Chapter 15 ⇾ The Strange Girl
A month had passed, and most of Cole's planted fruit trees thrived. He replaced the few that didn't survive with new saplings from the Sproutling Haven Nursery.
During this time, both the Fearow and Talonflame group and the Diggersby family had settled well into their new home.
Talonflame and the Fletchinder flock patrolled the skies above Ascendant Mountain, swiftly driving away any intruding wild Pokémon.
As the fruit trees flourished with new growth, they began attracting bug-type Pokémon, particularly Butterfree and Caterpie.
The birds, with their keen eyesight, would quickly spot these insects on the fruit trees and remove them, carrying them far beyond the mountain's boundaries.
Today, Cole stood pruning a fruit tree sapling in his black apron, while beside him, Father Diggersby — the patriarch of the family of three — mimicked his actions with an oversized pair of scissors.
Since the fruit trees' planting, the Diggersby family's duties had mainly consisted of fertilizer application. This simple task was easily managed by the two efficient adults, leaving them with spare time.
Seeing how busy the Fearow and Talonflame group stayed, the Diggersby family grew concerned. They worried their boss might find them unprofitable and terminate their employment if they didn't work harder.
They had it good at Cole's place — excellent food, comfortable lodging, and even occasional spa treatments. It was paradise. Where else could they find such an ideal situation? Unwilling to risk losing it all, they sought to prove their worth in the orchard.
One day, as Cole pruned branches, Father Diggersby approached him, eager to learn.
Cole was initially confused — learn? Learn what?
After some explanation from Father Diggersby, Cole understood — the Pokémon wanted to learn proper tree care.
At first, Cole doubted whether such a large Pokémon could handle such delicate work.
He was mistaken. The big bunny not only managed the task but excelled at it. This talent wasn't surprising, considering how Father Diggersby had previously cultivated an abundant Oran Berry tree without any prior experience. He possessed a natural gift for cultivation.
Recognizing this potential, Cole began teaching Father Diggersby in earnest.
Orchard management was complex, involving daily tasks like fertilizing, watering, pest control, pruning, and cleaning. The work would only increase once the trees bloomed and bore fruit, requiring flower and fruit thinning, along with additional protection.
Father Diggersby proved to be an eager and capable student, quickly becoming Cole's valuable assistant. His help significantly lightened the workload of managing the extensive orchard.
The Diggersby couple soon established a clear division of labor.
Mother Diggersby maintained her role of fertilizing the fruit trees while spending her spare time with Baby Bunnelby, loosening soil and weeding. Meanwhile, Father Diggersby continued learning orchard management and tree care from Cole.
As Cole and the big bunny pruned tree branches together, peculiar singing would occasionally echo through the orchard.
It was Popplio's voice.
Popplio had developed into a normal Pokémon, though its pure, high-quality internal energy made its Moves more powerful than average.
It had mastered three of its four Moves: Pound, Water Gun, and Disarming Voice — while Perish Song, likely an inherited move, remained a work in progress.
Popplio also possessed Liquid Voice, a rare hidden ability that transformed sound-based moves into water-type moves. This ability led to a creative use of Disarming Voice.
When singing, Popplio's Liquid Voice would convert Disarming Voice into a water-type move. During practice one day, inspiration struck — it tried using sound vibrations to control water-type energy in the air, turning it into mist.
The experiment succeeded.
This mist proved more efficient for watering the fruit trees than individual Water Gun shots, with no risk of overwatering.
Popplio then abandoned Water Gun in favor of Disarming Voice for tree watering.
However, the little one's singing ability left much to be desired. What should have been beautiful melodies came out as disjointed howling.
Despite Cole's repeated attempts to correct its singing, nothing improved. Even playing famous songs as examples backfired — the familiar tunes became unrecognizable in Popplio's rendition.
"Woo woo~ woo woo woo woo~" — Billie Jean, it's not my lover!
Though the singing wasn't exactly melodious, Popplio performed with boundless enthusiasm — a classic case of being bad at something but loving it anyway.
As evening approached, Cole handed the scissors to Father Diggersby, "I need to go to the Coumarine Gym, I'll leave the orchard to you all."
"Hoder!" — Leave it to us, boss!
Father Diggersby patted his chest.
Cole nodded, then called toward the depths of the orchard, "Popplio, I'm leaving, want to come along?"
"Woo~" — But the ki-
The singing in the grove suddenly stopped, and Popplio came running from afar, leaping into his arms with a "woo".
Meanwhile, at the mountaintop, Daisy was sparring with Talonflame and several Fearow. Though they had no chance of defeating her, Daisy was holding back, using the session for light practice — a moderate training exercise.
"You guys, pause for a moment. I need to go to the Coumarine Gym. Talonflame, could you give me a ride?"
At Cole's call, the Pokémon halted their training.
Talonflame called toward the forest, and the Fletchinder emerged, taking position opposite Daisy to continue the sparring session. Meanwhile, Talonflame landed before Cole.
"Thanks for your help." He patted its head, then smoothly mounted its back and took to the sky.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
Hovering above the Coumarine Gym, Cole spotted someone standing at the entrance.
"Talonflame, let's descend." He patted its neck.
"Yalo~"
Talonflame nodded and glided down with Cole.
Upon landing, he saw that the person at the gym entrance was a strange girl.
She appeared to be twelve or thirteen, dressed in white with short dark gray hair — young and pretty.
As Cole studied her, a sense of familiarity struck him, though he couldn't place where he might have seen her before.
The girl noticed him too, and as he dismounted, she asked curiously, "Are you here to challenge the gym too?"
Cole started, then shook his head, "No, I'm here for something else."
"Oh, I see." The girl lowered her head briefly, then looked up with a smile, "Your Talonflame looks quite strong. I thought you were here for a gym challenge."
Before Cole could respond, Popplio began barking at the girl, clearly offended.
What do you mean? So Talonflame is strong but I'm not? Talonflame is just Cole's employee — I'm his starter Pokémon!
"Alright, stop being jealous!" Understanding Popplio's outburst, Cole laughed and quickly soothed it.
Didn't Mogu say this was supposed to be a gentle and sensible Pokémon? How had it changed so much in his care?
After spending time together, Cole had come to understand Popplio's personality perfectly. It was simply a little hothead, ready to fight at the slightest provocation — which explained why it had beaten up Captain Sanders' daughter back then.
"You're a water-type Pokémon, not a fire-type!"
The girl looked at the jumping sea lion in bewilderment and asked, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"
Cole explained sheepishly, "Actually, Talonflame isn't really my Pokémon, Popplio is. It got jealous when you praised Talonflame."
The girl's face lit up with understanding as she giggled, "Your Popplio is quite interesting. By the way, you can understand Pokémon so easily — I knew I was right, you're a skilled trainer."
Cole thought to himself, 'I might not even qualify as a proper trainer.'
Then he heard the girl say, "Oh right, I'm Diantha, and you are?"
✲✲✲
T/N: If you want more chapters like this, check out my Patreon! Take a look at my other translations too, you might like them!
For just $1.50 you can access all the extra content, and descriptive images, costs only $2!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)
https://www.patreon.com/mrblackwing