The final level of the underground space was larger than the previous four levels combined. This level was dominated by water, with a massive pool at its center. High on the walls, numerous pipes, each with a diameter of over two to three meters, poured water into the pool. The water gushing out formed waterfalls that cascaded into the pool below.
Angie and Diancie walked along the pathway that edged the pool, their eyes drawn to a massive black elliptical object suspended in the air.
"What's that?" Angie asked.
Diancie explained, "That is the power reactor of the entire sky fortress. If Magearna's Soul-Heart were used as the key, this power furnace could turn the fortress into a terrifying weapon."
"I see," Angie nodded, understanding dawning on him. "That's quite dangerous."
"Huh? Where does that lead?" Angie suddenly noticed a colossal semi-circular pipe ahead on the path. It was far larger than the pipes embedded in the walls.
The pipes on the walls fed water into the pool, which was then discharged through this massive pipe, maintaining the pool's water circulation.
Diancie explained, "The water here all comes from Nebel Lake, so naturally, it has to return to Nebel Lake!"
"Let's go take a look," Angie said, stepping into the pipe.
Inside the pipe, a water channel flowed at a gentle pace. On either side of the channel were pathways similar to those at the pool's edge, allowing people to walk through.
The soft sound of trickling water echoed in the pipe as Angie and Diancie walked along.
As they moved forward, Angie said to Diancie, "Let's give the sky fortress a new name. Calling it a sky fortress doesn't feel right anymore."
"Sure, sure!" Diancie eagerly agreed. "But what should we call it?"
The pair, one human and one Pokémon, lowered their heads in thought.
"How about *Secret Fortress*?" After pondering for a while, Diancie made the suggestion.
"Alright, let's go with that!" Angie readily agreed.
"You're adopting it just like that?" Diancie said, half amused and half exasperated.
"I think it's a great name. What's the problem?" Angie asked.
"Nothing, I just mentioned it casually. But if you like it, then Secret Fortress it is." Diancie shrugged.
The water channel stretched on for a long distance. Angie and Diancie walked for nearly half an hour before reaching its end. As they neared the exit, Angie could hear the loud roar of water crashing in the distance.
It turned out that the end of the channel led to the massive waterfall where Nebel Lake connected with the Nebel River.
The exit of the channel was hidden behind the waterfall, making it nearly impossible for anyone to discover.
Standing at the exit, gazing at the cascading water curtain before him and listening to the thunderous roar of the falls, Angie felt as though he was in a magical water-curtain cave.
"How magnificent!" Angie exclaimed in awe.
"It really is!" Diancie echoed, equally impressed.
The closer Angie observed, the more he realized the grandeur and majesty of the waterfall. It was astounding that Magikarp had once managed to swim upstream here. For an ordinary person, they would surely be crushed to pieces.
Brave Magikarp! Angie couldn't help but admire them in his heart. Even as one of the lowest creatures in the Pokémon world, they still radiated a vibrant tenacity for life.
After admiring the beauty of the waterfall for a while, Angie and Diancie returned to the surface.
Checking the time, Angie remarked, "It's getting late. I need to head out, or I won't make it to open the shop today."
Diancie asked curiously, "That's strange. Why hasn't Meowstic shown up yet?"
Speak of the devil—no sooner had Diancie mentioned it than Meowstic appeared, waving at them from outside the courtyard wall.
It turned out that Meowstic hadn't arrived late. Instead, it was so startled by the massive changes to Angie's home that it didn't dare come inside. It had been circling the courtyard wall nervously. Thankfully, it spotted Angie and Diancie just now; otherwise, who knows how long it would have wandered outside?
"Meowstic, come on in!" Angie called out happily, waving at it.
Meowstic finally ventured around the wall and entered through the front gate, its eyes full of curiosity as it took in the dramatically transformed Diancie's Grand Dining Hall.
"Meowstic~ Meowstic~"
Meowstic inquisitively asked Diancie what had happened.
Diancie explained, "Oh, nothing much. We just renovated the place a little."
Meowstic: …
Its reaction was identical to that of the Dugtrio brothers, Barboach, and Whiscash.
"Alright, let's head out now, or we'll be late," Angie said.
Hearing this, Meowstic stopped asking questions and quickly joined Angie and Komala as they left for Azoth Kingdom.
Before leaving, Angie reminded Diancie, "Diancie, today you should stand outside the courtyard to greet everyone. Otherwise, they might be too scared to come in, just like Meowstic."
"Got it, got it. You go ahead," Diancie replied, waving at Angie.
With Meowstic and Komala in tow, Angie passed through a space portal and appeared on the third floor of the Munchlax's Home. He glanced out the window and was surprised to see snow falling outside.
"It's snowing?"
He opened the balcony door and stepped out, only to see that the entire Azoth Kingdom was now blanketed in a layer of silver. Holding out his hand, he let the large, fluffy snowflakes fall onto his palm, where they quickly melted.
Just then, a cold gust of wind blew through the window. Komala snuggled into Angie's arms, curling up into a tiny ball. Angie shivered as well.
Thinking for a moment, he purchased two scarves from the system store. Wrapping one of them around Komala, he said with a smile, "Here, warm up."
After wrapping the scarf around Komala, Angie crouched down and wrapped the other one around Meowstic. "You too, Meowstic."
Meowstic touched the soft, fluffy scarf, then looked up at Angie with a sweet smile. It quickly buried half its face in the scarf.
So warm! Meowstic thought, feeling the warmth not only in its body but also in its heart.
"Come on, it's too cold outside. Let's head back," Angie said as he closed the window and turned to Meowstic.
Meowstic nodded and followed closely behind Angie, heading downstairs to get to work.
Not long after they started, Sobble came rushing into the kitchen, flustered.
"Sobble~ Sobble~"
Am I late?
Angie chuckled and said, "A little bit, yeah." He crouched down to straighten Sobble's crooked chef's coat and adjust the backward chef's hat.
"Sobble~ Sobble~"
Being late isn't cool at all.
Sobble hurriedly began preparing porridge.
"How about I call you tomorrow morning to wake you up?" Angie suggested as he continued his work.
"Sobble~ Sobble~"
I'll wake myself up. I won't be late tomorrow, I promise. Being woken up by someone else isn't cool at all.
Sobble shook its head firmly.
Angie sighed, amused. "You little narcissist."
"Sobble~"
Sobble grinned and gave Angie a thumbs-up.
"Good morning, Meowstic!"
Before long, customers started arriving. Not even the heavy snowfall could dampen their enthusiasm for a meal.
"Meowstic~"
Good morning, sir.
Meowstic greeted them warmly, waving as they entered.
One customer brushed the snow off his coat while speaking to Meowstic. "Wow, Meowstic, is that a new scarf? It looks amazing! It suits you perfectly!"
"Meowstic~"
The boss gave it to me.
Meowstic blushed slightly at the compliment.
Of course, the customer couldn't understand what Meowstic was saying. Noticing the snow covering the customer, Meowstic quickly used its psychic power to remove it with a gentle flick. The snow disappeared in an instant.
"Thank you so much, Meowstic."
Once the customer was seated, Meowstic promptly brought over steaming bowls of porridge and fresh buns.
Today's porridge options at Munchlax's Home were red date porridge and black rice porridge.
The customer took a big bite of a bun and followed it with a sip of hot black rice porridge, warming up immediately. "Ah, that's just what I needed," he said contentedly.
As time went on, more and more customers arrived. However, the heavy snowfall still had a noticeable impact on business compared to usual.
Watching Meowstic scurry back and forth between the kitchen and the dining area, Angie asked, "Meowstic, can you manage all this?"
With Raleigh and Slurpuff absent, both Angie and Meowstic had significantly more work to handle.
"Meowstic~ Meowstic~"
I can do it!
Meowstic shook its head, clenching its tiny fists to show determination.
"Thanks for your hard work," Angie said.
Meowstic shook its head again and immediately dove back into its tasks with vigor.
As Meowstic left the kitchen, Angie noticed a small mushroom-shaped head peeking in through the doorframe.
"Ralts? What are you doing here?" Angie asked in surprise.
"Ralts~ Ralts~"
Mom sent me to help you, boss.
Angie chuckled wryly. "Are you sure you can handle it? You've only just hatched!"
Ralts puffed up in indignation.
"Ralts~ Ralts~"
I've watched Mom and Dad work. I can do it!
With a huff, it withdrew its head.
Ralts didn't rush to help Meowstic directly. Instead, it climbed up to the cashier's counter with a determined "Heave-ho~ Heave-ho~" and lay down beside Komala. From there, it quietly observed Meowstic's work.
Only after carefully studying how Meowstic went about its tasks did Ralts hop down and begin helping.
Seeing the tiny Ralts, the customers were astonished.
"Well, well, the boss has hired another employee!"
"It's Ralts! How adorable!"
"Ralts, can big sis give you a hug, a kiss, and lift you high?"
...
Unlike Meowstic, who initially struggled to adapt to human interactions, Ralts faced the bustling café crowd with ease. It had never been taught to fear humans, so it remained calm and confident.
Its eyes glimmered with a blue light as it imitated Meowstic, helping guests with various tasks. Surprisingly, Ralts was quite competent. After a few small blunders at the start, it quickly got the hang of things and grew increasingly adept.
The customer were incredibly forgiving of the tiny Ralts, brushing off its early mistakes and showering it with encouragement instead:
"Great job, Ralts, you're amazing!"
"You're such a big help. Thank you, Ralts!"
"You're so skilled already, Ralts!"
"Ralts, can I hug you, please?"
Before long, Ralts had charmed the entire shop, and the room was filled with the guests' cheerful laughter.
Hearing the commotion, Angie peeked out from the kitchen and found Ralts chatting and laughing with the guests as if it had always belonged there.
Angie thought to himself, Is this what they call an extroverted prodigy? He sighed, shaking his head, before returning to his work in the kitchen.
Ralts' arrival did lighten Meowstic's workload significantly.
At 10:00 AM, as per routine, Angie closed the café for a midday break. Once the guests had trickled out, he bundled up in a thick coat, picked up Komala, and brought Ralts and Meowstic outside to see the snow.
For Angie, this was his first time experiencing snow since arriving in the Pokémon world. Five centuries ago, his frail health had prevented him from playing in the snow even when it fell in the azoth city.
Angie dressed both Ralts and Meowstic in tiny padded jackets, wrapping Ralts in a small scarf as well. Both Pokémon looked cozy and warm.
Standing outside, Angie gazed at the endless flurry of snowflakes and the people bustling by. A rare tranquility filled his heart.
The streets of Azoth Kingdom, free from the blaring horns of vehicles, were peaceful and serene after the snowfall.
Under the shelter of an umbrella, Angie strolled through the snow-covered city streets with his three Pokémon, eventually reaching the outer gate. Here, he could see where the ancient city walls had once stood.
Having removed the old walls, Angie ensured no one in Azoth noticed anything amiss, especially with the landscape now draped in white.
Just then, a call from Kimia interrupted his thoughts. Her surprised voice came through the line.
"Your Highness, did you really take the sky fortress with you?"
"Yes, I did," Angie replied casually. "We discussed this already, didn't we?"
"That's true," Kimia admitted. "But I'm still amazed you moved such a colossal structure so quietly in just one night."
Angie chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm keeping an eye on the fortress. No one will touch it."
If something did happen, he could always store the sky fortress in his system inventory.
"I'll leave it in your capable hands, Your Highness," Kimia said gratefully.
"By the way, how is Raleigh doing?" Angie inquired.
Kimia's tone softened. "Don't worry. Although Alva' situation has hit him hard, I believe he'll recover soon."
"That's good to hear," Angie said. "Still, try to spend more time with him—maybe have meals together every day. It'll help."
After a brief silence, Kimia replied, "Understood, Your Highness. Thank you for the reminder."
They talked a little longer before Angie ended the call and returned home.
Upon arriving back at Nebel Plateau, Angie noticed his home's front wall teeming with Pokémon.
Fletchinder, Swablu, and Spritzee were bouncing and hopping around. Pancham and Skitty were rolling together playfully.
Stunky and Gulpin were chasing each other in a game of tag.
Swablu's Dad and Mom perched on the wall, watching the young ones with gentle smiles.
Everyone seemed to be having the time of their lives.
Unlike the frosty Azoth Kingdom, the Nebel Plateau remained warm and spring-like. Only a faint chill hinted at the winter season beyond its borders.
Seeing this scene, Ralts and Sobble, who had just returned, dashed over eagerly. Climbing up the wall using Bellsprout's vines, they immediately joined in on the fun.
"Munchlax~!"
Master, you're back!
Munchlax spotted Angie and leaped off the wall, bounding straight into his arms.
"Munchlax!"
Our home has changed so much!