By evening, Peter and Whitney rode Braviary back to Aether Paradise.
After an entire afternoon of practice, Whitney had more or less mastered the execution of Normal-type Z-Moves. The process, however, had left her thoroughly exhausted—so much so that even Peter, who had been teaching her, felt weak in the legs afterward…
As for Peter himself, most of his time had been spent helping his Pokémon learn and synchronize with their respective Z-Move poses.
Fortunately, that wasn't difficult for him.
Back in his previous life, he'd done enough embarrassing dance routines to have movements like these engraved into muscle memory.
The moment they entered Aether Paradise, they ran into Wicke, who was conducting routine health checks in the ecological zone.
"Professor Peter, you're back~" Wicke greeted them with a smile.
Peter nodded. "Yeah. We're visiting the laboratory tomorrow, so we came back early."
"That makes sense…" Wicke hesitated for a moment before pressing her hands together. "If it's not too much trouble… could I ask you for a favor?"
Whitney blinked. "Hm? Did something happen?"
Wicke nodded and began explaining.
Today, as usual, she had been patrolling the forests of Melemele Island.
This was one of the Aether Foundation's regular activities—they routinely visited all four islands to check on wild Pokémon. If they found any injured, endangered, or struggling Pokémon, they would bring them back to Aether Paradise for treatment and release them once they recovered.
But today—
she had discovered a small Pokémon trapped beneath a collapsed century-old tree.
"When I found it… it was still trying to lift the trunk by itself…"
Wicke's expression turned strange, equal parts disbelief and confusion.
Peter paused.
That description…
felt familiar.
"…Wait."
"The Pokémon you found… it wasn't a Stufful, was it?"
Wicke looked surprised.
"Hm? Professor Peter, do you know that little one?"
Peter immediately shook his head.
"No, just a random guess based on your description."
But inwardly—
his thoughts were anything but calm.
This matched the original anime storyline.
Which meant…
he knew exactly what this was.
Alola had an existence famous for being absurdly powerful—
the Bewear that lived with Team Rocket.
In the anime, that Bewear was practically unstoppable.
Flying.
Digging.
Appearing out of nowhere.
One punch could flatten entire rows of trees.
At one point, it even spun in place and launched Team Rocket all the way from Alola back to Kanto.
Its strength was ridiculous.
That was why fans jokingly called it things like Tapu Bearbear and Bear God.
But in the anime—
that Bewear was also a mother.
Its child—
its pre-evolution, Stufful—
had been discovered in the forest and brought to Aether Paradise by Wicke.
That truth wasn't revealed until much later in the story.
Meaning—
Stufful had likely been separated from its mother for a long time.
While Peter was thinking—
Wicke continued.
"This little one looks like it was born not long ago, but its strength is unbelievable. It's also very mischievous. Since you two specialize in Normal-types, I thought you might know what to do…"
She bowed slightly.
"Please."
Whitney quickly helped her straighten up.
"Leave it to us~"
Peter nodded.
"Yeah. Let's go take a look. Don't worry too much."
Wicke smiled in relief.
"Thank you! Please follow me~"
Following her into the recovery ward, Peter and Whitney finally saw the little patient.
A tiny creature sat on the bed, constantly tugging apart its bandages.
It looked almost like a stuffed red panda toy.
White ears.
Pink head.
Bright innocent eyes.
Black cylindrical limbs.
A tiny tail.
Every detail screamed one thing—
adorable.
[Stufful ♀ Lv8 (Beginner)]
Ability: Strong Arms (Possesses unusually powerful arms; arm strength increased by 50%)
Talent: 400 (Already surpassed species maximum of 340)
HP: 70
Attack: 120
Defense: 60
Sp. Atk: 30
Sp. Def: 60
Speed: 60
Description:
A Stufful that inherited its mother's powerful physique, possessing extraordinary ability and talent.
Recently born, it is curious about everything. It especially likes honey and fragrant things and becomes highly attached to figures with nurturing or maternal qualities.
————
[Ding! Host has triggered the conditions for a Legendary Capture Mission. Since the Type: Null capture mission is currently active, would you like to spend 5000 Master Points to activate both missions simultaneously?]
Peter had still been marveling at Stufful's absurd stats—
when an even bigger surprise arrived.
Normally—
unlocking Bear God's capture mission would cost 10,000 Master Points.
Now it was half-price and could run simultaneously.
There wasn't even anything to think about.
Confirm.
[Ding! Legendary Capture: Bewear has been activated. Please check the mission panel for details.]
[(Unique) Legendary Capture: Bewear]
Description: Bewear recently gave birth but accidentally lost track of Stufful. Her child is now right in front of the host. Because Stufful shares an extremely strong bond with its mother, it is recommended to begin with the child in order to gain Bewear's trust.
Stage One Objective: Help Stufful recover and establish a good relationship.
PS: This mission contains multiple stages. Completing one unlocks the next. If overdue, backup options will activate to ensure successful capture.
"Nui…"
The little Pokémon lay on the hospital bed, effortlessly tearing apart the tough medical bandages into strips.
"Ah… it's so cute…"
Whitney immediately walked over and reached out to pick it up.
Peter's expression changed.
"Whitney, wait!"
Right on cue—
Roto floated out and explained:
"Stufful, the Flailing Pokémon! Its appearance is deceptively cute and its fur feels incredibly soft, but it hates being hugged or touched! Unless the contact comes from someone it trusts, it may become violent and use frightening strength! Very dangerous, Rotom!"
However—
"Huh?"
Whitney blinked.
"I think it's pretty friendly?"
She had already picked Stufful up and was gently rubbing her cheek against its face.
"Nui~…"
Stufful licked her cheek and tilted its head, seemingly wondering—
why this human smelled so nice.
Whitney smiled warmly.
"Here, Stufful~ Want some Moomoo Milk?"
She took out her favorite drink.
"Nui~!"
The little Pokémon immediately hugged the bottle and started gulping it down.
Clearly—
it had been starving.
Wicke stared in confusion.
"This is weird…"
"Before this, it wouldn't let anyone touch it."
"We only managed to treat it because it passed out…"
Peter rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"I think…"
"…it's probably because of Whitney's scent."
After all—
the Miltank girl always carried a faint, sweet milky fragrance.
For baby Pokémon—
that was naturally attractive.
And besides…
Peter's gaze drifted toward Whitney for a moment.
Watching Stufful happily nestle in her arms—
he slowly clenched his jaw.
Stufful.
You should be grateful—
you're a girl.
Otherwise…
I'd personally carry out the sentence.
--------------
T/N:
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