"These should be all the ones left with Team Rocket." Ron thought for a mont, confirming, "If any are missing, I'll go to Kalos and get them back for you in a while."
Even though he felt there shouldn't be any omissions, Ron still double-checked.
Jessie and Jas looked up from their Pokémon and toward Ron. "They're all here. Thank you—"
Although they wanted to press Ron on exactly how he managed to get these Pokémon, as mbers of Team Rocket, they both knew this wasn't a simple feat. So they opened their mouths but ultimately dispelled the notion of asking.
Regardless, they were imnsely grateful.
Back at the farm, Ron imdiately assigned the new tasks.
So planting space on the farm had recently freed up, and Ron planned to assign most of the Rattatas to foraging work.
Because crafting tea seedlings required Spring Seeds made from foraged items, plus a large amount of wood fiber, the Rattatas that had finally had so free ti were busy once again.
"Indeedee." Indeedee nodded at Ron and began assigning tasks one by one.
Under Indeedee's coordination, the Rattatas left the farm one after another.
On the other hand, for Evelyn's family, spring was a season that demanded serious attention.
The reason was simple: spring Leeks were practically a miracle cure for George's leg pain. Even though the item Ron gave them helped George get through the harsh winter, when it ca to actual therapeutic effects, nothing beat leeks.
Evelyn carried a basket, following behind Alex.
"I can go by myself, really," Alex said, trying to take the basket from Evelyn's hands.
"An extra pair of eyes ans finding more, isn't that right?" Evelyn waved her hand, walking slowly beside Alex.
Just as the two reached Cindersap Forest, a Rattata suddenly darted out from a corner.
"Was that—" Evelyn froze for a mont. Alex identified it and explained, "That's a Rattata from Ron's farm."
"A Rattata, huh."
Evelyn watched its retreating figure. Just as she was about to say sothing, another one darted out from a corner, carrying a freshly foraged leek on its back.
"Those are leeks," Alex said, staring at the departing Rattata and the visibly stripped-clean ground nearby. A thought suddenly struck him: "How about we go to the farm and see if we can buy so leeks from Ron?"
"From Ron?" Evelyn pondered for a mont. "Would that be too much trouble for him?"
"He collects them to sell, right?" Alex said uncertainly.
After all, leeks weren't worth much to the farm. Back when Ron first took over the farm last year, needing foraged items to supplent their inco made sense. But at this point, if he was specifically collecting leeks, no matter how you looked at it, there had to be another purpose.
The two exchanged a silent glance.
But obviously, two legs couldn't outrun four, and it was said that Rattatas had a natural talent for finding foraged items.
"Let's go ask." As soon as Evelyn said this, she suddenly rembered sothing. "Hey, could he be trying to grow tea trees?"
"..."
"Tea trees?" Alex gave Evelyn a puzzled look, only for her to tug at his sleeve: "Co on, let's go ho first, find all those seeds I collected before, and then head to the farm."
Evelyn wasn't entirely sure herself, but after the Feast of the Winter Star, she had gone to ask Gus and learned that Ron was planning to sell Stardrop Tea in Kalos.
To put it plainly, the farm at its current level certainly wouldn't care about a few foraged items. The only thing that could possibly need these foraged items was tea trees.
With that in mind, the two had already returned ho.
George was still sitting in front of the television, playing it at full volu.
Actually, he knew full well why the two of them had left the house now that spring had arrived.
But because he genuinely needed these things, and because he truly couldn't sit in his wheelchair and be a burden to them while they foraged for leeks, he could only pretend to know nothing, sitting in front of the TV to pass the ti.
Of course, logically speaking, he should be warr at a ti like this. He should show so appreciation for the care they gave him.
But his pride wouldn't let him. He couldn't accept that he had simply beco a burden to this family. So he sat in the corner without a word, using the television to distract himself.
Hearing the door open and close, George sneakily glanced at the two of them. Catching Alex looking his way, he hurriedly looked away.
"These should be all of them." Evelyn gathered all the seeds she had collected from various seasons, and then she and Alex headed toward the farm.
anwhile, at the farm.
Once the Rattatas had finished gathering all of today's foraged items, Ron picked them up, opened his crafting nu, and prepared to turn them all into Season Seeds.
Of course, he wasn't planning to turn these seeds directly into tea seedlings just yet.
It would be best to keep planting these seeds until the end of the season. By the ti the first batch of Sumr Seeds went into the ground, Ron could head to Kalos to set up the tea plantation.
With this in mind, Ron was just about to craft the items when he saw Evelyn and Alex walk in.
"Good morning, Ron!" Alex took a few quick steps to Ron's side. Just as he was about to speak, Evelyn pulled him back.
"Um—child, what are you planning to use these foraged items for?" Evelyn asked carefully.
Since this was only her own guess, before directly giving the seeds to Ron, she wanted to confirm first.
After all, Ron was truly a kind person. If Ron was collecting these things for another purpose, but gave them all to her because she needed them, receiving a bunch of seeds he couldn't use in return—Evelyn wouldn't be able to forgive herself.
Hearing this, Ron looked up and glanced at Alex and Evelyn.
Under Alex's gaze, he suddenly realized sothing and looked down at the leeks in his hands.
"I was just planning to make so seeds for tea seedlings," Ron said, picking all the leeks out. "But I can also do that in the sumr. You guys take these."
Evelyn and Alex were both stunned.
Evelyn then waved her hands repeatedly. "No, no, there's no need for that, child. If it's for tea seedlings, then I'm relieved."
Saying this, she pulled out all the seasonal forage seeds she had collected and held them out to Ron.
"Rather than just giving them to , I'd rather trade with you. Can I trade these seeds for your leeks?"
Ron's eyes imdiately lit up when he saw the packets of Season Seeds.
Ron agreed without another word.
Including so leftover foraged items from last year, the leeks happened to be the most plentiful of the foraged items right now. After trading with Ron, Evelyn felt the satisfying weight of the leeks in her arms and couldn't help but smile.
"George will be so happy when he finds out," Evelyn said, handing all the seeds over to Ron.
"If you need more later, you can always co to the farm to get them," Ron added. "These should be enough for the whole spring. I'll have them keep collecting, and by the end of spring, there should be another large batch."
The only slightly troubleso part was that this would cause the leeks to outnumber the other three seasonal foraged items. But it wasn't a big problem—since he now had all four Seasonal Forage Seeds, Ron planned to plant them on Ginger Island.
Unlike the main farm, Ginger Island's environnt was similar to a greenhouse. In short, crops planted on Ginger Island weren't bound by seasons, so all the seeds could be planted there.
"Thank you." Evelyn, still holding the leeks, thought for a mont, then pulled so money from her pocket and placed it in Ron's hand. "Consider this the paynt for the leeks. Sorry for the trouble."
Because crops grown from forage seeds would randomly yield one season's foraged items, Evelyn—as a forr farr herself—knew exactly what that ant. She gave Ron a grateful smile and then left the farm with Alex.
Watching Evelyn leave, Ron pondered for a mont, then turned to look at Jessie and Jas, who were laughing and playing boisterously with their Pokémon, thrilled by their long-overdue reunion.
With all these Pokémon here now, the house Team Rocket was staying in could no longer fit them all.
If he could have Team Rocket stay on Ginger Island for a while—
With this thought, Ron walked over to Jessie and Jas in a few strides.
anwhile, Evelyn and Alex had returned with a fruitful harvest.
Inside the house, George turned his head and saw Evelyn carrying an armful of leeks.
"Did you gather this many?" George asked in disbelief.
"No, Ron traded these with us."
But before Evelyn could ntion the trade, Ron had already intended to delay the tea seedling production for George's sake. So Evelyn changed her wording: "But it's basically a gift. Before I even ntioned trading with seeds, that child was already offering to give them to us."
While George was still processing this, Evelyn added, "And we didn't even explain why we needed them. He just took one look at the leeks and understood."
The underlying implication was that, besides Evelyn and Alex, everyone in town actually cared about George.
They knew he needed leeks, and they knew about his injuries.
George wasn't as isolated as he imagined—he wasn't just an object of pity for his family, with no one else in the village caring about him.
George paused. With a push of his hands, he spun his wheelchair around, turning his back to face the television, and sat there without saying a word.
Evelyn couldn't help but exchange a glance with Alex. After a long while, Evelyn let out a long sigh.
"Right—how about we take a vacation to Ginger Island in a couple of days?" Evelyn said. "The resort there was repaired by Ron a while ago, and you haven't been there even once—plus, you'd be more comfortable there."
"..." George, still facing away from Evelyn, nodded.
On the other hand, Team Rocket, who had been dispatched to Ginger Island, was currently on their way to Ginger Island.
Riding in Willy's boat, Jessie leaned against the railing and pulled a pair of sunglasses from her suitcase.
"I bought these back in Alola." Jessie put the sunglasses on and turned to look at Jas beside her.
Even owth had put on a vacation outfit at this point.
Although they weren't exactly here for a vacation—since their main job was to plant crops on Ginger Island and harvest the Starfruit they had previously planted, only returning to Pelican Town on the day of the Flower Dance—for all practical purposes, it was basically a vacation.
They'd just be tired for a few days, at most.
With that in mind, Jessie comfortably enjoyed the sea breeze.
Jas had been quiet the whole ti. Just as Jessie was about to ask him sothing, Jas suddenly spoke up:
"..."
"Do you think—we could bring Mareanie and the others over too?"
"Mareanie and Mimikyu, huh." Jessie thought for a mont. "We'd have to wait until Ron's next trip to Kalos, right?"
"Yeah." Jas pondered.
The familiar surroundings suddenly pulled Jas back to the days when he lived in Alola with Mareanie and the others.
Even though they had followed the twerp across so many regions, in truth, for the three of them, the only place that could really be called ho was Alola.
At these words, the group fell silent.
owth thought for a mont and asked, "What about Bewear?"
"She probably can't co," Jas answered.
"That's true," Jessie nodded.
As soon as the words left her mouth, all three of them let out a long, heavy sigh.
The boat slowly arrived at Ginger Island' port. Since they had agreed on a return ti, Willy bid them a quick farewell and left without looking back.
anwhile, back at the farm.
Ron imdiately went to ask Robin to upgrade Jessie and the others' house.
"I thought you were going to make them pay for it themselves?" Robin asked as she walked toward the farm.
"Think of it as a travel expense?" Ron thought for a mont before answering. "I asked them to help out on Ginger Island, and this window of ti is perfect for you to upgrade their house."
Saying this, Ron pulled up the renovation list and handed it to Robin.
"Ah—you even factored in their Pokémon—that's true. Until now, only your cabin had things like a Pokémon washroom," Robin said, folding the renovation list and tucking it into her bag. "But you went all the way to Kalos and specifically brought their Pokémon back for them?"
"Just happened to be on the way... sort of?" Ron answered uncertainly.
Originally, he hadn't planned on this at all. It was just that so Team Rocket mbers had conveniently fallen into his hands, so he had done them a favor.
"On the way?" Robin was amused by this. "There's no way that was just 'on the way'—ah, I get it now. This is another one of your good qualities! Humility!"
"..."
"..."
Under the gaze of Indeedee standing nearby, Ron slowly nodded.
Because owth wasn't around, Indeedee boldly called out: "Indeedee, Indee!"
"What did it say?" Robin asked curiously.
"Nothing," Ron said, eting Robin's suspicious gaze. He fell silent for a mont, then changed his answer: "It was singing."
"Indeedee, Indee?" Indeedee chirped.
"Really? Pokémon can sing?" Robin said, glancing at Machop nearby.
In the instant their eyes t, Machop vigorously shook its head.
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