Master Craftsman of the Pokémon World

June 24th.

A few days ago, the rain arrived just in time. Now, the herb field and farmland are entirely covered in green; fresh sprouts greedily absorb the early summer warmth, growing sturdier by the day.

And Petilil, who has learned Sunny Day, continues working in the fields.

Her instincts as a Grass-type Pokémon grant her some knowledge about caring for herbs and crops.

These herbs and crops only require ten days to a month before harvest, and on this land, they will be ready even sooner.

From the workshop comes the sound of carving. Petilil knows that human is making more mysterious tools again. Two days ago, after being strengthened, she felt brimming with energy.

Now and then, she lifts the small "hands" on her skirt hem and fires off a "Hard Brace" attack at the grass ahead.

Here, she feels extremely at ease—so much so that she might forget how to fight if she stays too long.

At times, she's even considered living here instead of reclaiming her old habitat. But whenever that thought arises, she remembers the once timid companions she had—and their leader.

Their leader is a standard-form Lilligant. Before this, Petilil also believed she would evolve into that form.

But now, she knows she has another possible evolution, and she can't help feeling anticipation for her own future.

If she reclaims their habitat and evolves into that other form, how would their leader see her?

Would her companions be happy for the return of their home?

Or would they have already taken root somewhere else, unwilling to come back?

"Peti…"

If she took back the habitat only for her companions not to return, everything she did would seem pointless. But Petilil has considered this scenario long ago.

Even if she lives there alone as a single Pokémon…

Her former companions may have left, but Pokémon are communal creatures, and many also migrate. Surely, eventually, other Petilil would arrive, settling once more in that old homeland.

With that in mind, Petilil fixes her gaze on the distant forest.

Beyond those rolling hills, rocks, and woodlands lies the outer forest that directly connects to the Shendu Ancient Forest.

Perhaps the leader, too, had come from another place before migrating to this forest. That could explain why her form differs from the "other form" humans speak of—her appearance is considered "normal," while only in harsh conditions can one evolve into the new form.

To the leader, moving from one piece of land to another may be entirely normal. She might not understand why Petilil clings so hard to that one patch of land, for rich, fertile soil can be found anywhere.

And likely the other Petilil thought the same.

"Peti~"

But I was born in that habitat…

Petilil withdraws her gaze from the forest and devotes herself fully to tending each crop.

In the soft soil, Berries have sprouted as well. These astonishing Berry trees are a unique feature of this world: they drop their Berries to the ground, the Berries decay, and soon new sprouts appear.

Unlike ordinary trees, they don't have a long growth cycle—though these Berry trees here still seem to be growing rather quickly.

Petilil arrives at the patch where the Berries are planted. By color alone, it's clear this soil differs slightly from the rest.

Though all the soil is soft, this patch appears to have been tilled multiple times. She heard it was thanks to a group of Diglett and Dugtrio from far away. That's the power of a collective, not just a single Pokémon.

A group of companions…

Petilil's gaze drifts toward the workshop.

The carving sound continues, over and over.

"Roooaaar—!"

Suddenly, a distant roar echoes from the sky. Petilil bounces up and looks overhead, spotting a massive black dot beneath the white clouds!

The dot rapidly closes in, scattering the surrounding clouds. Its outline gradually becomes distinct!

It's a huge Pokémon!

The shape descends at high speed. Initially, Petilil panics—she gathers sunlight, assuming it to be a wild intruder. However, just as her Solar Beam is about to fire, she realizes the Pokémon diving down from the sky is carrying a human's delivery box on its body.

Huh?

Seeing the bright sunlight, the descending Pokémon also changes course and soars straight toward Petilil's area, landing with tremendous force at the edge of the field!

Hearing the commotion, Hikaru and Doublade emerge from the wooden house.

"A Charizard from Blackthorn City!"

Indeed, the courier this time is Charizard again! Carrying a large box on its chest, it's arrived one day earlier than expected.

Because it had come here before, the route was familiar, so it flew faster.

Charizard glances at Petilil, intrigued for a moment—it's never seen this type of Pokémon before—but quickly looks away. Letting out a few growls, it mimics what it did last time, pulling a Rage Candy Bar from the box and chomping away.

Then Charizard begins to unload various items: a large supply of fertilizer, plus Crystallized Honey!

Growth Mulch: Speeds up the soil's drying but also accelerates Berry growth in soft soil.

Damp Mulch: Slows the soil's drying but also slows Berry growth in soft soil.

Stable Mulch: Extends the time before Berries drop.

Gooey Mulch: Increases the number of times new sprouts appear after the plant wilts.

These fertilizers were originally intended for Berry cultivation, so besides them, there's also regular fertilizer for herbs and crops.

Crystallized Honey glimmers with an amber glow. Bug-type and Fairy-type Pokémon love it; it can attract them to wherever it's placed. Produced by Combee, it's not exactly rare.

If any honey is truly rare, it's the "Terrifying Sweet Honey" produced by Vespiquen.

"Roaar!"

Charizard scratches its head, indicating these fertilizers and honey were quite heavy, so it took longer to fly here than last time.

"Thank you so much. This place really is out in the boonies."

Hikaru smiles and places the packed parcels into the box. There's one to Pallet Town, one to Ecruteak City, and one bound for the Hoenn region.

Charizard looks over the parcels. When it notices the one for Hoenn, its expression changes a bit, letting out a series of growls.

Doublade translates promptly:

Charizard is saying your workshop looks so run-down—it never expected you'd be doing business all the way in Hoenn!

"Yeah, it's pretty dilapidated. I never bother to fix it up, as long as it doesn't leak when it rains…"

Hikaru feels a bit embarrassed.

How could his ramshackle workshop compare to a Pokémon Center?

"Rooar, roooar."

With its claws at its hips, Charizard seems to be complaining:

Shipments to Hoenn must be transferred through Cianwood City. It's not fast enough—otherwise, it could deliver directly to Cianwood without returning to Blackthorn City.

Not fast enough? Hikaru recalls Charizard's base Speed stat is about 100.

That's already quite fast.

Charizard: "Rooaar…"

Johto's main courier for urgent deliveries of all sizes is Dragonite.

Suddenly Hikaru understands.

Oh, that Dragonite with a base Speed of only 80, but it has Extreme Speed—no wonder Charizard can't compete!

Simultaneously, Charizard explains that in snowy mountain regions, it's the one handling deliveries since it isn't a Dragon type and thus not weak to ice.

As for rainy weather, one Sunny Day solves the problem—no big deal. On foggy days, it can use Defog. In short, it can handle a wider range of climates than Dragonite, which can't deal with icy conditions.

"Is that so? Then take this."

Hikaru pulls out a wooden carving shaped like Charizard.

"Roaar?"

Charizard looks puzzled. Is this just some normal craft?

"No, once you go back, pray to it. It'll show you the power you long for."

"Aren't you wishing for more speed? Indeed, you can still be faster. I'm a toolmaker who sells items with unusual abilities. If you don't mind, give it a try." Hikaru explains with a smile:

"After all, you might be picking up and dropping off parcels here often. If you can fly faster, that helps me too."

When long-term effort is finally recognized by one's own potential, it can burst forth with astounding power.

Charizard, still somewhat unsure, accepts the carving. It gives a friendlier roar to Hikaru, indicating that if it ever finds anything neat on its route, it will bring it by next time!

[Your relationship with Charizard has improved!]

Flapping its wings, Charizard takes off, performing a mysterious dance in midair—evidently Dragon Dance—to increase its speed.

Then, it vanishes into the distant sky.

"I guess you could call that a sort of sales pitch," Hikaru mutters.

Petilil also watches as Charizard flies away.

Powerful Pokémon can cross mountains and rivers to reach such faraway places.

If she evolves, could she travel just like that?

"Yo?"

Suddenly, Doublade floats over to Petilil. She tilts her head in confusion, while the two red sashes on Doublade sway side to side, both eyes expressing a hint of exasperation.

"Yo ┓(⊙)┏"

No, no, that Charizard wasn't traveling for fun!

It was working a delivery job—if it goes overtime, it might lose out on its snacks!

"Wah-wah…"

"Peti?"

All of a sudden, Petilil seems to sense something. She glances around quickly; just a moment ago, when she looked up, she thought she saw a shadow flicker in her peripheral vision.

"Peti?"

Petilil cocks her head.

Was that a mistake?

"What's wrong?" Hikaru notices Petilil looking distracted. Petilil hops over and says she just saw a strange shadow.

"A strange shadow? It's daytime, so a Ghost-type Pokémon shouldn't be out." Hikaru rubs his chin, turning to Doublade for translation.

"Did either of you notice anything?"

"Yoo?"

"Yoop."

Both of Doublade's eyes reveal puzzled expressions. Seeing that, Hikaru instantly understands.

"Figures—I can't really count on a Pokémon with a careless personality to have super-sharp observation skills."

"Maybe it was a leaf or some weed blowing over from the woods. Perfectly normal. Or maybe, because we created the Symbolic Tablet, we attracted some Unown!"

"I hear Unown like spying on people! In any case, don't overthink it. If it really is an Unown, there's no malice."

Hikaru holds up his index finger, giving both Pokémon a little explanation about Unown, which are just like the characters on the stone tablet!

"Peti." Petilil once again looks around.

(…?)

Was it really just her imagination? Or was it Unown?

If it's a friend, why not show itself?

By this time, Hikaru has entered the cabin. Petilil remains in the field a moment longer, then follows him inside.

Outside, by the workshop window, that winged, green Pokémon appears once again, giggling quietly.

But it only laughs for a moment before it notices Unown E there.

"Tee?"

Their three gazes meet, and Unown E makes an awkward sound:

"Unown…"

Haha, what a coincidence—you're spying on them too, huh!

(End of Chapter)

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