Soon, Munchlax came over carrying small bowls on a tray.
After seeing the contents of the bowls clearly, Ange realized with a start, "Oh, it's Tofu Brain!"
The recipe for Tofu Brain had already been unlocked in the System, serving as the mission reward Ange received after meeting Ash and the others.
Tofu Brain was a high-grade recipe, and the ingredient required for its preparation was none other than Rolling Beans.
Ange planned to launch it soon at both Diancie's Grand Cafeteria and Munchlax Home, with limited sales at Munchlax Home.
Although Ange had already harvested a crop of Rolling Beans, providing an unlimited supply for Munchlax Home was still too difficult. Therefore, he could only limit the quantity, stopping the supply once a certain amount was sold each day.
Business at Munchlax Home was getting better and better lately. Even though he only stayed open until 10:00, he was still incredibly busy every day.
Diancie took the tray from Munchlax and then distributed the Tofu Brain to everyone one by one.
"Here, the sweet ones are for Pawmi and Metagross. The savory ones are for Gengar and Komala. Also, Magearna and Volcanion, you two want savory ones as well, right?"
The debate between sweet and savory Tofu Brain had always existed, and the tastes of the Pokémon in Ange's house were also quite diverse.
"Ange, this bowl is yours. Savory," Diancie said, placing Ange's portion in front of him.
Ange was a very firm member of the savory party.
This was not the first time everyone had eaten Tofu Brain, and they very much liked this new food Ange had taught them.
Pawmi slurped down a bowl of Tofu Brain in an instant. It held up its bowl and cried out to Munchlax.
Paw paw~ Another bowl, another bowl!
Munch~
However, Munchlax shook its head at the request. Because it was a late-night snack, each person (or Pokémon) could only eat one bowl.
Paw paw~
Pawmi was very disappointed to hear this and watched the others eat with longing eyes. Seeing this, Metagross wanted to share half of its portion with Pawmi, but Ange stepped in to stop it.
"Metagross, eat your own. Don't spoil Pawmi too much."
Hearing this, Metagross gave Pawmi a helpless look and could only continue eating for itself. Pawmi's shoulders slumped in disappointment, but it didn't persist.
It knew that if it threw a tantrum or tried to act spoiled with Ange, Ange would definitely get angry.
After finishing the midnight snack, Poliwrath returned home with the two Poliwhirl. After spending family entertainment time with the Pokémon, Ange went to the Cooking Training Room to train as usual, and finally, everyone went back to their rooms to sleep.
The next afternoon, while Gengar was at home preparing for the evening opening, Ange took Munchlax and Drizzile to the hillside where the Gogoat and Skiddo cultivated Verdant Grass. The hillside was a shimmering green, and every blade of grass emitted a faint light.
His guess was correct. After being bathed in Grassy Terrain for a long time, ordinary grass would gradually evolve into Verdant Grass, becoming an important material for making high-grade food.
Seeing Ange and the others arrive, the Gogoat and Skiddo swarmed around them.
Go go~
They asked all at once when the delicious food Ange had promised would finally be made. They had been waiting so long that even the flowers had withered.
Ange took out a back basket and a sickle from the System Backpack and said, "I'll make it for you today."
Upon hearing this, the Gogoat and Skiddo immediately jumped and skipped with joy.
Their cries attracted the Miltank grazing not far away. When they learned that Ange was going to make something delicious specifically for them, the Miltank also cheered and jumped for joy.
The Miltank had adapted very well to the Nebel Plateau. Enjoying the delicious food Ange made every day while being able to eat the high-quality pasture produced on the plateau made them incredibly satisfied.
Ange had not lied to them; their quality of life had not only stayed the same but was many times higher than before.
Furthermore, the other Pokémon on the plateau were very friendly. Not only would they take the Miltank to the river for baths and brush their fur, but they would also play games with them.
The most popular game on the plateau now was Poké-Soccer. Two teams, led by Volcanion and Infernape, held an intense match every two days.
Some Pokémon liked to participate while others liked to watch. In short, Poké-Soccer greatly enriched the entertainment options for the Pokémon.
"Alright, you guys go play. I'm going to cut some grass to take back and make delicious food for you," Ange said to the Gogoat, Skiddo, and Miltank.
The Gogoat, Skiddo, and Miltank all nodded.
The Gogoat and Skiddo went back to using Grassy Terrain to cultivate Verdant Grass, while the Miltank went to roll around on the grass and sunbathe.
"Let's start working."
With that, Ange handed the sickles to Munchlax and Drizzile.
After taking the sickles, Munchlax and Drizzile began to imitate Ange's movements to cut the grass.
After using the sickle for a while, Drizzile felt it was awkward to use. It simply tossed the tool aside, and a water blade immediately appeared in its hand.
It rarely used knives when cutting vegetables normally, usually using water blades it condensed itself. Consequently, Drizzile's control over water flow was extremely precise.
Sure enough, after using the water blade, its grass-cutting speed far surpassed Ange and Munchlax. Its basket was filled quickly, and then it began to fill Ange's basket as well.
Seeing this, Ange couldn't help but praise, "As expected of Drizzile, your blade technique is excellent!"
Drizzile was very proud to hear this. It gave a thumbs up and winked at Ange.
Driz driz~ I am amazing!
Munchlax was a very supportive audience, clapping hard for Drizzile.
Munch munch~ Second Junior Brother, you're amazing!
Having received its senior's recognition, Drizzile's expression became even more spirited.
Soon, the three masters and disciples returned home, each carrying a basket full of Verdant Grass.
Upon returning home, the three of them washed the Verdant Grass, dried it, and then pressed it into grass juice.
With this, they could officially begin making Green Dumplings.
Ange said to Munchlax and Drizzile, "You two make the dough, and I'll make the filling. We'll divide the work, okay?"
Drizzile gave a thumbs up and nodded.
Driz driz~ No problem.
Munchlax also patted its chest in guarantee.
Munch munch~ Leave it to me, Master!
They had studied the recipe for Green Dumplings many times and had practiced it in the Cooking Training Room.
Ange nodded, "Alright, then let's begin."
Hearing this, Drizzile brought over the freshly squeezed grass juice. After adding a small amount of water and rock salt, it poured the mixture into a pot to boil and added an appropriate amount of edible alkali.
Once it came to a boil, Munchlax brought over the glutinous rice flour and poured it in. As Munchlax poured, Drizzile stirred with chopsticks, allowing the flour to fully absorb the grass juice.
Once it was cool enough to touch, Drizzile and Munchlax used their hands to knead the grass-juice-mixed rice flour into small dough balls.
After the dough was prepared, they boiled another pot of hot water, put the dough balls in, and cooked them until they floated before filtering and removing them.
Next, they put the cooked small dumplings back together and kneaded them again until smooth.
This step was done by Munchlax because Munchlax had more strength than Drizzile and was better suited for the task.
On the other side, Ange put soaked red beans into a pot, added rock sugar, and boiled them until soft. Once they became a paste, he put them into a blender to make red bean paste.
Then, he stir-fried the red bean paste in a pan. After frying it until it was slightly dry, he took it out to cool and then rolled it into small balls for later use.
After the bean paste filling was ready, Ange asked Munchlax and Drizzile, "Is your dough ready?"
Munch~ Coming!
Munchlax immediately carried over a large bowl of bright green dough, which was even emitting a faint glow.
This truly was a "glowing" delicacy.
The reason the dough glowed was that the grass juice was rich in abundant Grass-type energy.
Next, Ange, Munchlax, and Drizzile each took a small piece of dough, wrapped it around the red bean paste filling, and then sealed the opening with their hands to roll it into a Green Dumpling.
The choice of filling was diverse. If one didn't like red bean paste, they could choose others, such as sesame, purple sweet potato, coconut, and so on.
Once the Green Dumplings were finished, the three of them placed them one by one onto Rom Leaves, a specialty of the Nebel Plateau, and then put them in the pot to steam.
Rom Leaves had an inherent fragrance, so the Green Dumplings steamed with them would also carry a faint scent.
While Ange and the others were steaming the Green Dumplings, four people arrived at the riverbank, accompanied by four Rock-type Pokémon.
These four were none other than Ash and his companions, whom Ange had met just a week ago.
Surprisingly, the ones following them were a Diancie and three Carbink.
Similarly, those three Carbink had also met Ange once before. They were the three the System had asked Ange to save: Majima, Nate, and Juuk.
The princess they had been searching for previously was naturally Diancie, and it seemed they had found her now.
"Diancie, is your intuition okay?" Ash asked, looking at the rushing waterfall in the distance.
"There's no mistake. It's the Fairy Aura. Xerneas must have been here!" that Diancie said with absolute certainty.
The reason Diancie was searching for Xerneas was that her home, the Diamond Domain, was facing a great crisis. It could only be resolved if she learned how to use Fairy Aura from Xerneas.
Majima also said, "The Princess's intuition shouldn't be wrong."
"Alright then, let's keep going," Ash said.
Just as they stepped into the fruit forest, Chesnaught led two Victreebel and three Weepinbell to block their path.
They were just about to ask Ash and the others to leave, but when they saw Diancie, every one of them looked shocked.
"What's wrong?" Ash asked in confusion.
Ches ches~ Chesnaught took a step forward and cried out a few times to Ash and the others.
Hearing this, Diancie translated, "They say this place has an owner and told us not to come closer."
"Eh? This place actually has an owner?" Ash and Serena were shocked.
"It seems so," Clemont said, pushing up his glasses. "Look at those rows of tidy trees; they are all fruit trees. They must have been planted manually."
"What should we do then?" Bonnie asked. "If we can't go in, does that mean we won't be able to find Xerneas?"
Hearing this, Diancie hopped to the front and said to Chesnaught and the Victreebel:
"Hello, we have a very important matter and need to enter here. Could you please let us pass?"
Chesnaught and the Victreebel looked at each other. If it were a request from any other human or Pokémon, they would have refused without hesitation, but the Pokémon before them was a Diancie!
Finally, Chesnaught said, Ches ches~ Wait here a moment. I'll go ask.
"Thank you very much!" Diancie immediately gave a grateful smile.
Ches~
Chesnaught shouted into the sky. Before long, a Talonflame descended from above. Chesnaught threw out a Vine Whip to wrap around the Talonflame's two claws and was carried into the sky by the Talonflame, quickly disappearing from sight.
The two Victreebel continued to stay in place with the three Weepinbell, staring closely at Ash's group.
Watching Talonflame's disappearing silhouette, Clemont couldn't help but say, "The owner here must be a powerful Trainer."
Ash was stunned. "Why do you say that?"
Clemont replied, "Look at the Weepinbell and Victreebel in front of us, and the Chesnaught and Talonflame that just left. Every Pokémon has been raised exceptionally well. The charm they release from the inside out is exceptionally unique."
Ash said foolishly, "Is that so? How come I didn't notice?"
Clemont: ...
In the house, Ange took out the steamed Green Dumplings, intending to bring them to the Gogoat, Skiddo, and Miltank later for a taste.
Meanwhile, Diancie sat at the door of the house, using a brush to groom Mareep's wool over and over again. Mareep's snow-white wool was brushed until it was shiny and fluffy.
After spending some time together, Mareep had completely adapted to Diancie's presence. Perhaps because of Diancie's meticulous care, it was now very clingy toward Diancie. Wherever Diancie went, it would follow quietly, though it remained as silent as ever.
Just then, Chesnaught descended from the sky.
"What's wrong, Chesnaught?"
Seeing Chesnaught's panicked appearance, Diancie asked in confusion.
Ches ches~
Chesnaught gestured and described the situation. Once Diancie understood, a look of shock appeared on her face. She shouted toward the house:
"Ange, come out quickly! Another Diancie has appeared here!"
Ange was still holding the plate of Green Dumplings. When he came out upon hearing the voice, he looked at Diancie with a face full of bewilderment:
"You're joking, right?"
"Ask Chesnaught!" Diancie said, pointing at Chesnaught.
Ches ches~
Chesnaught nodded and told Ange the story of how the other Diancie had suddenly appeared.
After Ange finished listening, he hurriedly put down the plate and took off his apron. "Let's go take a look."
After saying that, he shouted to Munchlax and Drizzile in the kitchen: "Munchlax, Drizzile, I'm going out for a bit!"
Munch~
Driz driz~
The responses from Munchlax and Drizzile came from the kitchen.
After going out, Ange found Espathra. After getting on with Diancie, they were carried by Espathra at full speed toward the riverbank.
When they arrived and saw the people there, he said in surprise, "Ash, Clemont, Serena, Bonnie?"
The four of them shouted back in equal surprise, "Mr. Ange?"
The three Carbink, Majima and the others, immediately followed by shouting excitedly, "Lord Ange!"