"Alright, squad, move out," Leo said, waving a hand toward the back of the property. "I'll take you to meet the grandparents. Dreepy already ditched us, but he's probably just looking for a snack."
"Swamp!" Swampert gave a thumbs-up that looked more like a giant blue club.
"Flor~" Florges added with a graceful nod, though her eyes were already scanning the horizon.
Leafeon and Togepi just looked at each other. Togepi's little eyes were squinting, clearly trying to figure out if Leo was leading them into another "training exercise" or if there was an actual payoff.
"Seriously, guys, we gotta hurry," Leo urged. "The old folks should be out back feeding the rest of the farm by now. If we time it right, we might snag some of the good stuff before the Miltank get to it. And trust me Grandma's cooking makes mine look like gas station snacks."
Leafeon's ears perked up instantly. Togepi's eyes went wide. Tastier than Leo's? Before they'd met him, those two had been total street rats or, well, "wild country bumpkins" would be more accurate. They'd spent their lives scavenging for bitter berries and hoping a Pidgeot didn't mistake them for lunch. Finding Leo had been like hitting the lottery. High-grade energy cubes, gourmet Pokémon chow, and seasoned meals were things they hadn't even known existed.
Now Leo was saying there was a higher level of flavor? The Leafeon and the egg-Pokémon practically vibrated with impatience, nudging Leo's legs to get him moving.
Swampert, meanwhile, was already drooling a little. He'd grown up on this farm before he'd left with Leo, and he knew the "fish" didn't lie. Grandma's recipes were the stuff of legends.
Only Florges stayed chill, moving with a refined, airy step as she inspected the wild flowers along the path.
"Hey, Florges," Leo said, dropping his voice to a softer tone. "What would you think if I carved out a chunk of the farm just for you? Like, your own personal botanical garden. You could plant whatever you want, no traveling required."
The elegant Pokémon froze. Her calm facade shattered in a heartbeat.
"Flor?! Hua~!"
She'd wanted a permanent garden for years, but she'd never complained. Traveling with Leo meant staying in tents and temporary camps; there was no time to wait for a seedling to bloom. To have a place where she could actually put down roots literally was the dream.
"I'm serious," Leo laughed. "I'll find a prime spot for you tomorrow. Somewhere with the best sun."
Florges actually stopped to give him a formal, graceful bow, her petals shimmering with gratitude. Leo reached out to give her a quick headpat, but before his hand could even land, a massive blue hand grabbed him by the waist.
"Whoa! Swampert, what the!"
With a grunt of effort, Swampert hoisted Leo onto his massive shoulder like he was a sack of potatoes and started sprinting toward the back mountain.
"Dammit, Swampert! Put me down! What's the rush?"
Swampert didn't even look back. He just gave a muffled grunt that basically meant: You talk too much. The food is that way. Move your feet or I'll move 'em for you.
"Togepi-pi~!" Togepi cheered from Leo's arms as they bounced along, while Florges and Leafeon exchanged a "here we go again" look before racing to keep up.
Up on the back mountain, the air was thick with the scent of wildflowers and the low, constant hum of Combees. This was the heart of the farm's honey production, and today was the big harvest.
"Look at this batch, Arthur," Grandma said, holding up a jar of golden, shimmering Sweet Honey. "The quality is incredible this year. We should definitely set aside the prime stuff for Leo. He and that little Dreepy of his could eat this by the bucketful."
Grandpa Arthur nodded, wiping sweat from his brow. "Good call. Keep the top-shelf jars for the kid. The rest we can sell to the potion-makers or mix into the winter feed."
He paused, leaning on his rake. "Speaking of potions, I got a call from the Jenny girl over in the city. Her Arcanine took a nasty hit during a patrol mission last week. She's looking for a bottle of high-grade Revival Potion, and I told her we had just the honey to make it work."
Grandma's expression softened into one of worry. "That Jenny girl... she's pushing for a Champion-rank promotion soon, isn't she? It's dangerous work. I wonder how Leo's holding up out there. I hope he's staying out of trouble."
Grandpa chuckled, patting her shoulder. "Relax, Martha. The kid's got a good head on his shoulders. Besides, he's been checking in, hasn't he? Boys need to see the world. It's better he learns how to handle himself now than later."
"I know, I know," Grandma sighed. "We can't keep him in a bubble forever. But still..."
She was about to go on when an excited, high-pitched trill cut through the humming bees.
"Dreep! Dreepy-dra!"
Both of them froze. They turned just in time to see a flash of neon yellow and green dive-bombing toward them. The shiny Dreepy landed squarely on Grandma's head, vibrating like a motorboat.
"Well, look at that! It's the little dragon!"
Grandma laughed, plucking the Dreepy from her hair and holding him up. "You're back? Does that mean Leo's home too?"
Dreepy nodded so hard he nearly fell over, rubbing his face against Grandma's hand.
"Good," Grandpa Arthur grinned, his chest swelling with relief he'd been trying to hide. "It's about time. Let's get these honey jars back to the house. I think we need to celebrate."
Dreepy's eyes immediately locked onto the jars of honey. He started prying at the lid of the nearest one with his tiny claws, his mouth practically watering.
"Dra! Dreep-dra!"
"Easy there, you little glutton," Grandma teased. "It's all for you and Leo. Let's get home first. I'll whip up something special tonight."
Dreepy's eyes turned into little stars. He let out a happy trill and settled back onto Grandma's head like a leafy green crown. As they started walking back, Grandma couldn't help but poke a little fun at the "team leader."
"So, Dreepy," she said with a smirk. "It's been a whole year. How come you haven't evolved yet? Tell me the truth can you actually beat a Caterpie now, or do we still need to hide the bug-spray?"
Dreepy's entire body went stiff. He slapped Grandma's forehead with a tiny, indignant claw and squeezed his eyes shut.
The "Caterpie Incident" was the great shame of his life. He didn't want to talk about it.
"Oh, come on," Grandpa Arthur added, piling on the heat. "You can't be sensitive about it forever. I remember a year ago, you and Leo were standing at the gate talking about 'suppressing the world' and having 'no rivals.' Then you got slapped around by a bug that doesn't even have teeth yet."
"Dreep! Dra-dra-dra!" Dreepy puffed out his chest, waving his arms to insist he was a cold-blooded killer now.
"Is that so?" Grandpa chuckled. "What about Mudkip? He's a Swampert now, right? Can you take him?"
Dreepy's bravado vanished instantly. His mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Beat Swampert? The guy who could literally move mountains? If Swampert so much as sneezed in his direction, Dreepy would be flattened into a pancake. Right now, the only one on the team he could maybe beat was Togepi and even that was a coin toss if she used Metronome.
Feeling his "dragon life" crisis hitting hard, Dreepy slumped down, looking utterly defeated.
Grandma reached up and gave him a gentle pat. "I'm just teasing, sweetie. You're right on the edge of evolving, I can feel it. Once you hit that next stage, you'll be incredible. You'll be that world-conquering dragon Leo's always talking about."
Dreepy looked up, his eyes wide and hopeful. Leo always said the same thing—that he was special, that he was going to be a legend. And Dreepy believed him.
After all, Leo wouldn't lie to his best friend. Would he?