A Request to Find Bewear's Child

Bewear looked cute and adorably goofy, but in Alola Region, they were recognized as the most dangerous Pokémon—bar none.

They generally lived in forests and disliked going out. Warning signs had been placed around every habitat, forbidding anyone from entering.

According to the records, Bewear living in Lental Region hibernated, but Alola Region had a comfortable climate and abundant food, so they remained active all year round.

Xingye knew all that, but what was happening before him completely exceeded his understanding. A Bewear had silently appeared behind them, then caught them all in one fell swoop.

The invincible Cyclizar had already been knocked unconscious by a bear hug. Gengar was too frightened to move, and together with one poor human, they were all tucked under Bewear's arm as it ran toward the forest near Mahalo Mountain.

"What is this supposed to feel like...?"

Xingye wore a blank expression, unable to describe it. It was like being loot collected after a battle? That was more or less his current situation.

This Bewear's combat power was ridiculous. Why had he never heard that Melemele Island had something like this living on it? It was practically top-tier fighting strength!

Yet it was incredibly quiet and showed no expression at all, only that goofy bear face. Xingye had no idea what it wanted to do...

After who knew how long, Bewear carried them deep into the forest, beneath a massive tree. Only after entering a hollow in the trunk did it set them down beside a pile of Berries in the corner.

"Hey, isn't this pretty bad...?"

Xingye was genuinely panicking. Why put them beside the Berries? Food? Did that mean they were food?! Instead of finding premium ingredients, had he become an ingredient himself?

But unfortunately, what he feared did not happen. Instead, Bewear suddenly picked him up.

"Eh? Wait..."

Then one Berry, two Berries, three Berries... ten Berries! It kept stuffing them into his mouth. It did not spare the unconscious Cyclizar either, filling its mouth until nothing else could fit.

After feeding the two until they were stuffed and tossing them onto the ground, Bewear picked up the Gengar that was too scared to move. But at that moment, its eyes suddenly changed.

"Bear~"

"Gengar..."

Gengar covered its eyes with its tiny hands, too scared to look at Bewear at all. Yet Bewear took out another Berry and tried to feed it, looking as though it were gazing at its own child.

Seeing this, Xingye barely managed to crawl upright. Unprocessed Berries were truly awful—the bitterness, spiciness, and sweetness exploded together in his mouth.

"This is rough... But it isn't trying to eat us after all, so what exactly is this...?"

Watching Bewear feed Gengar, he pondered for a moment before saying, "Even if it's pink and looks like a doll, Gengar isn't your child. It obviously doesn't look like a Bewear, does it?"

"..."

Bewear turned to glance at him, then looked at Gengar, who was on the verge of tears. Tilting its head, it froze for a moment, seemingly realizing there was a problem.

It tossed aside the Berry in its hand, then held Gengar with both paws and carefully examined it with a serious expression. Soon, disappointment appeared on its face. It seemed to have realized it had mistaken Gengar for someone else.

"..."

Xingye carefully observed its expression and formed a few guesses. Though this Bewear's strength was absurdly outrageous, it seemed all right for now. It had not become violent yet, so perhaps it could be reasoned with!

And the reason it had suddenly captured him and his Pokémon was probably because it had seen Gengar. There were too many similar traits, so it had mistaken Gengar for its own child?

With those guesses in mind, he gathered his courage, lightly cleared his throat, and calmly asked, "Um, Bew... Bear God! May I ask you something? Are you looking for your child?"

His words seemed to touch something within Bewear. It suddenly raised its head and let out an unbearably shrill, high-pitched cry.

"Bear!!!"

"What the hell...?"

The sound was so loud that it nearly knocked Xingye unconscious. Even Cyclizar was startled awake, while the lifted Gengar finally could not hold back its fear and burst into tears.

But upon hearing the crying, Bewear instantly quieted down and hurriedly comforted Gengar. It really seemed to have mistaken Gengar for its own child.

"Because they're both doll-like, it thinks they're the same kind? Or is it because Gengar is a child...?"

Even while covering his ears, Xingye kept observing. Bewear seemed particularly fond of Gengar. He did not yet know why, but if it tried to snatch Gengar away, he definitely would not agree.

"Gengar..."

After Bewear comforted it for a while, Gengar finally stopped crying. But it was still extremely frightened, as though nowhere outside home was safe.

Then it instinctively floated over, grabbed Xingye's clothes, and hugged him. Unexpectedly, at a time like this, it had unintentionally comprehended Levitate.

Xingye held it in his arms and gently patted it. Then he looked up at Bewear, whose gaze swept over him, and forced himself to stay calm as he introduced himself. "I'm the owner of A-Xing's Odd Jobs in Kabukicho. My main work is helping Pokémon solve various troubles in their lives. If your child is missing, you can hire us to help find them!"

"..."

Bewear did not respond. It merely stared at him expressionlessly. Xingye had no idea what it meant, so he took a deep breath and continued with a serious expression, "I'm a man who always keeps his promises. If you can trust me, then of course... Gengar cannot be given to you. It is my companion and a member of Odd Jobs!"

"..."

There was still no response. Bewear silently watched him, while Cyclizar looked on nervously beside him, even though it had already been hugged unconscious once...

But just then, Bewear suddenly spread its arms, as though it were about to attack. Cyclizar hurriedly charged forward, only to be grabbed and pulled into an immensely powerful bear hug!

"Bear!"

Bewear's cry was no longer aggressive, but Xingye felt like he was about to suffocate. Still, he could somehow hear gratitude in that cry. Had it really believed him?

Just as he thought that, they were finally released. However, Cyclizar was hugged unconscious again, as though the bear hug had a special effect on it.

"Cough, cough... I almost died again..."

Xingye caught his breath. As expected, Bewear's child was missing.

But then again, how could such a powerful creature lose its child? Or had the troublesome kid run off on its own? None of that mattered!

This was a huge job. What would it mean if he could gain Bear God's friendship? The value of being able to one-shot an island guardian with a punch needed no explanation!

With that in mind, he regained his serious expression and asked, "We'll definitely complete the request, but can you provide any clues about this?"

"..."

"Figures..."

Xingye did not expect to get anything from its expression. If it had any clues, it would have gone searching itself, right? He could probably go back and ask Boss Slowking, including about this Bear God. It likely knew something as well.

"Gengar..."

Seeing that there did not seem to be any more commotion, Gengar slowly turned around and looked at Bewear. The fear in its expression seemed to have faded.

Then Bewear suddenly pulled out a jar of Honey from somewhere and handed it to Gengar. Gengar hesitated for a moment before reaching out and taking it.

Seeing that, Xingye softly said, "When someone gives you something, say thank you."

"Gengar~"

Gengar cried out, then carried the jar away. In the end, it was only a child less than a month old. Its mind was immature, and many feelings came and went quickly. It needed proper guidance.

At that moment, Bewear suddenly turned and left the tree hollow, leaving all of them behind without anyone knowing what it had gone out to do.

"This..."

Xingye froze while holding Gengar. What were they supposed to do now that it had left? Run? Could they outrun it?

For a moment, he did not know whether to stay or make a break for it. After thinking for a while, he decided to wait a little longer for Bewear to return.

He let Gengar sit on his shoulder and eat Honey, then went over to wake Cyclizar. Startled awake, Cyclizar immediately looked around for that bear, as though it had nearly developed PTSD from being hugged.

"Don't panic. Eat some Berries and calm down first."

"Cyclizar..."

Cyclizar could not be happy about it. It took a bite of a Sitrus Berry and felt like the thing was not even a fruit. It simply could not eat it. It seemed to already be full, unaware that it had been force-fed while unconscious.

Xingye shifted his gaze away from the Berries, only to suddenly notice something else. He froze, then quickly moved aside the Berries piled on top and pulled out what had been buried underneath.

It was a palm-sized white stone marked with something resembling an arrow. Beneath the white letter "Z" in the middle was a diamond-shaped groove. It looked extremely strange!

"This is... a Sparkling Stone?"