NOVEL NEXT Chapter 157: Wait? Who Do You Want Me To Feed?
After tidying up the room, Magearna said to Dusknoir.
"Would you like to take the Shuckle out to meet everyone? They should all be back now."
"Sure!" Dusknoir readily agreed.
When Magearna brought Dusknoir and the Shuckle out of the dormitory, they indeed saw everyone gradually returning. Diancie happened to be coming down from upstairs with Passimian, who had already settled in.
Magearna and Diancie seized the opportunity to introduce Dusknoir, Passimian, and the Shuckle to everyone.
Dusknoir, with its natural sociability, quickly got along with the other Pokémon, bringing Passimian and the Shuckle into the fold of their new family.
Before long, Angie and the others finished preparing dinner, and the Pokémon began to eat happily.
Angie asked Dusknoir, Passimian, and the Shuckle, "How is it? Want some more? You probably didn't fill up on those cold noodles this afternoon."
Looking at the sumptuous dinner, Dusknoir, Passimian, and the Shuckle couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
Ultimately, they couldn't resist the temptation of the feast and joined everyone for dinner.
When Komala came out to eat, it learned that Passimian, Dusknoir, and the Shuckle had come to seek it out. It was momentarily stunned.
Although its expression didn't change much, Angie could tell it was happy. Otherwise, it wouldn't have brought out its cherished wine to share a hearty drink with Passimian.
Spending time with Komala, Passimian became more talkative. It chattered away while drinking with Komala.
Of course, it was mostly Passimian talking and Komala listening.
After dinner, Magearna, Diancie, and Robert 2.0 cleaned up, while Metagross and Pawmi gave Passimian a tour of the house.
Gengar was still out working and hadn't returned.
Angie sat on the steps at the entrance with Munchlax and Drizzile, holding Komala in his arms. Not far away, Volcanion lay dozing off.
Angie gazed at the night sky with a worried expression and said, "I wonder how Charcadet and Oinkologne are doing. Have they found Xerneas yet?"
"Munchlax~"
Munchlax patted its master on the back, trying to comfort him.
"Drizzile~ Drizzile~"
Don't worry, everything will be fine!
Drizzile chimed in.
"Let's hope so." Angie nodded.
After staring at the night sky for a while, Angie suddenly thought it might be a good time to claim the reward for capturing Passimian.
However, when he opened the system, he noticed something strange.
...
[ (Temporary Mission) Help the Princess of the Diamond Domain Find Xerneas – Completed, reward pending. ]
[ (Capture Mission) Capture Passimian – Completed, reward pending. ]
...
Two tasks were already marked as completed.
The temporary mission was done, which meant Charcadet and Oinkologne had found Xerneas.
Great! Angie's face lit up with a smile, and he felt a wave of relief.
If they found Xerneas, that meant Charcadet and Oinkologne were safe.
"Munchlax~"
Seeing the smile on its master's face, Munchlax burrowed its head into Angie's arms and nudged him.
Angie hugged its head and ruffled it, laughing as he said, "You're my little joy-bringer."
Komala, uncomfortable with being nudged by Munchlax, tumbled out of Angie's arms and rolled over to Passimian, who picked it up and held it close.
When Komala left, Mucnhlax leaned directly into Angie's arms, resting its head on Angie's lap.
While gently stroking the soft belly of Mucnhlax, Angie claimed the task rewards.
[ Congratulations, Master, on completing the (Temporary Task): Assist the Princess of the Diamond Domain in locating Xerneas. ]
[ Reward obtained: Dessert Encyclopedia, Physique +3, Individual Value +2." ]
Seeing the reward, Angie's heart soared with joy. Recipes related to desserts had finally been unlocked—Magearna would be thrilled.
Angie flipped through the recipe book and found that Dessert Encyclopedia was similar to Noodles, containing both standard and advanced recipes.
Typically, advanced recipes required Pokémon-related ingredients as their main component.
Closing the recipe interface, Angie proceeded to claim the second reward.
[ Congratulations, Master, on completing the (Capture Task): Capture Passimian. ]
[ Reward obtained: Wine and Juice Beverages. ]
Angie's joy doubled. Although this reward lacked physique and individual value bonuses, two recipe categories were unlocked simultaneously.
But... wine and juice as recipes?
Angie didn't ponder too much, chalking it up to the idea that food and drink go hand in hand. Opening the recipe interface, Angie casually browsed through the two new sections.
The Wine section was extensive, detailing methods for brewing white wine, red wine, fruit wine, and various other types, all categorized as advanced recipes.
The Juice Beverages section was equally comprehensive, containing both standard and advanced recipes.
After reviewing the recipes, Angie opened the personal information interface.
...
[ Angie ]
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 16 (+500)
Physique: 54
Intelligence: 22
Culinary Skill Rating: A beginner chef barely passing muster.
...
Thanks to daily training, Angie's physique had increased to 51 points previously. With the latest reward adding 3 more, it now stood at 54.
Such a generous physique bonus!
At 54 points, Angie was confident that even in a physical fight with Passimian, he would not lose.
As for intelligence, it correlated with the strength of his Aura, which couldn't be improved through training—only through task rewards.
For the 2 individual value points, Angie promptly allocated them to the physical defense of Mucnhlax.
...
[ Mucnhlax (Eviolite) ]
Type: Normal
Ability: Thick Fat
Gender: Male
Level: 51
Moves: Tackle, Lick, Defense Curl, Recycle, Covet, Bite, Stockpile, Swallow, Heavy Slam, Throw, Amnesia, Double-Edge, Charm, Seed Bomb, Brick Break, Counter, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Fire Punch.
...
[ Individual Values (IVs) ]
HP: 31
Attack: 31
Defense: 23
Special Attack: 31
Special Defense: 31
Speed: 31
...
Now that Mucnhlax's level had surpassed 50, it was considered a rather strong Pokémon.
With Angie's cooking and the experience amulet in play, the Pokémon's levels were increasing quickly.
However, as their levels grew higher, Angie noticed that the level-up pace for Pokémon like Diancie and Mucnhlax had slowed down recently.
After spending some time with the Pokémon at the doorstep, Angie took them to the culinary training room when Gengar returned from the azoth city.
When Magearna learned it could now practice making desserts in the culinary training room without using up ingredients, it was so overjoyed that it gave Angie a big, warm hug.
Too excited, Magearna ended up sprawling clumsily on the floor.
As for Passimian, it was its first time in the culinary training room. When it learned about the room's powerful capabilities, it was utterly amazed. When Angie further explained that it could use the trainer's guidance system to generate step-by-step video tutorials for brewing alcohol, Passimian became so excited that it jumped around the training room before finally calming down.
However, once it started training, it realized that the training room wasn't all fun and games.
Since Passimian was a beginner, Diancie kept her eyes fixed on it the whole time. If it made even a slight mistake, her training whip would strike the table with a loud snap. Every crack of the whip sent shivers down Passimian's spine.
So terrifying!
How could she be so gentle and understanding during the day?
After culinary training, Angie brought his three disciples and Pawmi to practice Aura.
Although Mucnhlax, Drizzile, and Gengar still hadn't awakened their Aura, training alongside Angie had become a daily habit.
Passimian, having learned that Aura could assist in cooking, thought it might also help with brewing alcohol. It enthusiastically joined the training group.
Meanwhile, Dusknoir and the Shuckle were ready to call it a night. One Shuckle was about to turn off the light, but Dusknoir quickly stopped it.
"Dusknoir~ Dusknoir~"
Don't turn off the light!
Lights are amazing! They brighten up the dark night. It never appreciated this before, but now that it had experienced light, it absolutely loved it.
Dusknoir hated the darkness—it was scary.
The Shuckle rolled their eyes.
"Shuckle~ Shuckle~"
You're such a coward.
One Shuckle commented.
"Shuckle~ Shuckle~"
Yeah, remember, you're a Ghost-type Pokémon.
Another Shuckle chimed in.
"Shuckle~ Shuckle~"
Isn't nighttime supposed to be the time for Ghost-type Pokémon to revel?
Yet another Shuckle added.
Dusknoir rebutted righteously.
"Dusknoir~ Dusknoir~ Dusknoir~"
Who says Ghost-type Pokémon must love the dark? I like daylight and brightly lit places!
"Shuckle~ Shuckle~"
Fine, fine, we won't turn off the light.
The Shuckle relented.
Afterward, they each grabbed their blankets and nestled into their little beds to sleep.
Dusknoir also crawled into its blanket and happily closed its eyes.
Meanwhile, Angie and his Pokémon were halfway through their Aura training when Metagross hurriedly entered the culinary training room with Robert 2.0.
"What's wrong, Metagross?" Seeing Metagross in such a rush, Angie asked curiously.
"Angie, something has happened!" Metagross said through Robert 2.0. "You'd better go take a look."
Metagross had been giving lessons at the secret fortress when Honchkrow and its Murkrow companions flew in, asking it to find Angie.
Initially, Honchkrow had tried to find Angie directly, but since Angie and his team were in the training room and couldn't hear anything outside, Honchkrow had no choice but to seek Metagross instead.
"What's going on?" Angie asked.
"You'll know when you see it," Metagross replied gravely.
Angie, holding Komala in his arms, instructed his Pokémon, "You all keep training; I'll go check things out."
The Pokémon nodded, watching as Angie left the training room.
Once outside, Angie found Volcanion waiting at the door.
"What are you doing here? Weren't you watching the soccer game?" Angie asked.
"I heard something happened outside, so I came to check it out with you," Volcanion replied with a haughty expression.
"Well, thank you, then!" Angie said with a smile.
"Hmph~"
Volcanion snorted and strode off ahead.
When they reached the courtyard, Angie saw Honchkrow and the Murkrow perched in a row on the wall, their expressions grave as they waited for him.
"Roaar~"
Just as Angie was about to ask Honchkrow what was wrong, a terrifying wail echoed from somewhere in the night.
Hearing the sound, even Volcanion's face grew solemn.
"Murkrow~"
"Honchkrow~~"
The Murkrow and Honchkrow became even more panicked, flying frantically in all directions.
Angie shouted loudly, "Murkrow, Honchkrow, calm down! What on earth is going on?"
"Murkrow~ Murkrow~"
"Honchkrow~ Honchkrow~"
The Honchkrow screeched and flew into the night, with the Murkrow following closely behind.
Seeing this, Angie quickly followed with Komala, Metagross, and Volcanion.
As they ran, Volcanion formed a flaming orb and suspended it ahead of them, illuminating the path so Angie could see the way.
"Volcanion, thank you," Angie said.
"Hmph, I'm doing it for myself," Volcanion replied with a stiff tone.
Angie chuckled but didn't argue.
They followed Honchkrow and the Murkrow for an unknown distance until the Pokémon finally stopped. Angie then saw a dark figure on the grass ahead.
In the pitch-black night, the figure's blood-red eyes glowed cold and emotionless, cutting through the darkness.
Even though he couldn't see the figure's full appearance, Angie felt an overwhelming sense of pressure crashing over him.
"Roaar~"
Sensing someone approaching, the shadow let out a piercing cry.
The next moment, a beam of black and crimson energy surged from the shadow's direction.
"Honchkrow~"
Angie, dodge!
"Murkrow~ Murkrow~"
Dodge! Dodge!
The Murkrow and Honchkrow squawked in panic.
As soon as the energy beam came near, Angie instinctively and deftly dodged with Komala in his arms.
His heightened physical condition had significantly improved his reflexes, allowing him to react faster than ever.
Seeing Angie attacked, Volcanion wasted no time retaliating, unleashing its signature move, Steam Eruption, toward the opponent.
Boom!
Scalding steam surged forward, crashing into the shadow with a roaring wave of heat.
"Roaar~!!"
The shadow let out another cry, this time tinged with weakness.
It's burned! Angie keenly noticed the change.
Volcanion's signature move had a chance to inflict a burn, and it seemed the shadow had drawn the short straw this time.
At that moment, Angie heard the system's notification chime in his ears.
Huh? At this moment?
He quickly opened the system interface and immediately noticed a new task in the mission list.
[ (Feeding Task) Use a Golden Razz Berry, a Golden Nanab Berry, and a Golden Pinap Berry to prepare food and feed it to Yveltal — Pending Completion. ]
Angie was stunned.
So the shadow was… Yveltal? The Destruction Pokémon, Yveltal?
The three golden berries were meant for this?
The berry reserved for feeding a legendary Pokémon indeed held extraordinary value.
Volcanion was preparing to launch another attack, but Angie hastily stopped it.
"Volcanion, wait!"
Hearing Angie's call, Volcanion halted its actions.