Tonight, Komala returned particularly late. It was stumbling drunk and went straight to its small house to sleep without even eating dinner.
After dinner, the other Pokémon left one after another. Ange took Diancie, Gardevoir, Gallade, and Meowstic to help clear and wash the dishes.
Once Gardevoir and the others headed home, Ange went to the Cooking Training Room with Munchlax and Drizzile to train. Since they hadn't trained there in a long time, Ange was full of motivation.
Diancie continued to play the role of the "demon coach," strictly supervising and guiding their special training.
Because the number of unlocked recipes had increased, Ange and the others had more training content to cover as well.
Pawmi and Metagross didn't need to train. They first explored the training room curiously, and then Metagross stayed on the side to play with Pawmi.
Ange and his team were going to train for ten hours. Since that was a long time, Pawmi eventually started to get bored. Consequently, Ange handed it his phone and let it go outside to play with Metagross.
There was no signal for the phone inside the training room.
Coincidentally, Metagross was very eager to learn about the human world through the internet and pick up some knowledge. Therefore, it was more than happy to go out with Pawmi.
Robert 2 was equipped with a computer that could automatically connect to the internet. Since the computer was linked to Metagross's brain, the Pokémon only had to think, and knowledge from the web would automatically enter its mind. It could quickly filter the information, identifying what was useful, useless, true, or false.
This was exactly why the two professors said Metagross was the best choice to help modify Robert 1.
Soon, Ange's cooking training ended. However, Ange did not leave the training room immediately. He wanted to use the training room to practice his Aura Power for a while longer.
"Munchlax, Drizzile, do you want to practice Aura with me?" Ange asked his two apprentices.
Although he didn't know if the two Pokémon could learn it, there was no harm in trying.
Every living thing possessed Aura. If he could learn it, there was no reason Munchlax and Drizzile couldn't.
"Munch munch~"
Munchlax didn't hesitate for a second and immediately expressed its desire to learn with Ange.
"Driz driz~" I'll learn too! I'll become even stronger after learning it!
Seeing that Munchlax was learning, Drizzile naturally had to learn as well. Throughout its life, Drizzile refused to be outdone by anyone!
Just as Ange pulled out the Training Manual to study with his two apprentices, he suddenly thought of the little fellow, Pawmi. "I might as well call Pawmi over to learn too!"
He figured he could take this opportunity to temper the little guy's overly hyperactive personality.
"Munch~"
"Driz driz~"
Munchlax and Drizzile both agreed.
"Driz driz~~" I'll go get it!
With that, Drizzile dashed outside and returned a moment later, carrying Pawmi by the scruff of its neck.
Metagross returned along with them.
Pawmi was placed in front of Ange with a look of utter confusion.
"Paw~" What are you guys doing?
Pawmi had a bad premonition.
Ange smiled at it and said, "Pawmi, come on, let's study together."
"Paw paw~" No way, I want to play on the phone.
Pawmi shook its head and instinctively tried to back away, but Ange held it down.
Subsequently, Ange led the three Pokémon into a circle and explained the methods for practicing Aura.
Munchlax listened with rapt attention, and Drizzile looked equally serious. Whenever they encountered something they didn't understand, they would actively ask Ange for guidance.
In truth, Ange was also a novice and only had a partial understanding of many things. Therefore, he and his two apprentices basically discussed as they practiced. If they hit a snag, Ange would verify things alongside them.
Ange would also guide the Aura Power out of his own body, letting his two apprentices personally feel this special power that exists within all living creatures.
Only Pawmi listened until its head felt like it was going to explode.
Seeing how seriously Ange and the others were practicing, Diancie didn't stay idle either.
It approached Metagross and said, "Metagross, could you do me a favor?"
"Meta~~" Metagross nodded.
"Let's go outside to talk," Diancie said.
Although Metagross was curious, it followed Diancie out.
Once they reached the living room, Diancie spoke to Metagross. "I'd like to ask for your help in creating a training plan for the Veluza."
As a fellow Psychic-type Pokémon, Metagross should be able to provide some advice for Veluza's training.
"Meta~~"
Metagross naturally agreed without hesitation.
Thus, the two Pokémon huddled together on the living room sofa and began whispering to each other.
Metagross didn't actually have experience in guiding others' training, but that didn't matter. It had Robert 2. After a quick search on the internet, a massive amount of information regarding training methods for Psychic and Water-type Pokémon, as well as breeding information for Veluza, quickly gathered in its mind. Its brain, which was comparable to a supercomputer, then summarized, filtered, and integrated the data.
Now, it not only had ideas for the Veluza's training plan, but it even had ideas for its own training.
Metagross's abilities were simply too strong. Beyond its own powerful strength, it possessed extraordinary information acquisition, learning, and calculation skills. This caused the light in Diancie's eyes to grow brighter and brighter as it looked at the Pokémon.
Soon, Diancie held a complete and detailed training plan in its hands.
"Metagross, can I come to discuss things with you in the future?" Diancie asked with glowing eyes.
"Meta~" Of course.
Metagross nodded readily.
An hour passed in the blink of an eye. Ange led the three Pokémon out of the room, while Munchlax and Drizzile looked disappointed.
Ten hours had passed in the training room, but they hadn't felt any Aura Power appear within their bodies.
As for Pawmi, it wasn't disappointed at all. If it didn't manifest, it didn't manifest. It yawned as it walked.
"Paw paw~" Can we sleep now?
Pawmi asked while tugging at Ange's trouser leg.
"Yes, yes! Go ahead," Ange replied, shaking his head helplessly.
"Paw~~"
Pawmi responded, rubbed its eyes, and groggily returned to its room.
Ange then spoke to Munchlax and Drizzile. "You two should go to sleep as well. It's no big deal that you didn't manifest it yet. We'll keep working hard tomorrow!"
"Munch~~"
Upon hearing this, Munchlax immediately regained its spirits. Master was right!
"Driz driz~~"
Drizzile also nodded vigorously. That was right; it was so powerful that it was impossible not to manifest it eventually.
Afterward, Ange, Munchlax, Drizzile, Diancie, and Metagross each went to their rooms to sleep.
Before going to bed, Ange intended to claim his daily mission rewards as usual.
However, when he opened the System's mission list, he was surprised to find an extra daily mission.
[Daily Mission 1] Train in the Cooking Training Room for 1 hour — Completed. Reward pending.
[Daily Mission 2] Serve 10 Pokémon — Completed. Reward pending.
[Daily Mission 3] Conduct 1 Aura training session — Completed. Reward pending.
This was naturally a good thing for Ange. He was going to practice Aura every day anyway. Although the rewards for daily missions were usually average, there was still a certain chance of getting something great. A person has to have some ambitions!
Carrying those ambitions, Ange claimed the daily mission rewards one by one.
[Congratulations Master, you have received: 1 Poké Ball.]
Ange took it out to look. It was a standard red and white ball. It wasn't very useful, as he hadn't even finished the Poké Balls he had received from the professor!
[Congratulations Master, you have received: 1 Big Mushroom.]
Ange took out the Big Mushroom. It wasn't particularly large—not even enough for a stir-fry—but the quality was indeed much better than a normal mushroom.
He put the Big Mushroom away and continued to claim the final reward.
[Congratulations Master, you have received: 1 bag of Water-side Herb Seeds.]
Upon seeing the final reward, Ange's eyes lit up.
Water-side Herbs were the primary ingredient needed for the high-level recipe "Fish Food," weren't they?
He had been having a headache over this earlier. Water-side Herbs weren't sold on the market, and the System Store didn't provide seeds for this special plant either.
It seemed he had been given a pillow just as he was getting sleepy.
Ange took out the seeds and saw a large, full bag, which was more than enough for his needs.
The Water-side Herb was a plant unique to the Pokémon world. It only grew by clean water, and it was very difficult to cultivate artificially. Therefore, it usually only appeared on the market in small quantities as a seasoning.
If not for the recipe provided by the System, Ange wouldn't have known this thing could be used to make fish food.
The water quality of Lake Nebel was top-tier, so he should be able to plant them successfully!
After putting the seeds away, Ange crawled into his covers and soon fell into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, Ange woke up early and then woke Munchlax, Drizzile, and Pawmi to go for a run.
Munchlax, who usually had trouble getting up, was particularly active today. Because its master was finally going for a run with it after a long time, it was very much looking forward to it.
After getting up, it followed right behind Ange's heels like a little shadow. Diancie and Drizzile teased it, but it just kept smiling sillily. As long as it could be with its master, it was in a good mood and didn't care about others' teasing.
The role of the one struggling to wake up today fell to Pawmi.
Even after going downstairs, Pawmi was still groggy.
The morning air on the Nebel Plateau was exceptionally fresh. Ange ran toward the rising sun, followed by Munchlax, Drizzile, Croconaw, Quilladin, Lairon, two Farfetch'd, and an Espathra.
Each of them was wearing the weighted equipment Ange had bought for them.
Pawmi, meanwhile, trailed far behind at the tail end of the group. Even the heavy-bodied Lairon was faster than it.
After finishing the run, Ange took the Pokémon to bathe. Then, he moved several porcelain jars out of the warehouse in the Secret Fortress.
The porcelain jars contained the Salted Duck Eggs and Preserved Eggs Ange had pickled earlier.
Munchlax and Drizzile gathered around with expectant faces as they watched Ange fish the Salted Duck Eggs and Preserved Eggs out of the jars.
"We're adding new items to the menu today!" Ange announced.
With the Preserved Eggs, Ange could make Preserved Egg and Pork Congee. Furthermore, pairing the congee with Salted Duck Eggs would be a perfect match!
"Munch~"
"Driz driz~"
Munchlax and Drizzile cheered together. They had helped in making the Salted Duck Eggs and Preserved Eggs, so seeing the successful pickling gave them a great sense of achievement.
Pawmi stood on its tiptoes to look at the table, asking anxiously, "Paw paw~" Is it something tasty? Is it something tasty?
Unfortunately, it was too short to see anything.
Ange patted its forehead lightly. "You were half-dead while running, but you're full of life the moment food is mentioned."
Pawmi clutched its forehead with a look of grievance.
Subsequently, Ange divided the Salted Duck Eggs and Preserved Eggs into two portions. One portion stayed at Diancie's Grand Cafeteria for the Pokémon there, and the other was intended to be brought to Munchlax Home later.
Next, Ange began leading the Pokémon in preparations for opening the shop. Kneading dough and preparing fillings—during this process, Ange used the methods from the Training Manual to organize the Aura within the ingredients.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt the dough he kneaded using Aura had become more elastic.
Once Gardevoir, Gallade, Ralts, Meowstic, and Espurr arrived, Ange picked up the prepared ingredients and said, "Let's go!"
Returning to work at the shop after a long absence, Ange was currently brimming with energy.
"Oh!!!"
Drizzile, Ralts, Meowstic, and Espurr cheered.
Since Ange was back, the staff assignments for the two shops returned to their original state.
Munchlax, Diancie, Gardevoir, and Gallade were still in charge of Diancie's Grand Cafeteria; meanwhile, Ange, Drizzile, Ralts, Meowstic, and Espurr remained in charge of Munchlax Home.
The only change was likely that all financial management for the shops would now be handled by Metagross—or more accurately, Robert 2.
Komala, the temporary cashier, was finally completely out of a job.
Of course, this was a good thing for Komala. Being a cashier had been a forced task for it from the start.
Its ideal life consisted of eating and sleeping without having to worry about anything else. Now, that dream had finally come true!
Sure enough, after finishing breakfast this morning, it had disappeared to who-knows-where again.
Once Ange arrived at Munchlax Home, he and Drizzile immediately got busy.
He wrapped buns and steamed Mantou while Drizzile boiled congee. Today's new congee dish was Preserved Egg and Pork Congee.
Meowstic and the others weren't idle either; they were either wiping tables, sweeping the floor, or setting out side dishes and bowls.
As he worked, Ange suddenly felt an Aura approaching him, so he asked softly:
"Haunter, is that you?"
"Haunt~~"
Haunter slowly revealed itself on the ceiling.
"Are you watching us cook?" Ange asked.
"Haunt~" Haunter nodded.
Back when Ange hadn't discovered it, it used to watch Ange cook in secret like this.
"Do you like cooking?" Ange asked again.
Haunter hesitated for a moment. Did it like it? It didn't know; it only knew that watching Ange cook made it feel very peaceful.
However, after a moment of hesitation, it still nodded to Ange.
Seeing this, Ange asked, "Then do you want to learn how to cook from me?"
"Haunt~" Is that okay?
Haunter was a bit excited.
"Of course," Ange nodded. "As long as you are willing and interested."
"Haunt haunt~"
Haunter nodded excitedly, happily spinning in circles in the air.
Ange smiled and said, "Alright then, you watch from the side for now. Later on, you'll come home with me, and I'll teach you culinary arts."
"Haunt~"
Haunter nodded and floated obediently in the air, watching Ange.
Soon, the first basket of buns and Mantou finished steaming. The moment Ange opened the steamer, he noticed that today's buns and Mantou were different.
They appeared whiter, larger, and softer.