Ange left Anistar City with his Pokémon via the light rail train.
Gardevoir, Gallade, Glaceon, and Salamence were all returned to their Poké Balls, leaving only Lilligant, Floette, and the three Flabébé outside.
They did not like humans and naturally refused to enter human Poké Balls, so Ange did not force them.
To accommodate them, Ange even purchased train tickets for them.
Floette and the Flabébé were small Pokémon and did not require tickets, but Lilligant's size made that impossible.
On the train, Ange sat facing Lilligant, while Floette and the Flabébé sat beside her.
Ange was comparing the location sent by Nurse Joy, planning to get off at the station closest to Herb Village.
Meanwhile, Floette and the Flabébé looked around at everything inside the train with faces full of wonder.
It was their first time riding human transportation, and they found everything so interesting.
At the same time, they saw many Pokémon living in harmony with humans on the train.
For example, a Meowth sleeping lazily on an old woman's lap, a Kadabra cheerfully communicating with its Trainer, and a Leavanny helping a Trainer take care of a baby...
Floette and the Flabébé were full of doubt. Didn't everyone in the jungle say humans were very, very bad? Then why were so many Pokémon willing to live with humans? Furthermore, they looked so happy!
Ange's Pokémon were the same, as they all seemed to adore Ange.
The little minds of Floette and the Flabébé were practically overheating from trying to figure it out.
Lilligant did not share their strong curiosity. She kept a cold expression the entire way and didn't make a sound.
Ange looked up and noticed Lilligant's standoffish demeanor, so he asked with a smile, "How is it? Are you bored?"
"Lillig~" Not bored!
"Fleur~" It's a lot of fun!
Floette and the Flabébé replied one after another.
Lilligant glanced at Ange. "Lillig~" It's fine, neither boring nor interesting.
Ange thought for a moment and said, "Would you like me to find something to help you pass the time?"
Floette and the Flabébé looked at Ange with anticipation, but Lilligant didn't care much for it.
"Lillig~" Unnecessary.
Hearing this, Floette and the Flabébé looked somewhat disappointed. They still wanted to experience more things from the human world!
Seeing this, Ange smiled, took out his phone, and searched for information regarding herbs while speaking:
"Lilligant, you learned all your herb knowledge from Venusaur, right? Actually, we humans also conduct in-depth research on herbs. Let me find some things for you to look at."
Lilligant hadn't originally wanted to bother Ange, but upon hearing a topic related to herbs, she swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
"Lillig~ Lillig~" Since you insist, then... then... I suppose I'll reluctantly take a look.
Seeing Lilligant's awkward demeanor, a smile appeared on Ange's face. It seemed catering to one's interests was the right approach.
"Ah, found it!"
Ange found a livestream hosted by Erika, the Gym Leader of Celadon Gym in the Kanto region, who was broadcasting about the various applications of Gloom's saliva.
After entering the livestream room, Ange handed his phone to Lilligant. "Take a look and see if you find it interesting."
After taking the phone, Lilligant was quickly captivated by the content Erika was presenting.
Unlike the messy knowledge taught by Venusaur, human pharmaceutical knowledge was far more systematic.
Floette and the Flabébé hurried over to watch along with Lilligant, and they were likewise quickly drawn in.
Seeing the five Pokémon completely engrossed, Ange smiled and turned his gaze out the window.
Time ticked by, and soon they arrived at their destination.
Stepping out of the station, Ange checked his location and confirmed the direction of Herb Village. He was about to release Latios and fly there when he caught sight of an elderly man talking to a Gogoat out of the corner of his eye. A flatbed cart was attached behind the Gogoat.
Using a flatbed cart in this day and age was quite rare, so Ange took a second look.
Though the old man had white hair and a hunched figure, his movements were nimble. With a light vault, he hopped right onto the Gogoat's back.
Seeing this, Ange had a sudden flash of inspiration. Before the old man could set off, he called out to him.
"Excuse me, sir, please wait a moment!"
The old man turned around in surprise and looked at Ange. "Young man, are you talking to me?"
Ange hurried over to the old man's side. "Yes, are you headed to Herb Village?"
The old man nodded. "Yes, young man. Is something the matter?"
Ange quickly said, "I'm heading to Herb Village too. May I tag along with you?"
The reason Ange was cozying up to the old man was because Nurse Joy had mentioned that Herb Village was extremely xenophobic. The crops they grew were generally sold only to specific clients and were never casually sold to strangers.
Because of their high quality, Herb Village's crops never lacked buyers.
If Ange couldn't persuade the people of Herb Village, it would likely be very difficult for him to purchase Power Herbs and White Herbs from them.
The old man looked at Ange suspiciously. He initially wanted to refuse, but when he noticed Lilligant, Floette, and the Flabébé by Ange's side, his eyes lit up.
"Young man, are you a Trainer?"
Ange initially wanted to shake his head and say no, but seeing the old man's gaze, he suddenly realized that if he denied it, he would definitely be turned down, regardless of the reason.
So he quickly changed his tune. "I suppose so."
The old man immediately followed up, "Then how is your strength?"
Ange replied, "Pretty decent, I guess."
"That's wonderful! If you say it's pretty decent, that means it's actually very good!" The old man was overjoyed. "Could I ask you for a favor?"
Ange said, "Tell me about it first."
"Well, it's like this..."
It turned out that recently, a group of wild Pokémon had appeared near Herb Village, causing serious damage to the village's crops.
The old man's trip to the city had been to hire a Trainer at the Pokémon Center to help drive away that group of Pokémon in the village.
However, the Trainers at the Pokémon Center all felt the job was both troublesome and low-paying, and no one was willing to take it on, leaving the old man to return disappointed.
After hearing the old man out, Ange readily agreed. "So it's about that. Alright, I'll take the job!"
"Fantastic!" The old man was ecstatic. He gestured for Ange to hop on. "Let's head back to the village now! Climb aboard!"
"You got it!" Ange immediately vaulted onto the flatbed cart and said to Lilligant, "Hurry up and get on, you guys."
"Lillig~"
"Fleur~"
Hearing this, Floette and the Flabébé flew up onto the cart. Floette sat on Ange's lap, while the smaller Flabébé perched on his shoulders.
Lilligant had short legs and tried scrambling up for a while without success, so Ange extended a hand. "Come on!"
Lilligant hesitated for a moment before silently sliding her hand into Ange's palm.
"Are you all seated? We're setting off!" the old man called back over his shoulder.
"Fleur~"
"Lillig~"
"All set!"
Ange, Floette, and the Flabébé answered in unison.
"Alright, let's go!" The old man smiled and patted the Gogoat's neck.
Walking along the path toward Herb Village, Ange looked at the tall Gogoat beneath the old man and couldn't help praising, "Sir, your Gogoat is raised wonderfully!"
Hearing this, a look of pride immediately appeared on the old man's face.
"Right? This old companion of mine is the finest Gogoat in the world."
Ange agreed, "Indeed. I've never seen such an impressive Gogoat. You can tell at a glance that it has been carefully raised. Look at those thick legs, solid muscles, and unique horns... Tsk tsk... Excellent! Simply excellent!"
"Right? This old companion has been with me for over sixty years. Even if I have nothing to eat, I make sure it has a full belly. It wasn't easy raising it to look like this."
Flattered by Ange's praise, the old man became chatty and started talking animatedly with him.
Through their conversation, Ange learned that the old man was actually the village chief of Herb Village, named Andrew, and was already over seventy years old.
"By the way, young man, earlier I heard you say you were coming to our village. What for?" Andrew asked.
Sensing that the atmosphere had been properly set, Ange answered honestly, "I'd like to purchase some Power Herbs and White Herbs. I heard the herbs grown in Herb Village are of superb quality, so I specifically came to take a look!"
Hearing this, the smile on the old man's face vanished instantly.
He assumed Ange was just another merchant coming to talk business.
In truth, Herb Village hadn't always been as xenophobic as it was now. Later on, the herbs they grew became famous, attracting a flood of merchants seeking cooperation.
Because too many people came, it even sparked malicious competition, causing massive losses to the village and nearly dealing a devastating blow to their herb business.
From then on, Herb Village only traded with regular partners.
Even so, people still frequently showed up asking for partnerships.
Andrew clearly mistook Ange for one of those people, and he held absolutely zero fondness for that type.
Noticing Andrew's expression change, Ange instantly realized he might have said the wrong thing and promptly dropped the subject.
Encouraged by Ange's flattery, Andrew soon recovered his talkative mood.
Looking at the natural scenery along the way, Floette and the Flabébé felt in high spirits and instinctively burst into song.
Because of Skeledirge, Pokémon in the jungle loved to sing, and Floette and the Flabébé were no exception.
Hearing the crisp, melodic singing of Floette and the Flabébé, Andrew looked back and praised, "Young man, your Pokémon are truly lovely!"
Upon hearing this, Floette and the Flabébé were displeased. While they didn't dislike humans as much as Lilligant did, they certainly didn't agree with being called human Pokémon.
Andrew couldn't understand their complaints and assumed they were simply happy!
Ange just smiled without refuting it, causing the Flabébé to persistently tug at his hair.
Unfortunately, given their strength, it felt little more to Ange than a gentle scratch.
"Hahaha~ Young man, you're quite a character yourself, capturing so many of the exact same Pokémon," Andrew laughed heartily.
Ange replied, "For a Trainer, that's nothing unusual."
As far as he knew, Steven raised several Aggron.
As they chatted, Ange suddenly caught a faint, delicate fragrance in the air.
"What a unique scent!"
"That's the smell of herbs," Andrew said. "Herb Village is here!"
As his words trailed off, the Gogoat stopped the cart on a high ridge. When Ange looked down, he was instantly struck dumb by the sight before him.
Beneath the ridge lay vast expanses of neat, square crop fields, planted with white, red, and pink herbs. Viewed from afar, they looked like a patchwork blanket of different colors.
Seeing Ange's wide, round eyes, Andrew said proudly, "How about that? Isn't Herb Village beautiful?"
He had two things in his life that he took immense pride in: his old companion who had stayed with him for the greater part of his life, and developing the herb cultivation of Herb Village to its current scale.
Ange nodded. "Not just beautiful, it's magnificent!"
His heartfelt remark brought back Andrew's proud expression.
"You've got a good eye, kid!"
Ange smiled. "I'm just speaking the truth."
"Alright, let's head into the village!" Andrew patted his old companion.
It was currently the herb harvesting season. After entering the village, Ange noticed villagers in the herb fields bent over with wicker baskets on their backs, busily harvesting herbs.
Seeing Andrew return, the villagers straightened up one after another to greet him with smiles on their faces.
It was easy to see that Andrew was deeply loved and respected as village chief.
At that moment, a little girl with twin tails came running over with a Skiddo.
"Grandpa, did you find a Trainer?" the girl asked breathlessly.
Andrew smiled. "Of course I did. There's nothing your grandpa can't do. Look!" He pointed behind him.
Seeing a stranger, the girl became a little shy and said with a flushed face, "H-Hello!"
Noticing that it was getting late, Andrew said with a smile, "Alright, let's head home first. Grandma will cook us something delicious, and we can talk about everything else after we've eaten our fill!"
"Mhm~~" The girl nodded vigorously, then vaulted onto the Skiddo and followed behind her grandfather.
Herb Village felt like a true utopia, filled with neat and charming cottages.
The winding paths weaving through the village were lined with blooming flowers and plants, occasionally interspersed with patches of herbs.
Andrew's house was located in the northeastern corner of the village. When they arrived, smoke was already curling from the chimney on the roof.
Unlike modern cooking methods, Herb Village still used traditional earthen stoves fueled by firewood.
Hearing movement in the courtyard, a head popped out of the kitchen window.
"You're back!"
It was Andrew's wife, a kind-faced elderly woman with a head of silver hair.
"Oh my, we have a guest!" she said in surprise upon seeing Ange. "Aya, hurry up and pour some tea for our guest."
So the little girl's name was Aya!
"Got it, Grandma!" Aya replied, then quickly ran into the house with her Skiddo.
Updated Glossary