"Alright everyone, get in and have a swim. Drink as much water as you want."
After checking Flannery's reply, Sato finally got down to business and began tossing out PokeBalls one after another.
In the next moment, Swampert, Tentacruel, Blastoise, and the rest of his Water-type Pokémon all splashed into the lake.
Over the past few days, Swampert and the others had barely touched water, and the moisture stored in their bodies was close to running dry. The instant they entered the lake, every one of them cried out excitedly, immediately swimming about freely while gulping down mouthfuls of water.
"Staryu, you should go too."
Seeing all the Water-type Pokémon happily playing in the lake, Sato felt delighted as well. Then he remembered the one Water-type Pokémon that still hadn't entered the water. Smiling, he spoke to Staryu, who was currently disguised as a brooch through its Minimize technique.
"Star!"
Hearing Sato's words, Staryu let out an excited cry. It quickly canceled its minimized state, returning to normal size before eagerly leaping into the lake as well.
When Sato had first obtained Staryu, it had only been about the size of a washbasin. But after following Sato and living a life of good food and comfort every day, it had already grown considerably larger, now roughly the size of a millstone.
"Pika-pi~"
Pikachu was naturally not one to tolerate being left out. Seeing everyone else playing in the water, he immediately begged Sato for a small surfboard, then happily hugged it and jumped into the lake.
Soon after, with help from the others, Pikachu got his wish and began surfing across the lake, shouting excitedly all the while.
At this moment, that mischievous little Camerupt appeared again. He stared enviously at Pikachu surfing on the water, practically wishing he could replace him immediately.
Unfortunately, he was truly afraid of water. While he needed to drink it, he hated having it splash onto his body, so he could only watch with longing.
Of course, he wasn't the only one watching Pikachu surf with envy. Quite a few other mischievous little Pokémon were staring too, and some that weren't afraid of water had already jumped in.
For example, one particularly shameless Azurill directly followed behind Pikachu and joined in surfing. Pikachu, seeing that she was female, didn't chase her away and simply treated her as his little follower.
With Sato's Water-type Pokémon frolicking in the lake, the previously calm waters quickly became turbulent. Especially Swampert, whose immense strength stirred the lake violently, causing waves to surge continuously across the entire body of water.
This lake had survived in the oasis for ages without external water sources, naturally because it connected to underground waterways. As such, many Water-type Pokémon lived within it.
Magikarp, for instance, were extremely common here, and naturally, Gyarados—those violent and ill-tempered Pokémon—also inhabited the lake.
Swampert was an outsider, and his reckless splashing quickly enraged the lake's ruler.
Suddenly, a massive whirlpool appeared in the center of the lake. Then, from its center, an enormous Gyarados burst out of the water.
Unfortunately, before this level 61 Gyarados could even unleash its earth-shaking roar to intimidate the intruders, Swampert had already arrived.
Ignoring the whirlpool's pull entirely, Swampert leapt high out of the water—and threw a punch.
The instant that punch landed, Gyarados's roar instantly turned into a miserable scream. Its eyes bulged wide with fury before immediately rolling upward.
Then, as Swampert descended, he delivered another brutal punch straight into Gyarados's stomach.
Half of Gyarados's face swelled instantly from the blow. Its gigantic head crashed heavily onto the lake surface before floating back up moments later—eyes rolled back, foam spilling from its mouth.
In just a few seconds, the imposing Gyarados had been completely beaten down by Swampert.
Seeing this, Swampert unclenched his fists and, following Sato's instructions, grabbed Gyarados by the tail and dragged it deeper into the lake.
Before long, Swampert resurfaced and resumed swimming about happily, continuing to create waves for Pikachu's surfing.
A battle that should have caused a massive commotion ended in the blink of an eye, leaving the few people by the lakeshore unable to react in time. They had just been about to flee upon seeing the ferocious Gyarados, only for the fight to already be over.
For a while, the atmosphere became rather awkward.
Besides those few people, the wild Pokémon drinking by the lakeside were also stunned by what they had just witnessed. Some timid ones had already fled in terror, while those remaining looked at Swampert with awe and fear as he happily played in the water.
Fortunately, under Sato's instructions, Swampert spoke a few reassuring words to the wild Pokémon, telling them they didn't need to be afraid and could continue drinking here. Only then did they stop fleeing entirely.
"Alright, that should be enough playing and drinking for now. Staryu, come here."
Sato quietly watched his Pokémon enjoying themselves from the shore. About half an hour later, he used telepathy to call out to Staryu in the lake.
"Star!"
Hearing Sato's command, Staryu immediately leapt from the water. Then, using Psychic, it suspended itself in midair before controlling its own body with psychic power and floating toward Sato.
Although its control over psychic power was still somewhat rough, there was no doubt that Staryu had already grasped the basics of telekinesis.
Staryu had now reached level 43 and successfully learned Psychic. Although the move's current power was only around the level of Confusion, it was already sufficient for Staryu to perform telekinetic techniques.
"Very good. Looks like your psychic training hasn't fallen behind either. Come—welcome your new form."
Seeing Staryu floating in the air through its own power, Sato nodded in satisfaction and spoke with anticipation.
The moment he finished speaking, he took out a Water Stone radiating dazzling aqua-blue light from his backpack. The instant it appeared, the Water-type energy in the surrounding environment immediately grew much denser.
This was clearly no ordinary Water Stone—it was a top-grade Water Stone.
Sato had possessed it for a very long time, and now, at last, it would finally serve its purpose.
Quietly staring at the precious Water Stone in his hand, Sato recalled the experiences he had gone through to obtain it, and couldn't help feeling emotional.
But soon, he pushed those memories aside and pressed the stone against the gem at the center of Staryu's body.
Instantly, the top-grade Water Stone reacted with Staryu's body, erupting with blinding aqua-blue light. Then it transformed into a glass-like mass of watery blue energy that completely enveloped Staryu.
Moments later, Staryu rapidly flew toward the center of the lake before plunging into the water.
In the next second, the entire lake surface began glowing with a gentle blue radiance. Then, a dazzling white waterspout suddenly erupted from the lake, with Staryu's silhouette flickering in and out within it, changing with every passing moment.
The sunlight was brilliant overhead, and the waterspout continuously scattered droplets everywhere, causing countless tiny rainbows to appear in the air.
Both the people and Pokémon present gasped in amazement, silently admiring the beautiful sight unfolding across the lake.
The waterspout and rainbows lasted for about a minute before the entire vortex suddenly exploded apart. The countless miniature rainbows vanished, replaced by a single enormous rainbow stretching across the entire lake.
And standing at the center of that breathtaking rainbow—
Was a brilliantly shining Starmie.