Pokémon: Starting as a Farmer Instead of a Trainer

Chapter 202 Ponpo comes up with a plan to celebrate the two's birthdays (Seeking monthly votes)

January 28th is just an ordinary or busy workday for most people, but here at the manor... it is just like that.

Although Mingyou and Xiaozhao share the same birthday, they don't plan to make it too grand. They'll just buy a big cake and blow out the candles.

This wasn't the original plan, but these days Mingyou has been planting trees everywhere, and Xiaozhao has been working with her, so there's just not enough time to do this.

In the end, Xiao Zhao decided to keep it simple. There was no need to make a birthday celebration like a farewell ceremony. The important thing was to have a warm atmosphere. They would buy a big cake for everyone to eat together, so that Ponpo and the others could feel involved.

Mingyou didn't have any objections to this, after all, it wasn't a particularly important holiday, and apart from Ponpo, he didn't see many Pokémon looking forward to it.

In the evening, after finishing her work for the day, Mingyou and the Ghostly Deer went to Emerald Town to bring back the cake they had ordered. They placed it against the wall in the living room, waiting to build up the cake layer by layer when they were ready to eat it.

But just after he left, a figure suddenly peeked out of the window, stretched out a thick arm, and took the cake he had placed there directly out.

"Kirby~"

Unaware that the cake had been stolen, Mingyou had already arrived at the lake in the backyard.

Now, a patch of purple stems and leaves grows by the lake. As night falls, these stems and leaves begin to emit a faint glow. The water chestnuts planted here ripened yesterday, and the Pokémon living in the lake will pick them to eat.

Xiao Zhao was talking to the Ghostly Blackfish by the lake. She had originally planned to take it with her to Blueberry Academy, but after seeing so many Savage Bass, she decided to let it stay here as well.

"Has it already been agreed upon?"

Mingyou stepped forward and asked.

"Hmm." Xiao Zhao nodded slightly and turned around: "It agreed to stay here, so I'll have to trouble you to take care of it in the future... But I always feel like I'm not a responsible trainer, always troubling you to take care of my Pokémon."

"How could that be? Everyone likes you, and staying here is their own choice, whether it's the horned deer or the moon bear."

"yes……"

Xiao Zhao sighed softly, shook her head, and then asked, "Did you get the cake back?"

"Hmm, but is there anything else to prepare? I feel like it's a bit too monotonous to just eat a cake on my birthday. Although I haven't celebrated my birthday in a long time, I should at least cook something, right? Or have some wine? I have a few bottles of lightly intoxicating fruit wine at home."

"Let's forget about this one!"

Xiao Zhao quickly waved her hand, her face flushed. Remembering what happened after she got drunk that New Year's Day, she really didn't dare touch it again—what if something really happened…

"Okay, is your luggage all packed?"

"Well, there's not much of it to begin with."

"Let's go back inside first, it's cold outside. Then call Ponpo and the others over so we can cut the cake!"

As they spoke, the two turned and went back into the house, completely unaware that many eyes were secretly watching their every move all around them...

Back inside, the two talked about tomorrow. Xiao Zhao was leaving tomorrow morning, and tonight was her last night. To be honest, they were both a little reluctant to part.

As he walked into the living room, Mingyou suddenly realized that there wasn't a single Pokémon at home. This struck him as odd; dinner was just around the corner, and he wondered if they were all still playing video games. They had clearly told him they were coming over for cake.

Where's the cake, by the way?

Mingyou snapped back to reality, looking at where he had placed the cake. There was nothing there anymore. His expression froze, he paused for a few seconds, then rushed outside, shouting, "Snorlax! Where's my cake?!"

He and Xiao Zhao arrived in front of the arcade, where they saw Snorlax lying there comfortably asleep, without going in to play any games.

Mingyou reached out and patted him, calling out, "Wake up first, where's the cake I bought and left in the living room?"

Upon hearing the sound, Snorlax slowly opened its eyes, sat up, and rubbed its eyes.

"Kirby..."

I can't reach it...

"Then what's that cream on your lips?!"

"Kirby~"

It's a cake~

"..."

"Okay, okay, don't be impulsive."

Xiao Zhao put her hand on his shoulder. There was no need to be angry about it. Anyway, the cake was bought to be shared with everyone, so let's just pretend it was eaten ahead of time.

"..."

Mingyou had a headache. This was a birthday cake that he had ordered from Kuye City at a lot of money. He hadn't said you couldn't eat it, but it wouldn't be right to eat it all by yourself without saying a word. So what to do now... no birthday cake for his birthday.

"It's okay, it's not absolutely necessary. We can just make something with apples in the kitchen."

Xiao Zhao is quite open-minded. In fact, the reason she took leave to stay and celebrate her birthday with Ming You was just an excuse. Her real thought was simply to spend more time with him and help out at the manor.

Therefore, she didn't particularly care about birthdays, since she had never experienced one before...

After telling everyone to prepare for dinner, the two returned to the quiet room. It was then that Mingyou finally realized someone was missing and asked, "Where's Ponpo? I didn't see it at the video game store either."

"I don't know. I haven't seen it since you went out to get the cake."

"Strange... It doesn't usually run around like that. I'll go look for it later. I feel like the atmosphere at home is weird today."

"That's true to some extent..."

As they were talking, the two were about to walk into the kitchen, but at that moment, the lights suddenly went out, and the entire villa was instantly plunged into darkness. The two froze, blinking in surprise.

"Another power outage? That shouldn't be happening!"

Mingyou was a little confused. The ice on the lake had been broken, so there shouldn't have been a power outage unless someone had sabotaged the generator or turned off the main switch for the villa.

Xiao Zhao picked up her phone, turned on the flashlight, looked around, and said softly, "I'll go check the generator. You go check the main switch on the stairs."

"Um."

Just as the two were about to separate, they suddenly heard many footsteps approaching. Xiao Zhao immediately pointed her flashlight in that direction, but at that moment, the living room lights suddenly turned on!

The momentary discomfort made the two instinctively close their eyes, but when they slowly opened them again, the scene before them left them completely stunned.

"this……"

All the Pokémon living in the manor, whether it was Arcanine, Ursaring, or even Dusknoir, were gathered together, creating quite a lively scene.

Riolu and Garchomp stood to the side and fired their confetti cannons, which sprayed confetti that fell from above and landed on the two of them.

He Yuexiong stood at the back, holding up a banner that everyone had asked Si Mocha to write.

The words written on it were crooked and messy, wishing Mingyou and Xiaozhao a happy birthday. Although the handwriting was ugly, it was full of their feelings.

The two didn't know how to express their feelings at that moment, and watched as the bear cubs moved aside.

Zorua stepped on Snorlax's head, while Snorlax pushed a small cart in. On the cart was a ten-tiered cake, wafting the sweet and sour aroma of cream and fruit.

The design is very abstract, as if many people made it together without considering whether the combination was appropriate. Various farm fruit slices and jams are piled on top of the cream, as well as Pokémon shapes made of cream, but you can tell that they put a lot of effort into it.

Latias walked to the side, head held high and smiling smugly, as if she deserved a large part of the credit for the cake. Ralts, accompanied by Kirlia, was looking on with anticipation. This cake was inspired by the design it came up with after seeing Gigantamax Alcremie in the game, and then it was made with everyone else.

The cake stopped when it was pushed in front of the two of them. Mingyou and Xiaozhao stared at each other blankly, and even the most clueless among them understood what was going on.

Seeing this, the two smiled helplessly. Mingyou put her right hand on her hip, looked at Snorlax, and asked, "You didn't eat the cake I bought just to give it to us, did you?"

"Kirby~"

We shared it together.

Snorlax immediately revealed Latias and the others, leaving Mingyou speechless for a moment. He'd been tricked again... But this time, he was genuinely happy!

"You guys really are... huh?"

Just then, Ponpo, who had orchestrated all of this, finally appeared, holding a slightly smaller cake with Mingyou and Xiaozhao's names written on it, and their pictures drawn with jam.

"Mmm~"

"Happy birthday!"

With an expectant smile, Ponpo held up the cake for the two to blow out the candles. It had made the cake by itself by watching a video on Rotom on its phone, and it had failed several times before finally succeeding.

"You silly child..."

Mingyou wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, unsure of what to say. At that moment, Xiaozhao smiled and gently patted his shoulder, saying, "What are you thinking about? This is just a small token of everyone's appreciation. Let's blow out the candles together; everyone is waiting."

"Um!"

The two smiled at each other and, in sync, blew out the candles on the Ponpo cake together. Seeing this, Snorlax and the others laughed happily.

This is their way of repaying Mingyou for taking care of them for so long. They can't always let her work so hard while also taking care of them. As for what's next... it's time to eat cake!

Everyone cut the cake neatly together. Although there was some noise, it was still a warm and cozy occasion. Mingyou and Xiaozhao looked at the cake in their hands, neither of them expected that... the birthday celebration, which they hadn't originally planned to make too grand, would end up like this.

But this is not bad either!

Xiao Zhao scooped up a piece of cake with a spoon and put it in her mouth, nodding with satisfaction. Even Ponpo's desserts are so delicious.

"Mmm~"

Ponpo happily wiggled its body. It had been helping out in the kitchen all along. Although it still couldn't compare to Mingyou's cooking, it would try its best to learn.

"come on!"

Xiao Zhao smiled and encouraged the other person, but while enjoying the sweetness of the cake, she was quite emotional, as this was the first time she had ever celebrated her birthday.

Although she was invited to attend several birthday parties held by students at Blueberry Academy, she ultimately just sat on the sidelines, more like an outsider, and did not truly participate.

But this time... she truly felt the atmosphere of enjoying her birthday with her family.

Mingyou was enjoying Ponpo's creation when he suddenly noticed her expression. He watched as the girl slowed down her movements and tears welled up in her eyes. He was slightly taken aback and asked her instinctively.

"You cried?"

"No...no, I didn't!"

Xiao Zhao shook her head in a flustered manner, quickly wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand. Her face returned to its usual expression, pretending that nothing had happened, but Ming You could tell that something seemed to be on her mind.

So she reached out and gently placed her hand on the other person's shoulder, smiling as she said, "It's better to be happy today, everyone's here."

"Hmm~"

Xiao Zhao nodded slightly, smiled, and continued to enjoy her cake... This kind of life is enough, with Mingyou, Pengpeng, and everyone else...

……

(End of this chapter)