Nate woke up to the sound of his alarm clock, as he always did every day.

With a sigh, he sat up in bed and stretched, smiling with the slight creaking sound he heard, and got up to get ready, Heading to the bathroom where he spent the next few minutes.

He was already leaving when he heard the sound of a knock on his door, making him smile and turn towards the exit of his room while throwing his wet towel on a nearby chair.

“Coming!”

The knocking only stopped when he opened the door, revealing a creature with blue, pink and white fur and its right leg missing, a small smile on the creature's face, its bright, but tired, pink eyes looking at him with expectation, while its strange ribbon-like tendons moved around it.

“It's late” He heard a soft masculine voice speak when the creature opened its mouth.

“No, it’s not” He said while laughing “It’s still early, and I even woke up earlier than usual”

And he was right, the world was still dark outside, and no bird could be heard.

“But today is the big day!” Said the creature “We can’t expect the kaze around so much!”

“Ok! Ok Sylv!” Nate said, leaving the room “We should start finding Faith, Umbra, Mune and Solana?”

“They’re in the Orchard” Disse a criatura “They really happy to start today!”

“And Fergus?”

“In the Kindgardem”

He hummed a response while walking through the corridors of the gigantic property he owned.

Well, not quite, it was given to him by the System.

Nate was a transmigrator, he died by being hit by a truck while playing pokemon with his friends, and was brought to a strange big place.

The System has made itself know right after he woke up, and told him that his mission in this world was to spread the Pokemon, but he had to prepare himself first, so it gives him two years to get used to the environment of the given place, and also access to files over de second year so he could learn about this new world without the need to leave the safety of the place since, while closed, could note be invaded or sensed.

That's how he knew that this world was one of magic and swords, where humans enter gates to fight monsters or hunt in the wilderness.

During these two years, he got used to a lot of things, one of these being the rescues, pokemons that needed especial treatment in various ways, be it emotional or fiscal, and there he meet his partners, a shiny Sylveon without a leg he named Sylvester, two Espurrs that soon evolved into Meowstics, both blind of one eye, one male e one Female, who he named Mune and Solana, an Umbreon with social anxiety, who he named Umbra, an mute Audino, who’s name is Faith, and an Mudsdale that love children, called Fergus.

The System was really generous, and gave him the ability to understand Pokemon once he got his partners, and then stopped chatting since.

Arriving at the entrance of the Orchard, Sylvester and Nate soon saw the others.

“Finally!” He heard Mune say.

“We thought you were still sleeping!” Solana completed.

“Morning” Umbra said, still half asleep.

(Good Morning!) Faith showed off her notebook with a big smile.

Two years have finally passed, and today was the opening day, everyone was excited for this and wanted to be sure that everything was perfect.

So, with a big smile, Nate opens the door to the Orchard, ready to prepare the best meal for the Pokemon.

_______________________________________

Aiden Wayland enjoyed his job, but, sometimes, he would love it if people learned to make their own weapons.

“Better weapons! I’ll show them ‘better weapons’!”

Aiden Wayland, heir of the Wayland, a family of blacksmiths, and the best in the area since his grandfather's time.

But since the guild master of Soaring Sky, the second best guild of the Golden Empire of the North, changed, his life has been full of nothing but nagging complaints.

After one… colorful argument with the guild master, he decided he had enough, turned his back with a middle finger and didn't look back.

Now he was looking at his personal phone, browsing through the internet looking at videos and photos of animals while ignoring the ringing of his work phone.

He's been doing this for a few hours now, and he was planning to continue with this till an interesting post appeared.

[Pokemon Ranch - Opening Day!

Today is the first day of our Pokemon Ranch, come and meet your future partner for life!]

“Pokemon?”

Aiden found the use of words interesting and clicked, curious about these ‘Pokemon’.

He was surprised with what he saw and sat down quickly.

“Demonic Beasts?!”

He saw pictures of strange creatures roaming in an open field, some flying, some running and some swimming.

In some of the pictures, a young boy, 19 at most, with long braided green hair thrown over his shoulder, interacting with these creatures, the so-called Pokemon.

He read the brief summary of what Pokemon were and frowed.

[Pokemon, wonderful creatures capable of wonderful feats, are great companions, be it for battles or for company, they took you to new heights!]

Ainden saw a picture of a large building with a welcoming appearance, in front of the building, the boy was standing with a big smile, and, under da photo, was a line of text:

[If you ever come, we welcome you to the Pokemon Ranch!]

After the text was the location of the place, which was outside the walls of the city where Aiden was, at the foot of a hill that had not been visited for many years, despite having once been a major tourist attraction.

Aiden hesitated for a moment.

These things called Pokemon were obviously  a kind of Demonic Beasts, but they seemed too tame to be.

He considered it a montage, edited photos or something, but his instincts made him disagree.

He thought about calling the guild, but thinking about the still ringing phone at the other side of the room, he descartes the idea, gaze falling into your spatial bag with his weapons.

.

.

.

“Mister Wayland? Are you going somewhere?” An assistant asked.

“Just checking something,” Aiden answered.

“But Soaring Sky’s guild master is in the way to-”

Ainden disappeared in a blink of an eye, already being too far away to hear.

“Hunters…” The assistant muttered  with a shaking head.

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Aiden soon arrived at the place, and honestly?

It was as big as it looked in the photo.

A sign attached to the fence in front of the property stated the name of the place.

[Pokemon Ranch]

Cartoonish versions of the creatures in the pictures from earlier could be seen in the sign, along with strange fruits and flowers.

He stared at the sign for a moment, then at the place.

He stared for some time until the door was opened and revealed one of the strange creatures.

It was pink and beige with a humanized expression, big bright blue eyes, a notebook under one arm, a spencil in one hand(?), a necklace with a strange stone and a whistle hanging around its neck.

It looked at him from its place at the entrance, looking confused.

They stared at each other for some time, till it opened a big happy smile, before taking the notebook and started writing.

This thing could write!

This scared him for a moment, leaving him stunned.

But then it turned the notebook to him.

(Are you here to see Pokemon?)

It was asking him if he came to see the Pokemon.

Still startled, he just nodded, but that was enough, the creature beamed with the answer, its fan-like ears moved up and down happily while it smiled and wrote down something.

(Follow me!)

Then it turned, revealing its soft looking tail, and entered the building, Aiden hesitated a little before following, just to be assaulted by a delicious smell and the sound of pans.

The inside was as welcoming as the outside, tables and chairs here and there, bean bags, couches in a corner, along with an open kitchen behind a counter with a strange menu on the side, from where the sound and smell came.

[Meals and poke treats]

“Poke treats?”

With curiosity, he approached the kitchen, finally seeing the Chefs.

To his astonishment, the chefs were two lop-eared bunny like creatures standing on stools, one with a light gray fur and red and black clothes, and the other a dark gray fur and white and red clothes, the second one had a cute pink ribbon with white in one of the ears.

They both notice Aiden stare, looking stunned for a moment before the one with a ribbon turned off the stove it was using and got down from its stool, approaching Aiden on the counter with the stool.

Aiden couldn't help but find humor in the behavior, so he waited for the bunny-like creature to appear on the other side of the counter, still too short to look at his eyes.

But the proximity helped him see the badge hanging around its neck.

[Looking for a home]

Given a quick look to the other one and seen it wearing the same badge, he raised an eyebrow.

The creature he saw before didn’t have that badge.

The bunny-like creature handed him the menu, its aloof looking eyes shining with a childish gleam.

Chuckling, he took the menu, taking a look.

And God, everything looked so cute and good!

But not the price!

[Piquant Pikachu Curry - A vegetable-loaded curry with a kick to it. Enjoy a big plate and fuel your energy with Pikachu's smile (8 low-grade monster core)]

[Lilligant Floral Tea - Original blended tea. The soothing scent has calming benefits, just like the flower on Lilligant's head (5 low-grade monster core)]

Monster core!

This place uses a monster core!

Monster cores are usually used to make weapons like staffs or magic swords, but also for research and for a more friendly form of energy.

But this place uses a monster core to pay for food…

Aiden's face was dark, confusing the bunny-like creature.

“Hello?”

Startled, Aiden turned to the direction the voice came, facing the boy he saw in the pictures, he was wearing the same kind of necklace the fan-like ears creature used, but with a smaller stone, farmer clothes and carried a basket of fruits and vegetables Ainden had never seen before, his hair was tied up in a high bun, a bright smile in his face, the fan-like eared creature at his side wore a big proud smile.

“Faith said there was a visitor” Said the boy, approaching with a gloved hand extended to Aiden.

Aiden hesitated, not used to being approached in such a casual way.

Like he was just someone and not the heir of Wayland.

A little numb, he accepted the extended hand, making the boy chuckle and release Aiden’s hand.

“I’m Nate” He said “End you?”

That surprised Aiden, the boy didn't know who he was?

… maybe that was a good thing…

“Aiden” He said with a professional smile “I came because of a post I saw, so your opening today?”

“Yes!” Said the boy approaching the counter “Welcome to Pokemon Ranch, I’m really happy that we got a visitor, the others are so excited!”

Aiden watched the Bunny-like creature take an excited look at the basket and take a pear-like fruit, opening its mouth, revealing its bunny-like tooth, and taking a good bite of the fruit.

“Boot!”

The creature made a strange sound, looking pleased with the fruit.

“Haboot!”

The other bunny-like creature called from the kitchen, making the ribbon one finish its food quickly, then taking the basket and running off to the kitchen, just coming back to take its stool.

“How about we order something and sit down to talk better?” The boy suggested “Since you are our first visitor, the first order is on the house!”

Not wanting to show disrespect to the boy, Aiden accepted, choosing the two products he had seen before, while the boy ordered a latte and pancakes, soon the two were sitting at one, the fan-like eared creature far gone to watch the food being done.

“What with the prices?” Aiden started “Why monster cores? Don't you think you’ll be scaring future customers?”

“Not really?” The boy responded “Like everyone knows, monster cores are needed to make a source of energy, and this whole place need this cores to keep going, be it the Nursery, the Kindgardem, the Kitchen or the Orchard, and everything here is top notch, from food to medical treatment, I also have access to all things that a human would need, and since I sell products to humans and Pokemon, I’ll be earning a source of energy to my Ranch, so yeah, money means little here, cores are more useful”

The honest answer surprised Aiden, making him see the boy in a new light.

In fact, even though he complained about the price, it's not like it's impossíble to pay, he was not just a remarkable blacksmith, but also an outstanding hunter, so getting monster cores wasn’t something hard, especially a low-grade core.

And since the boy could obviously produce his own food, there was no need to buy anything, and he knew what more he already had at hand.

And everything at the cost of cores.

He had to agree with the boy, cores were more useful.

So he decided to move the subject.

“About Pokemon” He said pointing to the fan-like eared creature “Are these creatures the Pokemon you talked about in your post?”

That made the boy beam with joy.

“Yes! This is Faith, she’s an Audino” He said “A kind Pokemon of the Normal Type! Audinos are usually used by doctors as assistants, they’re hearing ability is amazing, not even a pebble rolling along over a mile away will escape Audino’s ears, that’s how she knew there was someone in the front door and met you”

Aiden raised a brow to the information, but didn’t say anything.

“You said Faith is a healer” He said “She uses magic like mages or sacred power like the saints and priests?”

The boy hesitated, seeming to be looking for the right words.

“Yes and no” He answered “Its a power similar to magic and sacred power, but its not holly or requires mana to use, but will exhaust the pokemon if used to many times, and can’t be canceled by arrays and barriers, as it doesn't need the mana the barriers and arrays block, just interrupted or intercepted, like most spells, but that goes to most pokemon moves, not just Audinos”

Aiden's interest escalated to another level the moment he heard this.

A being capable of using its skills even when there is an array or barrier? That’s unheard of and thought to be impossible, as mana is needed for most skills.

He decided to ask more.

“What is this Type thing you mentioned?” Ainde asked.

“The Type define the category of the pokemon” The boy said “Just like the classes define the category of each hunter, or, simply saying, like the a mage would be differentiated by their elements, their way of fight will be different”

“How many types are there?” Aiden couldn’t help but ask.

“Eighteen” The boy said “And more than a thousand of species”

Aiden nearly choked.

‘More than a thousand!?’

He wanted to ask more questions, but then a floating tray approached them.

“Meow!”

Two voices sound somewhere below them, looking down, Aiden saw two feline-like creatures, um white and blue and one blue and white, both with a milky eye, the white one being the right and the blue one being the lefs, obviously blind, but both had blue glowing eyes, the same color that surrounded the tray with the orders.

“Oh! Mune, Solana!” The boy said “Thank you!”

“Meow”

With the strange crie, the plates and the orders floated out from the tray to the table, then the pair left the place with the floating tray.

“That’s Mune and Solana!” The boy said cheerfully “They’re both Meowstics, a Psychic type Pokemon, but of different genders, you can see thanks to the fur, the males are blue and the females are white”

Aiden, still stunned, started to think.

‘Where the hell have I put myself!?'

Aiden has to admit, this food was amazing!

He didn't have the chance to eat when the guild master of Soaring Sky called him, and he lost his appetite after the argument.

But now? He was eating heartily!

The curry gave him energy, and the tea calmed down his nerves.

It was worth the price.

“So…”

The boy caught his attention, seeming to be somewhere between shy and excited.

“Here at the Ranch, we have to three types of service when distributing Pokemon” The boy said “Choice, recommendation and adoption”

Aiden set up straight, curious and serious while the boy made a gesture to the Audino, who nodded and disappeared somewhere.

“Choice, well, you’ll come to the Kindgardem and see with your own eyes all, and I really mean all, or pokemon, then you can chose the one you bond the most and buy it”

The Audino came back with two folders, one much thicker than the other, giving it to the boy.

“The second one, recommendation, is a more limited versions of the first one, with only grass, water and fire type pokemons that are recommended for rookies and, usually, easy to bond, with some exceptions, of course, and this service is also paid”

He offered the thicker one to Aiden, who took it and opened it.

“The third, adoption, is a service where you’ll meet with the rescues, Pokemon who had bad experiences, be it with humans, with pokemon or any other, this service is free, but it won’t be easy to take them with you, as most are aggressive or too afraid to approach others”

Aiden looked at the file inside the folder, the first picture he saw was of the two bunny-like creatures.

In the picture they were in a kitchen, the light gray holding a pan and the dark gray holding a spatula.

He looked at the file, then at the pair in the caunter, chattin in weird cries.

He then read the introduction.

[The Haboot siblings

The previous trainer wanted only the female due her status as a Shiny, but ended up getting the two, the trainer tried to abandon the male, but he always finds a way to come back, once both evolved, the trainer got tired and abandoned both.

Good at house chores and schedule organization, don’t usually fight, but like to do so from time to time.

Note: Can only be adopted together]

He turned the page, and a purple creature appeared, looking sad.

Its section was as sad as its face.

[Baby Kangaskhan 

Lost his mother to poachers shortly after being born, is scared of humans and is a bit aggressive.

Note: Completely dependent, can only be adopted by someone capable of keeping him close all day.]

In the next one, a surprising humanoid creature with feathers appeared seated in a tree eating a blue fruit with a smile, its body covered in scars and some missing feathers.

[Hawlucha

Fighted in illegal fighting rings where pokemon were forced to fight to death, is a pacifist most of the time and loves gardening.

Note: Will fighting if feeling threatened, and he hit HARD]

Aiden chuckled at the note.

He had come to investigate, but ended up interested in actually taking one of these guys.

What better way to know if it's dangerous than analyzing it yourself?

He looked at some more files, seeing more and more interesting creatures, from dinosaur looking one, to really ugly fish, but soon put it down.

If he was going to take one for analysis, he's taking a healthy one.

“I don’t think I can take care of and rescues at the moment” He explained “And I don’t really know much to properly choose one among a thousand, but I would like to take a look at the recommendations”

With a nod of understandment, the boy gave him the second folder.

“This ones are the different ‘generations’ of Grass, Water and Fire” He explained “They're much simpler choices, but with big potentials”

Aiden looked at the files, finding pokemon that were very similar to normal animals, such as Piplup, Torchick and Litten.

He soon began to think about which one to choose, taking in account his profession.

“How does Type affect Pokemon?” He asked.

“The Type affect the kind of moves a Pokemon can learn and it’s weakness and stranges in a battle, in the case of these three types here, Grass is strong against Water, Water is to Fire, and Fire is to Grass, but that doesn’t mean that the result is set in stone, since a fire type with a good plan can win against a water type”

“One nullifies the other” Aiden muttered.

As a blacksmith, he was constantly close to fire, and he was good at fire magic, since he needed it for magic weapons, so he focussed on the fire types.

That’s how he ended with his choice.

“I kind of like this one” He said, showing the file to the boy.

“Chimchar?” The boy said amusedly, “Do you have a fire related profession?”

“I’m a fire mage”

It wasn't a lie, even though he’s a Blacksmith, he was as good as fire mage.

Nodding, the boy showed the file to the Meowstics, who nodded and left for another place deeper in the building.

“They’ll be bringing the one you’ve chose, now we will talk about the second part”

Aiden was confused.

There's more?

The boy processed to explain the diet, habits and a few more things about the one he had chosen, and, honestly?

It was hardly any different from a normal pet, just more smart and strong.

The boy was talking about some things that he should be careful about when taking care of Chincar when the Meowstics came back.

But, before Aiden could look at the pokemon, an orange bolt flew to his face.

“Char!”

_______________________________________

Nate quickly picked the agitated Chinchar from the man’s face, who looked confused and stunned.

“I’m so sorry!” He said “I swear she’s not always like that”

He was so embarrassed, he knew that the Pokemon were excited, but he forgot how excited.

Seriously! The Chinchar in his arms was one of the calmest.

The man took some time to compose himself, but soon opened an amused smile.

“So that’s Chinchar?”

The man looked at the Chimp with amusement while it tried to free herself.

“Let me go! I want to get a closer look!”

The Chimchar brought by Mune e Solana was a female known not only for her curiosity and calm nature, but also her strength, agility and strong attitude.

If Nate wasn’t used to it, he might not be able to hold her for so long.

“You’re the first human other than me to step on the Ranch, and, if we don’t count the rescues and a few others, none of them have ever seen a human that wasn’t me since they were born here, so they're all exited”

The man nodded in understanding.

The man had a childish gleam in his eyes while looking at the Chimp, curiosity shining like a bright star.

Seeing this, Nate had an idea, a mischievous smile spreading in his face as he dropped the Chimp in the man’s arms.

_______________________________________

Aiden couldn't help but be enchanted by the creature that looked at him with such gleam of excitement.

So similar to a Demonic Beast, but so different at the same time.

He nearly panicked when the boy dropped the Chimp on him, his heart skipping a beat, scared that the burning tail would burn him, while the boy seated back at his seat.

Aiden looked down at the Chimp, still surprised by the lack of fire in his clothes, who looked up at him with expectant eyes, unconsciously, he reached out a hand to pet her and, which she seemed to be in favor of, as she tilted her head toward his hand, grabbing it with closed eyes.

“Chimchar!”

He was admiring how warm she was when the boy started talking.

“Now that you have your partner, shall we look for some things for her?”

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In the end, the boy convinced him to buy a lot of things, like food, medication and a few treats for the Chimp, who’s yet to leave his arms.

Now they were at the entrance of the Ranch after a simple check up, signing the paper of ownership and paying nearly a hundred low grade cores in products and ten middle grade cores on the Chimp (Thanks god for making him always walks with a few cores).

“And to more things!” The boy said.

‘There's more?!’

The Meowstics approached from the side, each holding something, the male holding a device and the female a white little white ball with a red stripe.

“There are two things every trainer needs” The boy said “The Pokedex and Pokeballs!”

He then picked the things, first giving the device.

“The Pokedex is a device that explains everything a trainer needs to know about pokemon, all you need to do is point it to a pokemon, this is an standart Pokedex that you’ll receive for being one the first ten customers”

Following the instructions, he pointed the device to the Chimp, then the thing unfolded itself and started to talk.

“Chimchar The chimp Pokemon of fire type, it's a very agile pokemon, the gas made in its belly burns from its rear end. The fire burns weakly when it feels sick”

The Pokedex also showed some of the abilities that Chinchar had.

The boy soon showed the tiny ball, handing it to Aiden.

“And this is the Pokeball, used to capture Pokemon, and since you are one of or ten first customers, you’ll also receive a Premier Ball”

That confused Aiden.

How come a tiny thing like this captures a pokemon?

Seeming to notice his confusion, the boy explained.

“It's like a seal that priests uses sometimes, just press the button and Chimchar will do the rest”

Still confused, he did as was told, pressing the button and getting surprised when the ball grew in size, revealing its semi-transparent top.

He was about to ask about the ball when Chimchar slapped the ball with a happy cry, suddenly surrounded by a red light and disappearing inside the ball, that started to bounce in his hand and stopped after three times with a little spark.

He started to panic, but then the boy approached him.

“Don’t worry, she’s fine! The pokeball is like room for the Pokemon, here, take a look”

He pointed to the ball and Aiden finally saw the Chimchar.

The ball, previously empty, now contained a mini forest terrarium, where Chimchar played happily.

“You can keep her in the Pokeball if needed” The boy explained “Just give a command and she’ll come out”

“Come out!”

Immediately, he called out for her, making the Chimp stop playing and opening the Pokeball, letting a shiny light fly out to his arms, where a familiar weight appeared.

“Char!”

Chimchar was once again in Aiden's arms, she looked happy while he breathed a sigh of relief.

He saw Priests making seals, but none of them was as fast and simple as this one, so he was pretty scared for a second there.

“If you ever need any questions” The boy said “You can use my contact to call me or send me a message, I can also delivery through pokemail the products to your house if you ever need”

Nodding, Aiden said goodbye to the boy and went back to his way, but he hesitated a bit before putting Chinchar in the pokeball again, knowing well how people would react to the Chimp, before leaving.

_______________________________________________

Nate waited till he couldn't see the man anymore before cheering with the others.

(That was our first customer!)

“Did you see his face when she went into the Pokeball?”

“I did! It was priceless!”

Nate smiled at the situation, but then noticed the Haboot siblings, both disappointmented.

“Seems today is not our day” Said de male “Again”

“Maybe next time” The female cheered her brother up.

They didn't have names, as they wanted to be named by their trainer.

Nate smiled at them.

He had the feeling that they would find their trainer soon.

______________________________________________

In the Golden Empire, in a dark room in a small apartment in the residential area, a woman woke up looking more tired than ever.

She stayed in bed for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling. She had work to do, plans to make, money to count, she couldn't stay in bed for much longer.

But she stayed in bed, she closed her eyes and waited.

Soon enough, the phone rang, and she sighed.

Today was a busy day.

______________________________________________

Aiden arrived at his grandfather’s house.

No way he’d come back to his residence when that crazy guild master was hunting him.

He was always been bold, but never suicidal.

“Welcome back young master”

He was greeted by an old butler, a man called Nathan whose family had been serving the Wayland for centuries.

“Long time no see” Aiden saluted “Is Gramps home?”

“He just come back with master Armstrong”

‘Oh! Uncle Rich is here, even better!’

He let Nathan guide him to the room where his grandfather and uncle were, already hearing their laughter through the corridors.

Goban Wayland and Friedrich Armstrong were long date friends, Goban, an Blacksmith, and Friedrich, a Berserker, both renomed on their areas.

But the time of their prime was long gone, even though they could still be working, but prefered the peace.

Friedrich even opened a flower shop!

His shop is really well known, but just because his plants were incredible, and not because he's the infamous Berserker.

Aiden is pretty sure that most customers  don’t even know his profession, just that he’s retired.

Arriving at the room, Nathan knocked at the door, making the laughter stop.

“Young master Aiden is here” He announced.

A pause, then steps, and the door was soon opened, revealing a short, but robust, old man.

“You idiot!”

His grandfather had always been shorter than most men, but had a big and odd attitude, so he wasn't surprised when the man just grabbed him by the clothes and threw him in a couche.

A big burly man covered in scars was seated in another couch, Friedrich looked apologetic at him.

“I’m honestly sorry for all the problems Helena must have caused” Friedrich said.

He just smiled meekly while Goban screamed.

“How could you just turn your back at a customer, and to your fiance above all!” He heard his grandfather scolding.

Yes, Helena Armstrong, granddaughter of Friedrich Armstrong, his fiance, guild master and customer.

What a hell of a life he was leaving.

But anyway.

He was ready to hear a few hours of scolding when a familiar light came out of his pocket to his lap and a familiar figure appeared.

“Char!”

Soon a large fire surged and engulfed Goban for a moment before disappearing, leaving a charged, stunned man to stare at nothing.

He quickly picked the Chimchar, who started throwing a tantrum.

“Fiama!”

On the way back, he named the Chimp Fiama, finding it impractical to call her by the species name.

“Calm down girl, that's my gramps!”

Fiama stopped the tartrum, but not the pouting, crossing her arms and showing her tongue to his grandfather before burying her face on his shoulder.

Aiden couldn't help but sight with an amused smile.

She was just like a child.

“What is that?”

Remembering that he was not alone in the room, he turned his gaze to the others with a sheepish smile.

“Hummm… Surprise?”

That would be interesting.

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“So you buyed this thing-”

“Char!”

“-Pokemon… from a ‘ranch’ on the hill using beast cores?”

“Pretty much”

After explaining everything, Ainde watched the reations of the three man.

Friedrich seems fascinated, having faced so many creatures, he would definitely be interested in a docile beast.

Nathan seemed curious, similiar to Friedrich, he too had fighted alot, even though he was a butler.

And his grandfather looked suspitiously at Fiama, who stared down at him from Aiden’s showders.

“How much of this… pokemon the ower have?” He asked.

“Well he said that there are more then a thousand species, so there might be much more them just that”

A moment of silence, Goban rubbed his chin, browns frowned, Nathan did the same with his goatee, but Friedrich did diferent.

He took one of the snacks at the table and offered it to Fiama.

Aiden wasn't worried about it being bad for her stomach, as Noa had explained to him that Pokmenon could eat the same thing humana could, just that it wouldn’t provide any energy to them.

She looked at him suspiciously before taking it and stuffing it in her mouth.

She tried to hide how happy she was with the treat, but couldn't, her tail betraying her by burning more brightly.

“What an interesting creature you are” Friedrich said with a chuckle “It makes me want to see more”

Aiden barked a laugh, kind of expecting the reaction from Friedrich, but then paused.

‘That's actually a good idea…’

He took his phone and searched for the boy's number.

Soon enough, he was talking to the boy.

“Hey kid!”

{Mister Aiden! Is there any problem with Chimchar?}

“Nah, Fiama is good, is just that I’m thinking on taking some acquaintances to your place to take a look at the Pokemon, they’re really interested”

He could practically feel the boy’s smile when he talked.

{Really?! Then you can come any time you- Kokoo! - Zaaa!}

Two loud screeches, loud enough for everyone in the room, disturbed the conversation, followed by the boy's exasperated voice.

{Oi, you rascals! If you're going to fight, do it in the arena! You're going to break something!}

Some more screams, loud noises and screeches occurred before it went silent.

It took a few seconds before the boy was back.

{I’m so sorry about that, two of the Fighting Junkies here decided it was a good time to start a fight inside the ranch, but yeah, come any time, we’ll be waiting}

The call was turned off, leaving a stunned group of humans and a giggling Chimp to fend for themselves.

“This is your fault!”

She stayed quiet while the rest of the crew gave her dirty looks and insults.

They had a hard time hunting today, not really because of her, but because the team was overconfident and decided to hunt closer to a hill, a place that used to be a tourist point, but was abandoned after a Beast Tide.

A lot of high-grade Demonic Beasts still roam around the place, and their team of middle-grade hunters with only her, a snipper, as High-grade, couldn't keep up.

So yeah, things didn't end up well and now they’re lost in the forest close to the hill thanks to the team leader's girlfriend, who stole the map and refused to let her help.

And she couldn't even walk properly, since she got hurt while they were running, also because of the team leader’s girlfriend, who led them to a bad terrain ful of middle-grade beasts.

She kept rearing the insults, and, even when the leader was about to slap her face, she didn't do anything.

If it was in the start, she would dough, she would try to explain herself, would try showing them that it was their fault. But now? It was useless, the guild master would only believe their lies and her rank in the guild was even lowered because of this.

All because the team leader was the guild master’s cousin.

She let a quiet sight escape when the rand hit her face, the only sound now was the heavy breath of the team leader.

She calmly raised her head, looking at the group with a blank expression and tired eyes.

“I’m sorry” She said.

“You better be!” The girlfriend said, shoving the map on her “Now take us out of this place”

She would already have done that if It wasn't for the little…!

With a heavy sigh, she controlled herself, pursing her mouth.

“Yes” Was the only thing she said, turning her back to them.

She was ready to guide them through the woods when she heard something.

“In positions!”

With a fast move, she took her emergency pistol from her waist, ready for a fight, while the others cursed at their breath, clumsily holding their weapons.

She could hear the movements around her and the strange cries getting close, it was just that for a good time, until it suddenly stopped.

Well, most of it.

“Boot!!”

Something flew from the middle of the woods, falling face first on the ground in front of her.

She was shocked and confused, while she watched the thing lift itself with what seemed to be a groam, rubbing its face and staring daggers at the forest, before looking at them with confusion.

It froze for a second, staring at them with astonishment for a few moments, before standing up and putting some distance between them.

She and the creature stared at each other for a few moments, both looking ready to fight.

Well, she looked ready to fight, the creature was slowly trying to go back from where it came.

Until a loud screech echoed.

“Koko!”

In a blink of eyes, a new beast appeared.

It looked like a giant bird head, floating right in front of her.

Until the thing opened, revealing the true appearance of the creature.

It's looked at her with a playful disdain, analyzing her the same way she realized it.

They stayed kike this for some time, not moving or doing anything.

Until its eyes stopped somewhere lower, and she knew it was looking at her obviously sprained ankle.

It knew she was hurt.

That she was easy prey.

She saw it move, expecting an attack, but, instead, it disappeared, leaving both she and the other creature stupefied.

Just to appear again, moments later, with a bag with a red cross, laying on the ground in front of her before turning to the other one while pointing at her and making a much calmer screech.

“Ko”

Now that was something.

_______________________________________

He didn't know how he and his sister got here, nor why, they were looking for a trainer when a light covered them and soon they woke up in this place, with a boy talking to them.

The boy was strange, in all meanings, he was the only human in this place, but took care of everything, even the pokemon, without help, he could do anything pokemon-related without problem, but sometimes would have difficulty doing simple things like mopping the floors or doing laundry, and, more importantly.

He sometimes doesn't feel human.

He didn't know how to explain, but he and the others… ‘rescues’, like the boy called them, could feel it.

Like a ditto disguised as other pokemon, everything looked the same, but it was easy to tell them apart.

The boy was no different, they all could tell what make him not feel human.

But they really don’t care, as the boy gave them a place to stay ‘till they could find a home.

So he would stay calmly with his sister in this place.

‘Calmly my ass!’

“Fight me properly!”

“You seem to have learned a new word huh?”

He had his arms around Tapu Koko’s neck while the deity dodge the attack of a young Zarude, who was born a few months ago.

It was his turn to be in charge of these two while they explored the forest and fighted each other.

The rescues have made a schedule of shorts to take care of the most problematic pokemon in the ranch after a particularly bad incident with these two.

The boy knew about it and thanked them a lot, he was already on the edge and no-mon wanted to repeat what depended on that day.

Every-mon was ok with this, like, how hard keeping an eye on a deity and a kid could be?

Well? To damn hard!

After a few months, all he wanted now was to strangle these two.

And give Tapu Fini and Tapu Lele a piece of his mind.

And ask Tapu Bulu how he deals with the three.

For Arseus sake, these guys are deities! Shouldn't they be more serious?

Tapu Koko is a fighting junkie, Tapu Fini breaks everything without even trying, and Tapu Lele keeps putting fuel to the fire by convincing the children to fight the electric deity.

It didn't help the fact that Tapu Lele permanently unlocked the fighting spirit of a young Zarude.

Tapu Bulu is the only chill deity among the four, but he really couldn't do much, as it was three against one and he too had his duties, making sure the Orchard is fine and growing well.

And no-mon wanted to risk the only food source ‘round here.

But now here he was, in the middle of a forest with strange and dangerous creatures that could bite his head off while making sure these two idiots wouldn't go too far from the ranch and leave the territory.

Luckly, Fergus was there.

Unlucky? Fergus couldn't keep up on land while Tapu Koko and the young one moved on the top of the trees.

So yeah, everything was just fine!

“Can’t you stop dodging?” The Zarude asked after the attack.

“Maybe when your attacks stop being so sloppy” The deity teased “Haven’t you been getting some practice with the rescues?”

“I have!” The young mon bickers “I was even praised!”

“Then put more passion on these attacks!”

“I think it's enough passion” He couldn't help but say “And how about we slow down a bit? Fergus can’t keep up and I will puke on you if you keep moving like this!”

The deity and the young one let ao groan of frustration, finally stopping.

But not without a pay back.

Tapu Koko stopped abruptly, making him goes flying forward

“Dammit!”

He falled face first on the ground.

He slowly got up, staring daggers in the direction he knew Tapu Koko would be, before looking forwards.

Just to see a bunch of humans.

At first he was confused, after all, it’s been a long time since he saw a human (if you don’t count the one from earlier), so it took time for him to understand.

But when he did, he couldn't help but retreat.

There's humans on the territory.

There's humans on the territory.

And none of them came through the visitors path.

He kept his eyes on the group, specially on the female on the front, who seemed the most prepared for a fight even though she seemed to be one step away from fainting.

He respects the spirit but girl, chill! No way he’d fight a human, he tried it before and didn't end well.

Well…the circumstances weren't the same, but regardless.

He would just retreat slowly ‘till he was back in the woods and not in this guy’s field of vision, then make a run for it.

“Intruders!”

Or Tapu Koko could be a d*ck.

The deity moved fast, appearing between him and the humans.

He cursed in his mind, mad at the fact Taku Koko would start an unnecessary fight with humans.

But then he didn't.

He was just… standing there, doing nothing.

That’s until he disappeared, returning shortly with a first-aid bag, then turning at him.

“Fix her”

It confused him for a moment, but then he took a good look at the female.

Soon he saw her ankle.

He couldn't help making a face.

It was obviously hurt, to a point he couldn't believe she was still standing, that without mentioning the big red mark on her face, that seemed really bad too.

He looked at the other, but, apart from a cut or two, nothing looked so bad.

She was the only one in such a condition, which… was honestly concerning.

Ignoring the quiet voice of speculation, he approached the female with caution, but she raised her pistols.

He raised his paws, showing he didn't mean harm, using his feet to point at her ankle.

She gave it a quick look but didn't lower her arms.

Well, that might be difficult.

He looked around ‘till his eyes stopped on the young Zarude, who stayed among the bushes, an idea came to him.

He needed to convince the human to let him help, and what better way than talking?

“Kid! Throw me a stick!”

_______________________________________

After the strange call, a stick came flying from the bushes, falling right beside the lopped ear creature, who took the stick and started using it on the ground before starting pointing at it while looking at her.

She was confused, but looked, widened her eyes for what she saw.

(You’re hurt/ Let us help)

She stared at the words, then at the creature, then at words again.

“It can write?!” One of her teammates said behind her.

It nodded.

“And can understand us too apparently” She said “Why are you helping us?”

It looked at her with exasperation, before writing.

(Want to Help/ Why would we need a reason to some-mon?)

“Some-mon?” She muttered, confused.

It froze for a second, its ears twiching, then erased the word with its feet and wrote ‘someone’ in its place, seeming embarrassed while the other one seemed to be snickering.

‘Ops… seems like it heard me’

The creature started writing again, ignoring the other one.

(Tapu Koko brought medicine/ Let me take a look/ Looks painful)

Then it pointed at her ankle again.

She hesitated a little, taking a look at the other one, its name being Tapu Koko, it seems.

It was looking at her with expectation.

She heard scribing and turned to look at the smaller creature.

(Ignore him/ Can feel your strange/ Want to fight you after you heal/ His an idiot/ Would fight God if he could/ I think he tried/)

Ok, so ‘Tapu Koko’ is a male and he wants to heal her to fight her?

She took another look at Tapu Koko, who now she could tell had a childlike gleam in his expectant eyes.

She could feel his desire for a fight.

Honestly?

The most healthy situation she had been in the last few years.

Just someone wanting a good fight, no second intentions, no malice, just a fight and that’s all.

If it was a normal situation, she would most definitely agreed.

But now was not the time for this.

“I don’t really mind a good fight-”

“What are you even saying!?” The team leader whispered, but she interrupted.

“-But I'm not only hurt, but also have no resources to put up a fight, even if I were healed, I couldn't give you the fight you wanted.”

That made the smaller creature snicker while the other had a desolate look in its eyes.

“But if you really help us” She continued “I could prepare myself to a battle in the future”

The gleam returned, he nodded happily, and she could see the smaller one smiling a little before writing something.

(You're smart/ Tricked him well/ Luckily he can’t read/ Can I look now?)

So she wasn't as discreet as she thought she was huh? And he can’t read? That’s good to know.

“Sure” She said sitting on the ground 

Who is she to go against a creature that possibly tried to fight God and his friend?

(I can feel a misunderstanding / Forget whatever you imagined.) It righted quickly.

She couldn't help but bark a laugh while it approached.

It didn't take as long as she thought it would for the treatment, and she even had the chance to see the stick trower.

It was at the end of the treatment, where the creature called out the one in the bushes, and, after some time the thing came out, revealing an ape, slightly taller than the bunny-like one, caring to tick branches that were used on her ankle.

The ape kept staring at her and the other, looking curious, and chatting with the other two in weird cries.

(The kid never seen humans) She saw the bunny-like one write (Find you weak/ Can’t understand why Tapu Koko want to fight/ He think he’s a better opponent/ Also an idiot who can’t stop fight/ Also can’t read)

So the ape was a kid, and also liked to fight, but with Tapu Koko.

“And you?” She asked “Don’t you like to fight?”

(Some times) It writed, seeming relaxed (But can’t a guy prefer a more peaceful environment?)

With this he got up, putting his paw on the bag and taking a pear-like fruit out and offering it to her. She took the gift with confusion until she saw the new words.

(Citrus berry/ Eat it) It says (Good for healing)

She hesitated a little before biting it down.

Well, it was worth the citrus in its name.

She forced herself to finish the fruit at the sound of the creatures snickering, but was satisfied when she saw how much it helped.

Her ankle wasn't as bad as before, she wasn't feeling as much pain as before too, from both her face and ankle.

What a curious fruit.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the bunny.

(Better now/ Have stabilized/ Would be good to take you to our place to see Tapu Lele/ She can heal completely)

So there's more Tapus? How curious.

“It would be good to be completely healed” She said “But how far is your place, and wouldn't it be dangerous to go around the woods full of beasts.

She saw him smiling, before righting.

(Don’t worry/ Our ride is on the way)

Just when she was going to ask, she heard loud noises, a neigh and then a large figure appeared.

A giant horse jumped from the woods, with tick hooves and mane that seemed a bit dirty.

She was scared for a moment, but was stunned when the ape ran to the horse, who got down on the ground and chatted quietly with the kid, who looked annoyed.

She saw the bunny write on the ground, looking satisfied.

(Fergus is a gentle giant and a really fast and strong Mudsdale/ He can take us back safely)

She looked from the words to the horse and from the horse to the words.

You call that a ride?!