No one knew how long they'd been running when Levi and Cherie finally reached the area near Munchlax's House and watched Haunter slip through the wall into the shop.
"Is that... His Royal Highness Angie's shop?" Levi stopped and asked.
"What should we do? Do we keep chasing it?" Cherie asked hesitantly.
Levi thought for a moment and said, "Let's go back and report to Lord Alva first."
Cherie nodded at this, and the two quietly left with their Pokémon.
Alva was waiting at the palace gate for Raleigh to return when he saw Levi and Cherie approaching hurriedly.
"Lord Alva…" Levi looked as though he had something urgent to report.
Alva immediately understood and cast a discreet glance at the palace guards nearby, then whispered, "Let's talk over there."
Levi and Cherie nodded.
Once they reached a corner, Levi reported, "Lord Alva, that Haunter entered His Royal Highness Angie's shop."
"His Royal Highness Angie?" Alva's face showed surprise.
Levi and Cherie nodded in unison.
Alva's expression darkened instantly.
Then, a sinister look appeared on his face as though he had come up with an idea. He motioned for the two of them to come closer.
Levi and Cherie leaned in.
"I'm assigning you a mission," Alva said in a low voice. "Kidnap His Royal Highness Angie for me. Can you do it?"
He'd been trying to curry favor with him lately, but His Royal Highness Angie continued to ignore him. Alva didn't believe a word of his story about not knowing Magearna's whereabouts.
Because of Alva's actions, even Prince Raleigh was becoming more distant from him!
If he could find Magearna's whereabouts, he could activate the weapon left by Nikola. Then, the entire Azoth Kingdom would have no choice but to obey him!
So he decided to take a risky move. If he could locate Magearna, there'd be no need to waste time capturing Haunter.
"Rest assured, Lord Alva." Levi nodded confidently. "We'll get it done." He didn't think he'd have any trouble handling a prince who had been frail and pampered all his life.
Cherie also nodded.
They were both former bounty hunters who had lived on the edge, doing all kinds of dangerous work. Kidnapping someone was nothing to them.
"Good." Alva squinted his eyes with a satisfied smile. "If you succeed, I'll reward you well."
Meanwhile, Angie was unaware he'd already become a target. He watched as Raleigh and Slurpuff were escorted away by palace guards. Then he closed the shop, taking Komala and Meowstic back to the Nebel Plateau.
Once home, Angie paid Gardevoir, Gallade, and Meowstic their wages. Today, Meowstic's pay was two cans of Pokéblocks, while yesterday's single can had only been an intern's wage.
On the way home, Meowstic continued to share Pokéblocks with every Pokémon it met along the way. Since its wage had increased today, it "coincidentally" encountered even more Pokémon than usual.
After the three employees left, Angie saw Delphox, Greninja, and Chesnaught arrive, along with a Politoed.
As one of the guardians of the Nebel Plateau, Politoed felt it had to personally meet Angie after hearing about his wish to help everyone on the Nebel Plateau.
Seeing Politoed, Angie was a bit surprised. Last time, he had only caught a brief glimpse of it, but now, up close, Politoed looked even more dignified.
"Delphox~ Delphox~~ Delphox~~~"
Angie, I've already told everyone about the plan, and everyone has agreed. We'll be gathering by the lake this afternoon, so you just need to come and assign the tasks when it's time.
Delphox informed Angie, that its tone was much friendlier than it used to be.
"Alright, thank you all for your hard work," Angie nodded.
"Greninja~ Greninja~"
No, this is what we should be doing. We should be the ones thanking you.
Greninja chimed in.
"Politoed~ Politoed~~ Politoed~"
Thank you, Mr. Angie!
At that moment, Politoed stepped forward to express its gratitude as well.
Angie replied, "I'm a part of the Nebel Plateau community. Helping everyone today is also my way of hoping that we can help each other in the future. No need to be so formal, everyone."
Politoed, Delphox, Greninja, and Chesnaught all nodded in agreement, recognizing that everyone on the Nebel Plateau—Pokémon and people alike—was part of one big family, meant to look out for one another.
Soon it was the afternoon, the time Angie had agreed upon with Delphox and the others. Holding Komala, he set out with Diancie and Munchlax toward Nebel Lake.
When their little family of four arrived, they saw that the other Pokémon had already gathered.
The Litwick family, the Victreebel family of five, the Fletchinder family of three, the Swablu family of three, Vivillon, the Dugtrio brothers, Floette, the Gardevoir couple, Bunnelby, Watchog, Patrat, Aron, Hippopotas, Hippowdon, Furret, Buneary, Drilbur, Pachirisu, Deerling, Castform… nearly all the Pokémon Angie knew on the N Nebel Plateau had come.
Of course, the four guardians—Delphox, Greninja, Chesnaught, and Politoed—were there as well. Chesnaught had brought its child, Chespin, and Politoed had brought along its Poliwag, Poliwhirl, and Poliwrath followers.
However, Meowstic wasn't present.
Each morning, it came to Angie's house very early, so it often took a nap in the afternoon when it returned home. It had no idea that such a major project was unfolding on the Nebel .
Looking at everyone gathered, Angie said excitedly, "I'm so glad everyone could come. I won't say much more; I just hope we can get through this winter comfortably and that we can build a bright future together."
"Swablu~~"
"Fletchinder~~"
"Gallade~~"
"Vivillon~~"
"Litwick~~"
…
Upon hearing Angie's words, the Pokémon burst into cheers, their voices full of hope for the future and gratitude for Angie.
"Alright then, let's get to work!"
With that, Angie took out the fruit trees he had purchased from his system inventory and placed them on the nearby open ground.
Next up was the fertilizer.
This time, when planting the fruit trees, Angie really couldn't use his homemade fertilizer—there simply wasn't enough time. Although the system's fertilizer required spending some happiness points, Angie no longer lacked them!
Moreover, the fertilizer provided by the system not only helps the fruit trees survive and quickly bear fruit, but it's also environmentally friendly. It's just too good a deal to pass up.
As for the types of fruit trees Angie chose for the first batch, there were three: Sweet Apple, Tart Apple, and Syrupy Apple.
Each of these apples has its own unique characteristics. Sweet Apple is a delicious fruit suitable for direct consumption, Tart Apple is ideal for making juice, and Syrupy Apple is perfect for making desserts.
In addition, these three kinds of apples serve as specific evolution items for certain Pokémon.
After taking out the saplings and fertilizer, Angie began explaining to the Pokémon how to plant them.
His plan was to plant three layers of fruit trees around the shores of Nebel Lake: the innermost layer would be Tart Apple trees, as they require the highest soil moisture; Sweet Apple trees would be in the middle; and the outermost layer would be Syrupy Apple trees, which have the lowest water requirements.
He only intended to plant one tree per layer, as planting too many would encroach on the grassland, which could harm the environment of the Nebel Plateau.
The lakeshore of Nebel Lake is long enough that even planting one per layer would allow them to grow plenty.
After explaining, Angie asked, "Does everyone understand?"
"Bunnelby~~"
I Got it!
"Bellsprout~~"
I Understood!
"Litleo~~"
Got it!
…
The Pokémon responded loudly, all looking very enthusiastic. "Then let's get started!" Angie raised his fist, cheering them on.
"Litwick~"
Time to work!
"Talonflame~"
Time to work!
"Fletchinder~"
Time to work!
…
Litwick shot a pillar of fire from the flame on its head, burning away the weeds along the lake's shore in an instant.
Seeing this, Fletchinder and its father, Talonflame, weren't about to be outdone.
Fletchinder flapped its wings, sending out clusters of embers that landed on the ground, scorching the weeds bit by bit.
Talonflame, however, was even more impressive. It ignited its whole body with roaring flames and flew low over the grass, clearing vast swathes of weeds in its wake.
Swablu and Spritzee flew over to their friends and lined up beside them, cheering enthusiastically like a cheerleading squad.
"Swablu~ Swablu~"
Go, Uncle! Go, Uncle!
"Spritzee~ Spritzee~"
Go, Uncle! Go, Uncle!
"Fletchinder~ Fletchinder~"
Go, Dad! Go, Dad!
Talonflame's vanity was thoroughly satisfied, and it worked with even more enthusiasm.
Staraptor watched the father and son warmly, shaking its head helplessly.
Those two…
After the weeds were cleared, it was time for Bunnelby, Hippopotas, Hippowdon, Drilbur, and Dugtrio to show their skills.
One pit after another appeared as they quickly dug; each pit was about the same size, as if they had coordinated in advance.
"Bunnelby~"
"Hippowdon~"
"Drilbur~"
...
Once the pits were ready, it was time for the Psychic-type Pokémon to take the stage. Using their psychic powers, they controlled bags of fertilizer, pouring the right amount into each pit as Angie instructed.
"Delphox~"
"Gardevoir~~"
...
Next up were the Flying-type Pokémon, including Staraptor, Altaria, and Honchkrow. They each grabbed a sapling, neatly placing them one by one into the fertilized pits with swift, precise movements.
"Staraptor~~"
"Altaria~"
"Honchkrow~"
"Talonflame~~"
...
Then Victreebel, Weepinbell, Bellsprout, Floette, Chespin, Chesnaught, Skiddo, and Gogoat each took a position in front of a pit. They used their vine whips to hold the saplings upright while Pancham, Litleo, Patrat, Furret, Buneary, Aron, and the others gathered around, pushing soil back into the pits and firmly tamping it down with their feet.
Finally, Greninja and Poliwrath, accompanied by Poliwag, Poliwhirl, Politoed, Marill, and Azurill, watered each of the trees.
Everyone played their part, creating a lively scene along the shores of Nebel Lake. Angie moved among the Pokémon, occasionally giving them pointers to prevent mistakes.
The depth of the pits, the amount of fertilizer, how firmly to pack the soil, and the right amount of water—all these details required attention, and Angie had carefully researched them in advance.
When purchasing the saplings, the system store had provided a planting guide, which contained very detailed instructions on growing the three types of apple trees.
As the day grew late, Angie said to Munchlax, "Munchlax, let's go home and start cooking."
With so many Pokémon to feed today, Angie and Munchlax had to go back early to prepare.
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
Munchlax clapped the dirt off its hands upon hearing this and quickly ran over to Angie.
Then Angie turned around to Diancie and said, "Diancie, I'll leave things here to you."
Diancie nodded. "Don't worry; there won't be any issues. I can see everyone's got the hang of it."
Angie nodded back, picked up Komala, and headed home with Munchlax.
Once home, the two quickly started kneading dough and steaming buns. With so many Pokémon coming to eat, making dumplings would take too long; steaming buns was faster.
Soon, evening arrived, and the sun gradually sank, casting a warm orange glow across the Nebel Plateau.
By the lakeside, all of the saplings Angie had brought were now planted.
Diancie led the group of Pokémon back in a grand procession to Diancie's Grand Dinning Hall. Everyone chatted and laughed, their faces showing a bit of fatigue but full of joy.
Just then, Angie, wearing an apron, came outside with a smile, looking like he was welcoming all the Pokémon back home.
"Perfect timing, everyone! Dinner's ready!"
Upon hearing this, the Pokémon burst into cheers.
Gardevoir and Gallade quickly stepped out from the group, ready to help Angie serve everyone's food.
Angie patted them both, saying, "Thanks for your hard work!"
"Gardevoir~ Gardevoir"
Not hard at all, not hard at all.
"Gallade~ Gallade~"
We're happy to help, boss.
Gardevoir and Gallade shook their heads with big smiles.
Soon, Angie, Gardevoir, Gallade, and Munchlax brought out one steaming pot of buns after another, along with platters of spicy Salveyo Weed, and set them in front of each Pokémon's bowl.
Since there were too many Pokémon to fit inside the shop, they all sat down on the grass at the entrance, eagerly devouring their meal.
Maybe the food tasted better after a hard day's work, as the Pokémon's faces were filled with deep satisfaction.
Although most of the Pokémon couldn't earn Angie any happiness points from this meal (since each Pokémon can only contribute happiness points for their first meal), Angie couldn't help but smile as he watched their delighted expressions.
However, Angie was curious to see that Floette, Furret, Buneary, Drilbur, Pachirisu, Aron, Deerling, and others hadn't finished all of the food given to them but had each saved a portion.
Could it be that they're saving it for tomorrow? But there will be more food tomorrow!
Though puzzled, Angie didn't interfere. Since the food was theirs, it was up to them how they wanted to handle it.