Compared to the more dire possibilities, Naoki preferred the first one, that Teddiursa was captured by another passing Trainer.
Because at least this way Teddiursa was safe, and there was no need to worry about hunger and illness.
"I hope it can be safe and sound!" At this moment, Naoki sincerely wished in his heart.
He shook his head, put the matter aside, and turned back to the house.
At this moment, Koraidon, Dragonite, and Cyclizar were attracted by the fragrance and came over, so Naoki distributed the freshly baked Honey Buns to them.
The three Pokemon immediately sat on the floor and started gobbling up the buns.
Koraidon and Cyclizar both stood upright, joining Dragonite in sitting around on the wooden floor.
In the center, there was a picnic basket, lined with a striped tablecloth, piled high with fragrant buns.
The three Pokemon ate just like humans, first picking up the buns with their claws, throwing them into their mouths, happily chewing a few times before swallowing.
Watching them eat, Naoki really felt like he was raising three big babies, all of them so cute.
"Keep it up!"
"Mama~"
Naoki turned, and began to continue making desserts with Alcremie.
With Alcremie's Helping Hand, soon a delicious cream cake was completed.
Naoki cut a few Berries to use as Decorate, and even crafted some rough edges with utensils.
Once everything was done, the information about this cream cake appeared in his mind.
[Birthday Cake (B): A cake made with rich cream and premium baked cake base, decorated with Berries, containing a sense of celebration.
Cooking Effect: Birthday gift, given to a Pokemon on its birthday will bestow a blessing, permanently increasing either HP, Attack, Special Attack, Speed, Defense, or Special Defense.
Review: Give it to a Pokemon as a gift! It might bring them an unexpected surprise.]
Hmm? A birthday gift?
This effect is interesting.
Just not sure if it increases Individual Values or Species strength, if it's the former it's fine, but if it's the latter that's exaggerated.
But thinking about it, it can only increase once a year, and it seems that the increase is not much, so the effect doesn't seem so exaggerated.
Especially for someone who is not a Trainer like him.
After a moment of pondering, Naoki thought: "It's better than nothing!"
However, this cake's effect reminded him of something else.
Thinking of this, Naoki washed his hands, cut the cake into several pieces, and shared it with all the Pokemon, then went to the desk and wrote a letter on a sheet of white paper.
The birthdays of most Pokemon on the farm are difficult to trace.
Like Gogoat, Nacli, or Dragonite.
Pokemon do not understand months and dates, and they do not remember which day they were born, so it is hard to trace their birthdays.
As it stands, the only Pokemon whose birth date can be traced is Cyclizar.
Therefore, in the letter to Thomas Town, Naoki mainly inquired about Cyclizar's date of birth, and he attached the farm's phone number at the end of the letter, allowing Mayor Thomas to contact him by phone.
After writing, Naoki called Allen, the postal worker in town.
About twenty minutes later, Allen arrived riding a Cyclizar and took the letter from him.
The postage cost 200 League coins, the price of half a bottle of MooMoo Milk.
"Don't worry, Mayor Thomas will receive this letter soon!" Allen said.
Then at 5:50 in the evening, Naoki received a call from Mayor Thomas in Thomas Town.
With the call connected, Mayor Thomas's voice came through the receiver: "Is this Naoki? I've received your letter. I didn't expect your farm to be equipped with a phone, it will make our communication much easier in the future!"
Mayor Thomas's call wasn't a video call, but an old-fashioned wired phone, so during the call, Naoki couldn't see the situation on the other side.
He nodded and said: "Yes, good evening, Mayor Thomas."
"Good evening!" After the pleasantries, Thomas began answering the questions in the letter: "Cyclizar's birthday... let me think, it was born last fall on August 20th, yes, that's the day!"
August 20th? Does that mean Cyclizar is only six months old and hasn't reached its first birthday yet?
Thinking of this, Naoki looked towards Cyclizar in the distance with a face full of cream from eating cake.
After a brief thought, he nodded and said: "Okay, I understand, thank you very much."
Mayor Thomas laughed heartily: "Haha, it's a small matter, keep up the good work running the farm! Cyclizar will surely become a great assistant for you."
After hanging up, Naoki noted Cyclizar's birthday prominently, planning to give it a birthday cake on that day.
————
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was February 24th of spring.
Today is the day of the cattle and sheep evaluation competition.
At seven in the morning, just as Naoki was grooming the Gogoat's wool, preparing to take them to town for the competition, the farm unexpectedly welcomed a long-lost figure.
Seeing the dirty and bedraggled Teddiursa, Naoki felt surprised and also relieved.
"Imma..."
Teddiursa trotted up to him, extending a small paw with its palm open.
Naoki looked down to see a clear blue stone lying quietly on it.
It was a Water Stone.
Naoki felt a bit astonished, but before he could speak, he heard a "grumble" from Teddiursa's stomach.
Teddiursa looked down at its little belly, then raised a finger: "Imma imma!"
Its eyes showed a look of expectation, thinking of the delicious honey, it couldn't help but swallow.
Naoki: "..."
Looks like nothing's wrong.
He helplessly paused his work, led Teddiursa back to the cabin, took out a piece of pudding from the fridge, and placed two Honey Buns in front of Teddiursa from the cabinet.
Teddiursa started devouring them ravenously, seemingly hungry for quite some time.
Naoki patiently waited for it to finish eating, then asked after seeing Teddiursa stop:
"Haven't seen you for so long, where have you been these days?"
"Imma..."
Recalling its experiences over the days, Teddiursa felt both excited and apprehensive.
After leaving the farm, it had thought about many things.
To verify Naoki's words, it left the mountain, planning to check out a new farm to see if people would give it food without disguising, just like Naoki.
But by a twist of fate, it accidentally wandered into a human city full of tall buildings.
There, Teddiursa saw new sights and realized that the world is vast and has many landscapes unseen in the mountains.
However, the good times didn't last long. Shortly after arriving in that city, it was attacked by local Wild Pokemon.
They were a group of Meowths living in alleyways, surviving by rummaging through garbage bins.
Teddiursa was seen as an invader and was surrounded by Meowths attacking from all directions.
In a moment of crisis, a mysterious Pokemon calling itself the "Hero" saved it.