After concluding the Gym battle, Ron said his goodbyes to Haley and the others, then rode his Gogoat toward Lumiose City.
"Ah, leaving already?" Bonnie stretched. "Even though Ron just left, I'm already missing his cooking."
"Is my cooking that bad?" Serena asked upon hearing this.
"Not really, but Ron's is just a cut above," Bonnie smiled at Serena. "Can we make macarons tomorrow?"
"Hmm—" Serena blinked. "I'll think about it—but that tea really is delicious. If we pair it with macarons for afternoon tea, it'll definitely be amazing."
"It'd be nice if they could mass-produce it sooner," Bonnie said, thinking of the Stardrop Tea's taste.
"Yeah." Serena said, turning to look in the direction Ron had gone.
Ti shifted to the next day. Ron had just gotten off the train from Lumiose City to Coumarine City when he ran straight into Ramos, who was waiting by the train.
Seeing Ron get off, Ramos quickly walked over to him. "You're finally back. I thought Laverre City had poached you."
"Laverre City?" Ron paused.
"You challenged the Laverre Gym, right?" Ramos said as he led Ron toward the plot of land allocated for his tea plantation. "Valerie ntioned it. I heard you can even use telepathy with your Pokémon. How about it, are you interested in challenging the Coumarine Gym while you're at it?"
"Telepathy?"
Ron froze for a mont, rembering yesterday's events. He awkwardly looked away. "Yeah, that kind of thing—uh, happens occasionally."
"I heard you can only do that if you have a really close bond with your Pokémon," Ramos continued. "This just proves you get along incredibly well with your Froakie."
"Froakie?"
Telepathy? Froakie frowned. It instantly felt this had nothing to do with it, and was entirely related to Ron stealing all its thunder after the Gym battle ended.
"—" Ron avoided Froakie's gaze. "If you have ti, that is."
"I'm free anyti. It'll be a good chance for to witness this kind of challenger for myself," Ramos said with a smile, stroking his beard. "It's a deal then. After I show you the tea plantation, we'll head to the Coumarine Gym."
Seeing Ron nod, Ramos pondered for a mont and added, "By the way, this is a Grass-type Gym. Froakie will be at a type disadvantage. Do you have any other Pokémon?"
"Froakie?" Froakie cried out.
"—" Ron glanced at Froakie, then pulled a Poké Ball out of his pocket. "Yes, this is my Bellossom."
"A Grass-type Pokémon, huh?" Seeing that Froakie was raised well, Ramos couldn't help but feel curious about Bellossom.
However, because getting the tea plantation up and running in Coumarine City was more important than the Gym battle right now, Ramos held back his impatience and led Ron straight to the hillside allocated by the Mayor.
"Right here. The conditions are quite good in every aspect," Ramos said. "It's highly suitable for plant growth. If you need them, I can even lend you my Pokémon."
Many Grass-type Pokémon could play a role in plant cultivation. You could say that plants and Grass-types complented each other; with Grass-types around, plants grew more lushly, and the plants in turn provided energy for these Pokémon.
Ron thanked Ramos and took a stroll through the tea mountain.
In reality, Ron wasn't entirely sure whether tea trees brought to Coumarine City to be planted would follow Stardew Valley's growth rules or if they would be like the local tea trees. If they followed the Stardew Valley rules, they would mature every 22 days, and could be harvested for a full week afterward. Coupled with the Stardrop already planted, the first batch of Stardrop Tea could be mass-produced on the market in a month at the latest.
With this in mind, Ron strolled around the hilltop, made so rough plans, and quickly signed the contract under Ramos's guidance.
"So roughly when will you be back to plant the tea?" Ramos asked as he led Ron toward the Gym.
"In about two weeks, roughly," Ron answered after doing a quick calculation.
"Alright."
Thinking of the Stardrop Tea, Ramos couldn't help but narrow his eyes in anticipation.
They soon arrived at the Coumarine Gym.
Rembering the badges, Ramos asked, "By the way, how many badges do you have now?"
"Two," Ron replied.
"Two?" Ramos looked at Ron in surprise.
Even if one didn't follow the usual order, generally speaking, by the ti a trainer reached the Laverre Gym stage, they would usually have at least four badges in hand.
But thinking that Ron had also skipped the Coumarine Gym, Ramos didn't dwell on it. "Since you passed Valerie's battle, is it okay if I use slightly stronger Pokémon?"
Normally, as the third Gym, a Leader would slightly tone down their Pokémon's strength. But there were also Gym Leaders who didn't do that—like Valerie. Since Ron could pass Valerie's battle, he saw no need to hold back against Ron.
"No problem," Ron agreed imdiately.
Ramos smiled at this and walked out onto the arena.
"The Challenger from Pelican Town, Ron—"
A whistle blew.
Under Ramos's gaze, Ron took out Bellossom's Poké Ball.
As the light flashed, a Bellossom, holding a longsword far taller than its own body, stood before Ramos.
"It uses a sword?"
Even Ramos, who was quite knowledgeable about Grass-types, was confused right now. He stared blankly at Bellossom, which was holding a massive sword, staring right back at him.
"It's a little special," Ron explained.
"Hmm—is it a regional form from your Pelican Town?" Ramos asked, a little unsure.
This kind of situation wasn't entirely unheard of among Pokémon. Depending on the region, a Pokémon's form and typing could change. So, a Grass-type Bellossom had the possibility of becoming a Fighting-type—
"You could say that," Ron thought for a mont. He didn't explain the exact differences in detail. After all, a Bellossom exclusively using a sword did sowhat step outside the boundaries of a normal Grass-type Pokémon.
"I see." Ramos's attention returned to Bellossom itself.
"It's a fine child too—"
Although it looked no different from a normal Bellossom other than holding a sword, Ramos felt it was more than that. This Bellossom was probably no less impressive than the Sunkern he had seen in Haley's possession. In fact, he vaguely felt that this Bellossom might be stronger than any Grass-type Pokémon he had ever seen.
Even though it was just a Bellossom.
With this in mind, Ramos cautiously threw his Poké Ball.
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