Chapter 87 ⇾ My Dear Hatterene

After hearing about Hatterene's experiences, Cole's heart went out to it. How tragic!

He walked up to it and gently asked, "Hatterene, are you good at housework? Would you like to come with me?"

Whether it could use moves or not didn't matter to him — he simply wanted to hire a housekeeper.

"Hatte~"

Seeing Cole approach, Hatterene took two steps back. After a moment's hesitation, it shook its head in refusal.

"Why?" Cole asked, puzzled.

"Hatte~ Hatte~"

Hatterene pointed at the Pokémon around them, and understanding dawned on Cole.

"You want to take care of them?"

Hatterene's skill at housework came from years of caring for the Pokémon at the shelter, where it had become like a mother to them all.

Hearing its answer, the other Pokémon were visibly touched.

A Drifloon floated forward and called out to Hatterene, urging it not to worry about them — if it had a chance at a better life, it should take it.

Though they would miss Hatterene dearly, what mattered most was its happiness.

After all, if it spent its whole life only caring for them, what future would it have?

The other Pokémon nodded in agreement with Drifloon's words. After all these years of Hatterene's care, they truly wanted it to find its own happiness.

The deep bonds between the shelter's Pokémon touched Cole's heart — this was true devotion!

Suddenly inspired, he suggested, "How about this — Hatterene comes to work for me, I'll pay you in berries, and I'll send all the less attractive, harder-to-sell berries from my orchard each season to the shelter, so the Pokémon here can eat their fill."

If Hatterene was worried about the Pokémon here, he'd address those concerns directly!

During each harvest at the orchard, they always had plenty of berries that couldn't be sold due to their small size or appearance. These usually became Cole's household supply.

But they always had far too many to eat themselves, so Cole typically used them for compost. Now they could serve a better purpose — feeding the shelter's Pokémon.

Hatterene, who had been uncertain until now, nodded quickly at his proposal, as if afraid he might withdraw the offer.

True to form, it was still thinking of its shelter companions above all else.

"Alright, it's settled then." Cole said with a smile, then turned to the caretaker, "Uncle, I'd like to adopt this Hatterene."

The caretaker nodded, "Fine, I'll help you register. Come back in two days — if there are no problems with the approval, you can take Hatterene then."

The caretaker felt a twinge of regret. Hatterene had made his work so much easier, and with it leaving, his peaceful days would likely come to an end.

Still, he wouldn't stand in its way. Though he rarely paid much attention to the Pokémon here, he'd never want to prevent them from finding a better life.

After all, he was an unmotivated person — that's precisely why his family had pulled strings to get him this job. Just getting through each day was enough for him.

Cole nodded at his words, then turned to Hatterene, "We'll see you in two days."

Though Hatterene's expression remained blank, it couldn't help but nod when it saw his bright smile.

After leaving the shelter, Cole and his classmate Keith went their separate ways home.

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As soon as Cole got home, he found Daisy.

"Mom, have we used up our recent batch of berries for composting?"

"Garde~ Garde~" — Not yet, why?

Daisy asked curiously.

"Then don't compost them yet, I have a use for them." Cole said, "Are those berries in the warehouse?"

She nodded.

"I'll go take a look." Cole said as he headed toward the warehouse.

On Mt. Ascendant, besides the warehouse at the foot of the mountain, there was also one at the peak for storing miscellaneous items.

Daisy didn't understand what her precious son was planning, so she hurriedly followed.

Inside the warehouse, Cole found baskets upon baskets of berries. Though small and misshapen, there were plenty of them. The berries were still fresh from their recent harvest, with crystal-clear water droplets glistening on their skin.

When his mom caught up, Cole explained about Hatterene and the shelter, discussing his plan with her.

"I want to send all these berries to the shelter from now on. We don't really need them for compost anyway."

"Garde~ Garde~" — Whatever you say, I don't mind.

Daisy expressed her indifference.

That very day, Cole hired a truck and sent all the warehouse berries to the Pokémon shelter.

The caretaker was puzzled when the berries arrived, but upon learning they were from the boy who'd visited earlier, he was impressed by such quick action.

After the delivery person left, the caretaker called to all the Pokémon in the yard.

"Come, come... There's food for you!"

The Pokémon gathered, staring in confusion at the huge pile of berries — where had these come from?

"Hatte~"

Hatterene looked questioningly at the caretaker who, despite not understanding Pokémon language, could guess what it wanted to ask.

"That kid from earlier today sent them."

Though Hatterene had suspected as much, the confirmation left it stunned.

That person had kept his word!

The other Pokémon were overjoyed at the caretaker's answer. Cole's gesture showed how much he valued Hatterene, reassuring them it would have a wonderful life with him.

Under Hatterene's guidance, the berries were promptly distributed among all the Pokémon. The bounty was so generous that they couldn't finish it in one sitting — there would be plenty left for tomorrow.

The shelter buzzed with newfound energy.

Hatterene stood holding a berry, deep in thought, Cole's warm smile drifting through its memory.

Perhaps this change would be for the best!

Though the berries weren't perfect in appearance, their taste matched any sold in stores. The Pokémon's first bites were met with delighted surprise.

When Hatterene finally tried its berry, sweet juice burst across its tongue — a new flavor that matched its blossoming hopes.

The old man, seeing the Pokémon's joy, couldn't resist trying one himself. He, too, was astonished by the taste.

All these delicious berries, freely given to the shelter's Pokémon? The old man found himself puzzled by the generous young visitor.

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The next day at noon, Cole returned from school to find an unexpected surprise — Buneary had come home.

"Buneary! Aren't you supposed to be studying with Mr. Bryan today?" He asked, delighted to see it.

"Bune~ Bune~"

Buneary hopped to his side to explain.

It turned out Bryan and Siebold had gone to visit friends, so with nothing to do, Buneary had hitched a ride home on a Talonflame.

It hadn't been home for several days, so this was a perfect chance to check on the house and Heliolisk.

Well, Heliolisk was just an afterthought...

Cole suddenly understood, "Oh, I see. We've missed you too!"

Without you, this house was falling apart...

When he went inside, he found the house spotlessly cleaned and perfectly organized — all thanks to Buneary's hard work. At that moment, Cole wanted nothing more than to pick it up and give it a big kiss.

Though he and the others handled housework regularly, they were far inferior to Buneary. As soon as it came home, the house was transformed.

"Bune~ Bune~" — Boss, go wash your hands — dinner will be ready soon!

Buneary tugged at his pants leg.

"Lunch is ready? Who made it? Daisy?" Cole indicated he wanted to decline — his mother's cooking skills left much to be desired.

"Bun~ Bun~" — Not Daisy, I did!

Buneary shook its head.

"You?" Cole's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at its small frame, "Can you even reach the stove?"

"Bune~ Bunea~" — What's that supposed to mean? Boss, are you looking down on me?

Hearing this, Buneary immediately got angry and started punching his legs with its tiny fists.

It was incredibly strong, especially after Cole had helped it unlock its hidden energy circuits. Its little punches really hurt, even though it was holding back.

"Okay, okay, I was wrong! Today I'll sample Buneary's cooking!" He quickly begged for mercy.

Soon Daisy and the others returned from outside, and Cole helped Buneary carry the dishes from the kitchen to the dining room.

When he first saw the lunch Buneary had prepared, he was truly shocked — could this really have been made by that little bunny and not Siebold?

After asking, he learned that Buneary had learned everything from Siebold.

No one in the family was particularly skilled at cooking — he was probably the best among them, though his skills were just average.

At Bryan's house, Buneary had tried Siebold's cooking and was amazed — it had never imagined food could taste so wonderful!

This reaction only showed how little experience it had with fine cooking.

Eager to create such delicious meals, Buneary had asked Siebold to teach it. It took some time for Siebold to understand what the little Pokémon wanted.

Siebold happily agreed and welcomed Buneary to watch him cook.

Unlike when learning to make Pokéblocks — where Bryan, Octillery, and Slowking merely let it observe — Siebold took a different approach. He not only demonstrated techniques but also gave careful, thorough instruction.

It became clear that Buneary possessed remarkable talent, not just for making Pokéblocks, but for cooking as well.

Under Siebold's guidance, Buneary's cooking skills developed even faster than its Pokéblock-making abilities!

It was like the old saying: "Flowers refuse to bloom where planted, while willows flourish where randomly inserted."

Seeing Buneary's cleverness, Siebold couldn't help feeling envious — he wished he could find such a smart and adorable Pokémon, but such treasures were rare indeed.

As everyone gathered at the table, Cole announced, "Today's meal was specially prepared by Buneary, who came home to cook for us all. Please enjoy!"

"Garde~"

"Chiko~"

"Helio~"

...

The Pokémon responded happily before digging in.

At first bite, Cole and the Pokémon were delighted by Buneary's cooking.

The food was delicious! While not quite reaching Siebold's mastery, Buneary's cooking skill far surpassed anyone else's in the household — human or Pokémon alike. It was practically divine.

"Buneary, you're... amazing!" Cole gave a thumbs up as he ate. "From now on, we'll be counting on you for our meals!"

Heliolisk copied the gesture with a thumbs up of its own. Seeing this, Buneary grew shy. Fortunately, no one noticed their little exchange — otherwise, they might have choked on the third wheel atmosphere.

Buneary stayed home for one night, then early the next morning packed its little bundle and rode a Talonflame back to Bryan's house.

Soon it was time for Cole to pick up Hatterene. That afternoon after school, he rode Captain Talonflame to the Pokémon shelter.

When the old man opened the door and saw Cole, he sighed with relief, "I was starting to worry you weren't coming."

Cole apologetically replied, "I have classes during the day, so this was the earliest I could come."

'What a strange kid...' The old man glanced at him, "Come in."

After leading Cole inside, he asked, "Uncle, did my application get approved?"

The old man replied flatly, "It's approved. You can take Hatterene now."

The old man had been quite surprised by the application results. He hadn't expected everything Cole said to be true — that he was an orphan, owned an orchard, and ran a successful business.

Considering the excellent taste of the berries Cole had sent, it made sense — with produce that delicious, the orchard had to be doing well.

Hatterene breathed a sigh of relief when it saw him.

It had been waiting since early morning for him to arrive. As the hours passed without any sign of him, Hatterene had grown anxious, wondering if he'd changed his mind.

Cole approached with a warm smile, "Hatterene, I'm here to pick you up!"

"Hatte~"

Hatterene nodded.

The old man spoke up, "Come sign here, and then you can take Hatterene with you."

"Hatterene, wait for me a moment." With that, Cole followed the old man to his office.

As soon as he left, all the Pokémon from the yard emerged, tears welling in their eyes as they gathered to bid Hatterene farewell.

Hatterene gently comforted them, "It's alright, don't be sad. I'll still be in Coumarine — I'll come visit whenever I can."

Drifloon chimed in, "That's right, Hatterene is going to have a wonderful life from now on. We should be happy for it."

The Pokémon dried their tears, resolving to send their friend off with smiles instead.

When Cole returned, the Pokémon had retreated to their rooms, though they watched quietly from doorframes and windowsills as Hatterene's silhouette grew distant, their hearts full of silent blessings.

My dear Hatterene, may you be forever happy.

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