Taking the light rail from Anistar City, Ange and his team soon returned to Azoth.
Because they returned well past noon, the Munchlax Home was already closed.
Ange took Diancie and the others back home through the spatial passage, then walked to the third-floor balcony.
From far away, he heard the voices of Munchlax and Pawmot coming from downstairs.
Munch munch~
Paw paw~
Ange looked ahead and saw Munchlax and Pawmot sparring on the lawn outside the wall.
Ange waved toward them, "Munchlax, Pawmot!"
Hearing Ange's voice, Munchlax looked up abruptly, and then a look of immense surprise erupted on its face.
Munch munch~ Unable to care about sparring anymore, it scrambled toward the house.
Paw paw~ Pawmot also chirped excitedly, following closely behind Munchlax into the house.
As soon as Ange reached the top of the stairs, Munchlax lunged at him, with Pawmot right on its heels.
Ange was instantly knocked to the floor by the two Pokémon.
Munch munch~ Master, you're finally back! I missed you so much!
Paw paw~ Me too! Me too!
Ange lay on the ground, hugging them both.
"Alright, alright, I'm back now, aren't I?"
Munch munch~ Master, why didn't you tell us you were coming back? I would have gone to pick you up!
Munchlax said, rubbing its head against Ange's cheek.
Ange rubbed the back of its head and said, "Because I wanted to give you a surprise!"
Munchlax was immediately coaxed into high spirits by Ange.
Munch munch~ I like Master the most.
Ange hugged its neck and said, "I like Munchlax the most, too."
Paw paw~ What about me? What about me?
Pawmot asked impatiently.
Ange pinched its chubby cheeks and said, "Of course, I like Pawmot the most as well!"
His words left Diancie on the side speechless. Just how many "mosts" are you going to divide your affection into?
"I'm saying, that's enough, you three! Blocking the staircase, how is anyone supposed to walk?"
Once the "housekeeper" spoke, Ange, Munchlax, and Pawmot hurriedly ducked their heads and scrambled up, clearing the way.
Passi~ Passi~ Seeing this, Passimian covered its mouth and giggled, then leaped away and vanished quickly.
It was going to find Komala, the Shuckle, and Dusknoir. It had missed them dearly after not seeing them for a few days.
"Munchlax, Pawmot, let's go." Ange held Munchlax's left hand and Pawmot's right, heading downstairs in high spirits.
"Baltoy, keep up!" he didn't forget to look back and remind Baltoy.
Doublade didn't need Ange's reminder; it was always sticking close by Ange's side.
Downstairs, Ange released Volcanion and Espathra.
Volcanion immediately went to the kitchen on the second floor to find Magearna; it was feeling very wounded right now and needed comfort.
Meanwhile, Espathra bolted outside.
The vast grasslands of the Nebel Plateau, I'm back!
As soon as it got outside, Espathra began running wildly across the prairie to its heart's content.
By the flower bed in the plaza, Mareep was sitting in front of an easel, lost in thought. The painting in front of it was only half finished.
In the flower garden, three Combee were flying around among the blooming flowers; this was exactly the scene Mareep was painting.
At the edge of the flower garden, Musharna and two Spinarak were napping there.
With Diancie not at home, they all looked quite listless.
Just then, they seemed to hear Diancie's voice.
"Everyone, I'm back!"
Mareep slid off its small stool in a flash. Turning around and seeing Diancie, it sprinted over immediately and buried its head into Diancie's arms.
Although it made no sound and showed no expression, Diancie already felt how much it had missed her.
Diancie gently stroked Mareep's soft wool and said, "Mareep, I'm back!"
Musharna and the two Spinarak also quickly approached Diancie, telling her how much they had missed her over the last few days.
Ange, meanwhile, asked Munchlax, "How have the new arrivals been doing?"
Munchlax replied, "Master, don't worry, everyone is doing great!"
"That's good." Saying this, he rubbed Munchlax's head and said, "Thanks for looking after the house."
Munchlax leaned into Ange's palm and rubbed against it.
Hearing this, Pawmot immediately said, "What about me? What about me?"
Ange rubbed Pawmot's head again and said, "Yes, yes, you've worked hard, too."
Pawmot felt completely satisfied, and its pace became much lighter.
Ange then said, "Let's go check on our new partners!"
Munch~
Paw~
Munchlax and Pawmot nodded, vying to lead the way for Ange.
Ange went to check on Lucario first.
It was in the cooking training room, training with Inteleon.
According to Munchlax, the two of them had entered the cooking training room right after lunch and had been there ever since.
At the same time, Ange learned that Lucario and Inteleon were getting along quite well.
That morning, Lucario had gone to help Inteleon at the Munchlax Home. With Lucario using its Aura to help process ingredients, Inteleon's cooking had been highly praised by the shop's customers.
Because of this, Inteleon was in a very good mood today, which was why it was so full of energy while taking Lucario to the cooking training room to hone their culinary skills.
Lucario was also very capable.
Deep down, Lucario was grateful to Ange for providing it with a job opportunity and ensuring that it, Gothita, and the others would never have to worry about food or shelter again, so it wanted to repay Ange with all its might.
After entering the cooking training room, Ange saw Inteleon and Lucario deeply immersed in their special training as if no one else was around, so he left quietly without disturbing them.
Next, in the kitchen on the second floor, Ange saw Gothita, Wobbuffet, and Girafarig.
They were helping Magearna.
They had already learned about their work arrangements from Ange, so they had taken the initiative to come help Magearna.
Although they didn't understand cooking, they could help with cleaning, washing pots, pans, and dishes, saving Magearna a lot of trouble.
Therefore, Magearna was very fond of these three diligent and cute Pokémon.
Ange didn't enter the kitchen but stood at the window and peeked inside.
Wobbuffet was washing dishes.
Gothita was using its psychic powers to control a rag, cleaning the stove.
Girafarig was likewise using telekinesis to control a broom and sweeping the floor.
Magearna was making desserts while chatting with Volcanion. Although Ange couldn't hear what they were saying, Volcanion's expression looked all aggrieved.
This... it was practically like a tough guy acting cute.
He strongly suspected that Volcanion was acting pitiful to win Magearna's concern.
Not disturbing the Pokémon, he quietly left with Munchlax, Pawmot, Doublade, and Baltoy.
Back on the first floor, Ange said to Doublade, "Doublade, you should go rest for a while, too. You don't need to follow me all the time; excessive fatigue is not good."
Doublade hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement. It flew directly to the wall in the living room, hung itself up, and closed its eyes.
Ange was already used to its strange way of resting.
Just as Ange was planning to continue visiting his new partners, Gengar returned from outside.
Gar~ Seeing Ange, it immediately gave him an enthusiastic hug.
"Gengar, where have you been?" Ange asked with a smile.
As soon as Ange finished speaking, he saw two Golett walking over carrying a bamboo basket, which was packed full of various vegetables.
Gar~ gar~ Gengar gestured at the vegetables; it turned out it had gone to prepare the ingredients needed for the noodle shop that evening.
Ange couldn't help but say, "Thanks for your hard work."
Gar~ gar~ Gengar shook its head, then once again gave Ange a hug with a beaming smile.
It didn't feel tired at all; on the contrary, it felt very happy.
It was the Master who had given it a place to belong and taught it how to cook; it felt that every day was incredibly fulfilling.
Because it was still early and Gengar didn't need to rush to prepare for the evening's work, a Gengar joined Ange's entourage.
Under Gengar's guidance, Ange saw Goodra and two Sliggoo in the pond next to the vegetable garden.
Goodra and Sliggoo preferred quiet and were not good at interacting with others, and since few other Pokémon usually came near the pond by the garden, they had gradually grown fond of this place.
When Ange arrived, the two Sliggoo were leisurely lying on the water surface, swimming back and forth.
Goodra, meanwhile, was lying on the bank with its lower body submerged in the water, eyes closed for a light nap; judging by the relaxed expression on its face, it must be very comfortable right now.
Two Wooper were playing on its sturdy tail, which was protruding from the water, using it like a slide.
Clearly, Goodra and Sliggoo were getting along very well with the Wooper, Barboach, and Whiscash brothers living in the pond.
Ange hadn't intended to disturb Goodra and Sliggoo's leisure time, but Goodra happened to open its eyes at that moment and noticed Ange.
So, Ange took the initiative to wave and greet it.
"Hey, Goodra."
Melo~ Seeing Ange back, Goodra first looked surprised, then waved and greeted Ange with a smile.
Having been with Ange for so long, it and the Sliggoo were no longer like frightened birds as they had been at the beginning.
Woop~ woop~ Hearing Ange's voice, the two Wooper jumped off Goodra's tail and swam quickly to the shore.
Ange walked to the edge of the pond and patted their heads one by one, saying, "Wooper, have you become friends with Goodra and the others?"
Woop~ woop~
Woop~ woop~
The two Wooper nodded vigorously.
Ange smiled and said, "What good children. I'll leave Goodra and the others in your care from now on."
Woop~
Woop~
Hearing this, the two Wooper nodded with serious expressions, as if they had accepted some incredible mission.
Just then, Barboach and Whiscash also surfaced one after another to greet Ange.
Ange said to them, "Barboach and Whiscash, you must get along well with Goodra and the others, too."
Barboach and Whiscash nodded.
The two Sliggoo had also swum to the shore. They gathered around Goodra, and hearing Ange entrusting their care to Wooper and Whiscash, they couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
However, along with the embarrassment, a warm current couldn't help but well up in their hearts.
They knew that because of their special experiences, Ange had always been intentionally or unintentionally taking care of them in every aspect.
After arriving at the Nebel Plateau and seeing the living conditions of the Pokémon here, Goodra and Sliggoo had completely fallen in love with this place, and in their hearts, they had silently accepted Ange.
After sitting by the pond for a while accompanying the few Pokémon, Ange continued on to check on Eevee and the others.
But where had Eevee and the others gone?
Ange asked Gengar, but Gengar indicated it didn't know.
Just then, a Tropius flew overhead, so Ange waved at it.
After landing, Tropius lowered its head toward Ange, expressing its closeness to him.
Ange rubbed its neck and asked, "Tropius, have you seen Eevee and the others?"
Tro~~ Tropius shook its head.
"Alright, I'll go find other Pokémon to ask," Ange said, patting Tropius's neck.
Tro~ Tropius nodded, flapping its wings and taking to the sky again.
Leaving the garden, Ange reached the prairie and saw Solrock, which was hovering high in the sky, gathering solar energy.
"Solrock!" Ange called out to it loudly.
Sol~ Hearing this, Solrock descended rapidly from the sky.
Because it had just been gathering solar energy, its whole body was radiating a terrifyingly high temperature, scaring Ange and the others into quickly moving away.
Sol~ sol~ Solrock smiled sheepishly when it saw this.
"Solrock, have you seen Eevee and the others?" Ange asked.
Eevee? Solrock shook its head.
"I see... then continue with your work; I'll go look elsewhere," Ange said.
Sol~~ Solrock nodded and rose back into the high sky.
"Strange, where did those three rascals go?" Ange searched as he walked.
Munchlax, Pawmot, and Gengar all looked around as they walked (or flew), helping Ange look, while only Baltoy silently observed the surrounding environment.
This was the place it would live in the future...
Just like that, Ange searched everywhere for traces of the Eevee trio.
The Pokémon he encountered along the way were all happy to come up and greet him when they saw he was back.
However, none of them had seen Eevee.
According to Lunatone, it had seen the three of them at noon, but hadn't seen them since.
But where were the three Eevee right now?
Actually, they didn't know themselves.
Originally, they had been playing hide-and-seek with Tyrunt today.
Who would have thought that when it was their turn to be "it," Tyrunt would use the move Dig to hide underground?
How could they possibly find it?
So they had no choice but to admit defeat and let Tyrunt come out on its own.
When Tyrunt came out of the hole, Flareon lay at the mouth of the hole, staring into the deep cavern, and had a sudden inspiration: if Tyrunt kept digging, what would it find?
After it proposed this idea, the four Pokémon decided to play a game of underground exploration.
Digging with just Tyrunt alone wasn't enough, so they found Drilbur, Lairon, and Bunnelby, who were good at digging.
Just like that, an exploration team consisting of Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon, Tyrunt, Drilbur, Lairon, and Bunnelby was formed.
Before the exploration began, they first had to choose a place to start digging downwards.
After much thought, they arrived below the cliff at the edge of the Nebel Plateau.
That was the very same cliff where Paras and the others grew mushrooms.
Of course, their chosen location was a long distance away from the cave where the mushrooms grew.
Once the location was set, the excavation work began.
Savo~~ With Vaporeon's order, the digging race between Tyrunt, Drilbur, Lairon, and Bunnelby began.
With the three Pokémon digging with all their might, a slanted downward tunnel took shape bit by bit.
The soil containing minerals produced during the digging was eaten by Lairon.
Just like that, they dug all the way down, not knowing how long they had been digging, how deep they had gone, or even where they had reached.
The further down they went, the darker it became, and Jolteon had to flash a spark of electricity from its body for lighting.
As time passed, Bunnelby gradually began to feel afraid, so it said:
Bunne~ bunne~~ How about we just go back!
Drilbur immediately retorted: Dril~ dril~ You're such a coward; it's just a little dark, what's there to be afraid of?
Poh~ poh~ That's right, that's right!
Although Flareon was also a bit scared inside, out of pride, it put on a fearless front, puffing out its chest and confidently walking in front of Vaporeon.
Savo~ savo~ Vaporeon looked at Flareon with admiration and even licked Flareon's face.
Then Flareon glanced triumphantly at Jolteon, puffing its chest out even further.
Sigh Jolteon let out a deep sigh.
In any case, out of pride, no one backed down, and the exploration continued just like that.
After digging for who knows how much longer, the path of the Pokémon was blocked by a hard, massive boulder.
Seeing this, Drilbur volunteered to step forward.
Dril~ dril~ Leave it to me.
Then it merged its two claws together and used Rapid Spin.
Its claws collided with the stone, making a teeth-gritting sound, and sparks flew everywhere, but the stone remained completely undamaged.
Dril~ How can this be?
Drilbur stared blankly ahead.
Lairon~ Lairon~ Let me try.
Lairon stepped forward and said.
Hearing this, Drilbur had to step back; its strength was indeed no match for Lairon's.
Lairon planted its four feet firmly into the ground and then lunged fiercely at the stone.
It used the Fighting-type move, Bulldoze.
Unfortunately, the result was the same; other than making a loud noise, the stone remained completely unscathed.
Next, the three Eevee took the stage. They simultaneously used Shadow Ball against the stone, but after an explosion, the stone was still perfectly fine.
Bunne~ bunne~ How about we just go around this rock?
Bunnelby suggested.
Lairon~ Lairon~ That's the only way.
Lairon nodded.
Then everyone worked together to dig to the side, trying to bypass the rock.
However, they had underestimated the volume of the rock; they dug for a long time, but there was always a massive boulder blocking the way in front.