Angie dug into the soil with the shovel, while Diancie used the hoe to break up the large clumps of earth.
After digging up a small patch of land, Angie leaned on the shovel handle and straightened up. "It seems like this kind of work isn't for just anyone." After working for only a short while, he already felt soreness in his back.
Diancie heard this and mocked Angie, "Angie, you can't handle it, huh!"
"What do you mean I can't handle it?" Angie instantly became indignant. "You dare say I can't do this?" With that, he stomped the shovel into the ground and dug down fiercely. "Today, I'm going to prove to you that I can handle this!"
However, after another ten minutes, Angie was once again leaning on the shovel, clutching his back as he stood up. "Oww, oww, I guess I really can't handle it."
Diancie immediately burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" Angie snapped, glaring at Diancie.
"Hahaha~~" Diancie only laughed harder.
As Angie rubbed his sore back, he turned and called out to Komala, "Komala, why don't you come down and help? After all, we're family—shouldn't we share the work and the fun?"
Angie was only asking half-heartedly, but to his surprise, Komala actually rolled over and tumbled toward him.
It lifted its log high, and with a green light glowing around it, Komala swung it down forcefully onto the ground. Instantly, the earth shook, and the soil turned over as a section of land was cleared.
"Wood Hammer!" Angie exclaimed.
The move Komala had just used was the Grass-type physical attack, Wood Hammer.
"Komala, you're amazing, unlike some people," Diancie teased while glancing at Angie.
Angie: …
"Hey! No personal attacks!"
Feigning innocence, Diancie responded, "I didn't even mention you. Why are you taking it so personally?"
Angie huffed in annoyance. "Just wait until I complete a few more tasks and get more physique points. I'll show you who's boss!"
Unfazed, Diancie shrugged. "Well, I'll be waiting then."
The patch of land Komala had cleared with one hit from Wood Hammer was more than enough to plant the flowers, so Angie discarded the shovel and squatted down to start pulling out the weeds.
If the weeds weren't removed properly, they'd quickly regrow and steal nutrients from the flowers.
Komala didn't idle either. It rolled around in the dirt, using its log to help Diancie break up the larger clumps of soil.
However, it got covered in mud in the process and would definitely need a good wash later.
Watching Diancie and Komala work so enthusiastically, a smile crept onto Angie's face.
He loved his life right now—having adorable companions by his side and a job that wasn't too stressful. Life was peaceful and serene.
Just then, Angie suddenly heard some noise coming from the nearby bushes. Curious, he called out, "Who's there?"
The bushes rustled again. After several seconds, a Litwick hopped out.
"Muhih~ Muhih~~"
Litwick's expression was a little awkward when it saw Angie. It turned around and called into the bushes. Soon after, Pancham, Helioptile, Skitty, Stunky, and several other Pokémon hopped out one by one. The last to emerge was Gulpin, a Pokémon Angie recognized.
Seeing Gulpin, Angie smiled and greeted it, "So it's you. Are these your friends?"
Gulpin nodded softly in response.
"Hello there, I'm Angie, a human who just moved to live on the Nebel Plateau," Angie introduced himself warmly, knowing that the Pokémon were afraid of him, but still greeting them with confidence.
A few of the Pokémon shrank back, retreating two steps.
Seeing this, Diancie quickly stepped forward and asked, "Is there something you need? Are you here for food?"
Litwick, gathering its courage, stepped up first. It shook its head and then explained why they had come.
It turned out that even though they were scared after finding out it was a human who had been bringing them food, they had still decided to come and say thank you. They wouldn't ignore Angie's kindness just because they disliked humans.
After Diancie translated, Angie said, "You want to repay me?"
"Muhih~"
Litwick nodded.
"I see..." Angie lowered his head in thought, and after about ten seconds, he suddenly said, "Alright, I'm planning to plant some flowers. How about you help me with that?"
Easing the tension between him and the Pokémon couldn't be rushed, so it made sense to create more opportunities to spend time together. Over time, they would likely start to accept him.
Hearing Angie's suggestion, Litwick hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded.
"Great, let's get started."
With that, Angie began assigning tasks to the Pokémon.
Planting flowers required fertilizer, which Angie didn't have on hand. He could buy some from the system, but he didn't have many Happiness Points, so he was reluctant to spend them.
Since that was the case, he would have to make it himself.
Angie instructed Pancham, Scrafty, Helioptile, and Minccino to gather dead leaves, twigs, decaying soil, and Pokémon droppings.
The flowerbed also needed to be bordered with stones, so he asked Litleo, Skitty, Stunky, Spritzee, Zigzagoon, and Gulpin to bring some rocks.
The rocks couldn't be too small, but if they were too big, the Pokémon might not be able to carry them. So, Angie told Gulpin that if they encountered a stone too large to move, it should use its venom to corrode the rock into smaller pieces and then carry them.
As for Litwick...
Although Angie had already cleared the weeds, there were bound to be roots and seeds left in the soil, so he asked Litwick to carefully bake the loose soil with its flame, which would both kill the weeds and sterilize the soil.
Once the tasks were assigned, the Pokémon got to work immediately.
Before long, piles of twigs, leaves, decaying soil, droppings, and stones had been brought back by the Pokémon.
Minccino, being a Pokémon that loved cleanliness, looked especially disgusted when Angie asked it to collect droppings. It wrapped the droppings in leaves to carry them, and its expression of disdain made everyone laugh out loud.
Luckily, the droppings they found outside were long dried by the wind; otherwise, Bunnelby might have leapt up and scratched Angie's face in protest.
Once the soil was prepared, it still needed to air out for a while since Litwick had just heated it, making the ground a bit too warm.
Taking advantage of the break, Angie and Pancham began making fertilizer, while Diancie and Litleo worked with the others to surround the garden plot with stones.
Angie used a shovel to dig a deep pit next to the garden. Litwick then lit the branches and dead leaves on fire, and once they burned down to ashes, Angie and the others mixed the ash with decayed soil and Pokémon droppings. They placed the mixture into the pit and covered it with unburned leaves to allow the fertilizer to ferment.
While Angie and his team finished up, Diancie and her group had already lined the garden with stones, finally giving the area the look of a proper flowerbed.
"Thank you, everyone! You're all incredibly capable!" Angie couldn't help but praise them when he saw how efficiently they worked.
The Pokémon, still a bit wary of Angie, avoided eye contact but were also pleased by his praise. They couldn't resist sneaking glances at him.
Among them, Spritzee and Zigzagoon thought to themselves, "Humans aren't as scary as everyone says!"
Out of all the Pokémon there, only Spritzee and Zigzagoon were native to the Nebel Plateau and had never encountered humans before. Their fear of humans came solely from the stories they'd heard from other Pokémon on the plateau.
Noticing that Spritzee and Zigzagoon were the boldest one in looking at him, Angie grinned widely at them, revealing his bright white teeth.
(ω)
Seeing his smile, the two Pokémon quickly turned their heads away, trying to act like nothing had happened.
Once the heat had dissipated from the soil, Angie led the Pokémon in digging small holes in the flowerbed, carefully planting the flower seeds in each one.
"Now all that's left is to water the flowers," Angie said as he brought out a few small buckets from his house.
At that moment, Spritzee suddenly flew forward.
"Shu-puff~ Shu-puff~~"
Angie, puzzled, looked at Diancie and asked, "What's Spritzee saying?"
Diancie translated, "Spritzee says it will take care of the watering."
"Really?" Angie turned to Spritzee. "You can really handle it?"
Spritzee confidently patted its chest with its wings, signaling that it had no problem with the task. However, when it realized it was speaking directly to a human, it quickly hid behind Zigzagoon, only peeking its head out to sneak a look at Angie.
Seeing this, Angie spoke to it gently, "Alright then, I'll leave it to you."
Spritzee nodded and quickly flew off.
Angie watched Spritzee's retreating figure, curious as to how it planned to water the flowerbed.
A little while later, Spritzee returned, and it wasn't alone. Floating alongside it was another Pokémon. Upon seeing it, Angie finally understood why Spritzee had confidently volunteered for the watering task.
Spritzee had brought back a Castform.
Castform was a weather Pokémon whose body changes with the weather (taking on Sunny Form, Rain Form, or Snowy Form depending on whether it's Sunny, Rainy, or Snowy). Despite its small size, it possessed powerful weather-manipulating abilities.
It seemed Spritzee had already explained to Castform that a human was present, so Castform wasn't surprised when it saw Angie. However, it remained shy, hiding behind Spritzee.
After Spritzee introduced its friend, Angie learned that Castform was one of Spritzee's best friends. Despite knowing there was a human here, Castform had still loyally come to help.
"Well then, I'm counting on you, Castform," Angie said.
Castform nodded and slowly floated out from behind Spritzee. Seeing Angie's friendly smile, Castform, like Spritzee, began to think that maybe humans weren't as terrifying as everyone had said.
Castform, like Zigzagoon and Spritzee, was also a native Pokémon of the Nebel Plateau, and its understanding of humans was limited to the tales passed among Pokémon.
Castform slowly floated above the flowerbed, and soon a small cloud began to form over it. Before long, a light rain began to fall gently.
The moment it started to rain, a flash of light enveloped Castform, and its form shifted from its regular state to that of a rain cloud. At this point, it looked like a little droplet of water with legs.
Castform didn't just change its appearance; its type changed as well. It transformed from a Normal-type Pokémon into a Water-type Pokémon. Similarly, when it takes on the Sunny Form or Snowy Form, its type changes to Fire and Ice, respectively. This ability was quite fascinating.
Castform had excellent control over rain, managing to keep the downpour contained within the small flowerbed without affecting the surrounding area at all.
After observing for a few seconds, Angie quietly asked, "Castform, can you make the rain even smaller? It's too heavy, and the flowerbed might flood."
"Puff~"
Castform nodded, and soon the rain became lighter.
Seeing this, Angie gave Castform a thumbs up and said, "Castform, you're amazing."
At this compliment, Castform felt a bit shy, and two spots of red appeared on its cheeks.
Before long, the watering was finished, and Castform was about to dart away. Angie quickly called out to it.
"Castform, wait! I want to treat you to some food."
Upon hearing about food, Castform instinctively paused in mid-air. It glanced at its good friend Spritzee, unsure whether to stay or go.
Seeing this, Angie turned around to Litwick and the others and said, "Everyone, don't leave! I'm treating you all to food."
"Puff~ Puff~~"
Upon hearing this, Litwick's candle flame flickered vigorously, indicating they couldn't stay. They had come to express their gratitude, so how could they stick around for a meal? Wouldn't that render their efforts futile?
The other Pokémon nodded in agreement, but as they recalled the delicious food from yesterday, they involuntarily gulped.
Just then, Angie exaggeratedly exclaimed, "Oh no~ I accidentally prepared too much food today! But it's just me, Diancie, and Komala at home, so we definitely can't finish it all. What a waste! Just thinking about how much food would go to waste makes me so sad…"
As soon as Angie said this, the naive Pokémon started to panic. How could food be wasted?
"Yeah, I'm worried too!" Diancie quickly caught on and chimed in with Angie, "If only someone could help us eat it, that would really help both me and Angie out!"
"Can everyone help me?" Angie asked, blinking at Litwick and the others.
"Stay! Stay!" Diancie said, hugging Litwick tightly.
Looking at Angie and Diancie's hopeful expressions, Litwick couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"That's wonderful," Diancie said, then turned to the other Pokémon. "Everyone else will stay too, right?"
With Litwick agreeing, the other Pokémon naturally nodded in assent.
"Then it's settled! Let's go clean ourselves up first and then come back for the meal," Angie declared loudly.
After Angie's reminder, the Pokémon looked at each other and realized they had turned into muddy little creatures without even noticing.
"Hahaha~~"
"Yacha~ Yacha~~"
"Puff~ Puff~"
...
In that moment, Angie and the Pokémon burst into laughter, and for a brief moment, the Pokémon seemed to forget their fear of Angie.