Chapter 226: A Wonderful Summer Night

Seeing off the busy Officer Jenny.

The other party had only come to check the situation, and upon seeing the person in question, advised him to keep Steelix as restrained as possible.

Those who came to Asagi Forest were not only trainers, but also many herbalists, woodcutters, and fruit farmers who carried Pokémon yet basically had no fighting power to speak of, families who came out for picnics and camping, and even ordinary people without Pokémon who hoped to obtain one.

Moreover, the outskirts of Asagi Forest were mostly home to weak Pokémon, so acting too ostentatiously would cause small-scale panic.

The one who reported it to her was a herbalist who, after finishing gathering herbs, happened to glance up and nearly died of fright at the sight of a Steelix soaring freely in the sky.

Recently the "Giant Monster" film series was very popular, telling the story of a mechanical Tyranitar appearing and destroying towns.

That person had directly put themselves in the movie's shoes.

"Although taking a movie seriously is a bit of a problem, being scared is understandable…"

Baimu looked awkwardly at the equally awkward, and even slightly wronged, Steelix.

"Roar~"

The latter growled softly. It had been very popular in Iron Town, and had never been "looked down on" like this before — actually, it had been. Plenty of the grunts in Iron Town were absolutely terrified of this fellow, it just hadn't cared at the time.

And now that Steelix thought back on it, Iron Town had given it nothing but good memories.

Mainly because it could dig tunnels.

"In that case… then from now on you'll just have to work a little harder, shuttling back and forth between me and Iron Town more often." Baimu patted its enormous head.

To look after the Pokémon he Teleported over, N had specifically arranged a highly sentient Indeedee, ensuring that even when he didn't have the time, Baimu's needed Pokémon could still be sent over promptly.

"Roar~"

Steelix was more than happy with this, and declared that once back in Iron Town it would definitely train even harder — burrowing through mountains and digging tunnels could also make one stronger!

"If only that were true…"

Baimu recalled the techniques Brock had taught him for raising Steelix, and felt a little more at ease.

Even with raising Pokémon, there was no need to keep them by one's side at all times; regular check-ups and care on fixed days were already enough.

He glanced at the time.

"Time for dinner! Everyone, let's get cooking together!"

He shouted loudly, calling back all the Pokémon that had been playing around, assigning each one a task, striving to give them all a sense of participation.

A sense of participation made food taste better, and also helped improve the Pokémon' physical and mental health — the Ranch Uncle's Health Management chapter had mentioned related knowledge.

Dinner was fried rice and mushroom soup, and it was inevitable that the portions weren't large; a spatial backpack couldn't give food too much space, but fortunately, in the wild there was no shortage of anything else, and tree fruits were especially plentiful.

With the supplement of tree fruits, even the two big eaters, Aggron and Steelix, could be satisfied.

Speaking of which, many fruit trees were guarded and occupied by wild Pokémon, but thanks to Steelix's presence, nine out of ten of them were scared off, and the one that didn't leave was either sleeping or had fainted from fright. Regarding the matter of picking tree fruits, they basically didn't dare to voice their anger, only wanting to send the plague god away as quickly as possible.

Baimu wasn't worried at all that picking tree fruits would leave wild Pokémon unable to survive. Because in most forests, thanks to the presence of Grass-type Pokémon, fruit was extremely abundant, and there was no situation of not having enough to eat.

However, the occasional destructive actions of Team Rocket were another matter entirely.

The fried rice was fragrant, and the mushroom soup was also very delicious.

Baimu looked at the smiles on Chansey and the others' faces; although he was traveling alone, he didn't feel lonely in the slightest.

Cooking smoke rose gently, dusk fell, and night descended.

Before long.

The sky was already full of stars.

Chansey very proactively took on the task of washing the dishes; it always liked doing these small and tedious things, to demonstrate its own value.

And after resting for a little while, everyone began training as usual.

Baimu also joined in, doing various aerobic and anaerobic exercises; he longed to raise his physique to Ash's level — that is, the level where he could take a Pokémon's move head-on and still shout "What are you doing?"

g.

Maybe getting electrocuted a few times has miraculous effects?

In fact, he had never actually taken a Pokémon's move head-on, because he didn't dare.

In the distance.

Clanging sounds rang out chaotically.

That was Steelix and Aggron ramming into each other; one wanted to learn Iron Head, the other wanted to learn Heavy Slam, and both were diligently putting in the effort.

Actually, if he could choose, Baimu would prefer Aggron to learn Double-Edge, that powerful Rock-type physical move.

It was just that it was an inherited move, and couldn't be learned through one's own comprehension; either it had to be learned through the simulator's rewards, or by learning from other Aggron that knew this move.

Just those two methods.

A little closer, Mawile was dancing; the move Swords Dance was truly a bit difficult for it — it had somehow inexplicably learned Shadow Sneak, yet Swords Dance showed no signs of progress.

In comparison, although Chansey couldn't attack for the time being, it went wild learning support moves. Helping and Light Screen one after another, making the other Pokémon green with envy.

And right now it was helping Dreepy learn Dragon Pulse, using Helping to increase the energy amplitude of its Dragon Breath, letting the latter experience how much energy Dragon Pulse should output; this method was strongly recommended online by many trainers.

Baimu didn't know whether it was useful or not, and after trying it once or twice with no ill effects, he just let them keep doing it.

Speaking of learning new moves, Dreepy had indeed made gains these past two months — Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, and Ice Fang. Without a doubt, it had learned them by following Mawile, and also because it itself loved gnawing on things.

Everyone was working very hard.

Including the Galarian Corsola that usually slacked off and moped; don't let its staring blankly at the campfire fool you — it was actually learning Will-o-Wisp, comprehending the power of fire from the campfire.

Baimu originally didn't really believe it could learn this way, mainly because previously at the Pokémon Center in White Town, while sparring with Brock on cooking, he had set it aside; the stove was lit, and even from seven or eight meters away, it had inexplicably trembled and spat out two wisps of flame.

That gave him the inspiration.

There were only two Fire-type moves Galarian Corsola could learn, Will-o-Wisp and Sunny Day; no matter which one it learned, it was a gain.

They kept at it until almost eight o'clock.

Worried that Officer Jenny would come knocking after working overtime, Baimu called a timely stop, and took all the Pokémon except Steelix to wash up in the stream.

"Blow your fur dry, and tomorrow will be another day full of energy."

Baimu used a brush and a wireless hair dryer to blow dry the three furry Pokémon, and after combing their fur, he exhaled a breath of stale air into the still fairly cool breeze.

Camping is indeed a tiring thing, yet one that lets people enjoy themselves.

He sat in a camping chair, with a single-headed dragon curled up asleep at his feet, reached for the kettle that had just boiled on the small table, listened to the gurgling bubbles, brewed himself a cup of hot cocoa, draped a blanket over his knees, and gazed up at the star-filled sky.

Not far off, the campfire crackled and popped, with a Boldore and a Chansey staring at it in a daze.

The woods behind him rustled now and then—whether from the wind or nocturnal Pokémon beginning to stir, he couldn't tell.

But All Baimu's mood remained excellent.

The world of the animation was bizarre and wondrous, with mysterious ancient technology, majestic legendary spirits, and sinister, treacherous ghosts; yet as long as Boldore and the others were by his side, he feared nothing.

"Tomorrow is sure to be good weather…"