MunchMunch stared in wonder. The forest was so beautiful it made it hard to breathe — but in the very best way. It was like sunset all the time, with streams of sunlight spilling through the leaves.

  He held the Egg out into one of those beams. It sparkled — like a star sitting in his paws!

  Even the air felt soft. The calls of Pokémon and the rustle of leaves were hushed. It was like the whole forest had agreed it should be quiet.

  “Mama,” he whispered. Gastly smiled and didn’t correct him.

  Teddy caught up and rubbed the top of his head, which felt really good! And then Teddy reached down and took his paw so they could walk together. He happily tucked the Egg under one arm and walked with his Trainer, Gastly floating next to them.

  They had only been walking for a little while, MunchMunch enjoying holding his Teddy’s hand, when his trainer stopped.

  Ahead of them was another human. Except this one was smaller than Teddy. And he was sitting on the ground with his head between his knees, sniffling.

  It made MunchMunch’s heart hurt, but he had no idea what to do. Thankfully, his Trainer did!

  Which made sense. Because his Teddy knew how to do everything!

  He walked right up to crying boy and they started making sounds at each other. While they talked, MunchMunch noticed a small tree fall over a little way off the path.

  Now, MunchMunch didn’t know much about trees, but he was pretty sure they weren’t supposed to do that. So, he wanted to investigate! But just when he started skipping away, he remembered Mama Gastly saying it was dangerous in the forest.

  MunchMunch paused.

  “Gastly?” He asked.

  “Yes sweetie?”

  “Can you watch Happy for a little bit? I want her to be safe while I look at… stuff,” MunchMunch answered, petting the Egg like his Teddy pet him.

  “Who is Happy?” Gastly asked in confusion.

  MunchMunch held the Egg up into a sunbeam again, and it sparkled and glowed.

  “She is!” He said with a super big grin! “Whenever I look at the Egg, I feel so Happy! I think it is because she likes us to be happy,” he explained seriously.

  “And since I am named after my favorite thing, I thought she should be too!”

  MunchMunch watched as Gastly stared at him for a minute, before blinking really fast a couple times. He was going to ask if she got something stuck in her eye, and if she needed help.

  But then she smiled and said ok!

  “Thanks, Mama Gastly,” he said, MunchMunch-skipping off the path to see what had happened.

  ____

  Gastly watched as the baby waddled its way off the trail. If she was able to feel things as a ghost, she was sure MunchMunch would be the one to melt her heart.

  It was cute, how he was trying to hide the fact he was going to go explore something he knew he shouldn’t. Like she hadn’t seen the exact same tree fall. She snorted and floated slightly off the path, so she could hear and watch both the baby and the unhatched one.

  MunchMunch was right about one thing, it really was the prettiest Egg she had ever seen.

  Happy was the perfect name.

  ____

  It didn’t take long for MunchMunch to find the source of the commotion.

  He heard the rustling feathers as he walked around a bush and saw a tiny Pokemon!

  The Pokemon was looking at a tree very seriously.

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  Suddenly, with a grunt, he swung his staff and chopped the tree down!

  Which was amazing, because the Pokemon was a bird and less half his size!

  “Hi! I’m Munchlax!” He yelled, waving excitedly once the tree finished falling over.

  The Pokemon stopped and stared at him, adjusting its staff. “Farfetch’d,” it grunted.

  MunchMunch waddled closer, and then froze. What it was holding wasn’t a staff! He had no idea what it was, but it smelled soooooo good. It smelled like soup.

  “What… what’s that?” He whispered, starting at the staff-thing.

  “This is my leek,” the Pokemon responded proudly, puffing its chest out.

  MunchMunch felt his mouth watering.

  “It’s mine,” Farfetch’d said flatly, holding it protectively.

  “Oh! I would never take it!” MunchMunch answered hurriedly, doing his best to stop his mouth from watering. “Food is my most favorite-est thing, and it would make me so sad if someone took my food. So, I would never take anyone else’s food,” he explained earnestly. “It smelled so good! I’ve never smelled anything like it — I just have to ask my Teddy to get me one, too!”

  “You’re pretty cute, ain’t ya?” The Farfetch’d said, relaxing and walking over to MunchMunch.

  “No!” MunchMunch puffed out his cheeks. “I’m big and strong! I fought my first gym battle!”

  “Oh-ho! Is that so?” Farfetch’d laughed with a twinkle in his eye. “Can you do this?”

  And then he spun and used his leek to chop down another tree!

  MunchMunch gasped and fell back on his bottom!

  The air smelled like soup!

  “Whaaaat! Food can do that!?” He cried in astonishment.

  Farfetch’d laughed again. “No, just my leek, because my leek is special,” he responded proudly.

  “That’s so awesome!” MunchMunch shouted, balling his paws excitedly. Farfetch’d walked over and patted him with a wing.

  “It is, huh?”

  “Yea!” MunchMunch said enthusiastically. “But…what are you doing out here?” He asked.

  “What do you mean?” Farfetch’d said, sounding confused.

  “I heard it was dangerous in the forest. I even saw a little human crying back there, and he seemed so scared!”

  “Oh… shoot,” the Farfetch’d mumbled, sounding embarrassed. “I got so upset when he tried to order me to cut down a tree, I kind of wandered off and left him…”

  MunchMunch looked at Farfetch’d in confusion. “But… aren’t you cutting trees down anyway?”

  Farfetch’d huffed. “Yes, but because I want to, not because someone who isn’t my trainer told me.”

  “Oh,” MunchMunch nodded. That made sense. He knew he wouldn’t like being told what to do by someone who wasn’t his Teddy.

  Unless it was Nurse Chansey! MunchMunch loved her Soft-boiled eggs so much, he didn’t mind when she told him to do things!

  “That makes sense, but he did seem sad, too,” MunchMunch sighed.

  Farfetch’d huffed.

  “Yea, he is a good kid. Come-on, let’s head back.”

  MunchMunch skipped back with his new friend, super excited to introduce him to Mama Gastly!

  “Mama Gastly look! This is my friend! And he has a magic soup sword!” he shouted as soon as he saw her, the words tumbling out of his mouth.

  “Do you think I can get a magic soup sword, too?” He pleaded, just imagining how much more fun fighting would be if he had one!

  Gastly chuckled and nodded to Farfetch’d.

  “Hello,” she said with a smile.

  Farfetch’d regarded her. “Tsk, a ghost, eh?”

  “Yep!” MunchMunch shouted enthusiastically. “She is super strong and super nice and taught me everything I know!”

  “And she was there when I first hatched!”

  MunchMunch stared at Gastly and realized something.

  She made him feel just as happy as the Egg did! MunchMunch gave her the absolute biggest smile he could!

  “Oh she did, eh,” Farfetch’d said, still eyeing Gastly.

  “Then she must be pretty alright,” he stated simply. “Farfetch’d, at your service,” he finished with a bow that swung his leek out beside him.

  MunchMunch thought it looked really cool!

  Gastly blinked, and then smiled, floating lower.

  But before they could talk, the little human plowed into Farfetch’d and wrapped him in a hug, crying into his feathers all the while.

  MunchMunch thought it was funny - he could tell his new friend liked the hug, but was trying really hard to pretend he didn’t.

  “Alright, alright,” Farfetch’d grumbled, patting the tiny human with his wing. “Time to get going.”

  And then without another word, he turned and guided his human back towards Azalea.

  MunchMunch watched him go while his Teddy stood next to him. Just before he was out of sight, he turned and waved to MunchMunch. MunchMunch waved back as hard as he could!

  Then his Teddy patted his head and made sounds MunchMunch still couldn’t understand.

  But it was ok, because he understood what they meant.

  Good Job.

  Yep. MunchMunch would do anything for his Teddy.