C046 - Bonding with two brand new lake guardians

"You met Celebi? Really?"

Jasmine and Pete were eating breakfast an hour before noon after their late encounter. Jasmine had just woken up and sat down in front of Pete.

"Yeah, it told me that it approved of my plan and wished me good luck with 'bringing more life to the meadow'. It was surreal, especially because it spoke to me in my thoughts with words," Pete responded with a far-away look.

"You're the first person I know that talked to an actual legendary pokemon," Jasmine mumbled with stars in her eyes. "Too bad I slept through it, though."

"I mean, you were asleep very suddenly, I kinda think that was Celebi's doing."

"So it only wanted to meet you... I guess that makes sense," Jasmine said with a quiet sigh.

"It still left a gift with your Turtwig. Have you tried to communicate with her yet?"

"Nope. What kind of gift are you talking about?"

"Well, all pokemon were drowsy or asleep, same as you as Celebi flew out of the forest, even Golurk. But all my grass and psychic pokemon, including your Turtwig, were wide awake and brimming with energy. Since those are its two typings, I think it imparted them something," Pete tried to explain.

"Impart? Like what?"

"I haven't finished talking to them all, but Solosis said Celebi demonstrated the move Future Sight to her, like a real TM. Not actual divination or time magic, but a move that deals a lot of damage in a certain area based on a prediction of where the enemy is going to be. Girafarig mentioned to me that her training with psychic energy is a lot smoother now. Maybe Celebi raised her affinity?" Pete started to describe the boons his pokemon received from Celebi.

"And the grass types?" Jasmine asked with an incredulous expression.

"Most of them got the same treatment as Girafarig, I think, just with grass type energy. Except for Sunkern. He showed me a water type move earlier... I have a sneaking suspicion it was Life Dew, a crazy overpowered healing move. His version of the move barely did anything except for scattering a few drops of water that simply smelled very fresh... and Sunkern immediately went to sleep once more when he was done. But it's crazy that he learned it with a single... training memory... by Celebi, not even Solosis pulled that off with Future Sight, and she is kind of a genius. And the weirdest thing, too. I don't think Sunkern and Sunflora should be able to learn water type moves," Pete finished explaining with furrowed brows.

"Sounds like you've found yet another topic for a research paper for Professor Elm?" Jasmine asked in a curious voice.

"Ha, yeah. Honestly, it really does. Who knows, maybe Snivy will surprise us all and show us Ancient Power. I think Celebi might know it, but the Snivy line doesn't usually get access to rock type energy either," Pete joked with a wry smile.

During their very late breakfast, Sophie and the construction crew joined the two, and the day started once more. Carl, Machamp, and the Machokes were about to finish the roof.

Meanwhile Luna, her Lairon, and Magneton finished the wiring. In a surprise twist that Pete did not expect, the Machops were building the furniture Pete and Luna had chosen for the house that the crew brought with them today.

The smart fighting type pokemon were clever and dexterous enough to actually screw together kitchen cabinets, two big wardrobes, and various other furniture. Pete's Timburr wanted to help, but one broken door hinge later, the two eager pokemon were relegated to moving duty. Only when the pieces of furniture were structurally sound were they allowed to pick them up and place them in the rooms.

When Luna was done installing all the lighting that in the end was still missing the glass finish from Cianwood City, Pete joined her to install the kitchen. The counters were in the familiar granite-wood that Pete had already used for the raised vegetable beds, though these pieces were in much higher quality.

They were done just in time... well, they were a little late for lunch. Using his kitchen for the first time, Pete worked up quite a sweat with Growlithe's help who has asked to replace Rapidash in the kitchen for today to train her fire energy control.

And it worked just fine, but the much less refined control meant the kitchen became much hotter than usual, and together with helping out building the kitchen, Pete had worked up quite the sweat.

After eating his lunch on the patio facing the lake, Pete went exactly there for a refreshing dip. Sophie and Jasmine stayed behind to decorate one of the guest rooms they had more or less claimed permanently, which Pete was okay with.

Dressing down to his swimming trunks, he already got quite the mileage out of, Pete relaxed with all the pokemon that followed him. Eventually, they were joined by four Feebas, in which the one that ate the Prismatic Scale was included.

Pete once more did his routine of complimenting them in his hopes to get a Milotic lake guardian to ensure the lake's safety. But when he asked Solosis to float over his bag, Pete found a problem.

"I'm out of berries? Uh, I want to say how 'did this happen...' but we've kinda used up more than ten to twenty berries a day since coming here, didn't we?"

Pete scratched the back of his head as he looked to his pokemon. Solosis showed him an amused expression but made him picture his 'heart tree' as he had decided to name it.

The first tree that Pete had tried grafting on in this world and received a blessing from the Vileplume when it was planted did carry berries already. Pete wasn't quite sure when they would ripen. He was sure, though, that it wasn't far off.

Still, this put a damper in his plan to feed the Feebas and further befriend them.

"Sorry, boys and girls. There's no berries for today. Maybe tomorrow? Surely you four can miss a day of eating these beautifying berries. You are all already the prettiest Feebas I know," Pete praised without shame.

Technically, these four were the only Feebas he knew, so they really were the prettiest Feebas he had ever seen. The ugliest, too, but don't let them hear it.

"Wait a moment, I might have another gift for you," Pete pitched to the fish pokemon as he searched for another scale in his bag.

The containers at the start of his journey in the world held a little box with three of these scales, after all.

"This pretty scale here is the for the one amongst you that thinks he or she is the prettiest," Pete offered.

He was trying to trick these Feebas into thinking they are beautiful on their own with word play since simple compliments didn't seem to work.

The Feebas all looked to each other in a competitive staredown, but two Feebas quickly looked down, all depressed. The other two looked to each other and, not willing to lose out, both of them swam forward. One of them was the Feebas that had already swallowed a scale a few days before.

When they swam forward with conviction burning in their eyes, it finally happened. Both Feebas were enveloped in a bright light and slowly began getting longer and longer for their evolution.

Pete cursed himself as he fumbled to get the thankfully waterproof tablet out to record the evolution. The beginning wasn't in the video, but with the proof of two non-evolved Feebas nearby, Pete finally had video-confirmation that Milotic was indeed the evolution of Feebas. He had talked to Professor Elm about it, and the professor actually hadn't heard about this little tid-bit ever.

"Wow, you two look even prettier now. This scale pales in comparison!" Pete once more praised, though very sincerely this time around, as he packed the prismatic scale back in his bag sneakily.

The two Milotic looked to each other before turning to Pete and slowly swimming toward him to curl around the assistant professor for a sort of hug.

"Can I trust the two of you to keep this lake safe? I read somewhere that Milotic are mythical lake guardians who bring peace and tranquility to any lake they choose to live in. I'd sleep much calmer if I knew you two are up to the task," Pete inquired with a warm smile as he brushed the red... what were they? Eyebrow fins? Scaled, floppy dog ears?

Well, one Milotic had much longer red eyebrow fin dog ears as the other, so Pete deduced that one was female, while the other one was male.

Instead of answering him, the two pokemon actually instantly opened up a bond to him that made a tingle run down his spine. A fourth affinity was awoken in Pete, water. He really was the ideal farmer in this world.

Just as Pete wanted to offer teaching the two Milotic some TMs to broaden their move pool and force Sunkern over to teach the two water pokemon the move Life Dew, a shout was heard.

"PETE!" Sophie sounded panicked, and Pete feared for the worst. With a gentle but hurried touch, the two Milotic released him from the hug they had enveloped him in, and he turned to face Sophie.

"Sophie, calm down. What is it?" Pete asked in a hurry as he swiftly ran to land. But Sophie didn't answer and just look to the two Milotic with an open mouth.

"Hey, Sophie! Answer! It sounded urgent!" Pete saw Jasmine run over with Steelix following closely behind since she heard Sophie's shout, too.

"Uhhh... I... I thought some pokemon attacked you," Sophie shily answered with a slight blush.

"Soph, what happened?" Jasmine asked while taking deep breaths from running over. She looked left and right until her eyesight fell on the two Milotic, and she stiffened.