Pokémon: No Way! The Golden Finger Only Comes When I'm About To Die!?

Under the great waterfall, the Veluza, Goldeen, Seaking, Magikarp, and Feebas continued their relentless climb.

Among them, the Veluza had made the most progress, with most of them reaching more than halfway up the towering cascade.

The Seaking followed closely, having climbed about twenty meters, while the Goldeen had managed around ten meters.

As for the Magikarp and Feebas, their performance was the weakest—they had barely ascended five or six meters.

But compared to their past attempts, their eyes now burned with determination and vigor. They showed no discouragement for being the slowest, radiating boundless vitality as they forged ahead.

Splash!

A strong current surged downward, striking a Magikarp and a Feebas. With a pitiful cry, they lost their grip and plummeted into the pool below.

Surfacing one after the other, the two looked up toward the top of the waterfall, where the Veluza leader was climbing. Their eyes shone with admiration and reverence.

The Veluza leader was scaling the most challenging section of the waterfall—the highest point with the strongest, most turbulent currents—a feat far beyond the difficulty of the paths they were tackling.

The waterfall was segmented, with different sections varying in height and current intensity. Watching their leader struggle valiantly, the Magikarp and Feebas unhesitatingly swam back to the base of the waterfall. Determined, they began slapping the surface of the water with their tails and started climbing again.

The Veluza leader was now nearing the top of the waterfall, less than ten meters from the summit. It thrashed its tail and fins desperately, clearly exhausted but unwilling to give up.

Its expression was filled with defiance.

Just a little more… just a little bit more!

Suddenly, a powerful surge of water crashed down from above. The Veluza leader quickly veered to the side, narrowly avoiding the torrent. This evasive maneuver, however, drained what little energy it had left.

Before it could recover, another turbulent wave descended from above. The Veluza leader dodged it again but grew visibly weaker.

Down below, the Veluza, Seaking, Goldeen, Magikarp, and Feebas all silently cheered their leader on in their hearts.

Several Veluza, focused entirely on their leader's heroic struggle, were caught off guard by incoming waves and were swept into the pool below, crying out as they fell.

The Veluza leader pressed on. It flailed its tail desperately, avoiding one current after another as it inched closer to the top of the waterfall.

Nine meters… eight meters… seven meters…

Finally, only three meters remained. Then two.

Watching from below, most of the other Veluza had already fallen back into the pool. They floated on the surface, their eyes glued to their leader as it fought against the currents. They held their breath, their hearts pounding with anticipation.

You can do it, Leader!

The Veluza chanted silently in their hearts, willing it to succeed.

At this point, the Veluza leader was utterly exhausted. Another powerful surge of water crashed down, and though it tried to dodge, its fatigued body no longer obeyed its will.

Finally, with less than a meter left to the top of the waterfall, the Veluza was struck by the current and sent plummeting down into the pool below, creating a tremendous splash.

"Veluza~ Veluza~"

The other Veluza gathered quickly around the spot where their leader had fallen, calling out to it in concern.

After about ten minutes, the Veluza leader slowly surfaced. It appeared uninjured, but its eyes were unfocused, and its spirit seemed somewhat diminished.

"Veluza~ Veluza~"

The other Veluza tried to comfort their leader, assuring it that it was so close this time and that success would surely come next time.

However, the Veluza leader still looked listless. This failure had dealt a heavy blow to its confidence.

After a long while, having regained a bit of its strength, the Veluza leader called out to the group.

"Veluza~ Veluza~"

Today's training is over; let's head back!

Under its lead, the Veluza, Goldeen, Seaking, Magikarp, and Feebas swam through the outlet pipe at the base of the waterfall, returning to the fifth floor of secret fortress.

As soon as they re-entered the pool, the Veluza leader sank to the bottom.

Nearby, the Poliwrath quietly asked one of the Veluza.

"Poliwrath~ Poliwrath~"

What's wrong with your leader?

The Veluza swam close to Poliwrath's ear and whispered a few words.

Poliwrath nodded thoughtfully. "So that's what happened."

Meanwhile, over at Angie's place.

After Angie and his three students returned home, Munchlax, Drizzile, and Haunter busied themselves preparing dinner for the Pokémon. Angie, on the other hand, began working on the freshly picked Waterside Herbs, intending to make fish food.

First, he carefully washed the Waterside Herbs, then set a pot of water on to boil.

While waiting for the water to heat, he used his Aura powers to process the herbs. Afterward, the herbs emanated a much gentler Aura.

When the water boiled, Angie blanched the herbs briefly before removing them to drain. He then finely chopped them into small pieces.

After setting the chopped herbs aside, Angie took out flour, yeast, and water to make dough.

As he kneaded the dough, he gradually mixed in the finely chopped herbs, ensuring they were fully incorporated into the dough.

While kneading, Angie also used his Aura to further work the dough.

Thankfully, his enhanced physique made the process manageable. Otherwise, kneading the dough—especially with the herbs mixed in—would have been quite difficult.

Once the herbs and dough were fully blended, the dough took on a light green hue. Angie then added a measured amount of Grassy Milk to continue kneading.

Grassy Milk was an essential ingredient for making fish food.

As time passed, a rich milky aroma wafted from the dough, and its color lightened slightly.

After finishing, Angie covered the dough to let it ferment.

About an hour later, Angie retrieved the dough, added honey and brown sugar, and resumed kneading.

The honey was a special variety made by Beedrill, which Angie had specifically purchased from the Azoth City.

In the Pokémon world, honey came in many varieties, such as ordinary honey, Beedrill-made honey, and Combee-made honey, among others.

Among the various types of honey, ordinary honey has the lowest quality, while honey made by Combee is the highest quality. However, ordinary honey is very cheap, while Combee honey is expensive and hard to come by.

For making fish food, ordinary honey cannot be used, and Angie couldn't get any Combee honey, so he had to settle for Beedrill honey instead.

Beedrill honey is of excellent quality and not too hard to procure, making it the best alternative.

In fact, the four-color nectar made by Cutiefly and Ribombee from flower pollen is just as good as Combee honey and offers more flavor variety.

As a reward from a previous daily mission, Angie had received a batch of four-color nectar. It was extraordinarily delicious—sweet and fragrant.

Unfortunately, although Angie's garden had all four types of flowers needed for the nectar, he didn't have any Cutiefly or Ribombee living there, which was a real waste.

It seemed he'd need to invite a few Cutiefly and Ribombee to his garden when he had the chance!

Once the honey had fully integrated into the dough, its aroma became even richer. The sweetness of the honey mixed with the creamy milk scent and the faint herbal fragrance, creating a unique and delightful smell.

Finally, Angie used molds to shape the dough into thumb-sized pellets, arranged them on a tray, and put them into the oven.

Soon, the aroma wafted out of the oven. Although it was fish food, Angie couldn't help but swallow a little saliva.

When the oven timer indicated the food was ready, Angie put on gloves to take the fish food out. The golden-brown, fragrant pellets made Angie think: Eating just a tiny bit should be okay, right?

With that thought, Angie picked up a piece and took a bite. The rich, sweet flavor and the crispy texture made his eyes light up.

It's so delicious!

"Pawmi~ Pawmi~"

At that moment, Pawmi followed the scent and waddled over, clinging to Angie's leg with a pleading look.

"What's up? You want some?" Angie asked.

"Pawmi~ Pawmi~"

Pawmi put its finger to its mouth and nodded vigorously.

Angie, a bit exasperated, said, "This is fish food for Veluza and the others. You want to eat it too?"

"Pawmi~ Pawmi~"

Pawmi puffed up in protest. If it was fish food, why had Angie eaten it himself?

Caught red-handed, Angie looked embarrassed. "Well… just one bite, okay?"

"Pawmi~ Pawmi~"

Pawmi nodded eagerly.

"Here you go~"

Angie handed Pawmi a piece, and as it nibbled away, Pawmi danced in circles around Angie, clutching its cheeks with joy.

It's so tasty! It's so good!

After placing the finished fish food aside, Angie started baking another batch.

As time passed, tray after tray of fish food came out of the oven, and the entire kitchen became filled with the sweet fragrance.

Pawmi tried sneaking bites whenever Angie wasn't looking, but Angie always caught it with his sharp senses and stopped it.

With his aura abilities, Angie could easily detect Pawmi's actions without even looking.

After several failed attempts to sneak a snack, Pawmi sulked off, only to perk up and run over to Munchlax and the others, who had just finished preparing dinner.

When all the fish food was ready, Angie packed most of it into sealed bags for storage, taking the rest to deliver to the fifth floor of the secret fortress.

Although Veluza and its group could come ashore, it wasn't very convenient for them, so their food was usually delivered by Diancie or Munchlax. Today, since Angie had made the fish food himself, he decided to bring it over personally.

Upon entering the fifth floor of the secret fortress, Angie found the place unusually quiet. Poliwrath had taken Poliwag, Poliwhirl, and Azurill out for dinner, but with Veluza, Goldeen, and others still here, it shouldn't have been this silent!

At that moment, Magikarp and Feebas surfaced, their mouths opening and closing in hunger.

Angie tossed some fish food into the water. Their previously dull eyes lit up as they ate.

"Tasty, right?" Angie asked.

Magikarp and Feebas slowly nodded.

"Where is everyone? It's dinnertime—why haven't they shown up?" Angie wondered aloud.

As soon as he finished speaking, Seaking emerged, leading a group of Goldeen. Their movements were gentle, as if trying not to make any noise.

"What's wrong? What's going on with all of you?" Angie asked, puzzled by the behavior of the Goldeen and the Seaking.

"Seaking~ Seaking~"

The Seaking slowly swam forward and explained the situation to Angie in a low voice.

Due to failing the Waterfall Climb, the Veluza leader had been deeply affected. It had sunk to the bottom of the water and refused to appear, causing everyone to grow tense. They avoided making any large movements, afraid of disturbing their leader.

"So that's what happened!" Angie realized.

"Leader! Leader! Can you hear me? If you can, come out quickly!"

Angie suddenly shouted, startling the Seaking and Goldeen, as well as the other Veluza, who began surfacing one by one.

Seeing that the Veluza leader still hadn't appeared, Angie continued to shout, "Are you really not coming out? I brought something that can boost your strength! If you don't come out, I'll just leave!"

As soon as Angie finished speaking, ripples spread across the water's surface. Moments later, the Veluza leader's large head slowly rose out of the water.

"Finally decided to come out?" Angie said with a smile. "Getting downhearted over one failure isn't like the Veluza leader I know!"

Hearing this, the Veluza leader looked embarrassed.

It wasn't afraid of failure, but after working so hard and getting so close to success only to fail at the last moment, the frustration was a heavy blow.

Angie sat down by the edge of the pool and comforted the Veluza leader. "You should be happy! After all that training, you're now just a step away from success. Isn't that something to celebrate? It shows you're improving. As long as you keep working hard, success is only a matter of time. Why rush?"

Hearing these words, the Veluza leader perked up a bit. The other Veluza, seeing this, gathered around their leader and began offering words of comfort.

Seeing the concern on its companions' faces, the Veluza leader realized how much everyone cared for it. It decided it couldn't let its momentary discouragement trouble everyone else.

Angie smiled in satisfaction at the scene.

"Alright, everyone, come eat! Today's food is special. You've all worked hard today, so you must be hungry, right?"

The Veluza, Seaking, Goldeen, Magikarp, and Feebas all swam to the shore upon hearing this.

Soon, the delicious fish food had won over all the aquatic Pokémon.

"Veluza~ Veluza~"

Is this the thing you said could make us stronger?

The Veluza leader asked while chewing.

As the food entered its stomach, the Veluza leader could clearly feel its stamina recovering rapidly, as though its whole body were brimming with energy.

If night hadn't already fallen, it would have wanted to head to the big waterfall right then and there to train again for hours.

"That's right!" Angie nodded. "Can you feel its effects?"

"Veluza~ Veluza~"

The Veluza leader nodded and described its sensations to Angie.

After listening, Angie thought to himself: The system's description of the fish food only mentioned it as a specialized Pokémon food, without specifying any particular effects. But now it seems it has a rapid stamina recovery effect.

Moreover, this recovery effect wasn't like the immediate restoration seen after eating a Berry. It seemed to have a sustained effect, akin to the feeling of being in a Grassy Terrain.

If the Veluza could continuously recover their stamina, their training efficiency would undoubtedly skyrocket.

Angie stayed on the fifth floor for a while, observing the aquatic Pokémon's physical changes and asking them to describe their sensations after eating the fish food.

In the end, he concluded that after eating the fish food, the aquatic Pokémon not only experienced rapid recovery of their spent stamina, but their stamina would also continue to recover for the next half hour.