Kalos Region, Lumiose City.
The most prosperous city in Kalos, its technology stood at the forefront of the Pokémon League's development. Not long ago, the city had passed an urban renovation proposal—Lumiose City would establish a dedicated living zone for wild Pokémon.
Inside a skyscraper near the city center, a girl dressed in a white formal gown opened a letter.
The contents were simple, yet a genuine smile appeared on her face.
"Gardevoir, Hayato invited us to visit his ranch. Do you want to go?"
Not far away, the elegant Gardevoir gave a soft response. Trainer and Pokémon exchanged a glance and smiled, already understanding each other's thoughts.
"Don't worry, I've already planned everything," the girl said with a mischievous grin. "Shalour City invited us to attend the Beach Festival. Staying there for a few extra days is perfectly normal."
"Gardevoir~"
"I know. I'll take care of the work here beforehand."
The girl carefully stored the invitation letter, her gaze turning determined.
"That was the first film where we were the stars. I'll take it seriously."
Meanwhile, back at the ranch.
"Good morning, Chatot."
Yawning with half-closed eyes, Hayato opened the window.
The cool morning breeze flowed into the room, making him shiver slightly. Instantly, he was fully awake.
"Gaa gaa~"
Chatot pecked his arm with its beak, urging him to hurry up and leave.
If they went too late, the mushrooms growing in the forest would be picked clean by other Pokémon.
"Alright, alright!" Hayato patted his head reassuringly. They had already discussed this plan yesterday.
Right before the Beach Festival, mushrooms prices reached their peak for the entire year. They had to earn as much as they could now.
Once the weather grew warmer, mushrooms would stop growing.
And when that happened, it would be impossible to make money from them.
Led by Chatot, Hayato wandered through the Back Mountain, darting through the forest.
Every so often they encountered groups of wild Pokémon.
From a distance, they greeted Chatot enthusiastically. Some bird Pokémon even offered the food they had worked hard to gather.
Even more outrageous were some of the female bird Pokémon, who lingered around Chatot and refused to leave.
At one point, Hayato witnessed something unbelievable.
Chatot had just landed on a branch to rest and hadn't even steadied itself yet.
Several Fletchinder flew over, using their beaks to groom Chatot's feathers while rubbing against it.
And Chatot?
It looked completely annoyed and cold, raising its voice to drive them away.
Yet instead of leaving, the Fletchinder stared at it with sparkling eyes.
"When did Chatot become this popular?" Hayato muttered. "It's practically become some kind of charisma demon among birds—like a real ladies' man among the bird Pokémon."
Soon enough, Hayato guessed the reason.
A change that appeared overnight could only come from the effect of Ancient Soup • Umami.
The description clearly stated that each Pokémon would receive a unique enhancement tailored to itself.
Judging from the current situation, Chatot's enhancement was probably increased charisma.
Hmm.
That actually suited Chatot's flashy personality perfectly.
But what kind of enhancements had the other Pokémon received?
With a whole flock of bird Pokémon helping them gather mushrooms , Hayato 's basket was full within ten minutes.
They had no choice but to head back.
Hayato took Chatot straight to Route 12.
Gario's team worked quickly. Even though they had only discussed it yesterday, the delivery box had already been installed.
The front of the box even displayed the ranch's emblem along with Hayato 's name and contact information.
Across the fence, Hayato greeted Denzeland his wife, who were shearing the wool of several Skiddo inside their ranch.
After an entire winter, the Skiddo's wool had grown thick and long—it was time for a trim.
After placing the mushrooms into the delivery box, Hayato returned to his ranch.
The bird Pokémon that had followed him stopped at the ranch gate, not daring to come closer.
Standing there, Kangaskhan glared at them fiercely.
Dangerous light flickered in its eyes.
The birds immediately remembered the terror of being dominated by a giant monster and scattered in panic.
"Chatot, you're really popular. Any favorites among them?" Hayato joked as he watched the bird Pokémon reluctantly leave, looking back every few steps.
"Gaa~"
They are all my wings.
Chatot raised its head proudly, flapped its wings, and flew toward the berry orchard. After all, the early bird gets the best worms.
On the way, it didn't forget to greet the Mudbray working in the fields.
"Boss… did you get taller?"
"Rooong!"
Kangaskhan lowered its head and looked at itself.
It seemed true.
Hayato —why did you suddenly look so small?
Hayato stood at 1.82 meters tall, which normally reached Kangaskhan's chest.
But now, standing side by side, Hayato barely reached its thigh.
Kangaskhan hadn't just grown a little—it had grown a lot.
If nothing unexpected had happened, this was also the effect of Ancient Soup • Umami.
Compared to that, Hayato was more concerned about Kangaskhan's health.
"Do you feel any discomfort, Boss?"
Kangaskhan shook its head… then nodded.
It walked over to a huge boulder and threw a seemingly ordinary punch.
BOOM!
The entire boulder shattered into pieces, fragments scattering everywhere.
"Mega Punch? No… that's not right."
Judging by Kangaskhan's posture, it hadn't used much strength at all—just a casual punch.
Yet the destructive power exceeded even Mega Punch.
"Rooong~"
Kangaskhan returned to Hayato , looking aggrieved.
Its strength had suddenly become far too great, and it couldn't control it.
When it woke up this morning… the bed collapsed.
"…."
Black lines appeared across Hayato 's forehead.
No wonder Kangaskhan hadn't rushed forward to hug him earlier—it was afraid of accidentally hurting him.
But wait…
Why did the bed collapse again?!
And why did I just say again?
Since things had already happened, Hayato comforted Kangaskhan .
"So what if the bed collapsed? You can still sleep."
What mattered now was helping Kangaskhan control its suddenly increased strength.
After thinking for a moment, Hayato led Kangaskhan to the lake.
He told it to punch the water.
The splashes could be used to water nearby plants. Once Kangaskhan could control the splash size freely, the training would be complete.
With Kangaskhan's situation as an example, Hayato couldn't help worrying about the changes in Mudbray and Cinccino.
Cinccino's change was neither big nor small.
Depending on its emotions, its body now released different scents.
Being soft and fluffy was one thing…
But now it also carried a sweet creamy fragrance.
Who could possibly resist that?
Hayato certainly couldn't.
He hugged Cinccino and took several deep sniffs.
A little cupcake like this was practically born to be devoured by its trainer.
As for the Mudbray , their change was even more remarkable.
It was as if the three of them had achieved a kind of perfect unity.
Could you imagine three Mudbray charging toward you while using High Horsepower?
It looked like three heavy trucks racing side by side—terrifying just to watch.
Their Ground-type attacks now had triple the chance of triggering devastating shockwaves.
Their Sandstorm coverage was tripled.
And most importantly—
Their Rototiller move stacked three times over, dramatically accelerating crop growth.
Except for Kangaskhan , everyone's new abilities came without side effects.
Poor Kangaskhan .
Just so it could hug Hayato again, it sat alone by the lake, repeatedly punching the water.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound echoed endlessly.
Fortunately, aside from a few Magikarp—which seemed to appear everywhere—there were no other Pokémon in the lake.
Those Magikarp, however, suffered greatly.
Just as Kangaskhan had thrown who knew how many punches, leaving the Magikarp thoroughly battered by the shockwaves—
One of them suddenly awakened.
Its body shone with the light of evolution.
SMACK!
A loud slap echoed across the ranch.
The newly evolved Gyarados clutched the huge bump on its head and fled in panic, darting straight toward the sea.
Terrifying! Absolutely terrifying!
An angry mother dragon was enough to scare a dragon half to death.
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