"Ms. Diantha?" Ange called out in surprise as he recognized the person opposite him.
"Ange, long time no see!" Diantha greeted Ange with a warm smile.
Ange quickly walked over to Diantha and said, "Ms. Diantha, what are you doing here?"
Diantha first gestured for Ange to take a seat, and once he sat down, she explained, "The League discovered that Team Flare members have been frequently spotted around Anistar City recently, so I came to investigate.
I never expected to run into you after you delivered those Team Flare members to the police station, so I thought I would come and see you."
Ange had a sudden realization. "So that's how it is!"
Then he asked, "Ms. Diantha, how is the League's investigation into Team Flare progressing?"
Diantha replied, "The investigation is going quite smoothly. You never know until you look into it, but it turns out Team Flare has been secretly doing so many things in the Kalos region all these years!"
As she spoke, her tone carried a hint of anger.
"Ange, we owe this to your warning to the League." Diantha looked at Ange with eyes full of admiration.
Ange shook his head. "It's nothing, just my duty. I'm a part of the League, after all."
At that moment, Diantha suddenly fell silent. After a long pause, she spoke up. "Do you think Lysandre is really the leader of Team Flare?"
Instead of answering, Ange asked, "Has the League launched an investigation into Lysandre?"
Diantha nodded gently.
"And what were the results?" Ange continued to ask.
Diantha paused for a brief moment, then said, "They found many issues..."
Although there was still no direct evidence proving Lysandre was the leader of Team Flare, those issues were already enough to tell the story.
Ange spread his hands. "Then you surely have your own answer in your heart."
"I just can't bring myself to believe it..." Diantha let out a deep sigh.
She had always shared a close relationship with Lysandre. Because the two of them shared similar interests, they had become friends despite their significant age gap, and Diantha even considered him a confidant.
She never imagined that while Lysandre outwardly maintained his charitable endeavors, he was secretly plotting to destroy the world.
Ange said, "People are complex creatures. The side a person shows to the world is only the side they want others to see, and no one truly knows their real face except themselves!"
Diantha remarked with emotion, "You're right!"
Thinking for a moment, Ange told Diantha, "Today, I learned from a Pokémon in Terminus Cave that Zygarde has indeed fallen into Team Flare's hands.
To control Zygarde, they even want to capture Pokémon close to Zygarde and use them as hostages. The people I caught were carrying out that mission!"
Upon hearing this, Diantha was deeply shocked, and she immediately said with a face full of indignation, "That's simply despicable! What do they think Pokémon are?"
Ange took a deep breath. "I hope the League can find Zygarde's whereabouts as soon as possible and rescue it, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable."
Diantha assured Ange, "Rest assured, we will do it as quickly as possible!"
Ange nodded.
After chatting a little longer, Diantha hurriedly left the Pokémon Center.
Ange stayed at the Pokémon Center for the night, remaining by the sides of Sylveon and the unconscious Salamence.
He even borrowed the Pokémon Center's kitchen to prepare a delicious and nutritious dinner for Sylveon.
After finishing the meal, Sylveon finally understood why Master Zygarde was always so obsessed with the food Ange made.
It was truly delicious!
Ange slept in the hospital room for the night. When he woke up the next morning, he felt sore and achy all over.
The hospital room provided for Pokémon only had a bed for the Pokémon to rest on, and since Ange had spent the entire night slumped against the bedside, it was no wonder his back and waist were aching.
Seeing that Sylveon was still asleep, Ange planned to wash up first and then head out for some morning exercise.
However, the moment he stepped out of the door, he saw Nurse Joy running out excitedly with large dark circles under her eyes!
"Found it! It's finally found!" she muttered to herself.
When she saw Ange, she immediately ran over excitedly and said, "Mr. Ange, I've found a way to treat Salamence!"
Hearing this, Ange's face lit up with joy. "Really? That's wonderful!"
Immediately after, however, Nurse Joy put on a worried expression. "However, the treatment requires a rare herb, and I don't have any in stock at the moment..."
Ange frowned upon hearing this. "What should we do then? Can it be bought elsewhere? I'll go buy it!"
Nurse Joy shook her head. "You can't buy it. It's not a commonly used medicinal herb, so no one sells it at all."
"Then what can we do?" Ange's heart, which had just settled, rose back into his throat.
Nurse Joy looked equally troubled. "There is a place that has it, but..." Here, Nurse Joy suddenly stopped.
"But what?" Ange hurriedly pressed.
Nurse Joy replied, "Many powerful wild Pokémon inhabit that place, and they are extremely xenophobic. Even professional trainers have a very hard time reaching it, so..."
"Nurse Joy, please tell me where it is, and I'll go harvest it!" Ange said.
"But... it really is dangerous over there!" Nurse Joy did not want Ange to take such a risk.
Ange insisted, "Nurse Joy, I can handle it. We can't just let Salamence keep sleeping like this, can we? What if something goes wrong from prolonged sleep?"
"This..." Nurse Joy found herself in a dilemma.
Seeing this, Ange continued, "Nurse Joy, although I am not a trainer, I have a group of reliable partners by my side, so you can rest assured. No matter what difficulties arise, my partners and I will overcome them!"
Seeing how persistent Ange was, Nurse Joy had no choice but to say, "Alright then!"
With that, she turned and walked back to her room. When she returned, her hands held a thick book and a map.
Nurse Joy opened the book and pointed to an illustration on the page. "This is the herb I need. It's called Red Butterfly Herb. Don't let its conspicuous appearance fool you; it's actually quite rare and hard to find."
Ange nodded, carefully observing the appearance of the Red Butterfly Herb and trying hard to imprint it in his mind.
Red Butterfly Herb lived up to its name; the two leaves at the top fluttered like butterfly wings, ready to take flight. Just looking at the picture, Ange could imagine it dancing gracefully in the breeze.
It must be truly beautiful!
After Ange memorized what the Red Butterfly Herb looked like, Nurse Joy handed him the map and said,
"This is a map of Goin Jungle. It marks some locations where the Red Butterfly Herb might grow, as well as the habitats of some powerful Pokémon. I hope this helps you! Goin Jungle is located just north of Anistar City. If you head straight north, you'll see Goin Jungle in no time."
Ange nodded and accepted the map from Nurse Joy's hands.
"I wish you a smooth journey," Nurse Joy said.
Ange replied, "Nurse Joy, I will definitely bring back the Red Butterfly Herb. Until then, I leave Sylveon and Salamence in your care!"
Nurse Joy smiled. "Rest assured!"
Looking at the large dark circles under Nurse Joy's eyes, Ange asked, "Nurse Joy, you've been working all night without resting, haven't you?"
Nurse Joy smiled sheepishly. "Haha~~ I got so caught up in my work that I lost track of time. By the time I came to my senses, it was already dawn!"
Ange said, "You've worked really hard!"
Nurse Joy didn't mind at all. "It happens often enough. I'm used to it!"
Ange urged, "You should go get some rest quickly, or you'll wear yourself out."
Nurse Joy gave a yawn. "I am getting a bit worn out. I'll go sleep for a bit. If Sylveon or the others need anything, just look for Nurse Joy's assistant, Wigglytuff. If necessary, you can have Wigglytuff wake me up."
Ange nodded. "I understand."
After Nurse Joy left, Ange finished washing up and returned to the hospital room. Since he planned to go harvest the Red Butterfly Herb as soon as possible, he decided to cancel his morning exercise routine.
By this time, Sylveon had woken up. Ange said to it, "Sylveon, I'm going out for a bit to gather some medicinal herbs to cure Salamence. Be a good girl and stay here. If you need anything, look for Nurse Joy's assistant, Wigglytuff."
"Grey~" Sylveon nodded.
After thinking for a moment, Ange released Doublade and Komala as well.
After placing Komala by the head of Sylveon's bed, he said to Doublade, "Doublade, could I trouble you to stay here and look after Sylveon?"
"Yo~ yo~" Hearing that Ange intended to leave it behind, Doublade immediately became very agitated.
It was Ange's guardian; how could it leave Ange's side?
Ange quickly reassured it, "Doublade, protecting Sylveon and Salamence is also extremely important. Right now, you're the only one I can rely on for this!"
"Yo~~" Doublade drooped the ribbons hanging from its hilt in disappointment.
"Be good, I'll give you a reward when I get back!" Ange smiled and gently stroked Doublade's blade.
"Yo~" Doublade nodded slightly, agreeing to the task.
After Ange left, Doublade hung itself up on the wall, looking thoroughly dejected.
Seeing this, Sylveon raised its head and looked at it. "Grey~ grey~~ You're too weak, that's why Ange didn't take you!"
"Yo~ yo~" Doublade reacted with indignation at those words. It wasn't weak at all, and besides, Ange wasn't that kind of person.
The Komala at the head of the bed twitched its ears, rolled over, and continued sleeping soundly hugging its log.
"If that's not the case, why would Ange leave you behind?" Sylveon asked.
Doublade was about to retort when it heard Sylveon murmur to itself, "I'm too weak as well, which is why Master Zygarde got captured and Salamence ended up unconscious. If only I could become stronger... maybe... maybe..."
Hearing this, Doublade swallowed the words that were on the tip of its tongue.
Reflecting on Sylveon's words, it couldn't help but ponder: how wonderful it would be if it could become as strong as Latios and Latias!
With that thought in mind, it flew down from the wall, exited through the window into the courtyard, and began practicing its swordsmanship stroke by stroke.
It needed to become stronger! Stronger so that no matter what situation arose, it could protect Ange.
It absolutely refused to experience the kind of remorse Sylveon was feeling!
Sylveon stared blankly at Doublade diligently training outside the window, its thoughts drifting off into the distance.
Meanwhile, after leaving the Pokémon Center, Ange mounted Latios and headed toward Goin Jungle according to Nurse Joy's directions.
Flying straight north for about two hours, Ange finally caught sight of an endless expanse of jungle.
The jungle was dense and deep, a place that clearly nurtured an abundance of life.
We've arrived, Ange thought to himself.
Unfolding the map, he began searching for the corresponding location on it.
The map had been left behind by Nurse Joy's grandmother and was fifty years old, so some of the records on it were no longer entirely accurate. Nurse Joy had told Ange to play it by ear.
After comparing landmarks for quite a while, Ange selected a direction and set off.
His destination was a canyon. According to the map's markings, a powerful Golem lived there, though he had no idea if it was still around.
"Latios, fly over that way!" Ange pointed toward the direction of the canyon and instructed Latios.
"Woo~~" Latios gave a soft cry, accelerated with Ange on its back, and vanished into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
Before long, Ange and Latios arrived above a canyon.
Unlike other parts of the jungle, this canyon had sparse vegetation with exposed rocks everywhere, making it indeed a suitable habitat for Rock-type Pokémon.
"It doesn't really look like a place where Red Butterfly Herb would grow..." Ange muttered softly.
He patted Latios's neck and said, "Latios, fly a bit lower."
"Woo~~" Latios nodded and immediately began to descend slowly.
As soon as they landed inside the canyon, they heard a chorus of bustling noise coming from not far away.
Ange whispered to Latios, "Let's go take a look!"
Latios nodded.
Ange didn't want to alert the Pokémon here because Nurse Joy had mentioned that the Pokémon in Goin Jungle were extremely xenophobic.
He had asked Nurse Joy for the reason, and she had explained that deep within Goin Jungle lived a king of all Pokémon.
A long, long time ago, that king's child was stolen by a human trainer who had wandered into the jungle by mistake, causing the king to harbor a deep resentment toward humans ever since.
Following the sound, Ange and Latios wound their way through the canyon and finally arrived at an open clearing in the center.
Right in the middle of the clearing, atop a giant boulder, a Chatot was standing tall and proud, singing a song as strings of colorful musical notes drifted from its beak.
Down below the rock, a group of Geodude, Graveler, and Golem were dancing merrily to the rhythm of Chatot's song, creating a lively and cheerful atmosphere!
The king of Goin Jungle loved to sing, so the Pokémon here also loved music and dance, which was how Goin Jungle got its name.
Looking past the dancing figures of the Geodude, Graveler, and Golem, Ange spotted a deep cave. Crouched at the entrance of the cave was a Golem with its eyes closed in rest.
This Golem was at least twice the size of an ordinary Golem, and its entire body radiated a fierce aura.
Ange guessed that this Golem must be the one marked on the map.
Fifty years had passed, yet it showed no signs of aging.
Hiding in the shadows, Ange looked around and saw no sign of the Red Butterfly Herb, so he decided to slip away quietly.
At that moment, however, Chatot suddenly took flight from the rock and let out a sharp cry.
"Humans! There are humans!"
As it turned out, Chatot had sensed Ange's presence through its singing that echoed through the canyon.
The instant Chatot sounded the alarm, the giant Golem snapped its eyes wide open.