The group soon arrived at the entrance of the courtyard. Looking at the exquisite small building before him, Friede asked, "Is this your house, Ange?"
Ange nodded. "It is. Everyone, please follow me."
As he spoke, he was the first to cross the courtyard wall. Murdock looked around at his surroundings with curiosity as he walked. "I never expected to find a place like this here."
"It is a bit like a hidden paradise," Grandpa Ludlow agreed, nodding.
At that moment, Diancie appeared before them carrying a flower basket. "You're back, Ange? And these people are..."
The group was equally surprised to see Diancie. Among them, Orla, Mollie, Murdock, and Grandpa Ludlow did not recognize her. Only Friede immediately aimed his phone at Diancie.
Following a clicking sound, an introduction played from the phone.
[Diancie, the Jewel Pokémon. Known as the Princess of the Diamond Domain, it rules over Carbink. Because it exists only in legends, information remains scarce to this day.]
Before becoming an adventurer, Friede was a Pokémon Professor, so he was very knowledgeable about Pokémon. He had even created the Pokédex on his phone himself. Since Diancie was a Mythical Pokémon with only brief mentions in books, Friede had added it to his database despite never seeing one. He never imagined he would be lucky enough to see the real thing today.
He then heard Ange introduce them to Diancie. "These are the members of the Rising Volt Tacklers. Their airship malfunctioned and landed on the Nebel Plateau, so I invited them over."
"Oh, guests! Please, come in," Diancie said warmly to the group.
"What a beautiful Pokémon," Orla whispered to Mollie.
Mollie nodded. "Yeah, I've never seen a Pokémon like this before."
Friede leaned in and said, "That is the legendary Pokémon Diancie."
"A legendary Pokémon?"
Not only Mollie and Orla, but even Murdock, who was standing nearby, let out a cry of surprise.
Hearing the noise, Ange turned back and asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing! Nothing at all!"
The group shook their heads repeatedly.
The reason Friede gave up his career as a Professor to form the Rising Volt Tacklers was to seek out unknown events related to Pokémon. Now that he had encountered such a rare opportunity, he certainly wouldn't let it pass. He quickly walked up to Ange's side.
"Ange, is this really the legendary Diancie?" Friede asked.
"It is," Ange replied with a nod.
Hearing this, Diancie turned to look at him and gave a sweet smile.
"Is Diancie your Pokémon, Ange?" Friede asked again.
Ange continued to nod. "I suppose so. We grew up together."
"That's incredible!" Friede's face was full of joy. "Then, may I take a few photos of Diancie?"
Ange hesitated for a moment before nodding. "It's fine, but I hope you won't spread them around."
Friede quickly promised, "I definitely won't. To tell you the truth, I'm actually a Pokémon Professor. My main goal in adventuring is to see all kinds of unknown Pokémon."
"A Pokémon Professor?" Ange looked surprised. "I didn't realize you were so impressive, Friede." Becoming a Pokémon Professor was not something just anyone could achieve.
"I'm not really that impressive," Friede said humbly.
Friede then aimed his device at Diancie and took several photos. He excitedly asked Ange, "Do you know Diancie's types, weight, height, and other information? If it's convenient, please tell me."
Ange nodded, as there was no reason to keep such things secret. "Diancie is a Rock and Fairy-type Pokémon..."
Behind them, Orla watched Friede talking to Ange and shook her head with a smile. "That guy, honestly..."
She and Friede were childhood friends and knew each other perfectly. If they weren't so close, she never would have helped him remodel the airship or served as the mechanic for his team.
Mollie patted Orla's shoulder. "That's just who he is!"
Pika pika~
Captain Pikachu also crossed its arms, watching Friede talk with a grin.
Friede was excitedly recording the information about Diancie. He thought meeting her was the greatest stroke of luck possible, but when they reached the door and he saw the other two Pokémon he had never seen before, his eyes widened in disbelief once again. He first aimed his phone at Magearna.
[Magearna, an Artificial Pokémon created by the great scientist Eliphas five hundred years ago. It exists only in legends; information remains unclear.]
Next, he aimed the phone at Volcanion, who was behind Magearna.
[Unknown Pokémon. Information remains unclear.]
Friede pointed at Magearna and Volcanion. "Ange, these two Pokémon..."
"Oh, you mean Magearna and Volcanion?" Ange replied. "Magearna was originally my sister's Pokémon. Since she passed away, it lives with me now. As for Volcanion, it is the guardian deity of the Nebel Plateau."
Hearing Ange say his sister had passed away, Friede thought he had brought up a painful memory and quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't know..."
Ange paused, realizing Friede was overthinking it. He explained, "About my sister passing? That happened a long time ago. It's not something I can't talk about."
The conversation between Ange and Friede caught the attention of Magearna and Volcanion. Volcanion opened its eyes and saw strangers. After letting out a cold snort, it immediately used the arms on its back to spray steam and flew away. While it had accepted Ange, that didn't mean it was willing to see other humans.
"Volcanion doesn't like humans, so it has a bit of a temper. Please forgive it," Ange said helplessly.
Friede and the others quickly said it was no problem.
Duki duki~ Ange, who are these people? Magearna walked up to Ange and asked.
"They are guests, Magearna. Could you please prepare some drinks for them?" Ange answered.
Duki duki~
Magearna's eyes crinkled into crescents, and it nodded happily before turning to jog into the house. However, after just two steps, it inevitably tripped and fell with a heavy metallic clang.
"Careful!"
"Oh no!"
Friede and the others cried out in alarm.
Duki~
Magearna got back up nimbly, not forgetting to turn back and smile at everyone.
"Is... is Magearna okay?" Friede asked.
"Don't worry, it's fine," Ange said. "It's always like this. It falls several times a day."
Friede and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
After leading the group inside, Ange invited them to sit. Soon, Magearna arrived with Gengar and Munchlax, carrying tea and fruit juice.
"Please help yourselves to the tea or juice," Ange said. "This is all I have here."
Grandpa Ludlow held up the hot tea in front of him. "This is more than enough."
"Exactly," the others agreed, nodding.
Ange fetched paper and a pen and said to Orla, "Miss Orla, write down the materials you need. I'll have someone send them over from the Azoth Royal Capital."
Orla took the paper and pen. "I appreciate the help. Also, Ange, just call me Orla."
Friede, Mollie, and Murdock also told Ange to call them by their names.
Ange nodded. "Alright then, I'll do as you say. Orla, Friede, Mollie, Murdock."
Orla smiled and began writing the list of materials. While Friede was free, he watched Magearna and Diancie whispering together, then turned to ask Ange:
"Ange, Magearna was created by the great scientist Eliphas. Logically, it should belong to the Azoth Royal Family. Aren't you afraid they'll cause trouble if they find out it's here?"
Ange shook his head with a smile. "I'm not afraid!"
Hearing this, Friede, Orla, Mollie, Murdock, and Grandpa Ludlow all looked at him in confusion.
"Why?" Friede asked.
"Is it possible," Ange replied with a twinkle in his eye, "that I am actually part of the Azoth Royal Family? I forgot to mention, my full name is Ange Azoth."
"What???" Everyone once again wore expressions of pure disbelief.
"Ange, are you a prince?" Mollie asked. "That's amazing. I never thought I'd meet a prince."
Orla looked Ange up and down before agreeing with Mollie. "Mmm... this appearance definitely matches my image of a prince!"
Ange shook his head, laughing. "I should say I used to be one, but I'm not anymore."
"Is that how it works?" Murdock asked.
"Of course," Ange laughed. "When my father was the king, I was a prince. Since my father isn't the king anymore, I'm naturally not a prince!"
At that moment, Orla handed the completed list to Ange. "Here, Ange. Sorry for the trouble."
Ange glanced at the list; they were all things he didn't recognize. He placed the list on the table, took a photo with his phone, and sent it to Jeremy before calling him.
"Hello, Your Highness. What's the matter?" Jeremy's voice soon came from the other end.
"Did you see the list I just sent?" Ange asked.
"I saw it," Jeremy replied.
"Please buy those items and send them to the Nebel Plateau," Ange instructed.
"Understood. I'll go right away," Jeremy promised. "But Your Highness, those look like materials for mechanical repairs. Why do you need them? Did something break at the house? Should I bring a mechanic along to take a look?"
"No need. I'm buying these for someone else. Just send the items," Ange explained quickly.
"Alright, I understand."
After hanging up, Ange said to Orla and the others, "Alright, everyone just wait here. Jeremy should have the items delivered soon."
"Ange, thank you so much. If we hadn't met you, we really wouldn't have known what to do," Friede once again expressed his gratitude solemnly.
Ange waved his hand. "Alright, no more thanking me. If you keep it up, I'll grow calluses on my ears."
Friede and the others burst into laughter.
"By the way, while we wait for the materials, would you like to take a look around the Nebel Plateau?" Ange suggested.
"Sure!" Friede and the others readily agreed.
Ange led them back outside. "Munchlax, Gengar, please watch the house!"
Munch~ Got it, Master!
Haunt~ No problem.
Just as they reached the plaza by the courtyard wall, Murdock shouted in surprise, "Aren't those Garganacl and Nacli?"
As a cook, he was naturally thrilled to see Pokémon like Garganacl and Nacli, which could produce high-grade seasoning.
"I forgot that Mr. Murdock is also a cook," Ange said.
"Also?" Murdock paused. "Does that mean..."
"I am as well," Ange said with a smile.
Hearing this, Murdock immediately grabbed Ange's hands with excitement. "Please, we must exchange ideas if we get the chance."
Ange nodded. "Of course. Why don't we exchange contact information?"
"By all means!" Murdock said.
The two then exchanged their contact details. Ange added, "If you don't mind, I'll give you some rock salt later, Murdock!"
"Thank you so much!" Murdock said gratefully. With rock salt, he could really show off his skills on the airship!
"No need for thanks," Ange shook his head.
Murdock asked, "By the way, can I go take a closer look at the Garganacl and Nacli?"
"Of course, feel free," Ange readily agreed.
Murdock couldn't wait and immediately ran toward the Garganacl and Nacli. He then saw Capsakid and Scovillain in the corner, which made him even more excited.
Friede watched Murdock talking to the Garganacl and shook his head helplessly. "Ange, Murdock is obsessed with studying the culinary arts, so he gets like this when he sees ingredients or seasonings he likes. Please forgive him."
"It's fine. Honestly, I'm the same way," Ange nodded.
The group continued walking and soon heard the sound of cheering and playing.
"What's that sound?" Mollie asked.
Ange stopped to listen for a moment. "It should be the Pokémon playing soccer. Want to go see?"
Everyone nodded in agreement. Following the sound, they soon saw a flat stretch of grass where two teams of Pokémon were playing a match.
One team was led by Volcanion, with Water-type teammates like Croconaw, Poliwrath, Poliwhirl, and Marill. The other team was led by Chesnaught, with Grass-type members like Quilladin, Gogoat, Skiddo, and Deerling. The Pokémon were sprinting across the field, chasing the ball with constant cheers and shouts.
"Do Pokémon play soccer too?" Mollie asked.
"Volcanion is a huge soccer fan. It watches Poké-Soccer matches every day," Ange explained.
"I see," Mollie said, looking enlightened.
Friede suddenly asked, "Ange, what kind of Pokémon is Volcanion? Why have I never heard of it?"
He considered himself well-read, but he didn't recall any book mentioning this Pokémon. The thought that Volcanion might be an unknown Pokémon made his heart race with excitement.
Waku waku!