As expected, the beverage made from tea leaves specially crafted using the Stardrop Tea recipe was a massive hit.
Ron chatted with Lewis beside him while pondering how to mass-produce the drink.
Not far away, Caroline was currently keeping Pierre company at his little stall. In previous years, she would definitely be sitting right next to Abigail. But now, perhaps to avoid being reminded of her absence, she chose to stay with Pierre to sell the winter trinkets.
"Are you cold?" Caroline asked, handing the hot drink she had brought over to Pierre. "Have a sip."
Pierre looked as though he wasn't affected at all, but Caroline knew he was actually hurting inside too.
"I finally understand why Jodi could never really seem happy during the Feast of the Winter Star in previous years," Caroline sighed, tidying up the items on the table. "I wonder how she's doing right now."
Because they couldn't always guarantee they'd be staying at a Pokémon Center during their journey, Abigail's calls back home came at irregular hours. Furthermore, because they weren't familiar with the Kalos region's layout, they had no way to call her directly.
Just as Caroline was feeling down about this, Joy came running over, out of breath. "Ca-Caroline! Abigail just called you!"
She had specifically left Wigglytuff behind to man the Pokémon Center. As soon as the call came through, Wigglytuff immediately came to notify her.
"Really?!" Caroline gasped in pleasant surprise, covering her mouth. Before she could even run back to the Pokémon Center with Joy, Pierre had already thrown a cloth over his stall, silently following right behind the two of them.
They hurried all the way back to the Pokémon Center, where Caroline immediately answered the phone.
On the other end, in Kalos.
Abigail looked at Caroline on the screen, excitedly waving at her.
"Mom!" She then noticed Pierre, who was partially hidden behind Caroline. "Dad?"
"Mm, how have you been lately?"
"Great!" Abigail said, showing off a newly acquired Gym Badge. "Look, this is the badge I just got!"
Abigail chattered endlessly on the other end, sharing her experiences.
Although Abigail got along well with both of them at home, they were probably usually too strict with her, so it was rare for Abigail to be this excited to share her adventures with them.
Looking at the usually quiet Abigail being so talkative, Caroline couldn't help but smile, her eyes curving with joy.
"By the way, today is the Feast of the Winter Star, right? Happy holidays! Did Gus make a lot of delicious food again today?"
"Yes, Ron even came to help out at the Saloon this year," Caroline said. "There are so many more dishes than in previous years, and they made a lot of special drinks too."
Hearing this, Abigail looked at the screen with a slight tinge of regret.
"How about this: next time you come back, Mom will ask Ron and Gus to make a custom feast just for you?" Seeing this, Caroline offered.
"That won't be until after the League conference and the Contest are over," Abigail replied after a moment's thought.
"That works out perfectly. Bring your friends back with you."
Bonnie, who had been eavesdropping from the side, quickly poked her head into view. "Am I invited too?"
"Of course," Caroline smiled. "Once your journey is over, come visit Pelican Town together."
"Yay!" Bonnie cheered on the spot.
Serena, standing nearby, looked at Bonnie and couldn't help but reach out and affectionately rub her head.
Not far away, two figures hiding in a dark corner lowered their newspapers after hearing this.
"So this is that Pelican Town where James and the others went to investigate and then vanished?"
One of them said uncertainly, "It looks pretty ordinary. Even their Pokémon Center is shabby enough."
He stared at the rundown Community Center visible on the screen.
"It should be. The data shows that the girl is from Pelican Town," the person next to him replied. "Looking at their clothes, it must be pretty cold over there—"
The man unfolded a map and studied it. "Right now, there's no place in Kalos that should still be experiencing winter except Anistar City—could this town be located somewhere else?"
"But according to the intel, they left by boat."
And Anistar City was located inland; it was arguably the settlement furthest from the ocean in all of Kalos, with the exception of Coumarine Town.
"How about we just grab that little brat later and force the answers out of her?" After thinking about it for a while, the two couldn't help but suggest.
Even though their actions had led to Jessie, James, and Meowth completely losing contact, in reality, the two of them didn't really take the matter to heart.
After all, it was common knowledge that their performance in Team Rocket was dead last. They had nearly been kicked out by Giovanni on several occasions.
If they hadn't owed a massive debt within the organization, they probably would have been permanently expelled from Team Rocket a long time ago.
With this in mind, one of them leaned back in his chair leisurely, waiting for Abigail to finish her call so they could grab her, find out the exact location of Pelican Town, and complete the mission assigned to them by Giovanni.
Meanwhile, back in Pelican Town.
Jessie was feasting together with James. For some reason, she suddenly shivered.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing—it must just be the cold." Jessie looked around suspiciously. After a while, she turned back to James. "Come to think of it, isn't it about time we report in for work?"
James stared blankly at Jessie.
The two stared at each other for a moment before suddenly shooting up from their chairs in terror.
"Ahhhhh! We forgot, we forgot!!!!"
"Forget what, meow?" Meowth asked, looking up in confusion with a piece of cake in its mouth.
"The report!! We forgot!"
Meowth froze. The cake in its mouth dropped to the ground with a plop.
"Indeedee?" Indeedee tilted its head, looking at Meowth. "Indeedee."
"What report? It's just that Meowth and the others—" Meowth gulped, looking at Indeedee.
Normally, it would have just told a lie to brush the matter aside.
But because of Indeedee's abilities, it knew that saying anything now would be pointless.
Meowth gulped again. "Meowth won't say anything about the farm, meow."
"Indeedee?"
"Really, meow." Meowth rubbed its paws together. "It's a bit frustrating to admit, meow, but if we don't report to the Boss, he'll send someone much more capable to investigate the farm, meow."
"Indeedee?"
"—The people in Team Rocket are all very formidable, meow, but if you're asking who would win between them and Bellossom..." Meowth said:
"Actually, Meowth has no idea, meow."
In its eyes, both sides were incredibly strong.
Of course, selfishly speaking, it hoped Bellossom were a little stronger.
But because the Boss had lent them some incredibly powerful Pokémon in the past, Meowth didn't really know the true extent of Team Rocket's strength itself.
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