At the base of the Great Waterfall, Veluza, Goldeen, Seaking, Magikarp, and Feebas were still climbing the cascading torrents.
Among them, the Veluza climbed relatively high, with most of them surpassing the halfway mark.
The Seaking followed closely behind, reaching a height of about twenty meters, while the Goldeen had scaled around ten meters.
The performance of the Magikarp and Feebas was the poorest, as they had barely managed to climb five or six meters high.
Despite this, compared to before, their eyes were now fixed with determination and their spirits were high. They did not feel discouraged by being the worst performers; instead, their bodies radiated a vigorous vitality.
Splash~
A powerful jet of water crashed down, striking a Magikarp and a Feebas. They let out a cry of distress as they were knocked back down.
Floating to the surface one after the other, they looked up at the Veluza leader at the very top of the waterfall, their eyes filled with admiration and worship.
The Veluza leader was climbing the steepest and highest section where the current was most violent. The difficulty was many times greater than the sections they were attempting.
Since the Great Waterfall was divided into segments, the terrain height and current intensity varied from place to place.
Witnessing the Veluza leader's struggle, the Magikarp and Feebas unhesitatingly swam back to the base of the falls. They resolutely slapped the water's surface and began their ascent against the current once more.
The Veluza leader had climbed the highest, remaining less than ten meters from the summit. It swung its tail and fins upward with all its might, looking visibly exhausted.
Reluctance flickered in its eyes.
Just a little more, I'm almost there!
Suddenly, a surging current smashed toward it. It hurried to maneuver its body aside to dodge, making its already depleted stamina even more fragile.
However, troubles never come singly. Another rapid current fell from above, and the Veluza leader dodged it once more.
At this moment, the Veluza, Seaking, Goldeen, Magikarp, and Feebas below all began to cheer for the Veluza leader in their hearts.
A few climbing Veluza were even struck by the oncoming water because they were watching their leader too intently, falling into the pool with cries of frustration.
The Veluza leader persevered, slapping its tail desperately to dodge one stream of water after another, drawing closer to the top.
9 meters, 8 meters, 7 meters... 3 meters, 2 meters...
Seeing that it was only one meter from the top, most of the Veluza had already fallen into the pool. They floated on the surface, eyes wide as they watched their leader, their breathing nearly stopping from tension.
Go for it! Leader!
The Veluza shouted in their hearts.
However, the Veluza leader was now utterly exhausted. As another rapid current lunged at it, it tried to dodge, but its weary body no longer obeyed its commands.
Finally, less than a meter from the summit, the Veluza was struck down. It plummeted from the high waterfall into the pool, kicking up a massive spray of water.
Velu~ velu~
The Veluza swarmed toward the spot where their leader fell, calling out in worry.
About ten minutes later, the Veluza leader slowly floated up from the water. It appeared physically unharmed, but its gaze was vacant, and its spirit seemed dampened.
Velu~ velu~
The other Veluza offered words of comfort, saying it was only a tiny bit away this time and that it would surely succeed next time.
Nevertheless, the Veluza leader remained listless. This failure made it feel very defeated.
After a long while, having recovered some strength, the Veluza leader called out to everyone, Velu~ velu~ That's enough training for today. Let's head back!
Under its leadership, the Veluza, Goldeen, Seaking, Magikarp, and Feebas returned to the fifth floor of the Secret Fortress through the water outlet pipe.
As soon as it returned to the pool, the Veluza leader sank to the bottom.
Seeing this, Politoed whispered to one of the Veluza.
Poli poli~ poli~ What happened to your leader?
The Veluza leaned toward Politoed's ear and whispered a few words.
I see, Politoed thought.
Back at Ange's place.
After the four of them returned home, Munchlax, Drizzile, and Haunter started busywork making dinner for the Pokémon. Conversely, Ange began processing the Waterside Herbs they had just harvested, intending to make fish feed.
First, he washed the Waterside Herbs clean and boiled a pot of water.
While waiting for the water to boil, he processed all the Waterside Herbs with his Aura Power. After the treatment, the aura emitted by the herbs became significantly softer.
Once the water boiled, Ange blanched the herbs, drained them, and finely minced them.
After setting the minced herbs aside, Ange took out flour, yeast, and water to knead the dough.
During the kneading process, Ange gradually added the minced Waterside Herbs into the dough until they were completely integrated.
Ange used his Aura Power to process the dough while he kneaded.
Fortunately, his current physical condition was extraordinary; otherwise, the dough would have been too difficult to work with, as it became very tough after adding the herbs.
When the herbs and dough were fully merged, the dough had turned a vibrant tender green. Ange then poured in an appropriate amount of Grass Nanny Milk and continued kneading.
Grass Nanny Milk was also an essential ingredient for making the fish feed.
As time passed, a rich milky aroma drifted from the dough, and its color lightened slightly.
Once finished kneading, Ange covered the dough to let it fully ferment.
About an hour later, Ange took the dough out and added honey and brown sugar, continuing to knead.
This honey was produced by Beedrill, which Ange had specially purchased from the Azoth Royal Capital.
In the Pokémon world, there were various types of honey, such as ordinary honey, Beedrill honey, and Combee honey.
Among them, ordinary honey was of the lowest quality, while Combee honey was the highest. Consequently, ordinary honey was very cheap, while Combee honey was expensive and hard to find.
Ordinary honey could not be used for making fish feed. Since Ange hadn't bought Combee honey, he had to settle for Beedrill honey as a substitute.
Beedrill honey was high quality and not too difficult to buy, making it the best alternative.
In fact, the four-colored nectar collected by Cutiefly and Ribombee was no worse than Combee honey and offered more flavor variations.
Ange had once received four-colored nectar as a reward from a daily mission, and it was indeed incredibly delicious, sweet, and fragrant.
Unfortunately, even though Ange's flower garden had the four types of nectar flowers, there were no Cutiefly or Ribombee at home. What a waste!
It seemed he would have to find an opportunity to hire some Cutiefly and Ribombee to come to his home!
Once the honey was completely integrated, the aroma from the dough became even more intense. The sweet honey scent intertwined with the mellow milk flavor and a hint of herbal notes, creating a unique smell.
Finally, Ange used a mold to shape the dough into thumb-sized pellets, placed them on a tray, and put them into the oven.
Soon, a fragrance wafted from the oven. Even though it was fish feed, Ange couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
When the oven timer went off, Ange put on gloves and took the fish feed out. Looking at the golden-brown, aromatic pellets, Ange thought:
It should be fine if I eat just a little bit, right?
With that thought, Ange picked up a pellet and took a bite. The rich, sweet flavor and crunchy texture made his eyes light up.
Is it really this delicious?
Paw~~
At that moment, Pawmi smelled the scent and crept over, hugging Ange's leg expectantly.
"What is it? Do you want to eat?" Ange asked.
Paw paw~
Pawmi put its finger to its mouth and nodded vigorously.
Ange said teasingly, "This is fish feed for Veluza and the others. You want to eat it too?"
Paw paw~
Pawmi became unhappy upon hearing this. If it's fish feed, why are you eating it yourself?
Caught in the act, Ange looked embarrassed. "Well... just one bite then!"
Paw paw~
Pawmi nodded happily.
"Here~"
Ange took a piece of fish feed and stuffed it into Pawmi's mouth. Pawmi immediately began to chew while holding its face and spinning around Ange.
Tasty! So tasty!
Setting the baked fish feed aside, Ange began baking the next batch.
As time went on, tray after tray of fish feed was baked, filling the entire kitchen with a sweet aroma.
Pawmi tried to steal some whenever Ange wasn't looking, but Ange always sensed and stopped it.
Being able to perceive aura, Ange could easily capture its movements even without looking at it.
After failing to steal food multiple times, Pawmi left Ange's side dejectedly. Just then, Munchlax and the others finished making dinner, and it immediately began following Munchlax around eagerly.
Once all the fish feed was baked, Ange packed most of it into airtight bags for storage. He then took the remaining portion, planning to go to the fifth floor of the Secret Fortress.
It wasn't that the Veluza couldn't come ashore, but it was inconvenient for them. Usually, Diancie or Munchlax would deliver the food, but since Ange had made the fish feed today, he decided to deliver it himself.
Upon entering the fifth floor, Ange found it very quiet today. Politoed had already taken the Poliwag, Poliwhirl, Poliwrath, Marill, and Azurill out for dinner. However, with the Veluza and Goldeen present, it shouldn't have been this quiet!
At that moment, Magikarp and Feebas surfaced, their mouths opening and closing. It was obvious they were hungry.
Ange took out the fish feed and fed it to them. Their dull eyes gradually brightened.
"It's good, right?" Ange asked.
The Magikarp and Feebas nodded slowly.
"Where is everyone else? It's dinner time, why haven't they shown up?" Ange asked in confusion.
Just as he finished speaking, Seaking emerged with the Goldeen. They moved gently, trying not to make a sound.
"What's wrong? You guys are..." Ange was puzzled by their behavior.
King king~
Seaking swam forward slowly and explained the reason to Ange in a low voice.
Because of the failure to scale the waterfall, the Veluza leader was devastated. It remained submerged at the bottom of the pool and wouldn't show itself. This made everyone else nervous, afraid to make any large movements for fear of disturbing it.
So that's what happened! Ange realized.
"Leader! Leader! Can you hear me? If you can hear me, come out quickly!"
Ange suddenly shouted, startling the Seaking and Goldeen. Even the other Veluza surfaced one by one.
Seeing that the Veluza leader still hadn't appeared, Ange continued to shout, "Are you really not coming out? I brought something that can increase your strength. If you don't come out, I'm leaving!"
As soon as Ange finished speaking, a ripple appeared on the water's surface. Then, the large head of the Veluza leader slowly emerged.
"Finally willing to come out?" Ange said with a smile. "Being dejected over a single failure doesn't sound like the Veluza leader I know."
The Veluza leader looked sheepish upon hearing this.
It wasn't afraid of failure, but after working so hard and being so close to success only to fail at the last moment, the disappointment was truly crushing.
Ange sat by the pool and comforted the Veluza leader, "You should be happy instead. You've trained for so long and now you're just one step away from success. Isn't that something to be happy about? It proves you've been improving. As long as you keep working hard, success is only a matter of time. There's no need to rush."
Hearing this, the Veluza leader indeed recovered some spirit. The other Veluza gathered around their leader, offering comfort in a flurry of voices.
Looking at its worried companions, the Veluza leader realized how much everyone cared for it. It shouldn't have let its temporary discouragement worry them.
A gratified smile appeared on Ange's face.
"Alright, everyone come and eat. Today's food is very special. You've been tired all day, you must be hungry, right?"
Veluza, Seaking, Goldeen, Magikarp, and Feebas gathered at the shore.
Very quickly, the deliciousness of the fish feed conquered all the fish Pokémon.
Velu~ velu~ Is this the thing you said could make us stronger?
The Veluza leader asked while chewing.
As the fish feed entered its stomach, the Veluza leader clearly felt its stamina recovering rapidly. It felt as though its entire body was brimming with power.
If it weren't already dark outside, it would have wanted to go back to the Great Waterfall immediately to battle for another three hundred rounds.
"That's right!" Ange nodded. "Do you feel the effect?"
Velu~ velu~
The Veluza leader nodded and described the feeling of eating the fish feed to Ange.
Ange thought to himself: The system description only said it was exclusive food for Pokémon and didn't mention any special effects. Now it seems it has the function of rapid stamina recovery.
Furthermore, this recovery effect was different from the instant burst of a Berry. It seemed to be a continuous effect, as if the fish Pokémon were constantly under the effect of Grassy Terrain.
As long as the Veluza could continuously recover stamina, their training efficiency would surely improve greatly.
Ange stayed on the fifth floor for a while, observing the physical changes in the fish Pokémon and letting them describe how they felt.
Ultimately, he concluded that after eating the fish feed, not only was their consumed stamina quickly restored, but for the next half hour, their stamina would remain in a state of continuous recovery.