Ogerpon

Because the living room floor was left open for ventilation to dry after being mopped, the front door of the villa was not closed. Munchlax, sleeping at the door, seemed to catch the scent of food from the kitchen, and it began to grow restless in its sleep, tossing and turning.

At that moment, a figure quietly approached from the orchard, wearing a large white plastic bag with two holes poked in it over its head. It peeked into the living room, the small green braids on its head swaying like an antenna.

"Uhm..."

Observing for a moment and seeing movement in the kitchen, it took a gentle step and walked into the living room.

On its feet were two green leaves, structured like wooden geta clogs, making not the slightest sound as they stepped on the wooden floor.

Following the scent, it walked all the way to the kitchen entrance before finally stopping, peeking inside as if eagerly waiting to see someone...

Only... the kitchen only held Mingyou, who was cooking noodles, and not the person it wanted to see. It could not help feeling a bit lost, turning around ready to leave.

Yet Munchlax, already awake, had somehow arrived behind it. The moment it turned around, it bumped right into Munchlax and fell backward onto the floor. The plastic bag on its head slipped off as a result, drifting into the kitchen.

"Huh?"

Hearing the noise, Mingyou instinctively looked over. Right at the kitchen entrance, a child was sitting on the ground, clutching its head and nervously looking this way.

The green part of its body resembled a small ruffled skirt, adorned at the top with cute white pentagrams and yellow circle patterns.

A cloak resembling a ginkgo leaf was worn on its head, its edge circled with thick black thorns, the protruding spikes forming antenna-like structures.

Below, on an orange round face like a ripe tangerine, half a leaf formed bangs, and the green next to its eyes looked just like painted eyeshadow.

The star pupils within the yellow eyes always reminded one of a certain deceased popular idol, and the small canine teeth exposed by its slightly parted mouth from nervousness and fear made it appear even cuter...

Ogerpon: Mask Pokémon, possesses a lonely personality, quite a pitiful little fellow. Accompanying it more should quickly raise its favorability.

"Ogerpon?!"

"Uhm..."

Hearing the other call out its name, Ogerpon's body trembled all over, as if wanting to escape, yet it was too frightened to move its legs or stand up.

Seeing this Legendary Pokémon afraid of him instead, the surprise on Mingyou's face faded. He then slowed his movements, stepped forward, and stopped after maintaining a certain distance.

He bent down, keeping himself at the same height as Ogerpon to help it relax its guard, and reached out to pick up the plastic bag, asking softly, "Did you drop this?"

"Uhm..."

"Here you go~"

"Uhm?"

Ogerpon was slightly startled, then cautiously reached out to take the plastic bag he handed over and slipped it right back onto its head, passing it over the thorn-like structures so that only its eyes were exposed through the two small holes.

Looking at its pitiful appearance, Mingyou felt a bit puzzled. Why did this Ogerpon not have a mask? It was actually using a bag on its head...

Though puzzled, he did not ask directly, worried it might stimulate the other, but instead smoothly asked in a soft voice, wanting to clear up a few things.

"Um... are you looking for Grandpa? The old man who used to live here."

"Uhm~"

At the mention of this, Ogerpon appeared extremely excited, constantly looking around left and right as if searching for the person.

Confirming the answer, Mingyou let out a soft sigh, his face carrying apology and sorrow as he said, "Sorry, Grandpa is no longer here. I am his family."

"Uhm..."

Hearing this, Ogerpon's mood seemed to drop instantly. It even removed the plastic bag, wanting to change into a different mask to express its current feelings, but unfortunately, there were no other masks.

Yet it did not react violently, seeming to have known about this all along, yet still coming over here to look at the lit house, holding onto that shred of hope.

As Munchlax walked past and into the kitchen, Ogerpon also turned to leave, but perhaps from continuously smelling the scent of the kitchen...

Rumble--

With slightly red cheeks, Ogerpon covered its rumbling stomach. Behind it, Mingyou chuckled softly and said, "You must be hungry. I actually cooked a bit too much noodles, do you want to eat together? Eat your fill before leaving."

"Uhm..."

Hesitating for a moment, perhaps because the aroma was simply too alluring, acting almost like a crime, its stomach growled two more times. With no choice, Ogerpon could only nod gently.

Inside the kitchen, while Munchlax stole a sweet potato and squatted in the corner, Mingyou found two large bowls and placed them on the stove. A single pot of noodles was just enough to fill them.

Then he went out to the living room to bring in two stools. Ogerpon sat down upon one, gazing at the noodles in the bowl.

Smelling the aroma, it grew rather impatient, but instead of using chopsticks, it extended a green vine from beneath the left side of its cloak and reached straight into the bowl...

"Uhm!"

"Hey! It's very hot, don't use your hands directly!"

Seeing it get burned, Mingyou hurriedly grabbed a dampened towel, stepped forward, and helped wipe the spot.

Munchlax ambled past once more, stood on tiptoes to hug his bowl away, and returned to the corner...

"Uhm..."

Ogerpon lowered its head like a child who had made a mistake. Mingyou did not blame it either; he could tell the other had never eaten noodles before, thinking it was just like eating fruit, which was why it reached right in with its hands.

"Be a bit more careful."

Mingyou held its bowl, picked up some noodles with chopsticks, blew on them gently, and brought them to its mouth.

"Eat up~"

"Uhm..."

Ogerpon hesitated for a moment, then opened its mouth, revealing its small canine teeth, and took a bite—almost biting the chopsticks in half. Although it was just a simple tomato soup noodle dish, it truly had never eaten such things, mostly eating fruit previously.

Watching it happily eating the noodles, Mingyou smiled, recalling the days back at the orphanage spent chasing those little children around to feed them.

Children living in an orphanage had either lost their families to accidents or been abandoned by their families for special reasons... Every child was actually quite lonely, and many even suffered from psychological trauma. The orphanage became the home that cared for and gave them warmth.

Ogerpon before him also gave Mingyou the feeling of those children. At that moment, he finally understood why Grandpa wanted to be a Ranger, just like how he himself would return to work at the orphanage in his past life...

He had gradually solidified his thoughts in his heart. After Ogerpon finished drinking the noodle soup as well, he brought over the plate of sugar-tossed tomatoes.

"Try these, you can pick these up directly."

"Uhm..."

Ogerpon extended a vine, picked up a slice of tomato, and ate it. Its small mouth instantly formed an "O" shape, fully exposing its two small canine teeth, and it used its vine to grab another one right away.

Yet just as it touched the tomato, its movement paused. It raised its head slightly, bright eyes gazing at Mingyou before it, as if asking whether it could take another piece.

"If you like them, I'll give them all to you. A bowl of noodles is enough for me, and I can't finish this much anyway."

"Uhm~"

Ogerpon happily hugged the plate. Although they were strangers, it felt no prejudice from Mingyou whatsoever; instead, he showed a great deal of care toward it, which was different from others.

"Eat slowly, no one is going to take them from you."

Seeing it enjoy the food, Mingyou felt quite happy inside as well. But then, he suddenly noticed familiar blue particle points of light scattering from Ogerpon's body!

Finally, the points of light condensed, forming a card bearing Ogerpon's character art, spinning in mid-air. He was slightly startled and reached out to catch it...

Ogerpon (lvl 1): When used on an Ogerpon Tangerine Tree, the species changes into an Ogerpon Citrus tree, capable of growing Ogerpon Citrus with (Grass, Fire, Water, Rock) attribute bonuses.

"It appeared again... Tangerines this time?"

Mingyou looked at the card's contents, then looked back at Ogerpon happily eating tomatoes. He fell silent for a long time, as if finally understanding the function of his ability.

At that moment, he clutched the card tightly in his hand. Perhaps this was hope; he had already made up his mind inside. Since this was what Grandpa had hoped for, he would take it over and keep this place running!

Mere debt? If he could put his ability to good use and utilize these cards to cultivate mutant crops, perhaps he could pay it off in no time!

"I'll go give my answer tomorrow!"

Having made his decision, he seemed to release a breath of relief, yet he also took on an invisible pressure. He shook his head gently, his gaze growing firm, and turned around ready to continue his dinner—only to find not a single bowl left on the stove.

In the corner of the kitchen, a bowl was turned upside down on the floor, and Munchlax lay nearby, scratching its belly and fast asleep in deep satisfaction.

"Munchlax..."