Munch~ Munch~ Ange, are you alright?
Spritzee looked at Ange's pale face, its eyes already filling with tears.
Ange rubbed its head. "Don't worry, it's just a little sickness. I'll be fine after some sleep."
Blu~ Blu~ Really?
Swablu flapped its wings, flew to Ange's chest, and brushed his cheek softly with its wings.
Just as Ange imagined, Swablu's wings were softer than cotton. Touching them felt amazing. He really wanted to use it as a pillow.
"Really, really, I'm not lying." Ange nodded repeatedly.
Although Ange couldn't understand Pokémon speech, at this moment he easily grasped what the three Pokémon meant, and clearly felt their care for him.
Afraid to disturb Ange's rest, the three Pokémon chatted with him only for a while before flapping their wings and flying off the balcony.
Zee~ Zee~ Ange, you have to rest well!
Spritzee called as it flew, waving its wings back at him.
"Got it, don't worry." Ange smiled and waved at the three little ones.
After they left, Ange placed the flower and the herb together in the empty vase by his bed and set the Berries on the table beside him.
A day passed in the blink of an eye. The next morning, Ange once again woke to Fletchling's chirping. He stretched and jumped out of bed full of energy.
"Fully restored!"
After resting for a day, Ange felt power surging through his body.
Diancie pushed open the door with a bright smile. "Since you're awake, hurry and wash up. Everyone's already waiting outside."
"Coming, coming!" Ange ran quickly to the bathroom.
After washing up, Ange went straight to the kitchen and found Munchlax already busy inside.
"Munchlax, you're up early today," Ange teased.
Munch!
Munchlax gripped a kitchen knife seriously, full of determination to work hard so it could soon stand on its own. That way, its master could relax.
When Ange got sick, Munchlax was badly scared. Diancie had even told it how Ange had been frail since childhood, which made Munchlax's heart ache.
After Diancie relayed Munchlax's resolve to Ange, he hugged Munchlax warmly. "Good child, you really are worth all my care."
Munch~~
Held in his master's arms, Munchlax hugged back with a goofy smile.
After their little "heart-to-heart," Ange started working alongside Munchlax.
But when he opened the fridge, he was shocked to see it packed full of lotus roots. After asking Diancie, he learned that during his illness, she had personally visited Barboach and Whiscash, asking them to help dig up the lotus roots so he wouldn't have to overwork himself.
Of course, Diancie only dug up a portion, since Ange's shop only opened once a day. She couldn't let Barboach and Whiscash go hungry.
After bringing the lotus roots back, she organized the Pokémon to wash them clean and store them in the fridge.
Ange gave her a thumbs-up. "Nice job, we really can't do without you!"
"Hmph!" Diancie turned away proudly, ignoring him.
Soon it was breakfast time. Seeing Ange healthy again, the Pokémon were all overjoyed and offered their congratulations.
After breakfast, Ange sent the Pokémon off one by one, then opened the System interface to check his Happiness Points. But when he looked at his personal stats, he was surprised to see some numbers had changed.
Ange
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 16 (+500)
Constitution: 5
Intelligence: 3
Cooking Evaluation: A rookie whose food is edible.
He clearly remembered his Constitution used to be only 4! How did it become 5?
"Diancie! Diancie!" he shouted.
"What is it?" Diancie poked its head out while wiping the table.
Ange strode over and showed her the screen. "Look, check this out, what's going on here?"
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Diancie asked after glancing at it.
"See? My Constitution went up for no reason," Ange said, pointing.
"Ohhh~~" Diancie seemed to remember something. "Didn't I mention? Training every day in the Cooking Training Room increases your Constitution."
Ange yelled, "Why didn't you say something so important earlier?!"
"Well, saying it now works too," Diancie replied helplessly. Then she added suddenly, "Oh, right! Not just you, Munchlax's stats changed too."
Hearing that, Ange used the Eye of Observation on Munchlax.
Munchlax
[Type] Normal
[Ability] Thick Fat
[Gender] Male
[Level] 20
[Moves] Tackle, Lick, Defense Curl, Recycle, Covet, Bite, Stockpile, Swallow, Body Slam, Charm, Seed Bomb, Brick Break, Counter.
[Individual Values]
HP: 29
Attack: 17
Defense: 20
Sp. Atk: 6
Sp. Def: 10
Speed: 31
Sure enough, Munchlax had leveled up by two.
Munch? Did I do something wrong?
Seeing Ange staring at it, Munchlax tilted its head in confusion while mopping the floor diligently.
Diancie explained, "You and Munchlax knead dough and chop ingredients every day in the training room. That's a form of exercise too."
"Alright, fair point," Ange said, accepting her reasoning.
After breakfast, Ange went to check on his garden. Seeing the lush, thriving crops filled him with joy.
The vegetables were growing well. Fast-growing ones like onions and garlic were ready for harvest, but Ange wasn't in a rush.
After all, his beginner period wasn't over yet, and the System still provided free ingredients. He might as well use as many as he could before the bonus ended.
Only a fool would miss out on free stuff!
Unfortunately, the System's ingredients could only be taken as needed. Otherwise, he would've stockpiled a bunch already.
After inspecting the garden, Ange was about to head back when Swablu flew overhead in a hurry.
"Swablu, what's wrong? Why the rush?" he called out.
Blu~ Blu~
Swablu chirped, gesturing toward the sky.
"You mean it's going to rain?" Ange guessed.
Blu~ Blu~
Swablu nodded quickly.
Because of their fluffy wings, both Swablu and Altaria were extremely sensitive to humidity, able to easily predict changes in the weather.
"I see... then you should head home quickly. Getting caught in the rain wouldn't be good," Ange said. Swablu's wings really weren't suited for rain.
Blu~~
Swablu nodded, quickly flapping its wings as it flew off.
After Swablu left, Ange stood before his vegetable garden, deep in thought. The garden had been cultivated directly on grassland, so the drainage wasn't great. If it rained, the garden would likely get flooded.
As he pondered the problem and walked back toward the house, a Vivillon fluttered anxiously past him, clearly also sensing the approaching rain.
"Hey, Vivillon, can I ask you for a favor?" Ange called out.
Lii~ Lii~!
Vivillon cheerfully nodded its agreement.
"I need to ask the Diglett brothers for help. Do you know where they are?" Ange asked.
Lii~ Lii~~!
Vivillon waved its tiny arms, indicating that it could help find them.
"Thanks a lot," Ange said gratefully.
Before long, Vivillon really did bring the Diglett brothers over, and Ange explained his idea to them.
He wanted to dig a pond next to the garden and connect it with a channel. That way, any excess water from the garden could drain into the pond at any time.
And once the pond filled up, he could use that water to irrigate the garden during sunny days, solving the watering problem without constantly troubling Flabébé.
The Diglett brothers immediately expressed their full confidence; digging holes and burrowing was what they did best, after all.
"Then I'll be counting on you," Ange said.
After Ange selected a low-lying spot, the Diglett brothers eagerly began their work.
They had been eating and staying at Ange's place for free every day, and aside from occasionally helping loosen the soil or pull weeds in the garden, they hadn't been able to do much. Now that they could really help Ange with something meaningful, they were thrilled.
True to their nature as the Mole Pokémon, the Digletts' digging speed was incredible. In just two hours, they had completed a pond over four meters deep and more than ten meters across.
No, calling it a small lake wouldn't have been an exaggeration.
The pond wasn't too close or too far from the garden; its placement was perfect.
After finishing the connecting channel between the pond and the garden, the Diglett brothers offered Ange another suggestion. It took him quite a while to understand what they meant.
They proposed digging an underground tunnel linking the pond to Lake Nebel. That way, he wouldn't have to worry about the pond overflowing when it rained too much, or drying up during droughts.
"Could I really ask you two to handle that as well?" Ange asked.
Digu~! Of course!
Diguda~~! Leave it to us!
The Diglett brothers promised confidently.
"Then I'll be counting on you again," Ange said gratefully.
The Diglett brothers dove back into the dry pond, and before long, they had burrowed a deep tunnel through the western wall at the bottom.
The tunnel extended horizontally, running all the way toward Lake Nebel, not far from Ange's home. Once the two bodies of water were connected, the lake's water would immediately flow back into the pond.
This setup had another benefit: it would keep the pond's water moving, preventing it from stagnating or turning foul over time.
About an hour later, the Diglett brothers suddenly burst out of the tunnel in a panic. A moment later, a surge of water came rushing through the passage, rapidly filling the pond to the brim.
Ange was amazed. The Pokémon's efficiency was astonishing; if this had been done manually, it would have taken ages.
"You've worked hard. Stay for dinner tonight," Ange said, squatting down to pat both Digletts on their heads.
Though they spent all day burrowing underground, their bodies were spotless, cool, and smooth to the touch, surprisingly pleasant.
Digu~
Digu~
Hearing Ange's words, the Diglett brothers squinted their eyes in delight. To repay him, they offered even more practical suggestions.
One was to plant a few trees beside the pond to help prevent silt buildup and keep the soil from eroding.
As expected of land experts! Ange thought it made perfect sense. "You two really are geniuses at farming," he praised honestly.
Digu~ Oh, not really~
Diguda~ Just a bit of experience talking.
The two Digletts looked bashful at the compliment.
But then, all of a sudden, a bright light enveloped both of them.
"What the, are they evolving?" Ange exclaimed in surprise. It was the first time he'd ever seen a Pokémon evolve.
When Scatterbug had evolved into Spewpa, he'd been busy in the kitchen, and the others had crowded around it so tightly that he only caught glimpses of the light.
Inside the radiant glow, the Diglett brothers' bodies began to change rapidly. Their single heads split into three right before his eyes.
When the light faded, two Dugtrio stood before Ange. It was truly an incredible sight.
(Note: In this story, Diglett evolution follows the game's mechanics. They evolve simply by reaching the required level and do not require merging multiple individuals. This also applies to Magneton, Dreepy's line, and Beldum's line. The exceptions are fusion-based evolutions like Shellder and Slowpoke.)
Diguda~!
Diguda~!
The brothers looked at each other in confusion, then at their newly sprouted extra heads, becoming even more startled.
Ange hurried to calm them. "Don't be scared, you've just evolved."
Under his reassurance, the Dugtrio brothers soon relaxed and began testing out their new bodies.
Then Ange went to the System Shop and bought six Pecha Berry saplings, planting them in a ring along the western edge of the pond.
Since he was planting trees anyway, he figured fruit trees were the smarter choice,they would stabilize the soil and provide fruit in the future, so why not?
After finishing, Ange glanced up at the sky. As expected, dark clouds had already gathered. "Come on, let's head home," he said to the Dugtrio brothers.
Diguda~!
Diguda~!
The Dugtrio brothers nodded together.
"Vivillon, you should come too," Ange said, turning to it.
Unlike other Pokémon, Vivillon didn't build nests and had no permanent home. On sunny days, it fluttered among the flowers; when it rained, it simply sought shelter under a bush or tree.
Its wings were covered in special scales that allowed it to keep flying even when wet.
Liii~~~
Vivillon nodded, quickly flapping its wings to follow Ange home. Even though it didn't fear rain, that didn't mean it enjoyed it. Having a warm place to stay was far better.