Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, two years have passed. Cole has grown from 12 to 14 years old.
During this time, he's experienced an incredible growth spurt, now standing at 175 cm tall. His previous worries about height have finally been laid to rest.
His Special Ability may have slightly influenced his physical development. Since boys typically continue growing into their twenties, barring any setbacks, he should easily reach 180 cm.
At 14, he's in the prime of his growth spurt — the coming years could see him shoot up to 190 cm!
Though he doesn't want to be too tall; around 185 cm would be perfect — no need to overdo it!
These past two years have been peaceful and fulfilling, with Cole dividing his time between the orchard and school.
He's stayed in close touch with Julia, Emely, and others through regular video chats.
Thanks to Cole's introduction, Julia and Emely have become friends. The three of them, along with other like-minded peers, now share their accomplishments in a group chat.
These two brilliant students have taught him invaluable lessons he couldn't have learned anywhere else.
Cole hasn't been idle during this time. Through dedicated study, he's developed his own theories about berry cultivation.
To test these theories, he's exchanged berry tree saplings and seeds from various regions with his friends, experimenting with different cultivation methods.
Using high-tech equipment borrowed from Lysandre's laboratory, Cole has even conducted genetic experiments on berry trees, creating unusual varieties — though most attempts were unsuccessful.
Last year, through Lysandre's investment in a Verdanturf City aerospace company in Hoenn, Cole managed to send some seeds into space.
He accompanied Lysandre to witness the spacecraft's launch.
In these two years, Cole has rarely left Kalos — aside from attending a few academic conferences with his Berry Cultivation Professor, Omura, in other regions, that was his only trip.
The seeds returned from space sprouted as he had hoped, but the trees that grew couldn't flower or bear berries, leaving him quite disappointed.
Speaking of Lysandre, Cole has maintained close contact with him. Lysandre often visits his place for vacations, staying anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days.
After that incident at Mt. Ascendant — when Cole comforted him during the bad publicity — Lysandre seemed to have an epiphany. Though he still strongly supports charitable causes, he no longer seeks psychological validation from them.
If the world improves, that's good; if not, so be it—it's not his burden to bear.
The key change came when Lysandre witnessed Cole's different approach to life. Despite his busy schedule, the kid remains energetic and never gets lost in grandiose, empty thoughts.
"Rather than getting lost in such thoughts, it's better to live each day properly!"
These words from Cole left a lasting impression on Lysandre, who now channels most of his energy into expanding his business empire.
Lysandre's hologram company now rivals major corporations like Silph Co. from Kanto, Devon Corp. from Hoenn, the Aether Foundation from Alola, and Macro Cosmos from Galar.
His laboratory, already proficient in various scientific technologies, has flourished under his dedicated leadership. Lysandre has almost single-handedly advanced Kalos's technological level by several decades, particularly in communications.
In recent years, he has become a household name in the region. Having achieved such success, one might say he truly wants for nothing in life.
After discussing Lysandre, let's turn to Cole's other friend, Diantha.
Now sixteen years old, she has become a rising star trainer competing in various Pokémon tournaments.
With her natural talent and Mabel's mentorship, her strength has grown remarkably. Under the grandmother's guidance, she has begun her journey toward becoming a League Champion.
While excelling in her trainer career, Diantha has also flourished in entertainment, becoming a household name in Kalos.
Lysandre's company has played a significant role in her success, investing in numerous movies starring her and making her the face of their products.
Given her beauty, acting talent, and established following as a child star — combined with strong financial backing — her popularity comes as no surprise.
As for Cole himself, though many of his berry tree experiments failed, some proved successful.
While these new berry trees may not have high energy ratings, they produce uniquely flavored berries that, enhanced by his Special Ability, are highly marketable.
If not for his earlier berries' superior energy ratings, these new varieties might even outperform them in sales!
Having cultivated numerous new berry trees over the past two years, Cole purchased another mountain adjacent to Mt. Ascendant and Mt. Olympus, naming it Mt. Duskflower.
Unable to think of a more creative name, he combined his and his mother's names — a choice that delighted Daisy for days.
{T/N: Cole = coal-black; Daisy = white flower.}
Though this didn't prevent her frequent late-night outings...
Over these past two years, Cole's berry sales have brought substantial income, allowing him to completely renovate the infrastructure of all three mountains — including electricity, water, and transportation. Life on the mountains has become far more convenient.
He's even constructed houses on Mt. Olympus and Mt. Duskflower for both people and Pokémon. Now, when they work late or are too tired to return to Mt. Ascendant, they have a place to stay.
Cole's success in cultivating so many new berry trees stems from the advancement of both his Special Ability and Psychic Powers.
Through frequent use, his Special Ability has reached a new level. Meanwhile, with Daisy's guidance, his Psychic Powers have grown remarkably — the color of his mental energy has shifted from blue to purple.
He can now manifest abilities similar to psychic-type Pokémon. He even managed to learn the miraculous move Teleport, though using it just once drains all his mental energy.
As for his mom, Cole remains amazed by her extraordinary growth over these two years. Her strength has increased at such an incredible pace that he can't even measure how powerful she's become.
He hasn't seen her in combat during this time — after all, his dream is to become a Berry Tycoon, not a Pokémon Master!
Cole knows the secret to her rapid power growth lies in the Trevenant Forest. Though he's asked to visit several times, Daisy has declined, explaining that it's not appropriate and that the Trevenant prefer to avoid human contact.
Unable to persist, he's had to let it go. Whatever the case, he respects his mom's secrets.
Come to think of it, Pidove seemed to know some of Daisy's secrets too, as it often followed her to the Trevenant Forest. When Cole tried to secretly probe it for information, the bird kept its beak firmly shut.
Indeed, a trainer still can't compare to a goddess in importance!
After accepting that some things were meant to stay secret, Cole never investigated the matter again.
Pidove: (◐ω◑ ) Let her be.
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This morning, Cole began his work early, regulating the energy of the berry trees. Standing in the orchard's center, his body emanated a blue light while purple light shone from his eyes.
The purple light manifested his Psychic Power. Guided by his mental energy, the blue light — his Special Ability energy — flowed like silk from his body, instantly blanketing the entire orchard.
Cole's technique for channeling his Special Ability energy drew inspiration from Chikorita's Grassy Terrain.
As the energy spread across the orchard like Grassy Terrain, his mental energy wove into countless threads, directing the Special Ability energy deep into the berry trees. This process helped the trees organize, purify, and compress their energy.
With one session, he could complete the daily energy regulation for hundreds of berry trees.
This feat was only possible thanks to his advanced Special Ability and refined Psychic Powers — without these improvements, he wouldn't have had the strength to cultivate so many berry trees.
By noon, he had finished his work and left the orchard. He headed home to change clothes, planning to visit the orphanage.
Today marked Norman's elementary school graduation, and Cole had promised the children he would join them for a celebratory dinner.
In the blink of an eye, it had been almost six years since he came to the Blue Bird Orphanage — time really flies!
"Coo Coo Coo~~~"
Just as Cole came out of his room after changing clothes, Pidove flew over, landing gracefully on his shoulder and nuzzling his cheek with its head.
"You want to come along too?" He asked with a smile while patting its head, his face tickled by its soft feathers.
Pidove had reached the point where it could evolve, but its hidden energy circuits hadn't fully awakened yet, so Cole had given it an Everstone to wear.
This wasn't unique to the little bird — Brionne, Chikorita, and Larvitar were in the same situation. Developing hidden energy circuits was a long and complex process that couldn't be rushed.
However, Larvitar and Chikorita's hidden energy circuits had already awakened to their final stage. Chikorita, with its relatively simple energy circuits, was especially close to evolution.
"Coo Coo Coo~~~" — Let's go, let's go.
Pidove called out cheerfully.
At this moment, Lopunny came out carrying a bag.
That's right, Buneary had evolved into its final form, Lopunny, but only after all its hidden energy circuits had awakened.
Buneary was exceptionally talented — awakening its hidden energy circuits had been remarkably easy. In fact, calling them hidden energy circuits wasn't quite accurate; they were more like semi-hidden energy circuits.
For this reason, it became the only worker, besides Cole's main Pokémon, whose hidden energy circuits were awakened by his Special Ability.
Since awakening hidden energy circuits consumed so much time and energy, he couldn't possibly do it for all the Pokémon on the mountain.
After evolving into Lopunny, it became so incredibly strong that it could nearly injure the large-bodied Talonflame Captain with a single kick.
This made it the strongest Pokémon on Mt. Ascendant, aside from Daisy and Heliolisk, surpassing Brionne — which nearly broke the sea lioness's spirit.
After all, Brionne was supposed to be Cole's carefully trained main Pokémon and his starter too — how did others keep getting ahead of it? First Heliolisk, then Lopunny.
Even though Brionne worked just as hard as anyone!
Over these two years, Brionne had invested considerable energy into its band. Though still somewhat modest in success, the band had developed its own loyal following.
Their presence on the streaming platform had brought in some income and helped promote Cole's orchard, even if the marketing impact was modest.
Many of their fans had become customers of the orchard, supporting both the band and Cole's business.
Lately, Brionne had intensified its training, determined to reclaim its position as third strongest on Mt. Ascendant from Lopunny, with plans to eventually challenge Heliolisk for second place.
The couple — Heliolisk and Lopunny — stood as obstacles in its path to success.
After evolving, Lopunny and Heliolisk had officially become a couple. Despite their reproductive incompatibility, such details hardly mattered!
Love conquers all!!!
"Lopu~ Lopunny~ Lopunny~" — Cole, take this for the children at the orphanage.
Lopunny handed him a bag filled with cream pastries.
These treats were gifts from Lysandre's recent visit, made by Alcremie. Though delicious, Lysandre had brought so many that they'd become overwhelming. The extras still filled their refrigerator.
Lopunny had considered sending them to the orphanage via Fletchling, but since Cole was heading there anyway, it made more sense for him to deliver them.
Cole accepted the bag and asked, "Haven't Brionne and the others returned?"
Lopunny shook its head.
Brionne was practicing water control with its subordinate Clawitzer in the mountain's foot reservoir. (All seven Clauncher had evolved into Clawitzer.)
Heliolisk was nestled among the Sunflora group, sunbathing — this was its daily required routine and the secret to its rapid strengthening.
Chikorita, Larvitar, and Carbink had wandered off somewhere.
Daisy, as usual, had gone to the Trevenant Forest early in the morning.
Hatterene had taken the psychic Meowstic siblings (who had also evolved) to clean the staff dormitory, leaving only Cole, Pidove, and Lopunny at home.
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