After the entertainment time ended, Ange and his Pokémon went to the training room for special training as usual.
Having not trained for several days, Ange felt a little out of practice.
Because Ange had returned, the Pokémon's enthusiasm for training was ignited, so the number of times Diancie scolded people in the culinary training room became fewer today.
While Ange and his team were training their culinary skills, Doublade was practicing swordsmanship alone on the side.
Perhaps influenced by it, Pawmot also began to train alongside it.
The two Pokémon even started to spar with each other; they were evenly matched in strength, trading blows back and forth for a while.
After the culinary training ended, Ange led his apprentices to cultivate their Aura.
Although to this day, Gengar, Inteleon, and Passimian still hadn't awakened their Aura, the awakening of their senior, Munchlax, gave them hope, so they had persisted in their practice.
Every so often, Ange would release his Aura to let Gengar and the others experience it, striving to help them awaken it sooner.
As everyone was training, they suddenly heard an exclamation. They looked toward the sound and saw Magearna holding a blue energy ball in its hands.
Ange looked at Magearna in disbelief, "Aura Sphere? Magearna, did you awaken your Aura?"
At this moment, Magearna's Aura felt very bright and active in Ange's perception; this was precisely the sign of Aura awakening.
Furthermore, Magearna's Aura was even stronger than that of Munchlax and Pawmot.
Magearna had actually learned the move Aura Sphere the moment it awakened.
Du~ki~du~ki~
Magearna nodded, happily running around while holding the Aura Sphere.
Since it had awakened its Aura, it meant that in the future, when it made desserts, it could use its Aura to process ingredients just like Ange, and it might even be able to create special-grade delicacies with unique effects.
Perhaps it was too happy; after running only a few steps, Magearna stumbled and fell to the ground, throwing the Aura Sphere it was holding.
The Aura Sphere flew straight toward the nearby Pawmot. Pawmot immediately became as anxious as if its butt were on fire. Whichever way it dodged, the Aura Sphere followed.
After all, Aura Sphere is a move that never misses.
"Yo~" At this moment, Doublade flew forward and utilized the Slash move to split the Aura Sphere in half with one strike. The Aura Sphere exploded in the air with a "bang."
Seeing this scene, Pawmot patted its chest with lingering fear and looked at Doublade gratefully.
After Doublade flew to its side, it patted Doublade and said, "Babu~ babu~" Good brother!
Ange chuckled upon hearing this, "Pawmot, Doublade is a girl, you know."
Pawmot: =( *)
At this moment, Magearna stood up with Diancie's help and apologized to Pawmot.
Du~ki~du~ki~ Pawmot, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.
Having lived with Magearna for so long, how could Pawmot not know about its "skill" of falling on flat ground? So, it very generously forgave Magearna.
"Babu~ babu~" It's okay, it's okay!
Immediately, everyone offered their blessings for Magearna's Aura awakening.
Inteleon, Gengar, and Passimian still felt a bit lonely inside seeing this.
Magearna hadn't spent much time practicing, yet it had awakened its Aura so easily.
Whereas they practiced diligently every day, yet there was never the slightest sign of awakening.
The contrast was too stark, and it was hard not to feel a sense of disparity.
Ange keenly noticed the emotions of the three Pokémon and walked up to gently pat them.
Fortunately, they knew that such things couldn't be rushed, so they weren't dejected for long and immediately followed Ange to continue training.
After training ended, Ange and his Pokémon went back to their respective rooms to sleep.
"Doublade, I'll take you to choose a room!" Ange said to Doublade.
"Yo~ yo~" However, Doublade shook its head.
"What's wrong?" Ange asked suspiciously.
"Yo~ yo~" Stay with Ange, protect Ange.
As a Pokémon specifically chosen to guard the trial-taker, Doublade was very persistent in this regard.
"But we are safe at home; I don't need protection," Ange emphasized again.
"Yo~ yo~" Protect Ange, live together.
Unfortunately, Ange's words could not convince Doublade; it still stubbornly insisted on providing close protection to Ange.
"Fine, then you can just stay with me!" Ange said helplessly.
Afterward, Ange took Doublade back to his room.
After freshening up, Ange got into bed, while Doublade hung itself on the wall. It looked just like a decorative item; if one didn't look closely, no one would be able to tell it was a Pokémon.
"Doublade, are you okay like that?" Ange asked, "Why don't you come down; I'll prepare a bed for you!"
Doublade's body was less than a meter long; preparing a bed for it was easy. He just needed to buy a basket from the System Store and line it with bedding.
"Yo~ yo~"
However, Doublade shook its head; it felt that it was perfectly fine hanging on the wall.
"Alright then." Ange stopped trying to persuade it; he had fully witnessed Doublade's stubborn personality.
Seeing that Doublade had quieted down and stopped making noise, Ange opened the System, preparing to claim the daily mission rewards for the day.
To his surprise, the moment he opened the System, a notification popped up.
Congratulations to the Master for completing the achievement: Served Pokémon 100,000 times.
Reward received: Specified Pokémon's individual values are all maxed, Eye of Observation upgraded.
Holy crap! Ange almost jumped out of bed.
Achievement reward! And it was a lavishly generous achievement reward!
Having a specified Pokémon's individual values maxed out—how many missions would he have to do to achieve that!
He had been doing missions for so long, and only Munchlax currently had maxed individual values, while Inteleon's was in progress.
This achievement reward was... too awesome!
As for the upgrade of the Eye of Observation, the effect of this reward was unclear, so Ange couldn't evaluate it for the time being.
He opened the Eye of Observation and found a box appearing before his eyes, displaying:
"Upgrading..."
Helplessly, Ange had to check the first reward.
This reward was more cost-effective the worse the Pokémon's individual value data was.
Ange flipped through the data of his few Pokémon; without a doubt, the one with the worst data was Passimian.
I'll choose Passimian!
Thinking this, he clicked on Passimian's data panel.
Passimian
Type: Fighting
Ability: Defiant
Gender: Male
Level: 45
Moves: Tackle, Leer, Rock Smash, Focus Energy, Work Up, Scary Face, Take Down, Fling, Bulk Up, Thrash, Brick Break, Seed Bomb, Shadow Ball, Uproar, Helping Hand, Quick Attack, Iron Head, Drain Punch.
Individual Values
HP: 31
Attack: 31
Defense: 31
Special Attack: 31
Special Defense: 31
Speed: 31
Wow, a whole row of 31s; looking at it was so pleasing!
After admiring Passimian's data, Ange began to claim the daily mission rewards.
Daily mission 1 reward: 1 bag of MSG.
Daily mission 2 reward: 1 bag of selected rice.
Daily mission 3 reward: 1 bag of berry fertilizer.
They were all mundane rewards.
However, this berry fertilizer was something Ange had received for the first time. Tomorrow, he would hand it over to Chesnaught and the others to let them use it in the orchard to test it out.
With the experience reward, Ange turned off the light, crawled into the blanket, and drifted off to sleep before long.
The next day, Ange was awakened by his biological clock. He looked at the wall and found that Doublade was no longer there.
He got up and walked to the balcony, where he saw Metagross sparring with Doublade on the grass outside the wall.
They were really up early, these two Steel-type Pokémon.
Last night, Ange scolded Metagross because during the time he was away, Metagross had holed itself up in the laboratory almost 24 hours a day.
Every time Diancie went to call it out for a meal, it didn't respond at all.
Because there were no delicacies made by Ange and Munchlax, and Gengar and Inteleon were busy with the shop's business, ordinary Pokémon food no longer held any attraction for Metagross, which was why it had acted that way.
This behavior of Metagross, being addicted to research and forgetting to eat or sleep, made Ange very angry. He warned Metagross that if it continued like this, he would confiscate the research equipment in the lab!
The warning was indeed effective; Metagross went out today, and Ange nodded with satisfaction.
After washing up, Ange went downstairs.
"Good morning, Diancie!"
"Good morning, Magearna!"
Ange greeted the Pokémon while walking downstairs with light steps.
When he saw Volcanion, he suddenly remembered that his Eye of Observation had been upgraded. He didn't know if the upgrade was finished and if he could see Volcanion's data now.
Thinking this, he opened the Eye of Observation.
It worked! Ange felt a joy in his heart as Volcanion's data appeared in his eyes.
Volcanion
Type: Fire, Water
Ability: Water Absorb
Gender: None
Level: 98
Moves: Omitted...
Individual Values
HP: 31
Attack: 31
Defense: 31
Special Attack: 31
Special Defense: 31
Speed: 31
So Volcanion's level was 98! Ange was surprised; that was high.
According to what he knew from the System, the level cap for Pokémon was 100.
At this time, Darkrai entered the door like a servant, holding Komala. Ange used the Eye of Observation on them again.
Darkrai
Type: Dark
Ability: Bad Dreams
Gender: None
Level: 94
Moves: Omitted...
Individual Values
HP: 31
Attack: 31
Defense: 31
Special Attack: 31
Special Defense: 31
Speed: 31
Darkrai was level 94, a bit worse than Volcanion.
Next was Komala.
Komala
Type: Normal
Ability: Comatose
Gender: Male
Level: 91
Moves: Omitted
Individual Values
HP: 31
Attack: 31
Defense: 31
Special Attack: 30
Special Defense: 31
Speed: 31
Komala's level turned out to be 91; it wasn't far from Darkrai.
Also, its individual values were not maxed out; its Special Attack individual value was short by 1 point.
This meant that both Darkrai and Volcanion had the potential to reach level 100, while Komala's limit was level 99.
Unless Ange helped it make up for that 1 point in Special Attack later, it wouldn't be able to reach 100.
In reality, what Ange didn't know was that when Komala first met him, its level was only 89.
If it weren't for the fact that it had been eating food made by Ange, it wouldn't have broken through to level 90 through subtle influence. Even if Komala had Moomoo Milk and Xerneas "cheating" back then, it would have been impossible for it to beat Darkrai.
Although level 89 and 90 were only one level apart, that was a watershed; Komala had been stuck at this level for many years.
Seeing Ange staring at it without blinking, Darkrai thought there was something wrong with it and lowered its head, looking left and then right.
There was nothing wrong!
By the time it came to its senses, Ange had already walked out the door.
Outside the wall, Ange saw Xerneas surrounded by other Pokémon. He turned the Eye of Observation toward Xerneas.
Xerneas
Type: Fairy
Ability: Fairy Aura
Gender: None
Level: 100
Moves: Omitted...
Individual Values
HP: 31
Attack: 31
Defense: 31
Special Attack: 31
Special Defense: 31
Speed: 31
Xerneas's data was not at all unexpected to Ange. A legendary Pokémon with a level as high as 100, super strong!
Keenly perceiving that a gaze had fallen upon it, Xerneas looked over, and seeing it was Ange, it smiled and nodded at him.
Ange nodded back as a greeting.
Originally, Ange had also wanted to check Yveltal, but Yveltal should have been resting at this moment, so he didn't disturb it.
After accompanying the Pokémon in training, Ange went to work in the Royal Capital with Inteleon and the others.
Doublade went along this time as well.
It went along to protect Ange, and also to help Ange. It could not only cut dough but also help chop vegetables and meat for the bun filling.
With it there, Ange could save a lot of effort.
Ange hadn't been to the shop for several days; the regular customers of Munchlax Home greatly missed his craftsmanship, so as soon as they tasted the breakfast today, they immediately knew Ange had returned.
For a time, the customers recounted their "misses" for Ange.
Because Inteleon had gone to the hall on some business, it unintentionally heard the customers praising its master's craft and also heard them comment that its own craft was lacking a bit of substance.
This made Inteleon incomparably dejected.
It knew in its heart that the master could use Aura to adjust the ingredients' Aura, making the food more delicious and nutritious, while it could not.
Ange was instructing Doublade on how to help adjust the bun filling when he looked up and saw his second apprentice walking into the kitchen with a dispirited look.
He asked suspiciously, "What's wrong? Why are you so depressed after going out?"
"Inteleon~ Inteleon~" Master, am I particularly useless?
Upon hearing this, Ange immediately pulled a straight face and said, "Who said that? My apprentice is more capable than anyone; otherwise, would I have accepted it as an apprentice?"
The master's words made Inteleon feel a bit better, but it still felt frustrated.
"But I can't even comprehend Aura; Big Brother can, Pawmot can, and Magearna can too, but I can't."
Hearing this, Ange understood instantly; it must have heard something outside.
Ange sighed deeply and said, "Comprehending Aura has nothing to do with your ability; it is influenced by many factors, and there's even a certain element of coincidence."
Inteleon hung its head, "But if I can't comprehend Aura, then my culinary skills will never surpass the master and Big Brother."
Ange couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. He patted Inteleon's shoulder and said, "I didn't expect you to have such high ambitions, thinking about surpassing me, your master?"
"Inteleon~ Inteleon~" Inteleon laughed shyly upon hearing this.
Ange thought for a while and said to Inteleon, "Actually, your problem isn't unsolvable."
"Inteleon?" Ange's words made Inteleon's eyes light up.
Ange explained, "Just find a Pokémon that can specifically help you process ingredients to be your assistant chef."
Hearing this, Inteleon's eyes dimmed again. To be able to help it process ingredients, it had to have awakened Aura.
But Pokémon that awakened Aura were one in a million. Even the fact that Big Brother (Munchlax) and Pawmot and the others could awaken it was primarily due to the training methods provided by the master.
So where was one to find such an assistant chef?
Ange saw exactly what Inteleon was thinking, and he patted Inteleon with a smile:
"You forgot, there is a type of Pokémon that is born with awakened Aura!"
Inteleon suddenly realized after hearing this.
That's right! Lucario; how could it have forgotten such an important thing.
But then it thought, Lucario was also an extremely rare Pokémon!
Ange patted his chest, "Leave this matter to me, your master. I'll make sure to find a Lucario to be your assistant chef. By the way, I'll find one for Gengar and Passimian too."
"Inteleon~ Inteleon~" Ange's words made Inteleon's face bloom with smiles again; since the master said so, he would definitely do it!
Ange, "Alright, let's keep working!"
"Inteleon~" Inteleon, having regained its spirits, immediately started working efficiently.
And Ange, while working, sighed inwardly.
Although he had boasted, he was actually quite unsure in his heart. Three Lucarios—where was he going to find them!
Sigh~~~
The time reached 10:00, and Ange and his team finished business on time. After closing the door, they returned to the Nebel Plateau together.
As soon as Ange arrived home, the phone in his pocket rang. He took it out and saw that the caller was actually Friede.
He felt joy in his heart, could it be...
Having faintly guessed the reason for Friede's call, he couldn't wait to press the answer button, and Friede's projection appeared in the air.
"Yo, Ange, long time no see!" Friede waved to greet Ange.
"Friede, long time no see!" Ange also waved to greet Friede, then he asked, "Are you calling because..."
Friede said with a smile, "Good news; the Shroomish you entrusted us to find has been found. I've sent you a package, and it should arrive in a couple of days."
Sure enough, Ange had guessed that his mission had been completed!
He said happily, "I see, thank you both so very much."
Friede shook his head with a smile, "We are paid to do things; there is no need for thanks."
Ange said, "In any case, it's a huge help. When you come to Kalos, you must come to visit me!"
Friede said, "That's a promise then. I've missed your cooking for a long time."
Murdock had been learning cooking from Ange over the phone, but Friede always felt that the food he made was always lacking that bit of flavor compared to Ange's, not authentic enough.
Although it was also delicious, every time he ate it, Friede's first reaction was: "Pirated!"
After chatting with Friede for a while, Ange hung up the phone. With another mission about to be completed, his mood visibly improved.