After the meal, the Pokémon gradually headed out to plant trees.
The orchard project was nearing its final stages, and it would probably be wrapped up in the next couple of days.
Angie first went to check on the riverbank and then visited the fishery. Afterward, he headed toward the wooden houses where the Gogoat resided.
Angie had been thinking about raising a few chickens, two pigs, and maybe a couple of cows and sheep. So, this afternoon, he planned to build coops, pens, and sheds for them with the help of his Pokémon.
Building chicken coops, pig pens, sheepfolds, and cow sheds was much simpler than constructing the Gogoat's homes. All that was needed was a shelter to keep out the wind and rain.
After choosing a location for construction, Angie and the Pokémon gathered all the necessary materials. The bulk of it was wood leftover from building the wooden houses.
Once everything was ready, Angie asked Robert No. 2, "Metagross, are you sure you can handle everything on your own?"
Robert No. 2 nodded confidently. "Don't worry. I've already learned how to build coops, pens, and sheds online!"
"Alright then," Angie said, nodding. "I'll leave it to you."
Robert No. 2 stepped forward. One of its hands retracted into its arm and was replaced by a saw, and it began cutting a log into wooden planks.
The air buzzed with the sound of the saw as the log was processed into evenly-sized boards. Then, Robert No. 2 hammered and shaped the planks, passing them to its main body, Metagross, who used its psychic powers to assemble them.
Before long, a chicken coop was complete.
Angie stood there, mouth agape. "Metagross, you're amazing!"
He had thought Robert No. 1 was already skilled at construction, given that the Gogoat homes were its work. But the upgraded Robert No. 2's performance far exceeded his expectations.
With Metagross's incredible intelligence, Robert No. 2 could rapidly master skills learned online. This… this was genius-level versatility!
Metagross felt a bit bashful under Angie's admiring gaze. Using Robert No. 2 to speak, it said, "It's really not that hard. I just followed what I learned online."
Angie: Are you sure you understand the difference between difficult and easy?
Angie glanced at the chicken coop with satisfaction, though it seemed a bit larger than necessary. He hadn't planned on raising too many chickens—just enough to supply the household with meat and eggs.
Oh well. If it's big, it's big. He'd just raise a few more chickens. After all, there were more mouths to feed in the house now.
Next, Metagross and Robert No. 2 moved on to building the pig pen, sheepfold, and cow shed.
Meanwhile, Angie was busy selecting chicks, piglets, lambs, and calves to raise. All of these were conveniently available for purchase from the system shop.
Angie soon selected 50 chicks—40 hens and 10 roosters. The hens could lay eggs when they grew up, so having more of them made sense. There was no need for too many roosters.
Then, he picked four piglets, not bothering to differentiate between males and females since they were all destined for meat anyway. Angie remembered that raising pigs might require castration, but he didn't know how to do that. Oh well, he'd figure it out when the time came.
Finally, he bought two lambs and two calves, one male and one female of each.
Angie didn't dare buy too many at once. With no prior experience in animal husbandry, he was worried about accidentally causing their deaths. That would be a waste of food and a terrible shame!
After completing the purchases, Angie was pleasantly surprised to find that the system thoughtfully included guides: "Chicken Raising Manual," "Pig Raising Manual," "Sheep Raising Manual," and "Cow Raising Manual."
Angie planned to give these guides to Metagross later, letting it learn them thoroughly and then teach the Pokémon. That way, all future tasks related to raising chickens, pigs, sheep, and cows could be entrusted to the Pokémon.
By evening, Metagross and Robert-2 had finished building the pigsty, sheep pen, and cow shed.
"Metagross, you're incredible!" Angie couldn't help but exclaim.
Metagross, controlling Robert-2, replied, "It's just picking up and applying knowledge on the spot—nothing hard about it."
Indeed, Metagross was the epitome of casual brilliance.
Angie placed the newly purchased chicks, piglets, lambs, and calves into their respective enclosures. Instantly, the area came alive with activity.
The fluffy little chicks were especially adorable. Unfamiliar with their new surroundings, they darted around the coop in a flurry.
The piglets, soft and pink, rooted around the ground with their noses, seemingly searching for food.
The lambs and calves were much more composed. As soon as they entered the pens, they lowered their heads and began munching on the grass.
Angie took some millet from the system's inventory and scattered it in the chicken coop. The chicks immediately swarmed over, eagerly pecking at the grains.
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
Master, they're so cute!
Munchlax waddled up to the chicken coop, holding its chubby face with a bright, cheerful smile.
Hearing this, Angie pinched its plump cheeks and said, "You're adorable too!"
Upon hearing Angie's words, Munchlax grinned widely in pure delight.
Hehe~ Master called me cute!
Angie then tossed some fresh carrots into the pigsty. The four piglets wasted no time, dashing over to munch on the vegetables.
Eat up, eat up—grow big and juicy! Angie thought gleefully.
Pawmi, perched on the pigsty fence, curiously observed the piglets, whose size was comparable to its own.
"Pawmi~ Pawmi~"
They sure can eat!
Pawmi tugged on Angie's sleeve, voicing its astonishment.
Angie tapped Pawmi lightly on the forehead. "And you don't? You eat even more than they do!"
"Pawmi~ Pawmi~"
Pawmi adamantly refused to admit it was greedier than the piglets. It hopped down from the fence, bouncing around in protest.
"You can jump all you want, but you're still a little glutton," Angie teased.
Next, Angie moved to the cow shed and sheep pen, tossing in piles of fresh vegetables. The calves and lambs immediately abandoned the grass, rushing to the vegetables for a feast.
"Baa~"
"Moo~"
The lambs and calves bleated and mooed as they ate, clearly satisfied with their meal.
...
Meanwhile, backtracking to earlier in the timeline when Angie had just left the fish farm…
Diancie was busy at the lakeside with Drizzile and Haunter, scattering seeds of water herbs along the shoreline. Once these herbs grew, Angie could use them to make specialized fish feed for the aquatic Pokémon.
After completing this task, Diancie boarded the fishing boat Angie had purchased, with Drizzile pulling it towards the center of Nebel Lake.
Diancie couldn't swim, so it had specifically brought Haunter along. If Diancie fell into the water, Haunter could use psychic power to lift it out.
Diancie's body, primarily composed of rocks and diamonds, made it impossible to swim. If it fell into the water, it certainly couldn't surface on its own.
Before long, Diancie spotted the Veluza competing near the center of the lake. Behind them trailed the exhausted Goldeen, Seaking, Magikarp, and Feebas.
Diancie was there to implement a training program it had designed with Metagross for the Veluza.
"Everyone!" Diancie waved and called out to the Veluza.
Hearing Diancie's voice, the Veluza scattered the water's surface and gathered around the boat, with the Goldeen and others trailing behind.
"Veluza~ Veluza~"
The Veluza leader poked its head out of the water, inquiring about Diancie's purpose.
"I'm here for your special training," Diancie explained to the Veluza.
"Veluza~ Veluza~"
Upon hearing this, the Veluza leapt joyfully across the water, creating splashes of excitement.
"Follow me," Diancie instructed, signaling Drizzile to pull the boat further ahead.
"Veluza~ Veluza~"
The Veluza leader gave a call, prompting the rest of the Veluza, along with Goldeen, Seaking, Magikarp, and Feebas, to follow suit.
Everyone swam alongside the boat until they reached the edge of the massive waterfall where Nebel Lake met the Nebel River (henceforth referred to as the Great Waterfall).
Before they got too close, Diancie instructed Drizzile to halt. The water near the Great Waterfall was far too turbulent, and getting any closer would make it impossible for Drizzile to control the boat.
Pointing at the Great Waterfall from a distance, Diancie said, "From now on, your training will involve climbing the Great Waterfall!"
Diancie and Metagross had come up with this training method based on Magikarp's legendary "leaping over the Dragon Gate" behavior.
Examples of Magikarp climbing waterfalls to evolve could be found worldwide. Metagross had gathered extensive data on the topic online, concluding that it was an excellent training method.
Conveniently, the Great Waterfall at Nebel Lake provided an ideal location for the Veluza to undertake this training.
Even if the Veluza failed to climb up, they wouldn't have to worry about getting stranded. At the bottom of the Great Waterfall was the outlet of Secret Fortress 's fifth-level water pool, which they could use to return home and try again the next day.
After explaining the situation, Diancie announced, "Starting now, everyone dive over the waterfall!"
The Veluza were brave; the moment Diancie gave the command, they surged toward the waterfall en masse and plunged into the rushing waters below.
However, the Goldeen, Seaking, Magikarp, and Feebas were a different story. Having lived in Nebel Lake all their lives, they had never dared approach the Great Waterfall. Seeing it now, they were struck with fear and wouldn't even take a single step forward.
Seeing this, Diancie sternly asked, "What's the matter? Weren't you the ones who said you wanted to train alongside the Veluza yesterday? Angie specifically asked the Veluza to help you, and now you're going to waste Angie's kindness?"
Diancie's words filled the Goldeen and the others with shame.
She continued, raising her voice, "Don't let me look down on you! Do you want to remain weak and spend your whole lives drifting aimlessly in Nebel Lake?"
The Goldeen and the others became even more embarrassed, lowering their heads.
Drizzile dipped its head underwater, not daring to make a sound. It couldn't help but recall the days when it had been at Diancie's mercy during its culinary training sessions.
Haunter, meanwhile, was stunned by Diancie's sudden transformation. Where had the gentle, beautiful Diancie it knew gone?
Under Diancie's stern gaze, a Magikarp finally mustered the courage to swim forward.
Staring at the turbulent waters ahead, fear briefly flickered in its usually blank gaze. But recalling Diancie's words, its eyes grew resolute. With a firm flick of its tail, the Magikarp charged toward the waterfall without hesitation.
In the blink of an eye, the Magikarp disappeared into the rushing currents at the base of the waterfall.
Inspired by the Magikarp, a Feebas also swam forward with determination.
The actions of Magikarp and Feebas shamed the Goldeen and Seaking even more. Huddling together, they whispered amongst themselves before finally making up their minds. With a collective cry, they furiously paddled their tails and charged at the waterfall, screaming all the way.
Witnessing this, Diancie smiled in satisfaction.
She instructed Drizzile to keep watch over the boat, then had Haunter use Psychic to carry her into the air and fly to the base of the Great Waterfall.
From above, she saw the Veluza leaping up the cascading waters, one after another, attempting to ascend the waterfall.
But scaling the Great Waterfall wasn't an easy feat. Even the strongest Veluza leader was forced to retreat under the powerful currents halfway up and fell back into the pool at the base of the falls.
Yet, without a moment's hesitation, the Veluza leader launched into another attempt.
One attempt, two attempts, three attempts… It tirelessly honed itself through constant failures and retries.
The other Veluza followed its example, persisting with equal determination.
The unwavering determination to keep challenging, refining, and becoming stronger was deeply ingrained in the Veluza.
Some Veluza even collided with rocks during their descent, the sight of which made it seem excruciatingly painful, but they paid no mind.
Fortunately, Diancie was prepared. She carried Rock Salt from Garganacl to heal injuries and berries to restore stamina. Whenever a Veluza seemed unable to continue, she immediately stepped forward to treat it.
Watching the fearless Veluza, admiration filled Diancie's face.
In comparison, the Goldeens, Seakings, Magikarps, and Feebas, although having mustered the courage to leap off the great waterfall, hesitated once again when faced with the roaring torrents.
Diancie had Haunter lift her to the top of the Goldeens, speaking to them in a stern tone:
"What now? Are you afraid again? After finally overcoming your fear to make it here, are you going to back down in the face of fear once more?"
The Goldeens and Seakings exchanged glances, hesitant and uncertain.
Turning her gaze to the Magikarp, Diancie said, "Magikarp, every year, countless of your kind overcome innumerable obstacles to reach this waterfall. They face trials and hardships without fear, all for the chance to evolve into Gyarados. Don't you wish to be like them?"
With each sentence, the dull gaze of the Magikarp grew more resolute.
Diancie then looked at Feebas. "Feebas, your evolved form, Milotic, is renowned as the most beautiful Pokémon in the world. Don't you yearn for that? Don't you wish to shine with unmatched brilliance?"
Her words stirred a deep desire within Feebas. It recalled the fleeting glimpse of a breathtaking figure it had once seen, and its determination began to solidify.
To the astonishment of the Goldeens and Seakings, Magikarp and Feebas swam to the base of the waterfall. They imitated the Veluza, vigorously flicking their tails and flapping their fins as they fiercely propelled themselves toward the waterfall's summit.
Unlike the nimble Veluza, they lacked agility and strength. As a result, they only managed to climb a short distance before the rushing waters knocked them down.
Yet, as they watched the unrelenting efforts of the Veluza, a surge of boldness welled up within Magikarp and Feebas. They adjusted their posture and launched another assault on the waterfall.
Once, twice, thrice... Though each climb was short-lived and ended in a heavy fall, they persisted unwaveringly.
The Goldeens and Seakings noticed their progress—each attempt carried them higher than the last, though the summit was still far out of reach.
But who could say they would never succeed if they continued improving like this?
The sight of Magikarp and Feebas shocked the Goldeens and Seakings. Were those really the same Feebas and Magikarp? The weakest, most unremarkable Pokémon in Nebel Lake?
"Goldeen~!"
At that moment, a Goldeen finally swam out from the group. Its gaze remained tinged with fear as it looked at the roaring waterfall ahead, but its expression was resolute.
If Magikarp and Feebas could do it, so could it!
With that thought, it dashed toward the waterfall without hesitation.
The Goldeen's bold action clearly inspired the others. Soon, more Goldeens and Seakings followed, swimming forward and attempting to scale the waterfall one after another.