"——" The Wizard silently took out his Pokédex and scanned the Metapod lying on the ground.
[Metapod, the Cocoon Pokémon. A Caterpie's panic. Its entire body is encased in a hard shell——]
After glancing at it for a moment, the Wizard closed the Pokédex.
"For something without a mouth, does it still need to be fed?" the Wizard asked.
"Indeedee——" Indeedee reached out a paw and poked the still-crying Metapod, then shook its head. "Indee." (No.)
Metapod writhed in despair once more. Because it was encased in a hard shell, this slight wriggle only managed to make it jiggle weakly on the ground.
Seeing this, the Wizard placed the food it had been rapidly inhaling in a corner not far away, right in front of Metapod.
The Wizard occasionally did this in the forest. Whatever he couldn't finish, he'd casually leave in some corner of the forest for whoever needed it to take and eat.
Of course, most of the time, no one did. However, over at the train station, there was a Goblin—a subordinate of his ex-wife—who would occasionally drop by to browse.
"—Meta—" Metapod stared at the plate of food and closed its eyes in despair.
Time flashed forward to Summer 22.
Having concluded the two-day Trout Derby, Sailor carried a pile of prizes and happily returned to the farm.
Aside from rather conventional prizes like a tent, it also received a blue box it had never seen before, with a giant question mark drawn on it.
"Rattata!"
Sailor knocked on the door with a happy face.
If it were any other day, it would have just pushed the door open and walked right in.
But today was different. It was a returning hero in triumph, and rightfully deserved a grand welcoming committee from the entire farm.
Thinking this, Sailor puffed out its chest and knocked on the door again.
"Rattata?" The sound of little paws scurrying on the floor came from inside, followed by Ribbon jumping up, hanging off the doorknob, and struggling to pull the door open.
"Rattata!"
Seeing that it was Sailor, Ribbon gave it a look of disdain, immediately jumped off the doorknob, and was about to turn away when Sailor called out to stop it.
"Rattata?" Ribbon turned its head, just about to say something, when Sailor shoved a hat into its paws—a hat Ribbon didn't have yet.
"Rattata, Rattata."
This was a prize from the Fishing Derby: a Fisherman's Hat.
Honestly, it wasn't very good-looking. Neither Sailor nor Willy had much interest in this hat.
But for a collector who would even take a trash can lid, let alone a dusty but real hat, it was a treasure.
"Rattata?!!" Ribbon took the hat with a surprised and delighted expression, instantly forgetting all about seeking justice for the lovestruck Indeedee. It happily thanked Sailor and skipped off to the mirror to try the hat on.
"How'd it go?" Ron set breakfast on the table and, glancing at the puffed-up Sailor, knowingly asked about its fishing exploits.
Obviously, if fishing wasn't for showing off, it would be meaningless.
"Rattata!" Sailor held out both paws and stretched them as wide as they could go.
It had caught that many Golden Tags—so many—Ron clapped along to fit the mood, making Sailor lift its head so high it practically pointed at the sky.
It proudly held up the fish specimen it had gotten and solemnly enshrined it by its porthole window.
Meanwhile, at the mines.
Early in the morning, as usual, the Geodude finished breakfast and headed to the mines to dig.
This was actually quite fun for the Geodude. Whether taking turns swinging a pickaxe to smash ores down, or crashing into each other until the ores fell off on their own, it was all incredibly enjoyable.
Besides, as regulars in the mines, the Geodude had also become well-acquainted with the Dwarves who also lived there. Since the Dwarves also loved eating minerals from the caves, a trading chain had even formed between them.
"Birthday! Birthday!" Cheers from the Dwarves echoed in the mine.
"Geodude?" Two Geodude exchanged glances, sneaked over to the Dwarves' cave, and peeked inside.
"Whose turn is it to buy milk this time?" The lead Dwarf, standing on a treasure chest, surveyed the crowd of Dwarves.
The Dwarves stared at each other for a while before pushing forward the one whose shift it was today.
"Since it's a birthday today, why not splurge a bit?" The Dwarf standing on the chest raised his arm and shouted.
Actually, apart from the Dwarf living in Pelican Town, the other Dwarves had long forgotten what day they were born. But since they lived together, they had combined their birthdays into one. The lead Dwarf continued, "Let's use our stash of Lemon Stone—hey, bros, you're here too?"
"Geodude?" The Geodude exchanged a look and slowly rolled inside.
"Even though today is our birthday——" the Dwarf continued, "let's celebrate together! An Ore Feast!!!"
"Ore Feast!!!" the Dwarves cheered.
"Geodude!!!!" the Geodude chimed in.
"You go buy milk, you go dig for ores—and you guys—" He pointed at the Geodude. "How about helping out by getting some Lemon Stones from the farm? You guys must have never tried them, right?"
Most of the time, the Geodude's meals consisted of ordinary rocks. As for minerals, since they weren't sure when Ron might need them, unless Ron specifically said it was okay, they honestly kept their distance from those stones.
"Geodude?"
"Geodude!"
The Geodude quickly reached a consensus and, egged on by the Dwarves, marched grandly back to the farm.
"Magearna, Magearna—Magearna." Magearna was directing everyone's work. Turning its head, it saw a group of Geodude standing awkwardly together before pushing out a representative.
"Geodude——Geodude!"
We work all year round without breaks——
The representative Geodude squirmed as it spoke: "Geodude, Geodude——"
The Dwarves said we should get a day off, and according to the law, receive proper extra compensation!
"Magearna?" (Like what?)
"Geodude."
100 Lemon Stones.
Ron had just walked through the farm gate and, before taking a few steps, spotted two Dwarves squatting in the corner.
"You think by egging them on like this, we can really get a bunch of Lemon Stones for free?"
"Probably——besides, they're just a bunch of rocks." One Dwarf gulped. "Even if Ron gets mad, he wouldn't do anything to us, right?"
They're Geodude; even if they get hit, it shouldn't matter, right?
"——" Ron silently picked the two Dwarves up by the scruff and then spotted the Geodude arguing with Magearna not far away.
"——Birthdays, right?" Ron asked.
"Hehe, just celebrating." Hidden inside their helmets, their expressions were obscured, but their voices sounded extremely guilty.
"You could have just asked me for them." Ron continued, "All on the same day?"
"Hehe, yeah, we set it all on the same day."
"Happy Birthday."
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