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The Botanical Garden is a small grass Pokémon nursery located on the island of Dragon University-Flight Campus, doubling as a tree fruit plantation.
Since Grass-type Pokémon thrive in environments filled with plants, many Trainers leave their Grass-types here, regularly visiting to check on them and pick them up when they leave school.
With so many Grass Pokémon present, the area naturally becomes an ideal place for growing fruit. The Pokémon take care of the plants, making the garden self-sufficient—benefitting both the Pokémon and the plantation.
As a result, when the Berry Club doesn't head to Trial Island No. 3, they conduct their club activities here.
Chris, riding a sonic bicycle with Ember sparking all the way, arrived at the garden's gate within ten minutes.
After parking, Chris entered the garden and found that the club activities had already begun. Members of the Berry Club were busy planting fruit trees and sampling fruit, while the senior members explained various facts about tree fruit.
"Still late," Chris sighed.
Suddenly, a vine extended toward Chris, offering him an Oran Berry.
Chris turned to see a Bulbasaur—Senior Sister Mia's Bulbasaur, to be exact—who had just called out to him. She smiled and nodded at Chris as Bulbasaur cheerfully handed him the berry.
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur placed the Oran Berry directly into Chris's hand, encouraging him to eat.
"Thank you." Chris accepted the berry, noting that it tasted like an orange despite its odd blue skin. Even though it looked strange, it was indeed one of the tree fruits safe for humans.
After peeling the berry and handing half of it back to Bulbasaur, Chris approached Mia.
"Sister, I have a few questions!" Chris said.
"Huh? Go ahead."
"I was wondering if there's any Mulch, or some method, that could shorten the growth cycle or increase the yield of rare tree fruits. I found some Mulch online recently, but it didn't work well on rare fruit."
Chris had discovered that while regular Mulch worked for ordinary fruit trees, rare tree fruits seemed to require something more specialized.
"Rare tree fruit..." Mia frowned, thinking for a moment.
"The Breeder techniques for rare tree fruit are usually kept secret. I'm afraid only the top professors specializing in tree fruit at our school might know something about it."
"I see..." Chris felt disheartened. Consulting a professor seemed complicated, and it might not even lead to the results he wanted.
It looked like finding the right Mulch would have to wait until he explored other Regions.
"However," Mia added, "there's one method I've heard about. I can't promise it'll work, but it might be worth a try."
"Tell me!"
"There's a move called Sweet Scent, and it's rumored that using it on rare tree fruits that naturally taste sweet can increase their yield."
Sweet Scent to increase the yield of rare sweet tree fruit? Chris was doubtful about the credibility of this information.
And why was Mia suggesting Sweet Scent specifically?
"Uh, thanks, senior," Chris said, still unsure.
"Do you have a Grass-type Pokémon? I can ask my Bulbasaur to teach you Sweet Scent. Although it's a Normal-type move, many Grass-type Pokémon can learn it."
"Uh, no... but thank you, senior." Chris suddenly remembered how Sweet Scent works outside of battles.
If used in the wild, Sweet Scent could attract nearby Pokémon, triggering a "group battle," where up to five Pokémon would appear at once!
Whether you're shiny hunting or leveling up, group battles are the most efficient way to go. After all, facing five Pokémon at once means you can either be knocked out quickly or take them all down, gaining five times the experience!
There are plenty of Area of Effect (AOE) moves in the game: Water-type Surf, Normal-type Hyper Voice, Fire-type Heat Wave, and Grass-type Razor Leaf, to name a few.
If you're shiny hunting, the odds of encountering a shiny in a group battle are five times better than in a single battle, right?
Chris quietly sent out Smeargle.
Time for the utility Pokémon to shine!
"Please have Bulbasaur use Sweet Scent, Senior!"
Mia blinked when Smeargle appeared but quickly understood Chris's plan.
"Bulbasaur, use Sweet Scent."
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur responded, shaking slightly as a pink mist wafted from its bulb.
The sweet scent filled the air, and nearby Pokémon began to gather around, attracted by the fragrance.
Chris glanced at his Smeargle.
"Smeargle, use Sketch to copy that move!"
Smeargle quickly grabbed its tail, the green tip turning pink. Using the tail as a brush, it drew a circle on the ground, and a faint sweet aroma began to spread from the pink marks.
Done! Smeargle had successfully learned Sweet Scent.
Although... its use of the move looked quite different from Bulbasaur's demonstration.
"Sketch is such an amazing move," Mia said, enviously. "If only I could have a Smeargle! I was planning on charging you a little tuition, but I guess I can't now."
"Thank you again, sister," Chris said.
Since there wasn't a clear way to increase the yield of rare tree fruit, there was no reason for Chris to stick around. He could return to the Shuguo Club another time.
"Sister, I have some things to take care of, so I'll head out now," Chris said, ready to leave and get back to his story.
"Alright, take care," Mia replied, but then something occurred to her. "Oh, by the way, next month during school break, our club is planning an activity in the D-level danger zone, the Forest of Plenty. Make sure you leave some time free!"
"I don't think I can go, I've been busy lately and I need to—"
"I heard someone found an Enigma Berry in the Forest of Plenty recently. There's a chance an Enigma Berry tree could be growing there."
"Sister, I'm going! I'll make time for sure!" Chris said excitedly, cutting her off mid-sentence.