Pokemon: A New Path

Compared to the other, more distressing possibilities, Naoki would much prefer the first scenario—that Teddiursa had been captured by a passing trainer. At least then, the little bear would be safe, with no need to worry about hunger or illness.

"I hope it's safe and sound," Naoki murmured, his heart filled with genuine concern for the Pokémon.

He shook his head, deciding to set the matter aside for now, and returned to the house.

Just as he was about to resume his work, Koraidon, Dragonite, and Cyclizar were drawn to the kitchen by the mouthwatering aroma of the honey buns. Naoki, smiling at their eager faces, shared the freshly baked bread with them.

The three Pokémon immediately sat down on the floor and began enjoying the bread.

Koraidon and Cyclizar both shifted into upright positions, sitting alongside Dragonite on the wooden floor. Between them was a picnic basket, covered with a striped tablecloth and filled with the fragrant bread rolls.

The way the three Pokémon ate was surprisingly similar to how humans would. They each picked up a bun with their paws, tossed it into their mouths, and happily chewed before swallowing.

Watching them eat, Naoki couldn't help but feel like he was raising three oversized, adorable babies. "They're all so cute," he thought fondly.

"Enjoy!" Naoki encouraged, turning back to continue making desserts with Alcremie.

With Alcremie's enthusiastic assistance, they soon crafted a sweet and delicious cream cake. Naoki added some freshly cut fruit for decoration and even used utensils to create some rough but charming lace designs on the cake.

When everything was finished, the information about the cream cake appeared in his mind:

[Birthday Cake (B)]: This cake is made of rich cream and finely baked cake dough, decorated with fruit to convey a sense of celebration.

Cooking effect: Birthday Gift. If you feed this cake to a Pokémon on its birthday, it will receive a blessing that can permanently increase one of its stats: HP, Physical Attack, Special Attack, Speed, Physical Defense, or Special Defense.

Comment: Give it to Pokémon as a gift! Maybe it will bring them unexpected surprises.

'Hmm? A birthday gift?' Naoki thought, intrigued by the effect.

He wondered whether the stat increase applied to the individual value or the base stat of the Pokémon. If it was the former, it was a nice touch, but if it was the latter, that would be quite powerful.

However, considering it could only be used once a year, the effect probably wasn't too exaggerated. Especially for someone like him, who wasn't a professional trainer.

After pondering for a moment, Naoki thought, "Well, it's better than nothing!"

The cake's effect did remind him of something important, though.

With that in mind, Naoki washed his hands, cut the cake into several slices, and shared them with all the Pokémon. Then, he sat down at his desk, took out a piece of white paper, and began writing a letter.

He realized that he didn't have records of most of the Pokémon's birthdays on the ranch.

Like the Gogoat, Nacli, and Dragonite, many of the Pokémon on the ranch didn't understand the concept of years, months, and days, making it difficult to keep track of their birthdays. Without knowing when they were born, it was nearly impossible to celebrate their special days.

Currently, the only Pokémon whose birth date could be traced was Cyclizar.

So, in the letter Naoki wrote to Mayor Thomas, he primarily asked about the birth date of Cyclizar and included the ranch's phone number at the end, so he could be contacted directly by phone.

After finishing the letter, Naoki called Ivan, the town's postman.

About twenty minutes later, Ivan arrived on a Cyclizar and took the letter from Naoki. The mailing fee was 200 Poké Dollars, the equivalent of half a bottle of Moo Moo Milk.

"Don't worry, Mayor Thomas will get this letter soon!" Ivan assured him.

Sure enough, at 5:50 in the evening, Naoki received a call from Mayor Thomas.

As the call connected, Mayor Thomas's voice crackled through the old-fashioned switchboard phone. "Is this Naoki? I received your letter. I didn't expect you had a telephone installed at your ranch—this will definitely make communication easier in the future!"

Since Mayor Thomas's phone wasn't a videophone, Naoki couldn't see what was happening on the other end. He nodded and replied, "Yes, it's me. Good evening, Mayor Thomas."

"Good evening!" After exchanging pleasantries, Mayor Thomas began answering the question from the letter. "As for Cyclizar's birthday, let me think. It was born on August 20 last fall. Yes, that's the date!"

August 20? Naoki thought, 'That means Cyclizar is only six months old, not even a year yet'.

He glanced over at Cyclizar, who was happily munching on cake, its mouth covered in cream.

"Got it. Thank you very much," Naoki said after a brief moment of thought.

Mayor Thomas laughed heartily. "Haha, it's nothing! Keep up the good work on the ranch! Cyclizar will surely be a great helper for you."

After hanging up, Naoki took a pen and wrote down Cyclizar's birthday in a prominent spot, planning to celebrate it with a special birthday cake when the time came.

...

Time passed quickly, and before Naoki knew it, February 24th had arrived—the day of the Spring Cattle and Sheep Judging Competition.

At seven in the morning, as Naoki was combing the fur of his Gogoat in preparation for the competition, a long-lost figure suddenly appeared on the ranch.

Naoki was both surprised and relieved to see the disheveled Teddiursa, it's fur dirty and matted from what appeared to have been quite an adventure.

"Ursa." Teddiursa trotted over to him, stretching out its little paw and spreading its palm.

Naoki looked down and saw a clear blue stone lying quietly in Teddiursa's paw.

It was a Water Stone.

Naoki was a little surprised by the Water Stone, but before he could say anything, he heard a "gurgling" sound coming from Teddiursa's stomach.

Teddiursa looked down at its belly and then raised a paw, giving a hopeful "Ursa-ursa!"

There was a gleam of anticipation in its eyes, and as it thought of the delicious honey Naoki often gave it, Teddiursa couldn't help but swallow its saliva.

Naoki sighed. "Looks like nothing much has changed," he thought with a smile.

He reluctantly paused his preparations for the competition, led Teddiursa back to the cabin, and took out a piece of pudding from the refrigerator. He also grabbed two honey buns from the cupboard and placed them in front of the hungry little bear.

Teddiursa began eating ravenously, clearly having been hungry for some time.

Naoki waited patiently for it to finish. Once Teddiursa had eaten its fill, Naoki asked, "I haven't seen you in a while. Where have you been these past few days?"

"Ursa." Teddiursa began, reflecting on its recent experiences, a mix of excitement and fear in its eyes.

After leaving the ranch that day, Teddiursa had been thinking a lot about what Naoki had said. Curious to see if other humans would treat it as kindly as Naoki did, Teddiursa decided to venture out, leaving the familiar mountain behind in search of new pastures.

But things didn't go as planned. By some mistake, Teddiursa ended up in a human city, a place full of tall buildings and unfamiliar sights. The world outside the mountains was vast, with many landscapes it had never seen before.

However, the excitement didn't last long. Soon after arriving in the city, Teddiursa was attacked by the local Pokémon— a group of street Meowth and Purrloin that made their living by scavenging through trash cans. They saw Teddiursa as an intruder and quickly surrounded it, attacking from all sides.

Just when things seemed hopeless, a mysterious Pokémon who called itself "Hero" came to Teddiursa's rescue.