After playtime ended, Angie and the other went to the training room for their usual special training.
Having gone several days without training, Angie still felt a little bit unaccustomed!
Since Angie had returned, the Pokémon's enthusiasm for training was reignited, and as a result, even Diancie was being less strict in today's culinary training session.
While Angie and the others were practicing their cooking, Doublade was off to the side, training its swordsmanship alone.
Perhaps influenced by it, Pawmot also joined in on the training.
The two Pokémon even started sparring with each other. Their strength was evenly matched, and they engaged in a back-and-forth duel.
After culinary training ended, Angie led his students in practicing Aura.
To this day, Gengar, Inteleon, and Passimian had yet to awaken their Aura, but seeing their senior, Munchlax, achieve it gave them hope, so they persisted in training.
Angie would occasionally release his Aura for Gengar and the others to experience, hoping to help them awaken it sooner.
As everyone was engrossed in training, a sudden exclamation rang out. They turned toward the sound and saw Magearna holding a blue energy sphere in its hands.
Angie stared in disbelief at Magearna. "Aura Sphere? Magearna, did you awaken Aura?"
At this moment, Angie could sense Magearna's Aura—bright and vibrant, a clear sign of Aura awakening.
Moreover, Magearna's Aura was even stronger than Munchlax's and Pawmot's.
Magearna had awakened and immediately learned the move Aura Sphere.
"Magearna~"
Magearna nodded and happily ran around while holding the Aura Sphere.
With its Aura now awakened, Magearna could use Aura to process ingredients like Angie when making desserts. It might even create special-grade dishes with unique effects.
Perhaps it was too excited, but after just a few steps, Magearna tripped and fell with a loud thud, flinging the Aura Sphere from its hands.
The Aura Sphere shot straight toward Pawmot, who instantly panicked as if its tail were on fire. No matter where it turned, the Aura Sphere followed.
After all, Aura Sphere was a move that never missed!
"Doublade~"
At that moment, Doublade swiftly flew forward and used Fury Cutter, slicing the Aura Sphere in half with one swift strike. The Aura Sphere exploded in midair with a loud boom.
Seeing this, Pawmot patted its chest in relief and gave Doublade a grateful look.
As Doublade flew to its side, Pawmot patted it.
"Pawmot~ Pawmot~"
Good bro!
Hearing this, Angie chuckled. "Pawmot, Doublade is a girl, you know."
Pawmot: =(*)
Meanwhile, Diancie helped Magearna back to its feet, and Magearna apologized to Pawmot.
"Magearna~"
Pawmot, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.
Having lived with Magearna for so long, Pawmot was well aware of its "tripping skill." So, with great generosity, it forgave Magearna.
"Pawmot~ Pawmot~"
It's fine, it's fine!
Soon, everyone congratulated Magearna on its Aura awakening.
Inteleon, Gengar, and Passimian, however, couldn't help feeling a little down.
Magearna hadn't even spent much time practicing but had awakened Aura so effortlessly.
Meanwhile, despite their daily training, they hadn't shown a single sign of awakening.
The contrast was too stark—it was hard not to feel discouraged.
Angie quickly noticed their emotions and gently patted them on the shoulders.
Fortunately, they knew that these things couldn't be rushed, so they didn't dwell on their disappointment for too long and soon resumed training with Angie.
After the training ended, Angie and the Pokémon returned to their rooms to sleep.
"Doublade, let me take you to choose a room!" Angie said to Doublade.
"Doublade~ Doublade~"
However, Doublade shook its head.
"What's wrong?" Angie asked in confusion.
"Doublade~ Doublade~"
I want to stay with you and protect you.
As a Pokémon designated to guard a trial taker, Doublade was extremely persistent about this.
"But we're at home, there's no danger. I don't need protection," Angie emphasized again.
"Doublade~ Doublade~"
Protecting Angie, staying together.
Unfortunately, Angie's words couldn't persuade Doublade—it was still determined to guard Angie closely.
"Alright, then you can stay with me," Angie said helplessly.
With that, he took Doublade back to his room.
After washing up, Angie got into bed, while Doublade hung itself on the wall, looking just like a decoration. If one didn't look closely, no one would realize it was actually a Pokémon.
"Doublade, are you sure you're comfortable like that?" Angie asked. "Why don't you come down? I can prepare a bed for you!"
Since Doublade was less than a meter long, making a bed for it was simple—he could just buy a basket from the system store and line it with bedding.
"Doublade~ Doublade~"
But Doublade shook its head, insisting that hanging on the wall was just fine.
"Alright then," Angie didn't try to convince it further, having already witnessed how stubborn Doublade could be.
Seeing that Doublade had quieted down, Angie opened the system to claim today's daily task rewards.
To his surprise, the moment he opened the system, a notification popped up.
...
[ Congratulations! You have achieved: Hosting Pokémon over 100,000 times. ]
[ Reward: Max IVs for one designated Pokémon, Eye of Observation skill upgrade. ]
....
Holy crap! Angie almost jumped out of bed.
An achievement reward! And such an incredible reward at that!
Max IVs for one Pokémon? Do you know how many tasks it would take to accomplish that manually?!
After all this time, the only Pokémon he had fully maxed out was Munchlax, while Inteleon was still in progress.
This achievement reward was just too amazing!
As for the Eye of Observation skill upgrade, he wasn't sure what that would do, so he couldn't judge its value yet.
He opened the Eye of Observation skill and saw a notification.
[ Upgrading… ]
Since he had no choice but to wait, Angie decided to check out the first reward.
This reward was most beneficial when used on a Pokémon with poor IVs.
Looking through his Pokémon's stats, it was clear that the worst among them was Passimian.
Alright then, Passimian it is!
With that, he opened Passimian's stat panel.
...
[ Passimian ]
Type: Fighting
Ability: Defiant
Gender: Male
Level: 45
Moves: Tackle, Leer, Rock Smash, Focus Energy, Beat Up, Scary Face, Take Down, Fling, Bulk Up, Uproar, Brick Break, Seed Bomb, Shadow Ball, Screech, Coaching, Quick Attack, Iron Head, Drain Punch.
...
[ Individual Value (IVs) ]
HP: 31
Attack: 31
Defense: 31
Special Attack: 31
Special Defense: 31
Speed: 31
...
Wow, a full row of 31s—it looked absolutely perfect!
After admiring Passimian's stats, Angie went on to claim his daily task rewards.
Daily Task 1 Reward: 1 bag of MSG.
Daily Task 2 Reward: 1 bag of premium rice.
Daily Task 3 Reward: 1 bag of Berry Tree Fertilizer.
All pretty ordinary rewards.
But the Berry Tree Fertilizer was new—Angie had never received it before.
Tomorrow, he would hand it over to Chesnaught and the others to test it out in the orchard.
After receiving experience rewards, Angie turned off the lamp and burrowed into his blanket. Before long, he drifted into dreamland.
The next day, Angie was awakened by his biological clock. He glanced at the wall and noticed that Doublade was no longer there.
Getting up and walking to the balcony, he saw Metagross and Doublade battling on the grass outside the courtyard walls.
"Getting up so early, huh? These two Steel-type Pokémon..."
Last night, Angie had scolded Metagross because, during his absence, Metagross had been holed up in the lab almost 24/7.
Every time Diancie went to call it for a meal, it showed no response at all.
Without Angie's and Munchlax's homemade food, and with Gengar and Inteleon busy running the shop, ordinary Pokémon food no longer appealed to Metagross. That was why it had acted that way.
Metagross' obsession with research, which neglecting eating food and sleep, had made Angie furious. He warned Metagross that if it continued this way, he would confiscate all the research equipment in the lab!
Sure enough, the warning worked—Metagross was out and about today. Angie nodded in satisfaction.
After washing up, Angie went downstairs.
"Good morning, Diancie!"
"Good morning, Magearna!"
Greeted by his Pokémon, Angie stepped lightly as he made his way downstairs.
Seeing Volcanion, he suddenly remembered that his Eye of Observation had leveled up. He wondered if the upgrade was complete and whether he could now see Volcanion's data.
Thinking this, he activated the Eye of Observation skill.
Success! Angie's heart leaped with joy as Volcanion's stats appeared before him.
...
[ Volcanion ]
Type: Fire, Water
Ability: Water Absorb
Gender: None
Level: 98
Moves: (Omitted)
...
[ Individual Values (IVs) ]
HP: 31
Attack: 31
Defense: 31
Special Attack: 31
Special Defense: 31
Speed: 31
...
"So Volcanion is at level 98!" Angie was surprised. "That's really high."
From what he had learned from the system, a Pokémon's level cap was 100.
At that moment, Darkrai entered the room, carrying Komala like a servant. Angie used the Eye of Observatio on them, too.
...
[ Darkrai ]
Type: Dark
Ability: Bad Dreams
Gender: None
Level: 94
Moves: (Omitted)
...
[ Individual Values (IVs) ]
HP: 31
Attack: 31
Defense: 31
Special Attack: 31
Special Defense: 31
Speed: 31
...
"Darkrai is at level 94, a little lower than Volcanion."
Next, he checked Komala.
...
[ Komala ]
Type: Normal
Ability: Comatose
Gender: Male
Level: 91
Moves: (Omitted)
...
[ Individual Values (IVs) ]
HP: 31
Attack: 31
Defense: 31
Special Attack: 30
Special Defense: 31
Speed: 31
...
"So Komala is at level 91—not too far from Darkrai."
Also, its IVs weren't perfect—its Special Attack was missing one point.
That meant Darkrai and Volcanion could both potentially reach level 100, while Komala's max level was 99.
Unless Angie found a way to increase that missing Special Attack point, Komala would never reach level 100.
What Angie didn't know was that when he first met Komala, it was only level 89.
It had been eating Angie's food all this time, subtly improving until it broke through to level 90. If it had stayed at level 89, even with Moomoo Milk and Xerneas' help, it would have had no chance of beating Darkrai back then.
A one-level difference between 89 and 90 might seem small, but it was a major turning point—Komala had been stuck at level 89 for years.
Seeing Angie staring at him without blinking, Darkrai thought something was wrong. It lowered its head, glancing left and right.
"Nothing seems off..."
By the time Darkrai snapped out of its thoughts, Angie was already outside the door.
Beyond the courtyard walls, Angie saw Xerneas surrounded by other Pokémon. He used the Eye of Observation again.
...
[ Xerneas ]
Type: Fairy
Ability: Fairy Aura
Gender: None
Level: 100
Moves: (Omitted)
...
[ Individual Values (IVs) ]
HP: 31
Attack: 31
Defense: 31
Special Attack: 31
Special Defense: 31
Speed: 31
...
The data for Xerneas was exactly as Angie had expected – a legendary Pokémon at level 100, extremely powerful!
Noticing the gaze on him, Xerneas turned towards Angie, and upon seeing him, it smiled and nodded.
Angie returned the nod, acknowledging the greeting.
Angie had originally planned to observe Yveltal as well, but since Yveltal was likely resting at the moment, he decided not to disturb it.
After spending some time exercising with the Pokémon, Angie went to work at the royal city with Doublade.
Doublade came along, not only to protect Angie but also to help. It could cut dough and assist with chopping vegetables and meat for making dumpling filling.
With Doublade there, Angie could save a lot of time and effort.
Having not been at the shop for several days, the regulars at the Munchlax Home missed Angie's cooking, so as soon as they tasted breakfast, they immediately recognized that Angie had returned.
Soon, the customers began expressing how much they "missed" Angie's cooking.
Inteleon had to go to the lobby for something, and while there, they overheard the customers praising their master's cooking skills and also remarking that their own skills were lacking.
This made Inteleon feel very discouraged.
They knew full well that their master could use the Aura to adjust the ingredients' aura, making the food more delicious and nutritious, something they couldn't do.
Angie was teaching Doublade how to help adjust the dumpling filling when he looked up and saw his second apprentice walking into the kitchen with a downcast look.
He asked curiously, "What's wrong? Why the long face after you went out?"
"Inteleon~ Inteleon~"
Am I really useless?
Angie immediately put on a serious expression and said, "Who said that? My apprentice is more capable than anyone, or else I wouldn't have taken you on as my apprentice!"
Inteleon felt a little better from Angie's words, but still felt down.
"Inteleon~ Inteleon~"
But I can't even comprehend the Aura. The first senior mastered it, and Pawmot and Magearna have also learned it. Why can't I?
Upon hearing this, Angie immediately understood; they must have heard something from outside.
Angie sighed deeply and said, "Comprehending the Aura has nothing to do with your abilities. It's influenced by many factors, even by coincidence."
Inteleon lowered their head.
"Inteleon~ Inteleon~"
But if I can't comprehend the Aura, my cooking will never surpass Master's or Senior's.
Angie chuckled at this and patted Inteleon on the shoulder, saying, "I didn't know you had such big ambitions, already thinking of surpassing me?"
"Inteleon~ Inteleon~"
Inteleon smiled awkwardly at this.
Angie thought for a moment and then said, "Actually, your problem isn't unsolvable."
"Inteleon~"
How?
Inteleon eyes brightened.
Angie explained, "All I need to do is find a Pokémon to specifically help you handle the ingredients, a Pokémon to act as your kitchen assistant."
Upon hearing this, Inteleon' eyes dimmed again. To help them with ingredients, the Pokémon would need to awaken the Aura.
However, Pokémon that awaken the Aura are extremely rare. Even their Senior Munchlax and Pawmot were able to awaken it mainly due to the training methods provided by their master.
So where could they find such a kitchen assistant?
Angie immediately saw through Inteleon' thoughts and smiled, patting them.
"You forgot, didn't you? There's a Pokémon that naturally awakens the Aura!"
Inteleon suddenly realized.
Yes! Lucario! How could they have forgotten such an important detail?
But then they remembered, Lucario is also an incredibly rare Pokémon!
Angie slapped his chest confidently. "Leave it to me, I'll find a Lucario to be your kitchen assistant. By the way, I'll find one for Gengar and Passimian too."
"Inteleon~ Inteleon~"
Inteleon smiled again, feeling reassured. Since Master said so, it would surely happen!
"Alright, back to work!" Angie said.
"Inteleon~"
Energized, Inteleon immediately got back to work.
Meanwhile, Angie continued working, but inside, he couldn't help but sigh.
Although he made the promise, he was still unsure. Three Lucario? Where was he going to find them?
Sigh...
By 10:00, Angie and the others finished work on time. After closing the shop, they returned to the Nebel Plateau.
As soon as Angie arrived home, his phone rang. He took it out and saw that it was a call from Friede.
A sudden joy filled him. Could it be…?
Angie had a vague idea of why Friede was calling and eagerly pressed the answer button. Friede's holographic image appeared in mid-air.
"Yo, Angie, long time no see!" Friede waved hello.
"Friede, long time no see!" Angie waved back, then asked, "Why the call?"
Friede smiled and said, "Good news! The Springy Mushroom you asked us to find have been located. I've already sent it out; it should arrive in a couple of days."
Just as Angie had guessed, it was the completion of his request!
He happily replied, "I knew it! Thank you so much!"
Friede shook his head with a smile, "We're getting paid for it, no need for thanks."
Angie said, "Either way, it's a huge help. When you come to Kalos, be sure to visit me!"
Friede replied, "You got it! I've been craving your cooking for a long time."
Murdock had been learning cooking techniques from Angie over the phone, but Friede always felt his food was missing something compared to Angie's.
Although it was still tasty, Friede's first thought when tasting Murdock's dishes was always: "This is a knock-off!"
After chatting with Friede for a while, Angie hung up the phone. Another task was about to be completed, and his mood visibly brightened.