Ange and his team finished preparing the ingredients quickly, and Diancie walked to the entrance to call everyone.
Hearing her call, Male Meowstic, Female Meowstic, Gardevoir, Gallade, and Ralts walked into the kitchen with Diancie. After a short while, they walked back out carrying plates piled high with sliced ingredients.
There were vegetables and meat, and the tables near the entrance were fully loaded in no time.
Once Ange and his two apprentices, Inteleon and Munchlax, stepped outside, they immediately started grilling the food for everyone. As time passed, plate after plate of freshly grilled food was carried out and distributed to the crowd.
The savory aroma of the barbecue drifted across the entire plaza. Everyone chatted, laughed, and shared stories while enjoying the delicious food, making the scene incredibly lively.
This was the first time either Yveltal or Xerneas had ever witnessed such a scene.
Watching everyone chat and laugh, they felt an profound sense of peace and harmony fill their hearts.
Is this what normal life is like?
They could not help but look at Ange, who was surrounded by the rising smoke of the grill. They knew that being able to enjoy such a peaceful and warm lifestyle was all thanks to this man.
While Yveltal and Xerneas were enjoying the delicious barbecue, Munchlax did not forget to bring them some Tree of Beginning Tofu.
This was their true staple food.
Without eating the Tree of Beginning Tofu, they could never feel satisfied, no matter how much other food they consumed.
"Honk honk~ Honk honk~" Isn't the barbecue incredibly delicious?
The female Oinkologne looked up at Xerneas and asked, her face covered in grease from eating.
Xerneas nodded, "It is indeed delicious."
The male Oinkologne added proudly: "Honk honk~ Honk honk~" Of course it is, the food Ange makes is the best in the whole world!
"Honk honk~ Honk honk~" Exactly, exactly!
The female Oinkologne nodded in agreement.
It was equally lively over by Yveltal. Honchkrow and the Murkrow served Yveltal attentively, bringing plate after plate of food before the legendary Pokémon for it to enjoy.
Seeing Scrafty, Pancham, and Stunky ignoring Yveltal to gorge themselves, Honchkrow became angry and barked:
"As Lord Yveltal's attendants, how can you eat before him?"
Scrafty and the others froze mid-bite, their expressions completely blank.
Attendants? Who?
Seeing the foolish look on the trio's faces, Honchkrow stamped its feet in frustration, muttering about how useless they were.
Scrafty and the other two ignored the bird and kept eating. Conversely, Honchkrow and the Murkrow only started eating their own food after making sure Yveltal was fully satisfied.
As soon as Yveltal finished eating, a circular field formed by its Dark Aura manifested around its body. The Murkrow and Honchkrow immediately began jumping and dancing inside it with excitement.
(' ) Scrafty, Pancham, and Stunky were instantly shocked by the display.
Tonight's barbecue party was thrown to celebrate the evolution of Armarouge, Ceruledge, Delcatty, and Primarina, so they were naturally the main focus.
Ange reserved the absolute best cuts of the ingredients for them, ensuring they would eat to their heart's content tonight.
Passimian also remembered to bring over the fresh fruit juice it had blended for everyone, which naturally included some alcohol for Komala and Infernape.
Ange was in a great mood tonight, so he sat down to have a few drinks with Komala, Infernape, and Passimian.
Because beer pairs perfectly with barbecue, they chose to drink beer, which had a low alcohol content and would not get them drunk easily.
"It's a pity Mew went home," Ange said after taking a large gulp of ice-cold beer, feeling refreshed. "Otherwise, it would definitely love a lively barbecue party like this."
Diancie smiled and replied, "There will be other opportunities in the future."
Ange smiled knowingly, "That's true."
Just as everyone was singing and dancing, a sudden gasp drew the crowd's attention.
Everyone followed the sound and saw that the gasp had come from the Male Meowstic. The reason was that the Female Meowstic beside it was currently glowing with a brilliant light.
"It's the light of evolution," Ange said.
Hearing this, everyone held their breath and stared intently at the Female Meowstic without blinking.
Wrapped in the blue and white light, the Female Meowstic's body grew taller and more slender, while its tail and ears lengthened significantly.
When the light finally dissolved, a brand-new Pokémon appeared before everyone.
This was a bipedal, cat-like Pokémon. Its body was covered mostly in white fur, but its legs, arms, the base of its tail, its neck, and the fur on top of its head were a deep blue.
It was a female Meowstic.
Furthermore, the original Meowstic on the Nebel Plateau was a male.
While the male Meowstic was also a bipedal, cat-like Pokémon, its fur pattern was predominantly deep blue, with only its hands, feet, tip of the tail, neck, top of the head, and parts of its ears being white.
In terms of color distribution, the male and female Meowstic were exact opposites.
After completing the evolution, the female Meowstic remained a bit dazed.
It raised its hands to look left and right. It only realized it had evolved when everyone stepped forward to offer their congratulations.
The first thing it did upon snapping out of its daze was throw itself into the arms of the male Meowstic, expressing its gratitude and sharing its joy.
If the male Meowstic had not rescued it from the snow back then, it probably would have frozen to death outside, let alone live the dream-like life it enjoyed today.
Looking at the female Meowstic, Ange raised his glass and said, "It looks like our household has another happy event to celebrate."
Diancie covered her mouth and giggled, "Why do I feel like you're using a double entendre?"
Ange played dumb, "Am I?"
In short, the evolution of the female Meowstic made the atmosphere of the barbecue party even more enthusiastic.
Everyone continued eating and drinking until past 10:00 PM before slowly heading back.
Gengar and Poliwrath had returned around 8:00 PM, arriving just in time for the peak of the party.
After the party ended, the Pokémon went back to rest one after another, while Ange took his apprentices to the training room for their session.
Once their culinary training concluded, they moved directly into Aura training.
Just like always, Munchlax, Inteleon, Gengar, and Passimian still could not awaken their Aura Power.
When Ange finished his meditation and opened his eyes, he felt a pang of sympathy seeing his three apprentices and Passimian all sitting with furrowed brows.
As he watched them, inspiration suddenly struck.
"Right!"
Hearing Ange's sudden outburst, Munchlax and the others opened their eyes one after another, looking at him in confusion.
Ange said with a look of pleasant surprise: "With the help of the Aura Gloves, I can now externalize my Aura. Why don't I let you feel my Aura to see if it can help you trigger your own awakening?"
"Munch~"
"Inteleon~"
"Gar~"
"Passi~"
Munchlax, Inteleon, Gengar, and Passimian all showed expressions of delight upon hearing this.
Munchlax and Inteleon especially had been practicing Aura for the longest time, yet they still had no clue whatsoever, making it hard not to feel discouraged.
"Come here, let's do this one by one," Ange said, gesturing for his three apprentices and Passimian to gather around.
Seeing this, Pawmot wanted to squeeze in toward Ange as well, but Ange quickly glared at it.
"You have already awakened your Aura, why are you crowding in here? Sit back down and practice properly."
"Paw paw~" Pawmot could only sit back down with a wronged expression.
Ange put on his Aura Gloves and said, "Let's start with Munchlax first."
"Munch~" Munchlax sat obediently right in front of Ange.
Seeing this, Ange placed both hands on Munchlax's back. His palms radiated a blue and white light as his Aura Power seeped into Munchlax's body inch by inch.
"How is it, Munchlax? Do you feel my Aura?" Ange asked softly.
"Munch munch~" Munchlax nodded excitedly.
It felt it, it really felt it!
So this was what Aura felt like!
Its master's Aura Power made it feel incredibly warm.
Ange continued to guide Munchlax in a gentle tone: "Don't get excited. Keep your emotions calm and feel the Aura Power carefully."
Munchlax nodded, took a deep breath to soothe its emotions, and then concentrated on sensing its master's Aura circulating throughout its entire body.
After an unknown amount of time, Ange withdrew his palms from Munchlax's back. Munchlax kept its eyes tightly closed, seemingly entering a special state of consciousness.
Fearing he might disturb Munchlax, Ange lowered his voice and spoke to Inteleon, "Your turn."
Inteleon nodded excitedly and immediately sat cross-legged in front of Ange.
Ange used the exact same method to help Inteleon. After a long while, although Inteleon seemed lost in thought, it did not enter that deeply focused state like Munchlax.
Ange patted its shoulder and said, "Take your time to comprehend it, I will go help Gengar."
Next, Ange used the same method to assist Gengar and Passimian one after the other.
However, Gengar and Passimian ended up in a similar state to Inteleon, sitting cross-legged on the ground with expressions of deep contemplation.
Minutes and seconds ticked away. Munchlax remained completely motionless, while Inteleon, Gengar, and Passimian still sat with furrowed brows, deeply absorbed in thought.
Soon, an hour passed in the outside world, which meant ten hours had elapsed inside the training room. Ange and his Pokémon were staying inside much later than usual today.
Midway through, Volcanion even made a special trip over to check on them out of worry.
Metagross, who had finished its classes at the Secret Fortress, also came by once. Seeing that Ange and the others were fine, it went back to its room to continue its own research.
By this time, Ange and Pawmot's Aura training had long concluded. They sat side-by-side on the ground, quietly watching Munchlax, Inteleon, Gengar, and Passimian sitting across from them.
Suddenly, Ange noticed a slight change coming from Munchlax.
Normally, as long as a living creature's Aura remained unawakened, it would appear dim and gray in Ange's perception, no matter how inherently strong it was.
But at this moment, Munchlax's Aura suddenly lit up like a candle flame. That spark grew brighter and brighter, ultimately becoming even more eye-catching than the Aura radiated by Pawmot.
After another moment, Munchlax snapped its eyes open. It immediately split its mouth into a massive grin and lunged happily into Ange's arms.
"Munch munch~" Master, I awakened my Aura! I awakened my Aura!
It wrapped its arms around Ange's neck, snuggling against him relentlessly.
Sensing the outside world was entirely different once an Aura was awakened, so Munchlax was certain of its success even without seeking validation from Ange.
"Good, good, good!" Ange gently stroked Munchlax's back, "Our Munchlax is truly amazing, Master is proud of you."
Hearing Ange's praise made Munchlax even happier, and it rubbed its head against Ange repeatedly.
"Munch munch~" Master, I will be able to make Special Grade food just like you in the future!
Ange patted the back of its head and said, "Then you must practice your Aura diligently from now on, and strive to achieve perfect control over it as soon as possible."
The stronger one's control over Aura was, the higher the probability of producing Special Grade food.
"Munch munch~"
Munchlax nodded vigorously, indicating it would definitely practice hard.
Hearing the conversation between Munchlax and Ange, Inteleon and the others all looked on with envy.
Their senior brother had awakened his Aura, yet they still had no clue.
Seeing their gloomy faces, Ange immediately laughed and said:
"What are you all looking so down for? Just because you didn't awaken it this time doesn't mean you won't have a chance in the future! If it doesn't work once, try twice; if twice doesn't work, try thrice. You will succeed eventually.
Besides, no one ever said you must awaken an Aura to be a chef! There are so many people in the world who haven't awakened an Aura, do they just stop being chefs?"
Ange's words of comfort brought smiles back to the faces of Inteleon and the other two.
"Alright, that's enough for today. Let's all go back and rest. If you don't get some good sleep, you won't have the energy to work tomorrow," Ange said, pulling Munchlax up as he rose to his feet.
"Munch~"
"Inteleon~"
The Pokémon responded one after another, and Magearna stopped its practice movements as well.
After exiting the training room, Ange and the Pokémon went back to their respective rooms to wash up.
Meanwhile, in the employee dormitory, Xerneas spent some time watching television with the others, and they happened to be watching a melodramatic family drama.
When the plot reached a point where the female lead was being tormented terribly, the living room instantly dissolved into a sea of tears.
Buneary, Spritzee, Pachirisu, and Ralts especially cried until their eyes were completely red.
Only Greninja, Delphox, and Chesnaught found the plot incredibly clichéd and boring.
Yet right at that moment, Xerneas suddenly remarked, "This thing called a television drama is truly interesting."
Greninja, Delphox, and Chesnaught all turned to look at Xerneas in absolute disbelief.
Wait, Xerneas, you're a legendary deity and you actually like this kind of stuff?
In an instant, the majestic filter surrounding Xerneas as the God of Life shattered completely in the eyes of the three Pokémon.
Seeing that it was getting late, Delphox stepped forward to turn off the television and told the group:
"Alright, everyone needs to go rest now."
Only then did the crowd sigh and head back to their respective rooms.
Xerneas used the elevator to return to the first floor of the Secret Fortress. The bar area was completely quiet now, indicating that Yveltal was already asleep.
Yveltal would usually sleep until midnight, after which it would fly out to roam the night with Honchkrow and the Murkrow.
Xerneas walked over to its sofa, looked at the fast-asleep Yveltal, and whispered, "Goodnight, old friend."
After speaking, it curled into its bedding and drifted off to sleep.
What Xerneas did not know, however, was that after it settled down, Yveltal opened its eyes and softly whispered back:
"Goodnight, old friend."
On Ange's side, he comfortably crawled into bed after taking a relaxing shower.
Before going to sleep, he opened the System interface, intending to claim his daily mission rewards.
Furthermore, if he had not misheard the System notifications during the day, he had also unlocked an achievement today.
Sure enough, the moment he pulled up the Mission List, a notification popped up from the System.
[Congratulations to the master for completing the achievement: A Second Legendary Pokémon Has Joined the Territory.]
[Received reward: Master Ball ×2]
Seeing this reward left Ange feeling incredibly disappointed.
How could the reward only be two Master Balls?
Granted, Master Balls were exceptionally rare and possessed a 100% catch rate, but by comparison, Ange would have preferred rewards like individual values, stamina points, or intelligence points.
At least those could directly strengthen himself or his Pokémon.
Oh well, Master Balls were fine.
As far as Ange knew, the Master Ball was originally developed by Silph Co.
However, because its 100% flawless capture effect stripped all meaning from weakening a Pokémon through battle, it was deemed highly detrimental to the bond and progress between humans and Pokémon.
Ultimately, the Master Ball project was halted by the League, and even the manufacturing blueprints and related data were destroyed. Consequently, the small batch of Master Balls that had already been produced naturally became extinct items.
As collector's items, Master Balls were indeed rare treasures.
After storing the Master Balls away safely, Ange began claiming his daily mission rewards.
[Daily Mission 1 Reward: 1 Mega Pendant]
Huh?
He paused for a moment upon seeing this reward. He had not expected the daily missions to actually drop something useful today.
However, when he pulled out the Mega Pendant, his disappointment returned.
The Mega Pendant was designed to hold a Key Stone, so Ange assumed a Key Stone would be attached to it, but it turned out to be an empty pendant.
Sigh.
Whatever, he would give it to Diancie tomorrow so she could use it to mount her Mega Stone that had evolved from a diamond.
Since the Mega Pendant was built to hold a Key Stone, mounting a Mega Stone inside it shouldn't be an issue, right?
After storing the Mega Pendant away, Ange proceeded to claim the second daily mission reward.
[Daily Mission 2 Reward: Super Rod (A fishing rod capable of easily reeling in Water-type Pokémon from the water.)]
Uh... it dropped an item that Ange found simultaneously useful and useless.
It was useful because any fishing fanatic would absolutely adore such a powerful fishing rod.
It was useless because Ange wasn't a fisherman.
It really gave him a headache.
After putting the fishing rod away, Ange went ahead to claim the final daily mission reward.
[Daily Mission 3 Reward: 1 set of Ball Capsules and Seals]
Well, while the first two rewards could be considered minor windfalls, this final reward was truly mundane.
These seals were meant to be applied to Poké Balls to generate special effects when a Pokémon was released, making them dedicated props for Pokémon Contests.
The seal effects were categorized into five styles: Cute, Cool, Tough, Beauty, and Clever.
The Cute effect featured hearts and stars; the Cool effect featured lines and electricity; the Tough effect featured flames and smoke; the Clever effect featured musical notes and bubbles; and the Beauty effect featured flowers and confetti.
The set Ange received contained examples of all five special effects, but the problem was that he wasn't a Pokémon Coordinator.
Tossing the seals into his backpack carelessly, Ange dove under his blanket and fell fast asleep.