"Woo woo woo!"
In the darkness, the ltan crept into the room.
Everyone inside was fast asleep. No one noticed the slow creak of the door swinging open.
The ltan's round eyes locked onto the small silver hamr resting on the table. As one, they rushed forward, only to smack straight into an invisible barrier and tumble backwards with a loud clunk clunk clunk!
Click.
The lights flicked on.
Standing before them was a towering red Pokémon, blocking their path with an unyielding stance.
"ltan?" Naoki blinked, rubbing his eyes. He'd been roused by the noise and was clearly surprised to see this sight.
As soon as they heard his voice, the ltan panicked. They sprang up in a frenzy and darted straight toward Naoki, hiding behind his legs like startled children.
In an instant, Naoki found himself surrounded by ltan. Dozens of tiny heads peeked out cautiously from behind his pajamas, keeping a wary eye on the looming Koraidon standing watch in the room.
Apparently, after their dayti bonding session, the ltan had already imprinted on Naoki. To them, he wasn't just their trainer—he was like a mom.
"Ahh… gah…" Koraidon cawed, half-confused and half-exasperated.
Naoki chuckled softly. But then, a question ca to mind, why had the ltan entered the room in the first place?
Were they looking for him?
That thought lingered as he watched the little tal Pokémon press close to him. After all, in many regions, Pokémon that hatch from eggs often imprint on the first person they see.
And these ltan… they had opened their eyes to find Naoki smiling at them.
The warmth in his heart overflowed.
"They're so cute…" he whispered to himself, pulling the ltan into a gentle hug.
With the softest tone he'd ever used, he whispered, "Don't worry. It's okay. That's Koraidon. He won't hurt you."
"Woo woo~" the ltan replied sweetly.
"Alright, let's get you all back to bed."
Naoki got up, cradling an armful of ltan like a bundle of jiggling nuts and bolts, and started back toward the living room.
But when he arrived, he imdiately froze.
'Wait a second… where was his golden fishing trophy?'
He blinked in disbelief, then slowly looked down at the wide-eyed ltan in his arms.
A sinking feeling crept over him.
He gently set them down and began pacing the room.
His prized frying pan, gone.
His favorite olet spatula, gone.
The kitchen knife, spoon, and fork also gone!
Naoki stood silently in the center of the room, eyes widening in horrified realization.
The ltan hadn't co looking for him at all.
They had been on a midnight snack run.
The silence was deafening.
Naoki's heart shattered like a dropped plate. "So… they weren't worried about ."
He looked back at the innocent ltan peeking out from their little wooden house.
Round, curious eyes blinked back at him. They didn't seem to understand what was wrong.
Naoki sighed and slumped a little. "Forget it. Just don't go sneaking around again, alright? Stay in here where it's safe."
He wagged a finger at the crowd. "Tomorrow, your proper food will arrive. Screws, bolts, bottle caps, all kinds of tals. I guarantee there'll be so much, you won't even finish it."
The ltan didn't quite grasp his words, but their attention was instantly drawn to the finger he was pointing with.
One curious ltan suddenly leapt up and wrapped its soft little hands around it like a teddy bear.
"Woo~!"
Naoki paused, then smiled gently. He channeled a bit of Viridian Aura into his fingertip, a soothing pulse of nature energy he often used to calm younger Pokémon.
The ltan let out a happy squeak and lted against his hand, purring softly.
"Woo woo…"
Naoki chuckled and gave its head a pat.
"Alright, sleep well."
Naoki stood up, gently tucked the ltan back into their cozy little nest, then turned around and sighed.
He pulled out his Rotom Phone and quickly placed an online order: pots, pans, utensils… and an ergency stockpile of steel screws and bottle caps. At the very least, those might keep the ltan from chewing up his appliances.
The Next Morning
A delivery truck arrived just after sunrise, dropping off several heavy crates on the ranch's porch.
Naoki opened the boxes to reveal their contents, premium-grade tal screws, industrial-strength bottle caps, and even a few glittering coins donated by Gholdengo, who always seed happy to share his wealth.
He smiled, set the crates beside the ltan's wooden house, and called out:
"Breakfast ti!"
The ltan sward the crates with excited squeaks, their eyes gleaming as they dove in. tallic crunches echoed through the living room as they devoured the screws like snacks.
Naoki nodded with satisfaction. "Crisis averted… for now."
After making sure the ltan were fed, he got dressed and headed off to the Levincia Gym for the day's challenges. As usual, only a few Pokémon accompanied him, Gym battles rarely exceeded a 3v3 format, and it wasn't practical to bring everyone.
So today, Zapdos and Pawmot got a break.
As soon as Naoki left, the ltan began feasting joyfully on their morning tal buffet, chewing screws, bottle caps, and the few remaining coins from Gholdengo's donation.
In the corner room, Iono was still asleep under a fluffy blanket, completely unaware of the chaos just a wall away.
Other Pokémon from the ranch gathered in the living room, watching the ltan chow down. Among them was Pawmot, clutching its tiny but treasured hamr.
"Bamo…"
Pawmot blinked as the ltan slowly turned their attention from the food pile to his hamr.
They squished deeper into their cardboard box nest, eyes locked on the shiny tool.
Curious, Pawmot moved the hamr slightly to the right.
The ltan scooted right.
He moved it left.
They slid left in perfect sync.
"Bamo!"
Pawmot grinned.
A brilliant idea sparked.
He tucked the hamr away behind his back and grabbed a nearby box of bottle caps.
Holding it up like a teacher holding out a reward, he pointed at the ltan.
"Bamo!"
The ltan stared.
He tossed a single cap into the box. One ltan instantly gobbled it up.
Another "Bamo!" and another reward.
In no ti, Pawmot had invented a mini training ga: command, reward, repeat.
The ltan were thrilled.
After the makeshift training session ended and the caps were gone, the ltan stared at Pawmot with eager, twitching antennae. They wanted more.
Pawmot giggled and shook his head.
"Bamo!" he said, lifting his hamr like a shepherd's crook.
It was ti for his daily chore.
Without another word, Pawmot marched off toward the ranch's chicken coop.
Naturally, the ltan followed behind in a jiggling, squeaky parade.
The other Pokémon in the room blinked, puzzled at the unusual scene: Pawmot leading a trail of waddling ltan as if he were the leader of a tiny tallic marching band.
Outside, in the sunlight
Pawmot arrived at the chicken coop and gently unlatched the door.
The hens inside clucked rrily and waddled out onto the sunlit grass, pecking at the ground as the morning rays shimred across the nearby river.
The sunlight reflected off the water's surface like thousands of stars.
Pawmot stood there, watching the chickens scatter and roam.
He smiled, tail flicking.
"Bamo~!"
It was ti for Pawmot to head to the chicken coop to collect eggs!
But before he could step inside, he noticed sothing unexpected, a crowd of ltan squeezing in through the fence, one after another.
"Bamo?!" Pawmot was startled.
The ltan stared at him with their round, glimring black eyes.
Several seconds passed. Nothing else happened.
"Bamo?" Pawmot scratched his head with a puzzled look, then shrugged and went about his business.
He flew into the chicken coop. After a quiet night, the hens had laid plenty of eggs. Dozens of smooth, pastel-colored eggs were scattered across the hay-covered floor.
"Bamo~!" Pawmot bead with joy, his little heart swelling with pride at the sight of the harvest.
But just as he was about to start collecting, the ltan followed him in.
They watched his every move carefully… then began to imitate him!
The ltan grouped up in pairs or trios, carefully picking up eggs in their tiny silver hands and placing them into the basket just like Pawmot.
Seeing this, Pawmot blinked in confusion. What… were they doing?
After a mont, realization dawned on him.
They thought helping with chores would earn them more bottle caps.
Moved by their eagerness, Pawmot flapped his arms and zipped off, returning monts later with a small box of bottle caps.
The ltan cheered in their squeaky little voices and imdiately gobbled them up like treats.
Then they got even more motivated.
In just a few minutes, they had collected every egg in the coop and delivered them neatly into the basket!
"Bamo…" Pawmot stood there in shock, staring at the now-pristine coop.
The ltan blinked up at him, as if waiting for further instructions.
Done with the egg run, Pawmot stretched his arms and flew to the roof of the chicken coop. The late morning sunlight bathed his fur in golden warmth. For a haired Pokémon like him, this was pure bliss.
Below, the ltan stared up at him from the ground.
After a few seconds, Pawmot noticed and tilted his head.
He floated back down, and one by one, lifted the ltan onto the roof.
Soon, the whole crew was lounging in a circle, soaking up the sun with Pawmot in the center.
The ltan cuddled around him with lazy chirps, but their eyes couldn't help drifting to his hamr again.
Feeling their gazes, Pawmot quickly hid the hamr behind his back.
"Bamo!" he warned gently.
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