"Now you want to compromise?" Cole shook his head disdainfully, "Too late!"
Not long after Toxicroak fell, Muk and Persian also succumbed to Captain Talonflame's fierce attacks.
The hunter's expression turned anxious as he backed away, pleading with Cole.
"Little brother, we have no quarrel. If you want the Flabébé, they're yours. I can even pay you to make up for our earlier dispute."
He was a wanted Pokémon hunter. If caught again, he'd likely face life imprisonment — or worse, the death penalty.
Cole ignored the hunter's words. As a principled young man, he wouldn't compromise his integrity for a criminal's dirty money.
As Brionne leaped forward to strike, the hunter suddenly drew a gun from behind his back, startling Cole.
Brionne reacted swiftly, shooting a water stream at the hunter's wrist and knocking the weapon away before he could fire.
"Ahhh!!!"
The hunter crumpled to the ground, clutching his wrist and writhing in pain. Cole suspected it was broken.
But he had it coming for trying to ambush them!
In the Pokémon world, civilians were strictly forbidden from carrying firearms. Even the police relied on Pokémon for law enforcement rather than guns.
Who knew where he'd gotten the weapon.
Cole grabbed a wooden stick, approached the hunter, secured the gun, and struck him hard on the neck, rendering him unconscious.
He then searched the hunter and found the Poké Balls containing Toxicroak and the others, using them to capture the unconscious Pokémon.
Next, Cole approached the trembling Flabébé.
The Flabébé were huddled around the injured Floette, crying. When they saw him coming, they snatched up Floette and retreated, trying their best to glare menacingly.
Their fierce expressions only made them look more adorable.
"Flabe~!" — Get away!
"Flabe~ Flabe~!" — Go away, bad person!
"Flabe~ Flabe~ Flabe~" — Big bad person, big bad person, big bad person!
...
Mistaking Cole for another hunter, they began scolding him with their limited vocabulary.
Cole quickly explained, "I'm here to help you at your companions' request. I've already rescued them from someone else, and they're waiting for you in a safe place."
In truth, he'd come to catch them too, but to win their trust, he employed some clever wordplay. Though the other Flabébé hadn't actually requested his help, he saw no harm in saying so.
Some Flabébé lowered their guard upon hearing this, but one remained skeptical. It shielded its companions and questioned Cole about their captured friends' appearances.
Cole answered every question until the wary Pokémon's suspicion began to fade.
He pointed at the unconscious Floette and said, "Floette is badly hurt. Let me help treat it."
The Flabébé studied Floette's pained expression, then looked at Cole's kind demeanor before finally relenting and handing Floette over to him.
Floette suffered from both injuries and poison, so Cole first administered a Pecha Berry to counter the poison, followed by an Oran Berry to restore its strength. Soon, its condition visibly improved.
Floette's injuries weren't as severe as Buneary's had been earlier. After consuming the juice of several Oran Berries, its natural color returned.
Seeing their friend's recovery, the Flabébé gave Cole their heartfelt thanks.
"Now that Floette is feeling better, let me take you to your companions." He suggested.
The Flabébé, worried about their captured friends, briefly discussed among themselves before agreeing to go with Cole.
"Alright, everyone follow me!" Cole instructed Captain Talonflame to grab the hunter, then led the way while carrying the still-weakened Floette in his arms.
Though the Flabébé were hesitant about this arrangement, they realized they couldn't fly while carrying Floette themselves, so they accepted Cole's help.
After a short journey, Cole and the Flabébé returned to the parked truck, where they reunited with their fellow Pokémon.
The reunion of the two Flabébé groups was a joyous occasion. Cole counted twelve Pokémon in total, including Floette.
Once the celebration subsided, he offered, "My home isn't far from here, and it's quite spacious. Would you like to rest there? It would help Floette recover from its injuries."
Having earned the Flabébé's complete trust, they agreed without hesitation.
Cole then led the group of Flabébé and the unconscious twin hunters back to his residence on Mt. Ascendant.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
The mountain's Pokémon gathered curiously when they saw Cole arrive with so many newcomers.
Gesturing to the assembled Pokémon, he introduced them to the Flabébé, "These are my employees, important helpers in managing the orchard."
At Cole's introduction, the Pokémon offered warm greetings to the newcomers.
Though the Flabébé felt somewhat overwhelmed by the employees' enthusiasm — having never encountered so many unfamiliar Pokémon before — they didn't mind the friendly welcome.
Cole arranged for Floette and the Flabébé to share one employee dormitory room, knowing they might feel more secure staying together in their unfamiliar surroundings.
Given the Flabébé's small size, a single room easily accommodated them all.
After getting them settled, Cole called over Daisy and made an introduction, "This is my mother, who raised me. She manages everything in our home now, so if you need anything, you can always ask her."
Cole had introduced Daisy strategically — both to gain the Flabébé's trust and to prepare for their eventual stay at Mt. Ascendant.
The Flabébé were astonished to learn their human rescuer had been raised by a Pokémon. This revelation made them lower their guard considerably.
As Fairy-type Pokémon themselves, they felt an immediate connection with Daisy, which improved their opinion of Cole too.
"Just rest here comfortably and let Floette recover. Don't worry about anything else." Cole said before departing with Daisy, giving the Flabébé privacy.
After their frightening ordeal, they needed time alone to process everything.
Outside their room, Cole gathered the other Pokémon with a wave.
"I want the Flabébé to stay here with us. Please make them feel especially welcome so they can see all the benefits of living at Mt. Ascendant."
The Pokémon nodded eagerly, their expressions showing they understood the task perfectly.
Satisfied, Cole contacted Officer Jenny about the Pokémon hunters. She took the matter seriously and promised to come immediately.
True to her word, she arrived at Mt. Ascendant by car moments later.
"Where are they? Show me quickly." She demanded upon seeing Cole.
"Follow me, please." Cole led her to the unconscious twin hunters.
Officer Jenny pulled out a palm-sized transparent device, scanned their faces, and declared, "These are definitely Pokémon hunters!"
The twins were unmistakable — they had previously served time for poaching and had only recently been released. Now they had returned to their criminal ways.
The transparent scanner was a specialized police tool that could access criminal records stored at stations throughout the region.
Cole recognized it as another example of the Pokémon world's advanced technology.
"There's also this handgun." He said, presenting the weapon he had confiscated.
Officer Jenny's expression grew stern as she took it. Handguns were exceptionally rare in the Pokémon world — even police officers like herself didn't carry them.
Cole then provided directions to the hunters' abandoned truck.
Officer Jenny snapped to attention and saluted, "On behalf of the Coumarine City Police Department, I thank you for your cooperation in apprehending these criminals."
Cole modestly waved off the praise, "This is just what any League citizen should do."
Officer Jenny smiled approvingly at his humble response, "Don't worry, the police department won't forget this. I'll recommend you for recognition to my superiors."
With that, she hurriedly left with the twin hunters — she needed to urgently investigate where the hunter had obtained the gun.
Just after Cole saw her off, the Pokémon began following his suggestion to show their warm hospitality to the Flabébé.
First was Leavanny, who carried a pile of berries and politely knocked on the Flabébé's door.
When one Flabébé cautiously opened the door, Leavanny put on its warmest smile and said:
"You must all be hungry after just arriving here. I brought you some food."
"Flabébé~"
The Flabébé politely welcomed Leavanny into the room.
After entering, Leavanny greeted each of them one by one, placed the berries on the table, and said:
"Everyone must be hungry. Come eat! Don't be shy."
The Flabébé looked at each other — they were indeed very hungry and finally couldn't resist the enticing aroma of the fruit.
The berries Cole cultivated smelled delicious and tasted even better. The Flabébé were amazed by the burst of flavor from just one small bite. Having lived in the wild, weathering the elements, they had never eaten such delicious berries before.
Seeing their shocked expressions, Leavanny quickly said, "Delicious, right? These berries are carefully cultivated by our boss. You can't find them anywhere else, and we can eat as many as we want."
It was working hard to build goodwill for Cole.
Before the Flabébé could recover from their surprise, Leavanny added, "But we usually don't even eat these — our boss makes special Pokéblocks just for us!"
The Flabébé's eyes widened — if they weren't eating these delicious berries, how good must these Pokéblocks be?
Their little minds couldn't even imagine.
In reality, Pokéblocks weren't necessarily much better than berries — some less skilled breeders even made Pokéblocks that tasted worse than berries. But it was true that better-tasting berries could make better-tasting Pokéblocks.
Fortunately, Emely was skilled, and the Pokéblocks she made for Cole were all delicious.
Once the Flabébé gradually recovered from their amazement, Leavanny smiled and excused itself.
"Rest well, and if you want anything to eat, just come find me. I'll bring it to you." It said before leaving.
The Flabébé looked at the remaining berries on the table and couldn't help themselves — they devoured them all ravenously, though they set aside a portion for Floette.
After they had eaten their fill, there was another knock at the door. This time it was Brionne.
It held a large tablet computer and said while waving it, "You must be bored staying in the room. I brought you something for entertainment."
The Flabébé had never seen such a device before, and they gathered around curiously.
Brionne turned on the tablet and selected an enjoyable movie to play for the Flabébé.
The movie told the story of a panda who wanted to become a martial artist and went on adventures to achieve this dream. It was both touching and funny, and the Flabébé were completely absorbed in it.
Seeing this, Brionne boasted, "Fun, isn't it? Cole bought this specially for me, and I'm lending it to you now. You can watch movies whenever you're bored."
In fact, the tablet didn't belong to Brionne at all — it was Daisy's. Daisy liked to surf the internet in her spare time, so Cole had bought it specifically for that purpose.
He had instructed everyone to make the Flabébé feel welcome at Mt. Ascendant, but Brionne's little brain couldn't think of a good way, so it secretly borrowed Daisy's tablet to bring over.
✲✲✲
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