"Gah~gah~~"
Munchlax quickly nodded and obediently stood aside, quietly observing Angie wash the dishes, scrub the pots, and tidy up the stove. It looked like it was learning very earnestly.
Angie glanced back at it and couldn't help but smile: so adorable.
Before long, Angie finished cleaning the kitchen, and around the same time, Diancie also tidied up the hall.
"Now can you tell me about the Culinary Training Room?" Angie asked.
"Did you forget that we have a third floor? The Culinary Training Room is up there!" Diancie explained. "Let's go take a look."
"The third floor?" If Diancie hadn't mentioned it, Angie might have forgotten that there was a third floor in his house.
When he first moved into the small building, Angie had wanted to tour every part of the house. The first floor was the shop, and the second floor was where he and the Pokémon lived. However, when he tried to go up to the third floor, he was blocked by an invisible force.
At that time, Diancie had told him that he hadn't yet obtained permission to enter the third floor.
"So now I have the permission?"
"Yes, yes! Let's go take a look!" Diancie pulled Angie's hand and headed for the third floor.
Angie quickly waved at Munchlax, "Munchlax, you come too! This will be your home from now on; we'll explore together."
"Gahgah"
Upon hearing this, Munchlax happily followed behind Angie.
Just as Diancie had said, this time, Angie easily made it to the third floor, which he had previously been unable to access.
He saw that the third floor had many doors. He randomly chose one and tried to open it, but after twisting the doorknob for a while, it still didn't budge.
Seeing this, Diancie explained, "You've obtained permission to access the Culinary Training Room, but the other doors need to be unlocked step by step for you to gain access."
"Okay."
Angie had no choice but to release the doorknob and continue forward with Munchlax following Diancie.
When they reached the end of the hallway, Diancie stopped in front of a door, where the sign read "Culinary Training Room."
"This is it?"
Diancie nodded, indicating for Angie to push the door open.
Angie stepped forward, grasped the doorknob, and turned it. Sure enough, he easily opened the door.
Upon entering the room, Angie saw an empty, white space.
Diancie followed closely behind and guided Angie according to the system's prompts: "Angie, say 'Culinary training starts!'"
Although Angie was puzzled, he complied.
"Culinary training starts."
As soon as Angie's voice fell, the empty room immediately underwent a tremendous transformation, quickly turning into a spacious kitchen filled with all kinds of cooking utensils. Anything Angie knew about could be found here.
In front of the kitchen was a podium-like area, behind which was a large screen.
Diancie stepped up to the podium and introduced, "From now on, you and Munchlax can practice cooking in this room. Time flows ten times faster here than outside, and you can use ingredients without any limitations. However, the ingredients and the food you prepare are virtual, and you cannot take them out of the training room."
"Wow! That's amazing!" Angie couldn't help but exclaim.
Diancie replied, "I think it's amazing too!" After all, it hadn't known about these features for much longer than Angie.
Munchlax was dazzled by the luxurious kitchen, its eyes nearly unable to keep up with all the high-tech items.
Next, Diancie pointed to the large screen behind it and explained, "You can choose the food you want to practice making here, and the training room will automatically prepare the ingredients for you.
However, for now, Angie, you've only unlocked the option to make steamed buns, so that's the only thing you can practice in the training room."
Angie looked at the large screen and saw that the list indeed only had steamed buns. He couldn't help but complain, "When will I unlock the next food recipes?"
He could make other dishes himself, but any food not unlocked by the system wouldn't earn him happiness points, which just wasn't worth it.
Diancie comforted him, saying, "It'll be soon, it'll be soon; don't rush."
"Alright." Angie resigned himself to it.
"Do you want to use the training room now?" Diancie asked.
Angie shook his head, "Let's talk about it in the evening. I promised to help Litwick and the others plant some vegetables this afternoon."
"Right, then let's discuss it later." Diancie nodded.
After exploring the Culinary Training Room for a while, Angie called Diancie and Munchlax to head out.
At noon, after the family of four had lunch together, they went to the back of the small building, where Angie planned to create a vegetable garden.
Even if the vegetables he grew weren't used in the shop, he could enjoy them occasionally; after all, he couldn't earn happiness points from himself.
Soon, Litwick arrived as promised, bringing along some friends to help, and Angie was surprised to see two helpers he hadn't met before.
They were two Diglett.
"Muhihi~ Muhihi~"
Litwick introduced the two Diglett to Angie, explaining that they were friends of Zigzagoon. Upon learning that Angie was going to cultivate a vegetable garden today, Zigzagoon had specially invited his friends to help.
The land turned soft where Diglett had dug, making it more suitable for planting, and their droppings were also better fertilizer than those from other Pokémon.
Angie gratefully thanked Diglett, saying, "Thank you, Diglett."
"Jikaka~ Jikaka~"
Diglett shyly hugged its little head with its two small paws.
"Since everyone is here, let's get to work!" Angie announced.
"Muhihi~"
"Yachha~"
"Jikaka~"
…
The Pokémon responded energetically to him.
Then, like last time when planting flowers, Angie assigned tasks to the Pokémon.
However, this time they didn't need to find dead branches or compost to make fertilizer because the fertilizer made from the last flower planting was still unused.
Similarly, everyone didn't need to search for stones this time. Angie planned to use wooden sticks to surround the vegetable garden with a fence. The area of the vegetable garden was much larger than that of the flowerbed, and it would be much more efficient to use wooden sticks for the fence than to use stones.
Once the tasks were assigned, Pancham, Scrafty, Skitty, Litleo, and Spritzee all rushed out to look for sticks, leaving behind only Angie, Diancie, Komala, Munchlax, Diglett, and Castform.
"Komala, I'm counting on you," Angie said to the swaying Komala, who was hugging a tree trunk.
Upon hearing this, Komala rolled over to the spot Angie indicated, raised its tree trunk, and used Wood Hammer to hit the ground with great force. Immediately, the ground cracked, and the soil rose up, clearing a patch of land.
Next, it was Diglett' turn. The two Diglett burrowed into the ground that Komala had disturbed, digging around, and soon the large clumps of hard soil became soft.
This efficiency was much faster than Angie and Diancie using hoes to chip away bit by bit.
"Awesome!" Angie gave a thumbs-up to the two Diglett.
Upon hearing the praise, the two Diglett dug even more energetically.
Diglett told them that if they did a good job, there would be delicious food!
Angie called to Diancie and the others, saying, "Let's start working; don't just stand around."
With that, he, Diancie, and Munchlax walked into the garden to clear the grass roots mixed in the soil, then had Litwick bake the soil.
By the time the sun was about to set, Angie and the others had finally cleared the vegetable garden.
Looking at the square patch of land before him, Angie felt a great sense of accomplishment.
He divided the cultivated vegetable plot into five sections: the first section was planted with green onions and garlic, the second with bell peppers and chili peppers, the third with ginger and leeks, the fourth with some common spices like Sichuan pepper, cumin, bay leaves, and star anise—each planted just a little bit since the spices were used slowly, which would be enough even if used in the shop.
As for the fifth section, Angie planted some commonly eaten vegetables, such as greens, water spinach, tomatoes, and radishes, each only a little, just enough for their family to eat.
As for what would be used in the shop, they could plant again later as they didn't know what dishes the system would unlock in the future. Vegetables grew quickly, so they would definitely have time when that happened.
The climate of the Nebel Plateau was special; they could harvest crops at any time.
After planting, he surrounded the area with a fence and said to Castform, "Castform, could you please water them?"
"Pufufu~~~"
Castform nodded, flew above the vegetable garden, and soon a light drizzle began to fall, just like the previous experience with watering flowers. This time, it controlled the rainfall perfectly.
After watering, Angie said to the Pokémon, "Go back and take a bath; we're going to have dinner!"
Upon hearing this, the Pokémon cheered immediately.
Setting out the bathing supplies, Angie put Munchlax and Komala into the water, applying shower gel on them, and then said to the other Pokémon, "You're all mature Pokémon now; shouldn't you learn to bathe yourselves?"
Stunky, Minccino, and Helioptile immediately jumped into another bathtub, mimicking Angie's actions by applying shower gel and rubbing their bodies.
Seeing this, Angie reminded them, "For the spots you can't reach, remember to ask your friends for help so you don't miss any spots."
Stunky, Minccino, and Helioptile understood and began to help each other with their baths. Castform, who loved cleanliness, washed the most vigorously, even supervising its friends to ensure they didn't miss a spot.
With the three leading the way, the other Pokémon also helped each other wash.
This time, Angie had prepared two extra bathtubs, so he didn't have to worry about running out of space.
Everyone washed while playing in the water. Skitty still disliked bathing, and as its friends dragged it into the water, it let out a heart-wrenching "wail."
Litwick and the two Diglett quietly watched everyone bathing and playing nearby. The evening sunlight cast a warm glow over them, making the scene appear even more gentle and harmonious, like a painting.
Litwick thought that such a life was beautiful—so beautiful that it felt like a dream, a dream that seemed like it could be shattered at any moment.
It turned its gaze toward Angie, who was laughing and joking with Munchlax.
Recently, everyone had become less afraid of Angie, and their relationships with him had grown closer, including its own.
It was both enamored by this beauty and unconsciously filled with fear, fearing that at any moment, this wonderful life could shatter like the beautiful times of the past, leaving it deeply wounded.
Litwick had once had its favorite trainer, with whom it shared many wonderful moments.
However, one day, its trainer suddenly collapsed, and after some examination, it was told that it had inadvertently absorbed its trainer's life force, causing the trainer to weaken and ultimately fall into a coma.
In order to bring its trainer back to life, it had to leave its trainer.
In the end, Litwick was quietly sent away by its trainer's mother, and after a series of twists and turns, it wandered up to the Nebel Plateau.
In fact, it understood the trainer's mother's actions. Even if she hadn't sent it away, it would have left quietly on its own; it just…
"Alright! Everyone's done washing up. Let's go back for dinner; my stomach is growling with hunger."
At that moment, Angie's voice pulled Litwick back from its thoughts. It stepped into the house alongside Angie, basking in the sunset, and then they all enjoyed a hearty meal together. Finally, with the send-off from Angie, Diancie, and Munchlax, Litwick returned home with its friends.
After dinner, Angie took Munchlax, Komala, and Diancie to the culinary training room.
"Let's experience the functions of this training room!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Diancie standing on the podium, holding a teaching baton that she had somehow acquired.
Angie's heart skipped a beat. "Diancie, what do you mean by this?"
Diancie waved the baton and said, "You're training, and I'm supervising! What fun would that be?"
"You wouldn't actually punish the students, would you?"
"Of course not!" Diancie said with a kind smile. "I'm just a simple supervisor."
"Uh… okay."
Recalling Diancie's cold and ruthless attitude during his previous culinary training, Angie's heart involuntarily shivered.
He watched as Diancie selected the training project for them on the large screen, and ingredients needed to make steamed buns appeared on the kitchen countertop: flour, yeast, water…
"Practice begins! Munchlax, follow Angie and learn," Diancie transformed into a strict instructor, making the podium crack with the sound of her baton.
Munchlax nodded obediently. At that moment, it was dressed in a chef's outfit just like Angie's—a pristine apron and a tall hat, looking quite the part of a culinary apprentice.
However, it was a bit short, so to reach the countertop and cutting board, it stood on a stool.
Once the training began, Munchlax followed Angie step by step, its expression serious and focused.
Crack! The baton hit the podium hard.
"Munchlax, you added too much water!" Diancie's stern voice suddenly rang out.
Angie's heart jolted. He looked at Diancie and then at Munchlax. Thankfully, it wasn't directed at him.
Wait a minute! I'm the head of the household; why should I be scared? With this thought, Angie straightened his back.
Crack! The sound of the baton striking the podium came again.
"The water is still too much!"
With the support of the system, Diancie's eyes were like those of a hawk, catching every mistake. Munchlax hurriedly corrected its errors.
Crack!
"The kneading is too forceful; be gentler."
Crack!
"I said to be gentle! Don't you understand what gentle means?"
Crack!
"When I say gentle, I don't mean don't exert yourself. Did you not eat enough at dinner? Who devoured all those big bowls of steamed buns?"
Diancie in the training room was sharper-tongued than at any other time. Munchlax shrank its head, not daring to say a word.
"Diancie, why don't we take it slow…" Angie attempted to intercede for Munchlax, but under Diancie's glare, he silently closed his mouth. What he intended to say turned into, "Munchlax, enduring hardship now will pave the way for a better future! Just endure it a little longer! I'm definitely on your side."
Munchlax swallowed this bowl of motivational soup from Angie, and indeed, its expression improved, and its movements became even more vigorous.
Only Komala had the easiest time, swaying while hugging the tree trunk on the podium, not even seeming to be truly awake.