Cole suddenly realized that since Floette and the Flabébé had agreed to stay at Mt. Ascendant, he needed to make preparations!
Thinking of their needs, his mind turned to the Fairy Flower — the flower they "live" in. Every Flabébé and Floette's growth depends on this plant, though it's uncommon and particularly rare in the wild.
If he could grow a patch of Fairy Flowers, the Flabébé could quickly replace their own Fairy Flowers if they became damaged in the future.
Cole remembered seeing this plant in Ramos's garden. He'd have to visit the old man again, who would probably tease him about only visiting when he needed something.
Perhaps he should bring Ramos a gift? Cole felt embarrassed about always troubling him, especially given how well Ramos had always treated him.
But what would make the old man happy? Being well-traveled and knowledgeable, Ramos probably wouldn't care for ordinary things.
The more Cole thought about it, the more his head hurt.
Ramos loved gardening, especially rare or unique plants — he'd definitely appreciate something like that. But looking through his own collection, Cole didn't have anything that could be considered rare. He couldn't very well give away his Ganlon tree.
Oh right — he hadn't helped the Ganlon Berry tree organize its energy today. With that thought, Cole went to the tree behind the house and began helping it organize its energy while pondering what to give Ramos.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
After finishing with the Ganlon tree's energy organization, he still hadn't decided on a gift. Having no other choice, he decided to ask around.
Cole called his friends one by one — Emely, Diantha, Keith, Julia, and others — asking them about rare plants. They all promised to keep an eye out.
After some thought, he called his teacher Omura too, since he was quite knowledgeable about plants and might have some leads.
Omura was happy to receive his call, and after learning that Cole wanted to find a rare plant as a gift for an elder, he thought for a moment and said:
[Wait a bit, I'll ask around. We should have results soon.]
After he hung up, Cole was still in a daze — did the teacher already have something in mind?
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
During these three days, Kiara and Sara visited every afternoon. Kiara would exchange knowledge with Cole while Sara explored the mountain with her Pokémon.
Cole prepared dinner for them several times. Though they lavished praise on his cooking, he found it rather ordinary.
On the afternoon of the third day, after escorting the sisters to the Pokémon Center, they said their final goodbyes.
Their time in Coumarine had been well spent — touring the orchard, sharing experiences, and visiting all their desired destinations. Now it was time to return to Kanto.
Cole simply promised to see them off, not pressing them to extend their stay.
During this time, Floette had fully recovered from its injuries. Under Daisy's guidance, it and the Flabébé had thoroughly explored Mt. Ascendant, familiarizing themselves with the mountain orchard and their future responsibilities.
Each day, Floette led the Flabébé through the Berry forest. Cole noticed — or perhaps imagined — that the mountain's Berry trees appeared more vibrant. The ripening Cheri Berries, for instance, seemed to be producing larger daily yields.
He had barely returned home from the Pokémon Center when Omura called.
Omura informed him that his friend had sent a gift, already dispatched from Lumiose and due to arrive tomorrow.
He explained that this friend, whose life Omura had once saved, had long wanted to show his gratitude but hadn't known how. When Omura mentioned Cole's search for a rare plant to give as a gift to an elder, his friend immediately offered to help.
This friend, a renowned botanist with impressive achievements and connections, was perfectly positioned to assist Cole with his request.
Cole could only wonder what rare plant his teacher's friend had chosen to send.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
The next day, Cole went to Coumarine airport at the agreed time to see off Kiara and Sara.
"Little Brother Cole, thank you for your hospitality these past few days!" Sara said warmly, patting his shoulder.
Kiara nodded in agreement.
"I'm so happy you both came to visit." Cole said, shaking his head, "I only wish I could have been more attentive."
Sara pulled him close, "Little Brother Cole, you're such a smooth talker. Why don't you come back home with me? Big sister will take good care of you."
Cole wriggled free from her embrace, "Sister Sara, I'm young and have good teeth — I don't need looking after just yet."
"Cole, you're so funny." Sara said with a giggle.
Before leaving, Kiara took something from her pocket and held it out, "We've troubled you these past few days. Please take this."
Cole examined it carefully — a brown seed.
"What's this?" He asked, puzzled.
"A Starf Berry seed." Kiara replied, "But what makes it special is that it came from an S-class Berrytree."
"An S-class Berrytree?" Cole exclaimed, then quickly lowered his voice, remembering they were in public, "This… this is too precious for me to accept, isn't it?"
An S-class Berrytree! To him, such things existed only in legends.
"It's not as precious as you think." Kiara said, shaking her head, "Its only real value is its origin. You can't use it to grow another S-class Berrytree — even if this seed sprouts, it will only grow into a B-class Berrytree. Don't you already have plenty of those?"
Cole's eyes widened in understanding — no wonder she was willing to part with it. That was fine by him. If it really could grow into an S-class Berrytree, he wouldn't have dared accept it anyway.
Besides, the Starf Berry was relatively rare, and growing it would add welcome variety to his orchard.
Seeing him accept the seed, Kiara nodded with satisfaction before boarding the plane to Kanto with Sara.
Before leaving the West District, Cole bought some snacks, planning to visit the Blue Bird Orphanage later to check on the children and Meili.
✲✲✲
T/N: If you want more chapters like this, check out my Patreon! Take a look at my other translations too, you might like them!
For just $1.50 you can access all the extra content, and descriptive images, costs only $2!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)
https://www.patreon.com/collection/1305384