Ron paused, then replied, "I've considered it, but the Water-types here probably won't work."
Willy shared his earlier idea—building ponds or using aquariums.
"Oh, I've thought about fish ponds to be honest," Ron said.
But not for watering crops—he wanted to test how many fish a real pond could sustain, to finalize supply quotas with Kalos.
The problem? He lacked a suitable Pokémon for fishing by the sea or lakes.
Ideally, he'd breed more Indeedee—but their two-week incubation time was too slow, especially with only two incubators and the Miltank order underway.
Geodude had hands and weight, so it wouldn't get dragged into the water…
But if it faced a Water-type? Two moves max before Ron would be hauling its unconscious body to Joy's Pokémon Center.
As for watering: with the mining crew's efficiency, full Sprinkler coverage should be done by mid-summer.
Then it hit him: He didn't need to catch or raise fish himself.
But the currency barrier remained—if he sold Willy's fish in Kalos, he couldn't pay him in Pelican Town coins yet.
Still, he mentioned the idea to Willy. The money would come eventually.
After saying goodbye, Ron checked his Crab Pots.
Only three pots yielded two Crabs and one Shrimp—but even that could sell well in Kalos. Scaling up could mean serious income.
The catch? More pots meant assigning a Rattata onto harvest/bait duty and a Geodude to carry storage chests.
With this plan in mind, Ron returned to the farm.
Inside, Pokémon were already watering crops:
– Froakie and Rattata as usual
– Indeedee floating buckets with Psychic
– Even Gengar lugging a bucket
Surprisingly, Pam stood among them.
"Afternoon," Ron greeted, filling his watering can. "I thought you were off today?"
Pam wiped her brow, smiling. "Saw that this section has no Sprinklers. They'll never finish alone! I'm free anyway."
She cut off his thanks. "Besides, I barely did anything this morning. Shane's way better with the animals—even the chickens ignore me. I just cleaned the troughs and swept."
Both she and Shane were exhausted. After months of idleness, sudden labor left them sore—but they pushed through.
Her motivation? The Bus.
His? Unclear. But passing him earlier, she'd glimpsed him eyeing a product online—likely a gift for someone.
Ron stopped fussing over thanks and joined the watering.
---
Meanwhile, at the Animal Shop…
It was Tuesday. Jas had just been dropped off by Penny after class. Marnie was at the church, exercising with townswomen as usual.
Jas opened the door to find Shane leaning against the counter.
"Good afternoon~"
"Mm."
"Did you work late at the farm yesterday?" Jas asked, backpack bouncing. She'd only heard about the group effort today.
"Yeah. Late." Shane's eyes flicked to her shoes—to the image on his phone of pretty little leather boots.
His savings plus five days' wages would cover them—just needed to wait until Summer 3 (tomorrow) to pay. The package would arrive on Summer 4 in the evening.
"You worked hard!" Jas beamed.
She sensed a change in him—while she couldn't name it, she liked it.
Better than the stale booze stench from his room, or finding him sprawled unconscious on the floor when they dared open his door.
Shane ruffled her hair, silent.
"Penny says you're working really hard!" Jas added. "Vincent didn't believe me—we fought!"
Vincent had brought up seeing Shane passed out in Cindersap Forest. Jas had wanted to say he'd quit drinking—but even she doubted it. So she punched Vincent instead.
"I'll keep working," Shane said gently. "Go play. I'll check the coop."
Jas let herself be steered away. She glanced back at him, then at her room door, and finally went inside.
On her desk sat a flowerpot with a single seed—Fairy Rose, her favorite. It bloomed only in autumn. Legend said its blossoming might summon a mystical fairy.
Though she knew it wouldn't sprout until fall, Jas clasped her hands and closed her eyes.
If fairies are real… please let Shane keep getting better.
She wasn't asking for him to become cheerful or kind.
Just… happier. To stop watching the world with that detached emptiness, like nothing mattered to him at all.
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