In the afternoon, the Pokémon gathered outside Angie's house, preparing to head out together to cut down trees. Raleigh who is puzzled, asked, "Your Highness, what are they going to do?"
Angie replied with a smile, "They're going to chop down trees."
"Chop down trees?" Raleigh still looked confused.
"Yes, after cutting down the regular trees, we'll use the cleared land to plant berry trees. Want to come and take a look?" Angie asked cheerfully.
Raleigh nodded.
"Alright, let's go then," Angie said, holding Sobble in his arms. He led Raleigh and Slurpuff towards the riverside, while Munchlax and Diancie had already departed earlier with the other Pokémon.
Halfway there, they came across a group of Gogoat grazing on grass. Upon learning that Angie and the others were heading to the riverbank, two of the Gogoat stepped forward, offering to give them a ride.
Angie beamed, "Thank you so much." He swiftly mounted one of the Gogoat, giving its neck a light pat.
Raleigh, on the other hand, struggled to climb onto the back of the other Gogoat. After several failed attempts, Slurpuff gave him a push, finally helping him up.
Scratching his head awkwardly, he muttered, "How embarrassing."
Angie chuckled, "You really need to work on your fitness. A strong body is very important."
The two chatted as they rode towards the riverbank.
When they reached the shores of Nebel Lake, Raleigh marveled at the neatly planted rows of berry trees along the way and asked curiously, "Your Highness, did you plant all of these?"
Angie nodded, "The Pokémon from the plateau helped me plant them."
Raleigh exclaimed, "Your Highness, you really have such a great relationship with Pokémon! That's amazing!"
Angie smiled, "Pokémon are very simple creatures. If you're kind to them, they'll repay you many times over."
Raleigh nodded silently, taking his words to heart.
Before long, they arrived at the riverbank and saw the Pokémon hard at work, bustling with energy. Even Raleigh couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
"Today, we have work to do too!" Angie announced to Raleigh.
"What kind of work?" Raleigh asked.
"Making tables!" Angie replied.
Under Raleigh's puzzled gaze, Angie began directing Staraptor and the others to move large tree stumps back to the front of his house. Then he brought Raleigh along back home as well.
Once they were home, Angie explained his idea to use the tree stumps to make tables and benches for the Pokémon. Raleigh immediately volunteered to help.
The two of them, accompanied by Sobble and Slurpuff, began the laborious task of peeling the bark off the stumps and cutting away the excess roots.
It was no easy job.
After peeling the bark, Sobble washed the dirty stumps with water, and they set them out in the plaza to dry. Freshly dug stumps couldn't be used immediately for making tables and benches—they needed to be properly dried first.
Even after working for half a day, the two of them and their Pokémon didn't manage to finish the task. By evening, the palace guards arrived in a flying vehicle to take Raleigh home.
Raleigh bid Angie farewell reluctantly.
After Raleigh left, Angie headed to the fishery to find Politoed. He shared his idea of arranging accommodations for the Water-type Pokémon with it.
Politoed fell into deep thought upon hearing Angie's suggestion. Naturally, the Water-type Pokémon also hoped for a place to shield them from the wind and rain, especially since Pokémon like Poliwag, Poliwhirl, and Poliwrath were amphibious. While they swam in the water, they didn't actually live there like Magikarp or Goldeen. As a result, bad weather, such as windy or rainy days, could sometimes be a real inconvenience for them.
However, they couldn't adapt to living in the employee dormitories at Angie's house. They preferred a place with water.
At that moment, Angie had a sudden idea and said, "How about… you all move to the fifth floor of the Secret Fortress? The water pipeline to the fifth floor is directly connected to Nebel Lake. Normally, you can use the water pipeline to travel back and forth between Nebel Lake and the fifth floor. It'll be very convenient."
Hearing this, Politoed's eyes lit up.
Of course! That was the perfect place for Water-type Pokémon to live!
"Politoed~ Politoed~"
Politoed agreed without hesitation.
Angie then told it the location of the water pipeline entrance in Nebel Lake. Politoed immediately led the Water-type Pokémon to the entrance, and one by one, they dove into the pipe. Riding the current like a waterslide, they surfed their way through the pipeline.
The Water-type Pokémon found the whole experience incredibly fun, cheering and shouting with excitement as they glided through the pipe.
Before long, they reached the end of the pipeline, where they, along with the water, splashed into the pool on the fifth floor.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
The sound of splashing water echoed continuously, accompanied by the joyous laughter of the Pokémon. The fish already living in the pool, however, were thoroughly startled and desperately swam toward the center of the pool in panic.
When Angie arrived on the fifth floor via the elevator, he was greeted by the sight of Pokémon tumbling one after another into the pool.
Poliwag, Poliwhirl, Poliwrath, Azurill, Marill, Goldeen, Seaking, Magikarp, Feebas, and Totodile had all come along.
After landing in the pool, Poliwag, Poliwhirl, Poliwrath, Marill, and Azurill quickly climbed ashore and sat neatly by the edge of the pool, while Goldeen, Seaking, and Totodile playfully chased the fish around in the water.
As for Magikarp and Feebas…
Well, let's just say no one expected much from them. As long as they were alive, that was good enough. Asking for anything more would be unreasonable.
Finally, Politoed slid through the pipeline and into the fifth floor as well.
After it climbed ashore, Angie approached and asked, "So, how is it? Is this place good enough to live in?"
"Politoed~ Politoed~"
Politoed clapped enthusiastically, signaling its approval and that of everyone else. They were all very satisfied with the new place.
Starting tomorrow, they could even slide back through the pipeline to Nebel Lake for work.
The water pipelines on the fifth floor's walls were set at various heights. While the lower ones weren't exactly at ground level, they were still easy enough for the Pokémon to jump into—even Feebas, with its limited strength, could manage.
Once inside, everyone could simply ride the current back to the lake.
Although swimming against the current to return would require more effort, it could serve as a great workout for them.
Angie thought for a moment and purchased various sizes of driftwood from the system store, which he then placed into the pool.
Sure enough, the Poliwag family loved the driftwood. One by one, they jumped into the water with a splash, splash and climbed onto the driftwood, lounging on top as they floated back and forth.
Angie's idea of adding driftwood to the pool was inspired by the lotus leaves in Nebel Lake, where the Poliwags enjoyed sunbathing on the leaves.
Politoed gave Angie a look of approval for his creative thinking.
Since Diancie wasn't around, Angie couldn't communicate smoothly with the Pokémon. He stayed on the fifth floor for only a short while before leaving.
Once back on the surface, Angie went to the pond behind the house and told the Barboach and Whiscash that they could also move to the fifth floor of the Secret Fortress.
However, both Pokémon declined.
Unlike the Poliwags, Barboach and Whiscash were bottom-dwelling Pokémon that loved burrowing into mud. To them, the fifth-floor environment didn't compare to the pond, which provided plenty of mud for them to dig and play in.
On the other hand, two Woopers agreed to move.
Woopers were also amphibious Pokémon.
They could travel from the pond to Nebel Lake through the underwater channels and then access the fifth floor of the Secret Fortress via the water pipeline.
The next afternoon, Angie was still dealing with the tree stumps, though he didn't expect Raleigh to show up that day.
"Your Highness Angie, look! I've brought you something!" Raleigh exclaimed excitedly as he disembarked from his flying machine. This time, he was accompanied by a palace guard and... a strange-looking robot?
Angie stared at the odd robot and asked, "Raleigh, what is this...?"
Raleigh explained, "I made this to help you with your work! Yesterday, I noticed our efficiency was way too low, so I went back and built this—Robert No. 1!'"
It was only then that Angie remembered Raleigh was also an arcane scientist. While he couldn't create artificial Pokémon like Magearna, building a robot was well within his capabilities.
"This robot's name is Robert No. 1?" Angie asked, eyeing the peculiar machine in front of him.
Robert No. 1 had a round head and a round body, with no legs—only two wheels equipped with caterpillar tracks. However, its arms were incredibly long and could extend and retract freely.
"That's right, Robert No. 1!" Raleigh said enthusiastically.
"Are there Robert No. 2 or No. 3 models as well?" Angie asked.
"No," Raleigh replied, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I just like adding numbers to my inventions. It helps me differentiate between versions if I make improvements later."
"Alright," Angie nodded. He didn't really understand the habits of inventors.
Raleigh continued, "Your Highness, let me show you how amazing Robert No. 1 is!"
Angie, full of anticipation, replied, "Sure!"
Hearing this, Raleigh immediately issued a command: "Robert No. 1, strip the bark off those tree stumps over there and cut off the excess roots!"
"Understood."
Robert No. 1's eyes flashed blue twice, and it replied in a mechanical voice. It quickly rolled over to the pile of tree stumps.
Under Angie's astonished gaze, its palms retracted into its wrists, and two strange tools emerged in their place.
As the sound of machinery buzzed, Robert No. 1 began its work. The tools in its hands swiftly peeled the bark from the tree stumps and neatly chopped off the excess roots. Its efficiency left Angie utterly astonished.
Angie couldn't help but exclaim, "Raleigh, Robert No. 1 is incredible!"
Raleigh blushed and replied, "It's just a simple work robot. Building it wasn't hard at all."
Not hard? Angie found that hard to believe.
The stumps that Angie and Raleigh had struggled with yesterday were all taken care of by Robert No. 1 in just a few hours.
"Your Highness, why don't you keep Robert No. 1 here to help out? It can also handle some basic household tasks. Later, when I become even better, I'll upgrade it for you," Raleigh suggested.
Angie smiled happily. "Then I'll gladly accept! Raleigh, you're already amazing, and I'm sure you'll become even more remarkable in the future!" He praised sincerely.
Raleigh was so flustered by the compliment that he didn't know where to look.
That evening, Angie invited Raleigh to stay for dinner, where Raleigh experienced for the first time what it was like to see so many Pokémon dining together at Angie's home.
He found it utterly fascinating.
Could this be the essence of true harmony between humans and Pokémon?
What Angie didn't know was that the scene Raleigh witnessed today planted a special seed in his young heart.
Before nightfall, the royal guards arrived in their aircraft to take Raleigh back, leaving Angie with a new addition to his household: Robert No. 1.
Munchlax and Sobble were both very curious about the sturdy metal robot. After dinner, they circled it non-stop, occasionally reaching out to touch it.
Robert No. 1 wasn't particularly intelligent. It stood motionless whenever Munchlax or Sobble prodded it.
Days passed, and about ten days later, the stumps had nearly dried out. Angie decided it was time to start turning them into tables and chairs.
Meanwhile, the dried wood was stored in the warehouse, ready for future use.
One day, as Angie returned from the Azoth Kingdom, he noticed the sky over the Nebel Plateau had turned ominously gray. He frowned and muttered, "Could it be about to rain?"
At that moment, Diancie walked up to him, also looking at the sky. "It seems likely," she said.
"Looks like working today might be a challenge," Angie murmured.
He quickly grabbed some tarps and, with the help of Diancie and Munchlax, covered the stumps to protect them from the rain.
Sure enough, by mid-afternoon, the skies opened up, and a downpour began. Thankfully, there was no wind.
Raindrops pelted the calm surface of Nebel Lake, forming ripples. A few Poliwhirl remained dutifully guarding the fish farm, while most of the other Water-type Pokémon retreated to the secret fortress via the pipeline.
Pokémon working outside chopping trees scurried back to Angie's home, huddling under the eaves to avoid the rain.
Soon, the eaves were crowded with Pokémon, all chattering away about the sudden downpour.
Since work was impossible in the rain, the Pokémon lounged under the eaves chatting. Angie, seeing this, headed to the kitchen with Sobble to prepare a pot of fish soup. He made sure to add extra ginger for warmth.
Under Angie's orders, Robert No. 1 brought out towels for the soaked Pokémon to dry off, paying particular attention to Swablu and the two Altaria, who looked especially bedraggled when wet.
Before long, Angie and Munchlax served bowls of steaming fish soup. One sip, and the Pokémon felt warmth spreading through their bodies.
As they sipped the soup, the Pokémon suddenly gasped. A blue-white light began to shine among them.
It was a Patrat—it was evolving!
In the glow, Patrat's body grew taller and more elongated. Moments later, it stood at a height similar to that of a Watchog.
When the light faded, a brand-new Watchog stood among them.
The newly evolved Watchog looked down at its hands and feet before joyfully embracing the other Watchog. The two of them hopped and danced, celebrating the evolution.
The other Pokémon quickly joined in, congratulating the new Watchog.