In the early morning, the Talonflame led the Fletchinder and Fletchling out of their dwellings, forming neat ranks as they headed out for patrol.
Two newly arrived Corviknight followed closely behind them, earnestly learning how their seniors worked.
The Floette emerged one after another from the dormitory. They first circled above the Fairy Flower field and, after seeing that today's Fairy Flowers were also in full bloom, flew contentedly into the berry grove.
Where they flew, faint green specks of light drifted down, floating gently before disappearing into the berry grove. These would eventually become nutrients for all the plants growing on this mountain.
The three Ghost-type Pokémon — Haunter (evolved from Gastly), Misdreavus, and Lampent (evolved from Litwick) — hadn't slept all night. They had been silently watching the newly arrived Sinistea.
Sinistea had already woken up from its sleep. As soon as it emerged from its teacup, it saw the three seniors still watching it and was momentarily speechless.
Over the past two years, Gastly and Litwick had successfully evolved into Haunter and Lampent, while only Misdreavus remained in its original form because it needed an Dusk Stone to evolve.
Last night, after the new member arrived, the three were so happy that they kept staring at the newcomer.
At first, Sinistea was a bit scared, but as time passed, it realized the three seniors wouldn't harm it, so it gradually let down its guard. Living among its own kind, Sinistea's uneasiness largely dissipated.
Eventually, it could no longer resist sleepiness and dozed off.
Seeing Sinistea awake, Haunter and the others immediately pulled it outside happily.
It's morning, time to work!
Their job today was to collect fallen branches and leaves from the berry grove and deliver them to the Diggersby family for making fertilizer.
When the four Ghost-type Pokémon arrived outside, the Gyarados and Clawitzer had already begun their morning watering duties. Some were flying above the forest, others were moving through the groves — all of them working diligently.
Misdreavus took this opportunity to educate the junior: You should learn from everyone and be a hardworking Pokémon.
Sinistea: (⇀‸↼‶) I'll try my best!
This morning, Liepard knocked on the Whimsicott and Cottonee's door, as it would be guiding their work today.
Perhaps because last night's spa treatment was so comfortable, the Whimsicott and Cottonee slept exceptionally well without even dreaming. They slept until late morning and only hurriedly got up when Liepard came knocking.
"Whim-Whim-Whim-Whimsi~"
At the Whimsicott's call, the Cottonee lined up and headed out.
Liepard first took the Whimsicott to the usual composting area in the orchard and handed them over to the busy Diggersby family.
Although the Whimsicott couldn't yet use their cotton and seeds to make fertilizer — having been over-exploited by the Pangoro family — they could first familiarize themselves with how Mt. Ascendant typically composted regular materials.
Then Liepard took the Cottonee to the blooming berry grove, directing them to pollinate the flowers.
After most of the Pokémon from the staff dormitory had gone out to work, Hatterene led the Meowstic siblings to clean and tidy up their rooms.
After two years of treatment, Hatterene's injuries had mostly healed. It could not only use its powerful psychic abilities again but had also gradually gained insights into Fairy-type training.
Now it was considered a powerful Pokémon on Mt. Ascendant — after Daisy, Lopunny, Heliolisk, Brionne, and Captain Talonflame, it was next in line.
While cleaning one of the rooms, Hatterene was surprised to find a Pancham with its bottom up and head buried under the blanket, snoring away.
This wasn't right!
Yesterday, Cole had already instructed everyone that from now on, all the dirty and heavy work on the mountain could be assigned to the Pangoro family. They would be like bricks on Mt. Ascendant, moved wherever needed.
Logically, they should have already been taken by Nidoking and Nidoqueen to transport berries this morning!
{T/N: For those who don't remember, this Nido couple are Keith's Pokémon.}
Thinking this, Hatterene grabbed one of Pancham's legs and lifted it up.
"Pan-cham! Pan-cham!!!" — Who is it! Who is it! Looking for a beating?!
Disturbed from its sleep, Pancham kicked its legs in anger. At this moment, Hatterene swung its braids and smacked its bottom hard.
"Hatte~ Hatte~" — Who do you think you're going to hit!
Pancham was stunned by the hit. It hung upside down, looking at Hatterene for a few seconds, then erupted in rage, raising its small fists to punch Hatterene.
"Pan-cham! Pan-cham!" — Who are you to hit me!!!
Slap! Slap!! Slap!!!
But before it could act, its bottom received several more hits.
"Hatte~ Hatte~" — Disobedient children need discipline.
At this point, the Meowstic siblings heard the commotion and came over. Seeing the tiny Pancham daring to throw a tantrum at Hatterene, they angrily floated over and helped their mom hold Pancham's legs on both sides, allowing Hatterene to freely discipline it.
Slap! Slap! Slap~
Hatterene's braids struck Pancham's bottom.
"Hatte~ Hatte~" — Will you dare to slack off again?
"Pan-cham~ Pan-cham~" — None of your business! You dare hit me, just you wait!
Slap! Slap! Slap~
Hatterene gave it another round of spanking.
"Hatte~ Hatte~" — Will you dare to throw tantrums again?
"Pan-cham~ Pan-cham~" — I will throw tantrums if I want to, it's my choice, what can you do about it!
Slap! Slap! Slap~
Hatterene gave it another round of spanking.
...
After some time, Pancham walked out of the dormitory with tears in its eyes, clutching its small bottom and limping, sobbing as it went.
( ＞Д＜ ) Wah wah wah... old witch, they're all old witches!
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
When Cole woke up in the morning, he saw the orchard thriving and bustling with activity, which immediately improved his mood.
After breakfast, he went to the berry grove to groom the energy of the berry trees, returning home only when it was almost noon.
At this time, Nidoking and Nidoqueen were leading the Pangoro family in digging a hole. Today, Cole wanted to plant the roots of the S-class berry tree.
Before he returned, the roots of this berry tree had already been shipped to Mt. Ascendant by Lysandre.
The Pangoro couple were huffing and puffing as they dug the hole, while the four Pancham children continuously carried soil out from the hole. They wanted to slack off, but none dared to because the Nidoking and Nidoqueen watching them were simply too terrifying.
Papa and Mama Pangoro had just received a beating this morning while transporting berries.
They used to rule supreme outside, but after coming to Mt. Ascendant, they found they couldn't beat anyone. Even the Fletchinder and Fletchling had the right to peck them a couple of times if they were unhappy.
If they dared to bully the Fletchinder or Fletchling, a Talonflame would immediately come to have a "heart-to-heart" with them. They couldn't defeat even a single Talonflame!
After the tree pit was dug, Cole directed the Pangoro to move the tree root into the hole.
He planted this tree root behind the house, adjacent to the A-class Ganlon berry tree. However, he left ample space between the two trees in case this Starf berry tree was successfully revived, preventing them from affecting each other's growth if they were too close.
After burying the root, Cole directed the Pangoro family to water and fertilize it. When that was done, he used his Special Ability to groom its energy.
During the energy grooming process, he marveled that this tree root was indeed worthy of being a former S-class berry tree.
Although most of it had already died, the energy contained within was incredibly abundant, with neither the quantity nor quality comparable to any other berry tree.
The only troubling thing was that the energy inside had become completely chaotic.
Generally, energy in berry trees or Pokémon flows only through fixed channels — the tree's dendrograms and the Pokémon's energy circuits — but the energy in this tree root had broken through all barriers and constraints.
To make an analogy, rivers typically follow fixed riverbeds before flowing into the sea. However, when a region experiences sudden consecutive downpours, floodwaters destroy the riverbanks, flowing in all directions and leaving the land ravaged by floods.
The interior of the S-class berry tree root was now in a similar condition.
To ensure the tree root could sprout again, Cole began using his Special Ability to guide the rampant energy back to its proper place while repairing and regulating the dendrogram.
His Psychic Power and Special Ability energy poured out simultaneously, transforming into countless threads that penetrated the tree root's interior, quickly repairing the berry tree's dendrogram and reorganizing its chaotic energy.
Had this been before his Special Ability and Psychic Powers advanced, he could never have accomplished this task. Now, although the work was somewhat tedious, it wasn't particularly difficult for him.
After some time, Cole slowly withdrew his Psychic Power and Special Ability energy, wiping the fine beads of sweat from his forehead.
It was so mentally draining!
It was impossible to solve all the problems of this S-class berry tree at once, so he'd have to take it slowly!
Next, he called over Chikorita and, pointing to a section of the tree root still exposed outside, asked, "Chikorita, can I ask for your help?"
"Chiko~ Chiko~"
Chikorita nodded confidently, then began running around the tree root. Waves of green energy rippled out from under its feet like concentric circles, gradually covering the entire tree root.
After finishing, it was panting with exhaustion.
Cole helplessly picked it up, "You don't need to exert yourself so much. Take it slowly — it's not something that needs to be done in a day or two."
"Chiko~ Chiko~" — It's okay, it's okay!
Chikorita struggled out of Cole's arms and darted away in a flash, leaving him standing there, shaking his head helplessly.
Seeing that lunchtime was almost over, he hurried home to eat. Lopunny had already prepared the meal and was waiting for him.
"Mom's not home?" Cole looked around the house but didn't see Daisy's figure.
"Lop~ Lopunny~"
Lopunny nodded, saying that Daisy had gone to the Trevenant Forest early in the morning and probably wouldn't be back before sunset today.
"Sigh~ What a woman who doesn't like to come home."
At noon, over at the staff dormitory, Hatterene was distributing Pokéblocks to the Pokémon one by one.
Everyone was eating delicious Pokéblocks made from A-class berries, which were crystal clear, each as beautiful as a genuine gemstone, obviously delicious at first glance.
Only the Pangoro family ate Pokéblocks made from B-class berries.
These Pokéblocks couldn't compare with those made from A-class berries in terms of appearance, smell, taste, or the energy they contained.
Recently, the Meowstic siblings often helped Lopunny, sometimes practicing with B-class berries, and now these practice creations had become food for the Pangoro family.
A Pancham looked at the Pokéblock in his hand, lightly licked it, then suddenly threw it into his mouth, chewing twice before swallowing it.
Then he looked at the plate beside Fletchling, noticing the stark difference between them. Angry, he threw his own plate away and reached for Fletchling's plate.
Fletchling was stunned for a moment, never imagining such a thing could happen. It had never seen anything like this since birth.
By then, Pancham had already poured all the Pokéblocks from the plate into his mouth.
Uma~Uma~ This is so delicious!
Only after eating them did Pancham truly realize the difference between the two types of Pokéblocks — they were worlds apart.
"Chirp~ Chirp~"
At this point, Fletchling let out an ear-splitting cry, simultaneously crying and accusing Pancham.
Now all the Pokémon turned their gaze toward them. Pancham, seeing this, raised his neck with false bravado, showing no sign of admitting his mistake.
"Pan-cham~ Pan-cham~" — What are you looking at? What are you looking at?
At this moment, the Pancham who had been beaten earlier that morning suddenly noticed Hatterene's eyes beginning to glow in the distance. He couldn't help but shrink his neck as he quietly tugged at his brother's tail.
"Pan-cham~ Pan-cham~" — Apologize quickly, brother, apologize quickly!
However, his brother slapped away his hand and stubbornly refused to back down.
"Pan-cham! Pan-cham!" — Apologize for what! It's his honor that I ate his food!
Seeing his brother's unrepentant attitude, the younger Pancham silently picked up his own bowl and quietly moved away, taking their two sisters with him.
The next second, Hatterene appeared beside the elder Pancham and lifted him by one of his hind legs.
"Hatte~ Hatte~" — Stealing someone else's food?
Pancham kicked his legs frantically and grabbed wildly with his hands.
"Pan-cham! Pan-cham!" — Yes, I stole it, what can you do about it?
Slap! Slap! Slap~
The familiar sound of spanking echoed.
"Hatte~ Hatte~" — Have you learned your lesson?
"Pan-cham! Pan-cham!" — I didn't do anything wrong, I didn't do anything wrong, their things are all mine!
Seeing this scene, the Pangoro couple and the younger Pancham brother simultaneously turned their heads away, unwilling to watch the stubborn son (brother).
They had already experienced this kind of ordeal themselves.
After some time, the elder Pancham sat on the ground crying while covering his bottom.
"Pan-cham~ Pan-cham~" — I'm sorry, I won't dare to do it again, waa waa waa...
Though he was apologizing verbally, in his heart he was furiously cursing Hatterene.
(ᗒᗣᗕ)՞ Wuwuwu... old witch, this place is full of old witches... wuwuwu...
✲✲✲
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