Ange took out another Poké Ball and tried to pull Infernape inside, but he failed again. Since it could not be taken into a Poké Ball, it meant this Infernape already had an owner! Left with no other choice, Ange took off his own clothes to wrap Infernape up before picking it up.
Before racing toward the Pokémon Center, Ange called the fire department to report the fire at the amusement park. However, the dispatcher told him that fires were currently breaking out across the entire city. He decided to take Infernape to the Pokémon Center first, especially since the fire at the amusement park had already been extinguished.
As Ange and Diancie rushed toward the Pokémon Center with Infernape, they indeed saw flames flickering throughout the Azoth Royal Capital. The sirens of police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances rang out incessantly.
Could all of this be Infernape's doing? Ange wondered, glancing at the unconscious Infernape in his arms. Furthermore, he realized something felt off. If it were just a fire, why would the police be out in such force? Unable to find an answer, Ange pushed the thought to the back of his mind.
What Ange did not know was that because of Infernape's rampage, a secret training arena had been completely exposed, and someone had immediately called the police. The police in the Azoth Royal Capital were extremely efficient. Within moments, the entire battle arena was surrounded.
In a desperate bid to avoid capture, the people inside the arena engaged in a life-or-death struggle with the police. Upon receiving the news, Lila immediately rushed to the scene with her team.
The thugs thought they could leave safely if they captured the princess as a hostage. They did not realize that the princess was also a powerful Trainer. She commanded an Alolan Ninetales and a Shiny Gardevoir, making short work of the criminals and defeating them soundly.
Soon, everyone from the training arena was apprehended. Of course, the fact that the princess and her team captured them so easily was largely thanks to Infernape's earlier rampage. Most of the strong Trainers in the arena had already been injured by it.
When Ange and Diancie arrived at the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy met them immediately. She looked at the Infernape in Ange's arms with shock.
"Is this... the Infernape that caused the chaos in the city?" Nurse Joy asked. Footage of Infernape's rampage had already been filmed and uploaded to the internet.
"I am not sure," Ange replied, "I encountered it at the amusement park. It burned the place down, and it only lost consciousness after Diancie defeated it."
"Let's treat it first," Nurse Joy said. Ange nodded and placed Infernape onto a cart pushed by Chansey.
As Ange watched Nurse Joy and Chansey take Infernape into the emergency room, he and Diancie breathed a sigh of relief.
"Let's sit over there and wait," Ange said to Diancie.
"Okay," Diancie replied with a nod. The human and Pokémon walked to a table in the lobby and sat down.
However, as soon as they sat, Diancie's stomach let out a loud growl.
"Hungry?" Ange asked with a smile. Diancie nodded shyly.
Creating a Holy Diamond consumed a lot of physical strength. Additionally, they had not had time for dinner, so it was natural for Diancie to be hungry. Ange suddenly had an inspiration and spoke to Diancie.
"Wait here," Ange said as he stood up and ran off.
After a long wait, Diancie saw Ange return carrying two large bowls. When Ange placed a bowl in front of it, Diancie realized they were two large bowls of ramen. The ramen was paired with bright green vegetables and topped with two perfectly shaped poached eggs. It looked incredibly appetizing.
Ange sat back down opposite Diancie and said with a chuckle, "I borrowed the Pokémon Center's kitchen to make this. It'll have to do."
He had only used the stove in the kitchen. The pots, bowls, ingredients, and seasonings were all items from his own System Backpack.
Hot steam rose from the ramen, and the aroma drifted to Diancie's nose. Diancie subconsciously swallowed. On the other side, Ange had already started slurping his meal. Seeing this, Diancie picked up its chopsticks and began to eat as well. Both of them ate quite greedily, as if they were enjoying a grand feast.
The large bowls of ramen were finished quickly. Ange felt he could still eat more and even drank all the soup.
"That was great!" Ange said after wiping his mouth.
Diancie also wiped its mouth elegantly. Only after finishing did it put down the tissue and speak.
"Delicious."
Suddenly, Ange had an idea. "What do you think about us opening a ramen shop?"
"Opening a ramen shop?" Diancie asked, puzzled.
"Exactly," Ange said excitedly, "We can open it at Munchlax Home. We can serve breakfast in the morning and ramen from the afternoon until the evening."
Currently, among the four of them, Munchlax was in charge of Diancie's Grand Cafeteria. He and Drizzile were responsible for selling breakfast at Munchlax Home. Gengar, however, remained idle. It usually just helped out at the cafeteria or the breakfast shop and generally had nothing specific to do.
If things continued this way, wouldn't its culinary skills go to waste? Therefore, it would be better to give the late afternoon and evening hours at Munchlax Home to Gengar and let it run a ramen shop!
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. Ange explained the plan to Diancie. After listening, Diancie nodded.
"I think that is very feasible," Diancie said.
"We'll discuss it with Gengar when we get home," Ange said happily.
Just then, the phone in Ange's pocket rang. He pulled it out and saw it was a video call from Munchlax. He realized he had forgotten to call home to let everyone know they were safe since it was so late.
Once Ange connected, Munchlax's image was projected in front of him.
Munch munch~ Master, where are you? Why aren't you back yet? In the video, Munchlax pressed its head against the screen, its face full of anxiety.
"I got delayed by some business and forgot to call," Ange said quickly, "Diancie and I are perfectly fine, so don't worry."
Hearing this, the expression on Munchlax's face relaxed immediately. It followed up with another question.
Munch munch~ Where are you? When will you be back? I'm waiting for us to train together!
Ange checked the time and shook his head helplessly. "I don't know. If it's too late, you all go to the training room to practice first and then go to bed."
Munchlax shook its head upon hearing this.
Munch~ I want to wait for Master. It then hung up the phone immediately.
Ange shook his head at the situation. Seeing this, Diancie couldn't help but cover its mouth and laugh.
"It seems your little apprentice isn't being very obedient!" Diancie teased.
"No way," Ange retorted immediately, "Munchlax is the most obedient of all!"
Just as Ange ended the call with Munchlax, the phone rang again. This time, it was Lila calling. After answering, Lila's voice came through the line.
"Your Highness, is that Infernape with you?" Lila asked.
"How did you know?" Ange asked, looking surprised.
"Someone took a video of Diancie fighting Infernape at the amusement park, and there are photos of you running through the streets carrying Infernape," Lila replied.
Ange was speechless.
"What exactly happened?" Ange asked, confused. "Why was Infernape so full of rage, rampaging through the capital and starting fires everywhere?"
"It happened like this..." Lila had already investigated the incident and told Ange everything.
After listening, Ange slammed his hand on the table in anger. "Those people are despicable!"
"Rest assured, Your Highness, those people will receive their due punishment," Lila said, "However, I would like to ask a favor of you."
"Go ahead," Ange replied.
"I would like to ask Your Highness to temporarily take in Infernape. Once I have finished dealing with the matters here, I will come to collect it," Lila explained.
Although the people at the training arena had been captured, their employers were still at large, including the person who had sent Infernape to the arena in the first place.
Ange nodded without hesitation. "Don't worry, leave Infernape to me. I will take good care of it."
"Then I shall trouble Your Highness with it."
After hanging up, Ange sighed deeply thinking about Infernape's ordeal.
"What is it?" Diancie asked. Ange told Diancie about Infernape's situation, and soon both he and Diancie were sighing together.
Nurse Joy and Chansey emerged after nearly two hours of work. Ange hurried forward to meet them.
"Nurse Joy, how is Infernape?" Ange asked.
Nurse Joy sighed. "Its injuries are very severe. It will likely need to recover for quite some time. Fortunately, its life is not in danger."
Ange breathed a long sigh of relief. "As long as its life isn't in danger, that's good. Injuries can always heal."
"How do you plan to settle Infernape, Your Highness?" Nurse Joy asked. "Will it stay at the Pokémon Center or will you take it with you?"
"I think I'll take it with me," Ange replied, "If it stays here and wakes up in a frenzy, you might not be able to restrain it."
Nurse Joy agreed and nodded. "I will prepare some medicine. Please take it back and ensure it takes it on time. Its injuries should be mostly healed by the time the medicine is finished. If there are any problems, call me anytime or bring Infernape back to the Center."
"Understood," Ange nodded.
After listening to Nurse Joy's instructions on how to care for Infernape's injuries, Ange and Diancie returned to their home on the Nebel Plateau with the still-unconscious Infernape.
When they arrived home, they found Munchlax, Drizzile, Gengar, Komala, Pawmi, Magearna, Metagross, and Volcanion all asleep on the sofa. Pawmi was lying spread-eagled, a snot bubble growing from its nose, still clutching its phone.
Ange and Diancie looked at each other and laughed silently. They placed Infernape in the guest room and returned to the living room to carry Munchlax, Drizzile, and Komala back to their rooms one by one.
However, when Ange picked up Gengar, it opened its eyes groggily. It looked pleasantly surprised when it realized Ange was back. Ange quickly made a gesture for it to be quiet. Gengar immediately covered its mouth, mimicked Ange by putting a finger to its lips, and smiled with squinted eyes.
With Gengar's help, Ange then returned Pawmi, Metagross, Magearna, and Volcanion to their respective rooms.
Gengar found itself unable to go back to sleep. It sat in the living room with Ange and Diancie for a while to chat. Soon, the human and two Pokémon felt hungry again, so Ange made a suggestion.
"How about some late-night snacks?"
The ramen from earlier was very easy to digest, and his stomach was already empty. The suggestion was met with unanimous approval from Gengar and Diancie.
"Is it bad of us to be eating alone?" Diancie whispered with a giggle.
Gar gar~ Gengar couldn't help but laugh along with Diancie.
"Who told them to fall asleep?" Ange said with a wink.
The three of them went down to the third floor. Diancie and Gengar waited outside while Ange got busy in the kitchen. Soon, the sound of vegetables being chopped and a rich aroma drifted from the kitchen.
Ange wanted to have hot pot for the snack. Fortunately, he had leftover hot pot base stored in the refrigerator. He only needed to boil it and cut some side dishes.
"It's ready! You two come in and help carry the dishes," Ange called out from the kitchen.
Diancie and Gengar hurried in to carry out plates of sliced vegetables, including crown daisies, tofu, kelp, bean sprouts, lotus root slices, potato slices, beef rolls, pork rolls, and more. The bean sprouts were ones Ange had grown himself using Roll Beans. The lotus root was from the pond next to the garden; it was already edible and much more delicious than the wild lotus roots originally found on the Nebel Plateau.
Once everything was ready, the three of them gathered around the table and began to eat. Picking up a piece of cooked tofu and putting it in his mouth, Ange cried out, "So good!"
The tofu was also homemade using Roll Beans, and it tasted far better than tofu made from store-bought beans. Due to the double effect of the Tilling skill and Grassy Terrain, the first batch of Roll Beans had fully matured, and the second crop had already been planted.
Just as they were eating with gusto, Pawmi came down the stairs with its eyes closed, its nose twitching as it felt its way along the railing. As soon as it reached the bottom floor and smelled the rich aroma in the air, it snapped out of its grogginess. Its eyes widened in disbelief when it saw what Ange and the others were doing.
Paw paw~ You're eating without me! It scrambled quickly onto a chair, looking at the table full of food and the fragrant hot pot while drooling.
Ange brought over a bowl and chopsticks for it. "You can join us, but you're not allowed to tell on us tomorrow."
Paw paw~ I went to sleep early tonight, I don't know anything! Pawmi said solemnly. It then grabbed its chopsticks and started putting its favorite foods into the pot. It loved meat, so beef, pork, and fish were all dumped into the pot.
After finishing the meal, they sat outside the door for a while. Ange remembered the plan for the ramen shop and spoke to Gengar.
"Gengar, you've been learning cooking from me for a while now. Have you thought about what you want to do in the future?"
Gar? Gengar looked confused and shook its head gently.
"I have an idea," Ange said, "Listen and see if it works for you." Gengar nodded.
"Drizzile and I only work at Munchlax Home in the morning, right? The shop is empty in the afternoon and evening. I was thinking, how about you run a ramen shop at Munchlax Home starting from the evening?"
Gengar never expected its Master would entrust it with such an important task. Its eyes widened in disbelief at first, and then it excitedly picked Ange up and flew into the air, spinning him around in circles.
Gar gar~~ Its excited laughter echoed in the night sky.
Ange didn't expect Gengar to be this happy. He let Gengar hold him, but soon became dizzy from the spinning.
"Gengar, if you keep spinning, I'm going to pass out," Ange said. Gengar finally put Ange down and scratched the back of its head sheepishly.
"Are you really that happy?" Ange asked.
Gar~~ Gengar nodded with a blush.
Ange smiled and patted its round belly. "Then you'll have to practice hard during this time. If your cooking isn't up to standard, the customers won't buy it!"
Gar~ Gengar clenched its fist, indicating it would not let its Master down.
Paw paw~ Pawmi also began to circle Gengar excitedly.
"Gengar is opening a ramen shop, why are you so excited?" Ange asked, exasperated.
Paw paw~ Because I'll be able to eat ramen every day from now on! Pawmi said, putting its hands on its hips seriously.
"You! All you think about is eating!" Ange pulled Pawmi into his arms and rubbed it vigorously.
Paw paw paw~ Pawmi was tickled by Ange and couldn't help but laugh loudly.