"That's right. Just like that. Be careful not to affect the river too much."
His goal was actually very simple.
He just wanted to create a layer of ice on the river...
And cool the area down.
Looking at the frozen surface, Lin Feng stepped onto the ice.
A refreshing chill rose as the thin layer slowly melted beneath his feet.
He nodded with satisfaction.
"Kyuun..."
Now that she understood the real reason...
Alolan Ninetales puffed a cloud of icy mist straight at him.
She had thought they were coming here to do something fun.
Instead...
He had simply brought her along to work.
With an annoyed flick of her tails, she turned around and walked away without another glance.
"Hahaha..."
The entire scene was witnessed by an elderly man fishing nearby.
He couldn't help bursting into hearty laughter.
"..."
Lin Feng returned an awkward smile.
That mischievous Alolan Ninetales.
When we get home, I'm spanking...
...No.
Pulling her tails.
Without a Pokémon beside him, the ice quickly lost its appeal.
But the moment he looked around...
Something else immediately caught his attention.
Today was the weekend.
Although it wasn't an official Gym Challenge Day...
Weekends actually attracted even more visitors.
People naturally gathered around the area.
Some held spontaneous Pokémon battles.
Others simply came to watch the construction of the Ice-type Gym.
But today...
Something seemed different.
A large crowd had gathered around a certain spot.
Many Trainers had their Pokémon beside them.
That location...
Lin Feng suddenly remembered what it was.
He walked over.
Before he could even say anything...
Someone noticed him and voluntarily stepped aside to make room.
More than a dozen people were gathered in a circle.
One of them greeted him enthusiastically.
"Hey, Brother Lin! You're here too!"
The moment he spoke...
The others also began greeting him.
"Haha! It's getting harder and harder to see you these days, Brother Lin."
"Back when your ranch first opened, we saw you almost every day."
"Come to think of it..."
"It feels like there's an invisible canyon separating us now."
"Yeah..."
Lin Feng simply smiled at the teasing without explaining anything.
Then...
He looked toward the center of the crowd.
Without question...
Everyone was surrounding the enormous stone pillar created by Alcremie's Metronome, which had randomly produced Precipice Blades.
The towering stone spikes no longer flowed with blazing magma as they had originally.
Even so...
They still radiated intense heat.
The enormous trenches carved open by Blaziken and Dragonite had since filled with cooled lava.
The hardened rock was now completely black.
Among the spectators...
Some Trainers stood beside Fire-type Pokémon.
Others had Ground-types.
Some even had Rock-types.
Every Pokémon stared silently at the giant stone pillar...
Almost as if they were absorbing something.
Wait...
Don't tell me...
They're actually gaining inspiration from Precipice Blades?
Lin Feng felt his scalp tingle.
Sure enough...
The very next sentence confirmed his suspicion.
"Brother Lin."
"Did you make this stone pillar?"
Someone asked.
Lin Feng nodded.
Receiving confirmation, the man excitedly continued.
"It's incredible!"
"A few days ago, a high school Trainer brought his Nidorino here."
"He spent a while observing this pillar..."
"And somehow..."
"His Nidorino actually learned Earth Power right here!"
"That's right!"
"After he went home, he posted everything online."
"He said this stone pillar seems especially beneficial for Fire-type and Ground-type Pokémon!"
"And after that..."
"His Nidorino evolved into Nidoking!"
"So today..."
"All of us Trainers with compatible Pokémon brought them here."
"...?"
Two question marks practically appeared over Lin Feng's head.
Is that actually possible?
"You don't believe it?"
"There's even a video."
Someone immediately pulled out a phone.
Lin Feng watched the footage.
Sure enough...
The video showed a Nidorino standing quietly before the giant stone pillar.
Its expression was unusually solemn.
As though it were comprehending something.
Moments later...
Its eyes suddenly flashed brilliantly.
The earth began trembling.
Invisible waves rippled across the ground.
It was unmistakably...
Earth Power.
Even for a fully evolved Nidoking...
Earth Power wasn't an easy move to master.
Normally it required extensive training.
Or a TM.
Not to mention...
This was still a Nidorino.
It hadn't even evolved yet.
It wasn't even a Ground-type at the time.
Learning the move should have been far more difficult.
"That's... unbelievable."
Lin Feng muttered quietly.
Only then did he realize...
The Trainer in the video looked vaguely familiar.
He seemed to be one of the very first high school students who had visited the ranch.
The one who originally owned a Nidoran♂.
His friend had brought a Pichu.
He hadn't expected...
That little Nidoran♂ had already grown into a powerful Nidoking.
"I have to admit..."
"Brother Lin really is amazing."
"You quietly left something this incredible beside your ranch without telling anyone."
"You waited until we discovered it ourselves."
"My Sandshrew has been hanging around here lately."
"I think it's about to learn Dig."
"No kidding."
"My Charmeleon is almost able to learn Flamethrower."
"You don't get it."
"I'm sure there are even more treasures around Brother Lin's ranch."
"Look at that tree!"
"That's a Pecha Berry tree, isn't it?"
"What kind of Pecha Berry tree grows that tall?"
"And those berries!"
"They look absolutely delicious."
"Brother Lin!"
"When are you going to sell some in your shop?"
"We just want to taste one."
"Forget it."
"They're definitely expensive."
"You couldn't afford them."
"Speaking of money..."
"This stone pillar belongs to Brother Lin too..."
"We don't have to pay to train here..."
"Right?"
As soon as those words were spoken...
Everyone simultaneously looked toward Lin Feng.
"...Uh..."
Lin Feng scratched his cheek.
"It's free."
He was joking if he thought about charging.
Money wasn't something he lacked anymore.
Besides...
This wasn't something he had intentionally created.
He simply hadn't expected...
That it would actually benefit ordinary Pokémon.
"That's great!"
"Hahaha!"
"Brother Lin really is a good person!"
...
Listening to the conversations around him...
Lin Feng simply smiled and shook his head.
If this pillar truly helped Fire-type Pokémon...
Then why hadn't Blaziken or Arcanine ever mentioned it?
Or perhaps...
They had noticed.
The effect simply wasn't significant for Pokémon already as strong as they were.
Which meant...
For most people...
Simply staying nearby probably offered more psychological encouragement than anything else.
Time to head home.
Time to go bully Alolan Ninetales.
...
Unfortunately...
By the time he arrived home...
Alolan Ninetales had already disappeared.
Who knew where she had wandered off to this time?
But that was fine.
A Happiny carrying her precious egg happily toddled over to him.
"Happi?"
------------------------------
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