Chapter 100:
"Ah?"
Hayashi Kaede blinked, a little surprised. Judging by the neat handwriting on the envelope, he'd expected the Wineberry orchard owner to be a stern, non nonsense person.
He hadn't expected someone so easygoing.
Inoue Shūko must have noticed his confusion; she smiled. "Your flowers are lovely — bright, fragrant. From appearance and scent, I can tell they're top quality. No need to overthink it."
"Mm—thank you!" Kaede replied.
Since they'd passed inspection, he didn't push the matter further. He glanced at the open barrels of wine; one of them gave off a rich, mellow aroma.
"How are the Grepa berries priced?" he asked. He wanted to try brewing some of this Grepa berry wine himself.
"Grepa berry? At wholesale this season it's thirteen per kg. The wine sells for fifty-one per kg."
Kaede didn't hesitate — he bought the roughly one hundred kg sitting on the stall.
Wineberry fruit is like a grape but a touch larger; it's a favourite snack for Pokémon that like sweet-and-tart flavours.
Inoue Shūko cocked her head. "You're buying so many — to brew? Why not just buy the wine directly?"
"Ahem," Kaede said. "Mostly I want to try my hand at it."
He wouldn't tell her he actually thought her wine was excellent.
Inoue Shūko laughed. "There are still berries on the vines. If you really can brew a wine you like, you should enter the defend-the-post contest. If you win, a thirtieth of this orchard's Grepa berry harvest will be your prize."
She glanced at Gardevoir at Kaede's side. "With that there, you've got a chance."
Kaede's eyes lit up and he nodded eagerly. "Yes—yes!"
He didn't keep bothering her; instead he looked around for a spot, laid out a cloth, and set up his own stall, taking out the plants and foods he'd brought. Because he'd prepared for this trip for some time, he'd brought a lot: basic energy blocks, Bounsweet's fruit-juice drinks, rice wine, and a number of tree-fruit salads.
Mostly he wanted to see if he could make the nursery's name spread a little.
Seeing other stalls with Pokémon advertising their wares, Kaede summoned some of his own Pokémon: Bounsweet and Serperior among them. Bounsweet demonstrated the juice; Serperior — the evolved form of Servine — handled presentation.
"Serperior," Kaede instructed. "Use Grassy Terrain to dress this area up a bit."
"Serperior?" the serpent seemed to reply.
Serperior coiled near the stall and spread its long body into a triangular display, and bright green grass sprouted around it like a lush carpet. The evolved serpent measured well over five meters; its proportions were elegant — sleek where it should be, subtly plump where it should be, deep green on its back and a fresh emerald on its belly with pale yellow striping. Its mouth set in a slight line, eyes looking down with a regal air.
Kaede sat on the grass mat, asked Serperior to lean in a little more, and curled up against its belly with Alolan Vulpix and Bounsweet in his arms.
He had to admit — Serperior after evolution was far softer than Servine had been. Leaning against it felt almost like sitting in a recliner. Its personality seemed slightly altered as well; Kaede suspected he'd learn more about those changes as they spent time together.
It was still early and mountain traffic was light, but anyone who walked up soon found themselves drawn to Kaede's stall. He didn't need to shout like the other growers — the combination of Serperior, Gardevoir, and the green carpet did the work for him. Within minutes his first customer arrived.
A young woman with a Prinplup by her side — dressed in travel-ready shorts and a white T-shirt — stopped and stared. "Did you raise all these Pokémon yourself?" she asked, wide-eyed, looking at Serperior and Gardevoir.
Kaede straightened slightly. "Of course."
She hesitated: Serperior and Gardevoir both had a cool, distant look, and the energy blocks were a little pricey. Her gaze fell instead on Alolan Vulpix in Kaede's arms and on Bounsweet. "If I buy an energy block, can I…pet Vulpix and Bounsweet?"
"Bounsweet!" the small Bounsweet piped up.
"Alolan Vulpix!" the Alolan Vulpix made a soft sound.
Bounsweet tucked deeper into Kaede's arms, shy. Alolan Vulpix pointed at the energy blocks on the table and blinked.
The meaning was obvious — buy one and you can pet them.
Kaede felt a bit embarrassed. "Um… you can see for yourself…"
The girl's eyes shone. "So cute…" She paid immediately, grabbed an energy block, tossed it to her Prinplup without hesitation, then crouched to reach out and pet Alolan Vulpix. The Vulpix bounded into her hands with a little delighted sound.
"Alolan Vulpix… so soft…" she sighed happily.
Prinplup watched its trainer, a little embarrassed at being left out. It tugged at her pants, got no response, and accepted an energy block Kaede offered instead.
"Prinplup!" it said after the first bite — its eyes went bright; it looked at the trainer holding Alolan Vulpix, then at the display of energy blocks, and called eagerly.
"What's up, Prinplup?" the girl asked.
Alolan Vulpix slipped back into Kaede's arms.
"Prinplup! Prinplup!" it kept chirping — "I want more… I want more…"
"More?" the girl frowned — these things weren't cheap. She'd only bought one because Alolan Vulpix was so adorable. But it seemed the energy block worked — the Prinplup wanted more.
"Bounsweet!" Bounsweet winked and pawed at the girl's thigh — bright sky-blue eyes full of mischief.
She couldn't resist. She bought five more blocks on impulse. As she left she sighed to Kaede, "Ugh, I'll be eating instant noodles all month…"
Kaede just smiled. Eating instant noodles for a month so that a Prinplup could raise its Special Attack a bit? Worth it.