Unlike their cute and cuddly appearance, Bewear are widely recognized as one of the most dangerous Pokémon in the Alola Region.
They generally inhabit forests and dislike going out; all their habitats have been marked with danger warning signs, prohibiting entry to anyone.
According to data, Bewear living in the Lental region have a hibernation habit, but due to the comfortable climate and abundant food in the Alola Region, they remain active all year round.
Hoshino knew all of this, but what was happening before him was completely beyond his comprehension: a Bewear silently snuck up behind them and then caught them all in one fell swoop.
The invincible Cyclizar had already fainted from a bear hug, Gengar was too scared to move, and then all of them, along with the pitiful Hoshino, were carried by the Bewear and ran towards the forest near Mount Lanakila.
"What is this feeling…?"
Hoshino's face was expressionless, he didn't know how to describe it, it was like a trophy harvested after a battle? That was pretty much his current situation.
This Bewear's combat power was ridiculously high; how had he never heard of such a creature living on Melemele Island? It was practically a special-grade combatant!
However, the opponent was very quiet and showed no expression, just a silly bear face, and Hoshino couldn't guess what this guy wanted to do.
…
Just like that, after an unknown amount of time, the Bewear led them deep into the forest to a large tree, walked into the tree hollow, and then placed them in a corner next to a pile of tree berries.
"Hey, this isn't good…"
Hoshino was truly panicked. Why were they placed next to tree berries? Food? Did it mean food? He hadn't waited for top-grade ingredients, but instead, he became the ingredient?
However, unfortunately, what he thought did not happen; instead, he was suddenly picked up by the Bewear.
"Eh? Wait…"
Then one, two, three… ten! Tree berries were continuously shoved into his mouth, and the still unconscious Cyclizar was not spared either, all stuffed until no more could fit.
After feeding the two guys until they were full and dropping them on the ground, the Bewear picked up the Gengar, who dared not move, but at this moment, its eyes suddenly changed.
"Bear~"
"Gengar…"
Gengar covered its eyes with its small hands, completely afraid to look at the other party, but the Bewear took out tree berries again to feed it. This feeling was like watching its own child.
Seeing this, Hoshino barely managed to get up. The unprocessed tree berries were truly deadly; sour, spicy, sweet… bursting in his mouth.
"Hard to bear… but it turns out it wasn't to eat us, so what exactly is this…?"
Watching the Bewear feeding Gengar, he pondered for a moment, then said, "Although it's pink and looks like a doll, Gengar isn't your child, you know. It clearly doesn't look like a Stufful."
"…"
The Bewear turned its head and glanced at him, then looked at the Gengar who was about to cry, tilted its head, and was stunned for a moment, as if it had also discovered the problem.
After discarding the tree berries in its hand, it held Gengar with both hands, observing it seriously, then its expression showed disappointment. It seemed to have realized it was mistaken.
"…"
Hoshino carefully observed its demeanor and had some guesses in his heart. Although this Bewear's strength was a bit too ridiculous, it currently seemed okay and hadn't become irritable yet; it could be approached!
Moreover, it suddenly captured him and his Pokémon, probably because it saw Gengar. Too many similar elements led it to mistake Gengar for its own child?
With these guesses, he slightly mustered his courage, cleared his throat, and asked calmly, "Bewear… Bear God! May I ask a question? Are you currently looking for your child?"
Upon hearing this, it was as if something touched the Bewear; it suddenly raised its head and let out an incredibly piercing high-decibel growl.
"Bear!!!"
"What the heck…"
The sound was so loud it almost knocked Hoshino out. Cyclizar was startled awake, and the lifted Gengar finally couldn't help but cry out in fear.
But upon hearing the crying, the Bewear instantly quieted down again and quickly started comforting Gengar. It really seemed to treat Gengar as its own child.
"Because they're both dolls, it treats them as the same kind? Or is it because it's a child…"
While covering his ears, Hoshino didn't forget to observe and found that this Bewear seemed to particularly like Gengar. The reason for this was still unclear for now. If it tried to snatch Gengar, he would definitely not agree.
"Gengar…"
After some soothing from the Bewear, Gengar's crying finally stopped, but it was still very scared, feeling unsafe anywhere outside of home.
Then it instinctively floated over, grabbed Hoshino's clothes, and hugged him. Unexpectedly, at this moment, it unintentionally grasped the concept of levitation.
Hoshino held it in his arms, patted it gently, then looked up at the Bewear whose gaze swept over them, and introduced himself, feigning calmness: "Actually, I'm Boss Hoshino of the Yorozuya in Kabukicho. My main job is to specifically help Pokémon solve some life problems. If your child is lost, you can entrust us to help find them!"
"…"
The Bewear didn't respond, just looking at him expressionlessly. Hoshino didn't know what this meant, so he took a deep breath and continued to speak to it seriously: "I'm a man of my word. If you can trust me, of course, Gengar cannot be given to you. It's my companion and part of the Yorozuya!"
"…"
Still no response, the Bewear just silently watched him. Cyclizar, beside them, watched nervously, even though he had already fainted from a hug once…
But at this moment, the Bewear suddenly opened its arms, as if it was about to attack. Cyclizar quickly rushed over, but was embraced completely—it was an incredibly powerful bear hug!
"Bear!"
The Bewear's growl was no longer aggressive, but Hoshino felt like he was about to suffocate. However, he could hear that the growl seemed to express gratitude. Did it really believe him?
Just as he thought this, they were finally released, but Cyclizar fainted again from the hug, as if this bear hug had a special effective against him.
"Cough cough… almost died again…"
Hoshino caught his breath. Sure enough, his guess was correct: the Bewear's child was lost.
But then again, how could such a strong creature lose its child? Or did the bear cub run away on its own? But none of that mattered anymore!
This was a super big job! What if he could gain the friendship of the Bear God? The value of a single punch instantly defeating an island deity goes without saying!
Thinking of this, he regained his serious expression and continued to ask, "The commission will definitely be completed, but regarding this matter, can you provide any clues?"
"…"
"Alright…"
Hoshino didn't expect to find anything out. If there were any clues, it probably would have gone to look for them itself. He felt he could go back and ask Boss Slowking, including the situation of this Bear God; Boss Slowking probably knew.
"Gengar…"
Seeing that there seemed to be no more commotion, Gengar slowly turned around and looked at the Bewear, its expression no longer showing the same fear as before.
And the Bewear, from nowhere, suddenly pulled out a can of Sweet Honey and handed it to Gengar. Gengar hesitated for a moment, then reached out and took it.
Hoshino saw this and said softly, "When you accept something from someone, say thank you."
"Gengar~"
Gengar let out a cry, then opened the can. After all, it was just a child who hadn't even reached one month old, with an immature mind. Many things came and went quickly, so it needed serious education.
At this moment, the Bewear suddenly turned and left the tree hollow, leaving them all there, not knowing what it went out to do.
"This…"
Hoshino held Gengar and was stunned. It left, what should they do? Run? Could they outrun it?
For a moment, he didn't know whether to stay or just slip away, but after thinking for a while, he decided to stay a bit longer and wait for the Bewear to return.
Letting Gengar sit on his shoulder and eat the Sweet Honey, Hoshino went to wake up Cyclizar. After being startled awake, Cyclizar frantically looked around, searching for the bear's whereabouts, feeling like it was about to get PTSD from the hugs.
"Don't panic, eat some tree berries to calm down first."
"Cycli…"
Cyclizar couldn't be happy. It took a bite of a Sitrus Berry and felt like it wasn't even a fruit, completely unable to eat it. It seemed to be full; it didn't know that it had been force-fed while unconscious.
Hoshino's gaze shifted from the tree berries, but he suddenly discovered some other things, and was immediately startled. He quickly took the tree berries piled on top and retrieved the item pressed underneath.
He saw that it was a palm-sized white stone with an arrow-like mark on it. Below the white letter "Z" in the middle, there was also a diamond-shaped groove, looking very strange!
"Is this… a Sparkling Stone?"
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