"Come on! This will be your home from now on. Satisfied?"
With a face full of smiles, Natsuki led the Mudbray as they pushed open the door to the Donkey Shed, stepping aside to let them look inside.
The floor was clean and tidy, featuring three individual stalls. They were identical in size and equipped with the same facilities: Donkey beds, water troughs, feed troughs, and sloped manure channels.
Every detail met the Mudbray's daily needs.
"Mud-mud~"
'It's so beautiful! I love it here!'
One Mudbray excitedly rushed into a stall, stomping on the bed and peeking around.
Such a comfortable environment was something they hadn't even dared to dream of before.
"Are you satisfied?"
"Mud!~ (≧◡≦)"
The three Mudbray answered in unison, their dirty little faces filled with happiness. Natsuki stepped forward to stroke a Mudbray, showing his acceptance.
The Mudbray instinctively lay down, squinting its eyes in enjoyment.
To be honest, stroking a Mudbray wasn't exactly comfortable. They felt quite coarse, as if one were touching grains of sand. With mud still visible in their fur, "comfortable" was hardly the word for the human's touch.
Still, as Natsuki petted it rhythmically, the Mudbray let out a cozy yawn.
Meanwhile, the basic information about Mudbray surfaced in Natsuki's mind. These were soil-eating Pokémon.
Literally.
Besides various green fodders, soil was an essential part of their diet, and they consumed large quantities of it daily. This was inextricably linked to their biology.
Though small in stature, their strength was extraordinary. They could carry luggage weighing fifty times their own body weight.
Beyond their unusual physical strength, there was the mud covering their legs. Regardless of the terrain, a Mudbray would never slip and could run as if on flat ground.
In addition to eating soil, playing in mud was a mandatory daily task for them. It wasn't just entertainment, it was how they released stress.
"Mudbray, I'm planning to build a mud pool for you outside. What do you think?"
"Mud-mud!"
The Mudbray, who were huddling around Natsuki and rubbing against him, widened their eyes in disbelief.
'Is this heaven? A safe, warm home, endless food, and playing in mud every day?'
The Mudbray were so excited they almost fainted.
"I take it you agree!" Seeing their expressions, Natsuki patted them with a grin, though his tone shifted.
"However, you'll have to wash your bodies every day too! You can't stay this dirty."
The Mudbray looked at one another.
Living in the wild, they were in the mud every day and were currently covered in filth.
"Mud, Mud-bray!"
The Mudbray nodded together, agreeing to Natsuki's condition.
"Then it's settled for now. Get to know each other, and I'll come back in a while to give you a good scrubbing."
Natsuki left temporarily to let the Mudbray adjust to the new environment on their own.
It was a good thing he had taken in all three. If it were just one, it wouldn't have been nearly as easy for it to adapt.
With the companionship of the others, they would settle in quickly.
Outside the Donkey Shed, Pyroar stood watching. Seeing that the Mudbray were adjusting well, the patriarch relaxed.
After letting out a low growl toward Natsuki, it took off at a full gallop, disappearing into the woods in the blink of an eye.
For a Pokémon like that, the wilderness and the grasslands were its true home.
Deep into the night, the glow from the fireplace in the ranch house lit the room brightly. Natsuki sat cross-legged on the floor, recording notes in a notebook.
Minccino, tucked in his arms, peered out curiously, but upon seeing the dense lines of text, she immediately felt a headache coming on.
She wiggled through his arm and crawled into Kangaskhan's pouch.
Kangaskhan sat beside Natsuki, quiet and content, as if just being there was enough.
"Are you guys sleepy?" Natsuki looked up.
"Kangas~" Kangaskhan shook her head, while Minccino let out a deep yawn.
"Just wait for me a little longer then!"
Natsuki gave Minccino a little squeeze and looked back at his records.
[League Calendar, Year 198, Spring, January 13th.]
[Income: 0]
[Expenditure: 6,000 Poké Dollars]
[Remaining Funds: 12,467 Poké Dollars]
The major expenses were the construction of the ranch house and the Donkey Shed, while the remaining miscellaneous costs were for daily necessities.
His ranch was still in the startup phase, lacking various resources, so he had to buy everything.
These past few days, Natsuki had been in a state of "all out, no in." Now that he was supporting four Pokémon, his expenses would only increase.
Tomorrow was another day for supplies. Natsuki did some mental math, hoping the first crop would ripen soon.
Amidst his thoughts, some strange ideas began to spark. His eyes lit up.
'That could actually work...'
Since Mudbray eat soil, why not create a special dish with soil as the main ingredient?
It was worth a try, but that would have to wait until he returned from his shopping trip tomorrow.
Closing his notebook, Natsuki looked at the drowsy Kangaskhan and Minccino. Putting on a coat, he went to check on the Donkey Shed.
The three Mudbray were huddled together, snoring loudly. Seeing that they had settled in well, Natsuki felt relieved.
He then went back under the eaves to check on Chatot.
Everyone slept soundly.
Only then did Natsuki return to the house, picking up the drowsy Minccino from Kangaskhan's arms and lying down on the bed.
Before long, the sound of steady breathing filled the room.
At this very moment, as late night fell over the Kalos continent, deep beneath the ocean of the distant Hoenn region...
A small, cute blue Pokémon opened its eyes from its slumber. It had sensed a very special scent.
Manaphy's eyelashes trembled as its gaze shifted to a Pokémon not far away.
With a gentle point of its small hand, an Egg landed in that Pokémon's arms.
"Ma-ma-ma~"
Manaphy whispered instructions into the Pokémon's ear and gave its rough fish-head an encouraging pat.
It then watched as the Pokémon left the deep sea, following a mystical guidance across the Hoenn seas, passing through archipelago after archipelago, until it reached Kalos.
Having seen its messenger depart with the "Gift of the Sea," Manaphy waited and waited at the bottom of the ocean.
After a day or two without seeing the messenger return, Manaphy began to yawn.
It sank back to the seabed and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Manaphy thought to itself: 'If I just take a nap, the item should be delivered by the time I wake up.'
Located in Kalos, Natsuki had absolutely no idea that the "Gift of the Sea" mentioned by his Golden Finger would actually be a Manaphy Egg.
If he saw it, he would surely be frightened out of his wits.
To Manaphy, the only thing that could be called a "Gift of the Sea" was its offspring: Phione.
In truth, Manaphy had its own little scheme— it simply didn't want to babysit.
The Grandchild of the Sea, Phione. It is the only Mythical Pokémon that can be mass-bred, and its strength isn't particularly high.
However, that doesn't affect its essence as a Mythical Pokémon. Even the weakest Mythical is still a Mythical, separated from ordinary Pokémon by a world of difference.