Floor 15 had been unlocked yesterday.
Though the Rattata had already reached around Floor 40—evidenced by the diamonds they brought back—the elevator hadn't granted direct access to those depths yet.
Inside the mine, everyone fell into their roles.
Froakie handled monster control, claiming all the EXP for itself.
Ron and the Rattata mined: the rodents used their sharp teeth to pry ore from stone, then dragged chunks to Ron's feet. Once enough accumulated, he stashed them in his backpack.
Technically, the Rattata could mine alone—but carrying only a few ores at a time made it inefficient. Ron had to come himself.
By afternoon, they took a break in a corner. Ron passed out bread and jam while surveying Floor 15.
The mine was eerily quiet—only the soft crunch of Pokémon chewing broke the silence.
Then—a pair of crimson eyes blinked open behind Ron.
That familiar, mischievous gaze triggered instant reflexes. Ron pulled out a Poké Ball.
"Back you go, Amber."
"Gengar!"
Gengar vanished in a flash of red light.
Truthfully, Gengar wasn't much help here.
It could hold tools—even swing a pickaxe—but there was only one pick.
And letting it forage unsupervised? A disaster. No one could recall it mid-prank.
Ron sighed, staring at his bread.
Their diet had been painfully repetitive: bread, grilled fish, roasted potatoes. Even the saloon's menu felt limited.
He'd bought Cauliflower and Green Bean seeds from Pierre, but harvest was still six days away.
Another sigh escaped him—then he remembered Kalos.
If wild scallions thrived in Pelican soil… maybe Kalos had unique crops too? Crops that could grow here?
His eyes lit up.
Kalos had a 365-day year; Pelican Town only 112.
That meant Kalos-grown plants would mature over three times faster here—maybe even quicker!
Ron shot to his feet. He delegated mining to his team, instructed the Rattata to flee at the first sign of trouble, and marched out of the mine.
He headed straight to Mayor Lewis's house.
Lewis was tallying accounts when Ron knocked. "Come in!"
Seeing Ron, he looked up in surprise. "Afternoon! Trouble on the farm?"
Ron got straight to the point: he wanted Kalos crop seeds.
Lewis paused. "Seeds can't be sent through the machine—only mature produce. You'd have to bring them yourself."
"…" Ron deflated.
He'd hoped to use a Seed Maker—but it required gold ingots, and gold ore lay deep in the mines. Unreachable for now.
Then he remembered Joy—arriving in Pelican Town soon.
"How do I contact the person who sent the letter from Kalos?" he asked.
"Ah—the address is right here." Lewis copied it from his computer and handed it over. "You have a computer now, right? Robin mentioned your Nursery's done."
Ron nodded.
"Perfect. You can handle it yourself," Lewis said.
---
The next day – Kalos Pokémon Center…
Joy had just spent the night resting after her journey when her mother called.
"What's up?" Joy asked.
"Aren't you heading to Pelican Town soon?" Her mother's voice turned nostalgic. "The farm over there is asking for a favor—bring some crop seeds when you go."
"Seeds…" Joy frowned, pulling up a map. A seed shop was nearby—she agreed.
After hanging up, she left the Center and arrived at the market.
Rows of seed packets overwhelmed her.
"They just said 'crop seeds'—no specifics!" She regretted not exchanging contacts with Ron.
(Though… did he even have a phone? His Pokédex looked ancient—definitely no room for a Rotom.)
"Excuse me—how much for these cabbage seeds?" she asked, pointing randomly.
"This one?" The shopkeeper explained: "1,000G per pack—100 seeds. Premium quality! With a Grass-type Pokémon using Grassy Terrain, every seed sprouts, and growth time drops to one month."
Joy recalled Ron's team—no Grass-types.
"And without that?"
"About 50 days," the shopkeeper said.
Joy winced. At 1,000G a pack, she couldn't afford much on a nurse's salary.
"If I buy for personal use, can I get single seeds?" she asked hopefully.
"Sure—20G per seed," he replied. (He assumed she just wanted a hobby garden—typical for a nurse.)
"That's expensive…" Joy hesitated. "If I buy a lot, can I get a freebie?"
The shopkeeper lost patience—until he spotted a scrawny Oddish lurking by his feet.
This Oddish had wandered in weeks ago—too weak for farms to take, too stubborn to shoo away.
He scooped it up. "Fine. I'll throw in this Oddish."
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