In the stream.
Baimu continuously splashed water on the bodies of Aggron and Deino, and the two lowered their heads to take a deep breath of water, then raised their heads and sprayed it out fiercely.
He wiped the water droplets off his face, regretting not having bought a water gun.
Turning around.
Aggron used Surf to lift the stream water, and Baimu and Deino sat on a plank, enjoying the thrill of the torrent. If the stream weren't so shallow, calling Steelix over for diving would also be quite nice.
Meanwhile, researching for half an hour on the shore.
Unable to figure out how to make handmade ice cream, Mawile decided to give up and went to Steelix to borrow its body to play on the water slide—
And Steelix actually agreed.
Baimu saw Chansey still pitifully researching over there and sighed, climbed ashore, took a small bucket from Chansey's hand, and poured MooMoo Milk, light cream, granulated sugar, and tree fruit paste into it, then sealed it with a lid.
"Mawile! Can I borrow your Frozen Fist?"
He held the Ice-breaking Cone, asking Mawile to come over and freeze the stream water.
Instead of directly freezing the small bucket because that object couldn't withstand the low temperatures created in a short time, if you mess with it, it'll crack without hesitation.
"Well?"
Mawile curiously extended its fist into the stream, creating a large piece of ice, which Baimu moved ashore and started chiseling away.
After making a pile of ice shards, he poured them into a large bucket with salt and then placed the small bucket inside the large bucket.
"Now all we need to do is keep turning, it won't take long." He patted Chansey's head, and the latter enthusiastically started turning the small bucket.
Mawile was curious about the principle behind this, squatting beside them to watch.
Just as Baimu said, soon the ice cream was ready, and the two Pokémon looked at the creamy ice cream in the bucket, eyes shining in amazement.
"Wow, looks like the seller didn't sell me any fake products!" Baimu glanced over, satisfied to find not much ice residue and nodded approvingly.
Previously, he had made it with diluted MooMoo Milk, and the result was more like slushy rather than ice cream.
Later, using pure MooMoo Fresh Milk and adding some cream, it was a success once.
Obviously, the quality of the ingredients mattered a lot.
Baimu brought small bowls, portioned them out, and handed some to Chansey and Mawile, "Go ahead, the taste should be similar to store-bought. Folks! Ice cream time!"
He called out to Aggron and the others, then went to the tent to wake up Galarian Corsola, "Time to eat."
Galarian Corsola: "..."
If it's not tasty, you owe me my afternoon nap!
It slowly floated up and leisurely headed outside.
Baimu worried that the ice cream would melt by the time it got there, so he simply stuffed it into the tent to enjoy slowly.
Everyone started eating eagerly—
Including Deino.
Though eating in a bit of "pain," raising its head after each bite with a loud "ah," it still persisted in finishing it. The key is, if you don't let it eat, it'll get upset, and if others have it but it doesn't, it'll get even more frustrated.
Don't quite understand the psychology of this baby dragon.
"Speaking of which, you're already level 35..." Baimu glanced at the illustrated guide, Deino came home two months ago, with numerous battle instances, plenty of glowing meals eaten, and even gained a level from the simulator rewards.
It certainly did not disappoint him; clearly, a Pokémon type that grows slowly, yet its progress is as fast, if not faster, than other Pokémon.
Definitely a Pokémon with excellent attributes.
Unfortunately, there's still a long way to go before it evolves.
He then looked at the other Pokémon, Aggron — Level 68, previously upgraded to Level 60 in one go, and subsequently achieved this level on its own efforts.
Of course, three levels of that came from Uncle Ranch's simulator rewards.
Steelix — Level 64, Mawile Level 56, Chansey Level 51—this one finally reached this major level after consuming multiple level rewards.
Meaning future [lv.50 limited] are all for Deino and Galarian Corsola, congratulations, cheers.
However, although Galarian Corsola trained or battled for just a few hours a day, it surprisingly rose to level 37, an increase of two levels compared to when it first came.
Who knows how fast it could progress if it wasn't slacking off.
——
Perhaps they were too loud while playing in the water.
Or maybe Steelix and Aggron's size was too conspicuous.
The guide originally mentioned that wild Pokémon often came to the creek to drink, and with good luck, one might spot rare Psychic-type Pokémon like Ralts.
Yet, Baimu's been here for several hours; not a single Ralts has been seen, not even a Wurmple.
It feels really uncomfortable.
"Forget it, not encountering any is just something beyond our control." He dusted off his clothes and decided to start collecting dry firewood for the evening.
Campfires, while smoky, just seem to lack something without them.
Fortunately, the creek is full of stones and is far from the forest, so there's no worry about accidentally burning the trees and causing a wildfire.
"Who's coming with me to pick up wood?"
Baimu called out, and Lairon and Deino responded quickly, "Alright, it's you two then. Chansey and Mawile, please help keep an eye on the camp. Steelix! Come down and take a break!"
He shouted for a while and then headed into the forest with Lairon and Deino.
Despite it being summer, there were quite a few fallen branches on the ground. He just wandered nearby and gathered a big bundle, but since Deino couldn't hold them with its mouth—lest they get wet—he simply tied those pieces together and strapped them onto Deino's back.
"Moe-Nou? Moe-Nou?"
The little black dragon excitedly wobbled around.
"Slow down, you're going to drop them!" Baimu forcibly held it down; he didn't want to redo the hard work of tying the wood together, "Be good~ Take them back to camp and let Chansey help untie them, then come back with the rope."
"Moe-Nou!"
Deino nodded, happily running off toward the camp.
Baimu watched its silhouette, then heard Lairon's low growl, "Roar!"
"What did you find?"
He went over to look and found a wilted, collapsed tree covered in moss. Lairon lifted it up, poised to bring it back to the camp.
"This won't do, this won't do, it's too damp."
Baimu quickly stopped it; moist wood would only make the already choking smoke worse.
"Roar..."
Lairon acknowledged and reluctantly put the tree down.
Even though the tree couldn't be taken, the mushrooms growing on it were harvestable; Baimu took out his phone, snapped a picture, searched, and confirmed they were indeed edible before picking them.
"We can have mushroom soup tonight, it'll be delicious! It's a mountain delicacy!"
Baimu smiled at Lairon, whose eyes sparkled at the mention of 'mountains'.
Just then.
Boom!!
A violent explosion sounded in the distance, the cyan-blue glow clearly came from Deino's attack.
Baimu quickly set down the mushrooms and jogged over, initially thinking it was another Trainer trying to capture Deino, but when he arrived.
A police sidecar motorcycle, a crouching and growling Growlithe, and a beautiful woman with blue hair in a blue police uniform.
Who else could it be but Officer Jenny?
At that moment, Deino was sniffing around, seemingly confirming Growlithe's position, and upon smelling Baimu's scent, joyfully called out, "Moe-Nou!"
"Is it your Pokémon?" Officer Jenny's sharp gaze flicked over.
"Uh, yes it is."
Baimu protected Deino and asked, "I'm a Trainer, may I ask what happened?"
"Please show your Trainer ID card or Pokémon Atlas." Upon hearing Baimu's self-introduction, Officer Jenny seemed to relax quite a bit.
After verifying Baimu's identity and seeing the 'new Trainer' category, her expression became completely calm, "Is that campsite by the creek and Pokémon yours?"
"Hmm..."
"Someone reported a particularly dangerous and gigantic Pokémon appearing by the creek, so I came to check it out," Officer Jenny explained the reason.
After discovering that Steelix belonged to a Trainer, she brought Growlithe into the forest, spotting Deino in the process, and followed it.
Who would have thought that Deino, being so vigilant, attacked immediately upon realizing a stranger was following it?
"Ah! I'm really sorry, Officer Jenny!"
Baimu quickly apologized, and said, "It might be... experiencing emotional trauma. I helped rescue it from a group of poachers along with a friend; at that time, many of its companions were also captured by the poachers. So discovering strangers tailing it just…"
"I see."
Upon hearing this, Officer Jenny's expression instantly softened, she even crouched down before Deino, gently patting its head, "Sorry for making you recall unpleasant memories."
Growlithe barked along, "Woof woof!"
"...Moe-Nou~"
Deino seemed to understand the unfamiliar scent was not from a threatening person, and with the Trainer present, responded softly.