“Hmm…”

  In the quiet of its cave, Ogerpon stared bnkly at the scattered items strewn across the ground.

  It wao craft a gift for Natsume, but something always felt off. No matter how many versions it made, none of them seemed satisfactory.

  So, Ogerpo revising arying, resulting in the current mess.

  Clearly, Ogerpon was deeply frustrated.

  “Hmm…”

  Standing up, it began pag bad forth in the cave.

  This habit was something it had picked up while watg TV with Corvisquire. On TV, whenever a protagonist paced around, they always seemed to e up with solutions to their problems.

  Ogerpon thought this method might not only aid in thinking but maybe even boost its IQ.

  Unfortunately, reality didn’t align with Ogerpon's expectations.

  Despite nearly wearing down the cave floor with its pag, Ogerpon still couldn’t e up with a good idea.

  Even after digging out all its precious treasures, the results were still underwhelming.

  To put it lightly, its creations leaned heavily into abstract art.

  Somewhere between "ugly" and "iing" y a realm Ogerpoantly called “hideously unique.”

  “Hmm!”

  Clutg its head, Ogerpo out a wail of despair.

  Why don’t I have any artistic talent?!

  How do those people on TV effortlessly create masterpieces?!

  For the first time, Ogerpon fully uood the pain of g natural talent.

  After some melodramatic squirming, twitg, shadowy creeping, and frenzied screaming, it suddenly fell silent.

  Lying motionless on the ground as if in a sage-like tra stared bnkly at the barren walls.

  After a moment of rest, Ogerpon flipped itself upright with a determiwist. It resumed its craftwork, aspiring to create a gift as beautiful as the ones on TV.

  That’s the differeween a novid an expert.

  Beginners—or self-taught enthusiasts—often instinctively pare their work to masterpieces they’ve seen, only to feel dissatisfied and disheartened, doubting their skills.

  Experienced veterans, however, focus on finding a few merits in their work, “adjust their expectations,” and clude: Ign the ugly parts, it’s actually not bad.

  “Mee?”

  In the er of the spacious cave, a pair ht blue eyes emerged, Ogerpon's struggles with great i.

  The hidden observer pulled out a phone, snapping photos of Ogerpon hard at work.

  Satisfied with the pictures, the mysterious Pokémo quietly, ensuring Ogerpon remained blissfully unaware that its “secret base” had been discovered.

  Whether it was due to Ogerpon being too rexed or the other Pokémon’s excellent stealth, the visit went unnoticed.

  ---

  “Thanks, Zorua.”

  Ba the farm, Natsume browsed through the photos Zorua had taken, flipping through shots of Ogerpon in a.

  In the images, Ogerpon could be seen fiddling with various items, its focused profile occasionally visible.

  While scrolling, Natsume instinctively reached out to scratder Zorua’s .

  “Suosuo.”

  Zorua didn’t resist. Instead, it tilted its head up, exposing its for easier access, purring tentedly as Natsume’s fingers scratched with just the right pressure.

  It looked just like a gy little kitten.

  The sight reminded Natsume of a Skitty that lived door when he was younger—an adorable little cat he absolutely adored.

  The only issue was that petting Skitty in front of Persian sometimes felt a little… morally ambiguous.

  And maybe… just a tiny bit thrilling (crossed out).

  Now, Zorua’s behavior bore a striking resembo that Skitty.

  “Well, it looks like everything’s fine,” Natsume said, his earlier worries dissipating after seeing Ogerpon's situation.

  “Hmm? What’s this?”

  His fingers uionally swiped to the photo, and a new set of images appeared on the s—ones uo Ogerpon.

  “Suosuo…”

  Zorua froze, its entire body stiffening as its gaze darted nervously.

  Just as it tried to sneak away, Natsume gently pced a hand on the back of its neck.

  The grip wasn’t forceful, but it carried a weight of authority that made Zorua feel as if even the slightest movement would spell doom.

  Pinned by the scruff of fate.

  For feline-like creatures, no matter how strong they are, the back of their necks is often their Achilles’ heel.

  In theory, you could single-handedly take them down just by grabbing this spot (crossed out).

  “So, care to expin this?”

  Natsume held up the phone, showing the gallery filled with 100 to 200 photos of him and Mei, all taken from various angles.

  Some were close-ups that seemed almost in his face, making it clear these were did shots taken without his knowledge.

  To Natsume’s surprise, Zorua’s photography skills were quite impressive, far surpassing his own.

  “Suosuo?”

  Feigning innoce, Zorua tilted its head and put on a wide-eyed, i expression.

  But bined with its naturally sly fox-like face, it didn’t look erustworthy.

  “Is that so?”

  “Suosuo.”

  Of course! I’m a mature fox, and mature foxes don’t lie.

  “Well, if you say so…”

  Natsume gave Zorua’s head a firm rub before scooping it up and casually tossing it onto the ground.

  Zorua nded gracefully, shook its tail, and sauntered off.

  As for the phohat didn’t matter. Sisume had bought it, Zorua figured it could just borrow it ter.

  Before leaving, Zave a cheeky little butt wiggle, elig a chuckle from Natsume.

  It’s just like a kid, he thought, shaking his head as he pulled out his phoo browse forums.

  Though most posts were from trainers, occasionally there’d be some on Pokémon farming and rang teiques, whiatsume found quite helpful.

  Gcell