After the sparring session, Ange left the banquet hall with the professors.
During their subsequent chat, the professors asked Ange many questions regarding Diancie, all of which he answered one by one. Ange even gifted a diamond created by Diancie to the two professors. Furthermore, although the diamond would not last forever, both professors were still extremely happy.
"By the way, Azoth's research team will be heading to Paldea with us in a few days," Sada asked. "Would Prince Ange like to come with us to see Paldea?"
The two professors still held a deep interest in how Ange had lived from five hundred years ago to the present, as well as how Diancie was born.
Ange originally wanted to refuse. He was busy making money and had a mountain of things to do on the Nebel Plateau, so he simply had no time.
However, at that moment, Diancie gently tugged on Ange's sleeve, and a pop-up window immediately appeared before his eyes.
[Pre-requisite Mission] Accept the invitation from the two professors to visit the Great Crater of Paldea. Do you accept?
Yes
No
After reading the mission details, Ange fell into deep thought. A pre-requisite mission... that means there are follow-up missions! These kinds of missions usually have rewards that are either very rich or very important.
Should I... take it?
With that thought, Ange directly clicked to accept.
Seeing Ange spacing out, Turo said, "Prince Ange has probably never been to the Paldea region, right? Our Paldea has many wonders and Pokémon that Kalos doesn't have. Your Highness should come and take a look."
"Since the two professors have invited me so sincerely, I will gladly accept!" Ange said with a smile.
Sada and Turo were both very happy to hear this. "We believe Your Highness will definitely like Paldea."
Ange chatted with the two professors for a long time, not leaving the palace until 12:00 at night while riding on Honchkrow.
The Azoth Royal Capital late at night was still a world of bright lights and bustling activity. Ange rode on Honchkrow's back, looking down at the entire city against the cold wind.
He hadn't seen the night view of a bustling city in a long time, and he couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental.
With Honchkrow's speed, Ange arrived at Munchlax Home in a short while. After landing, he suddenly heard bursts of cries coming from not far away.
"Who is it this late at night?"
Ange took Honchkrow and followed the sound, quickly finding the small alley where Oddish and the others sheltered.
In the dark of the night, a row of bird-like Pokémon stood atop the boundary wall. Ange could only vaguely see their silhouettes, but their eyes, glowing with a crimson light, were extremely prominent in the darkness.
These bird-type Pokémon were all glaring greedily at the small wooden hut below, which was where Oddish and the others lived.
They are Murkrow! Ange instantly recognized the identity of these bird Pokémon.
"Murk~"
Suddenly, under the command of one Murkrow, the others all dove down, using their sharp beaks and claws to attack the wooden hut.
"What are you doing?" Ange shouted sternly.
Hearing Ange's voice, the Murkrows paused their movements.
"Murk~~"
Immediately after, the lead Murkrow let out a cry. The other Murkrow seemed to receive a summons, and they all took to the air, planning to make a run for it.
Having lived in the city for a long time, these Murkrow understood one principle very well: do not oppose the masters of this city—humans. When you encounter them, running away is the right move.
Just then, the Honchkrow standing beside Ange let out a sharp cry. The Murkrow that had intended to flee all froze mid-air.
Was this a joke? With a Honchkrow present, a group of Murkrow dared to rebel?
"Hon~~"
Honchkrow cried out again. Those Murkrow suddenly looked dejected and dropped from the sky, landing beside Honchkrow one after another, not daring to offer the slightest resistance.
This involved the group status and social hierarchy of Honchkrow and Murkrow. In the eyes of a Murkrow, the status of a Honchkrow is absolute and cannot be challenged.
At this time, Oddish, Shroomish, and Paras, having heard the commotion, came out to check the situation. In the dark, they couldn't clearly see who had arrived.
"Oddish, Shroomish, Paras, it's me!" Ange spoke up.
"Odd odd~"
"Shroom shroom~"
"Para para~"
The six Pokémon were overjoyed to hear Ange's voice and rushed to his feet, their faces full of grievances.
Ange crouched down and asked, "What happened? Why were the Murkrow bullying you?"
The six Pokémon immediately began to complain all at once.
As it turned out, the Murkrow had come to steal their food!
Oddish and the others would often eat half and save half of the food Ange gave them. Over time, they were targeted by a flock of Murkrow. The Murkrow would often come to harass them late at night, disturbing their peace and forcing them to hand over their food.
Ange guessed for a good while before he figured out the whole story.
"Is that so?" Ange asked, looking at the Murkrow.
"Hon!" Honchkrow followed Ange with a shout of its own.
The Murkrow all lowered their heads, not daring to make a sound.
"Gurgle~~~"
At that moment, the sound of a stomach growling came through. A Murkrow was seen clutching its stomach, looking like it wanted to cry but had no tears.
"Hon hon~"
Suddenly, Honchkrow called out to Ange a few times.
"You mean... you want to take these Murkrow back to Nebel Plateau?" Ange asked, guessing.
"Hon hon~" Honchkrow nodded.
Ange then remembered that Honchkrow and Murkrow are both social-type Pokémon. A wild Honchkrow is usually surrounded by a large number of Murkrow who act as its underlings, doing all the work while the Honchkrow simply relaxes and slacks off.
Ever since Ange had known this Honchkrow on Nebel Plateau, it had been alone. Could it be that it also wanted to live a life of slacking off?
"That's fine," Ange said. "But you have to keep them in line. They can't cause trouble on Nebel Plateau."
He himself wanted to live a life of slacking off, so he naturally wouldn't stop Honchkrow from pursuing happiness.
"Hon~~"
Honchkrow confidently patted its chest with its wing. Furthermore, it shot a glare at the Murkrow. Cause trouble? He doubted they would dare!
Under Honchkrow's glare, the Murkrow immediately pulled their heads in like quails.
"Then let's go home," Ange said, standing up.
Honchkrow nodded, flapped its wings, and took flight, gesturing for the Murkrow to follow.
Ange was about to start walking when he suddenly paused. He turned back to Oddish, Shroomish, and Paras and asked, "Do you all want to come with me too? I will provide you with work. You work for me, and I give you food."
"Odd odd~"
"Shroom shroom~"
"Para para~"
Hearing this, the six Pokémon immediately jumped for joy. They were already very familiar with Ange, so they naturally didn't doubt his words.
Seeing that they agreed, Ange smiled. "Alright, follow me."
Oddish and the others immediately wanted to run back into the wooden hut to bring all their collected belongings. Ange quickly said, "Alright, leave all of that. I'll get you new things later."
"Odd odd?"
Oddish tilted its head, looking at the wooden hut with a pained expression, clearly reluctant to leave behind the things it had worked so hard to save.
Honchkrow descended from the sky and, with a sweep of its wings, scooped up the six little guys, tossed them onto its back, and carried them into the air.
Ange shook his head with a smile. After opening the door to Munchlax Home, he led the group of Pokémon inside.
Passing through the spatial tunnel, they returned to their home on Nebel Plateau.
As soon as they arrived home, Honchkrow took the flock of Murkrow and flew away in a great rush.
Inside the house, Diancie and the others hadn't gone to sleep yet. Diancie and Drizzile were sitting on the sofa—one was binge-watching a show, and the other was playing games, both waiting for Ange to return.
Munchlax was curled up in a corner of the sofa clutching Komala, snoring away with a snot bubble hanging from its nose.
Oddish and the others followed nervously behind Ange, cautiously eyeing their surroundings and looking quite uneasy.
"Where did these little guys come from?" Diancie asked after seeing them.
"I picked them up," Ange answered with a grin.
"Sigh~" Diancie sighed helplessly.
"You take Munchlax and the others to wash up and sleep first," Ange said. "We won't train today, it's too late. I'll take these guys to get settled."
"Alright," Diancie nodded.
Subsequently, Ange took Oddish and the others to the Secret Fortress. At this time, most of the Pokémon were already asleep, but Delphox was still awake. It came out to check the situation after hearing the noise.
Ange smilingly introduced them. "These are Oddish, Shroomish, and Paras. They will be members of Nebel Plateau from now on. Please take good care of them."
"Del~"
Delphox nodded and then enthusiastically took the six Pokémon to choose their rooms. With Delphox's comforting presence, they didn't look quite so uneasy anymore.
As one of the guardians of Nebel Plateau, the gentle Delphox was quite skilled at soothing Pokémon.
The six Pokémon had originally lived together, so even after coming to Nebel Plateau, they still chose to live together.
Once they had chosen their room, Ange took out a jar of Pokémon Food for them.
"Eat something and then go to sleep. Tomorrow, Delphox will take you to meet everyone, and then you can work with us. Everyone on Nebel Plateau is very kind, you don't have to worry about anything."
"Del del~" That's right, with me here, you don't have to worry about a thing.
Delphox echoed Ange's sentiment, speaking gently to the six Pokémon.
"Odd odd~"
"Shroom shroom~"
"Para para~"
The six Pokémon nodded.
After Ange and Delphox left, the six Pokémon had a wonderful meal and then snuggled together, falling into a deep sleep. Because of the Murkrow's harassment, they had been on edge all night and were already mentally exhausted.
In their dreams, smiles appeared on the faces of the six Pokémon—a reflection of their longing for the future.
When Ange returned home, Diancie and the others were indeed already asleep, so he quickly washed up and climbed into bed.
However, before sleeping, he had to claim his mission rewards.
First, he claimed the daily mission reward. Since there was no special training tonight, there was only one daily mission reward.
[Congratulations, Master, you have received the reward: Individual Value +1.]
Ange didn't expect the daily mission reward to actually strike gold. He sat bolt upright in excitement. Although it was only 1 point, it was much better than being sent a cucumber or a berry every day.
Without hesitation, Ange added this point to Munchlax's Attack.
Munchlax's data was as follows:
Munchlax
Type: Normal
Ability: Thick Fat
Gender: Male
Level: 38
Moves: Tackle, Lick, Curl Up, Recycle, Covet, Bite, Stockpile, Swallow, Body Slam, Fling, Amnesia, Take Down, Baby-Doll Eyes, Seed Bomb, Brick Break, Counter
Individual Values
HP: 29
Attack: 26
Defense: 20
Special Attack: 31
Special Defense: 10
Speed: 31
Next was the reward for the new mission he had just completed today.
[Congratulations, Master, for completing the Pre-requisite Mission: Accept the invitation from the two professors to visit the Great Crater of Paldea. Received reward: Tera Orb x1, Constitution +1, Intelligence +1.]
??? A Tera Orb? I just saw Terastallization today, and I already got a Tera Orb?
After claiming the reward, a purple orb appeared in Ange's hand.
However, this Tera Orb didn't seem to be charged. If it wasn't charged, it couldn't be used. Ange felt a bit disappointed and put the Tera Orb back into his Compression Backpack.
Then he checked his personal data.
Ange
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 16 (+500)
Constitution: 36
Intelligence: 18
Cooking Evaluation: A little newbie who has just barely passed in cooking skills.
I've become stronger again, sweet! Ange clenched his fist and indeed felt his strength had increased. He happily ducked under the covers and soon entered the land of dreams.
The next day, Ange received a phone call from Fiona. It turned out that the materials he had asked her to collect for making fertilizer had arrived.
Not long after the call with Fiona, a flying vehicle landed on the Nebel Plateau. Once the vehicle was parked, a young man in a uniform stepped down.
"Greetings, Your Highness!" the young man greeted Ange loudly.
"Are you Jeremy?" Ange asked.
"Yes, Your Highness," the youth replied. "If Your Highness needs anything in the future, you can contact me at any time!"
It turned out that this young man named Jeremy was a guard specifically assigned by the palace to run errands for Ange. In the future, Ange could call on him for anything, and his salary was paid by the Royal Family.
"Alright, I'll be in your care then," Ange nodded. "Are all the materials I wanted bought?"
"Rest assured, Your Highness," Jeremy replied. "According to Miss Fiona's instructions, everything has been purchased!"
With that, he clapped his hands. "Pangoro, Barbaracle, I'll trouble you!"
As his voice fell, two Pokémon were seen carrying bags of materials off the flying vehicle. Before long, a large amount of material was scattered in front of Ange's door: wheat bran, straw, humus, and so on.
"Your Highness, all the materials you wanted are here. Please check them over," Jeremy said.
After counting them, Ange said, "The materials are fine. Thank you for making the trip."
Jeremy scratched the back of his head and said, "This is just my job, Your Highness, no need to be polite. If Your Highness has nothing else, then I will be going."
"Alright, you may go," Ange nodded.
So, Jeremy took Pangoro and Barbaracle and left Nebel Plateau in the flying vehicle.
After Jeremy left, Ange led the Pokémon in moving the materials into the waste disposal area of the Secret Fortress and then fed them into the reactor.
This way, Ange only had to wait for a period of time to get some extremely useful fertilizer.