Pawmo's Cloak

The early morning sun bathed the entire ranch, and several Taillows were lazily resting on the roof. Suddenly, a group of Pidgeys flew over from the distance, clearly agitated.

The Taillows, sensing competition, immediately flapped their wings and rushed forward, squawking loudly as they began to fight for territory. After a brief struggle, the Pidgeys were defeated, retreating in a flurry of feathers, leaving the victorious blue-feathered group proudly perched on the roof.

'Humph, this land belongs to us!'

Naoki, still half-asleep, was jolted awake by the noisy squawking.

Sighing, he resigned himself to getting out of bed, rubbing his forehead. "Ah, these Taillows and Pidgeys are driving me crazy," he muttered. Not only did they wake him up every morning and evening, but they also helped themselves to his crops. Worse, their noisy behavior kept the poor Combee too frightened to leave their nest.

At first, Naoki had been hesitant to drive them away thinking, 'Pokémon are intelligent creatures, after all'. But now, he had had enough.

Grabbing a stick, he called Dragonite and climbed onto the roof. He could still understand the taillows thanks to the translation crisps he'd eaten the day before. The taillows were cackling about how "This territory is ours!"

Naoki snorted. "This territory is mine! Dragonite, chase them off!"

"Oooouuu!" Dragonite let out a mighty roar, and the taillows, realizing they were no match, fluttered away in a hurry, leaving only a few blue feathers in their wake.

"Finally," Naoki sighed in relief as the squawking died down.

He tossed the stick aside and went back down, where the two Indeedee had already woken up. Brother Indeedee had gone to make Naoki's bed, while Sister Indeedee was busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen.

"How thoughtful!" Naoki smiled, glad to have their help. While the meal was being prepared, Naoki decided to get active. He laced up his running shoes, called the ever-energetic Cyclizar, and decided to go for a morning jog around the ranch.

Dragonite, meanwhile, donned its little delivery bag and headed off to deliver fresh Moomoo Milk to Mrs. Dantes and Hugh in the nearby town.

The sleepy Koraidon yawned and sprawled out lazily on the grass, watching Naoki and Cyclizar zoom past repeatedly.

Suddenly, a bright white light enveloped Pawmo's body as it ran.

"Pawmo?!"

Pawmo stopped in surprise, feeling the changes within itself.

Naoki wasn't shocked; he had been waiting for this.

"Pawmo, it's happening!" Naoki cheered, excitement bubbling up inside him.

The light surrounding Pawmo grew stronger, its body rapidly changing. It grew taller and fluffier, its size increasing from a small half-meter to nearly a full meter. When the light finally faded, the newly evolved Pawmot let out a joyous cry and immediately jumped into Naoki's arms.

Naoki caught the Pawmot and couldn't resist rubbing his cheek against its soft fur. "You're even cuter now!" he exclaimed.

"Pawmot~" Pawmot responded, snuggling into Naoki's embrace.

Cyclizar, who had been running alongside them, watched with a dazed expression, feeling genuinely happy for Pawmot. 

Not far away, Koraidon tilted its head, realizing something new. Watching Naoki bury his face in Pawmot's fur made Koraidon feel envious. It glanced down at its own belly.

After their run, Dragonite returned from its deliveries in town. Breakfast was ready, thanks to Sister Indeedee, who had thoughtfully laid it out on the table.

Naoki sat down with his Pokémon and smiled. "Let's dig in!"

"Ah gah!" 

"Gah!" 

"Pawmot~" 

"…" 

After breakfast, Naoki decided to take Sister Indeedee to help with the milking and feeding of the Gogoat and Miltank.

But before heading out, the newly-evolved Pawmot ran over with its red cloak, which had obviously become too small.

Its face was filled with sadness and it looked at Naoki with tearful eyes: "Pawmot..."

Naoki glanced down.

After evolving, Pawmot had grown larger, and the original cloak was now too tight, making it impossible for Pawmot to wear it.

Seeing this, Naoki thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry, I'll go to town later and buy you a new one."

But Pawmot still looked unhappy.

That red cloak held great meaning for it.

It gazed at the cloak in its paws, recalling the time Naoki had sat by the door, carefully washing the cloak by hand when it had gotten dirty before.

Tears welled up in Pawmot's eyes. If it had known this would happen, it might have chosen not to evolve.

Seeing Pawmot so upset, Naoki couldn't help but smile.

He gently patted Pawmot's head and reassured it, "This one is special, I know. We'll get a new one, but you should keep this one safe."

Only then did Pawmot feel a little better.

Knowing that Naoki planned to take it to town later, Pawmot sat patiently on the porch under the eaves, listening to the wind chimes overhead and watching Naoki and the two Indeedee as they milked and fed the Gogoats.

"The grass balls in this basket are the main food for the Gogoats. You just need to pour them into the trough each day, and the Gogoats will take care of the rest," Naoki explained, demonstrating the task to the two Indeedees.

The brother and sister nodded, indicating they understood.

Naoki smiled and moved over to the three Gogoats, exhausted after helping cultivate the World Tree:

"Say hello to them. These are our new friends, the Indeedees. The one on the left is the older brother and the one on the right is the younger sister."

At his words, the three Gogoats turned to look at the two siblings.

They bleated softly in greeting, still a little tired.

Naoki rubbed their heads, and as soon as the grass balls were poured into the trough, the three Gogoats eagerly rushed over, eating hungrily to replenish their grass energy.

Once they had eaten enough, the Gogoats wandered back to the fields, using their Grass-type abilities to help care for the crops and fruit trees.

Seeing this, Naoki decided it was time to introduce the two Indeedees to the Digletts and Naclstack living underground.

But just before they could descend into the cave, a Dragonite suddenly soared through the sky, catching Naoki by surprise.

'Could it be that Baby Bear and Mew sent him a postcard again?'

Naoki mused that they were being quite extravagant this time, sending a Dragonite of all things to deliver it.

So, he paused to watch as the Dragonite gracefully landed in the pasture.

However, in the next moment, Naoki realized something was off.

This Dragonite looked very familiar!

It was one of the Dragonites that had tried to follow him home from Dragonite Island when he first visited, only to be stopped by his own Dragonite!

Dragonite's reaction confirmed Naoki's suspicion.

As soon as it saw the wild Dragonite land, the usually relaxed Dragonite lounging in the sun immediately jumped to its feet.

"Ouch?!" Dragonite exclaimed, clearly surprised.

The wild Dragonite cheerfully replied, "Awoo… Awoo~"

Unfortunately, Naoki had used up his translation seeds, so he couldn't understand what they were saying.

But after hearing what the wild Dragonite said, Dragonite turned its gaze toward the lake where Dratini and Dragonair lived.

Naoki's curiosity was piqued, and he stepped forward to ask, "Are you here to take Dratini and Dragonair back to the island?"

"Ouch!"

Dragonite nodded enthusiastically, eyes sparkling with excitement. Its whole attitude toward the wild Dragonite instantly shifted.

Suddenly, it was all affection, gently leading the wild Dragonite by the paw toward the lake, clearly eager to reunite them with Dratini and Dragonair.

It almost looked like Dragonite couldn't wait to pack them up and send them back home to the island.

Naoki: "…"

(Oh, come on, Dragonite. Everyone can see exactly what you're up to!)