Pokemon: Farm Story-Chapter 155: The Farm’s Kindergarten

The freshly washed Mew glared at Natsume with an intense expression, looking extremely upset.

Unfortunately, even when Mew put on its angriest face, it still looked absolutely adorable.

"Alright, alright, stay still like a good kitty."

Natsume had plenty of experience dealing with Pokémon that hated baths.

He cranked up his Viridian Power to the maximum—letting Pokémon sink into that warm, comforting ocean of energy until they became dazed.

Then, while they were in this relaxed state, he would swiftly finish the bath.

That was Natsume's secret technique for washing Pokémon.

"Mew, Heat Wave."

After giving Mew a quick rubdown with a towel, Natsume placed it on the counter.

Mew rolled its eyes in silent protest.

Forcing me to take a bath and then making me dry myself off?

Where did this scumbag behavior come from?

Mew really wanted to hold its head high and declare that it was a cat with dignity!

But... as much as it cared about dignity, it hated the feeling of wet fur even more.

So, begrudgingly, it used Heat Wave.

Heat Wave was a move that many Pokémon could learn.

Unfortunately, on the farm, only Mew could use it proficiently at the moment.

Well, technically, the two Charcadet siblings could use it too...

But their control over the move was still abysmal.

Especially the older sister—sure, her Heat Wave had plenty of firepower, but her precision was an absolute disaster.

Fine movements? Nonexistent.

Alright, it's decided. Those two need extra training to properly master Heat Wave.

As Mew used Heat Wave to dry itself off, it clenched its tiny fists with determination—those two sisters were going to get special lessons.

At the very least, they needed to learn the move properly!

Mew simply couldn't stand Pokémon who had plenty of potential to learn skills but just didn't bother.

That was nothing short of a waste of talent!

"By the way, you came looking for me earlier—what was it about?"

Watching Mew efficiently dry itself off, Natsume was quite satisfied.

Then, he suddenly remembered—Mew had originally come to him with something to say.

But back then, Natsume had been busy giving the newly evolved Togetic a bath, so he had gotten sidetracked.

"Meew!"

Oh, so you do remember!

Rolling its eyes at Natsume again, Mew started explaining about its Mew Squad.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

If possible, Mew would have loved to form an All-Shiny Squad and take turns showing up for battles.

That would look absolutely stunning.

Unfortunately, the Shiny Furret had its own things to do most of the time and wasn't particularly interested in crushing weaklings.

The Corviknight, on the other hand, was very eager to participate.

But neither Natsume nor Mew had any intention of letting that guy into the lineup.

At least, not for regular challengers.

Natsume had already made an agreement with Mew—

As long as the challenger wasn't some arrogant, self-important guy who acted like the antagonist or protagonist from some early-era urban web novel, they wouldn't interfere.

A Gym Challenge should be a fair match.

If the challenger won, great. If they lost, oh well.

But if someone showed up acting all high and mighty, treating everyone else like background characters—

Then the entire squad would join in.

What was supposed to be a standard 3v3 match?

It would immediately turn into an all-out 6v6 battle.

The first to go up would be Persian, followed by Corviknight, then Slowking, with Ting-Lu in fourth, Cresselia in fifth, and finally, Mew itself as the last challenger!

A little "reality check" for those who had never tasted true defeat.

"As long as they have no objections, I have no issues either."

Natsume thought it over carefully—Mew's choices were actually quite reasonable.

Strong enough to make challengers struggle but not so overwhelming that they'd feel utterly hopeless.

After all, Natsume didn't want to one day find his Gym labeled online as 'just press buttons and win'.

That would be way too embarrassing.

"Mew!"

Then it's settled!

After fully drying itself off, Mew gave a little shake and locked eyes with Natsume.

No take-backs!

"Yeah, yeah, I'll hold the front line for a bit first."

"After that, I'll leave the rest to you, Gym Leader Mew."

Natsume grinned as he patted Mew on the head.

Earlier this morning, he had actually asked if Pokémon could stand in for him to accept challenges.

The examiner had replied that they needed to consult their superiors before giving an answer.

And just now, they had responded.

While their words were polite, the underlying meaning was basically—do whatever you want.

As long as you don't mind potential public backlash, it's fine.

In short, if you're strong enough that public opinion won't affect you, or if there won't even be negative discourse in the first place, then go ahead.

After all, Gym Leaders had always been a... unique bunch.

Most of them tended to tone down their eccentricities after officially taking the position.

Strictly speaking, Natsume was no exception.

Damn it, this means he couldn't sell Pokéblocks recklessly anymore.

Previously, all Pokéblocks produced on the farm were sold on an order-by-order basis.

Even those sold via food delivery apps had more structure than his sales.

At least those had actual storefronts.

But here on Natsume's farm? Just a manual workshop with unpaid Pokémon workers.

What kind of shady Palworld sweatshop was this? (crossed out)

"Alright, I've decided—I'll open a shop next to the Gym."

"One that specializes in selling Pokéblocks."

Natsume smacked his palm, having made up his mind.

He had always been selling Pokéblocks, but most of the time, he fed them to his own Pokémon first.

Only the surplus was sold externally.

It was all a bit too informal.

"Mew?"

Tilting its head, Mew looked at Natsume in confusion.

What's he thinking about now?

He looks kind of happy.

Mew might not know what was going through Natsume's mind, but it did know that Slowking was about to be very unhappy.

Because every time Natsume had a new idea, Slowking would have to worry about it.

Afraid that Natsume might mess something up.

Strictly speaking, Slowking had put as much effort into running the farm as Natsume had.

After all, a lot of the daily operations were handled by Slowking.

Sometimes, Mew thought—good thing Slowking was bald and had a crown.

Otherwise, it'd definitely have developed a receding hairline from all the stress.

Just imagining it was hilarious.

"Mew!"

Hey, we're talking about me right now!

Mew patted Natsume's arm with its tiny paw, looking dissatisfied.

Feeling that this wasn't enough to get his attention, it floated right up to Natsume's face—

And pressed its little paws directly against his cheeks.

Now I have your full attention, right?

"Okay, okay, let's get back to talking about the Gym."

Laughing, Natsume hugged Mew and continued discussing Gym-related details with it.

For example, all Gym battles needed to be recorded and submitted to the League Headquarters.

This was to prevent any misconduct—

Not just to protect the challengers, but also the Gym Leaders.

In recent years, there had been some utterly deranged people, including clout-chasing streamers, who had pulled ridiculous stunts.

"Gym Leaders and challengers must remain within monitored areas throughout the entire battle."

This rule might seem absurd, but absurd rules always had even more absurd incidents behind them.

You might not understand why some places had laws like 'no donkeys in bathtubs after 10 PM',

But rest assured, there was a reason for it.

"Mew~"

I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back later.

After discussing the details, Mew flicked its tail and zipped out the window.

Flying Pokémon never used doors!

"Phii?"

Just as Mew flew out, a water-blue figure floated into the room.

Tilting its head, Phione watched Mew disappear through the window and instinctively reached out a little—

But before it could say anything, Mew was already gone without a trace.

Leaving Phione standing there, frozen.

I was going to ask if you wanted to have snacks together...

Looking at the empty space where Mew had been, Phione felt a bit disappointed.

It had always considered Mew a very close friend.

Because they had similar interests.

And, more importantly, their snack preferences were almost identical.

So, they often played together.

Yes—Mew played happily with a newborn child.

And it wasn't in the way an adult plays with a child.

It was genuinely two kids playing together.

Honestly, it was hard to say whose mental age was actually higher.

"Phii..."

Retracting its hand, Phione awkwardly scratched its backside.

It was said that when humans felt awkward, they pretended to be busy.

The same was true for Pokémon.

If there was anything more embarrassing than being ignored—

It was being ignored while someone else watched it happen.

"Emo?"

At that moment, a Emolga in a miniature janitor outfit happened to walk by and glanced at Phione curiously.

What the heck is this idiot doing?

Some kind of performance art?

Under Emolga's 'look at this fool' gaze, Phione felt so embarrassed it could probably dig itself a three-bedroom apartment with just its toes.

Desperate to diffuse the situation, Phione began pretending to evaluate the room's decor.

'Wow, this floor is so... floor-like.'

'Nice vase. It'd be even better with a selfie stick in it.'

"Phione, come here."

Noticing Phione sneaking glances at him, Natsume chuckled and beckoned it over.

Given an escape route, Phione instantly relaxed and flew into Natsume's arms, settling in comfortably.

The outside world is too dangerous. Natsume's arms are much safer.

For young ones, being ignored even once felt like a world-ending crisis.

Like how, as a kid, being late to class, failing a test, or getting scolded by a teacher felt catastrophic.

Then, a little older—skipping class and getting caught, messing up at work—those became the new "end-of-the-world" moments.

Every age seemed to have its own apocalyptic problems.

But in hindsight, none of them were really that important.

And most people didn't even care.

Just like Phione now, convinced that Emolga would mock it for this humiliating moment—

But Emolga had already forgotten about it the moment it left the room.

Probably wouldn't even remember in five minutes.

"Phione, did you eat properly today?"

Gently patting Phione's head bubble, Natsume changed the topic to distract it.

Here's the translated passage, preserving the original

"Phi!"

As expected, Phione's attention quickly shifted.

It proudly began telling Natsume all about its time at the "kindergarten."

The so-called kindergarten was, more accurately, an area on the farm where the younger Pokémon played.

With the number of residents on the farm increasing, more and more mischievous little troublemakers were running around.

So, Natsume simply asked Chansey to help look after them.

For Pokémon that already had others watching over them, it wasn't a big deal. But for ones like Togepi or Phione—who had arrived alone and were still mentally quite immature—Natsume relied on Chansey to take care of them.

After all, he was barely an adult himself.

He hadn't even figured out how to properly take care of himself, let alone others.

Chansey gladly accepted the job.

For a Pokémon like Chansey, this was right within its wheelhouse—doing what it was naturally best at.

Wild Chansey instinctively cared for injured Pokémon, overflowing with kindness and compassion.

But the Chansey trained at academies?

On top of their boundless kindness and gentle hearts...

They also had iron fists tough enough to keep any unruly brats in check.

No matter how much of a troublemaker a Pokémon was, it would behave under those fists.

For these Chansey, "hospital disputes" simply didn't exist.

Because any troublemakers would quickly realize... they couldn't win.

Strengthening the doctor's combat abilities—it was, in a way, just another form of ensuring their protection.

Natsume turned his attention back to Phione.

In its version of events, it was the big brother of the kindergarten.

Champion of the weak, protector of justice.

It even helped elderly grandmothers cross the street.

Wait... where on the farm were there any elderly grandmothers?

Natsume couldn't quite make sense of that part.

After chatting with Phione for a little while longer, Natsume stood up, ready to leave.

Lately, Phione had been deemed "mature enough" by Audino to go out and play on its own.

Now that it had its "freedom," Phione was like an unbridled Husky.

Impossible to rein in.

If it wasn't playing outside, it was on its way to go play outside.

If Togepi hadn't evolved yet, the two of them would have probably become best friends.

Unfortunately, ever since Togepi evolved into Togetic, it had started acting a little more composed.

At least, it seemed that way. Whether that was truly the case would need further observation.

Many Pokémon seemed normal right after evolving...

But over time, something just started to feel off.

Take Marshtomp, for example.

Lately, for some reason, it kept zoning out like it was contemplating the meaning of life.

It was starting to give off serious Slowking vibes.

"Caw-caw!"

Standing in the open yard, Natsume cupped his hands around his mouth and called out.

In the very next second, a massive figure rushed toward him at high speed.

That's right—rushed.

Corviknight moved like a high-performance motorcycle, dragging a long trail across the ground as it skidded to a stop right in front of Natsume.

"Caw caw caw!"

Second Lieutenant Corviknight! Reporting for duty!

"Stop messing around and take me to go shopping."

"Caw caw!"

Roger that!

Snapping to attention, Corviknight responded with impeccable discipline.

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