Professor Turo said, "That child doesn't really enjoy lively gatherings."
Hearing this, Angie paused in thought before waving at the Munchlax who was feasting not far away. Munchlax hesitated for a moment but quickly grabbed a plate of cake in one hand and a glass of juice in the other, scurrying over to Angie.
When Munchlax reached him, Angie gestured toward Arven and whispered a few words in its ear. Munchlax blinked, then nodded confidently before dashing off toward Arven.
From a distance, Angie and the others watched as Arven was startled by Munchlax's sudden appearance. Munchlax thrust the cake and juice into Arven's hands, then went to fetch another serving. When it returned, it seemed to say something to Arven, making the child burst into laughter. Soon, the two were playing together happily.
Seeing this, smiles appeared on the faces of Professor Sada and Professor Turo.
Angie thought to himself: As expected of Munchlax—no one can resist its charm!
"Thank you, Your Highness Angie," Professor Sada said gratefully.
Professor Turo added, "Indeed. Since we departed from Paldea, Arven has been rather down. This is the first time he's been this cheerful."
Angie smiled. "It's nothing. But even though you're both busy with work, you should make some time to spend with your child. Children are like Pokémon—without the companionship of their trainers (or parents), they'll feel lonely."
The two doctors were taken aback by his words, then fell into thoughtful silence.
Professor Sada admitted earnestly, "You're absolutely right, Your Highness. We've been so focused on work that we've neglected to spend enough time with Arven."
Professor Turo nodded with guilt. "Yes, that's true."
Just then, someone behind Angie exclaimed, "Your Highness Angie? You're attending the banquet too?"
Angie turned to see a burly man holding a Lechonk, looking at him in surprise.
"Mr. Nasir?" Angie was equally astonished.
Professor Turo asked, "Your Highness Angie, Mr. Nasir, do you know each other?"
Angie explained with a smile, "Mr. Nasir is a customer at my restaurant."
Professor Sada and Professor Turo suddenly recalled the rumors about Angie—this prince apparently owned a restaurant.
"Yes, yes!" Nasir nodded enthusiastically. "Your Highness Angie's buns and steamed buns are absolutely delicious!" He spoke with a look of pure nostalgia.
Lechonk nodded along with Nasir, its expression mirroring his exactly.
"Your Highness, would you reconsider accepting my investment?" Nasir proposed once again.
Angie shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Nasir."
Nasir sighed in disappointment. "What a pity."
Professor Sada and Professor Turo couldn't help but chuckle.
"Mr. Nasir, you're still the same—always looking for opportunities to invest."
Through the professor' introductions, Angie learned that Mr. Nasir was the main investor in their research collaboration with Azoth Kingdom.
He must be incredibly wealthy, Angie thought. Funding research of this scale certainly isn't cheap.
"Oh, right!" Angie suddenly asked, "May I know what project you're collaborating on with Azoth Kingdom?"
"Of course," Professor Sada replied with a smile.
Professor Turo elaborated, "We're studying the ecosystem of the Great Crater of Paldea."
The Great Crater of Paldea, located in the heart of the region, formed over a million years ago. Due to its treacherous terrain, countless people had attempted to explore it over the centuries, but all failed.
In recent years, with the League's development efforts, observation stations were established within the crater, finally allowing people to access it.
Even so, the League has only been able to develop the outer areas of the crater. Its inner depths remain shrouded in mystery.
Moreover, access to the Great Crater of Paldea is currently restricted, allowing only authorized researchers to enter. Professor Sada and Professor Turo are the lead researchers studying the mysteries of the Great Crater of Paldea.
The newly-emerging Terastallization phenomenon in the Paldea region is also a major focus of their research.
This time, the two professors had come to the Azoth Kingdom to collaborate and leverage the kingdom's expertise in arcane sciences to further explore the Great Crater of Paldea.
Angie and the two professors, along with Kimia and Edward, engaged in a lively discussion about this collaboration when a commotion erupted not far away.
"What's going on?" Angie asked curiously.
Professor Sada explained, "It's probably time for the scheduled battle demonstration."
"Battle demonstration?" Angie inquired further.
Kimia elaborated, "Yes, since the professors brought the unique Terastallization from the Paldea region, we arranged a special battle demonstration for the Trainers in Azoth Kingdom to experience what it's like."
"I see!" Angie nodded in realization.
Soon, the attendees in the banquet hall streamed out en masse toward another direction.
Professor Sada asked, "Your Highness, would you like to come and watch?"
"Of course!" Angie agreed enthusiastically. He was genuinely curious to witness Terastallization in action.
"Your Majesty, Princess, Mr. Nasir, shall we all go together?" Professor Turo turned to Edward and Kimia.
Edward responded, "Naturally, let's go together."
The group proceeded to the battle arena prepared in advance by the royal family. When they arrived, a match was already underway.
The competitors were a boy and a girl, both of them appearing to be around fifteen or sixteen years old. The boy used Crocalor, one of the Paldea region's starter Pokémon and a Fire type, while the girl used Clefairy, a Fairy-type Pokémon bred by the Azoth royal family.
Kimia introduced Angie to the competitors: "The boy using Crocalor is Grant, a student from Naranja Academy in Paldea. The girl using Clefairy is Stella, a student of the Royal Trainers Academy and a royal guard candidate."
The Azoth royal family has its own Trainer academy, and most graduates go on to serve in various roles across the kingdom.
After the introduction, Angie nodded and focused on the match.
Grant commanded, "Crocalor, use Flamethrower!"
At Grant's command, Crocalor opened its mouth and unleashed a pillar of fire toward Clefairy.
Clefairy did not dodge but instead used Light Screen under Stella's direction.
The Flamethrower collided with the Light Screen, dispersing into a spray of sparks, leaving Clefairy relatively unharmed.
Seeing this, Grant wanted to press his advantage, but Stella's reaction was faster.
"Clefairy, use Sweet Kiss."
Clefairy placed its hand on its lips and then casually blew it forward. A stream of purple hearts floated rapidly toward Crocalor.
Grant shouted urgently, "Crocalor, dodge it!"
But whether Crocalor moved left or right, the hearts followed. Finally, it collided with one of the hearts and began stumbling around as though intoxicated.
Sweet Kiss had successfully caused confusion.
Witnessing this, the Azoth Kingdom's spectators cheered enthusiastically for Stella. In contrast, Grant's peers from Paldea wore expressions of concern.
Although it was just a friendly match, both the Azoth Kingdom and Naranja Academy cared about their reputations.
After falling into a confused state, Crocalor began attacking itself. In no time, it left itself battered and bruised, completely ignoring Grant's desperate calls.
Stella wasn't about to let this rare opportunity slip by.
"Clefairy, use Water Pulse!"
"Clef~~airy!"
Clefairy responded cheerfully, forming a ball of water in its hands and hurling it toward Crocalor. With a pained cry, Crocalor was sent flying backward.
A Water-type move against a Fire-type Pokémon.
It's super effective!
The Azoth Kingdom spectators erupted in cheers once again.
Professor Sada remarked, "It seems our Naranja Academy students still have much to learn."
Edward chuckled, stroking the tips of his mustache. "Pure luck, just pure luck!"
Angie: ...
Kimia: ...
Could you at least restrain your smirk when saying that?
At this point, Crocalor finally snapped out of its confusion. Seeing its badly injured state, Grant knew it was time to unveil his trump card.
Suddenly, he took out a purple orb and threw it toward Crocalor. The orb released a surge of unknown energy, enveloping Crocalor. Its appearance underwent a dramatic transformation as its body became encased in sparkling gemstones, and a peculiar candelabra-like adornment appeared atop its head.
The Azoth Kingdom audience gasped in astonishment.
Professor Turo explained to Angie and the others, "This is Terastallization, a unique phenomenon that enhances a Pokémon's abilities."
The two professors proceeded to elaborate on the mechanics of Terastallization.
Terastallization relies on a special item called a Tera Orb, which contains Tera Energy that allows Pokémon to Terastallize.
However, the energy within a Tera Orb is depleted after one use and needs to be recharged using Tera Crystals, a special type of stone that seeps up from deep within the earth of the Paldea region.
Tera Crystals are especially abundant in the Great Crater of Paldea.
When a Pokémon Terastallizes, its type changes to a single Tera Type. Not only does it retain the stat bonuses from its original type, but moves corresponding to its Tera Type also receive a significant power boost.
If the Tera Type matches the Pokémon's original type, the move's power can even double, making it a terrifying force.
Professor Turo continued, "Grant is currently using a Fire Tera Type that matches Crocalor's original type. As a result, all Fire-type moves Crocalor uses will now deal double the damage."
Kimia and Edward suddenly understood.
"It's Indeed very impressive."
Grant's voice echoed in the arena as he called out to Crocalor, "Crocalor, use Flamethrower!"
A much larger and more intense column of fire surged toward Clefairy. Despite the weakening effect of the Light Screen, the flames engulfed Clefairy entirely.
When the flames subsided, Clefairy was unable to continue battling.
"Clefairy!"
Stella cried out in alarm and ran onto the field, holding Clefairy in her arms with a worried expression.
The referee declared, "Grant wins!"
Cheers erupted from the Naranja Academy students, while the Azoth Kingdom contingent silently grumbled to themselves: What's so great about it? If not for Terastallization, who knows who would've won!
Several more matches followed. However, due to the Naranja Academy students' mastery of Terastallization, the Azoth Kingdom team suffered more losses than wins. Edward's smile had completely disappeared, while Professor Sada and Professor Turo beamed with delight.
Professor Sada, looking quite pleased with herself, said, "So, what do you think? Isn't our Paldea's Terastallization remarkable?"
"It certainly is," Edward replied stiffly.
Soon, new challengers took the field. Representing Naranja Academy was a second-year student named Nate, while the Azoth Kingdom sent Angel, the son of their finance minister.
Kimia quietly leaned toward Angie and introduced the competitors on both sides.
The battle began, with Nate sending out the Electric-type Pokémon, Bellibolt, while Angel chose... a Beedrill?
Seeing Beedrill enter the field, the Naranja Academy students began whispering among themselves, certain that Nate had the upper hand.
"Bellibolt, use Thunder Shock!"
As Nate gave the command, blue electric currents crackled across Bellibolt's body, transforming into a streak of electricity that shot toward Beedrill.
Just as everyone thought Beedrill was about to be hit, its figure flickered and vanished. In the blink of an eye, it reappeared behind Bellibolt.
So fast! Nate exclaimed inwardly, quickly shouting a warning, "Bellibolt, behind you! Dodge quickly!"
But it was too late.
"Beedrill, use Fury Cutter!" Angel commanded.
Beedrill's twin stingers slashed repeatedly at Bellibolt, sending it flying with a pained cry.
Bellibolt's ability, Electromorphosis, activated, causing it to enter a charged state when attacked. In this state, the power of its Electric-type moves increased.
As Bellibolt struggled back to its feet, its body crackled with electricity. Nate called out, "Bellibolt, use Electroweb!"
Beedrill's defining trait was its speed, and Electroweb was an effective move to slow it down—provided it hit.
However, despite multiple attempts, Bellibolt's Electroweb failed to trap Beedrill. Even with its charged state boosting its Electric-type moves, it was useless if none landed.
"Beedrill, use Fury Cutter again!" Angel commanded.
Once more, Bellibolt was sent flying.
The Naranja Academy students frowned deeply as they watched. It was only now that they realized this Beedrill was far from ordinary.
Seeing Bellibolt battered and bruised, Nate gritted his teeth and decided to resort to Terastallization. A purple orb—the Tera Orb—appeared in his hand.
He threw the orb, releasing Tera Energy that surrounded Bellibolt. It successfully Terastallized, its body now encased in sparkling gemstones. A crown resembling a glowing light bulb appeared atop its head.
Staring at the newly Terastallized Bellibolt, Angel smirked meaningfully and said, "Don't think you're the only one with a trump card!"