"Munchlax!!!"
Who is this?!!!
Munchlax bounced out of Angie's arms as if its tail was on fire.
Seeing this, Diancie and the others gathered around.
Angie laughed and explained to everyone, "This is Sobble. He'll be joining our family and becoming the new assistant chef for Munchlax's House! And, by the way, Sobble is an excellent cook!"
"Sobble~ Sobble~"
Hello, everyone!
Sobble waved his arms to greet everyone from Angie's shoulder.
Munchlax who is still stunned by the idea of his master having a "new apprentice," shuffled over to Sobble when he heard Angie say Sobble's cooking was delicious.
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
Hello! Can we be good friends?
Munchlax held out his chubby hand to Sobble, a bit shyly.
"Sobble~ Sobble~"
Of course!
Sobble confidently placed his hand into Munchlax's palm.
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
Will you make delicious food for me in the future?
Munchlax asked with a bashful look.
"Sobble~ Sobble~"
Of course, of course.
Sobble nodded with certainty.
Their exchange had everyone laughing quietly, except for Angie, who looked puzzled because he couldn't understand the Pokémon language, and Komala, who was blissfully sleeping.
Then Angie suddenly noticed that Gardevoir was holding a little, green, mushroom-headed creature in her arms. He exclaimed, "Gardevoir, Gallade, your baby was born! When did that happen?"
No wonder everyone was huddled around earlier—they were admiring Ralts.
Ralts was absolutely adorable!
"Gardevoir~ Gardevoir~"
It happened this afternoon. I brought him here to show you, boss.
Gardevoir answered.
She then gently spoke to the Ralts in her arms.
"Gardevoir~ Garde~"
Baby, this is mommy's boss. Thanks to him, you were able to come into the world safely.
Gallade also looked lovingly at Ralts, his eyes filled with affection.
"Ralts~ Ralts~"
To everyone's surprise, little Ralts wasn't shy at all. He stretched his tiny arms toward Angie.
"Ralts~ Ralts~"
Hug, hug!
"Oh my!" Angie quickly handed Komala to Munchlax and scooped Ralts into his arms, gently stroking his little mushroom-shaped head. "Good little one."
The fan-shaped organ on Ralts's head is what allows it to sense emotions. As Angie stroked his head, Ralts instantly felt Angie's warmth and kindness, snuggling close to his chest and cooing.
"Ralts~ Ralts."
Angie's heart nearly melted from Ralts' adorable demeanor. He felt like a doting grandfather now, both with Raleigh and Ralts.
After playing with Ralts for a good while, Angie finally saw the little family out. He even gifted a basket of tomatoes to Gardevoir and Gallade.
The couple initially didn't want to accept it, but when Angie said it was a gift to celebrate Ralts' hatching, they gladly took it.
Once the family left, Angie looked at Diancie and Munchlax and asked, "Have you two had dinner?"
Diancie shook her head, "Not yet."
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
I'm waiting to eat with Master.
Munchlax said seriously.
Angie patted Munchlax on the head and said, "Perfect! Tonight, let's make a big meal and hold a welcoming ceremony for Sobble."
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
Hearing there'd be a feast, Munchlax cheered excitedly.
"Then let's start making dinner."
With that, Angie led Munchlax and Sobble into the kitchen, while Komala was handed over to Diancie.
Once in the kitchen, Angie assigned some dishes for Munchlax to make while he began preparing the beef stew he'd planned earlier.
Before starting, Angie asked Sobble, "Sobble, want to show off some of your skills for everyone?"
Sobble's eyes sparkled, and he instantly flashed an "OK" gesture at Angie.
Angie thought for a moment and said, "Can you make soup? How about making a soup for everyone?"
"Sobble~ Sobble~"
Sobble confidently puffed out his chest and gave Angie a thumbs-up.
"Then I look forward to it!" Angie laughed, pointing to the fridge nearby. "The ingredients are in there—take whatever you need."
Sobble nodded and zipped over to the massive fridge. As he opened it, the array of ingredients dazzled his eyes.
As a chef, the sight of so many ingredients filled him with peace of mind.
Seeing Sobble already getting to work, Angie got started too.
He grabbed the fresh beef he'd just bought and cut it into chunks. His knife skills had been improving, and each beef piece was cut to the same size.
Once the water in the pot was boiling, he added the beef to remove the blood. After cooking for a bit and skimming off the foam on the surface, he removed the beef from the water.
He chopped the green onions into sections and put them in a pressure cooker with the beef, adding water, ginger, star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon, peppercorns, cumin, garlic, salt, soy sauce, and other seasonings to simmer.
Next, he took potatoes and carrots, cut them into large pieces, and put them in a hot oiled pan, stir-frying with salt, soy sauce, star anise, and peppercorns.
After stir-frying to the right consistency, he added the beef and broth from the pressure cooker, then removed the stewed green onion and garlic before adding fresh green onions, letting it simmer over low heat.
Once the broth reduced to the perfect level, the potato beef stew was ready.
As Angie prepared the stew, Sobble watched intently, not blinking once.
Sobble had already finished making its soup earlier.
Having trained under Siebold's grandpa, Sobble was skilled in dishes with a distinct Kalos flavor, so it had prepared a bowl of borscht.
Soon, the kitchen was filled with the aromas of Angie's potato beef stew, along with Munchlax's dishes: braised eggplant, stir-fried green beans, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and hand-torn cabbage. Sobble's nose was overwhelmed by the delicious scents filling the air.
It smelled amazing! Sobble never knew food could have such rich and intense aromas.
Seeing that the potato beef stew was almost done, Angie patted Sobble on the head and said, "Get ready—it's time to eat."
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
I'll help carry the food!
Eagerly, Munchlax began bringing the dishes to the dining room, inviting Diancie to help as well. Munchlax was starving!
Soon, a full table of dishes was set up. Once everyone was seated, Angie announced, "Dig in!"
"Munchlax~"
Munchlax cheered and quickly served everyone (including the Pokémon) a big bowl of rice.
Tonight's main course was rice, a reward Angie had recently received from a daily mission. It had an incredible fragrance!
People in the Kalos region typically don't eat rice; bread is their staple. Even if rice occasionally appears in supermarkets, it's imported from Johto and sold in limited quantities.
Johto is where rice is commonly eaten.
So rice is hard to come by in Kalos. As everyone started eating, Angie took out a bottle of wine and set it before Komala. "Here you go, Komala—the reward I promised you!"
Komala paused mid-bite and eagerly hugged the wine bottle, quickly pulling a wine glass from its bag and filling it to the brim. Its actions were swift and practiced.
The rich aroma of the wine filled the dining room.
Angie thought, This truly is premium stuff worth 50,000 Happiness Points!
Seeing Komala happily sipping away, Angie smiled, knowing that only in these moments did Komala's expression come alive.
Angie wasn't a drinker, so despite the wonderful aroma, he refrained from having any.
"Here, Sobble, try some of my potato beef stew. It goes great with rice."
Angie scooped a generous portion of stew into Sobble's bowl.
"Sobble~ Sobble~"
Sobble wiped its mouth and eagerly took a big spoonful.
Mmm~ Mmm~
It chewed slowly, letting the flavors burst and blend in its mouth—the softness of the potatoes, the chewiness of the beef. Every element was a delight, immersing it in a sea of culinary bliss.
This was the best thing it had ever tasted.
Munchlax was enthusiastic as well, constantly adding food to Sobble's bowl with its chopsticks.
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
Try my cooking too! It's delicious!
Sobble gladly obliged, taking big bites of the dishes Munchlax served, and then giving it a thumbs-up with a satisfied smile.
Munchlax beamed with pride at the praise.
Angie and Diancie looked on with warm smiles as Little Munchlax and Sobble interacted, sharing a glance of contentment.
"Sobble~ Sobble~"
Try my borscht too, everyone!
Sobble encouraged everyone to have a taste.
Sobble's borscht was quite different from the soups Angie usually made. The most noticeable difference was that the borscht was packed with ingredients—vegetables, meat... It was so thick that it felt more like "eating" soup than drinking it.
Everyone eagerly took a big bowl, and after the first taste, they were amazed.
Sobble's culinary talent was truly impressive.
Sobble was still young, and according to Siebold, hadn't trained for very long. Given its age, it was remarkable how far Sobble had already come in mastering the art of cooking.
Compared to those top chefs, Sobble is certainly not on their level, but if it were placed in a home kitchen, its cooking skills would shine brightly.
"Sobble, you're amazing!"
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
We'll learn together and make progress together!
"Sobble, I'm impressed with you."
"Hiccup~"
...
Everyone praised Sobble enthusiastically.
Sobble loved being praised, and in that moment, it felt a perfect sense of harmony with this family.
"Sobble~"
I'm amazing, aren't I?
It struck a proud pose and gave itself a big thumbs-up.
Diancie was the first to give it a thumbs-up, "Amazing!"
Seeing this, Angie and Munchlax quickly followed suit, also giving it a thumbs-up.
"You're awesome, Sobble."
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~~"
Very impressive, I like you.
Sobble instantly became so happy that it hopped up and down on the table.
After dinner, everyone, as usual, gathered together to chat and play. Since Sobble was new, Munchlax pulled it to one corner of the sofa to play video games.
Sobble had never played games before. It sat perched on Munchlax's round, soft belly, wrapped snugly by Munchlax's two arms, which even made Angie envious.
Surely, Munchlax's belly was more comfortable than the sofa.
Sobble watched in amazement as Munchlax's pudgy fingers moved swiftly across the screen, its eyes wide with wonder.
"Sobble~ Sobble~~"
Sobble felt Munchlax was truly remarkable, gazing at it with admiration and occasionally letting out a little exclamation.
Munchlax proudly said.
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
Impressive, right? I'll teach you!
"Sobble~ Sobble~"
Sobble nodded excitedly, indicating it wanted to become even more skilled than Munchlax.
With a smug expression, Munchlax held out its hand, waggled a finger, and said in a senior tone.
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
You've got a long way to go to beat me!
Angie and Diancie were both amused by the two of them.
Angie, still chuckling, opened up the system, intending to share a subsystem's permissions with Sobble. After he finished the sharing, he remembered that he still hadn't claimed the reward for the recruitment task.
Opening the task menu, he saw the recruitment task was indeed completed.
[ (Recruitment Task) Recruit a new sous chef - Completed, reward pending. ]
After thinking for a moment, he went ahead and clicked "Claim."
...
[ Congratulations to the owner for completing (Recruitment Task) Recruit a New Sous Chef. ]
[ Reward acquired: individual values +2, recipe "Porridge." ]
Angie was no stranger to individual value rewards, but the recipe reward made his eyes light up.
He'd long felt that only selling buns and steamed buns was a bit dry, and this "Porridge" recipe was unlocked at just the right time.
Angie skimmed through the recipe and found that the unlocked "Porridge" included a wide variety of options, such as red bean porridge, green bean porridge, black rice porridge, seafood porridge, century egg and lean pork congee, millet and pumpkin porridge, and corn and oatmeal porridge—everything one could think of.
However, some porridge varieties couldn't be made under Angie's current conditions. For example, century egg and lean pork congee. To his knowledge, century eggs didn't exist in the Pokémon world, so if he wanted to make century egg and lean pork congee, he'd have to make century eggs himself.
Angie did know how to make century eggs, but they take time to produce!
Forget it; that could wait for another day.
Checking the newly acquired individual values, Angie decided to allocate them to Sobble, given that the reward was earned thanks to it.
Of the 2 points of individual values, he added 1 to Speed, as Sobble's Speed stat was just one point away from being maxed, and he added the other point to Defense, as Sobble's Defense stat was the lowest.
Now all of Sobble's individual values were over 20 (including 20).
...
[ Sobble ]
Type: Water
Ability: Sniper
Gender: Male
Level: 14
Moves: Pound, Growl, Water Gun, Water Pulse, Bind, Soak, Liquidation, Water Pledge, Whirlpool, Aqua Ring.
...
[ Individual Values (IVs) ]
HP: 20
Attack: 29
Defense: 20
Special Attack: 31
Special Defense: 24
Speed: 31
...
After closing the system interface, Angie asked, "Sobble, would you like to call Siebold?"
When they parted, Angie and Siebold had exchanged contact information.