The fruit tree forest wasn't far.
Riku led the three legendary birds and Groudon, reaching the forest in just over ten minutes.
Although it was called a "fruit tree forest," there were actually only about a dozen trees capable of bearing fruit.
After all, Riku hadn't been in the Pokémon world for long, and for these trees to have grown so tall already was beyond his imagination.
Groudon, full of anticipation and even fantasizing about devouring the fruit, was instantly furious when it realized the ripe fruit hanging on the trees was Earth Fruit—not the Flying Fruit it had longed for.
It was the Lord of the Land.
Its Earth Power had been finalized and solidified countless years ago, already reaching the highest theoretical value in the Pokémon world.
Eating Earth Fruit now was completely useless to it.
However, seeing the three silly birds scramble to eat them—and Riku handing over an Earth Fruit as well—Groudon hesitated. Should it try one?
After all, the fruit looked juicy with thin skin and plenty of flesh. After such a long period of training, perhaps it could be good for quenching thirst.
"Gaa gaa—"
"What are you standing there for?"
"If you think Earth Power is too much, let us eat it!"
"What a stupid shrimp."
The three legendary birds' sudden mockery made Groudon very unhappy.
"What are you three silly birds doing eating Earth Fruit anyway? You're all Flying-type Legendary Pokémon. Aren't you afraid the heaviness of Earth Power will weigh you down so much you can't fly later?"
"You don't know how lucky you are! When you can't fly anymore, you birds will turn green with regret!"
"And this is the Earth Fruit Master gave me. I'd rather throw it away than let you eat it."
Groudon now called Riku master quite naturally.
After staying on the island for a while, the three silly birds called him that every day. Since even Tier 2 Legendary Pokémon addressed Riku this way, Groudon didn't think it was losing face.
Besides, last night, even that stinky fish Kyogre had been directly scared away by Riku. That alone was enough to convince Groudon.
It knew Kyogre's temper.
Even when Rayquaza came to mediate, Kyogre would often talk back defiantly.
The decisiveness it showed last night only proved how terrifying Riku really was.
Still annoyed, Groudon swallowed the Earth Fruit in one gulp.
Just as it was about to glance smugly at the three legendary birds, it suddenly shuddered.
The Earth Power within it—untouched for countless years, unshaken for who knows how long—had quietly increased… just ten seconds after swallowing the fruit.
No, calling it an increase wasn't accurate.
It was more like... a trace. A subtle nudge.
But Groudon, the Lord of the Land, felt it.
Ordinary Pokémon wouldn't have noticed anything—but to Groudon, it was undeniable.
It was a fact.
The Earth Power, long stagnated despite millennia of cultivation, had its limits loosened by a single fruit.
"Roar—!"
In its excitement, Groudon suddenly howled and reached out to snatch the fruit beside Moltres.
Moltres, whose fruit was nearly snatched away, was furious.
One of the majestic three legendary birds—having a Pokémon try to steal from its mouth?
Even if the one trying to snatch it was the Lord of the Land—it wouldn't stand for it!
"Whoa! You even dare to snatch my fruit?"
"Anyway, it's useless for you to eat it. Let me eat it!"
"I just like to eat it—none of your business!"
Seeing that Groudon and Moltres were about to fight, the other two legendary birds immediately stood by Moltres's side in solidarity.
"Alright, stop fighting."
Riku sighed helplessly.
"There are still two more here."
Saying this, he casually tossed an Earth Fruit to Groudon.
"Roar roar roar—!"
"Master is still the best!" Groudon was overjoyed and swallowed the fruit Riku threw over.
Riku then looked at the last Earth Fruit in his hand.
He hesitated for a moment… and then summoned Feebas again.
The moment they saw Riku bring the Earth Fruit close to Feebas's mouth—intending to feed such a precious fruit to a Feebas—the three legendary birds and Groudon all looked on with disapproval.
"Master, this is too wasteful."
"Don't! We don't even have enough to eat."
"Feebas is too weak—it can't handle it."
"Master, please reconsider. Give the fruit to me."
——
Riku ignored them.
He gave them a glare, then fed the Earth Fruit to Feebas.
At first, Feebas ate quite happily.
But soon, its entire body went stiff—and it stopped moving, like a dead fish.
Riku panicked.
Without hesitation, he exchanged for a first-aid pill from the system shop and shoved it into Feebas's mouth.
The first-aid pill cost five thousand points.
But faced with this situation, Riku didn't even think about the cost.
Fortunately, over the past few days, he had accumulated nearly a hundred thousand points through daily training tasks.
Otherwise, if Feebas had died because of this… Riku didn't know how much he'd regret it.
"Goo—"
With a sound somewhat like a cough, Feebas finally choked out a breath after swallowing the pill.
Seeing it gradually recover, Riku let out a sigh of relief.
At that moment, he suddenly remembered what May had mentioned earlier about Feebas's evolution conditions.
"Now even eating fruit is dangerous… and it will be a Beauty…"
"Heavens, can you stop messing with me like this?"
"How can Feebas possibly be associated with beauty? If that's a hard condition for evolution, then… it's probably destined to never evolve in this lifetime."
---Support with power stones