At the very edge of the farm, the yet-to-be-named gym was finally complete.
Even now, Natsume still hadn't decided on a name for the gym or designed a distinct and recognizable badge.
The badges of those long-established gyms—just randomly pick one, and you'd find people who could explain its design in detail.
Things like what the symbol represents, what a single line across it signifies…
Whether those meanings were genuinely intended by the original designers or forcibly added later was unclear.
But at the very least, the explanations sounded reasonable, so most people just went along with them.
As for Natsume, he still hadn't come up with a solid idea yet.
When it came to design, to be honest, he wasn't very good at it.
So, he decided to leave the task to his Indeedee's younger sister and Rotom.
…Just kidding.
It was his gym, after all. There was no way Natsume would really just dump all the work on his Pokémon.
After a long discussion with Indeedee's sister and Rotom, they finally settled on a general design direction.
Only then did he hand over the finer details to them for refinement.
When Natsume left that day, Rotom was zipping back and forth in the air, declaring with great enthusiasm that it would create a badge he'd be satisfied with.
Natsume planned to check in later to see how things were coming along.
As for the gym's interior design, that was primarily Slowking's responsibility.
Lately, Slowking had developed an interest in home design.
That old house, which no one really lived in anymore, had been entirely remodeled by Slowking into something with a clean, minimalist aesthetic—very much the kind of style modern young people liked.
Since Slowking seemed to enjoy it so much, Natsume simply handed this job over to it.
Slowking: …Life is harder than when I was wandering in the wild.
Grumbling aside, Slowking still put serious thought into the layout.
And in the end, it arrived at one conclusion—
Overly flashy setups usually end in a beatdown.
A straightforward, no-nonsense gym was the way to go.
If a Gym Leader spent more time on theatrics than on actual strength, they'd just end up like the Cerulean Sisters, running a water ballet act on the side.
Rather than putting effort into fancy tricks, it was better to focus on crushing newcomers—that was the mark of a proper Gym Leader.
"Mew~"
Right on cue, the ever-enthusiastic Mew, who had originally insisted on helping with the gym's construction, floated out of nowhere.
This little guy had the classic attention span of a child—
Three days of enthusiasm, two days of slacking off.
At first, Mew had been bursting with ideas, eagerly throwing out suggestions.
But over time, its interest waned.
Nowadays, it treated gym work like a miserable desk job, arriving each day with the expression of a salaryman who hated his life.
Eventually, Natsume simply grabbed it by the scruff and tossed it out.
Since it wasn't doing anything useful here, it might as well go train Hisuian Zorua and the others instead.
In the past two days, Natsume had also been working on The Armor of Reverence and The Armor of Curses.
If things went smoothly, he might even obtain them soon.
As for Misdreavous' evolution? The Dusk Stone had been prepared long ago.
The moment Misdreavous was ready, it could evolve anytime.
"And here I thought you'd run off."
Catching the floating Mew in his arms, Natsume ruffled its fur before flicking its forehead twice.
"Mew mew!"
Trapped in his arms, Mew flailed around, protesting with tooth and claw.
This is all your fault, Natsume! You were the one who threw me out!
I'm completely innocent here!
"I made a lot of Berry Jelly tonight."
"Mew!!"
I take it back! This is all on me!
Mew immediately switched gears, clutching onto Natsume's shirt with tiny paws, its gaze filled with unwavering determination.
I am Mew, the legendary wanderer of the world—who could ever make me bow?
…
But snacks are a different matter.
Everything else was non-negotiable, but snacks? Now that was something worth discussing.
Mew shamelessly rolled around in Natsume's arms, acting cute and sucking up to him.
As flashes of white light flickered, Mew's shape constantly changed—
One moment it was an adorable Jigglypuff.
The next, it had transformed into a tsundere Alolan Vulpix.
As Natsume was given a flirtatious wink, it almost felt like little pink hearts were floating in the air.
He shamelessly enjoyed it for a moment.
Then, without hesitation, he grabbed the little fox by its armpits, lifted it up, and suddenly let go.
Mew, still floating mid-air where Natsume had lifted it, tilted its head in confusion.
"Alright, alright."
"I'll give you something to eat when we get back."
After patting Mew's head, Natsume pushed open the gym's doors.
At the same time, he pulled out a small notebook from his pocket, filled with notes on things that needed checking. There was quite a list.
Compared to last time, the gym was already looking much more complete.
The battle arena, the resting area, the healing machines—everything necessary for battles was fully equipped.
Mew, like a child at an amusement park, zipped around the gym, darting from one spot to another in excitement.
"Yadon."
With its hands behind its back and a pair of black-rimmed glasses perched on its face, Slowking strolled over.
Slowking was quite satisfied with the gym it had helped design and renovate.
Aesthetic appeal aside, it had definitely maximized practicality.
Oh, and Slowking had also taken the chance to buy something it had been curious about for a while—a smart toilet.
Ever since seeing one online, it had been itching to try it out.
But before, there was never an opportunity. Natsume didn't really care about smart toilets, so Slowking never had a reason to get one—until now.
After finally buying one, Slowking's verdict:
…That's it?
It was kind of cool at first. But then, that was all.
A bit of a letdown.
"You've worked hard, Slowking."
"I'll make you a big meal when we get back."
Natsume raised his hand, instinctively reaching out to pat Slowking's head.
Ever since coming to the farm, this had become a habit.
Whenever he saw a Pokémon, he had the urge to give it a couple of pats.
But just as he was about to, he noticed Slowking's Shellder companion glaring at him from atop its head.
After thinking for a second, Natsume decided to lower his hand.
"Yadon."
Slowking nodded, accepting Natsume's words.
Honestly, it hadn't been that hard.
For Slowking, the amount of work was barely more than a post-meal stroll.
More like a little warm-up for its brain than anything else.
But since Natsume had said so, it might as well go along with it.
Yes, these past days had been so exhausting.
Glancing at Natsume, Slowking nodded again, looking rather pleased.
In some ways, raising a Slowking was a lot like raising a Border Collie.
That is—both tend to look down on their trainer's intelligence.
Though, for the most part, Slowking didn't actually judge Natsume.
Just… sometimes, it felt like his brain short-circuited a little.
"Mew~"
After finishing its little tour, Mew returned to Natsume's side.
It could barely wait to see the gym in action.
Once everything was up and running, it was bound to be exciting every day!
It could even play a special role in the gym itself!
Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up!
Its big, fluffy tail brushed against Natsume's face, urging him forward.
"Alright, alright, I got it."
"I'll get this done in the next couple of days."
Giving Mew's tail a light smack, Natsume responded with a bit of exasperation.
He had to admit—sometimes, he had a bit of a procrastination problem.
He kept thinking, There's no rush. There's still time.
I can handle it later.
Unless someone lit a fire under him, he never felt a sense of urgency.
"Mew~"
Good~
Hearing Natsume's definite response, Mew's big eyes squinted happily.
It looked quite pleased.
After double-checking all the facilities in the gym and confirming everything was in order, Natsume started checking off items in his notebook.
"The battle arena's fine too."
Standing at the edge of the battlefield, he tested the mechanics a few times.
Everything switched smoothly. No noticeable issues.
But whether it would still function properly after a battle remained to be seen.
On paper, it was supposed to work just fine.
But as everyone knew—
Paper specs existed to get slapped in the face.
Every year, there were supposedly unbeatable "Galactic Battleships" in competitive play.
And every year, they'd take off… only to immediately crash like a Black Hawk Down scenario.
"Slowking."
"Yadon."
"Hit the battlefield with some full-power moves."
"Yadon."
Tilting its head, Slowking took a moment to process Natsume's request.
Then, powerful psychic energy surged forward.
Various Psychic-type moves burst from Slowking's hands.
Compared to Water-type techniques, Slowking seemed far more gifted in Psychic abilities.
It wielded them with effortless precision.
Before long, the battlefield was full of craters from Slowking's relentless barrage.
Even though it had been reinforced, the rocky terrain didn't last long under the onslaught.
"Yadon."
Is this enough?
Retracting its hand, Slowking glanced at Natsume.
If this continued, the battlefield would be completely wrecked.
And make no mistake—Slowking could do that.
After all, this battlefield was mainly designed for beginner trainers.
If a high-level trainer came in for a challenge, there was a more advanced arena in the back.
It might not be necessary, but Natsume had prepared one anyway.
At worst, it could just serve as an extra play area for his Pokémon.
"Alright, looks good."
After switching between the grassy and volcanic terrains a few times, Natsume was satisfied and checked off the battlefield test.
Returning the rocky terrain to its default setting, he looked at the crater-filled ground—then turned to Mew.
"Mew~"
Noticing Natsume's gaze, Mew rolled its eyes before lazily floating to the edge of the battlefield.
Its eyes gleamed, and a surge of Ground-type energy rippled outward.
The solid ground moved like flowing water.
The uneven craters quickly smoothed out, restoring the field to pristine condition.
An alternative use for Earth Power.
Also known as—an excellent tool for construction work (scratch that).
For Mew, the form and function of a move had long ceased to be rigid concepts.
If it wanted, it could create entirely new techniques no one had ever seen before.
Like shaping flames into a cat's paw to scratch someone.
For Mew, that wasn't difficult at all.
Those preset moves? Boring.
Tricky, flashy tricks? Much more interesting.
Under Mew's influence, a lot of Pokémon on the farm had started thinking the same way.
They no longer used moves in the standard, predictable manner.
Even something as straightforward as Flamethrower could be played around with.
"Mew~"
After smoothing out the battlefield, Mew floated back to Natsume's side.
Pouting slightly, it pulled an pokeblock out of nowhere and popped it into its mouth.
Then, sneaking a glance at Natsume—seeing that he hadn't noticed—it stuffed another one in.
It had gotten these from Manaphy.
Sure, Natsume knew it had them.
But as long as it insisted it didn't—well, that settled that.
Before leaving, Natsume made sure to securely lock all doors and windows.
He also gave the Ursaring family another reminder to keep up their patrols.
He really didn't want to return to the Gym next time only to find another Pokémon hiding inside.
Natsume welcomed Pokémon to live on his farm—he really did.
But he wasn't too fond of them sneaking in without permission.
Especially when he was seriously focused on something.
---
Back home, Natsume sought out his Indeedee sister.
Rotom, noticing that the previous videos had gained decent traction, had been busy making more content in recent days.
Its account was finally seeing some success.
At the very least, given Natsume's current level of popularity, the views and revenue were quite promising.
Of course, the income itself didn't really matter.
Neither Natsume nor Rotom particularly cared about that.
Natsume had no plans to make a living off it.
And as for Rotom, that went without saying.
If it ever wanted something, it could just ask Natsume directly.
I'm Natsume's Pokémon—what's wrong with asking him for money?
Absolutely nothing.
"Ai-yi."
Upon seeing Natsume, Indeedee sister greeted him with a gentle smile.
Then, she pulled out a few design drafts from behind her back.
It was clear she had been working on them seriously.
In the trash can, Natsume also spotted numerous crumpled-up sheets of paper—
Apparently, all the drafts she had discarded for not meeting her standards.
And Rotom?
That guy had been kicked out for being more of a hindrance than a help—
Always getting in the way and coming up with a bunch of impractical ideas.
Indeedee sister had been polite about it.
But the same couldn't be said for Chansey, who had already started treating her like a little sister.
At this rate, Chansey was showing signs of becoming a second Persian.
After all, it was a doctor.
A battlefield doctor, no less.
One of those "kill all the enemies so there aren't any wounded" types.
That was pretty much the definition of a pink demon.
Of course, Rotom wasn't completely useless.
It had found numerous badge design drafts online, along with some classic design principles and techniques.
All of which were incredibly helpful for Indeedee sister's work.
If not for Rotom's habit of coming up with outlandish ideas, she wouldn't have minded working with it.
Provided it stopped trying to turn the badge into a hologram or sketching a giant aerial view of the farm on it.
"Ai-yi."
Spreading out the design sheets, Indeedee sister began explaining her concepts and thought process to Natsume.
After some discussion, Natsume made his choice.
The selected design featured a round badge with a small, pointed protrusion at the top.
The colors were primarily red and blue, depicting both vast wilderness and the ocean.
At the center, a small Poké Ball symbol was embedded.
The color scheme bore a slight resemblance to Rotom.
Was this her way of thanking Rotom for its help?
That said, Indeedee sister hadn't considered adding any elements representing herself.
She even refused to include anything related to her in the badge's design.
To her, this was simply part of her job.
Nothing more, nothing less.
The only headache left was—
"What should we name the Gym?"
Sitting on a floor covered with design sketches—
Natsume, Indeedee sister, Mew, and Slowking exchanged glances.
Did anyone here actually have a knack for naming things?
"Gaaw-gaaw-gaaw!!"
I have an idea! Let me say it! Let me say it!
Suddenly, a loud, grating voice rang out.
Corviknight's large head squeezed in through the window—
Its face brimming with excitement, as if overflowing with ideas.
However…
"Slowking, shove this guy back out."
Without hesitation, Natsume pointed a finger.
And Slowking, sitting beside him, obediently used Psychic to push Corviknight's head right back out the window.
"Gaa-gaa!"
I object! I object!
Corviknight protested indignantly.
But with a crisp snap, the window was shut—
Completely cutting off its voice.
To prevent further disturbances, Slowking even reinforced the room's soundproofing with its psychic abilities.
Ensuring that Corviknight's protests wouldn't reach them.
It wasn't discrimination or anything.
It was just that Corviknight's taste in names was... let's say, unconventional.
Natsume had asked for its input before.
And the results?
Either cringey anime references, outdated "trendy" names from the early 2000s—
Or the kind of over-the-top edgy names straight out of a chuuni's diary.
Honestly, as long as Corviknight didn't blurt out something like Fairy Tail, Natsume would already be satisfied.
Like they always said—everyone had their own unique talents.
Sometimes in… peculiar areas.
Slowking, for instance, had more talent in Psychic abilities than Water-type moves.
And Corviknight?
Well, its strongest talent seemed to be… abstract thinking.
"This is such a headache."
Scratching his head, Natsume realized he had just uncovered yet another area where he lacked skill.
Great. His already vast knowledge gaps had expanded once again.
"Ai-yi?"
How about… just using the place name?
Indeedee sister, sitting obediently beside Natsume, raised a small hand.
Many Gyms simply used their location as their name.
Though sometimes, special Gyms would pick unique names to highlight their identity.
As for what made Natsume's Gym special…
You could challenge either a Gloom or a Ting-Lu.
Whether you were a prodigy trainer or an average one—
There was a well-deserved beating waiting for you.
"That works too."
After some thought, Natsume found the idea reasonable.
Following a bit more discussion, the Gym was temporarily named Sunnyhill Gym.
It sounded decent enough, and both Natsume and his Pokémon found it acceptable.
Except for the exiled Corviknight.
"Gaaw-gaaw-gaaw!"
Damn it! How is that better than my Peerless Gym?!
Corviknight sulked in frustration.
As for that name?
Natsume found it a little… embarrassing.
Rejected.
And with that, the Gym's preparations were nearly complete.
***************************
Read advanced chapters ahead of everyone else on my P@treon.
P@treon/GodDragcell