Ange returned from cutting grass with Munchlax and Drizzile, only to find Dusknoir and Passimian standing right in front of his door.
"Where did you all... come from?" Ange asked, feeling bewildered.
Hearing Ange's voice, Dusknoir, Passimian, and the ten Shuckle all looked over at the same time. Passimian and Dusknoir weren't actually surprised by Ange's appearance. Their good friend had previously told them it was living with a human.
This person before them had to be the one.
Passi passi~ Are you Ange? Passimian asked.
Ange was taken aback for a moment. "You know me?"
Passimian, Dusknoir, and the ten Shuckle all nodded simultaneously.
Noir noir~ Our good friend told us about you, Dusknoir explained.
"And this 'good friend' is...?" Ange asked, still confused.
Passi passi~ It's Komala! Passimian answered.
However, it immediately followed up with a belated realization. Passi passi~ You can understand what we're saying?
Ange nodded. "I can!"
Passimian and Dusknoir exchanged a look, and the curiosity in their eyes grew as they looked at Ange. At that moment, Ange seemed to realize who they were. "Could it be that you are... Komala's drinking buddies?" he guessed.
Passimian tilted its head. Passi~ Drinking buddies? What are drinking buddies?
"Friends who drink together," Ange explained.
Hearing this, Passimian and Dusknoir nodded repeatedly. Passimian said excitedly:
Passi passi~ Yes, yes! We and our good friend are drinking buddies!
Strictly speaking, only Passimian and Komala were actual drinking buddies. Dusknoir didn't actually enjoy drinking; it only knew Komala because it lived with Passimian. Passimian's hobby was brewing alcohol, and Komala had been drawn to it by the scent of its fine brews.
Ange smiled and gestured to Dusknoir, Passimian, and the Shuckle. "Since you're friends of Komala, come on in. It's probably sleeping right now!"
Seeing how kind Ange's personality was, Dusknoir and Passimian felt a sense of relief. They followed Ange into the plaza. Munchlax and Drizzile observed the group as they walked. When Munchlax noticed Dusknoir and Passimian spotting their little movements, it gave them a friendly, wide-mouthed grin. Drizzile, on the other hand, gave them a mischievous wink. The friendly attitude of the two Pokémon helped the newcomers relax even further.
Ange reached the door and lifted the curtain of the Komala Home. Sure enough, he saw it fast asleep.
"Komala, time to wake up. Your friends are here!" Ange called out softly.
However, Komala didn't react at all. It simply smacked its lips, rolled over, pulled its little blanket tighter, and continued to sleep.
Ange turned back to Dusknoir and Passimian helplessly. "I'm afraid there's no waking it up right now. Come inside the house first."
Dusknoir and Passimian nodded. Once inside, Ange said, "You should put the Shuckle down. It must be tiring to carry them all this time."
Dusknoir and Passimian followed his advice and set the Shuckle down, untying the vines around them. Being tied up like that hadn't been comfortable for the Shuckle either. Just then, hearing the commotion, Diancie came downstairs.
"Ange, you're bac—"
Before it could finish its sentence, it noticed the several unfamiliar Pokémon in the room.
"We have guests!"
Ange nodded. "Yes, they're Komala's friends."
"I see!" "I see," Diancie said, realizing the situation. "Should I get them something to drink?"
Ange nodded. "Magearna squeezed some juice earlier and put it in the fridge. Bring that over."
Diancie nodded and headed into the kitchen. Munchlax and Drizzile took the fresh green grass they had just cut into the kitchen as well, and they even helpfully took Ange's basket along with them.
"Sit down and rest for a bit," Ange invited Dusknoir and Passimian.
The two Pokémon sat in the chairs before them. Shortly after, Diancie brought out refreshing and delicious juice for them and the Shuckle. After placing the juice in front of Passimian and the others, Diancie tugged on Ange's sleeve and whispered, "There's a mission!"
A mission at a time like this? Ange instinctively glanced at Passimian and Dusknoir, guessing that the new mission might be related to them.
"Accept it."
He then opened the System. As expected, the newly added mission was related to Passimian.
[Capture Mission] Capture Passimian — Pending.
The mission content was very simple. This was the second Pokémon the System had actively requested Ange to capture, besides Munchlax.
Does Passimian also have a talent for cooking?
Meanwhile, Dusknoir, Passimian, and the Shuckle were curiously surveying everything in Ange's home. Ange thought for a moment and sat down opposite them. "Why did you all come here so suddenly? Was it specifically to see Komala?" he asked.
The two Pokémon looked at each other. Dusknoir gave Passimian a little nudge, and Passimian began to explain the reason.
Passi passi passi~ A terrifying disaster struck the forest where we lived. It's no longer habitable. We came to seek refuge with our good friend.
"So that's how it is," Ange realized. "I can take you in."
Hearing Ange's words, Passimian, Dusknoir, and the Shuckle looked delighted.
"However, I have one condition," Ange stated.
Passi~
Noir~
Dusknoir and Passimian looked confused.
"I want Passimian to become my Pokémon and learn culinary arts with me," Ange continued.
Learn culinary arts? Passimian was even more confused. What were culinary arts? It asked about its doubt.
Ange thought for a second before explaining, "Culinary arts is the skill of making food taste better through various cooking methods."
Passimian seemed to only half-understand. Was this really something it could learn?
"Passimian, do you want to learn culinary arts?" Ange asked again.
Passi~ I don't know. Passimian shook its head blankly. Passi passi~ Rather than learning culinary arts, I want to research how to brew alcohol more.
Ange's eyes lit up at Passimian's words. That's it! He finally understood why the System wanted him to capture Passimian. This Passimian might have a great talent for brewing, which happened to be a blind spot in his own knowledge.
Thinking about the expensive brewing equipment he had received as a System reward, Ange became even more certain of the reason.
"Alright, you don't have to learn culinary arts. You can be my Pokémon, and I will teach you how to brew!" Ange said, suppressing his excitement.
To be precise, the Cooking Training Room would do the teaching, provided he could unlock the brewing process. Since the System had requested he capture Passimian, it would surely unlock the brewing crafts, right? Ange could usually figure out the System's patterns by now.
Hearing Ange's words, Passimian thought to itself, There's actually such a good deal? It knew that human brewing techniques were very advanced. If it could learn those techniques from the person in front of it, it would be exactly what it wanted!
Passi passi~ I want to learn brewing! I want to learn brewing! Passimian said impatiently, fearing Ange might regret it.
Ange showed a satisfied smile. He reached out his hand to Passimian. "Then I look forward to working with you from now on!"
Passi passi~ Looking forward to it! Looking forward to it! Passimian excitedly shook Ange's hand.
At the same time, Ange received a System notification. Needless to say, the mission had just been completed. Capturing a Pokémon didn't necessarily mean putting it in a Poké Ball; as long as it truly accepted you from the bottom of its heart, the capture was successful.
Ange checked the time and saw it was getting late. He asked Dusknoir, Passimian, and the ten Shuckle, "Are you hungry? Let me get you something to eat!"
Dusknoir, Passimian, and the Shuckle felt a bit embarrassed. Eating and drinking for free as soon as they arrived... it was a bit...
Ange laughed. "Don't mention it. You're all part of our Nebel Plateau family now. If you need anything or have any requests in the future, just tell me." He then added, "Of course, whether I agree or not is another matter."
Ange then went to the kitchen and brought back a bowl of cold noodles for each of them. While Gengar was preparing for the evening's work that afternoon, Ange had casually mentioned wanting cold noodles. Gengar had gone ahead and made several bowls to keep in the fridge—not just for Ange, but for Diancie, Magearna, and the others too. For now, he would let Passimian and the others eat them first.
Without any surprise, their stomachs were instantly conquered by Gengar's skill. They had never tasted such delicious food before.
Seeing them eating heartily, Ange said, "The food you're eating now was made using culinary arts. Isn't it delicious?"
Passimian, Dusknoir, and the Shuckle all nodded in unison.
Ange asked Passimian again, "So, do you have any thoughts about learning culinary arts now? If you learn it, you can make delicious food for yourself whenever you want."
However, Passimian still shook its head. The food was indeed delicious, but it couldn't shake its determination to research brewing. Ange praised Passimian for this. "Good. You have determination. You're a Pokémon capable of great things."
To do anything well, one must have perseverance, persistence, and determination. Only then can one go far.
Passi passi~ Passimian felt a bit embarrassed by Ange's praise.
While they were eating, Ange opened his Eye of Observation to check Passimian's data.
Passimian Type: Fighting Ability: Defiant Gender: Male Level: 30 Moves: Tackle, Leer, Rock Smash, Focus Energy, Beat Up, Scary Face, Take Down, Fling, Brick Break, Seed Bomb, Shadow Ball, Uproar, Helping Hand, Quick Attack Individual Values HP: 16 Attack: 19 Defense: 20 Special Attack: 16 Special Defense: 24 Speed: 28
The stats were average, but that was normal. Not everyone could be as outstanding as Pawmi or Mareep!
Once they were full, Ange called for Diancie and Magearna to arrange living quarters for Passimian, Dusknoir, and the Shuckle. Since Passimian would be practicing brewing in the Cooking Training Room, it would naturally live in Ange's house. As for Dusknoir and the Shuckle, they were headed to the staff dormitory!
Ange himself took his two disciples to prepare meals for the rest of the Pokémon. Munchlax and Drizzile made the ordinary food, while Ange prepared fish feed for the aquatic Pokémon and green dumplings for the Gogoat, Skiddo, and Miltank.
Veluza, Seaking, Magikarp, and Feebas were consuming fish feed at an incredible rate. Ange's stockpiles had been completely depleted. Of course, since they ate a lot, their training volume was also high. Consequently, Ange could feel them growing stronger every day. Although there were still some green dumplings left, the stock was low, so Ange decided to make more along with the fish feed.
Ever since they started eating the fresh grass, Ange could clearly feel an increase in milk production from the Gogoat and Miltank, and the quality of the milk had improved significantly. No one was happier about this than Magearna, as it used a large amount of Grass Nanny Milk and Moomoo Milk when making desserts. With better milk quality, the desserts it made became even more delicious.
Over at the staff dormitory, Magearna led the way. After arriving, Dusknoir looked at the empty dormitory and couldn't help but ask Magearna:
Noir noir~ Are we the only ones living here?
Despite its large size and being a Ghost-type, Dusknoir was actually quite afraid of loneliness and even afraid of ghosts.
Duki duki~ How could that be? Look at those doors with signs on them; those are all occupied by Pokémon. Magearna pointed them out to Dusknoir one by one. Duki duki~ It's just that everyone is either working or out playing right now, so they aren't home!
Noir~~~
Hearing this, Dusknoir breathed a sigh of relief.
Duki~ You and the Shuckle should choose a room. Any of the empty ones are fine.
Noir~ Dusknoir nodded and let its gaze sweep over the rooms they passed. The doors to the empty rooms were generally left open.
Magearna asked again, Duki duki~ Shuckle, do you want to live with Dusknoir?
Before the Shuckle could make a sound, Dusknoir answered for them.
Noir noir~ We'll stay together!
It didn't want to live alone; it was scared. Magearna looked at the Shuckle, and they all smiled and nodded at it.
"Alright then. In that case, you'll need to pick a spacious room," Magearna said.
Dusknoir was quite large itself, and with ten Shuckle, a small room wouldn't be very comfortable. Dusknoir and the Shuckle nodded and continued picking their room.
Soon, with Magearna's suggestion, they selected a room they liked. It was not only spacious but also had several small, nest-like beds, which were perfect for Pokémon of Shuckle's size to sleep in. Once the room was chosen, Magearna took them to Greninja to pick out some daily necessities.
Dusknoir had never expected the living conditions here to be so good. It felt a pang of regret; had it known sooner, it would have come to join its good friend much earlier. At the convenience store and daily necessities shop, Dusknoir and the Shuckle met Delphox and Greninja. The two guardians expressed a warm welcome to their new companions.
Dusknoir loved a lively atmosphere. Having met new friends, it felt very happy and quickly became well-acquainted with the two guardians. It seemed Dusknoir was quite the social butterfly.