With the arrival of Alcremie and Slurpuff, Ange's home became lively.
Both species of Pokémon were quickly amazed by the delicious food at Ange's place.
Unfortunately, Munchlax and the others had no prior warning that Alcremie and Slurpuff were coming, so the prepared food portion wasn't enough.
Consequently, Ange prepared to go back to the kitchen with his disciples to make a bit more.
However, at that moment, Magearna retrieved a large quantity of the desserts it usually stored from its system backpack and distributed them one by one to Slurpuff and the Alcremie.
After eating Magearna's desserts, Slurpuff and the Alcremie indicated that Ange didn't need to make any other food, because they preferred desserts over anything else.
Since it spent most of its time practicing dessert-making, Magearna's system backpack stored a massive amount of sweets, which was more than enough for Slurpuff and the Alcremie to eat their fill.
Seeing this, Ange gave up on his plans to bustle around in the kitchen.
Although using desserts as a main meal was strange, Ange naturally accepted it when it came to Slurpuff and the Alcremie.
Even though he didn't cook, he brewed a cup of honey pomelo tea for each of the Alcremie and Slurpuff.
Slurpuff and the Alcremie were both Fairy-type Pokémon, so they immediately fell in love with the honey pomelo tea, which had special effects on Fairy-type Pokémon.
After lunch, Magearna proactively offered to take Slurpuff and the Alcremie on a tour of Nebel Plateau. After seeing them out, Ange sat down on the reclining chair by the door to zone out.
Right at that moment, Absol appeared beside him.
"Awooo~" Ange...
Absol softly called out to Ange.
Ange turned his head to look at Absol. "What is it, Absol?"
Following this period of recuperation, Absol's injuries had completely healed, and its current mental state looked fantastic.
Not only that, but living the good life at Ange's house with nothing to worry about had made its physique noticeably plumper than when it first arrived.
This made it look a bit less elegant and a bit more endearing.
"Awooo~ Awooo~" I'm leaving, so I came to say goodbye.
Absol said to Ange.
Hearing this, Ange was stunned. During the time spent with Absol, he had grown accustomed to its presence. He hadn't expected that right after Kyogre left, Absol would be leaving as well.
"Won't you stay and live with us?" Ange asked.
He hadn't felt much when Kyogre left, but with Absol wanting to leave, he felt a sense of reluctance.
Absol fell silent for a moment upon hearing this. It felt a bit tempted, but after long consideration, it ultimately shook its head.
The cozy life on Nebel Plateau wasn't what it pursued, as it would dull its willpower.
Seeing this, Ange said no more. Every person or Pokémon had their own pursuits, and whether it was meeting or parting, it was all part of life.
He hadn't tried to make Lokke stay when she left, and now that Absol wanted to leave, he wouldn't force it either.
"Are you leaving right now?" Ange asked.
"Awooo~" Absol nodded.
"Then wait a moment!" With that, Ange stood up and went inside the house.
When he came back out, he was holding a cross-body bag.
It was a spatial backpack filled with some food and medicine.
He took the items out one by one and explained their functions to Absol.
Among the food, most of what Ange prepared was Pokéblock.
Pokéblocks would become indispensable items on a Trainer's journey, primarily because of their compact size, portability, and long shelf life.
This was an advantage that other types of Pokémon food lacked, as not every Trainer had the ability to make Pokémon food themselves.
Watching Ange chatter away with endless instructions and attending to every single detail, a warm current welled up in Absol's heart.
After packing the items back into the backpack, Ange hung it around Absol's neck.
"Take good care of yourself out there. Nebel Plateau always welcomes you back."
Absol nodded, then with tear-filled eyes, it rubbed its head against the crook of Ange's neck.
Taking the opportunity, Ange wrapped his arms around Absol's neck. "Have a safe journey."
Absol nodded.
Once the human and Pokémon released each other, Absol leaped down the doorstep and galloped into the distance.
Almost in a flash, it disappeared from Ange's sight.
"Sigh..." Pulling his gaze back from the distance, Ange let out a long sigh, his mood turning somewhat depressed.
After sighing heavily for a bit, Ange suddenly remembered that before he went to the royal palace to pick up the Alcremie and the others, he seemed to have heard a system notification.
With that thought in mind, he opened the system.
Sure enough, as soon as the system opened, he saw a prompt pop up in the mission list.
"Congratulations to the host for completing [Temporary Mission 1] helping Magearna refine dessert making to reach pastry chef standard — Completed, reward pending."
Seeing this prompt, Ange instantly sat up straight.
With this mission completed, it meant Magearna's dessert shop could finally open!
Ever since receiving the mission to help Magearna open a dessert shop, Ange had been preparing. The second floor of Munchlax Home had long since been renovated, waiting only for Magearna's skills to improve. You could say everything was ready, with only the east wind lacking.
Had the east wind finally blown in?
The completion of this mission made Ange's previously poor mood improve slightly.
With a sense of anticipation, he claimed the mission reward.
"Congratulations to the host for completing [Temporary Mission 1] helping Magearna refine dessert making to reach pastry chef standard.
Reward received: Individual Values +2, Tera Orb * 1"
Another Tera Orb? Ange looked in surprise at the reward he had just obtained.
He had previously obtained a Tera Orb, and that Tera Orb had played a monumental role when helping Yveltal fight Kyurem.
However, the Tera Orb had one drawback: after a single use, it needed to be recharged before it could be used again, and charging points were only found in the Paldea region.
If he wanted infinite recharging capabilities, unless a Tera-related origin, the legendary Pokémon Terapagos, was by his side.
After using the Tera Orb last time, Ange had mailed it to Arven so Arven could help charge it up and mail it back.
Ange took out the newly obtained Tera Orb, took out the original one as well, and played with both of them in his hands.
The newly acquired Tera Orb was fully charged and didn't require charging from Ange, meaning both Tera Orbs in his hands were usable.
Terastallization was quite useful and could play a decisive role at critical moments.
Given its need for charging, naturally, the more Tera Orbs the better, so Ange was quite satisfied with this reward.
If the system could open up a charging function for Tera Orbs in the future, like charging with Happiness Points or something...
Never mind, better not daydream!
After putting away the Tera Orb, Ange turned his attention to the 2 newly acquired Individual Value points.
Inteleon's Individual Values were already maxed out, so these 2 points would go to another partner.
To whom?
Ange opened his partners' data and scanned his gaze down the list one by one.
The candidate list included: Gengar, Pawmot, Passimian, Metagross, and Doublade.
Diancie, Munchlax, Inteleon, and Komala already had fully maxed Individual Values.
Meanwhile, Magearna, Volcanion, Latios, Latias, and Baltoy had naturally maxed out Individual Values from birth.
After much deliberation, Ange decided to allocate these 2 Individual Value points to Metagross.
On one hand, Metagross's Individual Values were the closest to being completely maxed out.
On the other hand, Metagross's strength was among the strongest of his partners, excluding Latias, Latios, Volcanion, and Komala.
After adding the Individual Values to Metagross, its stats were as follows:
Metagross Type: Steel, Psychic Ability: Clear Body Gender: None Level: 86 Moves: Varies Individual Values HP: 31 Attack: 31 Defense: 31 Special Attack: 30 Special Defense: 31 Speed: 31
With just one point remaining, Metagross's Individual Values would be completely maxed out.
Originally, Metagross's physical defense Individual Value was 30, and its special attack Individual Value was 29.
After closing the system, Ange happened to see Latias and Latios flying overhead, so he waved at them.
"Lati~as!"
"Lati~os!"
The brother and sister happily descended from the sky, hovering in front of Ange.
"Lati~as!" Ange, what's up?
Latias asked with a beaming smile.
Ange replied, "I have a gift for you two!"
"Lati~os!" A gift?
The siblings looked at Ange in confusion.
"Take a look at this!" Saying that, Ange produced two items and handed them to Latias and Latios respectively.
Seeing the item, Latias's eyes lit up.
"It's a phone!"
All the partners at home had phones, even Baltoy included. Latias and Latios had long been coveting this magical tool.
Such a small device not only possessed powerful entertainment functions, but also allowed people to know everything happening in the world without stepping outside. It was simply magical.
"Lati~as!" Is it really for us?
Latias asked, both expectant and incredulous.
"Lati~os!" It's too precious, is it okay for us to accept it?
Lartios looked hesitant.
In the siblings' eyes, such a magical item must be extremely precious, yet they had only just joined this family.
Ange smiled. "It's not precious at all. All the partners at home have one, so of course you should too. Don't be polite, take it quickly!"
"Lati~as! Lati~as!" Hearing this, the siblings each accepted their phones, and Latias even cradled the phone while spinning happily in the air.
Immediately afterward, the siblings gathered to the left and right of Ange, who taught them how to use the phones.
As Psychic-type Pokémon, the siblings were naturally infinitely smart, learning almost instantly. Before long, they were enthusiastically tinkering with their phones, having the time of their lives.
With the siblings playing, the afternoon flew by in a flash.
Around sunset, Magearna returned with Slurpuff and the Alcremie, accompanied by Xerneas.
The crowd of Fairy-type Pokémon clustered around Xerneas, looking warm and harmonious.
The Fairy aura radiating from Xerneas naturally attracted Fairy-type Pokémon closer.
Seeing Magearna return, Ange told it the news that the dessert shop could open.
"Magea magea~" Really?
Magearna was extremely excited.
"Of course it's real!" Ange nodded and replied.
"Magea magea~" That's wonderful! That's wonderful!
Magearna happily pulled Ange into a hug.
Ange patted the back of its head. "Get ready, we're opening tomorrow morning!"
"Magea magea~" Mm!
Magearna released Ange and nodded firmly.
Just as Ange and Magearna were discussing store-opening matters, two Cramorant flew in from afar, each holding a large fish in its beak.
These two Cramorant had now completely settled down on Nebel Plateau, dedicated every day to helping Ange catch fish from the lake.
Dropping the two fish onto the stone slab at the doorway, the Cramorant landed on the edge of the flower garden, awaiting today's dinnertime.
Looking at the two lively fish, Ange stood up, walked over to pick them up, and then turned to tell Magearna:
"It's getting late, time for dinner. We can chat about the rest tonight."
"Magea magea~" Mm~
Magearna nodded and walked into the house with Ange.
Ange had to cook dinner for the other Pokémon, while Magearna had to cook for the Alcremie and Slurpuff.
Before long, the other Pokémon gathered one after another in the square. Introduced by Xerneas, they met Slurpuff and the Alcremie, and everyone began chatting warmly.
Soon, a rich fragrance drifted out from the house, and everyone chatted while eagerly looking inside.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone on everyone, draping them in a layer of soft light.
Nebel Plateau was filled with peace and harmony.
Early the next morning, when Ange got up and went downstairs passing the second floor, he heard movement coming from inside.
Walking in, he saw that Magearna was already busy working in the kitchen.
Today was the dessert shop's opening day, so it had gotten up early to get busy.
Not only it, but Slurpuff, the Alcremie, Gothita, Farigiraf, and Wobbuffet were all there, brimming with enthusiasm.
With Alcremie and Slurpuff helping out, Magearna's work efficiency was extremely high. The table in the center of the kitchen was already covered with various colorful desserts, looking delicious at a glance.
Gothita, Farigiraf, and Wobbuffet, acting as the dessert shop's servers, had already changed into their respective work clothes.
Gothita wore a customized maid outfit. Wobbuffet wore a small apron. Farigiraf wore a headscarf and a little bib-like vest in front.
Ange had handed these clothes to the three Pokémon last night.
The three of them, along with some of the Alcremie, were helping package the desserts.
Seeing Ange, the Pokémon waved and greeted him.
Ange didn't enter, just calling out from afar to Wobbuffet and the others: "Get yourselves ready, we'll be heading out shortly."
"Wobbuffet~" "Goth~" "Giraf~"
Wobbuffet, Gothita, and Farigiraf nodded in response to Ange.
Magearna didn't need to go to the dessert shop; it was simply the pastry chef, so it just needed to send the finished desserts over to the shop for Wobbuffet and the others to sell.
Once Ange's side was ready, he set out with Inteleon, Doublade, Baltoy, Kirlia, two Meowstic, Wobbuffet, Gothita, and Farigiraf.
Accompanying them were two Golett, specifically responsible for helping everyone transport items.
The dessert shop sold not only Magearna's desserts, but also wine and juice made by Passimian.
When the store's inventory of desserts, wine, and juice ran low, the two Golett would be responsible for shuttling between Munchlax Home and Nebel Plateau to restock.
Unlike the breakfast shop and noodle house which had limited operating hours, the dessert shop operated throughout the entire daytime, so Wobbuffet and the others would have their work cut out for them.
Arriving at the second floor of Munchlax Home, Wobbuffet and the others immediately got busy according to their prior training.