When Cole returned from school at noon the next day, his mom told him that Landorus and Enamorus had already left.
He sighed at the news.
After lunch, he went to check on Mt. Olympus before heading back to school.
Since Cole would be away, the Pokémon would handle all the tree-digging tasks themselves. He had already assigned their duties, so they just needed to follow the plan.
On his way to school, a question weighed on his mind: Who should he ask to transform his Grade-A berries into Pokéblocks? It was time to enhance his Pokémon's diet.
Though his senior Emely was skilled, he decided not to ask her this time. She was still a student, and he felt these precious Grade-A berries needed a more experienced professional.
'Maybe I should learn to make Pokéblocks myself?' Cole thought suddenly. It would be easier than constantly searching for others to help with his Pokémon's food.
But time was scarce now — between school, managing the orchard, and helping his Pokémon and berry trees manage their energy, he barely had a free moment.
Making Pokéblocks was challenging enough, and working with Grade-A berries was even more demanding. The skill required extensive practice.
There simply wasn't enough time!
"Ah..." Cole sighed, "I'll have to postpone learning to make Pokéblocks for now."
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
That afternoon after school, he greeted Daisy and headed to the Coumarine Gym with a bag of berries.
The gym apprentice Chaise welcomed him warmly.
"Cole, are you here to see Elder Ramos?"
"Yes, is he in the garden?" Cole asked.
Chaise's expression turned troubled, "Oh dear, Ramos has been struggling lately because of an Exeggutor."
Someone had recently given Ramos an Alolan Exeggutor, not knowing it was pregnant. The Pokémon's difficult temperament had led to frequent conflicts, and at his age, Ramos couldn't handle the strain. His spirits had been low for several days.
"Is that so?" Cole asked worriedly, "Is Ramos alright?"
"He's fine." Chaise replied, "Just tired and low on energy."
"I'll go check on him."
After learning Ramos's location from Chaise, Cole hurried over.
The old man had a special garden for housing Pokémon. When Cole reached the entrance, he heard agitated cries from inside.
Through the open garden gate, Cole saw Ramos trying to calm down an Alolan Exeggutor lying on the ground — undoubtedly the one Chaise had mentioned.
The Alolan Exeggutor, a regional variant, differs from the normal Grass and Psychic-type Exeggutor by having Grass and Dragon typing — an adaptation to Alola's unique climate.
Though Alolan Exeggutor are typically gentle, this one was agitated from being pregnant in an unfamiliar environment.
Over the past few days, Ramos had tried various methods to calm it, but nothing worked well. The slightest disturbance would startle it into making distressed sounds.
"Ramos!" Cole called out softly.
"Ah, it's Cole." Ramos turned, his expression weary.
Seeing the stranger appear, the Exeggutor grew agitated again, its three heads twisting about in disagreement.
Seeing this, Cole released his Chikorita.
"Chikorita, try to calm down Exeggutor's emotions."
"Chiko~"
Chikorita responded cheerfully and immediately began releasing a fresh, refreshing scent.
sniff sniff sniff...
The Exeggutor's three heads twitched their noses, and its emotions began to settle under the calming scent.
While Chikorita's scent once only brought peace to people, after awakening its species ability with Enamorus's help, its fragrance could now soothe extreme emotions and calm Pokémon's hearts.
"Chiko~ Chiko~"
Chikorita pranced happily to Exeggutor's side, shaking its head until the leaf fell off with a snap.
"Chikorita..." Cole started to stop it but swallowed his words.
Never mind, let it be.
Chikorita offered its leaf to Exeggutor, who gratefully accepted the kind gesture and munched on it while Chikorita watched eagerly.
After eating the leaf, Exeggutor became noticeably calmer.
"Chiko~ Chiko~"
Chikorita bounced with joy at the success.
Sensing Chikorita's goodwill, Exeggutor extended each of its three heads to nuzzle the little one affectionately.
"Chiko~ Chiko~"
Encouraged by this response, Chikorita grew more determined. With concentration evident on its small face, it used Overgrow to produce another leaf and offered it again.
Exeggutor eagerly accepted each leaf Chikorita offered. By the third leaf, the little Pokémon was completely exhausted.
But the effort had paid off — Exeggutor's anxiety had fully dissolved.
Just as expected!
Cole picked up his worn-out Chikorita with a resigned sigh.
"Will you ever learn not to overdo it?"
"Chi-ko~"
Chikorita responded weakly, its small eyes full of innocence.
Ramos looked at the Chikorita in Cole's arms and said, "This Chikorita of yours has extraordinary talent!"
Cole smiled and replied, "It does indeed have some talent."
Ramos nodded, "Not bad, raise it well."
Seeing Exeggutor finally at peace, his expression softened with relief.
"Thanks to you — I was at my wit's end."
Cole said, "Exeggutor just needs time to adjust to the new environment. It'll get better."
Ramos nodded silently and led him out of the garden.
"What brings you here today?" He asked as they walked.
"I came to ask if you could recommend a breeder who's skilled at making Pokéblocks." Cole said.
Ramos looked at him in surprise, "Didn't your senior make Pokéblocks for you before? Why do you need someone else?"
Cole handed the bag he was carrying to him, "This is a gift for you."
Ramos curiously accepted the bag, opened it to find berries inside, picked one up, sniffed it, and took a tentative bite.
"A-grade berries?"
Cole nodded with a smile, "That's right. I'd like to find a breeder who can make Pokéblocks with A-grade berries."
Ramos furrowed his brow, "Where did you get these? Wasn't your A-grade berry tree just transplanted recently? How did it fruit so quickly? And these aren't just Ganlon's Eye berries."
"Due to some special circumstances, I obtained more A-grade berry trees, and they've all started bearing fruit." Cole replied hesitantly.
Ramos looked at him in surprise, then simply nodded without pressing further.
Cole didn't consider the old man an outsider and hadn't planned to hide much from him, but seeing that Ramos didn't ask more questions, he kept quiet.
"I'll accept the berries. Tomorrow's the weekend — you don't have school, right? Come to my place, and I'll take you to meet someone." Ramos said.
"Great!" Cole's face lit up with a bright smile, "Should I prepare or bring anything tomorrow?"
"Don't bring anything!" Ramos glared at him in exasperation.
Cole stayed longer that day, not returning to Mt. Ascendant until dark.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
Early the next morning, Cole rode Captain Talonflame to the Coumarine Gym. Instead of departing immediately, Ramos had him join for breakfast, and they didn't leave until almost noon.
Ramos rode his Tropius, leading Cole as they flew east from Coumarine City. They quickly left the city behind, reaching the ocean.
Cole spotted a small seaside town. Though sparsely populated, it seemed prosperous — all the houses were beautifully built.
Ramos led him through the town, finally stopping in front of a house by the sea.
"We're here!" Ramos said.
"This is it?" Cole asked softly.
The house before them wasn't large — just an ordinary red brick building — but behind it stretched an enormous garden, or more accurately, a botanical garden.
"Bryan! Bryan? I'm here, open up!"
As Cole wondered who lived here, Ramos began shouting at the door.
He had never seen the old man like this before and couldn't help but stare wide-eyed.
The name Bryan seemed oddly familiar.
Just then, a beautiful and elegant Swanna descended from the sky, landing gracefully in front of the door and greeting Ramos with familiarity.
Cole felt a subtle pressure when the Swanna looked his way — perhaps it wasn't just his imagination.
With a creak, the red brick house's door opened, and an elderly man in a gray apron stepped out.
The man's hair, half snow-white and half golden, was neatly combed back. Despite his advanced age, he stood straight and dignified — clearly a healthy and vigorous senior.
"I knew it was you — couldn't you stop shouting outside my door? Don't you know how to knock?" The old man said irritably.
"Would you actually hear me if I knocked?" Ramos retorted.
While the two elderly men argued, Cole's mind froze as he recognized who this old man was.
Mr. Bryan, the current Water-type Elite Four member of the Kalos region — no wonder the name had seemed familiar. And no wonder that Swanna had such a commanding presence — it was an Elite Four member's Pokémon!
{T/N: This guy is an OC (Original Character), as far as I researched, this name doesn't exist anywhere.}
Because of the early time period of his crossing over, the current Kalos Elite Four weren't the same group Cole remembered, except for Wikstrom who matched his memories.
But even Wikstrom was quite young now, only in his twenties.
From what Cole knew, Mr. Bryan was currently semi-retired and rarely appeared in public. Who would have thought he lived in this small seaside town near Coumarine City!
And Ramos didn't just know him — they seemed quite familiar with each other.
While Cole was lost in thought, Bryan looked toward Ramos and asked, "Who's this young one?"
The two old men had known each other for over thirty years, so Bryan naturally knew all about Ramos's affairs, including his twin grandchildren, but he hadn't heard of any other younger relatives.
Could this be a new gym trainee?
Ramos answered, "A junior of mine. I brought him to meet you today."
Bryan was surprised and studied Cole with heightened interest.
Though the old man had helped many young trainers over the years, this was the first time Ramos had ever brought someone to meet him personally.
Meanwhile, Cole was puzzled. He had come to meet a breeder today — could Bryan be the breeder Ramos wanted to introduce?
But he had never heard that Bryan was a breeder!
✲✲✲
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