes.

  These ones, earthy brown with a faint golden glow, were tailored fround-types.

  “You’ll help with the farm work, and iurn, you’ll get these energy cubes as payment.”

  “Sand!”

  The Sandshrew she cubes eagerly, its eyes lighting up.

  Without hesitation, it grabbed Natsume’s hand and started mung, dev the cubes in no time.

  “Sand-sand?”

  ‘Do I get these regurly?’

  “As long as you’re my partner.”

  “Sand~”

  ‘Deal.’

  The Sandshrew even made its preference clear: it wasn’t a fan of battling.

  “That’s fine by me,” Natsume replied with a smile, handing it a Pokéball.

  The Sandshreed the ball with its paw, and in a fsh of light, it was captured.

  The ball barely wobbled before settling with a click.

  “I caught a Sandshrew!”

  Feeling aplished, Natsume released the Pokémon immediately and fulfilled his promise of another helping of energy cubes.

  BOOM!

  Their bonding moment was interrupted by a loud noise from the nearby forest.

  Startled, the Sandshrew fumbled its energy cube, hastily scooping it up and stuffing it into its mouth.

  Fround-type Pokémon, food on the ground was hardly an issue.

  “What was that noise?” Natsume asked, frowning.

  “Sand-sand!”

  The Sandshrew, now doing, expihe situation as best it could.

  After listening carefully, Natsume nodded in uanding.