Rural Cooperative

"Village chief, your nephew's something else!"

"Apothecary, you'll have to let your nephew help us out, too."

Tessi's breathing had clearly grown more rapid. To them, an apothecary was a major figure!

And as a fruit farmer who grew Berries, he knew better than anyone what kind of value an apothecary could create!

"Don't worry. I'm the village chief, so of course I'll help you all out."

"I came to talk to you about this. From now on, after we harvest the Oran Berries in our village, we'll hand them all over to Aiven to make potions."

Uncle Darby thumped his chest as he spoke. He was a generous man, so he naturally wouldn't leave his brothers out of the benefits.

"Oh, right. Besides Healing Potions, my nephew has also made a potion that helps Berries grow faster." Darby then proudly introduced the fertilizer.

At his words, Tessi froze for a moment before his face lit up with delight. He had clearly realized how useful this potion could be!

Winter was a hurdle for fruit farmers like them. This special potion might let them get past that hurdle early, and it was even more valuable than Healing Potions!

After that, Uncle Darby called all the villagers to his home to discuss the potions.

Meanwhile, Aiven, the person at the center of it all, took Walking Grass to the Fruit Grove.

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

Mukkuru spotted Aiven from afar and flapped over.

When it saw Walking Grass, its gaze sharpened. It had often driven Walking Grass away before.

"Mukkuru, if you see Walking Grass on the farm from now on, I hope you won't drive them away."

At Aiven's words, Mukkuru visibly froze. Walking Grass, standing nearby, glanced at Aiven in surprise.

"Just like Cherubi and Petilil, don't hurt them." Aiven added.

This time, Mukkuru nodded. It was very grateful to Aiven for protecting Petilil and Cherubi.

"All right, Walking Grass. You're free now."

"You can leave whenever you like. Or you can stay in this Fruit Grove. No one will drive you away anymore."

At Aiven's words, Walking Grass blinked its big eyes and cautiously entered the Fruit Grove.

It immediately sensed the energy contained in the soil and closed its eyes in comfort. It could feel that the trees around it were full of life.

Before, it had always hidden quietly in the grove. This time, it had entered openly.

Aiven smiled and left Walking Grass alone. He took Petilil away from the Fruit Grove and headed back to the farm. He was the main topic of the meeting, after all.

Everyone present agreed to combine Orange Fruit Village's Oran Berries and make them into Healing Potions to sell.

After some discussion, the villagers, as the suppliers of the Oran Berries, would receive thirty percent of the profits. They didn't discuss the remaining seventy percent, and the villagers didn't ask about it. They knew that, besides Oran Berries, other ingredients would be needed to make Healing Potions, not to mention the work of preparing and selling them. Thirty percent was already a generous share!

They didn't know how much Healing Potions could sell for, but judging by their market price, thirty percent of the profits would far exceed what they'd earn from selling Oran Berries alone. Of course, there was some risk, but given how popular Healing Potions were on the market, it was practically negligible.

Seeing the villagers' grateful expressions, Aiven smiled. Technically, he didn't have to give them such a large share of the profits.

But his real goal wasn't just to make money. He wanted to unite everyone nearby who could be brought together and build a force of his own. Tying everyone's interests closely together was undoubtedly the most reliable way to do that!

Once they'd settled the matter of the Healing Potions, everyone turned their attention to the more important fertilizer.

They had never heard of a special potion that Berries could absorb, but after seeing Darby's orchard, they no longer had any doubts.

"It's truly amazing."

Uncle Tessi still couldn't hide his excitement. With this fertilizer, they could harvest their Berries before winter arrived.

At the mention of fertilizer, everyone looked toward Aiven.

The villagers had already made up their minds: no matter how high the price, they would buy this special potion!

Here it comes. Aiven smiled faintly and first raised one finger. Under the villagers' nervous gazes, he slowly lowered it.

"Free."

The two calm words left his mouth, and all the villagers froze before their eyes slowly widened.

No one had expected Aiven to provide the fertilizer for free. A feeling of gratitude welled up in every villager's heart.

"All right, there's no need to look so surprised."

"Using fertilizer to harvest Berries before winter concerns everyone's livelihood and property. I couldn't possibly profit from that."

Aiven smiled at all the uncles and aunties.

"Of course, I'm not getting nothing out of it."

"The Berries from your orchards will be made into Healing Potions. The more Berries you harvest, the more I'll earn, won't I?"

Hearing Aiven say that, the villagers exchanged glances and smiled as they nodded.

"What a thoughtful boy!" One sentimental auntie was already secretly wiping away tears. She was truly moved.

"Rotten Fruit is the key ingredient in making fertilizer. Make a note of that. From now on, collect any Rotten Tree Fruit you find and bring it here," Uncle Darby reminded them.

"Apothecaries really are amazing. Who knew Rotten Fruit could be used as a potion ingredient?" the villagers marveled.

"Oh, right."

"You all probably see Walking Grass in your groves from time to time, too."

"If you see any, please don't drive them away. It'd be best if you could bring them to me."

Aiven took the opportunity to bring it up. He wanted to form a squad of Walking Grass, so the more of them there were, the better.

"Walking Grass?"

One of the uncles asked in confusion. To them, Walking Grass was just like a weed: it absorbed nutrients from the soil and had to be driven away.

"Can Walking Grass be used to make some kind of potion, too?"

Another young fruit farmer guessed. Considering Aiven was an apothecary, it seemed like a reasonable assumption.

Make potions? Aiven sighed inwardly. It seemed impossible to change their ingrained ideas about using Pokémon to make potions anytime soon.

"Anyway, please don't hurt them," Aiven added. "I need healthy, lively Walking Grass."

The villagers were still caught up in the joy of having Healing Potions and fertilizer. They had no reason to object to Aiven's request, which wasn't much of a request at all, and readily agreed.

Once everything had been settled, the villagers got moving. They went home, collected their stored Oran Berries, and brought them to Aiven to make potions.

"This is practically the beginning of a Rural Cooperative, isn't it?"

In his room, Aiven processed Oran Berries while thinking back on the first Orange Fruit Village assembly, which had just come to an end.

If things kept developing, setting up a potion company wouldn't be out of the question. Aiven's thoughts wandered. The idea did sound pretty nice.

Once the Rural Cooperative in Orange Fruit Village was up and running, it could expand into the surrounding villages. The cooperative would surely grow larger and larger.