Several little Electrike were sprawled beside the food bag. They raised their heads and watched the strange visitors disappear around the bend in the passageway, then lowered them and continued licking the food scraps from their paws.
The adult Manectric also glanced in that direction. The wariness in its crimson eyes had clearly faded compared to before, and its tail swayed slowly behind it.
When Xinhai left the abandoned power plant, the midday sunlight hit him full in the face.
Xinhai mounted the Mach Bike, and Eevee hopped into the basket. Gardevoir, Mightyena, and the others were recalled into their Poké Balls.
The wheels rolled over the dirt road leading to Route 118 as he sped toward Mauville City.
This time, Xinhai rode a little faster than he had on the way there. After roughly twenty minutes, he reentered Mauville City.
He did not return to the Pokémon Center. Instead, he used his navigator to find a gardening shop with a sign reading "Verdant Nursery."
Rows of potted plants and seedling trays sat on the racks outside the shop. Their emerald leaves gleamed with a soft luster beneath the afternoon sun.
The owner was a middle-aged woman wearing a straw hat. She was crouching at the entrance, replacing the soil in a Berry seedling's pot. When she saw Xinhai approach, she raised her head and flashed a hearty smile. "Young man, what would you like to buy?"
"Ma'am, I'd like to buy some Berry seedlings." Xinhai parked his bicycle by the entrance, then crouched before the racks and carefully examined the rows of seedlings. "Preferably varieties with short growth cycles and high yields, suitable for planting in open areas outdoors."
The shopkeeper set down her small shovel, stood up, and brushed the dirt from her hands before walking over to