As Tropius landed gracefully before him, Cole walked over and patted its neck, "Tropius, thank you for your trouble."
"Tropi~"
Tropius squinted and smiled warmly, conveying that it was happy to help anytime.
After breakfast, Heliolisk climbed back onto the large rock in front of the courtyard gate. It sat perfectly still, face turned toward the sun, with its frill fully extended.
Cole noticed sparks of electricity dancing across its frill.
"Heliolisk!" He called out.
"Helio~"
Heliolisk lowered its head to look at Cole. Upon seeing Tropius beside him, it realized he had indeed sought Ramos's help and quickly hopped down from the rock.
"Helio~ Helio~"
It scratched its head sheepishly, feeling ashamed that it had taken so long yet still couldn't master Sunny Day.
Cole patted its head, "Hey now, what's there to worry about? This move is completely new to you, and you're neither a Grass-type nor a Fire-type Pokémon. It's natural that you haven't mastered it yet. Don't be so hard on yourself — I've seen how hard you've been working."
"Helio~ Helio~"
These words lifted Heliolisk's spirits considerably. It grinned at him and thanked Tropius for coming to help.
"Alright then, let's begin." Cole said, clapping his hands.
They had already discussed the key points about learning moves with both Pokémon. Cole placed his hand on Tropius's back and slowly channeled his Special Ability energy into its body.
Thanks to his advanced Special Ability, he could now sense Pokémon's internal structures more clearly. Within moments, Tropius's entire energy circuit appeared vividly in his mind.
"Tropius, ready!" Cole said.
"Tropi~"
Tropius nodded, and its four leaf-like wings began glowing white. A crimson energy ball formed near its mouth, swiftly expanding to the size of a soccer ball.
With a "whoosh", Tropius launched the energy ball skyward, where it burst into countless points of light.
In an instant, the sun became scorching, its rays so dazzling that Cole had to shield his eyes.
However, his Special Ability precisely captured how Tropius's internal Source Energy circulated when using Sunny Day and how it resonated with external Attribute Energy.
Before his Special Ability advanced, Cole had needed considerable effort to capture and record these patterns completely. Now, he could remember half the pattern in just one observation.
"Tropius, one more time!"
"Tropi~"
Tropius nodded and used Sunny Day again.
Though the previous Sunny Day's effect hadn't worn off — meaning the sunlight didn't intensify further — Cole successfully memorized the complete circulation pattern that a Pokémon's internal Source Energy needed for this move.
Withdrawing his Special Ability energy and removing his hand from Tropius, he said, "Alright, Heliolisk, it's your turn."
"Helio~"
Heliolisk walked to his side and stood obediently.
Cole placed his hand on it while inputting Special Ability energy, "Feel it carefully, remember how my energy flows through your body."
"Helio~ Helio~"
Heliolisk nodded with a serious expression.
Cole guided the energy very slowly to help Heliolisk learn. Since the gecko's mind wasn't as agile as a human's and its memory wasn't as strong, it took over an hour of teaching before it barely managed to grasp the pattern.
"Whew~" He took a deep breath, removed his hand from the gecko and said, "Since you've remembered it, let's give it a try."
"Helio~"
Heliolisk nodded firmly. It raised its head toward the sky, slowly opened its frill, and white light rippled across it. Soon, a crimson energy ball appeared near its mouth.
However, this energy ball was much smaller than Tropius's.
"Good, Heliolisk, keep going!" Cole encouraged.
Just as the energy ball's size stopped increasing and Heliolisk was about to throw it skyward, the ball suddenly began to shrink. Before it could react, the ball vanished with a soft "poof", like a snuffed flame.
Heliolisk froze: (°д°) What happened?
Seeing this, Cole quickly reassured it, "It's your first try — failing is normal. Just keep practicing."
Heliolisk remained determined, nodding and continuing its attempts, though the results stayed the same.
The issue was simple: insufficient practice. Cole couldn't offer much help since the main problem was Heliolisk's inability to achieve proper resonance between its internal Source Energy and external Attribute Energy.
Noticing this, Tropius stepped forward and began chirping with Heliolisk, sharing its experience and explaining how to achieve resonance. The gecko listened attentively, nodding like an eager student.
While Tropius provided guidance, Cole sat quietly to the side, watching them practice.
The morning flew by, and Heliolisk eventually managed to learn the Sunny Day move, though with only a fifty percent success rate. Further practice would be needed to improve its consistency.
To show appreciation, Cole invited Tropius to stay for lunch and afterward provided it with an hour-long relaxing treatment.
In the afternoon, Tropius departed Mt. Ascendant with a happy heart.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
Since the berries on Mt. Ascendant hadn't reached their mass ripening period yet, everyone's workload had lightened considerably. Cole took this opportunity to implement staff vacation time.
The vacations were arranged in rotation, with three to four Pokémon taking two full days off at a time. During their break, they could spend their time however they wished — sleeping at home, roaming the mountains freely, or shopping in the West District.
Today was Hatterene's turn. Being the last in the group to take vacation, there were no other Pokémon available to accompany it. Though closest to Buneary, their overlapping duties meant they couldn't take time off together, as someone needed to handle household matters. Buneary had already taken its vacation with Purrloin a few days prior.
At home, only the two recently born Espurr could keep Hatterene company. For its first day off, Hatterene planned to visit companions at the shelter in the West District, take the Espurr for their checkup at the Pokémon Center, and do some casual shopping.
It rarely put itself first, always thinking of others — something that concerned Cole. When he saw that Hatterene planned to take the little ones out alone, he offered to accompany them, mentioning that he also needed to purchase anesthetic medicine from the Pokémon Center. He had depleted their supply two days ago while helping Pokémon activate their hidden energy circuits.
Hatterene was delighted to learn Cole would join them. Though Buneary was its only close friend on Mt. Ascendant, it didn't particularly enjoy solitude.
After breakfast that morning, he set out with Hatterene, joined by Daisy and Brionne — the latter never missing a chance to accompany him.
Once they had packed everything they needed, they departed.
It was the two Espurr's first time leaving Mt. Ascendant, and they were endlessly curious about everything along the way. While walking, they stared at passersby; in the car, they pressed against the windows; and on the streets, they pointed at all the dazzling merchandise...
Hatterene first took Cole to the shelter to deliver the batch of Pokéblocks that Buneary had made for their friends there.
When Hatterene introduced the two Espurr it had personally hatched, the Pokémon at the shelter were instantly charmed, showering the two felines with blessings and gifts.
In an instant, the two Espurr became the most popular beings in the entire shelter.
Though the gifts weren't anything precious — just leaves and stones — both Espurr happily accepted them all and solemnly asked Hatterene to help keep them safe.
As Psychic-type Pokémon, they were naturally adept at sensing others' emotions. Feeling the sincere affection from the shelter Pokémon, they gradually became more lively.
However, Espurr's natural gift of strong psychic powers meant they needed to suppress their emotions to prevent their powers from going out of control and hurting others.
Perhaps because they were having too much fun today, the male Espurr (one of the brother-sister pair) lost control of his power and accidentally sent a Litleo flying with his psychic force.
Though the little cub wasn't hurt, Espurr was terribly frightened. Feeling guilty, his mood immediately dropped.
But no one blamed him; instead, they all kindly consoled him, and even the Litleo came over to nuzzle him, which finally helped the Espurr brother recover his spirits.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
After leaving the shelter, they went to the Pokémon Center as planned.
Along the way, Brionne kept pestering Cole to buy it toys. Finally yielding, he bought it several buoyancy balls — perfect for playing with its shrimp underlings while swimming in the reservoir.
Brionne wasn't picky — it loved anything he bought for it.
It turned out to have quite a talent for performing tricks. As soon as it got the buoyancy balls, it put on an impromptu show right in front of the store, expertly balancing the balls for Cole and the others. The performance drew laughter from everyone and even stopped passersby in their tracks.
Completely oblivious to any social embarrassment, Brionne was thoroughly excited by all the attention. Cole finally had to drag it away amid the crowd's applause.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
At the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy greeted Cole warmly.
"You're here!" She had been counting the days, expecting his visit around this time, "The same amount as before?"
Cole shook his head, "We'll need more this time."
He provided Nurse Joy with the specific quantities.
"I see you've got new Pokémon." She said with a smile.
Cole lifted the two Espurr from Hatterene and placed them before her.
"These little ones need a check-up today. They were just born recently."
Nurse Joy gently patted their heads, "Alright, leave it to me."
Uneasy at the sight of this stranger, the two Espurr glanced between Cole and Hatterene before scampering back to their "mom's" side.
Hatterene quickly moved to comfort them.
"Hatte~ Hatte~ Hatte~" — Didn't we agree on this earlier? Be good, it'll be over soon, and I'll be right here waiting for you.
"Purr~"
"Purr~"
Reassured by its words, the siblings returned to Nurse Joy, though their eyes stayed fixed on Hatterene.
Nurse Joy chuckled at the sight.
"You're so cute. It's just a check-up, it'll be quick — we're not saying goodbye forever." She said, lifting the two Espurr, "Leave it to me."
Turning to Chansey, she spoke while heading to another room.
"Chansey, please get the medicine for Cole."
"Chan~"
Chansey nodded and went to the medicine room.
Perched on Nurse Joy's shoulders as she carried them to the examination room, the two Espurr kept waving at Hatterene with teary eyes, much to Cole's amusement.
True to her word, Nurse Joy completed the examination quickly, and minutes later, the two Espurr were brought back out.
"See, I told you it would be quick." She said with a smile as she placed the siblings back on the counter for Hatterene.
After getting the medicine, Cole said to her, "Thank you for your help today. Goodbye."
Nurse Joy waved dismissively, "Come by anytime if your Pokémon have any problems!"
After leaving the Pokémon Center, Cole turned to Hatterene.
"Let's spend the rest of the time relaxing. Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"
He thought it would be better for Hatterene to focus on itself for once, rather than always thinking of others.
Hatterene shook its head — despite growing up in Coumarine, it had rarely ventured beyond the Pokémon shelter's vicinity and wasn't familiar with the city.
Cole confidently patted his chest, "Then leave it to me!"
Though he'd once been too busy with studies and work to know Coumarine well, his recent tour with Lysandre had made him quite familiar with all the fun spots.
Hatterene nodded gently in agreement.
After considering various options, Cole chose a haunted house that had recently become famous in Coumarine, drawing crowds of visitors.
He'd wanted to visit during his time with Lysandre, but they hadn't managed to fit it into their schedule.
Daisy gave Cole an exasperated tap, pointing out that he wasn't really thinking about Hatterene — he just wanted to go himself!
Caught out by his mother's insight, he scratched his head and flashed a silly grin.
And so, Cole, Daisy, and Brionne took Hatterene and the two Espurr to the haunted house.
✲✲✲
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