(Lombre POV)
After returning from his meeting with Zygarde, Lombre made his way back toward the berry fields. His destination was the southern section of the farmland, where Noah and his small group had been sent earlier.
"Hah… what a tough day this is." (;ＴДＴ)
Lombre sighed as he walked along the narrow dirt path between the berry trees.
First of all… to think that I, Lombre, one of the supervisors of the berry fields, would actually get the chance to speak directly with one of our region's rulers…
Just remembering the meeting made his head feel heavy.
What do they want with that kid… Noah?
The thought brought back memories from two years ago.
Back then, the entire forest had fallen into chaos because of one unexpected event.
The sudden appearance of a human baby.
Even now, Lombre could still remember that day clearly. The child had been found alone at the edge of the forest, crying weakly. Judging by his condition, it was obvious he had been abandoned.
Many Pokémon pitied the child. But others… had a very different opinion.
Some suggested that the baby should simply be taken back outside the forest and left there.
It sounded cruel.
But to understand their reasoning, one had to know the history of the Pokémon living in this forest.
Many, if not most of the Pokémon residing here were descendants of Pokémon that had once been abandoned or mistreated by their human trainers.
Over time, they shared their stories with the native Pokémon who already lived here.
Stories of betrayal.
Stories of pain.
Stories of being treated like tools and then thrown away.
As those stories spread across generations, a deep mistrust toward humans slowly formed among the forest's residents.
However… not everyone shared that view.
There were still some Pokémon who believed humans weren't all the same.
Most of them belonged to the younger generation.
Of course, the oldest among these younger generation was already eighty-six years old.
Their belief was simple.
Judging something only by stories from the past was an outdated way of thinking.
Over the years, several Pokémon from the forest had willingly allowed themselves to be captured by traveling trainers.
Some of them later returned after their trainers retired… or after their trainers passed away. And when they returned, they told new stories.
Stories about being loved and cared for by their trainers.
Stories about how they grew stronger through training.
Stories about bonds.
For many Pokémon, the desire to grow stronger was something instinctive. Because of that, those stories had a powerful effect.
After hearing them, some Pokémon began moving closer to the outer edges of the forest.
Even knowing that there was a risk of encountering cruel humans… they were still willing to take that chance.
Lombre shook his head lightly.
Anyway… back to the main issue.
After endless arguments between the residents about what to do with the abandoned baby. In the end, unable to watch the argument continue any longer, the Elder personally stepped in.
The Elder declared that he would take responsibility for the baby herself.
Some Pokémon tried to protest. But the moment the Elder released a fraction of her pressure… the entire crowd fell silent.
No one dared argue after that.
Time passed.
Slowly, things began to change.
Even that eccentric Zoroark started appearing around the Elder's house more frequently.
At first, many residents were still wary. But as they watched the child grow, playing happily with the younger Pokémon of the forest, their worries gradually faded.
Lost in thought, Lombre continued walking until he finally reached the southern berry field.
Then, he suddenly stopped.
His eyes widened in shock.
(○_○)!!
What he saw in front of him… was something he definitely hadn't expected.
The land that had been barren earlier was now completely different.
What had once been an empty field had been transformed into neat rows of newly planted berry trees. The soil had been properly turned, leveled, and watered. Fresh seedlings poked out from the earth, their small leaves swaying gently in the morning breeze.
But that wasn't the only surprising thing.
Several other Pokémon were now inside the field as well.
There were Grass-type Pokémon like Oddish and Skiploom, happily tending to the soil and scattering small bits of nutrients around the young plants.
Nearby, Water-type Pokémon such as Poliwag and Wooper were helping water the field, splashing gentle streams of water across the rows.
It looked as if an entire farming team had suddenly appeared while he was away.
…What in the world happened here?
Lombre blinked in disbelief.
It seemed that many things had taken place during the short time he had been gone.
As he tried to process the situation, his gaze slowly shifted toward the center of the field.
There, standing among several Pokémon, was the small human child.
Noah.
The young boy was surrounded by Pokémon chatting excitedly while pointing toward different parts of the field, as if discussing the next step of their work.
"Ah, Lombre! You're here!"
The child had apparently noticed him.
Noah raised his hand and waved at him, signaling for Lombre to come closer.
"Lom… Lombre… Lom?" (What… exactly is going on here?)
Lombre asked in confusion as he approached.
Noah scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Well… you see… it's…"
***
1 hour ago
Kirlia and I had gone to the warehouse to get fertilizer. After finding the sacks we needed, we started heading back toward our field.
But on the way back, something caught my attention.
Other Pokémon were already hard at work in nearby fields.
A group of Lotad were carefully watering rows of plants. Streams of water shot from their mouths with what looked like the move Water Gun landing neatly across the soil.
In another field, a flock of Skiploom floated gently above the crops. From time to time, they released a wave of soft green energy across the land.
It was the Grass-type move Grassy Terrain.
From what I could observe, every time the green energy spread across the ground, the plants reacted almost immediately. Leaves became greener, stems grew firmer, and the berries themselves seemed to develop faster.
Interesting…
If my guess was right, the Grass-type energy within Grassy Terrain might accelerate plant growth. Instead of waiting for the seasons to change naturally, the plants could potentially mature much faster.
"Noah, what are you doing?"
Kirlia's voice snapped me out of my thoughts as she watched me walk toward a nearby group of Pokémon.
Instead of answering immediately, I pointed toward the fields.
"Kirlia, look at their crops. Don't the berries they're growing look really healthy?"
Kirlia followed my finger and examined the fields more closely.
The Lotad were growing Pecha Berry, while the Skiploom were tending rows of Cheri Berry.
Both fields looked excellent.
The berries were plump, vibrant, and clearly thriving.
I turned back to Kirlia with a hopeful expression.
"Do you think… they would help us with our field?"
Kirlia hesitated for a moment.
"This… might be worth trying."
After thinking it over, she nodded.
So the two of us approached the Lotad and Skiploom groups and asked if they would be willing to help us with our own field.
During the conversation, several Oddish and a few nearby Water-type Pokémon overheard us and joined the discussion as well.
At first, they were hesitant.
But after we promised that we would share some of the berries from our harvest with them later…
They finally agreed to help.
End of flashback.
***
"And that's what happened."
I gestured toward the field while explaining everything to Lombre, who stood beside me staring in disbelief.
The once empty land was now filled with rows upon rows of young berry trees. Pokémon moved between them, checking the soil or chatting among themselves as if this had always been their field.
After getting everyone's cooperation, we returned here and began planting the seeds. Once the seeds were placed in the soil, the Water-type Pokémon started the next step.
Several Poliwag, Wooper, and Lotad worked together to use Rain Dance, summoning a gentle rain that watered the entire field evenly.
While the light rain fell over the soil, the Grass-type Pokémon joined in.
A group of Skiploom and Oddish spread waves of green energy across the land using Grassy Terrain.
The results were immediate.
The seeds began sprouting almost instantly. Tiny shoots pushed through the soil and continued growing at a visible pace under the combined effects of rain and Grass-type energy.
After the rain stopped, another Pokémon stepped forward and used Sunny Day, bringing warm sunlight over the entire field to maximize the plants' growth.
With all those moves working together, the growth accelerated rapidly.
Before we even realized it, the once barren field had turned into a sea of berry trees.
The only unfortunate thing was…
None of them had berries yet.
Still, according to Lombre, even among berries, Sitrus Berry were notoriously difficult to cultivate, especially during their early growth stages.
So using Grassy Terrain to help the seedlings grow stronger had been a very good decision.
After all, the move was rich with Grass-type energy, which naturally benefited plant growth. And thanks to Rain Dance, the entire field had been watered evenly without missing a single plant.
Even so, there were still limits.
Once the plants had grown into full berry trees, they would still need several weeks before they could bear fruit.
Grass-type energy could help them grow…
But it couldn't completely skip the natural fruiting process.
So now, all we could do was to wait. 🌱