Chapter 69: The Arrival of the Heavy Rain

In the afternoon, Pokémon gathered at Andrew's doorstep and then set out together to cut down trees. Raleigh, puzzled, asked, "Your Highness, what are they going to do?"

Andrew replied, "They're going to cut down trees."

"Cut down trees?" Raleigh looked confused.

"Yes, after cutting down the ordinary trees, we'll use the cleared land to plant fruit trees. Do you want to come and see?" Andrew asked with a smile.

Raleigh nodded.

Andrew said, "Then let's go."

He then picked up Sobble and, along with Raleigh and Slurpuff, headed towards the riverbank. Munchlax and Diancie had already left ahead with the other Pokémon.

Along the way, they encountered some Gogoat grazing. Upon learning that Andrew and his group were headed to the riverbank, two of the Gogoat offered to give them a ride.

Andrew cheerfully said, "Thank you very much." He swiftly climbed onto one of the Gogoat's back and patted its neck.

Raleigh, struggling for a while, eventually needed Slurpuff's help to get up.

Embarrassed, Raleigh scratched his head and said, "This is so embarrassing."

Andrew laughed, "You really need to work out more. A strong body is important."

They chatted as they made their way to the riverbank.

When they arrived at the edge of Nebel Lake, Raleigh, seeing the neatly planted fruit trees, curiously asked, "Your Highness, did you plant all these?"

Andrew nodded, "The Pokémon from the plateau helped me plant them."

Raleigh remarked, "Your Highness, you really have a great relationship with the Pokémon. That's amazing!"

Andrew replied, "Pokémon are simple creatures. If you treat them well, they will return your kindness many times over."

Raleigh nodded in agreement.

Soon, they reached the riverbank and saw the Pokémon working energetically. Even Raleigh felt a surge of excitement.

"We have work to do today too!" Andrew told Raleigh.

Raleigh asked, "What work?"

Andrew said, "We're making tables!"

With Raleigh still puzzled, Andrew directed Staraptor and the others to carry the large tree stumps back to the house. He and Raleigh followed.

Once they arrived, Andrew explained his plan to use the stumps to make tables and chairs for the Pokémon. Raleigh immediately offered to help.

So, the two of them, along with Sobble and Slurpuff, began removing the bark from the stumps and cutting off the excess roots.

It wasn't an easy task.

After removing the bark, Sobble washed the dirty stumps with water and then set them out on the square to dry.

Freshly dug stumps couldn't be used immediately for making furniture—they needed to dry first.

The group worked hard for half a day but didn't finish. By evening, a royal guard arrived with a flying vehicle to take Raleigh home.

Raleigh reluctantly said goodbye to Andrew.

After Raleigh left, Andrew went to the fish farm and found Politoed. He shared his idea of arranging a place for the Water-type Pokémon to stay.

Politoed thought for a moment. Water-type Pokémon naturally wanted a place to shelter from the wind and rain, especially since Poliwag, Poliwhirl, and Politoed were amphibious. Although they often swam in water, unlike Magikarp and Goldeen, they didn't live in the water all the time, so rainy and windy weather could be problematic for them.

But the staff dormitory at Andrew's house wasn't suitable—they preferred to live in a place with water.

Andrew had a sudden idea and said, "How about you live on the fifth floor of the Secret Fortress? The water inlet pipe is connected to Nebel Lake, so you can easily travel between the lake and the fifth floor. It's very convenient."

Politoed's eyes lit up.

Yes! That would be the perfect place for the Water-type Pokémon to live!

"Politoed! Politoed!"

Politoed immediately agreed.

Andrew then gave Politoed the location of the water inlet pipe on the fifth floor of the Secret Fortress in Nebel Lake. Politoed led the Water-type Pokémon one by one into the pipe entrance, where they surfed through like on a water slide.

The Water-type Pokémon enjoyed it immensely, shouting and cheering as they slid through the pipe.

Soon, they reached the end of the pipe and splashed into the pool on the fifth floor.

*Splash, splash, splash!*

The sounds of Pokémon landing in the water were accompanied by their laughter. The fish in the pool were startled and swam frantically toward the center.

Andrew arrived on the fifth floor via the elevator and saw the scene of Pokémon splashing into the pool.

Poliwag, Poliwhirl, Politoed, Azurill, Marill, Goldeen, Seaking, Magikarp, Feebas, and Totodile had all arrived.

After landing, Poliwag, Poliwhirl, Marill, and Azurill quickly climbed ashore and sat by the edge of the pool. Goldeen, Seaking, and Totodile happily chased the fish around in the pool.

As for Magikarp and Feebas...

Forget it. As long as they're still alive, that's enough. No need to expect too much.

Finally, Politoed slid into the fifth floor as well.

After it climbed ashore, Andrew walked over and asked, "How is it? Is this place suitable for you?"

"Politoed! Politoed!"

Politoed clapped its hands, indicating that it and the others were very pleased with the place.

Tomorrow, they could slide back down the pipe to Nebel Lake for work.

The water inlet pipes on the fifth floor varied in height. Though none were close to the ground, the Pokémon could easily jump up to them, even Feebas.

Then, they could ride the current back.

Swimming against the current would require some effort, but it could serve as good exercise.

Andrew thought for a moment and bought some large and small pieces of driftwood from the system store, placing them in the pool.

Sure enough, Poliwag loved the driftwood, jumping in one by one and then climbing onto the wood to float around.

Andrew's idea to add driftwood to the pool was inspired by the lily pads in Nebel Lake, where Poliwag enjoyed lying and sunbathing.

Politoed gave Andrew an appreciative look for his clever idea.

With Diancie absent, Andrew couldn't communicate smoothly with the Pokémon, so he only stayed on the fifth floor for a short time before leaving.

Back on the surface, Andrew went to the pond behind the house and offered Whiscash and Barboach the chance to move to the fifth floor of the Secret Fortress as well.

However, both Pokémon declined.

Unlike Poliwag, both Barboach and Whiscash are Pokémon that live at the bottom of the water and enjoy burrowing into the mud. They find the environment of the fifth floor of the Secret Fortress less appealing than a pond, where they can dig through the mud freely. Nevertheless, the Woopers agreed to move there.

Woopers are also amphibian Pokémon.

They can use the pond's passage to reach Nebel Lake and then travel to the Secret Fortress's fifth floor through the water pipe.

The next afternoon, Andrew was still working on those tree stumps, but to his surprise, Raleigh showed up as well.

"Your Highness Andrew, look what I've brought you!"

Raleigh excitedly stepped down from the aircraft. Today, he was accompanied by a palace guard, and with him was a peculiar... robot?

Andrew looked at the robot and asked, "Raleigh, what's this?"

Raleigh explained, "I made this to help with the work. I thought our work efficiency was too low yesterday, so I went back and created this 'Robert No. 1'!"

Andrew then recalled that Raleigh was a mysterious scientist. While he couldn't create a man-made Pokémon like Magearna, he could certainly build a robot.

"Is this robot called Robert No. 1?" Andrew asked, examining the clunky metal figure.

Robert No. 1 had a round head and belly, lacked legs, and had two wheels with tracks instead. However, its arms were very long and could extend and retract freely.

"Yes, Robert No. 1," Raleigh said with excitement.

"Are there Robert No. 2 or No. 3?" Andrew asked.

"No." Raleigh shook his head, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I just number my inventions so that I can distinguish between versions for future improvements."

"Alright," Andrew nodded; he wasn't familiar with the ways of inventors.

Raleigh said, "Let me show you what Robert No. 1 can do!"

Andrew eagerly responded, "Sure!"

Raleigh immediately commanded, "Robert No. 1, strip the bark from those tree stumps over there and cut away the excess roots!"

"Understood."

Robert No. 1's eyes blinked with blue lights, and it made a mechanical sound before quickly moving to the tree stumps.

Under Andrew's astonished gaze, Robert No. 1's hands retracted into its wrists, and two strange tools emerged.

As the machine whirred to life, Robert No. 1 began working. The tools in its hands rapidly stripped the bark and deftly cut away the excess roots, leaving Andrew stunned by its efficiency.

Andrew couldn't help but exclaim, "Raleigh, Robert No. 1 is incredible!"

Blushing, Raleigh replied, "It's just a simple work robot; it wasn't too hard to make."

Not hard? Andrew didn't think so.

The tree stumps that he and Raleigh struggled with yesterday were all processed by Robert No. 1 in just a few hours today.

"Your Highness, why don't I leave Robert No. 1 here to help you? It can also handle some simple housework, and when I become more skilled, I'll make further improvements for you," Raleigh suggested.

Andrew happily replied, "Then I won't be shy! Raleigh, you're already very skilled," he praised sincerely. "I'm sure you'll become even more amazing in the future!"

Raleigh was so flattered that he felt a bit embarrassed.

That evening, Andrew invited Raleigh to stay for dinner, and Raleigh saw many Pokémon dining together at Andrew's house for the first time.

He was deeply impressed.

Could this be the essence of harmonious coexistence between humans and Pokémon?

Andrew didn't realize that the scene Raleigh witnessed that day planted a special seed in his young heart.

Before nightfall, the palace guard returned with the aircraft to take Raleigh back, leaving Andrew's household with a new member: Robert No. 1.

Both Munchlax and Sobble were very intrigued by the clunky metal robot. After dinner, they kept circling around it, occasionally reaching out to touch it.

Robert No. 1 wasn't particularly intelligent; when Munchlax and Sobble touched it, it simply stood there, unmoving.

In no time, ten days passed, and the tree stumps were almost dry, so Andrew decided to start turning them into tables and chairs.

Additionally, the dried wood was stored in the warehouse, ready to be used when needed.

One day, Andrew returned from Azoth Royal City to find the sky over Nebel Plateau was dark and cloudy, causing him to frown. "Is it going to rain?"

At that moment, Diancie walked up beside him, looking up at the sky. "It seems like it might."

"Working today might be difficult," Andrew murmured.

He then took some tarpaulins and, together with Diancie and Munchlax, covered the tree stumps to protect them from the rain.

Sure enough, around three or four in the afternoon, it started pouring rain, though thankfully, there was no wind.

The rain created ripples on the calm surface of Nebel Lake. A few Poliwhirl continued to guard the fishing grounds, while most of the Water-type Pokémon returned to the Secret Fortress through the pipes.

The Pokémon chopping trees outside also hurried back, seeking shelter from the rain under the eaves of Andrew's house.

Soon, Andrew's house were crowded with Pokémon, all chattering about the unexpected downpour.

Unable to work in the rain, the Pokémon lay under the eaves of Andrew's house, chatting. Seeing this, Andrew and Sobble went to the kitchen and cooked a pot of fish soup, adding extra ginger to it.

Under Andrew's direction, Robert No. 1 brought towels for the soaked Pokémon to dry off, especially Swablu and the two Altaria.

They looked quite disheveled after getting wet.

Soon, Andrew and the Munchlax brought out steaming fish soup. After a bowl of soup, the Pokémon instantly felt warm all over.

Halfway through the fish soup, the Pokémon suddenly gasped. A blue-white light shone amidst them.

It was Patrat; it was evolving.

In the light, Patrat's body grew taller and more slender, soon matching the height of the other Watchog.

When the light faded, another Watchog appeared before everyone.

The newly evolved Watchog examined its hands and feet, then excitedly embraced the other Watchog. The two Watchog danced and jumped, celebrating the evolution.

Everyone congratulated Watchog on its evolution.

(End of this chapter)