By the time Angie and the others come out from the training room, an hour had passed outside, which meant they had been inside for 10 hours.
When they came out, Angie was completely exhausted.
Who could endure kneading dough for 10 hours straight? If not for his physique having improved recently, he would have collapsed from fatigue by now.
Compared to Angie, Munchlax's exhaustion was more psychological. It had been so thoroughly scolded by Diancie in the training room that it didn't dare make a sound. Even after leaving the room, it still glanced warily at Diancie, its eyes filled with hesitation.
However, thanks to Diancie's strictness, after 10 hours of special training, Munchlax was now able to make a decent batch of steamed buns.
Of course, the main factor here was that Munchlax truly had a natural talent for cooking.
Cooking is one of those things where someone with talent can quickly grasp the essentials after just a bit of practice, leading to mastery. But for someone without talent, even if you teach them step by step a thousand times, they might only ever create culinary disasters.
Dragging his tired body, Angie said to the three Pokémon, "Let's wash up and get some sleep; it's getting late."
"Goodnight," Diancie said to Angie and Munchlax.
"Gah~~"
Although Diancie's voice was gentle, Munchlax still shuddered involuntarily, clearly suffering from a bit of PTSD.
Due to the exhaustion from the previous night, Angie slept very soundly, and he woke up much later than usual the next morning.
Understanding how tired Angie had been, Diancie let him sleep in and didn't wake him too early, giving Munchlax the same courtesy.
Seeing that it was getting late, and any further delay would make it impossible to open the shop on time, Diancie gently knocked on Angie's door.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!"
Wearing his pajamas and rubbing his sleepy eyes, Angie got out of bed and walked over to the balcony. He took a big stretch under the morning sun, which warmly bathed him. He yawned, feeling surprisingly refreshed.
Huh? After being so tired last night, why do I feel so much lighter today?
Not thinking much of it, Angie turned to head for the bathroom.
As Diancie retrieved Angie's clothes for the day from the wardrobe and laid them on the bed, she asked, "Angie, there's a new task—do you want to take it?"
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Of course I'll take it!" Angie's voice echoed from the bathroom.
Diancie explained, "This is your final task during the novice period. Once you complete it, your beginner phase will be over."
"Huh? Already?" Angie peeked his head out from the bathroom, toothpaste foam still on his mouth.
Diancie shrugged, "It's not my decision."
Angie pulled his head back into the bathroom. "Looks like the good days are coming to an end."
After finishing his morning routine, Angie came out of the bathroom and casually accepted the final novice task. Immediately, a new line of text appeared in his task panel.
[ Serve 100 Pokémon, deadline: 30 days. (0/100) ]
The system's time frame was generous. Judging by the previous task, serving 100 Pokémon in 30 days would be practically effortless.
"Alright, let's get to work!"
Angie now considered cooking breakfast for the Pokémon every morning as part of his job.
On the way past Munchlax's room, Angie woke it up too, and the master-apprentice duo headed to the kitchen together.
Today was Munchlax's first day at work, and it looked incredibly excited.
Angie helped straighten Munchlax's chef uniform and adjusted its crooked chef hat. Patting its shoulder, he said, "Let's give it our all."
"Gah!"
Munchlax clenched its fist with a solemn expression, as if it were about to head into battle.
"Hahaha, relax, relax," Angie said, rubbing its chubby cheeks.
Since Angie was usually a late riser, the Pokémon had gotten used to waiting outside the shop in the morning. With nothing to do, they would gather in small groups on the grass outside, playing and frolicking, while the quieter ones stood by the flowerbeds, silently observing the freshly sprouted seedlings.
The green sprouts were still too young to reveal what type of flowers they would become, but they radiated vitality.
Diancie called out from the doorway, "Everyone, come inside! Breakfast will be ready soon."
The Pokémon cheered and lined up in an orderly fashion to enter the shop.
As always, they brought gifts for Diancie, and, as usual, she graciously accepted them without hesitation.
With Munchlax's help, Angie's work efficiency increased significantly. Though Munchlax couldn't handle tasks on its own yet, it was great at assisting Angie, which meant the aroma of food soon began wafting through the kitchen.
The rich smell filled the air, and the Pokémon grew even more eager.
Coming here every morning for a hearty meal had become the highlight of their day.
Once Diancie brought out the food and distributed it, the Pokémon eagerly dug in, enjoying their feast.
While the Pokémon were happily devouring their meals in the main hall, Munchlax was also feasting away in the kitchen. One steamed bun after another disappeared into its mouth, and the pile of buns in the bowl in front of it dwindled at a visible rate.
Angie watched with a smile. "How does it feel to eat food you made by yourself?"
"Gah~~"
It's really delicious! I Love it!
Munchlax's eyes squinted into crescent shapes with joy.
"Eat slowly. If it's not enough, we can always make more. There's plenty," Angie said, gently patting Munchlax's back as he watched it wolf down its food. "No matter how tasty it is, if you eat too fast, you won't really savor the flavor."
Munchlax obediently slowed down, chewing more carefully as it placed a steamed bun into its mouth.
"Gah~~~"
As Munchlax chewed slowly, the rich aroma of the bun spread through its mouth, and the soft texture felt like countless tiny hands massaging its palate. Unable to resist, Munchlax closed its eyes to fully savor the experience.
"See? It tastes even better, right?" Angie said with a warm smile. He loved watching Munchlax enjoy its food, feeling that it reflected Munchlax's love for life.
"Gah~ Gah~"
Munchlax looked up at Angie with admiration, thinking how knowledgeable its master was.
"Yaaaah-low!"
Suddenly, a sharp screech came from outside, startling both Angie and Munchlax, who was mid-bite.
"What's going on?"
Since Angie couldn't leave the kitchen at that moment, Diancie rushed outside to check. To her surprise, there were three Pokémon standing sternly in front of Angie's house: a Talonflame, a Victreebel, and an Altaria. The trio gave off an aura of hostility, making it clear they hadn't come with friendly intentions.
The Pokémon dining inside quickly ran outside to see what was happening. Among them, a Fletchling, a Bellsprout, and a Swablu gasped as they recognized the three visitors—these were their parents.
"Yaaaah-low~~"
"Ah~ Ah~ Ah~"
"Chirp~ Chirp~"
At their parents' calls, the three Pokémon, though reluctant to leave their meals unfinished, obediently returned to their sides.
It turned out that since Fletchling, Bellsprout, and Swablu had started coming to Angie's for meals, their parents had noticed how rapidly their strength had grown.
While this should have been a good thing, their parents became concerned after realizing their children were visiting a place frequented by humans—whom they had seen entering and leaving the building.
Fearing their children might be harmed by humans, the three parents had banded together to confront the situation and figure out why a human was living in the area.
For Angie, it was inevitable that Pokémon on the highlands would discover his presence. After all, he had never planned on hiding from them, as it would have been unrealistic.
"Yaaaah-low~~ Yaaaah-low~~"
Talonflame was the first to voice its suspicions, demanding to know what Diancie and the human living here were up to.
With a sigh, Diancie stepped forward and explained, "Talonflame, Victreebel, Altaria, your children have just been coming here to eat. We haven't done anything bad to them."
Fletchling, Bellsprout, and Swablu chirped away, trying to explain the situation to their parents.
"Chirp~~ Chirp~~~"
How could you come here every day knowing that a human lives here? Aren't you scared?
Altaria questioned its child sternly.
A human?
Fletchling, Bellsprout, and Swablu froze, instinctively looking to Diancie for confirmation, as if seeking the truth in her expression.
With a resigned sigh, Diancie nodded, "Altaria is right. The person who lives here is indeed a human. His name is Angie, and the food you've been eating these past days was made by him."
As soon as Diancie admitted this, a wave of shock swept through the Pokémon gathered outside. Some were frightened, others anxious or confused, but one thing was certain—they all quickly distanced themselves from Angie's house. Fletchling, Bellsprout, and Swablu, in particular, hid nervously behind their parents.
Only a small group remained with Diancie: Litwick, Gulpin, Litleo, Pancham, Glameow, Scraggy, Stunky, Spritzee, Zigzagoon, Helioptile, Minccino, two Diglett, and Castform.
Fletchling had been introduced to the place by Spritzee, and when it saw its friend still standing with Diancie, it anxiously called out, urging Spritzee to stay away.
"Swoop~ swoop~~"
But Spritzee shook its head. Instinctively, it felt that leaving now wasn't the right thing to do.
It wasn't just Spritzee; Litwick, Gulpin, and the others felt the same way. Through their days of interaction with Angie, they had seen many sides of him that defied their typical understanding of humans.
Seeing the others distance themselves just because Angie was human upset Diancie. She stepped forward and addressed Talonflame.
"I understand that everyone on Nebel Plateau dislikes humans, but not all humans are bad—especially not Angie. If we wanted to harm you, we wouldn't have waited this long to act. And what reason would we have to hurt anyone?"
Diancie then turned her gaze to Fletchling and the others. "Fletchling, Bellsprout, Swablu, Oddish, Espurr, Dedenne, Sudowoodo… when you ate the buns Angie made, didn't you feel the care he put into them?"
The Pokémon whose names were called instinctively lowered their heads.
"Swoop~ swoop~"
"Zigzag~ zigzag~"
Spritzee and Zigzagoon hurried forward, nervously explaining to everyone that Angie wasn't a bad person.
In the kitchen, Angie had known that he couldn't keep hiding once Talonflame and the others came to confront him. He come out with Munchlax just in time to hear Diancie, Spritzee, and Zigzagoon defending him. His heart warmed with gratitude.
Watching Spritzee and Zigzagoon anxiously trying to explain, Angie thought to himself, All that feeding was worth it!
The sight of Angie stepping out caused some of the Pokémon who had never seen a human to cry out in shock. Some who had been hurt by humans in the past couldn't back away fast enough.
"Hello, everyone," Angie greeted the Pokémon who had never met him, standing confidently.
"Yaaah-low~ yaaah-low~"
"Ah~ ah~"
"Chirp~ chirp~~"
Talonflame, Victreebel, and Altaria, as the elders, instinctively shielded the younger Pokémon behind them.
Seeing how tense the parents were, Angie quickly explained, "Diancie is right. I've never thought about harming any of you. I have moved to Nebel Plateau and will be part of Nebel Plateau in the future. I understand you don't trust me now, but I believe that over time, you will."
Talonflame, Victreebel, and Altaria glared at Angie.
"Yaaah-low~~"
"Ah~ ah~"
"Chirp~ chirp~"
They demanded to know why a human had come to Nebel Plateau.
The combined pressure from the three Pokémon was intense, and Munchlax clung tightly to Angie in fear.
Angie gently stroked Munchlax's back to comfort it, then said with a resigned tone, "I truly mean no harm. Please, believe me."
But how could the words of a human be trusted?
At that moment, a Komala came rolling forward, hugging its log tightly. It wobbled right in front of Talonflame, Altaria, and Victreebel, drawing their attention.
This Komala…
"Yaaah-low~~"
After staring at Komala for a while, Talonflame let out a sharp cry and flapped its wings, soaring into the sky. Fletchling followed closely behind, but not before casting one last look at its friend Spritzee—and at Angie, the human.
Once Talonflame had left, Altaria and Victreebel also took off with Swablu and Bellsprout in tow. The other Pokémon quickly scattered, and the area around the house suddenly became quiet.
Angie descended the steps, picked up the still-wobbling Komala, and patted the grass off its fur. He then turned around to Litwick and the others and said, "Alright, everyone, let's go back to eating."
"Meow~"
"Litleo~"
Skitty and Litleo ran over to Angie, looking up at him with concern.
Angie crouched down, rubbing their little heads in turn. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine. After all, I've still got all of you with me, haven't I?"
Back in the shop, the atmosphere was noticeably subdued. Pancham and the others stared at their food, lost in thought.
"Come on, everyone, why are you just sitting there? Eat up, and once you finish breakfast, let's get on with our day!" Angie encouraged them with a smile.
"Angie…" Diancie approached Angie, her face also showing signs of concern.
Angie patted Munchlax beside him and took Diancie's hand, sighing, "I'm really fine. Do you all really think I'm that fragile?" He then glanced at Litwick and the others. "Hurry up and eat, or it won't taste as good when it gets cold."
At his words, the Pokémon finally lowered their heads to resume eating, though the atmosphere never quite returned to what it had been before.