After breakfast, Meili took the children back to the orphanage, while Cole went to cultivate Berry trees with Popplio and Helioptile. He headed to Mt. Olympus, while the other two remained on Mt. Ascendant.
When he returned from Mt. Olympus at noon, having finished his work, he saw Popplio and Vaporeon huddled together, seemingly deep in discussion.
Just as he was about to approach, a small cloud appeared above Vaporeon's head, followed by the gentle pitter-patter of rain.
It turned out Popplio was asking how to use the Rain Dance move.
Popplio had been using Disarming Voice to water the fruit trees. While it had mastered the move with creativity, it wasn't as convenient or efficient as Rain Dance.
So, after Vaporeon arrived, every time Popplio saw it use Rain Dance to water the entire orchard effortlessly, it grew incredibly envious. That's why it wanted to learn.
Vaporeon was generous and diligent in its teaching, but Rain Dance wasn't easy to master. Popplio tried again and again, but no clouds formed in the sky — let alone a single drop of water.
Seeing how seriously they were working, Cole paused, then decided to head home for a shower — he'd gotten quite dusty at Mt. Olympus and really needed to clean up.
After all this time growing, the Berry trees at Mt. Olympus had finally shown changes. Of the two batches of grafted trees, one batch was nearly dead, while the other had sprouted many new shoots.
The dying batch had been grafted with Mt. Ascendant tree branches onto Sea Spirit's Den tree roots, while the thriving batch used Mt. Ascendant tree roots with Sea Spirit's Den tree branches.
Cole believed the survival of one batch was closely tied to the illuminated root system diagrams of the Mt. Ascendant trees.
The Sea Spirit's Den trees, accustomed to an environment with extremely high energy concentration, gradually withered when exposed to the low-energy conditions outside.
However, the Mt. Ascendant trees, with their developed root system diagrams, could draw sufficient energy from the earth to sustain the branches, ensuring their growth and survival.
However, the reverse grafting process failed — the incompatibility persisted, leaving those trees to wither.
Today, when Cole used his Special Ability to examine the surviving trees, he discovered their diagrams showed remarkable compatibility, even beginning to merge into one. This prospect excited him.
Though he couldn't yet test the energy ratings of the unstable grafted trees, he suspected they would be impressive.
The main question now was what kind of Berries these grafted trees would produce. Even with high energy levels, Berries with strange flavors wouldn't compete well in the market — people naturally prefer Berries that are both energetic and delicious.
Developing new Berry varieties requires countless experiments, with no guarantee whether a new tree will yield sweet or peculiar fruits.
Only through persistent testing and elimination can one develop Berries that excel in both taste and energy content.
Cole knew he had much work ahead of him.
After his shower, he found Popplio still attempting the move, its face flushed with effort but unable to produce results. He approached and asked gently:
"Still having trouble learning it?"
"Woo~"
Popplio hung its head in disappointment.
"Vapore~"
Vaporeon offered comfort, explaining that Rain Dance was naturally challenging to master — it was perfectly normal not to get it right away, and with practice, improvement would come.
Cole nodded in agreement, "Exactly, there's no need to rush. Take two days if one isn't enough, or three if you need more time. Keep practicing, and you'll get there. It's not like there's any urgency."
But Popplio's impatient nature worked against it — each failed attempt increased its anxiety, wearing down both its patience and Vaporeon's teaching resolve.
After another half day of practice, despite Vaporeon's Rain Dance having nearly flooded the clearing, Popplio hadn't managed even a drizzle.
That's when Cole placed his hand on Vaporeon's back, channeling his Special Ability's energy into it, and said, "Vaporeon, use Rain Dance one more time."
Vaporeon, who had been relaxing comfortably, startled at his voice but quickly used Rain Dance again.
The moment it performed the move, Cole's mind displayed the vibration frequency and movement trajectory of its Source Energy within its energy circuit.
This was it!
He was delighted, but Vaporeon's Source Energy rotated so quickly that before he could fully memorize the frequency and trajectory, it had returned to normal.
"Vaporeon, one more time!"
"Vaporeon~"
It nodded and used Rain Dance again.
"One more time!"
After about ten repetitions of Rain Dance, Cole finally memorized the vibration frequency and movement trajectory of its Source Energy.
His behavior left both Popplio and Vaporeon puzzled — surely he wasn't trying to learn Rain Dance himself? And even if he did learn it, could he actually use it?
Under their confused gazes, Cole placed his palm on Popplio's back again and said:
"I'm going to guide your body's energy to mimic the energy changes in Vaporeon's body when it uses Rain Dance. Try to remember this feeling, and when you practice later, control your internal energy the same way."
"Woo woo woo~"
Popplio immediately understood and nodded its head eagerly.
"Then I'll begin!"
It turned out that teaching the little sea lion wasn't so simple — it took considerable time before Popplio could barely remember the energy's vibration frequency and movement trajectory, nearly exhausting Cole's patience.
What the inexperienced trainer didn't realize was that this difficulty wasn't due to Popplio's intelligence, but rather because Rain Dance was one of the more challenging water-type moves to master.
"Got it memorized? Then let's give it a try!"
"Woo~" — Yes!
Popplio nodded firmly, closed its eyes, and concentrated on mobilizing its internal energy, its face scrunching with effort.
"You can do it, Popplio!" Cole encouraged from the side.
Finally, after some time, a palm-sized cloud appeared in the sky, but before any rain could fall, the cloud wobbled and dissipated.
"Hah~"
Popplio suddenly opened its eyes, panting heavily, then asked:
"Woo~" — Did I succeed?
Um...
Cole and Vaporeon exchanged uncertain glances, hesitant to judge the attempt.
"Woo?" — Did I fail?
Seeing their expressions, Popplio's spirits sank. Was it really so incompetent that it couldn't learn even with step-by-step guidance?
Cole quickly reassured it, "No, no, that wasn't a failure at all. You managed to create a cloud — that's proof you've grasped the basics. Just a few more tries and you'll definitely succeed."
Brightened by his encouragement, Popplio eagerly returned to practicing.
Starting from that first cloud, after several more attempts, Popplio finally succeeded in using Rain Dance. Though the water flow was modest and slow, it worked! From here, it just needed practice to make the move feel natural.
Watching Popplio's joyful expression, Cole wondered: Had he discovered a new method for teaching Pokémon moves?
He left to inspect the orchard and found Helioptile collecting Berries beneath a tree with a tiny basket.
These weren't ripe Berries, but small green ones that had been pruned due to overcrowding on the branches.
While Leavanny pruned up in the trees, Helioptile cheerfully gathered below.
Hehe~ One here, one there, so fun, one on the left, one on the right, belly full!
Helioptile sang as it gathered, clearly enjoying itself.
"Little one, I've always made sure you're well-fed — why are you gathering these?" Cole asked, approaching.
Upon seeing him, Helioptile's song cut off abruptly. It hid the basket behind its back with a sheepish smile.
"Ay-bi~ Ay-bi~" — I'm not gathering anything!
"Come now, I saw you. These unripe fruits are bitter and astringent — what do you want them for?"
"Ay-bi~ Ay-bi~" — These fruits are very nutritious; it would be wasteful to let them rot on the ground.
Helioptile replied timidly.
"Are you planning to eat them?"
No, no! Helioptile shook its head vigorously, insisting it had plenty of food.
"Ay-bi~ Ay-bi~" — I can share them with others. Many wild Pokémon struggle to find enough food.
"Well, gather them if you must, but don't blame me if anyone gets a stomach ache." Cole let it go, though he wondered if Helioptile had befriended some wild Pokémon.
Helioptile: ( ˇ╰╯ˇ ) Mmhmm...
Stomach aches? Impossible! These are precious food — before Cole caught it, Helioptile couldn't even dream of having such treats!
After the warning, he left. The little gecko filled its basket with unripe fruits and scampered down the mountain.
When it returned later, the basket was empty, and Helioptile bounced around, singing joyfully.
La la la~ Everyone has food to eat, no more hungry tummies, how wonderful~ La la la~
Its cheerful song made it clear just how happy it was.
✲✲✲
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