The day after settling in the Fearow and Talonflame, Cole planned to transplant the fruit trees to Ascendant Mountain.
Before starting, he went to find two Diggersby — one he had previously hired, and another who had planted the Oran Berry tree they found in the forest.
These two Diggersby, male and female, had fallen in love and married. It made sense — there weren't many wild Pokémon in the East District's human residential area. If they hadn't paired up, they might have faced a lonely future.
Cole found them fast asleep under the Oran Berry tree, nearly drooling in their sweet dreams.
Just as he was about to wake them, a small head peeked out from behind the female Diggersby (his former hire) — a tiny, adorable Bunnelby, clearly newly born.
'Well, well, they even had a kid!' Cole thought in surprise.
The Bunnelby stared at him curiously for a few seconds before calling out to its parents.
"Hobi~Hobi~" — Daddy, Mommy!
The two Diggersby jolted awake, thinking they were under attack, and looked around frantically.
"Hoder? Hoder?" — What's happening?
"Hoder?" — Who's there?
After a moment of confusion, they noticed Cole.
"Hoder~" — Oh, it's you.
Recognizing their old friend, the two Diggersby relaxed again, leaning back-to-back with heavy eyelids.
"Perk up, you two! I came today because I need your help!" Cole said.
At this, the female Diggersby instantly became alert, sitting up straight and asking excitedly.
"Hoder~" — Is there a spa treatment?
"Yes!" Baifeng promised.
"Hoder~" — Then no problem.
The female Diggersby agreed without hesitation, not even asking about the task.
The male Diggersby, having heard tales of the spa treatment from his wife but never experiencing it himself, quickly agreed upon seeing her enthusiasm.
The female Diggersby then nudged their little one forward, gesturing to Cole.
"Hoder~Hoder~" — Count my little one in too, it can help as well.
Knowing the spa treatment's benefits firsthand, she made sure to include her child in the arrangement.
Cole nodded — one more helper wouldn't hurt.
"Alright, then follow me."
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He took the two Diggersby and one Bunnelby back to the orphanage and directed them to dig up the fruit trees.
Being expert diggers, the Diggersby worked with remarkable efficiency. They uprooted over thirty fruit trees without causing any damage, while Cole and Daisy simply supervised.
The Gardevoir used psychic power to move the dug-up trees aside, Popplio kept them moist with water, and the Fearow and Talonflame worked in pairs to transport them to Ascendant Mountain using ropes.
Since Cole's fruit trees were less than two years old and relatively short, even the Fletchinder could transport them without strain, let alone the stronger Fearow.
The whole process went smoothly under Cole's direction.
With all fruits already harvested, it was the perfect time for transplanting. Thanks to Coumarine City's oceanside location and year-round warm monsoons, the spring-like climate meant Cole didn't need to worry about seasonal timing.
After the trees were removed, the Diggersby leveled the empty ground, and Cole led everyone to Ascendant Mountain.
Next came planting the trees.
First, Cole had the Diggersby turn over all the cleared land. Then, Talonflame and Fletchinder baked the soil with their flames to sterilize it and eliminate any hidden parasites.
Afterward, he and Daisy spread fertilizer across the prepared ground.
They had made this fertilizer together using methods from Ramos's books. Though Cole had made it before, this was his first time preparing such a large batch.
While clearing the mountain of trees and weeds, he and Daisy had collected the debris and dug several large pits for the dead branches and leaves. They'd used the main trunks to build dormitories for the other Pokémon.
Cole then bought special composting fertilizer from the market, scattered it among the collected vegetation, and mixed it thoroughly. They covered everything with humus soil, which was abundant on the mountain.
After high-temperature fermentation, the fertilizer was ready.
Cole used only a portion of it this time, saving the rest for future tree plantings since the fertilizer couldn't be prepared quickly when needed.
It took half a day to finish fertilizing, which proved more time-consuming than the actual tree planting.
The process was efficient: Daisy used her psychic power to place each tree in its prepared hole, while Cole and the Diggersby filled in the soil.
Soon all thirty-plus trees were in place.
He assigned the watering duties to Popplio, giving it a chance to practice its skills. If needed, it could make multiple passes to ensure proper hydration.
Popplio took to its task with dedication, watering each tree carefully without any signs of impatience. Cole praised it highly for a job well done.
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By the time they finished, darkness was falling, and Cole was completely exhausted.
Still, despite his fatigue, he kept his promise to give the two Diggersby and their Bunnelby their massages. Afterward, he nearly collapsed on the mountain, requiring the Boss Fearow and Talonflame to carry him back to the orphanage.
When he arrived home, Meili noticed his exhaustion and offered, "Let me help you tomorrow."
The children immediately chimed in, "I want to help too! Me too!"
Cole quickly explained, "Today was special because we were planting all the fruit trees. It won't be this tiring from now on."
Meili already had enough responsibilities — caring for the children, doing laundry, and cooking for everyone. He couldn't add to her workload, and the children were too young for such labor.
"That's good then." Meili nodded, "You're still young yourself, don't overwork yourself. Just ask if you need my help."
Cole nodded, "Don't worry, I know my limits, and besides, I'm not working alone."
He told her about hiring the Diggersby and Bunnelby, which finally eased her concerns.
Just then, Cole noticed Alfred's absence and asked, "Where's brother Alfred? Why isn't he back yet?"
There wasn't even school today.
Charlie replied, "Brother Alfred's been leaving early and coming back late recently. No one knows what he's busy with — he's hardly ever home."
During this time, Cole had been so focused on the Ascendant Mountain project, rarely interacting with anyone, that he hadn't noticed Alfred's absence.
Just as Charlie finished speaking, Paul shouted, "Brother Alfred, you're back!"
Everyone turned to look, and sure enough, Alfred was walking into the courtyard.
Some time later at dinner.
Alfred asked Cole, "How did the fruit tree transplanting go today?"
Cole nodded, "Very smoothly — all the trees are planted."
"That's good." Alfred nodded, then added apologetically, "I should have helped you, but I've had some urgent matters lately. I'm sorry..."
Cole shook his head, "Don't worry about it. Just take care of what you need to. I can manage."
"Brother Alfred, what are you so busy with? We hardly see you anymore." Paul complained with a pout.
Alfred patted his head, "Little kids shouldn't be so nosy."
"I'm not a little kid!" Paul muttered before shoving rice into his mouth, "Cough, cough, cough..."
And promptly choked.
Meili quickly handed him a glass of water, patting his back while scolding, "Don't eat so fast — chew slowly, understand?"
Seeing that Alfred didn't want to discuss the matter, everyone dropped the subject.
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The next morning when Cole woke up, his whole body was aching.
"Damn, it's been so long since I felt like this! Farming is really not easy." Struggling to get out of bed, he limped as he walked, feeling as if his body had given up on him.
Seeing his funny walking posture, Charlie pointed and laughed, "Haha, brother Cole, you walk like a Krabby!"
Cole: [-_-]
At that moment, Daisy appeared behind the laughing kid without warning, glaring at him menacingly.
"Why did it suddenly get cold?" Charlie shivered, turned around, and met the Gardevoir's icy stare.
"Garde~" — Who are you saying walks like a Krabby?
Though he couldn't understand what Daisy was saying, Charlie sensed the danger immediately. He grabbed his schoolbag and ran off, calling out.
"Brother Cole, I'm heading to school! Go with Lily!"
Daisy grumbled disapprovingly.
"Garde~ Gar~ Garde~" — You're lucky you ran fast. How dare you say my precious walks like a Krabby — have you ever seen a Krabby this cute?
Then she turned to Cole with concern.
"Gard~ Garde~" — Precious, are you okay?
Cole waved her off, "Just overdid the work, I'll be fine after some rest."
After breakfast, he asked Lily to request a day off from school for him, since he wasn't planning to go today.
A portion of Ascendant Mountain had been cleared, and after planting the original fruit trees, there was still a large empty area. He planned to buy some new saplings to plant.
This time he wouldn't grow from seeds — it was too time-consuming, and some berry seeds couldn't even be cultivated into saplings. He'd only collected fruits for seeds before because he had no money. Now that he could afford it, there was no need to waste time.
After putting Daisy in her Poké Ball, Cole headed out carrying Popplio. He was going to a nursery in the East District that cultivated and sold various fruit tree saplings. It was an affordable nursery that sold common saplings, producing fruits suitable only for regular markets.
But he didn't mind — he could gradually cultivate the trees' energy levels himself, since he neither had access to nor could afford high-energy trees. High-energy trees were usually sold as mature trees, not saplings.
A tree's energy level determined the grade of fruits it could produce — trees that produced B-grade fruits were B-energy trees, those producing A-grade fruits were A-grade trees. Sapling energy levels typically ranged only from F to C, since trees needed time to accumulate energy, which affected their fruits' energy grade.
That's why few cultivators would sell their years of hard work — they only sold the fruits, and not even to ordinary people. High-level cultivators were rare, and most people couldn't raise a fruit tree's energy level even after ten years of cultivation.
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