At this moment, Ange suddenly felt a burst of excitement, so he said to Armarouge and Ceruledge, "Right, you two just evolved. Do you want to have a battle with me to adapt to your new forms?"
"Arma?" Battle? With Ange?
Ange crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow as he said, "Yeah? Looking down on me? You two might not necessarily be a match for me, you know!"
Blade blade~
"Yeah, we can definitely beat Ange," Ceruledge said confidently.
Ange countered, "Don't count your chickens before they hatch."
With that, Ange walked out of the house shoulder-to-shoulder with Armarouge and Ceruledge.
Furthermore, Xerneas closely followed behind them, leading the two Oinkologne.
They arrived at the grassy field outside the surrounding wall. Ange stood in the center of the field, while Armarouge and Ceruledge positioned themselves to his upper left and upper right respectively, adopting battle stances.
At this time, Drilbur, Lairon, Hippopotas, and Hippowdon, who were out on patrol, happened to pass by. They curiously asked the Oinkologne what Ange was doing.
The Oinkologne told everyone that Ange was going to duel Armarouge and Ceruledge, which instantly made the few Pokémon stay to watch with great interest.
Originally, they were still wondering who Armarouge and Ceruledge were. It was only after Oinkologne's introduction that they realized the two Charcadet had actually evolved!
Seeing everyone gathering together, Swablu, Fletchinder, and Spritzee, who were playing in the sky, descended from above. They landed on the backs of Lairon, Hippopotas, and Hippowdon respectively, joining the spectating crowd with lively chirping.
Following them, the Altaria couple, Talonflame, the Staraptor couple, the two Watchog, Oddish, Shroomish, and Paras all gathered around one after another.
Even Magearna, who was busy working on the second floor, could not help but poke its head out of the window to check on the situation after hearing the commotion outside.
When it saw that Ange was about to battle the Pokémon, it pulled up a chair and sat by the window to watch.
Ange took the Aura Gloves out of his system backpack and said to Armarouge and Ceruledge, "Are you two ready?"
Ceruledge nodded.
Conversely, Armarouge looked curiously at the gloves Ange wore on his hands and asked, "What is that?"
Ange waved his hand, saying mysteriously, "A secret weapon!"
"Then let the battle begin!"
As soon as Ange's voice fell, Armarouge took the initiative to launch an attack. It extended its hand, and clumps of flames coalesced in its palm, which it controlled to hurl toward Ange.
Ange did not even need to dodge. He swung his fists rapidly, and the Aura Power, amplified by the Aura Gloves, gathered onto his fists, easily crushing all the embers released by Armarouge.
"An attack like this can't do anything to me, you know," Ange said, shaking his hands.
Seeing this, the spectating Pokémon outside the field broke into cheers for Ange.
Upon seeing this, Ceruledge suddenly erupted with raging flames all over its body, subsequently turning into a series of afterimages as it slammed toward Ange.
It was using Flame Charge.
Before they evolved, Ange had already introduced to it and Armarouge what kind of attack styles their respective evolved forms excelled at.
Armarouge was better at Special Attack, while it excelled at Physical Attack.
Moreover, Flame Charge happened to be a physical Fire-type attack move.
At the exact moment Ceruledge charged over, Ange threw a punch, striking Ceruledge squarely in the chest.
Ceruledge only felt a massive force hit it. In the next second, it flew backward and crashed heavily to the ground.
Ange blew on his fist, saying very boastfully, "An attack of this level still can't do anything to me, you know!"
Ceruledge pushed itself up from the ground, while a glimmer of light flashed across its body, accompanied by the sound of something shattering.
Ange knew that was the manifestation of Ceruledge's Ability activating.
Ceruledge's Ability was Weak Armor. When hit by a physical attack, its Defense decreased, but its Speed increased drastically.
Hearing Ange's words, Armarouge and Ceruledge glanced at each other, subsequently launching an attack on Ange at the same time.
Armarouge used Clear Smog. This was originally a move used to clear stat changes, but at this moment, Armarouge used it to obscure Ange's vision.
Thick smoke quickly enveloped Ange, making it impossible for him to see anything clearly around him.
Simultaneously, Ceruledge leaped into the smoke, running at high speed within it in an attempt to approach Ange.
Suddenly, the smoke billowed violently, and Ceruledge abruptly burst out from within. It raised the long sword in its hand, using Shadow Claw to slash at Ange.
However, Ange seemed to have anticipated this long ago. After dodging Ceruledge's strike with an agile posture, he threw another punch, sending Ceruledge flying back once more.
After all, Ange could use Aura. Even though he could not visually see the situation inside the smoke, Ange knew its movement trajectory perfectly based on the Aura radiating from Ceruledge.
Of course, Ange's strike triggered its Weak Armor Ability again, causing its Speed to increase drastically once more.
Seeing Ceruledge get knocked away by Ange, Armarouge did not hesitate. It extended its hands, intending to control flames to burn the smoke.
However, before its attack could be released, Ange had already rushed out of the smoke. With a flash, he appeared right beside it and, under its astonished gaze, sent it flying with a single punch.
"I can't just be passively taking hits the entire time either, right?" Ange smiled.
Nevertheless, just as his voice fell, Ceruledge had already quietly arrived behind him. After Weak Armor took effect twice, its Speed had become incredibly fast.
Even so, Ange had been using his Aura to perceive its movement trajectory all along, so the instant it launched an attack, Ange detected it.
With a swift shift of his body, Ange dodged Ceruledge's Shadow Claw.
Yet Ceruledge did not give up on its assault. Instead, relying on its ultra-fast speed, it launched consecutive Shadow Claws at Ange.
During his process of cultivating Aura, Ange had already gained immense control over his own body, which allowed him to evade Ceruledge's attacks from extremely tricky angles every single time.
In the intervals while Ange was dodging, Armarouge did not stay idle either. Strands of eerie blue fire formed around its body, which it then controlled to shape a perimeter, surrounding Ange.
It was Will-O-Wisp!
Once touched by the Will-O-Wisp, Ange would fall into a burned state.
"Good job!" Ange praised Armarouge loudly while simultaneously dodging Ceruledge's attacks.
Because he had to divide his attention to avoid getting hit by the Will-O-Wisp, Ange was finally struck by Ceruledge's sword during a lapse, sending him flying.
After rolling a few times on the ground, he quickly scrambled up and rubbed his shoulder, saying, "That really hurts!"
Despite calling out in pain, Ange barely sustained much injury from that Shadow Claw, thanks to his remarkably powerful physique.
Seeing that an opportunity had arisen, Armarouge immediately controlled the Will-O-Wisp to surge toward Ange.
Ange rolled over to avoid it and said, "Looks like I have to use my ultimate move too."
Ange extended his right hand, and a blue-and-white sphere of energy rapidly coalesced in his palm. Then, he slapped the energy sphere hard with his other hand.
With a sharp slap, the sphere vanished, and a wave of energy rippled outward at the same time. Under the impact of this energy wave, all the Will-O-Wisp surging toward Ange completely dissipated.
Seeing this scene, both Armarouge and Ceruledge stood dazed. What was that?
Ange laughed and said, "Stunned, right? This is an ultimate move I developed using Aura."
As he spoke, his figure flashed and vanished from the spot. By the time Armarouge could react, Ange had already arrived right in front of it and landed a solid punch on its stomach.
"Arma~" Armarouge wailed as it flew backward, closing its eyes as it lost its ability to battle.
Right after Ange knocked down Armarouge, Ceruledge flashed directly in front of him, raising its long sword to slash down.
Seeing that he could not dodge it in time, Ange could only gather his Aura Power into his arms, raising them to form a guard.
With a loud bang, Ange was sent flying backward.
Ceruledge's offensive momentum did not falter for a single fraction of a second. Relying on its extremely fast speed once again, it flashed next to Ange and slashed forward with Shadow Claw.
Ange could not react in time at all, so he could only continue to cross his arms in defense, subsequently being sent flying once more.
Fortunately, Ange's physique was strong enough that he did not lose consciousness despite taking such hits.
Ceruledge flashed next to Ange for the third time, intending to repeat the same trick. This time, however, Ange did not defend. Instead, he reached out with his hand clad in the Aura Gloves and firmly grabbed Ceruledge's blade.
Ceruledge attempted to pull its sword back, but Ange gripped the blade tightly. His strength was so immense that Ceruledge could not budge it in the slightest.
Seeing this, Ceruledge raised its other sword to slash at Ange, but that one was caught by Ange as well.
"Alright, it's time for the battle to end!"
As he spoke, he pulled Ceruledge, swinging it around before throwing it out with force.
Bang~ Ceruledge smashed a crater into the ground, lying motionless inside it.
Evidently, Ange won the final victory in this one-on-two match.
As soon as the battle ended, Mew, who was spectating, flew into the field. It waved its hands happily, spraying blue droplets of water over Ange, Armarouge, and Ceruledge. The injuries of the human and the two Pokémon vanished at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Before long, Armarouge and Ceruledge slowly woke up.
Mew had used Life Dew, which provided group healing.
Mew mew~
After finishing this, Mew flew over to Ange and sat on his shoulder.
Ange turned his head to thank it, saying, "Thank you, Mew."
Mew mew~
Mew patted Ange's cheek, indicating he was welcome.
At this moment, a pink pillar of light also rose from Xerneas's body. The pink pillar of light landed on Ange, Armarouge, and Ceruledge in turn, leaving the injuries of the human and the two Pokémon almost completely healed.
The move Xerneas just used was Heal Pulse. Although it was a single-target healing move, its healing effect was quite a bit stronger than Life Dew.
Ange walked over to Xerneas alongside Armarouge and Ceruledge to express their gratitude.
Xerneas shook its head and said, "You're welcome. Since I am going to live on the Nebel Plateau, I should always do something for everyone. If anyone gets injured and needs treatment in the future, you can come find me anytime."
Hearing this, Ange said happily, "Then we'll count on you whenever the Pokémon on our plateau get hurt in the future!"
Ange suddenly thought about whether he should build a medical room at home and buy some standard medicine to keep inside.
However, this matter still required careful consideration. Without corresponding medical knowledge, it was impossible to use certain medicines accurately.
Pokémon did not just get injured; they also fell ill. Not all problems could be solved by healing moves.
He would look for Lila to discuss it later! He also lacked the channels to find a Pokémon with medical knowledge to help him set up a medical room.
Sometimes Ange felt quite fortunate to have been born into the royal family, especially since his kingdom had endured to this day.
Because of the royal family's existence, he could obtain certain resources and access channels without having to go out of his way to look for them.
Losing the battle against Ange made Armarouge and Ceruledge feel a bit dejected.
Ange patted their shoulders and said with a cocky look, "Alright, don't feel down. You didn't lose because you're too weak, but because I'm too strong!"
Hearing Ange's words, everyone burst into laughter, with Mew covering its mouth as it laughed the happiest.
Seeing everyone laughing so hard, Ange could not help but say, "What are you laughing at? Everything I said is true! Back when Armarouge and Ceruledge were still Charcadet, I was the one who personally caught them. If you don't believe me, ask them."
This was indeed a fact, and Armarouge and Ceruledge nodded simultaneously.
With this distraction from Ange, Armarouge and Ceruledge felt a lot better.
Noticing this, Ange smiled silently. He patted the shoulders of the two Pokémon, saying, "Keep up the good work in the future!"
Armarouge and Ceruledge squinted their eyes and nodded.
After watching the battle and finishing the playful banter, the Pokémon scattered one after another. Armarouge and Ceruledge also ran off to ask Metagross for training methods, striving to make themselves stronger.
If they could not even beat Ange, how could they talk about protecting Ange and the Nebel Plateau in the future?
At this time, only Mew and Xerneas remained by Ange's side.
"By the way, Xerneas, let me take you to choose a place to live," Ange said.
Xerneas was just about to nod, but then it thought of something, so it asked, "Where does Yveltal live? Can I live together with it?"
"Huh?" Ange showed a look of surprise, "You want to live with Yveltal?"
Xerneas nodded, "It and I are old acquaintances, and our relationship is pretty good. Living together means we can look out for each other."
The fact that Xerneas and Yveltal had a good relationship caught Ange by surprise, but since Xerneas said so, he nodded and said, "Alright, then follow me."
Subsequently, Ange led Xerneas toward the Secret Fortress, with Mew following behind them.
Mew mew~
"Are you going to live with that scary guy?" Mew floated next to Xerneas, asking as it flew.
Xerneas asked, "Scary guy? Do you mean Yveltal?"
Mew mew~
"Yes, yes, it's exactly him!"
Xerneas gave a soft laugh, saying, "Perhaps it isn't as scary as you imagine."
Mew mew~
"But I just find it scary looking at it."
Ange teased Mew, saying, "Could it be because Yveltal is a Dark-type Pokémon, while you, Mew, are a Psychic-type Pokémon, so your Psychic-type moves are useless against it, making you exceptionally afraid of it?"
Mew~
"That's not it at all!"
Mew placed its hands on its hips, staring at Ange angrily, its voice of refutation particularly loud.
Mew mew~
"If I get serious, I can definitely beat it!"
"Alright, if you say it's not, then it's not," Ange said, putting his hands out.
Mew felt it was being brushed off. It flew to the top of Ange's head, grabbed a clump of Ange's hair, and shouted loudly, "Mew mew~ You don't believe me, do you? Do you?"
Ange did not find it painful. He said with a grin, "I believe you, just look at my expression if you don't believe me!"
Mew leaned forward to look at Ange's face. Seeing Ange grinning at it, it instantly understood it was being brushed off again. Consequently, it grabbed Ange's hair temperamental-like, and within moments, Ange's head turned into a bird's nest.
Watching the bickering Ange and Mew, Xerneas unconsciously let out a soft laugh.
Amidst the talking and laughing, Ange and the others arrived at the Secret Fortress.
After entering the bar, Ange pointed at Yveltal's sleeping spot and said, "There, Yveltal lives right here."
Xerneas looked around and nodded with satisfaction, saying, "A nice place, it should be very comfortable to live here."
It was used to sleeping in the open wild, having lived in caves, forests, fields, and deserts... Compared to those places, the accommodation conditions here were simply excellent.
Ange explained, "Yveltal's body size is just too massive. Except for this place, nowhere else is suitable for it."
Xerneas was actually not short either, standing a full 3 meters tall, but compared to Yveltal, it was still quite a bit smaller.
"I'll live here too."
With that, Xerneas stepped into the bar. After walking around a bit, it selected a sofa and said, "Can I sleep here in the future?"
Most of the sofas in the bar were specifically designed for large Pokémon, with some having an area larger than a bed. Therefore, whether it was Xerneas or Yveltal, sleeping on them would not feel cramped.
Ange nodded and said, "Sure, I'll bring you some bedding and stuff later."
Although the Nebel Plateau enjoyed a perpetual spring-like climate, sleeping at night without blankets would still feel cold.
"Alright, thank you," Xerneas said.
Ange added, "Yveltal isn't here right now, otherwise you two could catch up."
At this time, Mew said, "Mew mew~ It's sleeping on the big tree over there!"
At this moment, on the massive tree in the center of the plateau, Yveltal was sitting on a thick branch with its eyes closed, resting its mind. As the gentle breeze blew across its face, it felt very pleasant.
Even though these were all minor, insignificant details of daily life, Yveltal found every single one of them highly novel.
Squatting next to Yveltal were Honchkrow and a row of Murkrow, their postures identical to Yveltal's.
From time to time, Yveltal would leak a trace of its Dark Aura, which made Honchkrow and the Murkrow feel very comfortable.
Since Mew mentioned Yveltal's location, Ange said to Xerneas, "Let's go find it!"
"Alright, let's go see it," Xerneas nodded.
Soon, Ange, Mew, and Xerneas arrived under the two large trees.
Xerneas looked up toward the top, and Yveltal also seemed to sense its arrival, opening its eyes to look down.
The two Legendary Pokémon were meeting in this manner for the very first time.