Following Grandpa Yuba's gaze, Victor felt a toothache coming on.
Of all of them, why did he have to pick that one?
Gary also followed his line of sight and looked at Grandpa Yuba in surprise, then glanced at Victor. He wanted to say something, but held his tongue.
"Did you find one?" the grandma asked. She and Grandpa Muji also looked over.
The Teddiursa, seeing their gazes, quickly ducked behind the large tree.
Grandpa Yuba nodded.
I knew it.
Victor couldn't help but sigh. He was all too familiar with the look in Grandpa Yuba's eyes.
It was a look the Vespiquen knew best of all.
Seeing the questioning looks from both grandpas, Victor explained the Teddiursa's situation.
"So what if it's traumatized? I'll raise it and help it heal, won't that be fine?" Grandpa Yuba said, then glanced at Shana, who was standing near Victor.
As far as he knew, this little girl had also suffered from serious trauma not long ago, and wasn't she doing just fine now?
Therefore, he believed that if he raised the Teddiursa with love, he could help it heal, too.
Victor stared at Grandpa Yuba, his gaze sharp.
He only looked away once he was certain that Grandpa Yuba's words were coming from the heart.
He then rubbed his temples and said, "How about this? I'll go ask its opinion?"
Grandpa Yuba nodded.
Victor walked over to the Teddiursa and crouched down.
He picked it up, feeling its soft fur, and spoke gently. "Teddiursa, there's a grandpa who would like to take you home. He will take very good care of you. Would you like to go with him?"
The Teddiursa tilted its head in confusion. From Victor's arms, it looked over at Grandpa Yuba and the others.
It then looked at the other Pokémon gathered around it and Victor, and shook its head, declining.
"Is that so? Okay. I'll tell him what you think," Victor said, patting its small head. He put the Teddiursa down, walked back to Grandpa Yuba, and relayed its decision.
The group sighed in disappointment, and Victor continued to show them the other Pokémon.
He kept introducing them, and Grandpa Muji and his wife kept offering their opinions. Even Shana and Gary chimed in.
But Grandpa Yuba felt that something was missing.
His heart was still set on that Teddiursa.
In the end, Victor knew he was still thinking about the Teddiursa, but there was nothing he could do.
The Teddiursa didn't want to go with him.
Grandpa Yuba also understood that he only wanted that specific Teddiursa, and he also knew it didn't want to go with him.
Finally, he said to Victor, "Owner Victor, can I go talk to the Teddiursa for a minute?"
Seeing Victor's expression, he quickly promised, "I swear I won't force it."
"Alright," Victor nodded in agreement.
He then led them back to the area near the swing set tree.
Grandpa Yuba mentally prepared his speech, then courageously walked over.
He saw the Teddiursa, and even though he had a speech all planned out, the moment he saw it, all the words in his head somehow turned into one sentence:
"Hey! I'll buy you honey to eat! Will you come with me?"
His voice was booming. The entire area instantly fell silent.
Grandpa Yuba wanted to slap himself.
Under the sun, the Combee, who had been collecting nectar from the flower garden, froze.
The Petilil and Vulpix came to Victor's side, quietly watching the scene.
Gothita and Mime Jr. also stood nearby, still holding kitchen utensils, and looked towards the tree.
Shana and her Tinkerbell held their breath.
Even the beauty-conscious Staravia stopped preening its feathers to watch.
Only Gengar continued to pop Cat's Ear crisps into its mouth, a true glutton.
Umbreon was gently rubbing its head against Gary's pant leg.
The Teddiursa, with its light brown fur and a brown, ball-shaped tail, tilted its small head, which was marked with a white crescent moon.
"Ursa?"
It felt the strong emotion coming from the human in front of it, and then it nodded.
"Ursa-ursa."
The group of people and Pokémon let out a collective sigh of relief. Victor then walked over with Gengar, Petilil, and the others.
Grandpa Yuba returned to the group, and Victor crouched down to ask the Teddiursa one more time.
"Teddiursa, are you sure you want to go with him?"
The Teddiursa nodded.
Victor smiled, then checked its status panel. The introduction now said that its psychological trauma had been partially healed.
He stood up and brought the Teddiursa over to Grandpa Yuba.
"Grandpa Yuba, before I hand Teddiursa over to you, I have a few conditions."
"First, someone from the Breeding House will come by every day to check on Teddiursa's condition. Its situation is special, after all. If we feel that your home isn't a suitable environment for it, we will bring it back."
In front of the Teddiursa, Victor phrased it gently.
Grandpa Yuba understood what he meant—he was just worried he wouldn't treat the Teddiursa well.
He nodded and said, "Come by anytime."
"Second, if Teddiursa itself feels that it's not a good fit, I hope you'll let it come back."
"I absolutely won't stop it."
With that, Victor looked at the Teddiursa in his arms, gently rubbed his cheek against its small face, and said softly, "If you're ever unhappy there, you can come back. This will always be your home."
He had no choice. To prevent the Teddiursa from relapsing, Victor had to set these rules.
Finally, he handed the Teddiursa to Grandpa Yuba.
"Then, Grandpa Yuba, on behalf of the Breeding House, I entrust Teddiursa to you."
"Thank you. I'll take good care of it."
Victor smiled and nodded.
When all was said and done, Victor walked them to the Breeding House gate, watching the three people and one Pokémon as their shadows stretched long in the setting sun.
Victor turned to go back inside.
"Ursa-ursa."
He heard the Teddiursa's voice from behind him and turned around.
The Teddiursa was holding some money in its paw and held it out to Victor.
Then it turned and ran to catch up with Grandpa Yuba, who was waiting in the distance.
Looking at the money in his hand, and then at the Teddiursa leaping into Grandpa Yuba's arms, Victor couldn't help but smile. His smile grew wider and wider.
A happy ending for everyone!
He was happy about the money, but it wasn't just about the money.
...
A moment earlier, as Grandpa Yuba was leaving with the Teddiursa, it had cried out to him and made a gesture.
Grandpa Yuba took out some money and gave it to the Teddiursa.
The Teddiursa took the money—it didn't count it, it didn't even know how—it just knew it had to give Victor something in return, and it knew Victor liked this stuff.
It slid out of Grandpa Yuba's arms, ran back to Victor, called out to him, and gave him the money.
...
Watching the Teddiursa run back to him, Grandpa Yuba's vision blurred.
Back then, he had just turned eighteen, playing a game with his friends. He saw a girl hiding behind a tree, shyly looking at him. On impulse, he had said:
"Hey, I'll buy you candy to eat. Will you come play games with me?"
And he saw another little boy, hiding behind a tree, looking at him with fear.
"Hey, Grandpa will buy you candy to eat. Will you come home with Grandpa?"
"Ursa-ursa."
He crouched down and felt a weight settle into his arms. He scooped it up and said with a heart full of contentment:
"Let's go. Grandpa will buy you honey to eat. Let's go home."
"URSA-URSA!"
...
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