Narrowing its eyes, Chi-Yu stared at the human before it, brimming with confusion and doubt.
It really couldn't understand why this human would dare to show up alone in front of it.
To a Pokémon, the human body was just too fragile.
Out in the wild, even a weak Weedle could, with a single poisoned sting, send a careless Trainer straight back to the respawn point.
Let alone sothing like Chi-Yu.
Every year, the number of Trainers who went missing — well, "missing" — in the wild stayed frighteningly high.
They called it "missing," but in truth, it wasn't much different from death.
It was just a way to leave the family a shred of hope, that was all.
As for the whole "miraculous encounter leading to overnight success" fantasy...
Well, let's just say: young people should stop daydreaming and focus more on what they're having for their next al.
"Wu~"
Tilting its head, Chi-Yu gave a tentative cry toward Natsu.
The general aning was clear: What are you doing here?
Chi-Yu had already noticed sothing earlier.
This human seed to be able to understand Pokémon speech.
That had genuinely startled Chi-Yu a little.
It had never seen a human who could communicate with Pokémon without barriers.
Normally, only Pokémon who had mastered telepathy could manage that kind of exchange.
And even then, telepathy wasn't true conversation — it was more like projecting emotions and thoughts directly into the mind of another, letting them feel your intentions.
Not quite the sa as real dialogue.
"I ca to check on you," Natsu said casually.
"Now that you've been officially captured, you're part of the farm too."
"If you have any requests, you can bring them up. If they're reasonable and I can manage it, I'll do my best to fulfill them."
"Oh, and one more thing — no fighting with other Pokémon on the farm.
It's kind of an unwritten rule."
Hands on his hips, Natsu was sizing up Chi-Yu even as Chi-Yu studied him in return.
Strictly speaking, this was the first ti he was properly taking a good look at it.
If you ignored the overly watery big eyes and the two inexplicable magatama patterns, Chi-Yu's design was actually pretty decent.
...Well, that was a completely useless observation.
Like saying, "Hey, if that guy wasn't ugly, he'd actually be pretty handso."
Still, Natsu genuinely liked Chi-Yu's design.
At the very least, it was way better than Chien-Pao's.
Among the four Treasures of Ruin, deciding who was the best-looking was tough.
They all had their own... abstract aesthetics.
But if you had to pick the one with the worst looks?
No doubt about it — that title belonged to Chien-Pao.
Honestly, there was zero beauty to it.
And not just the traditional sense of "good-looking" beauty either — even terrifying, monstrous creatures could sotis have a unique kind of aesthetic charm.
But Chien-Pao?
Yeah, no.
It absolutely looked like a Pokémon born out of pure, ugly resentnt — just as the lore said.
No way that thing was ever playing the role of a good guy.
Natsu's gaze shifted from appreciation to mild pity, and finally to resignation.
His expression changed several tis before he finally nodded as if reluctantly convincing himself:
Well... it's fine, I guess.
"?"
Tilting its head, Chi-Yu slowly produced a giant question mark over its head.
Hold up — you little punk!
There were just too many points to complain about, and it didn't even know where to start.
Sure, it admitted there were a few big shots on the farm it couldn't beat.
But still!
Just because it couldn't beat w, Manaphy, or Cresselia...
Didn't an it couldn't crush a random human!
How dare a re human act so cocky in front of ?
Glaring fiercely, Chi-Yu flared up — the air around it subtly shimring with heat.
It was planning to give this human a little scare.
Just to see if he was genuinely calm or just pretending.
If he turned out to be truly unshakable...
Well, staying here quietly for a few decades might not be so bad.
It would count as a proper vacation.
After all, a human who could face it so calmly deserved a little recognition.
If, however, he was just putting on a brave front...
Then Chi-Yu would still hold back — it wasn't planning to actually hurt anyone.
There were way too many bosses around it couldn't beat anyway.
But its attitude toward Natsu might turn a whole lot colder...
Huh?
Just as it was contemplating the best way to intimidate him, Chi-Yu was caught completely off guard.
Natsu casually reached out, pressed his hand against Chi-Yu's tilted head, and — with an effortless movent — straightened it.
"Don't tilt your head so much. If you get used to it, it'll look weird later."
Satisfied, Natsu withdrew his hand and nodded approvingly at the dumbfounded Chi-Yu.
Sure, it was undeniably cute when girls tilted their heads while acting playful.
But after making Pokéblocks for over a decade, Natsu's heart had long since grown cold.
All he could think about was:
Bad for the spine.
Bad habit.
Looks stupid later.
Watching Chi-Yu tilt its head like that the whole conversation, Natsu finally couldn't resist — and reached out to correct it a bit.
Completely unaware of the stunned Chi-Yu in front of him.
Because in that instant when Natsu reached out, Chi-Yu knew — sothing terrible was about to happen!
Its body heat had already risen dramatically — not quite the full scorching 3000 degrees it could achieve, but definitely at a level a normal human couldn't survive.
Sure, it had only intended to scare the guy a little, not actually hurt him.
If it accidentally burned this human... Chi-Yu could already imagine a pink teor — naly, a very angry w — crash-landing right in front of it.
And yet...
This human just calmly reached out and touched it??
He's not scared of pain?
Chi-Yu was utterly baffled.
Even more incredible — when it looked closely, Natsu's hand was still perfectly fine.
Smooth, fair, completely unhard by the intense heat.
And that wasn't even the biggest shock.
The strength he had shown just now, the casual way he had corrected Chi-Yu's posture —
That was definitely not normal.
Sure, Chi-Yu wasn't exactly a powerhouse among Pokémon, but it was still a whole different league compared to regular creatures.
And yet, Natsu had easily, effortlessly turned its head straight without even seeming to exert any strength.
What the heck?!
You're not secretly a Legendary disguised as a human, are you?!
Chi-Yu fell into deep contemplation.
Originally, it had been planning to show off a bit — maybe cover the entire sky in fire, give this human a taste of its legendary might.
But now?
It was the one getting completely shaken up.
What kind of freak superhuman is this guy...?!
At that mont, Chi-Yu's gaze toward Natsu grew more and more complicated.
Those eyes weren't looking at a human.
They were looking at a kindred spirit.
Chi-Yu was certain—this guy in front of him was definitely not human.
At least, not a pure human.
Who knew, maybe he was so kind of Pokémon that just looked like a human.
What had initially carried a hint of tension now turned surprisingly harmonious.
When Chi-Yu spoke to Natsu, there was even a trace of flattery in his voice.
No helping it—he was the guest under soone else's roof now.
Just that little trick Natsu pulled earlier was enough for Chi-Yu to ntally bump him from the "easy-to-handle human Trainer" category straight into the "troubleso guy" list.
"Alright then, if anything happens, rember to let know, okay?"
"Wuu."
Chi-Yu lowered his altitude, quietly floating in front of Natsu.
He didn't even drift around.
Don't ask why.
If you must know, it's because Natsu had won Chi-Yu over with sheer sincerity.
No helping it—he gave way too much.
Natsu had simply shown Chi-Yu a sample of his custom-made Pokéblocks and demonstrated his Viridian Power.
Chi-Yu imdiately declared, "If you don't mind taking in—"
Yeah, Natsu cut him off after that.
It was better not to say things like that—for both Natsu and Chi-Yu.
Still, that didn't an he had no requests.
"Wooo!"
I report! Soone's plotting rebellion!
Thinking of that sneaky mutt from last night, Chi-Yu perked up imdiately.
"Rebellion?"
"Is it Munkidori or Okidogi?"
Natsu wasn't actually surprised by Chi-Yu's report.
Those two were never the well-behaved types.
Munkidori didn't even need ntioning.
And Okidogi—he never stopped stirring up trouble.
Even though every ti he made a move, he'd get rcilessly beaten down.
But sohow, that just seed to make him even more determined?
Was this guy developing... so kind of special kink?
"Wuu."
Yeah, it was the dog-headed one.
Chi-Yu's words confird Natsu's guess.
No surprises there.
"What did he say?"
"Wuu."
Chi-Yu paused to recall, then began recounting the details to Natsu.
There wasn't much to it.
Just so nonsense about the humiliation of being defeated by Natsu, the disgrace of being captured by humans, the rage of getting beaten up by random unknown Pokémon—stuff Chi-Yu honestly couldn't really understand.
At first, Chi-Yu might've sowhat sympathized.
After all, in the eyes of legendary Pokémon, humans had always seed far too fragile.
The aftershocks of a true battle were enough to bring disaster to them.
But that was before.
Now?
Chi-Yu was pretty sure Natsu could solo Okidogi without breaking a sweat.
And honestly, if poison wasn't a factor, Natsu could probably take down the others one by one with just his fists.
Chi-Yu just wasn't sure if Viridian Power could neutralize poison.
If it could—even just easing the symptoms a bit—then Chi-Yu had no doubt that Natsu could wipe the floor with all four of them.
After all, these so-called legends... were honestly a bit pathetic.
Chi-Yu even wondered if they could beat the big Mightyena guarding the farm gate—the one with the red scarf around its neck.
Judging by strength alone, Chi-Yu thought that Mightyena was more worthy of the title of "legendary."
"Got it. I have a rough idea now."
"You don't need to worry about this—I'll handle it later."
"Usually, it's Ting-Lu who's in charge of drilling them."
"Looks like the training wasn't nearly enough."
Natsu smiled at Chi-Yu after he finished listening.
Kids causing trouble?
It could only an one thing—their howork load was too light.
No other explanation possible.
Give them enough howork, pile on enough training pressure...
Where would they even find the ti or energy to ss around?
Definitely needed to crank up their training from here on.
Munkidori had already proven with his own performance that while they were all kind of pathetic right now, they did have the potential of true legends.
Even the last legend... is still a legend.
As long as they worked hard enough, a bright future wasn't out of reach.
(anwhile, Okidogi, regularly beaten to a pulp: "Huh? Future? Mine???")
Chi-Yu had been half-listening absentmindedly—but the mont he heard Ting-Lu's na, his eyes sharpened.
Wait a minute—wasn't that a familiar na?
After confirming with Natsu, Chi-Yu dug up his mories of Ting-Lu's strength... and then compared it to the frankly codic battle prowess of Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti.
This guy might be strong, sure—but as a teacher? Absolutely terrible!
Thinking "I may not be great, but I can at least make things harder for you," Chi-Yu decisively volunteered himself.
He proposed to Natsu that he should help out with training too, joining Ting-Lu to form a coaching team to really put pressure on those troublemakers!
If the training went well, he could take credit.
Which ant an easier, cushier life down the road.
After all, slacking off could co in different flavors.
Slacking off under a boss's nose? Bad.
Slacking off when the boss thought you were hardworking? Perfect.
If the training didn't go well?
Well, then he could just bla Ting-Lu.
"Look what a lousy teacher you are! Now they're hopeless! You should go find a wall and smash your head into it!"
As for Ting-Lu, who had stomped him underfoot the day before—Chi-Yu was still furious.
If he could, he'd gut that bastard right here, right now.
Unfortunately... he couldn't.
There were higher powers keeping them in check.
"Sure, that's fine. I'll talk to Ting-Lu when he gets back."
After thinking it over, Natsu agreed to Chi-Yu's request.
Honestly, he could more or less guess what was going through Chi-Yu's mind.
But it didn't matter.
Natsu had always said—no matter how harmonious a farm might seem, a bit of internal friction was inevitable.
A world where everyone loved and cared for each other unconditionally... only existed in artificial, programd simulations.
Reality? Far ssier.
Still, if there was a shared enemy to hate, it would unite everyone else beautifully.
As for Ting-Lu and Chi-Yu—
Sure, they'd clash and bicker and fight.
But as long as they had soone to vent their frustrations on, it would be manageable.
Right, Okidogi?
Natsu felt a little bad about always picking on the honest ones...
But right now, Okidogi was the only one who could shoulder this noble burden.
Later, he'd bring Okidogi so tasty treats to make up for it.
"Woooh!"
Hearing that he was allowed to help, Chi-Yu's eyes lit up with joy.
At first, he'd been pretty resentful.
But after accepting that he'd been captured and shifting his mindset, he suddenly felt much more relaxed.
He didn't have to worry about anything.
He could just hang around and play all day, and delicious food would magically show up.
As expected—human Trainers were basically running a charity!
anwhile, on the other side of the farm—
Ting-Lu, who was in the middle of discussing Pokémon brotherhood ceremonies with Corviknight, suddenly shivered.
Sothing wasn't right.
Why did he feel like so filthy thing had its eyes locked onto him?
***************************
Read advanced Chapters ahead of everyone else on my P@treon.
P@treon/GodDragcell
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