As Gardevoir headed off to help train Spearow and Pidgey, Lin Feng turned to look at Snivy, who had just finished casting Grassy Terrain over the plantation soil.

"Snivy, do you think I act like a little kid?"

"Sniv?"

Snivy rolled its eyes at him without answering.

Only kids asked questions like that. Besides, if he'd already heard what the other Pokémon were saying behind his back, why even ask her?

"What's with that look? Are you saying I really am like a little kid?" Lin Feng blocked its path and reached out to pat its head, but Snivy nimbly dodged and stared back at him.

"Sniv!" (No touching!)

"Why not? You just evolved not too long ago too, didn't you?"

Still thick-skinned, Lin Feng leaned in again and shamelessly reached out to rest his hand on Snivy's head.

"There, now you're just a kid too."

"Sniv..."

Snivy closed its eyes and sighed.

Who isn't a kid sometimes?

Or maybe, deep down, everyone wishes they could go back to being a child.

"Hehe~"

Once he'd had his fill of patting, Lin Feng finally let Snivy go and looked around at the Pokémon in the garden. Then he pulled out an Everstone.

"Does anyone not want to evolve?"

Most Pokémon naturally yearned to evolve, but there were always a few who preferred to stay the way they were. Now that he had an Everstone, Lin Feng figured he should ask.

"Popplio?"

Popplio ducked underwater.

Bounsweet poked its head out from the treetops.

Snivy ignored him altogether, though its silence seemed slightly melancholic.

Why did the Everstone have to show up now, of all times?

In the end, it was Torchic who stepped forward.

"Chick!" (If no one else wants it, I'll take it! I want to surpass my Trainer before I evolve!)

Its eyes burned with determination as it stared up at Lin Feng.

He blinked, then gave Torchic a strange look. "Uh... That's a pretty ambitious goal. You'd still be the same you after evolving, you know."

"And don't worry about eating more after you evolve. I'll still be able to feed you, no matter how much you chow down."

That hit Torchic right in the feels. Its little eyes went wide and watery.

That was exactly what it had been worrying about. What if it ate too much and became a burden?

Suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, it leapt into Lin Feng's arms and headbutted his chest.

"Chick...!" (Waaah...)

Lin Feng gently comforted it. "Okay, okay. No more tears. If you keep crying, I'll double your laps tomorrow from twenty to forty, alright?"

It worked like a charm. Torchic immediately stopped crying and scampered off to the barn to sneak some rice balls from Miltank.

"Drama queen..." Lin Feng shook his head.

Seeing that no one else seemed reluctant to evolve, he was just about to put the Everstone away when Bounsweet called down from the tree.

"Boun?" (If I evolve, will more humans start paying attention to me?)

"Hmm?"

Lin Feng looked up and remembered that Bounsweet would eventually evolve into Steenee, then into Tsareena rare and stunningly beautiful Pokémon.

He nodded. "Probably. A lot of people really like how you look after you evolve."

Bounsweet blinked her round yellow eyes and, for the first time, closed her ever-open mouth. She muttered softly, "Boun..." (Then I don't want to evolve. I only want you to like me.)

She didn't care for attention from other people. She didn't even want to allow others to like her. But she liked Lin Feng.

Lin Feng froze for a moment, as if something deep in his heart had been touched.

Especially when he looked at the tiny Bounsweet before him, radiating a soft, sweet scent. He couldn't resist reaching out and lifting her gently from the tree.

"How can you be so cute?"

"Evolved or not, I'll still love you."

Small as she was, Bounsweet was round and plump, the perfect size to cuddle. He could hold her close anytime he wanted.

"Boun..." Bounsweet blinked affectionately at him.

"Alright then, I'll leave the Everstone with you. If you ever feel like evolving, just give it back to me."

Lin Feng carefully tied the stone to one of her leafy stems and returned her to the tree before heading back to the breeding center. After gathering a few supplies and calling Rotom to tag along, he set out again.

He needed to ask the mayor to gather opinions from the townsfolk about planting flowers. If it worked out, he could plant flowers on both sides of the cobblestone path.

If not, he'd just plant them behind the barn on the meadow.

That wasn't so bad either.

Right now, it was mostly pasture grass, which felt a little dull. A splash of flowers would add some vibrant color. And when the Combee eventually started producing honey, it'd be even more convenient.

"Planting flowers along the cobblestone path so the Combee can gather nectar? No problem! I'll go ask around right away," Mayor Han said cheerfully.

Over the past few days, he had watched Wutong Town become livelier and more crowded with visitors a wonderful development for the town.

When he became mayor, Han had already released his Pokémon and was well into his eighties. He didn't have the energy to manage much anymore.

But the young man before him was different.

He was still young, with limitless potential.

"Thank you, Grandpa Han!"

After thanking the mayor, Lin Feng followed Rotom's map and found a flower shop in Wutong City.

"Flabébé Flower Shop?"

The front of the store was lined with potted plants and colorful flowers. Lin Feng instinctively read the name out loud.

"Flabé!" (Welcome~)

He wasn't greeted by a shopkeeper, but by a Pokémon holding a small red flower.

The flower had a bright yellow center, and the tiny white Pokémon holding it had fan-like twin ponytails, green eyelashes curled upward, and heart-shaped green feet.

Despite the shop's name referencing Flabébé, the Pokémon that had come out looked more like Floette.

Lin Feng automatically recalled the entry from his Pokédex.

"It wanders through gardens tending to wilting flowers, and can draw on the power of blossoms in battle."

If the flower garden ever took off, maybe he should catch a Floette to help look after it.

"Hello there! Are you looking for something in particular?"

A young woman, around twenty-three or twenty-four, came out of the shop carrying a flower pot. She wore a red bandana and a green apron.

Startled for a moment when she saw Lin Feng's youthful face, she quickly smiled and asked, "If it's for Combee honey production, then the best choice might not be ordinary flowers, but Sweet Scent Trees."

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