Dinner was a mixed affair, as could only be expected with the amount and variety of Pokémon that seemed to be at the pasture. The Pansage who had accompanied me over from the trees grabbed a large sack, plucked a few berries out of it to munch on, and turned right back around to start hauling the berries back toward all the bugs. Everyone else clustered around a low countertop that seemed to have been built out here for this very purpose, piled with assorted foods.

The Bidoof gang was chowing down on what looked to be some sort of kibble from bowls, with Bibarel looming overhead and swatting at those who decided they wanted to try and have some of their neighbor's food as well. I wasn't sure if Bibarel was waiting his turn to eat, or if he was going to wind up having something different and didn't want to share with the cluster of pre-evolutions in his charge. It was a good thing they had a dedicated minder, as the group seemed to get in a fight or push at each other every time Bibarel turned around. It was good natured and playful, but they still made a headache-inducing ruckus about their meal.

A pair of Azurill were strapped into toddler seats with trays in front of them, with a scattering of cubes I assumed to be Pokéblocks arranged before them. The pair were almost adorably mismatched with one another, as one of them was stuffing their face with a borderline aggressive display, cheeks bulging outward as they desperately tried to stuff another Pokéblock in their mouth. I assumed that to be the excessively caffeinated-looking one from earlier, that bounced around more than the basketball at a professional game.

The other Azurill almost seemed to be exaggerating its manners in comparison, taking small, measured bites. That must be the chill one from the pond. When I gave another brief wave in their direction, they perked up and offered an energetic "Hiiii!", nodding in my direction, before resuming their mock-serious display of good manners as they ate.

It seems that the birds out in the field weren't really part of the meal, or perhaps they had seed scattered for them already, and that's why they had been out pecking. I was just as glad I didn't have to eat with birds around, momentarily remembering unpleasantly trying to have dinner on a pier with the seagulls about. I hope Wingull aren't that irritating in the Pokémon world, but I won't hold my breath.

The Dunsparce didn't have their food doled out individually, they just circled around and ate from what seemed to be a communal food pile of a different sort of kibble. Honestly, if I wanted to just laze about and relax, I was going to have to try and spend some time as a Dunsparce. The little buggers didn't even keep their eyes open to eat, merely sprawling out with their faces in their food and their drill-shaped tails wiggling about in contentment. They didn't even chatter or talk amongst themselves, as if even that would be too much effort, they just ate in relative silence.

"There y'are." I had been hesitating to try and pick a spot to settle in, not knowing where I was supposed to get my food, before the issue was taken out of my hands as I was hoisted up off the ground again. 'To! Di-tto!' "Don't surprise me like that!" My posture stiffened in surprise, as much as my gelatinous blob could firm, and I was set down atop the counter not too far from the seated Azurill. "Oh don't make a fuss, I get it, you're hungry. I've never fed a Ditto before though, so we're going to give you a little bit of this and that, and see what you wind up liking. Alright?"

I rolled my eyes at that remark, crossing my arms in front of me. She's nice, and I really am grateful she's not complaining about letting me sneak in and getting fed besides, but the babying... ugh. I suppose I still was a newborn Pokémon, so just deal with it and let her do her thing. She held out a piece of food, a pellet that looked like what the Bidoof were eating, and I plucked it from her fingers and stuffed it into my mouth.

My face immediately twisted into a downturn of dislike. It wasn't an intensely awful flavor, I totally could eat it, but it tasted vaguely like peanuts, but mixed with dirt. And the texture rubbed me the wrong way, it was coarse and grainy, probably vitamins or something mixed into the food. Either way, it was not making it into my top ten, and I stuck my tongue out exaggeratedly, making an 'x' with my arms in Mable's direction. "You're such an expressive Pokémon. At least I know what your opinion on that was, huh? Well, lets try one of these."

She plucked a Pokéblock up, which the hyperactive Azurill gave a desperate stare toward despite having a stuffed-full mouth. "Oh hush, you've had yours already. You can give one to a new friend." The Azurill peeked between the Pokéblock, then at me, while chewing and desperately trying to swallow the food in their mouth. Their expression remained displeased, like they wanted to argue, but the food-cube was in my grasp before they could make more of a fuss.

When I pushed the cube into my mouth and felt it dissolve atop my tongue, I immediately understood why the Azurill was so gosh-darn bouncy if it was eating these on the regular. It was sweet. Achingly, borderline sickeningly sweet. I was convinced I just ate a sugar cube coated in food dye or something very similar to it. Again, it wasn't something I couldn't eat, and it might even perk me up a bit if I did, but the taste was so strong I had to struggle to finish off what I had already placed in my mouth. By now, a high-pitched 'Zu-zu! Zuuuu!' was wailing around, so I had to listen to the wailing "Mine! Mine! Miiiine!" from the blue bubble-mouse.

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Sticking my tongue out again, I made a less emphatic 'x' with both arms, but still did so. "Picky, picky, picky. Well, every Pokémon has their own tastes, we just have to keep trying." Mable reached over and stroked the top of my head, which left her humming thoughtfully and me releasing reflexive burbling sounds of enjoyment. Her other hand was stroking atop Azurill's head as well, trying to soothe them from their temper-tantrum at having to let me get a taste. "Well, since Bibi brought you in from the forest, maybe you just don't have a taste for processed food. Here, try an Oran berry."

The plump blueberry-esque sphere certainly smelled nice, so I plopped it into my mouth and gummed at it aggressively, a mixture of it dissolving and the squishing letting the sweet and yet less intense flavor of the Oran berry coat the inside of my mouth. Gulping down the berry, I nodded excitedly, and held both hands up toward the tanned woman, asking for another. "Yep, you're a berry baby alright. Well, that's easy enough. If you decide you like it out in the trees out back, you can eat out there with some of the other Pokémon, but I won't stop you from coming around to share in the company and eat." Mable seemed amused by my outstretched hands, and began to tease a berry just out of my reach, tugging it back when I leaned forward to lunge at it.

I turned my head aside, pretending to lose interest in the berry, not wanting to be toyed around with. Hopefully if I played it aloof and unbothered, she would stop teasing me with it. But no, that only seemed to make her laugh all the more, pushing the berry up against my cheek and then rolling it around her fingers with surprising dexterity, making it vanish into her palm like a magic trick. 'Diiiiiit!' "Stooooop!" I complained up at her, patting at my stomach as if it was going to rile up sympathy and get me fed properly.

She placed a small pile of seven-or-so berries on the counter in front of me, letting me have at them. "Alright, alright, don't get yourself all riled up. It's just a little bit of harmless fun. You're too expressive to not tease a little bit." I grabbed another Oran berry and began eating happily, peering around at the others. Some of them had already finished eating in the interlude.

The Bidoof horde wandered off to play around, meandering through the pasture and tackling into each other. The Dunsparce had moved back to their dirt pile to resume their building and/or playing, I still couldn't tell which. It was mostly me, the Azurill pair, and Bibarel. Bibarel was eating some red, lumpy-looking berry of his own. Based on his panting and the watering around his eyes, it looked spicy, but he had a happy expression.

Mable had turned her attention back to the Azurill while I ate, and unfastened them from their seats. One of them, yawning and rubbing at its face, promptly waddled along in the direction of the pond at a sedate pace. The other, however, didn't seem to have forgiven me for taking one of its Pokéblocks away. That, or they were infuriated that I hadn't decided it was the best food in the world. As I plopped the last of my berries into my mouth, feeling pretty satisfied, Azurill bounded up from their seat once unstrapped and leveled a glare in my direction. They tensed their posture, jumped back to land on their tail like a spring, and hurled their entire body forward in a launch right at me.

It wasn't like the playful tackle of the Bidoof when they piled up on me earlier, this time there was the glowing sheen of energy of a proper move being involved. Instead of pure white, I noticed this one had a vague light-blue to the sheen, and that was all I had time to take in. Their head smacked into my side and caught me off guard. I grunted at the sensation, being knocked back and off the counter even with my wobbly body trying its best to act as a shock absorber. I bounced a few times before rolling to a halt. The Azurill raised its head and strutted like a boxer who just won the championship, before Mable lifted her up. "No! No fighting, Azurill! We use our words! You're going into time out!"

Mable's attention shifted to me as I lifted myself up out of the dirt, shaking my head after the impact. "You alright?" When I gave a hurried nod, she sighed and seemed relieved. "Good. I know Azurill isn't a trained battler, but you took that Bounce right in the face. I'll be right back to check you up proper." Azurill mewled pitifully, sniffling as if they were the ones who had suffered at being dangled about and 'caught' like that, but Mable merely rounded right back on them. "And you, little missy, don't you use those Fake Tears on me! I can tell when you're faking it! Time out. Now!"

Mable vanished back into the ranch house, taking Azurill with her. "Huh. I almost feel bad about taking food from a little girl, but I think flying leap-slamming me in the face knocked that right out of me." I rubbed at my face, smacking myself gently to try and get some energy flowing through me. I had been tired before, and now I was fed and embarrassed at getting attacked. I remained in place, just waiting for Mable to come back, but my eyelids felt like they were anchors. In no time at all, I felt my blobby posture go more slack and I eased into a 'laying down' puddle, yawning heavily. "I'm fine, Mable can wake me up if she really needs to..."

After that sound argument to myself, I was ready to drift off to sleep. Still, one errant thought popped into my head before the drowsiness could overtake me. "Wait... does this mean I just lost my first Pokémon battle...?"