The Girl And Teddiursa

Because it had been so long since Gon had seen Yuga, he was in a great mood and talked at length with him. He shared everything, from his life at Bell Tower to how Sabrina taught him to use his psychic powers, and how he trained his Pokémon… In short, it seemed as if he wanted to pour out everything that had happened in his life over the past few years to Yuga.

Yuga didn't find him annoying or long-winded; he just quietly listened, occasionally responding with a comment. Before they knew it, night had fallen.

After settling Gon and Hill in the gym, Yuga suddenly remembered that Cleffa and Mime Jr. were still hanging from a tree in the main Ecopark.

"Oh no! I forgot about them!" Yuga smacked his forehead helplessly, then hurried back to the daycare.

Sure enough, when he arrived in the main Ecopark, the two little ones were still hanging from the tree, with Nana faithfully standing guard nearby, making sure no one untied the rope.

The two little ones were swinging back and forth like they were on a swing.

If it weren't for Nana watching over them, there's no way a single rope would have kept the Psychic-type Mime Jr. bound. But at the moment, both of them were hanging listlessly, looking pitiful.

Underneath the tree, Bagon had its hands behind its back, pacing back and forth with a mature air, occasionally casting a glance at Mime Jr. and Cleffa. Whenever Mime Jr. and Cleffa glared back at it, it quickly averted its gaze and nonchalantly strolled past them, further aggravating the two little ones hanging from the tree, making them gnash their teeth in frustration!

Bagon had even skipped its usual "Happy Hour" just to watch the spectacle! It couldn't help feeling a little guilty, after all, watching someone else's misfortune wasn't exactly a good thing to do.

"Hmm? Bagon, what are you doing here?" Yuga, who had just arrived under the tree, noticed Bagon and curiously asked.

Before Bagon could answer, Cleffa and Mime Jr., still hanging from the tree, immediately began complaining.

"It's up to no good!"

"It's just here to laugh at us, it has a bad heart!"

"It's definitely enjoying seeing us stuck up here!"

…

Cleffa and Mime Jr. took turns criticizing the mischievous Bagon. Bagon nervously looked at Yuga.

(ˊ) So nervous! Will Yuga think I'm a bad kid?

Bagon, who had never done anything wrong, anxiously looked into Yuga's eyes, terrified of seeing disappointment there.

However, after Yuga met Bagon's gaze for a couple of seconds, he suddenly broke into a smile and said, "That's impossible! Our Bagon is so well-behaved, there's no way it would do something like that! It must have just been passing by. Right, Bagon?"

∑(O_O;) Cleffa and Mime Jr. were stunned!

(_) Nana, who had witnessed the whole thing: ...

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Bagon forced itself to nod and then dashed away in a flash.

Seeing this, Cleffa and Mime Jr. were about to explode with anger!

"It's lying! It definitely came to watch us suffer!"

"Yuga, how could you! You're so bad! You don't believe us!"

"Bad guy, bad guy! Big bad guy!"

…

Watching the enraged Cleffa and Mime Jr., Yuga scolded them, "You two have the nerve to complain about someone else? Who told you to steal Audino's wine? Where did you get the courage?"

Hearing Yuga's words, Cleffa and Mime Jr., knowing they were in the wrong, immediately deflated and didn't dare say another word, obediently accepting the scolding.

Bagon hadn't run far; it was hiding behind a nearby berry tree, secretly watching as Yuga reprimanded Cleffa and Mime Jr. When it recalled the trusting look Yuga had just given it, the guilt in its heart deepened.

Just then, Bagon suddenly felt a poke from behind. When it turned around, it met the wide-eyed gaze of Teddiursa, and the sight startled it.

"Tediursa?"

What are you looking at?

Seeing Bagon jump in surprise, Teddiursa covered its mouth and giggled.

"Ba… Bagon."

N-nothing.

Bagon didn't pay any more attention to Teddiursa and quickly ran off.

Teddiursa glanced at Bagon's retreating figure, then looked at Cleffa and Mime Jr., still hanging in the tree, wearing a thoughtful expression.

Meanwhile, Yuga gave Cleffa and Mime Jr. a severe reprimand, confiscating Mime Jr.'s TV privileges and Cleffa's daily portion of Moomoo Milk. As for when they would get those privileges back, that would depend on Yuga's mood!

No matter how much the two little troublemakers pleaded, Yuga remained unmoved.

The next morning, after breakfast, Gon came to say goodbye with Hill. Yuga initially wanted them to stay in Verdanturf Town for a few more days, but Gon said they had other matters to attend to, so Yuga had no choice but to see them off at the station.

As Gon left Verdanturf Town, far away at the port of Vermilion City in Kanto, a ship was slowly departing. Onboard, May and Max waved goodbye to Ash and Brock as they embarked on their journey back to Hoenn.

Elsewhere, Cleffa, who didn't get to drink Moomoo Milk that morning, and Mime Jr., who couldn't watch TV, became listless. The two sat hand in hand on the steps in front of the daycare shop, sighing in unison.

The customers who are passing in and out of the shop saw them and tried to tease them, but neither of them responded, which puzzled the regular visitors. Normally, these two were full of energy!

v(-ι_-｀)v Cleffa and Mime Jr.: We've lost the source of life!

At this moment, Teddiursa walked out, holding its beloved honey jar, licking the edges with its tongue, savoring the sweetness.

Teddiursa's honey jar was only the size of a palm, specially requested by its mom from Yuga. Teddiursa usually stored its Sweet Honey inside, and when it filled up, it would bring it out to lick.

Out of the corner of its eye, Cleffa saw Teddiursa's content expression and couldn't help but drool.

That jar looked really tasty.

Teddiursa, while licking its jar, caught Cleffa's longing gaze and walked over to it, raising the honey jar. "You really want some, huh?"

Cleffa, sucking on its finger, quickly nodded!

Seeing this, Teddiursa scooped a fingerful of Sweet Honey from the jar and waved it in front of Cleffa's nose. "Smells good, doesn't it?"

Cleffa's nose twitched, following Teddiursa's finger. "It smells so good!"

Just when Cleffa thought Teddiursa was going to let it have a taste, Teddiursa popped the honey-covered finger into its own mouth and smugly said, "Hehe, smells good but I'm not sharing with you!"

Cleffa was stunned—it had never seen such a shameless Pokémon before!

"Mime Jr.!"

Seeing its buddy getting bullied, Mime Jr. was not having it. It let out a "roar" of anger, raising its little fists, ready to punch Teddiursa, but Teddiursa was prepared and quickly darted away.

Watching Teddiursa run off, Cleffa was so angry that it jumped down from the steps, jabbering away, cursing at Teddiursa's retreating figure.

Teddiursa ran all the way back to the Ecopark, where it found Bagon, who was in the middle of training, and recounted what had just happened.

"See? I got revenge for you!" Teddiursa said proudly.

Teddiursa had done this to win favor with Bagon.

It wanted Yuga to find it a Trainer, but Yuga hadn't had the time to deal with it yet. Since Bagon was one of Yuga's main Pokémon and had a closer relationship with Yuga, Teddiursa thought that if Bagon could say a few words on its behalf, the Trainer issue would be solved in no time.

However, what Teddiursa didn't realize was that Bagon was currently feeling guilty about watching Cleffa and Mime Jr. suffer yesterday. It regretted what it had done, especially for betraying Yuga's trust.

So Bagon said to Teddiursa, "Don't do that again. It's not good."

Teddiursa: …So, the fool was me all along…

After saying that, Bagon left. It wanted to find Yuga immediately and confess that it had lied yesterday!

Watching Bagon's figure disappear into the distance, Teddiursa angrily scooped a handful of honey from its jar and licked it while thinking: Hmph, what's so great about that!

When Bagon found Yuga, he had just returned from the station after seeing Gon off. After hearing Bagon's apology, Yuga said with a realization, "Oh, so that's what happened!"

Of course, Yuga had already noticed that Bagon was lying at the time, but Bagon was usually so mature, lacking the liveliness and innocence of a young Pokémon. Since it was rare for Bagon to act mischievous, Yuga didn't want to call it out.

He never expected that Bagon had been troubled by this for so long!

Bagon successfully apologized to Yuga, but Teddiursa was fuming, leaving the Ecopark in frustration.

It thought: Hmph, if none of you are going to help me, I'll figure it out by myself!

So, Teddiursa left YoYo Daycare, hugging its honey jar, and wandered onto the streets of Verdanturf Town.

Looking at the bustling crowd, Teddiursa's eyes darted left and right, almost overwhelmed by everything it was seeing. It was its first time encountering so many people.

As it walked, a delicious smell wafted into its nose, and Teddiursa followed the scent to a skewer stall. It stood there, staring longingly at the stall owner, its drool practically flowing down in rivers.

Seeing a Teddiursa standing in front of his stall, the skewer vendor found it strange. Ever since Yuga's Pokémon Paradise started taking in stray Pokémon, there had been very few stray Pokémon left in Verdanturf Town.

But when he noticed the unique mark on Teddiursa, belonging to YoYo Daycare, he understood: Ah, it's one of YoYo Daycare's Pokémon!

The Pokémon from YoYo Daycare all had a special round mark, printed with special oil paint, about the size of a bottle cap. The people of Verdanturf Town were quite familiar with it.

The skewer vendor picked up a freshly grilled skewer and said to Teddiursa, "How about it? Want to try some?"

Teddiursa eagerly nodded.

The residents of Verdanturf Town were all very kind to the Pokémon from YoYo Daycare, and the skewer vendor was happy to offer Teddiursa some food.

In no time, Teddiursa had collected a cotton candy here, a candied hawthorn skewer there, and soon its arms were full of treats.

With its belly now round and full, Teddiursa thought to itself: See, I knew I was adorable! Look, everyone loves me!

Too stuffed to walk any further, Teddiursa found a bench in a small park, hopped up, and laid down.

Just as it settled in, a girl in a dress sat down next to it.

"Teddiursa..."

Teddiursa rubbed its round, swollen belly and let out a satisfied burp.

"Ah, I'm so full!"

To Teddiursa's surprise, the girl next to it echoed in the exact same tone, clutching her stomach and sighing.

Teddiursa turned its head to look at the girl, and the girl turned her head to look at Teddiursa at the same time.

Teddiursa: …

Girl: …

This strange moment of synchronicity suddenly made Teddiursa feel an instant connection with the girl, as if it had met a kindred spirit.

An idea popped into Teddiursa's head—what if this beautiful girl became its Trainer?

"Teddiursa! Teddiursa!"

Teddiursa jumped down from the bench, waving its fists and shouting at the girl. Even though the two couldn't speak the same language, the girl understood what Teddiursa was trying to say.

"You want to battle me?"

Teddiursa clenched its tiny fists and nodded seriously.

The girl sighed, "Alright then, but don't cry if you get hurt!"

With that, she released a Glameow, a Pokémon she had only recently obtained and was the weakest in her team.

It wasn't that she looked down on Teddiursa, but she could tell Teddiursa was a baby Pokémon, only just born. She didn't want to hurt it with a strong attack.

"Glameow!"

Glameow let out a soft meow, its voice long and drawn out, sounding both lazy and elegant.

"Teddiursa! Teddiursa! Teddiursa!"

Without a second thought, Teddiursa rushed forward, using Fury Swipes to attack Glameow.

However, with just a flick of its paw, Glameow sent Teddiursa flying with its Fake Out attack, knocking it out in an instant.

When Teddiursa finally wake up, it found itself lying on the girl's lap. But it felt downcast, thinking that with such weak strength, there was no way the girl would want to keep it.

Seeing Teddiursa looking so sad, the kind-hearted girl gently asked, "Do you want to come with me?" She found Teddiursa amusing, and if it really wanted to follow her, she wouldn't mind catching it.

Teddiursa nodded but then shook its head: Yes, I want to go with you, but you have to buy me first.

It quickly jumped off her lap and grabbed her skirt, tugging at it to get her to follow.

The girl, though unsure of where Teddiursa was taking her, allowed herself to be led along.

Before long, Teddiursa led her right up to the door of YoYo Daycare. The girl looked up at the sign, thinking: Isn't this where I was headed anyway?

"So this is YoYo Daycare!" she muttered as she followed Teddiursa inside.

Yuga, having just finished calming down the angry Cleffa and Mime Jr. who had come to tattle on Teddiursa, saw Teddiursa leading a girl in a dress into the shop. He couldn't shake the feeling that the girl's face looked familiar.

"Welcome! How can I help you?" Yuga greeted her with a smile.

Before the girl could say anything, Teddiursa started jabbering away, gesturing toward the girl. After listening, Yuga looked at Teddiursa with a complicated expression and said, "So now you've learned how to scam people?"

Teddiursa was very displeased: Scam? I'm helping lighten your load!

Yuga ignored Teddiursa and turned around to the girl with an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry for the trouble our Teddiursa has caused you."

The girl shook her head and said, "It's no trouble at all. I was actually coming here to buy a Pokémon."

With that, she took a card from her bag—YoYo Daycare's membership card.