章節 74: The Little Honey Thief
A Teddiursa?
Looking at the letter in his hand, Naoki was stunned. His first thought was, could such a Pokémon even exist?
He pondered for a moment, then put the letter away and thanked the postman, Alven. After the postman left, Naoki turned and looked towards the back mountain.
Was it attracted by the smell of honey?
He was curious to see what this Teddiursa, known as the "little devil," looked like. But before that, he had to prepare.
Since the honey in the hive was almost full, Naoki found a jar at home and went to collect it.
The brewed honey was clear and golden. The thick liquid flowed slowly into the jar, releasing an enticing sweet fragrance. This was the essence of sweetness, an excellent ingredient for making food or drinks. Many Pokémon were attracted to it, and even applying it to a tree trunk could lure a large number of honey-loving Pokémon.
Naoki collected all the honey from the hive and took the filled jars indoors for storage.
Although the letter mentioned a Teddiursa, Naoki didn't know when it might appear.
There wasn't much work to do on the ranch in the afternoon, so he stayed home and watched TV.
The television programs in this world were quite interesting, with connections to Pokémon everywhere. In the weather forecast, the host was accompanied by a Castform. Smoliv appeared on a cooking show, and there were even Pokémon in various movies.
However, what caught Naoki's attention most was that the annual Treasure Hunt was about to begin again.
In a news program, a reporter holding a microphone was interviewing a student wearing the Naranja Academy uniform, asking which city they planned to visit first to challenge a Gym.
Time passed unnoticed, and soon, the sun began to set. The orange sunset streamed through the window, casting a hazy glow on Smoliv, who was dozing on the windowsill.
Naoki turned off the TV and went outside. Before it got dark, he inspected the pasture and filled the troughs for his Skiddo, Nacli, and hens with feed.
By the time everything was done, the sun had mostly disappeared below the horizon. Darkness descended, and night gradually enveloped the land.
Naoki strolled across the lawn, gazing at the sky and contemplating what to have for dinner.
Just then, on the path leading to the back mountain, he spotted a small figure.
To be precise, it was the silhouette of a Teddiursa.
It's here! Remembering the letter from Three Rivers Ranch, Naoki's heart skipped a beat.
The "little devil" bear had finally arrived!
Naoki stood still and observed it for a few seconds.
In reality, the Teddiursa was quite small, with a crescent-shaped marking on its head. It looked adorable, seemingly lost, and gazed over with its big, black eyes, full of innocence.
This look could easily evoke sympathy and lower one's guard.
This was Teddiursa's tactic.
It deliberately chose this time. No one would leave a lost little bear Pokémon alone outside, especially at night when it looked even more pitiful.
'Come on, take me home'! Teddiursa thought with a sly grin, but its face maintained a pitiful expression. It resisted the urge to glance at the honey's location and swallowed quietly.
It would all be worth it if the human took it home. Then, it could sneak out in the dead of night and take all the honey.
That's what Teddiursa was thinking.
Looking at the Teddiursa, an idea popped into Naoki's head. He had a better plan.
With a smile on his face, he took a step forward.
"Hey, whose Teddiursa is this? Why is it here alone so late at night?"
The Teddiursa replied cutely, "Teddi."
Then, it saw the human looking around. "Poor little thing, could it be lost?"
'I've got him fooled'! Teddiursa thought, a sly smile playing on its lips.
It nodded repeatedly, feigning helplessness. "Teddi, teddi."
'Yes, it was a poor, lost Teddiursa. Please take it home quickly'!
In the past, whenever humans heard it was lost, they would immediately take it in.
However, the scene Teddiursa expected didn't unfold.
Instead, it felt its feet leave the ground, and the next second, its entire body was lifted up, and a face pressed against its belly.
Teddiursa: "?!" 'Mom, help! I've met a weirdo'!
"So cute!" Naoki nuzzled the Teddiursa enthusiastically.
He had thought a wild Teddiursa might smell unpleasant, but upon getting close, he found it had a sweet, honey-like scent. Because it was young and hadn't yet evolved into an Ursaring, its fur was incredibly soft.
If it were a Pokémon with pure intentions, Naoki might have been more restrained, but this Teddiursa was a little trickster using its cuteness to deceive people. In this situation, there was no need for him to hold back. He could indulge and enjoy the fluffiness to his heart's content.
Besides, he had already collected the honey and hidden it in a secret location, with Alcremie guarding it. With so many Pokémon in the house, it was impossible for the Teddiursa to steal all the honey right under their noses.
The Teddiursa was startled by Naoki's actions and instinctively tried to push him away with its claws. But halfway through the motion, it suddenly remembered its true purpose for being here and retracted its claws.
"Hang in there! I must endure! The sweet, delicious honey is just within reach!" Teddiursa thought.
For the sake of honey, it decided to bear the humiliation and steal all the honey this human had stored, leaving not a single drop!
Finally, Naoki stopped, and Teddiursa breathed a sigh of relief.
Naoki carried the Teddiursa back to the cabin.
Seeing this, Teddiursa's heart filled with joy. 'He had taken the bait'!
But the next second, Teddiursa felt a chill.
The human seemed to be preparing dinner.
It was placed on a wooden stool, and when it looked up, it found itself surrounded by a group of Pokémon:
Koraidon, Cyclizar, Dragonite, Pawmi, Alcremie.
Looking at the large, red-skinned lizard, a bead of cold sweat formed on Teddiursa's brow.
What kind of Pokémon was that? It had such a terrifying aura! If it discovered Teddiursa's true intentions, it would be doomed!
Holding back its fear, the Teddiursa showed a friendly smile and greeted the other Pokémon: "Teddi~"
"Ah gah?"
Koraidon's eyes rolled around, and no one knew what it was thinking. It ignored Teddiursa and lay aside, waiting for dinner.
Pawmi, who is naturally lively, greeted Teddiursa.
"Pawmi~" 'Don't be afraid, Naoki is a very nice person'!
'Yes! Very nice'. Teddiursa laughed softly in agreement.
Soon, Naoki came over with dinner.
Although the meal was sumptuous, Teddiursa was focused on stealing honey and had no appetite for other foods. Even when offered a treat by the human, it only ate one fruit.
After dinner, Naoki simply washed up and went to bed early. He pretended not to know Teddiursa's true intentions and said, "Since you're lost, stay here tonight. We'll see if you can find your way home in the morning."
"Teddi~" 'You won't see me tomorrow'. Teddiursa nodded happily on the surface, but it had other thoughts in its mind.
When it's late at night and the human and Pokémon are all asleep, that's when it would act.
Steal all the honey and take it back to its nest in the forest to enjoy it slowly.
The bear was really excited just thinking about it!
However, in the next second, the human pulled it onto the bed and tucked it into the warm blanket.
Teddiursa: "?!"
Pawmi climbed onto the blanket and soothed it,
"Pawmi~" 'Don't be afraid, Naoki likes you very much, that's why he snuggled close'.
Teddiursa twitched its lips: "Teddi."
The lights in the room were turned off.
Teddiursa closed its eyes, concentrated, and held its breath, pretending to be asleep but actually waiting for the right moment to make its move.
Time passed slowly, and after a while, darkness surrounded everything, and all the Pokemon and the Human seemed to have fallen asleep.
Teddiursa opened its eyes wide. Its vision was sharp, allowing it to see clearly even at night.
It supported itself on the bed with its paws and observed the surroundings.
The human in front of it had his eyes closed, breathing evenly through his nose.
The red Pokémon, Koraidon, and Cyclizar, were lying on the bed, resting their heads on their paws, and seemed to have fallen asleep as well.
'It's time'!
Teddiursa had an idea and wanted to sneak away and escape with the honey.
However, before it could get up, the human next to it suddenly turned around, tightened his arms, and hugged it tightly.
Teddiursa immediately held its breath, not daring to make a sound.
'Was it discovered'? Teddiursa felt a little guilty.
In all its years of experience, this was the first time it had encountered such a strange human.
It was common for humans on other ranches to bring it indoors, but none of them ever held it while sleeping like this one did.
After waiting for a while, the human did not make any other moves.
The human seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep as well, because not long ago, he unconsciously loosened his arms and turned over.
'Good opportunity'! Teddiursa quickly crawled out of the bed, then gently grabbed the sheets and slid under the bed, moving quietly across the floor under the moonlight.
It passed by the sleeping Koraidon and Cyclizar and felt relieved to see they were not awake.
As the door got closer and closer, Teddiursa was filled with joy.
It thought about why it had endured so much today—wasn't it all for this moment?
'Darn human! How dare you put your face on my belly'? That's something only those close to it are allowed to do!
Now it wanted to take revenge and steal all the human's honey!
Finally, it arrived at the door.
Teddiursa quietly opened a small gap and skillfully crawled out.
Back outside, Teddiursa immediately made its way to the beehive.
The familiar beehive stood there in the grass, bathed in moonlight.
The three Combee that usually collected honey were lying together, fast asleep.
Teddiursa approached the beehive, but when it saw what was inside, it was dumbfounded.
'Where was the delicious, sweet honey'?
'Why was there nothing'?
It touched the hive with its claws and found only a few remaining honey stains.
What's going on? Teddiursa was stunned, disbelief flashing in its eyes.
'Had it been tricked'?
After enduring a whole night of planning and patience, it had ended up with nothing. Teddiursa suddenly felt hopeless.
What should it do?
Standing at a crossroads, Teddiursa was confused for the first time.
Should it abandon the honey at this ranch and leave? Or should it stay, find where the human hid the honey, and then look for a chance to steal it?
Teddiursa wanted to choose the second option, but it was too dangerous.
After its observations, it realized that the Pokémon on this ranch were not easy to deal with.
If discovered, the consequences could be disastrous.
Teddiursa licked the honey stains on its paws, savoring the delicious sweetness, and made up its mind.
'No! I can't just let this go'!
With that thought, Teddiursa turned around and went back to the cabin.
Under the moonlight, Butterfree watched Teddiursa's actions with a puzzled expression.
"Free?"
Teddiursa didn't realize its actions had been noticed. It squeezed through the crack in the door and was relieved to see that no one had woken up.
Teddiursa followed the same path back to the bed, slipped under the quilt, and lay down next to the human, pretending nothing had happened, then closed its eyes to rest.
After a long while, Naoki, beside it, quietly opened his eyes, glanced at the Teddiursa lying quietly, and thought that this little bear was quite persistent.
If it evolves into an Ursaring, its Ability should definitely be Guts.
However, in this situation, he wouldn't be so polite.
Thinking of this, Naoki curled the corners of his mouth, then closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
The next morning, Naoki woke up to Pawmi's call.
He opened his eyes to see Pawmi lying on his chest.
"Pawmi~"
Sunlight streamed in through the window, signaling the start of a new day. Pawmi greeted it happily.
Seeing the look on Pawmi's face, Naoki reached out and petted its head, smiling as he said, "Good morning!"
"Pawmi!"
Naoki got out of bed and turned to look at the awakened Teddiursa.
He deliberately asked, "Good morning, Teddiursa. Do you remember where you got lost? Are there any adults at home? Maybe an Ursaring or something like that? Where did you live before?"
Hearing these questions, Teddiursa was taken aback.
'Why did he have to ask that'?
But for the sake of the honey, it decided to continue playing along.
...
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