"School starts on September 1st or 2nd, right?"
"Yes." The girl nodded seriously.
When she said this, there was a sparkle of anticipation in her eyes.
Just over a week ago, her Squirtle had evolved into a Wartortle, its strength greatly increased.
When school resumed, there would be an opening assessment, and naturally, it would be a Pokémon battle.
After all
At the end of last semester, everyone had mocked her Squirtle for being slow and dopey. This semester, she was ready to show them the meaning of a summer spent catching up and overtaking the competition.
Two and a half months in the east, two and a half months in the west things change fast!
"Ah…" Ethan sighed. "Alright, just let me know before you leave."
"Mm-hmm."
Sophie didn't notice the trace of melancholy on Ethan's face as she happily returned to the nursery.
Only Ethan remained standing there, feeling a bit wistful.
That faint sadness didn't escape the attention of Gardevoir, who had just teleported to his side.
She floated next to him, watching his troubled expression, and gently patted his head. "Garde?" (What's wrong?)
"Hm?"
Her sudden appearance didn't surprise Ethan. He shook his head, but seeing her kindness, he didn't hide his thoughts. "It's nothing serious. You know the staff member we have here?"
Gardevoir nodded.
Of course she knew her the woman had a pure and kind heart.
"She's going back to school, so… I'm losing my only employee!"
Ethan's tone was tinged with frustration.
Other problems could be solved easily.
For example, the oak barrels they could just ask Rotom to find some. Even if they were in another region, Dragonite could make a few trips, carrying extra storage balls to bring them back in one go.
The plots of land out front could be tilled quickly by Sandshrew.
But the nursery… needed someone to keep watch.
Ethan glanced at Gardevoir then quickly shook his head.
Sure, she could watch the shop.
But if she also had to help with that, then her day would look like this: arrive at six in the morning, watch the store until five in the evening, then pick berries and make Pokéblocks until eight or nine at night… with no days off.
No, that would be cruel.
"I need a Pokémon that's good at guarding a place…"
The thought flickered through his mind.
Which Pokémon would be good for that?
Indeedee… that would be perfect.
A Leavanny? Maybe too small.
Mr. Mime?
A Pokémon skilled in chores could probably keep the place tidy too.
After thinking it through, Ethan still felt Indeedee would be the best choice.
He called Rotom over, giving it a hopeful look. "Can you find out which nurseries have Indeedee for sale?"
The reply immediately made his face fall.
Rotom shook its head regretfully. "Rotom~ Searching now… Sorry, Ethan. No Indeedee are available at any Pokémon breeding facilities within the Alliance."
That wasn't too surprising.
Indeedee were rare and mostly found in the Galar and Paldea regions.
Ethan searched again Leavanny and Mr. Mime were available, but something about them didn't feel quite right for the job, so he passed.
Then, inspiration struck. He looked up at Mew hovering in the sky.
Could Mew transform into an Indeedee?
But the idea made him laugh at himself almost instantly.
Have Mew run the cash register?
It would probably end up playing pranks on every customer instead.
Better to let it live in its own little world.
"Rotom, can you check for places that sell containers for wine preferably oak barrels?"
"Okay, searching now~"
"Found one! In the northwest, there's a factory that imports oak barrels from Paldea."
This time, the news was useful, and Rotom beamed happily.
"Perfect. Contact them for me. I'll need…" Ethan paused. That orchard was huge. How much wine could they make from one-thirtieth of the crop?
"Actually, first check how much a mu of land can yield in Honeydew Berries."
Rotom quickly provided the answer. "Under normal conditions, a mu produces 3,000 to 5,000 jin. If poorly managed, it could be as low as 1,000 to 2,000 jin."
Ethan nodded. "Let's assume 5,000. Five mu means 25,000 jin. A jin of Honeydew Berries can make about 0.6 jin of Honeydew Wine… so about 15,000 jin of wine in total. With each oak barrel holding 250 liters… let's get 100 barrels."
"Got it~ Rotom~"
Rotom made contact quickly, but returned with a complication.
"Rotom… The owner says the distance is too far, so delivery might take a while."
"That's fine. I'll just have Dragonite make the trip."
That wasn't a problem for him now. Even storage was easy to handle autumn was approaching, and the cooler temperatures meant the wine could be stored in the barn without issue.
With that solved, Ethan turned to the final problem of the day what to plant in the remaining fields.
He preferred berries, since they were essential for making high-quality Pokéblocks that sold well.
But the Sweet Grass Dumplings he made today gave him another idea.
Different plants, when mutated, could have unique effects. Seasonal vegetables could also be worth planting, expanding his recipe options.
With that thought, he quickly decided how to allocate the land.
"Alright, time to plant some of those rare berry seeds from the system and diversify our Pokéblock flavors."
Running the nursery for so long, Ethan felt like the system's storage space was a treasure chest filled with rewards from Pokémon who had been made happy by delicious food.
The only problem was that the rewards were so varied it was hard to choose.
Right now, he had plenty of berry seeds, but only enough space for about fifty trees…
In the end, he made his decision.
"Let's just plant a bit of everything!"
"Gardevoir, help me harvest all these vegetables!"
"Garde~" (Alright.)
While Ethan had been talking with Rotom, Gardevoir had been standing nearby with a gentle smile, simply watching him work through his worries.
Now that he'd figured out a solution, all she needed to do was handle the "cleanup" work.
At least, that's how Gardevoir saw it.
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