"Don't mention it." Ron waved his hand. The two walked out and saw Joy rubbing her hands together in the cold wind.
"Should've brought gloves," Joy said, rubbing her hands again. "Let's go. Winter's really cold."
It was her first time experiencing such distinct seasons. While late autumn had been chilly, she never imagined how cold winter in Pelican Town could get.
If she had to compare it, perhaps it was similar to Kalos's Dendemille Town.
However, summers there weren't as hot as Pelican Town's. Though also an agricultural town, its produce couldn't compare to Santalune City's due to differences in sunlight and climate.
"By the way, are you two leaving for Kalos on the eighth?" Joy asked as they walked.
"Mm." Ron nodded. "Right after the Festival of Ice."
"I see." Joy rubbed her hands again, then took the roasted yam from her pocket and cupped it in her palms. "It should be summer in Kalos right now."
"Yeah. Want to go back for a few days?"
Joy shook her head. "No—rather than that, there will probably be many Pokémon in the forest needing help this winter."
Trevenant was the one she and Linus had found in the back mountains yesterday.
It had likely gotten into a conflict with some Pokémon and been seriously injured. If Joy hadn't found it, it probably wouldn't have survived the winter.
Additionally, the wild berries in the wild were mostly transplanted from Kalos and hardly bore fruit in winter. Relying solely on things like Crystal Fruit to get through winter would be tough.
For this reason, Joy had specially ordered a batch of Pokémon food from Kalos, waiting for the right time to take it into the forest and help those Pokémon who hadn't stored enough food for winter.
Hearing Joy's rescue plans, Linus suddenly said, "If there's anything you need help with, come find me anytime. I'm always around."
He paused, then added, "If I'm not at the tent, I'm probably at the Spa."
Joy's eyes curved into a smile as she agreed.
Ron wanted to help too, but he would have to wait until he returned from Kalos. So he thought for a moment and said, "If you're short on food or anything, you can get it from the farm. When I'm not there, just tell the Indeedee."
As they conversed, they arrived at the Community Center.
Pushing open the door, a wave of warmth greeted them.
Though only slightly warmer than outside, as repairs were still incomplete, the building wasn't entirely insulated.
Joy walked to the fireplace and added more wood.
"Treven." Trevenant climbed down from a small bed nearby.
"How are you feeling, Trevenant?" Linus walked over, examining Trevenant's body.
Ron looked over and scanned the Trevenant with his Pokédex, discovering it had indeed suffered serious injuries—so much so that it was missing many of its leaves. It looked like it had gotten into a conflict with some Fire-type Pokémon, as parts of its branches still showed burn marks.
"Treven."
It seemed Linus had a good relationship with this Trevenant—they appeared to have known each other for some time.
Ron observed for a few moments, not disturbing Linus as he caught up with Trevenant, and went over to Joy instead.
Joy was boiling water. Seeing Ron approach, she didn't stand on ceremony and said, "Then I'll trouble you to help with this."
She pushed over some vegetables, pointing to the sink nearby.
"Sure." Ron then asked, "By the way, what's with that Trevenant?"
"Mm—we found it near the back mountains. Have you seen a sign at the bus stop? It says something like 'Back Mountains Dangerous.'"
Ron thought for a moment—he did seem to recall seeing it, but busy with farm work, he had never gone there.
"It has something to do with that." Joy said. "Also the Adventurer's Guild. The back mountain's ecosystem was established by them together with Shaymin. Trevenant is responsible for protecting that forest and providing shelter for the Pokémon inside."
It was essentially a nature reserve. The Pokémon ecology inside was surprisingly good. Though the wild Pokémon living there occasionally had conflicts, most of the time they could coexist peacefully within the reserve.
As for Pokémon who were natural enemies, some had been sent to the Coal Forest, plus barriers set up by mages physically separated those inherently hostile Pokémon.
Trevenant served as the manager of the back mountain forest, responsible for mediating conflicts between Pokémon and protecting the plants that had finally managed to take root in Pelican Town's back mountains, ensuring Pokémon had adequate food sources.
"I see." Ron nodded, turning to look over and seeing Trevenant's eyes curved as if discussing something happy with Linus, nodding continuously.
Though Linus seemed completely detached from Pelican Town, he was actually contributing to the town in his own way.
Such as the garbage he collected to feed to his Trubbish.
Linus's hearty laughter carried over—different from his previous awkwardness at the Spa. He reached out to pat Trevenant's shoulder. "Then you must get better quickly."
"Trevenant!"
After watching for a few moments, Ron handed the prepared vegetables to Joy.
Joy chopped vegetables as she spoke: "Speaking of which, if Gunther is willing, he could go to the back mountains to document Pelican Town's Pokémon ecology."
Seeing Ron look at her, she explained: "Pokémon behave differently in different regions. Some Pokémon, though not from the same region, live together for various reasons and get along surprisingly well, even providing help and protection to each other."
Joy paused, then continued: "Collecting this information, along with Pokémon videos, can be submitted to the League. With luck, it might even be included in the Pokédex."
This gave rise to another profession—Pokémon Photographer.
By observing Pokémon's every move, they recorded unknown details about Pokémon, providing information for Pokémon research.
Ron nodded. "I'll pass that along when I have a moment."
Joy smiled and continued working.
Meanwhile, with Gunther.
After watching the recent Contest videos several times, Gunther really had nothing else to do. He sat at the counter, watching Sam not far away.
"Why don't you just come to the library every day from now on," Gunther said. "Help me watch the library. In exchange, I can raise your wages."
Thinking about that Cacnea in the desert, the distracted Sam paused. "What are you going to do?"
"I want to wander around Pelican Town—" Gunther rested his chin on his hand. "To observe the Pokémon in Pelican Town and such."
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