The moon hung high in the sky.
Pawmi came to the ranch once more.
It was very, very hungry. Ever since it got separated from its parents, it had no source of food and had to search for food on its own.
Through the observations of the past few days, it learned that a human and a group of frightening Pokémon lived here.
There were the Skiddo radiating terrifying energy, the Nacli that gathered in groups and always stayed together, and the Butterfree hovering above the ranch, capable of spinning Electrowebs.
And the scariest, most ferocious-looking red-skinned monster.
In the midst of midnight dreams, they always prevented Pawmi from sleeping.
Pawmi didn't dare to show itself in front of them; it was very frightened and also very hungry.
Pawmi dared not come out to search for food during the day and instead could only leave its hiding place cautiously at night after those terrifying creatures had fallen asleep, to steal those "crackers" made of barley grains from the safest chicken coop.
Tonight, after they fell asleep, it came again.
Leaving its safe and hidden tree hole, it came to this dreadful place.
Squeezing through the gap in the fence, Pawmi ran to the chicken coop, reaching out its little paw to gently push open the door.
Immediately, a strange sound suddenly echoed from inside the house.
"Pawawm!"
Pawmi was so frightened that its fur stood on end, turning into a blur as it dashed to a hidden corner.
Its heart thumped frantically, as if it were about to burst out of its chest.
Pawmi pressed against the wall, not daring to move a muscle.
The sound soon vanished, and after a long time, there was no movement around.
No danger?
Pawmi carefully poked out half its head, observing everything outside.
Inside the small chicken house, the hens were dozing on piles of hay, and a group of yellow fluffy chicks snuggled against them, sleeping soundly.
The hens hadn't woken up.
Pawmi looked elsewhere.
The bright moonlight shone through the window, and the surroundings were extraordinarily quiet.
The feed trough, hay fork, water bucket, everything was the same as the previous nights.
Pawmi quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Having confirmed there was no danger, it ran out of the corner to the place where the crackers were kept.
Seeing the leftover crackers the hens had eaten, Pawmi's eyes lit up and it eagerly devoured them to replenish its energy.
On the beam of the chicken house's roof, Butterfree quietly watched everything below.
The scene of the little Pawmi eating under the moon was reflected in its eyes.
"Buuterfree…?"
Under the moonlight, Butterfree gently flapped its wings, and suddenly, countless specks of light scattered from its wings, like a slowly flowing brilliant galaxy, drifting down toward Pawmi.
The Pawmi, munching on chicken feed, twitched its nose, seemingly feeling something, and stopped its munching, raising its head with a bit of confusion.
The next second, it saw an incredibly beautiful scene.
But before it could react, a strong drowsiness surged.
This made Pawmi yawn big, and the chicken feed it held dropped to the ground with a plop.
So sleepy…
Unable to resist, Pawmi plopped to the ground and fell into a deep sleep.
When Naoki received the notification and arrived with a flashlight, this was the scene he saw.
A small Pokémon lay fast asleep in his family's feed trough.
No need to guess, this was the thief that only visited the chicken house at night.
A Pawmi.
Pawmi, a unique Pokémon of the Paldea Region, just like Pikachu, belongs to the electric mouse category.
Its entire body is covered with orange fur, with beige fur on its hands and tail, and round yellow electric sacs on its cheeks, and its paws have pink pads.
"Well done, Butterfree," Naoki praised.
"Buurr~" Butterfree flapped its wings, making a happy sound.
Naoki then picked up the Pawmi from the ground.
Such a small one, with prominent bones, slightly thin, its fur was dull and coarse to the touch.
Naoki examined the Pawmi over and over.
The sleeping Pawmi was like a stuffed toy, showing no reaction even when its pads were squeezed or its fur was stroked.
"Quite cute, indeed."
Naoki wasn't angry about the Pawmi stealing chicken feed; he was just curious why it hadn't stolen something else, but chose chicken feed instead.
Although chicken feed is made from various grains, it's not a problem for Pokémon to eat it.
After some careful thought, Naoki closed the chicken house door and took Pawmi back to his house.
The time was only just past three in the morning, and a few Pokémon that were asleep were awakened, gathering around curiously to watch the Pawmi Naoki had brought back.
Meanwhile, the effect of the Sleep Powder ended.
Pawmi awoke from its sleep.
It opened its eyes to see the red-skinned monster stuck in front of it.
The next second, a frightened cry arose—"Pawawm!"
Koraidon was somewhat confused: "Gars?"
Pawmi curled up, trembling, while it began to rub its cheeks with its paws.
Watching the scene, Naoki said speechlessly, "Koraidon, don't scare it; it's about to zap you."
Before evolving, the electric sacs on Pawmi's cheeks were not fully developed, preventing it from discharging electricity like Pikachu. Thus, it had to rub its paw pads vigorously to generate electricity.