Bellsprout ran to Ange as soon as it landed. It reached out and pulled his hand, tugging him in one direction. It was clearly leading the way.
Victreebel and Weepinbell told Bellsprout's older siblings to guard the house, then hurried after them.
Flabébé hesitated for a moment, but eventually followed Ange and Munchlax.
The water sources on the Nebel Plateau mainly came from the Nebel River and Nebel Lake. The lake in front of Ange's house was part of Nebel Lake.
No one knew where the Nebel River began. It flowed from the endless mountain range in the northwest of the plateau into Nebel Lake, then flowed out again and continued far away, passing through the Azoth Kingdom along the way.
One could say the Nebel River was the source of life for the Azoth Kingdom.
Thanks to Nebel Lake, the plateau's water system was well-developed. Streams, creeks, ponds, and small lakes spread everywhere, so many Water-type Pokémon lived here.
Compared to the land, where food was scarce, food in the water was abundant. The Water Pokémon lived much better than the ones on land.
Bellsprout led them to a small pond.
Of course, "small" was relative. Its surface was wide, but the water had already dried up, leaving only layers of muddy silt and withered lotus leaves.
The Nebel Plateau didn't have clear seasonal changes, but it was roughly autumn now, the perfect time to harvest and eat lotus roots.
However, looking at the muddy pond, Ange felt a headache coming. How was he supposed to dig there? Go in?
The mud that had been underwater for years reeked terribly.
But... for good food, he had to endure!
After thinking it through, Ange took off his shoes, socks, coat, and pants. Wearing only shorts and a shirt, he carefully stepped into the mud.
Thankfully, it only reached his calves.
Surprisingly, Ange didn't feel as disgusted as he expected.
Rolling up his sleeves, he reached into the mud and groped around. Soon his eyes lit up. When he pulled his hand out, there was a section of lotus root in his grip.
It was probably wild, small and slender, but fresh and white.
"Looks like we're in for a harvest today!" Ange said, holding it up.
Munchlax and Bellsprout both cheered happily. Especially Munchlax, which rushed forward, eager to help.
Munch~ Munch~ Master, I'm coming!
It charged forward like a cannonball.
"Munchlax, no, don't!" Ange shouted in horror.
But it was too late. Munchlax dove straight into the pond like a living missile.
Ange tried to dodge, but the mud sucked at his feet. He couldn't move.
Bang!
The next second, Munchlax slammed into the mud. The sludge exploded outward like a blooming flower, splattering everywhere. Ange, who was closest, got completely covered.
Ange: …
Munchlax sat up, scratching its head with a silly grin, only to realize the little flower on its head had fallen off.
Munch~~
ε(┬┬﹏┬┬)3 It held the muddy flower in its filthy hands and looked at Ange pitifully.
Ange spread his hands and tugged at his muddy shirt. "Look at me. Do you think I have time to worry about your flower?"
Munch~~
Seeing Ange covered in mud, Munchlax quickly turned its head away, pretending it hadn't done anything wrong.
"You little rascal!" Ange said, half laughing, half crying.
Then something occurred to him. He turned to Bellsprout on the shore. "Bellsprout, does someone own this place?"
Lotus roots were food, and food wasn't plentiful on the Nebel Plateau. It was strange that no one owned this area.
If someone did, digging up their lotus roots would be rude. Ange had been too focused on finding them earlier to consider that.
Bell~ Bell~~
Sure enough, after Bellsprout called out toward the pond, two heads popped out of the mud nearby, one big, one small.
Barboach and Whiscash.
They were the owners of the pond and the lotus roots, and also Bellsprout's friends. The lotus roots that Bellsprout had given Ange before came from them.
Seeing them appear, Ange quickly bowed and apologized.
"Sorry, I didn't know this place was taken."
But Barboach and Whiscash shook their heads, showing no anger.
The pond was small, and since the lotus roots were wild, their yield was low. But for Barboach and Whiscash, there were always more than enough, which was why they gave some to Bellsprout.
Since the roots grew buried in mud, other Pokémon rarely found them, so many ended up rotting away each year.
For that reason, Barboach and Whiscash didn't mind others taking the extra ones.
Then Ange's eyes lit up. "How about this, Barboach, Whiscash, if you give me all the lotus roots here, you can come eat at my house whenever you want, how's that?"
That way, he'd get the lotus roots and earn Happiness Points at the same time.
Barboach and Whiscash froze, then shook their heads frantically.
Eat at a human's house? No way!
Bell~ Bell~~
Bellsprout began gesturing, describing how delicious Ange's food was, trying to persuade them.
But the two Pokémon still shook their heads hard.
No, no!
Then Ange got another idea. "How about this? Come to my house tonight. Try the food I make with lotus root. If you like it, you can come often. If not, pretend I never asked."
He had suddenly thought of a good plan: to hire Barboach and Whiscash to grow lotus roots in this pond for him.
The wild ones here were poor in quality and yield. He could buy better seeds from the System Store and replace them.
That way, the same pond could produce more, better lotus roots. Barboach and Whiscash could keep enough to eat, and give him the rest.
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Ange looked at the two Pokémon with an increasingly kind smile.
(Barboach and Whiscash: Is this human planning to eat us? His eyes are scary!)
Bellsprout kept persuading them, and finally, after much insistence, they reluctantly agreed to go to Ange's house for dinner that night.
"It's settled then," Ange said happily. He added, "Bellsprout, since they don't know where my house is, could you bring them later?"
Bell~ Bell~
Bellsprout nodded confidently.
Victreebel and Weepinbell, watching nearby, felt their heads ache. Was their kid really that gullible? Why did it listen to that human so much?
After getting permission from Barboach and Whiscash, Ange and Munchlax went back to digging up the lotus roots.
Munch~ Munch~~ Master, look at me!
Beneath the murky pond water, Munchlax rolled around wildly. Before long, it stood up proudly, clutching a pile of lotus roots in its arms, showing them off to Ange with great pride.
Ange had finally managed to pull one lotus root out himself, though it had snapped in half. Looking at Munchlax's smug little face, he couldn't help but feel jealous. "Look at all that mud on you. Don't expect me to wash you when we get home."
Munch~ Munch~!
Hearing that, Munchlax's smug grin instantly disappeared. Hugging the lotus roots, it waddled over obediently and rubbed up against Ange, trying to act cute.
"Alright, alright! Stop rubbing, you're just getting me even muddier!" Ange pushed it away hurriedly, even though he was already covered in mud himself.
Bell~ Bell~~
Just then, Bellsprout called out to him. Stretching out its long vine, it stirred the mud beneath the water. In an instant, a string of lotus roots came up, dangling from its vine.
"Fine, fine, you're all amazing, and I'm the only useless one!" Ange grumbled, venting his frustration as he plunged both hands into the mud and yanked out another lotus root with all his strength.
Seeing everyone else having such fun, Flabébé also extended two thin vines into the soil and tugged out a string of lotus roots.
Fla~ Fla~
Flabébé floated over and offered the muddy roots to Ange.
"For me?" Ange asked in surprise.
Fla~ Fla~
Flabébé nodded lightly.
Ange smiled and took the lotus roots happily. "Flabébé, you should come to my place tonight and try my cooking!"
He decided to hold a lotus root feast that evening. He wouldn't get any Happiness Points for it, but he wanted to do it anyway.
Fla~ Fla~~
Flabébé turned away, flying to the side to continue digging lotus roots with its vines. Ange couldn't tell whether that was a yes or not.
Seeing Ange struggling to dig, Barboach and Whiscash exchanged a glance. For Bellsprout's sake, they decided to help too. Living in the mud was their specialty, so they were far more efficient than Munchlax and the others.
Since Barboach and Whiscash hadn't yet agreed to trade their lotus roots for a dinner at Ange's home, he didn't take too many, just enough for the evening's meal.
After finishing, Ange, Munchlax, and Bellsprout carried the lotus roots to a small stream connected to the pond to wash them. If they brought the muddy roots straight home, Ange would have collapsed from exhaustion before even getting there.
Even just hauling them to the riverbank made his back ache.
This body's really too weak… Ange thought as he massaged his waist and started giving orders.
"Munchlax, go wash all that mud off first."
Munch~~! Got it!
With that, it jumped straight into the river with a splash. The clear water instantly turned murky.
A few Magikarp that had been resting on the riverbed got startled and furious. They leapt from the water, biting onto Munchlax's head, arms, belly, and backside.
"Munchlax, you—pfft! Hahahaha!" Ange burst out laughing at the sight.
Bell~ Bell~~~!
Bellsprout rolled on the ground, clutching its belly and laughing uncontrollably.
Fla~ Fla~!
Flabébé tried to hold back, covering her mouth, but in the end, she couldn't resist and laughed along with them.
Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!
The mud on Munchlax was so filthy and stinky that even the Magikarp couldn't stand it. After biting twice, they spat out several mouthfuls of water in disgust and swam away, tails flicking indignantly.
Ange, Bellsprout, and Flabébé laughed even harder.
Munch~ Munch~
With a goofy grin, Munchlax scratched its head and joined in, laughing along with everyone else, not even realizing it was the joke.
After they'd had enough fun, Ange also jumped into the river. He scrubbed the mud off himself first, then helped wash Munchlax before they started rinsing the lotus roots.
The stream wasn't deep, just enough to reach Munchlax's belly. It wasn't the high-water season, so the current flowed gently, quickly carrying away all the murk they'd stirred up.
A little ways off, Victreebel and Weepinbell sat quietly on the grass, watching. They didn't go over to help, just observed the cheerful scene of Ange chatting and laughing with Munchlax, Bellsprout, and Flabébé. Even though Ange couldn't understand Pokémon speech, it didn't seem to matter; they communicated just fine.
To them, Ange's smile was so bright and warm that they couldn't help but think, Could someone who smiles like that really be a bad person?
Gradually, the two Pokémon grew lost in thought.
Before long, the lotus roots were clean. Ange stored them directly in his System backpack, clapped his hands, and called out, "Alright, let's go home!"
When the lotus roots disappeared with a wave of his hand, Munchlax, Bellsprout, Flabébé, Victreebel, and Weepinbell all stared in amazement.
Munch~~ Munch~~!
Bell~ Bell~~!
Fla~ Fla~!
As they walked back, the three small Pokémon chattered nonstop, gesturing as if asking endless questions.
Ange just smiled and answered "Mm-hmm" and "Ah, yeah" at random, not understanding a word.
Halfway home, they parted ways. Victreebel and Weepinbell took Bellsprout home, and Flabébé also returned to her own place.
"Bellsprout! Flabébé! Remember to come over for dinner tonight!" Ange shouted after them.
Bell~!
Fla~!
They waved back happily. Flabébé, who had once been wary of Ange, no longer felt any fear after spending time with him.
Diancie sat waiting at the door for Ange and Munchlax. Seeing them return soaked from head to toe, it exclaimed, "What happened to you two?!"
Ange and Munchlax looked at each other, and burst out laughing.