It was once thought to be impossible to farm Cottonee, for they float vast distances on the wind, far beyond the practical ability of any farmer to contain, and are remarkably adept at avoiding any flying pokemon sent to corral them by separating out chunks of cotton in their own shape to deceive their captors. Indoor farming, although occasionally attempted, was also impossible; even in a greenhouse, Cottonee did not receive enough sunlight to grow, for these pokemon must use the wind in order to fly close enough to the sun's rays. Clothing was made of a variety of fabrics and sewn by Leavanny for most of Unova's history, for although cotton is a quite comfortable fabric which had occasionally been gathered throughout the region, no one had discovered a practical method to gather enough of it to supply even a modest percentage of the region's clothing needs.
This problem was solved through a greater understanding of wind currents, for there are a few areas of Unova where the wind blows in nearly a small circle – and many more where it can be made to, with help from flying pokemon and windbreaks. Cottonee farms tend to be quite large compared to those of other pokemon, but need not be situated on otherwise arable land, for Cottonee spend most of their time airborne and the tendency of these pokemon to blanket the ground with cotton when blown in a circle makes growing anything else on the same land impossible.
Although only they are farmed in a small portion of Unova, the high rate at which the Cottonee shed cotton has made them the most popular choice for clothing in the region, and an increasing export overseas. In most of the world, however, they have so far failed to replace Mareep wool.
