While Darkrai wandered through Azoth Kingdom clearing dreams, Munna that was carrying the Dream Tree Seed given to it by Angie, entered the world of Mareep's dream.
The reason it had to plant the Dream Tree Seed in Mareep's dream world was that Mareep's dream realm was the most complete, stable, and powerful place in terms of dream energy among all the Pokémon of the Nebel Plateau.
As usual, today, Diancie and the two Spinarak arrived in Mareep's dream world, where they played, painted, and practiced skills together.
Through daily practice with Mareep in the dream world, Diancie and Spinarak felt they had become much more skilled in using their abilities.
During the practice session, the Pokémon suddenly noticed a tree rapidly growing on a hill not far away. Within the blink of an eye, it had grown into a towering tree.
"That's..." Diancie seemed to have realized something. "Could it be... the Dream Tree?"
But wasn't it just a seed she gave to Munna? How did it grow so large so quickly?
"Let's go check it out." Diancie said to the two Spinarak and Mareep.
The two Spinarak and Mareep nodded and followed Diancie as they flew toward the giant tree.
When they reached the tree, Diancie was surprised to find a tree hollow in the trunk, where Munna was curled up, fast asleep.
So, this was indeed the Dream Tree?
Diancie carefully observed the giant tree in front of her. To her astonishment, she saw that the tree branches were hanging with transparent bubbles the size of human heads.
She leaned in closer to one of the bubbles and saw that inside was Pawmot.
Pawmot was lying on a pile of snacks, enjoying a feast, laughing foolishly while eating.
Could these bubbles hold everyone's dreams?
Diancie then looked at another bubble. This one contained a Munchlax, who was happily sleeping while hugging Angie.
Diancie: ...
What a simple dream.
Next was Drilbur's dream. He dreamed of evolving into a Excadrill, becoming a powerful Pokémon, stomping on a Lairon and punching a Croconaw—he looked incredibly impressive.
Then came Sneasel's dream. He also dreamed of becoming a master, evolving into Weavile, and beating Pawmot so badly that Pawmot was crying out for mercy.
After beating Pawmott, Sneasel smugly leaped into Angie's arms and gave Pawmot a challenging look.
Diancie: Munchlax, so this is the kind of Pokémon you are?
Then there were the dreams of Magikarp and Feebas.
Magikarp dreamed of evolving into Gyarados, dominating the sky and earth.
Feebas dreamed of evolving into Milotic, becoming the most beautiful Pokémon on the Nebel Plateau.
Not every Pokémon had a dream bubble here. Diancie guessed that only those Pokémon who were dreaming had their dreams manifest in this place.
For example, Angie's dream was not present here.
At this moment, the entire Nebel Plateau was enveloped by the power of the Dream Tree. The dream energy produced by Pokémon's dreams would be absorbed by the Dream Tree, helping it grow.
Munna sleeping within the Dream Tree, had planted the tree, so it had formed a symbiotic relationship with it, much like Mew and the Tree of Beginning.
Munna living in symbiosis with the Dream Tree, would, under its subtle influence, gain even more powerful abilities to traverse the realm of dreams.
The next day, after Angie woke up, Diancie told him about the Dream Tree. After hearing the story, Angie was very surprised.
"Is it really that magical? Then tonight, have Munna bring me into the dream world to see for myself."
Angie was very curious about the Dream Tree and the dream world.
"Sure thing," Diancie said.
When Angie was preparing to go to the royal city for work, he saw Darkrai returning from the city with a gloomy expression.
Having consumed too many human nightmares and experienced so many human emotions, Darkrai felt a pressure in its head, a heaviness in its heart, and a dryness in its eyes. It felt incredibly uncomfortable.
"What happened?" Seeing Darkrai downcast, Angie asked with a smile.
"Darkrai~ Darkrai~"
Don't talk to me.
Darkrai ignored Angie, drifting away without looking back.
"What's wrong with it?" Diancie asked.
Angie laughed and said, "It must be feeling bad after eating too many nightmares. Pfft~ Serves it right."
After learning about Angie's punishment for Darkrai, Diancie also thought it was well deserved.
When Angie returned from the royal city at noon, he found Metagross.
"Metagross, can you help me develop an app for food delivery?"
Another customer had asked when the delivery service would be launched, and Angie felt this matter could not be delayed.
There were other food delivery platforms online, but Angie wanted to create his own.
"Metagross~ Metagross~"
I can give it a try.
Metagross responded.
As it continued to learn, Metagross's brilliant brain had already mastered a great deal of information technology and networking skills.
As Angie knew, since the kingdom's researchers helped develop the payment system for the Nebel Plateau, Metagross had been privately in contact with them and learned much from them.
"Metagross~ Metagross~"
Angie, can I add some research equipment to my house?
As Metagross's technological expertise grew, it felt that the computer used by Professor Sada and Professor Turo to load Robert 2.0 was no longer sufficient.
That computer could only handle daily household affairs; using it for research was too much of a stretch.
"Of course, no problem!" Angie said. "What equipment do you need? I'll get it for you."
"Metagross~ Metagross~"
Angie, are you going to buy it for me?
Metagross asked in a surprised tone.
This question left Angie speechless. "If I don't buy it for you, who will?"
It turned out that Metagross originally planned to use the salary Angie paid it to buy the equipment from the system shop.
Hearing this, Angie couldn't help but laugh and cry. "I give you a salary so you can enjoy life, not to do this. Besides, with your salary, what can you buy? Tell me, are you buying equipment for the good of this house?"
"Metagross~ Metagross~"
Metagross nodded.
"Well, there you go!" Angie said confidently. "Since it's for this house, how could I let you pay for it yourself? Of course, it's my job as the head of the household to cover the costs!"
Angie's words brought a smile to Metagross's face; it should have known Angie would say this.
"Metagross~ Metagross~"
It agreed with Angie.
Angie patted Metagross on the head and said, "Alright, tell me what equipment you need, and I'll get it for you."
He had saved up a lot of happiness points, so now was the time to use them.
After some discussion with Metagross, Angie spent a full 500,000 happiness points to buy a set of high-end equipment for Metagross from the system shop.
This equipment was not only for developing the app, but also for various other types of research.
As the equipment was bought, Metagross's room quickly filled up, and Metagross's eyes curved into joyful crescents.
It loved the equipment.
Looking at the crowded room, Angie said, "How about we clear out the room next door and put the equipment there? Otherwise, you won't even be able to turn around in here."
Angie's house had many empty rooms, so it was no problem to clear one for Metagross.
"Metagross~ Metagross~"
Metagross nodded happily.
"Then let's get started." Angie said.
Together, they cleared out the next room and moved all the equipment over.
Much of the equipment needed to be assembled after being bought, which was something Angie couldn't help with, so Metagross would have to handle that on its own.
Looking at the dazzling array of equipment parts, Angie asked, "Metagross, are you sure you're okay?"
"Metagross~ Metagross~"
No problem at all, don't worry.
Metagross replied confidently.
Angie said, "That's good. Take your time. I'll head out for now, and I'll leave the app development to you."
Metagross nodded, and after seeing Angie out, it closed the door and got busy.
After that, Metagross became a full-time homebody. Apart from eating, teaching students, and occasional breaks, most of its time was spent holed up in its lab.
After parting with Metagross, Angie received a call from Kimia.
On the phone, Kimia told Angie that the royal breeding facility had recently introduced a batch of Milcery from the Galar region. Once the royal Breeder raised them to Alcremie, they would send them to Angie.
Angie was thrilled to hear this. He hadn't expected Kimia to act so quickly. He had only recently mentioned wanting a Alcremie, and now the royal breeding facility had already brought in the Milcery.
"Kimia, thank you for your hard work," Angie said in gratitude.
"Your Highness, are you being polite with me?" Kimia replied, feigning anger. "We've been planning to bring in Milcery for a while. This was just the perfect opportunity."
Angie said, "No matter what, it's still a lot of trouble for you. I'll treat you to a meal later."
Kimia smiled, "That's a promise then. I'll come over to Your Highness's house later."
Angie replied, "You're always welcome!"
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, Angie had been living a very fulfilling life every day.
He trained with his Pokémon and Bruno in the mornings, worked at the royal castle in the afternoons, and relaxed for a while before resuming training with Bruno.
In the evenings, after playing with his Pokémon for a while, he would head to the training room.
Mew occasionally visited the Nebel Plateau, indulging itself at Angie's house before returning home.
Lately, Mew had developed a fondness for the berry juice made by Passimian, and so it often visited the distillery. Over time, it became friendly with the Koala Pokémon.
Angie often saw them raising their cups in the distillery's counter—Mew drinking juice and Koala drinking alcohol.
Both little creatures would drink their fill and then fall asleep at the counter, with Passimian and Gengar acting as their caretakers.
As for Darkrai, during the past month, it truly suffered. It had to devour 100 nightmares daily. The sleep quality of the residents of Azoth Kingdom had improved, but its own spirit grew increasingly lethargic.
In this month, besides nightmares, Angie hadn't let it eat a single bite of food prepared by himself or his students.
At first, Darkrai had proudly stated that it didn't care.
But each day, as it inhaled the tempting aromas in the air and saw the other Pokémon eating contentedly, it instinctively swallowed.
It could hold off for a day or two, even three or four, but after a while, the hunger became unbearable.
Now, it had no temper left when facing Angie. It just hoped that Angie might one day show mercy and let it eat.
In reality, consuming nightmares was beneficial for Darkrai. Although it was tormented by the various emotions contained within the nightmares, its body was in very good condition, far healthier than when it was captured by Angie.
Nightmares were originally Darkrai's food, so it was simply returning to its natural routine.
Thus, Angie never felt any sympathy for Darkrai's suffering.
After lunch one day, Bruno announced that he would be leaving Nebel Plateau.
"Angie, I'm planning to leave today," Bruno said.
Angie was surprised. "So soon?"
Bruno laughed, "So soon? I've been at your place for over a month!"
Angie couldn't help but sigh, "Time really flies. A month went by in the blink of an eye."
Bruno nodded, "It really does."
During the month, Bruno and Angie had become great friends, spending time together and enjoying each other's company. Bruno also liked the life at Nebel Plateau.
However, Bruno was a member of the Elite Four, and staying at Nebel Plateau for over a month was already the limit. He couldn't stay here forever.
After chatting for a while, Bruno started packing his things, while Angie prepared some gifts for him to take.
There were some fine wines Bruno liked, snacks that Angie had made, and a few cans of honey grapefruit tea.
Angie knew that Bruno's Pokémon team included a Heracross, though it wasn't his main force.
He figured Heracross would enjoy the Honey Pomeg Tea.
Once everything was packed, Angie called Jeremy to pick up Bruno.
Before leaving, Bruno took out a booklet from his bag and handed it to Angie. "Here you go."
Angie was confused. "What is this?"
Bruno explained, "It's my training notes. I stayed up late writing it last night. You can keep it for reference."
Angie felt touched and seriously accepted the booklet. "Thank you, I'll make good use of it."
Then, he took out a small, delicate brocade box and handed it to Bruno.
"What's this?" Bruno asked, taking the box and opening it eagerly.
Inside was a large pink diamond.
"You're giving me this?" Bruno stared at the diamond, wide-eyed.
Angie jokingly said, "I come from a poor family, so this is all I can afford. You know, I just found it lying around."
Bruno laughed at Angie's teasing, "Alright, since it's from you, I'll accept it."
He knew with Diancie that Angie wasn't lacking in this regard, so he didn't put on airs.
After a reluctant farewell, Bruno boarded the flying vehicle and waved at Angie.
"Goodbye, Angie! Goodbye, everyone!"
Angie also waved back, "Goodbye, keep in touch!"
"Munchlax~"
"Pawmot~"
...
Munchlax, Pawmot, and Farfetch'd, all of whom had received training from Bruno, stood below, waving at Bruno with all their might.
After a long while, the Aircraft slowly disappeared at the edge of the sky. Only then did Angie, along with his Pokémon, return home, feeling a bit wistful.
However, Angie quickly recovered from the feeling of parting. In this era of advanced information technology, they could always communicate through any available means, so there was no need to be overly sentimental.
Once home, Angie received a video call from Arven, who had some cooking-related questions to ask him.
After explaining for a while, Arven still didn't quite understand, so Angie decided to go into the kitchen and demonstrate it for him.
While demonstrating, Angie cleaned out some of the ingredients from his system backpack, and unexpectedly found two large scallions that he had received from a daily task still inside.
Fortunately, the system backpack kept things fresh, or else after being in there for a month, they would have likely rotted and smelled.
He casually placed the two large scallions on the stove and continued talking to Arven.
At that moment, two Farfetch'd entered the kitchen.
Angie was focused on talking to Aeven and didn't notice them.
The two Farfetch'd wandered around the kitchen for a bit, then were suddenly drawn to the large scallions on the stove. Without realizing it, they grabbed the scallions in their hands.
The moment they touched the scallions, they instantly realized that their destined scallions had finally appeared.
The two Farfetch'd exchanged a look, their faces lighting up with excitement, and then they quickly ran outside with the scallions.
"Farfetch'd~ Farfetch'd~"
"Farfetch'd~ Farfetch'd~"
Arriving on the grass outside the wall, the two Farfetch'd excitedly swung the scallions in their hands.
The more they waved, the more excited they became, the more they liked it.
Yes, it was them, it was them, it was their destined scallions.
After so many days, finally having their own scallions again, the two Farfetch'd simply couldn't control their ecstatic emotions.
Just then, Drilbur and Lairon happened to pass by.
"Farfetch'd~"
"Farfetch'd~"
The two Farfetch'd flashed forward and blocked their path.
"Lairon~"
What's going on?
Lairon looked at the Farfetch'd in confusion.
The two Farfetch'd raised their eyebrows and beckoned to Lairon and Drilbur.
"Farfetch'd~"
Come!
"Farfetch'd~"
Fight!
Upon hearing "fight," Drilbur and Lairon were immediately fired up. Fight it is, who's afraid?
Thus, the four Pokémon stood in two teams, preparing for a double battle.
The two Farfetch'd formed one team.
Drilbur and Lairon formed the other team.
They called over the Dolliv, who were sunbathing on the wall, to act as judges.
The two Dolliv stood hand in hand in the center. Once both sides were ready, they simultaneously declared.
"Dolliv~"
The match begins!
"Farfetch'd~"
"Farfetch'd~"
With the Dolliv's words, the two Farfetch'd swung their scallions and initiated their attack. Their scallions glowed with green light, which gathered and formed blades.
They used the Grass-type move Leaf Blade, a skill that easily targets vital spots.
Drilbur and Lairon weren't to be outdone and quickly countered.
Drilbur's claws glowed with sharp white light, using the Normal-type move Fury Swipes, which not only dealt damage but also had a 50% chance to lower the opponent's defense.
Lairon used its own move, Iron Head. Its head shone with metallic light as it charged towards the two Farfetch'd.
The male Farfetch'd's Leaf Blade collided first with Drilbur's claws. After a brief stalemate, Drilbur was the first one to be sent flying.