Cole tossed away the tooth-achingly sour berry in his hand, then picked another seemingly ripe one from the same tree, wiped it, and took a bite.
Cole: (﹌(Д)﹌) Ugh~
Still so sour — his whole body shuddered from the intensity.
It seemed this wasn't just an issue with one berry, but rather all the berries from this tree were like this. The tree was a lost cause — even Pokémon that liked sour flavors probably couldn't handle this level of sourness!
Shaking his head, Cole walked to the next tree and picked another berry to taste.
Hmm... the flesh was watery and mushy, neither sweet nor sour, with a slight astringent taste. Another failure...
He continued sampling from tree to tree, tasting all sorts of weird flavors. Even though he only took one bite from each berry, his stomach was already getting full.
These peculiarly flavored berries could only be considered failed cultivation varieties, but Cole wasn't too disappointed — he had been mentally prepared for this.
Over a hundred of the grafted berry trees in this batch had survived, mainly because most hadn't become unsuited to the environment like the mutant berry trees.
However, since he hadn't cultivated them long enough before Enamorus prompted their growth, their energy levels generally hadn't even reached B-grade.
For species with low energy levels and overly peculiar tastes, Cole had no choice but to cut them down — there was no point in letting them take up space. He might as well cultivate berries that were more popular in the market.
As for the varieties that didn't bear berries, being cut down remained their ultimate fate.
Among these hundred-plus berry trees, one variety had proven successful. Though their energy levels were low, their taste surpassed the berries from Mt. Ascendant.
This variety was grafted from two Wepear berries from different regions — one from Jean's hometown, and another from the tropical rainforest region of Alola.
The Wepear from Jean's hometown was extremely sour, the kind that would make your teeth ache, and the texture was very dry, with almost no moisture when you bit into it — like eating plastic foam.
The Wepear from Alola's tropical rainforest had one distinctive feature — it was full of moisture, spurting juice like a fountain when bitten.
However, while it was good for quenching thirst, it would disappoint anyone looking to enjoy it as a delicacy — it had almost no flavor at all.
This berry hadn't appeared at the berry Exhibition, and Cole only learned about it while chatting with a friend who lived in Alola's tropical rainforest region, who happened to mention it.
Interest piqued by this berry, he had arranged with that friend to mail him some of these berry trees after returning home.
The Wepear berries from Jean's hometown and from Alola's tropical rainforest were polar opposites in taste. Cole had thought it would be good if these two berries could balance each other out, so he grafted them together.
The results of the cultivated berry exceeded all expectations — it was a delightful surprise.
The new Wepear variety achieved a perfect balance: slightly sour with medium sweetness. Its flesh was delicate and refreshing, bursting with juice. Each bite released a rich pear fragrance that lingered pleasantly.
Unlike regular Wepear berries, which resembled gourds with bright green skin when ripe, this new variety had its own distinct appearance. It was oval-shaped, tapering at the top and widening at the bottom, with an almost transparent whitish-green skin when ripe — truly an attractive sight that promised great potential.
Though this new Wepear variety currently had low energy levels, Cole was confident that with proper cultivation time, these levels would improve significantly.
Could this Wepear become one of his orchard's flagship products?
There was just one small catch — he only had about ten trees of this new variety. The limited number wasn't due to poor survival rates; in fact, most of the grafts had succeeded. He simply hadn't grafted many trees initially, not expecting such remarkable results.
He made a mental note to request more berry trees from Jean and his Alolan friend for another round of grafting.
Beyond these grafted varieties, Mt. Olympus housed numerous ordinary berry trees, all of which had flourished under Enamorus's acceleration and now bore abundant fruit.
The newer trees among these ordinary varieties could only produce C-grade berries even after acceleration, while the more established ones barely reached B-grade.
Still, Cole remained optimistic — C-grade berries were profitable too! Though they commanded lower prices than B-grade berries, the volume made up for it. In his current financial situation, he couldn't afford to be picky about C-grade berries.
With Coumarine's orchards facing reduced production, selling these berries wouldn't be a problem.
After returning from Mt. Ascendant, Cole hummed cheerfully, his mood soaring.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
After getting home, Cole first checked on Landorus and Enamorus. Realizing he hadn't eaten since early morning, he decided to have breakfast before visiting Zapdos.
Though Cole had planned to cook breakfast himself, he found Daisy and Buneary had nearly finished preparing it when he entered the kitchen.
He was familiar with his mother's cooking skills — not quite as good as his own, but edible enough, though nothing special taste-wise.
After forcing down breakfast, Cole headed to the staff dormitory to visit Zapdos, only to find its room empty.
Where was Zapdos?
A passing Fletchling told him that Helioptile had visited earlier, and Zapdos had flown off with the gecko on its back. The Fletchling didn't know what they were up to.
Helioptile seeking out Zapdos? Cole was surprised — what could it want? Then a thought struck him...
Following his hunch, Cole left the dormitory and, after asking several Pokémon, found Zapdos and Helioptile by the lightning rod.
Zapdos was striking golden lightning at the rod, which split the electricity into tiny currents flowing toward the ground.
Beneath the rod lay Helioptile, looking utterly blissful as it intercepted and absorbed bits of current whenever electricity flowed downward.
Just as I thought...
Cole's guess had been right — after experiencing Thundurus's lightning, Helioptile had set its sights on Zapdos and boldly approached it. Most importantly, it had agreed.
This kid's really grown up.
Helioptile was too absorbed in its electrical feast to notice Cole's arrival. Zapdos acknowledged him with a slight nod before continuing to feed its "poison" to the gecko.
Since Zapdos's lightning was too powerful for direct absorption, they were using the lightning rod to weaken the electrical force.
I must say, Helioptile, you're quite good at applying what you've learned.
Cole quietly left — if Zapdos had no objections to something beneficial for Helioptile, he certainly wouldn't either.
When he returned home, he found Diggersby carrying baskets of berries into the house.
These storm-fallen berries had been sorted — the good ones had already been sold to the Nurture Nest Breeding House that morning.
But many berries were damaged from the fall — some missing pieces, others with broken skin — making them unsellable. After some consideration, Cole decided to give these berries to his friends and family.
He went inside, grabbed paper and pen to write a note explaining the gifted berries, then called over Talonflame.
"I have a task for you..."
Cole carefully sorted through the baskets, picking out the better-looking berries and redistributing them into separate baskets. He then instructed Talonflame to deliver them to his friends and family.
The orphanage, Ramos, Roman and his wife, Officer Jenny, Nurse Joy, Captain Sanders — they all received the gifts.
Though the berries weren't in perfect condition, with rising berry prices in Coumarine, Cole's gifts couldn't have come at a better time.
In the Pokémon world, berries were in high demand — they weren't just regular fruit but essential food for Pokémon. Both humans and Pokémon consumed them daily in large quantities.
These days, even casual trainers kept several Pokémon at home!
Despite giving generous portions to everyone, Cole still had many berries left. These were in such poor condition that he felt embarrassed to give them away.
That's when he thought of his senior, Emely.
Why not ask her to transform them into Pokéblocks, which would store better?
No sooner thought than done — Cole called her immediately.
[Hello~]
Emely answered quickly, surprised by his call.
[Cole, how's your orchard? I heard all of Coumarine's orchards suffered heavy losses from the storm. Is everything okay there?]
Cole gave a partially truthful answer, "The losses are manageable. Actually, that's why I'm calling. I have lots of berries that aren't sellable due to appearance, but they'd work perfectly for making Pokéblocks. I was hoping you could help with that."
[I could, but... I won't help for free, you know.]
Though they were friends, business was business — Emely never discounted her Pokéblock-making fees.
"Of course." Cole said, "There are plenty of berries, so we'll get many Pokéblocks. Help me sell them too, and we'll split the profits fifty-fifty."
He had no plans to use these B-grade berry Pokéblocks anyway. Now that he had A-grade berries, his Pokémon would naturally eat Pokéblocks made from those!
Cole's A-grade berry supply was limited, and he wasn't planning to sell any. They would just cover his Pokémon's daily food needs.
[Really? Then it's a deal!]
Emely was delighted.
[Should I come to you, or will you bring the berries here?]
"I'll bring the berries to you." Cole replied, as Mt. Ascendant wasn't suitable for visitors at present, because it had weathered the storm too fairly well.
[Great, I'll be waiting!]
Emely was free at home anyway — she could practice making Pokéblocks and earn money while waiting for the berries, killing two birds with one stone.
After hanging up, Cole arranged for a truck to deliver the berry baskets to her house.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, Coumarine's TV stations constantly reported on the strange storm's impact. Not just the berry industry, but all sectors of the city had been severely affected.
No one could explain the storm's sudden appearance or disappearance. Experts endlessly debated it on TV interviews, but their theories were mostly nonsense that Cole watched purely for entertainment.
The berry industry's losses proved more severe than he'd imagined. Some small orchards even went bankrupt and closed — with all their trees destroyed, what else could they do?
As a result, market demand for berries soared daily, and prices rose across all energy levels. Cole's orchard was shipping out berries in massive quantities.
In just these three short days, he had sold over 15,000 kg of berries, earning an incredible amount of P$20,000,000.
He wasn't just selling to Nurture Nest Breeding House anymore. With many Coumarine berry merchants facing shortages from the disaster, Alfred seized the opportunity to establish new partnerships.
One large berry store even signed a long-term contract with Cole. They were impressed by his cultivated berries and optimistic about Mt. Ascendant Orchard's future, believing that seizing this opportunity proved its inevitable rise.
They really had good vision!
Alfred truly excelled at client relations. Without him, Cole might have struggled to manage alone. He rewarded Alfred with a substantial bonus, elevating him to a person of means.
The Pokéblocks that Emely made had also started selling.
As she was still a student, she mainly focused on selling Pokéblocks to her classmates and friends.
With her solid reputation among classmates, Emely had no trouble finding buyers for her Pokéblocks. The sales trickled in steadily, providing Cole with a modest profit.
Still, these earnings paled in comparison to his income from berry sales.
Some Pokéblocks remained unsold, and according to Emely's estimates, it would take time to clear the inventory. Unlike fresh berries though, Pokéblocks had a long shelf life, so there was no rush.
In Coumarine, berry prices had stayed relatively stable. The League had stepped in to regulate the market, importing berries from other regions to meet local demand.
This market intervention didn't impact Cole — his production volume was too small to be affected by, or affect, the broader market fluctuations.
Besides, his berries offered unique qualities that set them apart from the competition.
Yesterday marked his return to school, as classes resumed their normal schedule after the suspension period.
✲✲✲
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