While happy, Ange started to worry about where to find three Lucario. After some thought, he called Lila. To his surprise, it wasn't Lila who answered, but Romeo.
"Romeo, did you come back from Paldea?" Ange asked in surprise.
"I did! I did!" Romeo told Ange happily.
"Perro~ Perro~" At this moment, Romeo's Slurpuff also squeezed into the screen, greeting Ange happily.
"Slurpuff, long time no see!" Ange said with a smile.
"Perro~ Perro~" Slurpuff squeezed its big face against Romeo's face.
"Your Highness, do you have something you need from my sister?" Romeo asked.
Ange replied, "I have a small matter I need your sister's help with. Where is she? Why are you answering the phone?"
Romeo said, "My sister is discussing work with people from the League. She is tied up right now. If there is something you need help with, Your Highness, you can tell me!"
Ange said, "I want to find a few Lucario, but I have no leads, so I wanted to ask your sister if she has any clues."
"Ah? Is that all! Then I can't help with that," Romeo's small face scrunched up. "When my sister finishes her work, I will tell her."
Ange replied, "Then I will leave it to you."
"Mhm mhm~" Romeo nodded repeatedly.
"You just said your sister was discussing work with people from the League. Have people from the League come to the Royal Capital again?" Ange asked suspiciously. It hadn't been long since Champion Bruno left, so why were there people from the League again?
Romeo nodded, "Yes, I think my sister seems a bit unhappy."
Ange asked, "Unhappy? Why? Did something happen?"
Romeo shook his head, "I don't know, but it seems to be related to some kind of energy."
"Energy..." Ange murmured to himself.
The two chatted for a few more sentences before hanging up the phone. During the conversation, Ange also learned another piece of news that surprised him: Romeo was preparing to go out on a journey. Romeo originally had no plans to go on a journey at the age of ten, as he was a homebody. However, Professor Sada and Professor Turo both suggested he go out for a while to broaden his horizons, which would be very helpful for his future research. After returning and discussing it with his father and sister, Romeo decided to follow the professors' advice and go on a journey.
At lunch, Ange saw Yveltal and took a glimpse at it with his Eye of Observation.
Yveltal Type: Dark, Flying Ability: Dark Aura Gender: Unknown Level: 100 Moves: ... Individual Values HP: 31 Attack: 31 Defense: 31 Special Attack: 31 Special Defense: 31 Speed: 31
Except for the moves, Yveltal's stats were roughly the same as Xerneas'.
Around two o'clock in the afternoon, Lila called Ange.
"Your Highness, I heard from Romeo that you are looking for Lucario?" Lila asked.
"Yes, do you have any channels?" Ange asked.
Lila shook her head and said, "I don't know where there are any Lucario either, but I will try my best to help you ask around!"
Ange nodded, "Alright, I'll think of some ways myself."
Lila said, "I will call you when I have news."
After ending the call with Lila, Ange thought for a moment and posted on the internet.
<>
I hope it's useful! Ange thought to himself after posting.
Two days passed in a flash. That afternoon, the idle Ange was sitting on a wall watching Volcanion and the others playing soccer in the distance. At this moment, a Delibird descended from the sky carrying a small bundle and handed a package to Ange.
Ange asked, "For me?"
Delibird nodded and pointed to the place for receiving it, signaling Ange to sign. When Ange saw the sender was Friede, he immediately understood what was in the package.
After signing for it, Delibird flapped its wings and flew away, while Ange opened the package to see several gray mushrooms inside. It was indeed a Nuonuo Mushroom! The few Nuonuo Mushrooms were preserved very well, and the spores on them were undamaged. With these few Nuonuo Mushrooms, Ange could cultivate more.
He opened the System and saw that the mission related to the Nuonuo Mushrooms had indeed been completed. Not waiting until the evening, Ange directly claimed the mission reward.
[Congratulations to the host for completing "Ingredient Collection Mission 4: Collect Nuonuo Mushroom spores. Reward received: Several mushroom spores, seasoning "Hundred Mushroom Fresh", sauce "Spicy Mushroom Sauce".]
One mission rewarded two recipes, both related to mushrooms. Ange opened the System recipe interface and flipped through it, discovering that "Hundred Mushroom Fresh" was a special seasoning that could replace MSG, while "Spicy Mushroom Sauce" was similar to the Lao Gan Ma he knew in his past life. The spicy mushroom sauce could be used for noodles, dipping Mantou, stir-frying, etc., which was very versatile.
As for the first reward, "several mushroom spores," Ange didn't quite understand. Collecting mushroom spores first, and then rewarding mushroom spores—what kind of confusing operation was this? He opened the System backpack, took out the items placed in there by the mission reward, and found that the System rewards were indeed mushroom spores, but they were several types of mushroom spores different from the Nuonuo Mushroom.
There were five types of spores rewarded by the mission: Small Mushroom, Big Mushroom, Aromatic Mushroom, Swords Dance Mushroom, and Double Team Mushroom. Among them, the Small Mushroom, Big Mushroom, and Aromatic Mushroom, paired with the Nuonuo Mushroom, were the main raw materials for making "Hundred Mushroom Fresh." The Swords Dance Mushroom and Double Team Mushroom were the main raw materials for making "Spicy Mushroom Sauce."
Mushroom spores were equivalent to seeds, and what Ange had to do now was cultivate these spores into mushrooms. How should he cultivate mushrooms? Ange fell into deep thought. He searched the System store for a long while before finally finding a book called "Mushroom Planting Guide."
As soon as he bought the "Mushroom Planting Guide," he saw Paras and Shroomish passing by not far away. Paras! Ange's heart moved. Wasn't Paras the perfect helper for planting mushrooms? He remembered that the habit of Paras and its evolution, Parasect, was that they liked to plant mushrooms. Thinking of this, Ange waved at Paras and Shroomish, "Paras! Shroomish! Come here for a moment!"
The four Pokémon quickly ran to Ange's side.
"Para~" Ange! Ange! "Para~~" Why are you calling us?
The two Paras asked.
"Kino~ kino~" "Kino~ kino~"
The two Shroomish also looked at Ange with puzzled eyes.
Ange said, "I have a job that needs your help right now."
The four Pokémon nodded one after another.
"Para~" Tell us, tell us! "Kino~ kino~" No problem, no problem!
Ange said, "I plan to plant some mushrooms, and I want to entrust this task to you. As for the orchard work, you can hand it over to other partners."
Hearing that the work Ange mentioned was planting mushrooms, the eyes of the two Paras lit up immediately.
"Para~ para~~" I'm willing! I'm willing! "Para~ para~~" I love planting mushrooms.
The two Shroomish also jumped around saying, "Kino~ kino~" We'll help, we'll help!
"Very good!" Ange nodded, "Then the first step is to find a suitable place to plant mushrooms."
"Para~~" "Para~~"
Hearing this, the two Paras shouted excitedly.
"Do you know where is suitable for planting mushrooms?" Ange asked in surprise.
"Para~" "Para~"
The two Paras nodded repeatedly.
"That's great, take me to see it quickly," Ange said excitedly.
"Para~ para~" "Para~ para~"
After the two Paras nodded, they turned and walked in front to lead the way for Ange. Ange and the two Shroomish hurriedly followed. Under the guidance of Paras, Ange arrived at the bottom of the cliff on the edge of the Nebel Plateau. This was where Volcanion and Magearna used to sleep.
"Paras, is this the place you said was suitable for planting mushrooms?" Ange asked.
"Para~" "Para~"
The two Paras nodded and gestured for Ange to follow them. Guided by the two Paras, Ange discovered that there were many intricate tunnels under the cliff.
These tunnels were well-ventilated and humid, which were indeed good places to plant mushrooms. After some inspection, Ange was very satisfied with this place, "Paras, you are really too capable, to have found even this place."
"Para~" "Para~~"
Receiving Ange's praise, the two Paras were both happy and a little shy. In fact, this was the place they had originally chosen to plant mushrooms themselves. They had been on the Nebel Plateau for a while, and they hadn't planted any mushrooms yet, so they were feeling uneasy. They didn't expect Ange to assign them a new job. They loved the work of planting mushrooms too much.
"Since the location is chosen, let's start making the substrate needed for mushroom planting!" Ange said.
"Para~" "Kino~"
Paras and Shroomish nodded together. Ange then took the four Pokémon back home. He first went to find the two Golett and let them carry wood to the cliff side, with the two Shroomish leading the way. Wood was the main material for making the planting substrate. In fact, there were many choices for the main material of the planting substrate, such as straw, wheat straw, sawdust, and corncobs, but there were no straw or wheat straw on the Nebel Plateau, so sawdust was the best choice.
Oh right, there was also chicken manure. Some chicken manure could be mixed into the sawdust. Ange ordered Solrock and Lunatone to collect this, as there was no shortage of chicken manure in the chicken coop. Solrock and Lunatone could use their psychic powers to clean it up, so there was no need to worry about getting it on themselves.
Afterward, Ange called over Doublade and Volcanion. When the preparations were almost done, Ange returned to the cave under the cliff with his Pokémon. At this time, the Golett, Solrock, and Lunatone had already transported the wood and chicken manure over.
Ange commanded the group, "Doublade, you are responsible for cutting all this wood into sawdust."
"Yo~~" Doublade responded, drawing its swords from their sheaths immediately. Two cold lights flashed across the sword bodies, and almost in an instant, a piece of wood turned into a pile of sawdust.
Then Ange ordered Solrock and Lunatone, "Solrock, Lunatone, use your psychic powers to mix the sawdust and chicken manure together."
Ange had prepared several large barrels specifically for mixing materials.
"Sol-lu~" "Lun-na~"
Solrock and Lunatone responded and started getting busy.
"What do I need to do?" Volcanion asked.
Ange replied, "In a while, you use the Steam Eruption move to disinfect and sterilize the substrate that Solrock and Lunatone have mixed."
The high temperature brought by the Steam Eruption move could effectively kill the miscellaneous bacteria and pests in the substrate materials, reducing the occurrence of diseases and pests, so this step was necessary. Volcanion nodded upon hearing this and said, "No problem."
As for Ange himself, he and the two Golett worked together to build the mushroom beds for the final covering of soil. As time passed, one square mushroom bed after another was built by Ange and the two Golett. Ange built mushroom beds for them in different caves according to the different growth conditions of Nuonuo Mushrooms, Swords Dance Mushrooms, Double Team Mushrooms, and so on. The temperature, humidity, ventilation, and lighting in these caves were all different.
There were hot springs on this cliff, so the closer to the hot spring, the higher the temperature and the greater the humidity. By the time Ange and the others finished building the mushroom beds, the substrate for Volcanion and the others was almost ready. After the substrate was made, they worked together to spread the substrate into the mushroom beds and inoculated different types of spores into the substrate according to different growth conditions.
By the time all this work was finished, it was already late. Ange looked at the results of himself and his Pokémon's afternoon work, and couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment.
"Paras, Shroomish, I will leave the management of this mushroom planting base to you in the future!"
"Para~" "Kino~"
Paras and Shroomish promised one after another that they would definitely grow the mushrooms well.
Ange said, "I believe you can definitely do it, and then we will have mushrooms that we can never finish eating."
"Para~~" "Kino~~"
The two Paras and two Shroomish couldn't help but look forward to it. The growth cycle of mushrooms was relatively short, between half a month to a month, and Ange and the others would be able to eat delicious mushrooms.
Ange said to Paras and Shroomish, "Later, I will also transfer Bellossom and Vileplume over to help you."
Bellossom and Vileplume had learned Grassy Terrain, and with Grassy Terrain assisting the growth of mushrooms, the mushrooms grown would definitely be more delicious and nutritious.
"Para~" "Kino~"
Hearing Ange's words, Paras and Shroomish were extremely happy. They had always relied on Bellossom and Vileplume, and they had the best feelings for each other. They couldn't ask for anything more than being able to work together.
"Alright, let's go home, Munchlax and the others should have finished making dinner," Ange said.
Then he and a group of Pokémon chatted and laughed on their way home. Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed. Ange didn't wait for the news of Lila finding Lucario for him, but he got some clues from the internet.
That day, Ange was browsing the news and inadvertently discovered that someone had replied to the post he had posted before. He saw a reply written under the post: "I have news about Lucario, please contact me." It was followed by his contact information.
Could it be a scammer? The reward Ange offered was quite high. He hesitated for a moment but finally chose to add the other person and sent them a message.
"Hello, may I ask if you have news about Lucario?"
The other party replied quickly and sent a photo. The background of the photo was a desert, a fierce sandstorm was blowing over the desert, and a blurred shadow suspected to be Lucario flashed past in the sandstorm.
Ange replied to him, "This isn't necessarily a Lucario, it just looks a bit like one."
The other party immediately replied, "You can pay me the reward after you have successfully caught the Lucario."
Ange thought about it and replied, "Alright, where is this desert located?"
The other party replied, "Near Desert City." At the same time, they attached a location.
Desert City... Ange murmured the name of this city and found that he hadn't heard of it, so he looked it up online and found that it was a city built in a desert. No wonder it was called Desert City.
Ange's originally scheduled reward was 60,000p, but the other party only gave a vague clue, so Ange felt it wasn't worth 60,000p, and started bargaining with them. In the end, the two parties settled on a price of 40,000p. Of course, if Ange didn't catch the Lucario according to the clue, then 40,000p wouldn't need to be paid either. Through his conversation with the other party, Ange found that they didn't seem to be a person lacking money, and it seemed that they had taken on this commission just on a whim.
Since he had obtained clues about Lucario, Ange decided to take a trip to Desert City. That day, he gathered his partners at home and announced the news. Pawmot raised its hand excitedly as soon as it heard Ange was going out.
"Paw~ paw~" Take me! Take me! It's my turn this time!
Ange looked at Pawmot with regretful eyes and said, "Pawmot, you continue to look after the house this time. This time it should be Diancie and Passimian's turn!"
Upon hearing this, Pawmot was struck by lightning.
"Paw~ paw~" It squatted in the corner of the wall in frustration, silently drawing circles.
Ange looked at Passimian and asked, "Passimian, how about it, do you want to go out with me this time to see the outside world?"
Passimian hesitated and nodded. When Magearna told them about its experiences going out, it had mentioned being taken by Ange to taste desserts in other shops, from which it had learned a lot. Passimian felt that it should also go out to "learn the ropes," taste the fine wines outside, and accumulate experience.
Diancie naturally had no problem here, because Ange had agreed last time that he would bring it this time. After some discussion, the Pokémon that went out with Ange this time were Diancie, Volcanion, Doublade, and Passimian. Because they were going to a desert, Ange also decided to bring Espathra. Espathra was the best mount in the desert.
After choosing the Pokémon, Ange said to Munchlax and Inteleon, "I'll entrust the house to you two!"
"Gah~" Master, rest assured. Munchlax said seriously.
"In~ in~~" Inteleon also echoed confidently.
Ange also instructed Metagross and Komala, "When I am not at home, you are not allowed to be like last time—one hiding in the lab without coming out, and one huddled in the winery dead drunk!"
"Meta~ meta~" Metagross was afraid that Ange would confiscate its equipment, so it nodded honestly.
As for Komala... no reaction at all.
The next day, Ange set off for Desert City with his Pokémon.