After counting his harvest, Angie parted ways with Raleigh. Recently, he hadn't been going to the palace much, as he kept running into those ministers.
Because of his stall business outside, those ministers had been constantly nagging him, trying to persuade him to give it up on his business for the sake of the royal family's reputation. Some even suggested marrying their daughters to him, which was simply absurd!
Why on earth would they want to marry off their daughters to someone from a lazy royal family?
Angie, holding his Komala, stood on the cable car as it moved toward the city gates. Suddenly, he heard someone calling him from behind.
"Prince Angie! Prince Angie!"
Soon, a motorcyclist appeared on the nearby motorcycle lane.
"Prince Angie, please wait!" the person called as they chased after the cable car.
Angie stopped at a nearby station, and the motorcyclist immediately stopped as well.
"You are?" Angie asked, puzzled.
The person took off their helmet, revealing a slightly intimidating middle-aged man. He introduced himself, saying, "Good afternoon, Prince Angie. My name is Levi, and I'm a subordinate of Lord Alva."
"Alva?" Angie furrowed his brows. "What does Alva' person want with me?"
Levi said, "Your Highness, our lord asks if you'd like to join him for a cup of coffee. It's right there." He pointed to a nearby café.
Angie hesitated for a moment before agreeing, "Let's go."
"Right away!" Levi replied, leading the way.
"Welcome!"
Once inside the café, Angie quickly spotted Alva sitting by the window. As soon as Alva saw him enter, he stood up with a smile to greet him.
"Prince Angie!" he said enthusiastically. "I've been wanting to speak with you alone for a long time but couldn't find the right opportunity."
Angie sat across from him, still confused, and asked, "What could you, a minister and I possibly have to talk about? I'm just a lazy person with no interest in state affairs. Do you want to talk about running a stall business with me?"
"Your Highness is joking," Alva laughed awkwardly, then suddenly sighed deeply and said, "In truth, the throne of the Azoth Kingdom should belong to you!"
Wait, what??? Is Alva hinting at something?
"You're joking. The throne belongs to Edward, and the heirs are Kimia and Raleigh. What does it have to do with me? I just want to live leisurely every day and not worry about complicated matters."
Angie gave Alva a suspicious look. This guy was acting strange.
However, Alva only touched on that point briefly and didn't press the issue further. Instead, he switched to another topic.
"Your Highness, do you know about Magearna?" Alva asked.
"Of course, that's my sister's Pokémon. Isn't it already missing? After five hundred years, we don't even know if it's still alive," Angie replied.
"Your Highness truly doesn't know Magearna's whereabouts? You're Queen Anna's real brother, and you are awakened with Nikola help after five hundred years, didn't they leave any clues for you?" Alva pressed further.
"No," Angie shook his head decisively.
There truly was nothing.
"Your Highness, please think carefully," Alva said, unwilling to give up. "Magearna is very important for the future prosperity of the Azoth Kingdom!"
Angie shook his head again. "There really is nothing."
"Your Highness, don't you want to see Azoth Kingdom dominate the world?" Alva said excitedly. "The secret weapon left by Nikola can surely help Azoth Kingdom achieve that. All we need to do is find Magearna!"
Angie hadn't expected that Alva was an ambitious person.
He replied, "I think Azoth Kingdom is doing just fine now. The people are living well, the country is flourishing, and everything is peaceful. The idea of dominating the world is far-fetched!"
"It's possible! It is definitely possible! It's not a far-fetched idea at all. As long as we can find Magearna and activate the secret weapon left by Nikola!" Alva's expression became almost manic.
"Alva!" Angie called out to him.
Alva immediately realized his outburst and calmed down, sitting up straight again.
"I think Azoth Kingdom is great as it is, and it doesn't need to change," Angie said.
Upon hearing this, Alva's face fell in disappointment. "Your Highness, I am truly disappointed in you. You are not living up to your identity!"
Angie cursed inwardly: Damn it, is this guy trying to fool me? No matter how I am, does it have to satisfy you?
He abruptly stood up. "Alva, sorry, I need to head home. Goodbye!"
"Your Highness! Prince Angie!" Alva tried to call out to him, but Angie didn't look back.
As soon as he exited the café, Angie dialed Kimia's number and told her about his meeting with Alva, warning her to be cautious of him.
Leaving the Azoth city, Angie rode a Lapras straight back home.
As usual, Munchlax was waiting for him on the steps at the door. The moment Angie arrived, Munchlax rushed into his arms, acting all affectionate.
"Alright, alright! You little clingy thing!" Angie teased, giving Munchlax's ear a little pinch.
When Angie entered the house, he saw Kirlia and Gardevoir, so he greeted them with a smile.
Recently, Kirlia had been coming over to help him every day, and now that Gardevoir had recovered, she often helped Kirlia as well.
Ever since Angie had been fully accepted by the Pokémon on the Nebel Plateau, the number of Pokémon coming to the shop to eat had been increasing every day. Thanks to Kirlia and Gardevoir's help, Diancie would have had a hard time keeping up without them.
Just cleaning alone, Diancie was so busy she couldn't keep her feet still.
Kirlia and Gardevoir were both Psychic-type Pokémon, so with their help, Diancie just had to keep the direction right, and it was much easier.
"You two have been working hard recently," Angie said gratefully to the couple.
"Gardevoir~Gardevoir~~"
"Kirlia~Kirlia~"
The couple waved their hands repeatedly. Compared to the help Angie had given them, what they were doing now was nothing at all.
Also, since they had been helping out, they got to eat a meal in the shop every morning and noon, so it was probably them getting the benefits.
Seeing that Angie had returned, the work in the shop was nearly finished, and the couple, holding their baby, prepared to leave.
At that moment, Angie called out to Kirlia, "Wait, Kirlia, do you want to evolve?"
Kirlia looked at Angie, puzzled. Its level wasn't high enough, so it couldn't evolve even if it wanted to.
However, recently, it had felt the urge to evolve, so its level must be close enough.
Noticing Kirlia's confusion, Angie took out his phone and showed it a photo of Gallade. "I'm not talking about evolving into Gardevoir, but evolving into Gallade."
Upon seeing the photo of Gallade, Kirlia's eyes lit up. It clearly preferred the handsome Gallade over evolving into Gardevoir.
"Kirlia~ Kirlia~"
Kirlia tilted its head, looking at Angie. But how could it evolve into Gallade?
Angie smiled and said, "All you need is a Dawn Stone." He reached out, and in his palm appeared a glistening blue stone—the Dawn Stone.
He had bought this Dawn Stone earlier today when passing by a Pokémon store, intending to give it to Kirlia as a thank-you gift. It cost him 30,000, which wasn't cheap.
But now, money was no longer an issue for him.
Angie didn't tell Kirlia that he had bought it himself, not wanting to cause it any psychological burden. He simply said it was a gift from someone else that he didn't need, so he was passing it along to Kirlia.
Kirlia, upon hearing this, eagerly accepted, reaching out with both hands toward the Dawn Stone.
The moment they made contact, blue and white light burst forth, extending along Kirlia's arm and enveloping its entire body.
In the glow of blue and white, Kirlia's height gradually increased, from its previous height of under one meter to over 1.5 meters.
When the light faded, a brand-new Pokémon stood before them.
This Pokémon had green on its lower half and white on its upper half, with a helmet and crown on its head. It had a slender waist, a rounded backside, thick powerful thighs, and sharp, retractable blade-like edges on its arms.
It was the handsome Gallade.
"Congratulations, Gallade," Angie smiled and congratulated Gallade, and as he did so, the data for Gallade appeared in his eyes.
...
[ Gallade ]
Type: Psychic, Fighting
Ability: Sharpness
Gender: Male
Level: 30
Moves: Growl, Confusion, Double Team, Charm, Hypnosis, Lick, Teleport, Confuse Ray, Mean Look, Night Slash, Night Strike, Leaf Blade, Dream Eater.
...
[ Individual Value (IVs) ]
HP: 25
Attack: 21
Defense: 14
Special Attack: 19
Special Defense: 2
Speed: 21
...
Gallade's IVs were among the best he had seen in wild Pokémon, though its Special Defense was notably weak.
He then looked at Gardevoir.
Gardevoir was at a higher level than Gallade, which was why it had evolved first.
...
[ Gardevoir ]
Type: Psychic, Fairy
Ability: Trace
Gender: Female
Level: 35
Moves: Growl, Confusion, Double Team, Charm, Hypnosis, Lick, Teleport, Confuse Ray, Magical Shine, Misty Terrain, Attract, Calm Mind, Bind.
...
[ Individual Value (IVs) ]
HP: 28
Attack: 4
Defense: 14
Special Attack: 17
Special Defense: 26
Speed: 11
...
After the evolution, Gallade looked down and raised its hand, curiously examining its new form. Diancie and Munchlax also came over to offer their congratulations.
Only Komala rolled over, saying nothing and just snoring twice.
"Gardevoir~ Gardevoir~"
"Gallade~ Gallade~"
The married couple, Gardevoir and Gallade, sincerely thanked Angie.
Afterward, Angie escorted the couple out of the door.
After lunch, Angie went on another round to inspect his vegetable garden.
Under the care of Dugtrio, the garden was growing increasingly lush.
During this time, with the help of Dugtrio, Angie had expanded the garden a little more and replanted some new vegetables.
After inspecting the garden, Angie went to the pond to visit Barboach and Whiscash, who were half-submerged in the water with the other half of their bodies basking in the sun on the shore.
Also lounging with them were two Wooper, who lazily rested on the now-wide lotus leaves, soaking up the sun.
The lotus leaves gently swayed in the breeze like a cradle, and the Wooper, eyes closed, mouths slightly open, emitted faint snoring sounds, looking incredibly adorable.
Although the Wooper hadn't settled in Angie's pond, every time he visited Barboach and Whiscash, the Wooper could always be seen there.
Not wanting to disturb them, Angie just glanced at them and quietly tiptoed away.
Returning to the garden, Angie picked a full basket of vegetables—greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, and more.
He then said to Dugtrio, "Please continue taking care of the garden, and feel free to eat the vegetables in it."
Actually, Dugtrio didn't have a large appetite, so they couldn't eat much in one sitting.
"Dugtrio~~"
"Dugtrio~~"
The Dugtrio nodded and watched Angie leave with the basket.
Why was Angie picking all these vegetables? For himself? Of course not. He was planning to use them to get in good with the Gogoat.
His tasks hadn't progressed much, and two out of the three tasks required the cooperation of the Gogoat to be completed.
For the past ten days, Angie had been visiting the Gogoat nearly every day.
Carrying the basket of vegetables back home, Angie called out to Munchlax, "Munchlax, we're going out!"
"Munchlax~~~"
I'm coming, I'm coming!
Munchlax immediately ran out with a quick dash.
Diancie followed closely behind, calling out, "I told you to come back early, don't play until late again!"
Every time Angie and Munchlax visited the Gogoat, they would end up playing along the way and not return home until after dark. Diancie had warned them several times, but it never worked.
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~~"
Okay, Grandma!
"I know! I know! Grandma!" Angie and Munchlax laughed and ran off. When Diancie was around, Munchlax would never dare call him like that, so every time they'd run off, Munchlax would call out in a special way, and by the time they'd return home, Diancie would give them a good scolding.
Angie always found it amusing to watch.
Munchlax often complained, "Why does master get to call you without trouble, but I get scolded when I do?"
Diancie: "Do you give me salary like your master?"
Munchlax: "..."
Recently, as Angie had been making more money, he had started increasing the wages for his Pokémon.
Munchlax, easily distracted, would stop along the way to smell a flower, chat with a Diglett, or shout at a Fletchling flying by until it acknowledged him.
So, it took a while for Angie and Munchlax to finally reach the habitat of the Gogoat.
The largest area on the Nebel Plateau was the vast, lush grassland, home to the highest number of Skiddo and Gogoat, who fed on the grass.
On the flat grassland, the Gogoat were either grazing, resting, or playfully nuzzling each other, while the Skiddo joyfully frolicked and rolled around. It was a peaceful sight.
"Everyone, I'm back!" Angie called out as he placed the basket on the ground, greeting the Skiddo and Gogoat.