Left And Returned

"Diancie, how do we make a Move Learning Device from this fur?" Angie asked in confusion.

Diancie replied, "You should check the shop. There should be a device for making Move Learning Devices in there. Spend some Happiness Points, and you can craft it."

Upon hearing this, Angie quickly opened the shop. After a couple of searches, he didn't find it, so he used the search function. Sure enough, a strange-looking machine popped up.

When he glanced at the price, he was shocked. "Good grief, 50,000 Happiness Points! I couldn't afford that even if I sold myself!"

Angie looked at his current Happiness Points balance—600 points, with 100 from Gulpin and 500 from Munchlax.

Diancie glanced at the price too and said, "Actually, this is already very cheap because you're still in the beginner phase. This is the discounted price. Once you pass the beginner phase, it'll only get more expensive."

Angie: "..."

"Forget it, we'll deal with the Move Learning Device later. I don't need it right now anyway," Angie said as he stored Munchlax's fur in the system backpack.

"Angie, I'll go out again to attract more customers. We still need eight more to complete the task," Diancie said.

"Diancie, you're working so hard," Angie said, touched by her dedication.

Diancie suddenly hugged Angie's arm and said, "It's no trouble at all! I'm really happy to help you, Angie."

Feeling even more touched, Angie couldn't resist and gave Diancie a big hug.

"Alright, I'm heading out now!" Diancie said, pushing Angie away shyly before quickly running out of the store.

After Diancie left, Angie checked the task bar.

[ Entertain 10 Pokémon, deadline: 3 days. (2/10) ]

It was clear that without Angie's presence scaring them off, the Pokémon of Nebel Plateau were much more friendly and welcoming toward Diancie.

Before long, three more Pokémon—Scatterbug, Espurr, and Swirlix—were lured into the shop by Diancie, and each of them left the place fully satisfied.

After Diancie had seen Swirlix out, Angie finally dared to come out of the kitchen. He glanced at his system interface.

[ Entertain 10 Pokémon, deadline: 3 days. (5/10) ]

Happiness Points: 900.

Scatterbug, Espurr, and Swirlix had each contributed 100 Happiness Points. None of them were as filled with joy as Munchlax when eating Angie's food.

Looks like my cooking skills still need improvement! he thought to himself.

Just making steamed buns was too limiting for him, but if the food wasn't system-approved, even if the Pokémon ate it, they wouldn't contribute Happiness Points. Otherwise, he could have gotten more creative.

I need to keep working hard to unlock more food options from the system.

Angie felt a surge of motivation.

In the first sixteen years of his life, he had been frail and sickly, barely able to do anything. Now that he had regained his health, he was determined to live life to the fullest. Having something to work towards was precious to him.

"Diancie, let's keep working hard!" Angie exclaimed, raising his fist toward Diancie.

"Let's keep working hard!" Diancie echoed, inspired by Angie's enthusiasm. She raised her fist too, and they bumped fists in a shared moment of excitement.

"Well, I'm off then," Diancie said, waving as she headed for the door.

Angie waved back as she left.

Once Diancie was gone, Angie returned to the kitchen to hide. However, he hadn't been there long before he heard Diancie's voice outside again.

Already? Angie wondered, feeling puzzled. He peeked out curiously.

To his surprise, it was Gulpin who had come back!

Diancie hadn't even walked far from the shop when Gulpin approached her.

Gulpin was feeling a bit down, but when its eyes landed on the bouquet in the vase at the counter, it froze for a moment.

That was the bouquet it had picked this morning.

Though Gulpin was afraid of Angie because he was human, Angie had helped it, and no matter what, Gulpin wanted to express its gratitude. However, given its current abilities, it could only show its appreciation in this small, insignificant way.

It had worried that its gesture might be disliked, but it never expected the bouquet to be treated with such care.

Gulpin didn't know anything about flower arranging, and its aesthetic sense was limited. To be honest, the bouquet it had picked was a bit of a mess, lacking much beauty. However, it was fresh and natural.

But Angie found it quite pleasing to look at.

At that moment, Gulpin didn't know how to describe its feelings.

Diancie picked Gulpin up and placed it on the table. "Did you eat breakfast? Let me get you something to eat," she offered.

"Kuu-rin~ Kuu-rin~"

Gulpin shook its head vigorously. It had already eaten.

Thinking back to this morning, Gulpin felt a surge of emotion. It had returned to this place nervously, but it was for the sake of everyone.

"Kuu-rin~ Kuu-rin~"

Gulpin tried to explain to Diancie why it had come.

After breakfast this morning, Gulpin had unintentionally seen Scrafty and Skitty pawing through the grass. At first, it didn't understand what they were doing, but after watching for a while, it realized they were looking for roots to eat.

Not only Scrafty and Skitty, but Pancham was by the river, gulping down water, yet its stomach kept growling. Litwick went into a cave to sleep but couldn't doze off because of hunger.

It turned out that everyone had given their food to Gulpin, leaving themselves hungry.

At that moment, Gulpin was filled with guilt. It hadn't realized that while it was eating, its companions were going hungry.

Although the Nebel Plateau was lush and green, the food resources there were not as abundant as they appeared. Much of the region was flat grassland, with very few plants that bore fruit.

Additionally, the large number of Pokémon living there made it even harder to find food.

The number of Pokémon living on Nebel Plateau hadn't always been so high. The plateau was near Azoth Kingdom, and many Pokémon that originally lived in the city had, for various reasons, left the city and settled here, multiplying over time. As a result, the Pokémon population on the plateau had grown.

In truth, there were surrounding mountain ranges and dense forests near the plateau where food could be found.

But these Pokémon, having lived in the human world, harbored an inexplicable fear of places far from human civilization. Aside from the Nebel Plateau, they dared not venture elsewhere.

Seeing its companions go hungry, Gulpin felt deeply saddened. After much thought, it decided to come to Angie for help.

It remembered Angie telling it that if it was ever hungry, it could come to him.

"So you're hoping to take some food back for your companions?" Diancie asked after listening to Gulpin's explanation.

However, she hesitated. According to the shop's rules, food was not to be taken outside.

"Kuu-rin~ Kuu-rin~ Kuu-rin-rin~"

Gulpin pleaded, its face full of desperation. It wasn't capable of much now, but once it grew stronger, it promised to repay them.

Just then, Angie peeked his head around the doorframe.

Since Gulpin had seen him before, Angie didn't try to hide. But, to avoid startling Gulpin, he didn't approach directly.

"Diancie, come here, come here," Angie motioned to Diancie.

Initially, Gulpin was very afraid of Angie, but thinking of its hungry companions, it bravely puffed out its chest and met Angie's gaze with determination.

Seeing Gulpin's watery eyes, Angie was a bit taken aback.

Since coming to Nebel Plateau, this was the first time a Pokémon other than Diancie had looked him in the eye like this (Komala always had its eyes closed, so it didn't count).

Diancie, responding to Angie's call, came into the kitchen and conveyed Gulpin's request to him.

Without saying much, Angie grabbed a large food bowl and filled it to the brim with steamed buns. "Give this to it," he said, handing the bowl to Diancie.

Diancie hesitated. "But the store rules…"

"I'm the shop owner, aren't I? I make the rules!" Angie replied casually.

"Well, okay!" Diancie sighed, taking the bowl. "You're such a stubborn one!"

"Hehe," Angie chuckled, patting the diamond on Diancie's forehead.

Returning to the main hall, Diancie placed the buns in front of Gulpin and said, "Our shop owner agreed." She added, trying to boost Angie's image, "Technically, according to our shop's rules, food isn't allowed to be taken out. But our shop owner knows how much you care about your companions, so he made an exception. Even though he's a human, he's different from the ones who abandoned you."

Through her interactions with the Pokémon on the plateau, Diancie had already learned why they feared Angie, though she hadn't had the chance to tell him yet.

Thinking about how everyone viewed Angie, Diancie felt indignant on his behalf. Her Angie was the best human in the world! Comparing him to those awful people was an insult!

After hearing Diancie's words, Gulpin was visibly moved.

It stole a glance toward the kitchen, and when it saw Angie grinning at it, it panicked and quickly averted its eyes.

"You won't be able to carry all this food on your own. Let me help you take it back," Diancie offered. Besides, she wanted to meet Gulpin's companions. They could all be potential customers!

"Kuu-rin~ Kuu-rin~"

Gulpin hesitated for a moment but then nodded in agreement, thanking Diancie.

"Angie, I'm stepping out for a bit," Diancie called toward the kitchen.

"Got it, be back soon," Angie's voice came from inside.

Diancie lifted the food bowl and said to Gulpin, "Lead the way."

"Kuu-rin~"

Gulpin nimbly hopped off the table and began bouncing ahead, guiding Diancie.

Following Gulpin, Diancie arrived at their dwelling just as Pancham was returning from outside. Gulpin immediately called out to it.

"Kuu-rin~ Kuu-rin~"

I brought lots of food! Go tell everyone to come and eat!

Pancham looked puzzled. It glanced at the unfamiliar Diancie, then at the fragrant steamed buns in her arms, and its mouth began to water uncontrollably.

It had drunk too much water earlier, and now its stomach sloshed noisily with each step.

"Yacha~ Yacha~"

Who is she? I've never seen her before, Pancham asked.

Diancie explained first, "I'm a new resident here on Nebel Plateau, just like Gulpin. I heard from Gulpin that you're low on food, so I brought some over."

Although Pancham was gulping with hunger, it still asked, "If you give the food to us, what about you?"

Diancie gently patted its head and replied, "Don't worry, I'm not short on food."

Perhaps from having taken care of Angie since he was young, Diancie sometimes exuded a maternal warmth.

Pancham, being simple and pure, didn't doubt Diancie's words and immediately jumped for joy.

"Really? That's great!"

On Nebel Plateau, the Pokémon often helped each other, so Pancham didn't refuse Diancie's offer. It simply thought that in the future, when it had extra food, it would repay Diancie in kind.

"Yacha~ Yacha~~"

I'll go call everyone back right now.

With that, Pancham ran off.

Before long, the other Pokémon returned: Litleo, Skitty, Scrafty, Stunky, Spritzee, Zigzagoon, Helioptile, and Minccino, along with Litwick, who had been napping at home. They all gathered in the cave, staring at the steaming pile of buns, swallowing hungrily.

Diancie repeated what she had said to Pancham, and everyone gladly accepted her gift.

That's just how Pokémon are—honest and straightforward, with no hidden motives. They sincerely accept help and will give back without reservation when the time comes.

Soon, the Pokémon finished off the entire bowl of buns.

Meanwhile, back at Angie's place, he was watching his happiness points skyrocket, grinning from ear to ear.

[ Happiness Point +100 ]

[ Happiness Point +100 ]

[ Happiness Point +100 ]

...

The final total stopped at 1800 points, an increase of 900.

At the same time, there was a change in the system's task panel.

[ Entertain 10 Pokémon, deadline: 3 days. (10/10) — ( Completed, reward pending ) ]

Pancham lay on the ground, its belly round and full, looking utterly content.

"Yacha~ Yacha~~"

I haven't been this full in so long!

The other Pokémon were also sprawled out on the ground, letting out satisfied burps.

"Lio~~ Lio~~~"

That was delicious, the best thing I've ever eaten.

Litleo exclaimed.

"Meemie~ Meemie~~"

You talk like you've had all kinds of gourmet food.

Minccino teased, playfully sweeping its tail over Litleo.

Litleo, in turn, grabbed Minccino's fluffy tail, laughing foolishly, and everyone was amused by Minccino's comment.

The truth was, none of them had ever eaten anything particularly good.

Litwick approached Diancie and sincerely said, "Thank you."

Diancie shook her head and replied, "Don't mention it. If you're ever hungry, feel free to come to my place."

Litwick hesitated, "That doesn't seem right…"

"Don't worry about it, it's fine," Diancie said with a grin, "But only once a day, okay?" She playfully winked at the group.

Diancie chatted with the Pokémon for a while, gathering some information about Nebel Plateau, and then returned to the shop.

The moment she walked through the door, she saw Angie running towards her.