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Seeing Lucas approach, a group of Poliwag and a few Poliwhirl immediately surrounded him.
Lucas also faintly spotted a few Poliwrath and a Politoed resting in the bushes.
The Politoed was lounging among the water plants. When it saw Lucas, it merely opened its eyelids slightly to glance at him before closing them again.
Lucas tried to use the Eye of Insight to view the Politoed's data but found that the ability was ineffective.
This situation could only indicate one thing: the Politoed's level exceeded Diancie's.
What Lucas didn't know was that the Politoed before him was also one of the guardians of the Nebel Plateau.
When Volcanion was away, Delphox, Greninja, and Chesnaught were responsible for guarding the land, while the vast waters were considered Politoed's territory.
It could be said that Politoed was the strongest Pokémon in the Nebel Plateau besides Volcanion, without a doubt.
Of course, Lucas didn't know any of this.
He guessed that Politoed might be the parent of the Poliwag and Poliwhirl. He initially thought about approaching to say hello, but the Poliwag had already crowded around Lapras, guiding him to swim in another direction. Before long, Politoed disappeared from his sight.
Bypassing that lush patch of aquatic plants, Lucas arrived at a clear body of water. The water here was very deep, but he could still clearly see the bottom, the swaying Salveyo weed, and the swimming Magikarp, Goldeen, and Seaking, all full of vitality.
"Poli~ Poliwag~"
A Poliwag called out to Lucas, then plunged into the water. Before long, it surfaced with a piece of Salveyo weed in its mouth.
"Poli~ Wag~"
It swam to Lucas's side and handed the long Salveyo weed to him.
Lucas accepted the weed and thanked it. "Thank you, Poliwag."
"Poli~ Poli~"
The Poliwag's round eyes immediately curved into crescents, and then it plunged into the water again. Following that, the other Poliwag also dived into the water one after another.
"Munch~ Munchlax~~"
Watching as one Salveyo weed after another was picked by the Poliwag and handed to Lucas, Munchlax clapped its hands happily on the side.
The Poliwag didn't have hands, so they could only pick Salveyo weed one by one, which was rather slow. Watching this, Munchlax began to get anxious. Taking advantage of Lucas's moment of distraction, it plunged into the water.
Splash~
Lucas was startled by the sudden splash. Seeing that Munchlax had already jumped into the water, he silently retracted his outstretched hand.
Munchlax was indeed a Pokémon with max Speed IVs. Even in the water, it was incredibly agile. Before long, it surfaced with a handful of Salveyo weed.
"Munch~ Lax~~"
Munchlax handed the Salveyo weed it had picked to Lucas with a proud look.
"You can even swim?" Lucas asked, impressed but slightly exasperated.
"Munch~ Munch~~" I'm amazing, right!
Munchlax was beaming, its face full of pride.
"Amazing!" Lucas gave it a thumbs up and praised it. "My Munchlax is the most amazing in the world."
Lucas's words made Munchlax overflow with joy. It stuffed the seaweed into Lucas's hand and then began to show off its swimming skills.
Backstroke, dog paddle, butterfly stroke... It was swimming so happily.
Lucas sometimes couldn't help but wonder if his Pokémon was a Munchlax or a puppy. Clingy, affectionate, and always eager to please its trainer, it was simply too, too, too adorable.
"Munchlax is amazing!"
"Wow, that pose is so cool."
"Wow, Munchlax, you swim so fast, even Water-type Pokémon can't compare to you."
Lucas was very supportive of Munchlax's performance, offering praise after praise. Munchlax swam more and more vigorously in response.
Seeing Munchlax having so much fun, Lucas wanted to join and play with it too, but even in the Nebel Plateau, the autumn water was a bit cold. With his physical condition, he might get sick again and be unable to get up.
So he could only watch from Lapras's back.
Besides Munchlax and Poliwag, Marill also brought Azurill to help with the picking. Fletchling, Swablu, and Spritzee also wanted to help, but unfortunately they couldn't enter the water.
Soon the sun began to set. Lucas saw that he had accumulated almost enough Salveyo weed, so he called out to Munchlax, Marill, Azurill, and the Poliwag:
"Alright, that's enough, let's head home."
Hearing this, Munchlax, Poliwag, and Marill gathered around Lucas.
"Munchlax, come!" Lucas stretched out a hand to Munchlax, then exerted a sudden force to pull it from the water onto Lapras's back. "Good heavens, you're really not light."
Munchlax's soft and thick fur was soaked with water, making it even harder for Lucas to pull up.
"Are you tired? Are you cold?" Lucas asked with concern.
"Munch~ Lax~~"
Munchlax shook its head, patting its chest confidently.
Lucas thought for a moment and spent a few Happiness Points in the system store to buy a disposable bath towel, which he handed to Munchlax. "Hurry, dry yourself off."
"Munch~ Munch~"
Munchlax took the bath towel and grinned.
"Alright, let's head back," Lucas said.
Then everyone swam back together.
When passing by a particular spot, Lucas was suddenly attracted by a clump of aquatic plants.
That was…
He stared at it for a few seconds, then suddenly slapped his forehead. Wasn't that water bamboo! He quickly pointed to the clump of plants and said to Lapras eagerly, "Lapras, take me over there."
"Lap~ Lapras~"
Lapras didn't fully understand, but still followed Lucas's instructions and quickly swam over. The Poliwag looked at each other, confused, but they followed along with Marill and the others.
It really was water bamboo!
Lucas approached and examined it closely, his heart filled with surprise. He hadn't expected such an unexpected harvest.
He reached out and peeled open the aquatic plants, revealing the swollen rhizome inside, white and tender. This was genuine water bamboo.
"Fletch~ Fletch~" Lucas, why are you pulling this grass?
Fletchling flapped its wings and landed on Lucas's shoulder, asking curiously.
Swablu and Spritzee squeezed onto Lucas's other shoulder, also looking inquisitive.
Lapras was equally puzzled. This type of plant was very common in the waters of the Nebel Plateau. It had tried eating it before, but it was especially irritating to the throat and couldn't be swallowed at all. It didn't understand what made it so special.
Lucas peeled off the green leaves covering the outside of the water bamboo, revealing the white and tender part inside. He pinched it lightly with his hand, and immediately a nail print appeared.
So tender!
He smiled and showed the peeled water bamboo to the Pokémon. "This is a real delicacy, absolutely delicious."
Lapras, Poliwag, Marill, and Azurill all shook their heads, indicating that they didn't believe him.
But Munchlax, Fletchling, Spritzee, and Swablu were deeply convinced by Lucas's words.
Munchlax took the water bamboo from Lucas's hand, looking at it like a precious treasure.
Hehe, delicious.
Not even knowing how to eat it yet, Munchlax's saliva was already flowing uncontrollably.
"Lapras, please swim further in. I'd like to gather some more," Lucas said to Lapras.
"Lapras~ Lap~"
Lapras nodded and carried Lucas a little deeper into the water plants.
Lucas reached out and harvested one water bamboo shoot after another. Munchlax, Marill, and Azurill also came forward to help, and soon they had collected a substantial pile.
Seeing that they had gathered almost enough, Lucas didn't want to waste any more time and said to everyone, "That's enough, let's head back quickly. It's getting dark."
So the group of Pokémon continued their journey back.
After delivering Lucas to the shore, Poliwag, Marill, Azurill, and Lapras bid farewell to him one after another.
Lucas waved and called out to them, "Thank you everyone for your help today. Be sure to come to my house for dinner tomorrow!"
The Pokémon swam away, looking back every few strokes.
When Lucas and Munchlax were almost home, Fletchling, Spritzee, and Swablu also parted ways with them.
"Fletchling, Spritzee, Swablu, I had so much fun today. Let's play together again next time!"
"Fletch~ Fletch~" I had fun too. Let's play together again!
Lucas and Munchlax shouted at the three Pokémon who were gradually flying away.
"Fletch~ Fletchling~"
"Sprit~ Spritzee~"
"Swablu~ Blu~"
The replies of the three Pokémon came from the distant sunset.
When they were almost at the door, Lucas spotted Komala rolling home from afar. He walked over, bent down, and picked it up. "Welcome home."
"Munch~ Munch~" Welcome, welcome!
Munchlax imitated Lucas.
The one human and three Pokémon walked to the door, only to see Diancie standing on the steps, smiling at them and saying, "You're a little late coming back."
"Munch~ Lax~~" Not late, not late.
Munchlax, draped in the bath towel, ran into the house like a fluffy puffball.
"Hahaha~~" Lucas couldn't help but laugh at Munchlax's amusing movements.
Accompanied by Lucas's laughter, the family of four went into the house, chatting and laughing. Before long, warm lights illuminated the windows, bringing a touch of life to the empty Nebel Plateau.
In the evening, Lucas and Munchlax cooked together in the kitchen.
"Munchlax, you steam the buns, and I'll prepare the dishes," Lucas said.
Their staple food tonight was still steamed buns.
"Munch~ Lax~"
Munchlax responded enthusiastically, stood on tiptoe on a small stool, and skillfully kneaded the dough.
Then Lucas also got busy.
He first processed the Salveyo weed.
Last time he had made a cold Salveyo weed salad. This time Lucas prepared scallion oil Salveyo weed, which was equally delicious, but with a different flavor profile.
After finishing the salad, Lucas made a cold shredded radish salad, cooked a tomato soup, and also stir-fried a plate of green beans.
The green beans in Lucas's vegetable garden had just reached their prime. They were fresh and tender now, and very tasty. The whole family enjoyed them.
As one dish after another came out of the pot, a rich aroma filled the kitchen. Even Diancie couldn't help but poke her head in from outside and asked:
"What delicious food is there today? It smells absolutely wonderful!"
Lucas pretended to be mysterious and said, "You'll find out when it's time to eat."
Diancie replied, dissatisfied, "Always making a mystery out of everything." Saying that, she withdrew her head.
Lucas smiled and turned his attention back to the stove. There was only one last dish left to make, which was the water bamboo that he had just harvested today.
After contemplating for a while, Lucas decided to make braised water bamboo.
He cut the peeled and washed water bamboo into chunks and prepared seasonings such as oil, salt, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, and garlic.
Then he heated a pot with oil. After the oil was hot, he added ginger and garlic to stir-fry until fragrant, then poured in the cut water bamboo pieces and continued to stir-fry.
When the water bamboo softened, he added seasonings such as soy sauce, sugar, and salt in sequence.
Finally, he poured in an appropriate amount of water, covered the pot, and let it simmer.
When the heat reduced and the sauce thickened, the dish was ready to be served.
Seeing Munchlax staring intently at the freshly made braised water bamboo, Lucas asked with a smile, "Does it smell good?"
"Munch~ Munch~~" It smells amazing!
Munchlax wiped the corner of its mouth, its eyes never leaving the dish.
Lucas patted its head with a smile and said, "Smells good, doesn't it? Then why don't you hurry up and set the table so we can start eating?"
"Munch~ Lax~"
Munchlax cheered and immediately rushed towards the dining area with a stack of bowls and chopsticks.
Unsurprisingly, the family of four all ate to their hearts' content that night.
Munchlax lay on its chair with its belly protruding, constantly rubbing its stomach that looked like it was six months pregnant, with an expression of pure satisfaction on its face.
"Munch~ Munch~~" Master, let's eat this again tomorrow.
Munchlax said, knowing that Master had not used all the water bamboo.
"You like it that much?" Lucas teased.
"Munch~ Lax~" I love it.
Munchlax nodded enthusiastically.
"You glutton, what don't you like?" Diancie playfully chided.
Munchlax turned its head away indignantly, refusing to look at Diancie.
Seeing this, Lucas said to Diancie, "Don't tease it so much."
Diancie replied with mock jealousy, "With you, the master, protecting it so fiercely, how would I dare?"
Lucas scratched his head sheepishly and decided not to pursue the matter further.
After dinner, the family of four sat together and chatted for a while. When it got late, they went to the cooking training room to practice.
Lucas hadn't trained yesterday because he was accompanying Gardevoir and Kirlia to the Pokémon Center, so he hadn't received all the daily task rewards.
— — — — — —
The next day, Lucas got up early. He couldn't go to his stall yesterday, so he couldn't afford to be lazy today. If he didn't earn more money now, he wouldn't have funds when he needed them in the future.
Lucas had just finished washing up and stepped out of his room when he saw Diancie walking towards him.
"Lucas, a new system task has arrived. Do you want to accept it?" Diancie said.
"I knew it would come today." Lucas smiled. "Let me see it quickly."
Diancie nodded, walked to Lucas's side, and showed him the task acceptance pop-up window.
Lucas was surprised after seeing the tasks on the pop-up window. There was more than one task.
[Temporary Task] Obtain a shop of your own in the Nebel Plateau. Do you want to accept it?
[Yes]
[No]
[Ingredient Acquisition Task] Cooperate with the Gogoat on the Nebel Plateau to obtain Gogoat Milk. Do you want to accept it?
[Yes]
[No]
[Recipe Upgrade Task] Upgrade the steamed bun to milk-flavored steamed bun, using Gogoat Milk. Do you want to accept it?
[Yes]
[No]
Lucas really hadn't expected that the system would release three tasks at once.
Three tasks wasn't a problem, but the first task gave him pause.
Obtain a shop of his own in Nebel Plateau? Was a shop in the royal city something you could get just by wishing for it? Did he look like someone who could afford a commercial property? Besides, was it even necessary?
Nevermind, he decided to accept it first. Maybe he'd save enough money one day. Anyway, the task had no time limit, and there was no penalty for failure.
With that thought, Lucas accepted all three tasks without hesitation.
Looking at the latter two tasks, Lucas thought to himself: It seems I'll need to build a good relationship with the Gogoat in the near future.