After placing the sign, Ange cleaned the shop once more with his Pokémon before planning his return to the Nebel Plateau.
Just then, his phone rang; it was Fiona calling.
"Your Highness, is your work finished?" Fiona's voice came from the other end.
Ange replied, "Just finished, and I'm getting ready to head back to the Nebel Plateau!"
Fiona laughed, "It seems my call came at the right time."
Ange asked with confusion, "Is there something you needed?"
Fiona said, "Yes, didn't you ask the Princess to help you look for a Lucario?"
"Is that so? Does that mean you found one?" Ange asked in surprise.
Fiona: "Unfortunately, Lucario is quite rare. Even for the Royal family, it's not easy to find one in such a short time."
After all, they were a small country; to put it bluntly, they were just a single city.
"I see..." Ange's expression turned disappointed upon hearing this.
Then, he heard Fiona say, "However, while we didn't find a Lucario, we did obtain a Riolu."
Ange was struck by the sudden surprise, and he said helplessly, "Fiona, please don't keep me in suspense next time."
Fiona said seriously, "Your Highness, I didn't leave you in suspense."
Ange: ...
The suspense I'm talking about isn't what you think it is.
He then heard Fiona say, "Your Highness, you can come and collect the Riolu at any time."
Hearing this, Ange quickly said, "I'm on my way."
Fiona: "All right, I'll meet you at the palace gate."
After ending the call with Fiona, Ange said to Inteleon: "Inteleon, you take everyone back first; I'm going to go pick up your junior sister's sous-chef!"
Inteleon's face filled with surprise upon hearing this.
Inteleon, Inteleon~ Is my junior sister getting a sous-chef too?
Ange nodded with a smile, "That's right, your junior sister's sous-chef is a Riolu. Once Riolu evolves, it becomes a Lucario."
Inteleon said happily, Inteleon, Inteleon~ That's great, I'll go back and tell my junior sister this good news.
Ange nodded with a smile, "Go on, go on!"
With that, Inteleon excitedly led Lucario, Kirlia, and the others away.
Ange said to Baltoy, who was the only one left by his side, "Let's go."
Baltoy, Baltoy~ Why am I the only one left behind?
Baltoy said with dissatisfaction.
Ange glared at it and said, "What, do you have an opinion?"
Baltoy: ...
If you're so tough, don't use your fists!
Baltoy, lacking sufficient combat power, was now thoroughly controlled by Ange.
Ange and Baltoy arrived at the palace gate and indeed saw Fiona waiting there.
"Your Highness!" Seeing Ange approach, Fiona stepped forward and bowed to him.
Ange waved his hand and asked, "Where is the Riolu?"
Fiona said, "Your Highness, please follow me."
Following behind Fiona, Ange arrived deep within the palace and saw Romeo on the lawn.
Romeo was playing with a Riolu; if nothing went wrong, that Riolu was the one Lila had found for Ange.
"Romeo!" Ange waved at Romeo.
"Your Highness!" Seeing Ange, Romeo's eyes lit up, and he quickly ran to Ange's side.
Seeing this, the Riolu also ran over.
"Is Your Highness here to pick up the Riolu?" Romeo asked.
Ange nodded, "That's right!"
Upon hearing their conversation, Riolu immediately understood that the person in front of it was who it would follow from now on, so it looked up and examined Ange with curious eyes.
At this moment, Ange also looked down at Riolu. Seeing that the Riolu appeared slightly nervous, he reached out his hand and said to Riolu: "Hello, Riolu, I am Ange!"
To make Riolu accept him as quickly as possible, he activated his Aura Power.
Sure enough, upon sensing the strong aura coming from Ange, Riolu's face showed surprise. It immediately placed its hand in Ange's palm, and a sense of closeness appeared on its face.
Seeing this situation, Romeo said, "It seems Riolu likes Your Highness."
Ange joked, "It must be my personal charm."
Romeo was giggling at Ange's humor.
Ange asked, "Why aren't you holed up in the lab today?"
Romeo replied, "I'm preparing to go out on a journey."
"Not even entering the lab, it seems you've really made up your mind." Ange smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
"That's right!" Romeo said with a serious expression.
"By the way, where is your sister?" Ange asked.
"She's busy, I suppose." Romeo said with a frown.
Fiona, who was nearby, explained, "Her Highness the Princess is currently discussing important matters with the League."
The League again? Ange was stunned, and then he asked Fiona, "Is it because of the energy issue?"
Fiona said in surprise, "Your Highness knows?"
Ange nodded, "I heard Romeo mention it."
He then asked, "Is this matter very troublesome? I feel like we've been talking to the League for a long time."
Fiona nodded and said, "It is a bit troublesome. Our Azoth Kingdom doesn't produce energy, so all our energy relies on the League's supply.
However, the League is planning to raise energy prices recently. You know, Azoth is only a small country, and the fiscal budget is not very high...
Because of this, Her Highness the Princess and the League officials have been haggling for a long time, and they still haven't reached a conclusion."
Listening to Fiona's words, Ange fell into deep thought.
Fiona added, "By the way, Your Highness, the Princess asked you to wait for her a while before leaving; she seems to have something to give you."
"All right, I'll wait for her." Ange agreed.
Ange then joined Romeo to accompany Riolu on the lawn.
After waiting for about half an hour, Ange heard voices approaching from afar.
He followed the sound and saw Lila, accompanied by several ministers, walking out of a palace alongside several League officials.
Looking at Lila's furrowed brows and the distressed expressions of the ministers, Ange could see they seemed to be in a difficult position.
After sending the League officials away, Lila spoke with the ministers for a while before looking over at Ange and the others.
She cast off the gloom and unhappiness from her face, put on a smile, and trotted over to Ange's side.
"Your Highness, I've kept you waiting."
Ange shook his head and said, "Waiting a while is nothing; it's you who have worked hard. Negotiating with League officials must be very draining, right?"
Lila said with a smile, "It's all right; it's all my responsibility."
Ange asked, "By the way, I heard from Fiona that you had something for me. What is it?"
Lila said mysteriously, "Something good."
As she spoke, she took out a box and handed it to Ange.
"This is..." Ange looked puzzled.
Lila said, "Your Highness, open it and see."
Ange nodded and opened the box, then discovered with surprise that lying inside was actually a Mega Stone.
"This is... a Metagross Mega Stone?"
Lila smiled, "As expected of Your Highness, you recognized it at a glance."
Ange asked, "Is this for me?"
"Yes, doesn't Your Highness have a Metagross?" Lila said. "The Royal family obtained this Metagross Mega Stone not long ago, and I immediately thought of your Metagross."
Ange looked at Lila with a complex expression and asked, "Why didn't you keep it for yourselves?"
Lila said, "I already have a Gardevoir Mega Stone, and Romeo doesn't have a Metagross."
Ange thought to himself: Romeo doesn't have a Metagross, but he could capture one!
After pondering for a moment, Ange took out an item and handed it to Romeo, saying, "I also have a gift for Romeo; consider it an early congratulation on his journey going smoothly!"
The item he handed to Romeo was a box.
"What is it?" Upon receiving a gift from Ange, Romeo was very happy and accepted it delightedly.
"Open it and see!" Ange said.
Romeo nodded, and after opening the box, he was stunned.
"It's a Mega Stone too!" he exclaimed.
Ange said, "That's right, this is a Kangaskhan Mega Stone."
Lila was equally surprised, "Your Highness, you..."
Ange said, "I have accepted the Metagross Mega Stone you gave me, so don't you try to refuse the Kangaskhan Mega Stone for Romeo."
Romeo said pitifully, "But I don't have a Kangaskhan!"
Lila heard this and said, "I'll have someone look for a Kangaskhan for you later!"
Although Kangaskhan is also a rare Pokémon, it is much easier to obtain than a Lucario.
"Yay! Yay!" Romeo cheered happily. "I'm finally going to have a Pokémon that can Mega Evolve!"
Once his emotions calmed down, Romeo seemed to think of something. He said to Ange, "By the way, Your Highness, I have some things I'd like to trouble you to take to your Metagross."
Ange knew it must be something related to scientific research, so he didn't ask further and nodded, "All right."
"Then wait for me, Your Highness!" Saying this, he ran off quickly.
While waiting for Romeo, Ange talked to Lila again about the energy issue.
"Is our country very short on energy?" Ange asked.
"Short, very short." Lila nodded. "Our country is a nation where technology flourishes, and we are heavily dependent on energy."
Ange asked, "Can't we develop our own energy?"
Lila shook her head, "It's difficult. It's not that our technological power is lacking, but the conditions are not there.
Ultimately, Azoth is still too small; we don't have the conditions to develop new energy."
Ange fell into thought upon hearing this. After a long while, he spoke, "Perhaps I have a way to help Azoth solve the energy crisis!"
Ever since he was reborn, the Royal family had been very kind to him.
They gave him pocket money, sent Energy Cubes for his Pokémon, gifted him a shop, promoted his business, helped him find the Pokémon he needed...
The Royal Pokémon Breeding Center was still helping him raise his Alcremie!
And this time, they handed over the Metagross Mega Stone without hesitation.
Ange felt it was time for him to do something for his country.
Upon hearing Ange's words, Lila was stunned. "Your Highness, what did you just say?"
She felt she must have misheard.
Ange smiled, "I said I have a way to help Azoth achieve energy independence."
This time, Lila was finally sure she hadn't misheard. She said with surprise, "Your Highness, is what you said true?"
"Of course!" Ange said helplessly. "Would I tease you with such a major matter?"
Lila said excitedly, "Tell me quickly, what exactly is the method?"
Ange said, "Our Nebel Plateau is far from the Azoth Royal Capital, and we don't even have electricity connected. Do you know where the energy we use for living comes from?"
Lila was taken aback by Ange's question.
That's right, she seemed to have never considered this issue.
Indeed, where did the energy used in His Highness's home come from?
She looked at Ange with confusion.
Ange didn't hold back and said directly, "It's the Holy Diamond."
"Holy Diamond?" Lila didn't understand what the Holy Diamond was.
Ange explained, "Do you know about Diancie and its Diamond Domain?"
Lila nodded; she had seen records related to this in the Royal archives.
Ange continued to explain, "The maintenance of the Diamond Domain relies on the Holy Diamond created by Diancie, and the energy contained in one Holy Diamond is enough to keep the Diamond Domain running for over a hundred years.
Think about it, if our Azoth could research a device that converts the energy of the Holy Diamond, wouldn't our energy problem be solved?"
What Azoth lacked was energy, not technological power, so developing an energy conversion device would not be difficult for them.
After hearing this, Lila's eyes widened in surprise. "Is there really such a miraculous thing as a Holy Diamond? Maintaining the Diamond Domain for over a hundred years... that's too incredible..."
Ange said, "Of course it exists; this is a secret that only Diancie and a very small number of Carbink know."
Lila asked, "Does Your Highness mean... your Diancie can provide Holy Diamonds for Azoth?"
Ange nodded, "Of course, I am also a part of Azoth; naturally, I hope to contribute my own strength to this country."
"That's great! That's great!!!" Lila was so excited she was almost at a loss for words. "Your Highness... Your Highness... I don't know how to describe how I feel right now!"
Ange laughed, "Don't get excited yet. Once I go back and discuss it with Diancie, you go and assemble the Royal scientists. Let's meet in the palace tomorrow afternoon."
"All right, Your Highness! No problem, Your Highness!" Lila said excitedly.
Ange urged, "You must find reliable scientists; the matter of the Holy Diamond must absolutely not be leaked."
Lila assured him confidently, "Your Highness, please rest assured about that."
With Ange's promise, Lila's mood became visibly lighter.
When Romeo returned, he saw his sister and His Highness Ange chatting and laughing; happy laughter echoed on the lawn.
Romeo walked up with confusion and asked, "Sister, Your Highness, what are you talking about so happily?"
Lila said, "Just chatting."
Ange nodded, then looked at the item in Romeo's hand and asked, "Is that what you wanted to give to Metagross?"
Romeo nodded and solemnly handed the item to Ange, "Yes, Your Highness, you must keep it safe and hand it to Metagross yourself; the contents are very important!"
"I know!" Ange said, accepting the items.
What Romeo handed over was a cloth parcel. Ange opened it and saw a memory drive and a few white crystals the size of a fingernail.
Through his Aura, Ange could sense special energy fluctuations from the crystals.
"What is this?" Ange asked with confusion.
Romeo replied, "These were found at Jarvis's home.
According to Jarvis's research, those white crystals can allow Pokémon to Mega Evolve directly without the help of a Mega Stone, and the memory drive contains his research findings."
Ange said in surprise, "That powerful?"
"That's right." Romeo nodded.
Although Jarvis had wicked intentions, his achievements in mysterious science were beyond doubt; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to be Romeo's teacher.
Romeo continued, "However, this achievement has a very serious drawback: Pokémon face extreme pain during Mega Evolution, so it cannot be applied in practice."
Ange suddenly realized upon hearing this; no wonder such important research hadn't been applied.
"You're giving these to Metagross because you want it to help study them together and eliminate the side effects?"
Romeo nodded, "Yes! I've been studying it for a long time, but I've never had a clue."
Ange solemnly put the items away and said, "All right, I will give them to Metagross; don't you worry."
Ange then chatted with Lila and Romeo for a while longer before leaving the palace.
He brought Riolu and Baltoy all the way home, introducing Riolu to the situation on the Nebel Plateau as they walked.
When they passed through the space portal and appeared on the third floor of his home, they found Gengar waiting for them.
Gengar~~ Seeing Ange return, Gengar immediately came up to greet him impatiently.
Gengar~ Gengar~ Is this my sous-chef?
It looked at Riolu with anticipation and asked; clearly, Inteleon, who had returned early, had told it everything.
Ange nodded, "This is it, it's a Riolu."
Gengar~ Gengar~ Receiving the confirmation, Gengar excitedly did several somersaults in the air and then gave Ange a firm hug.
Afterward, it was full of anticipation, flying over to Riolu in a shy manner, greeting it bashfully.
Gengar~ Gengar~ Hello... hello.
Ange introduced it to Riolu, "Riolu, this is Gengar, your future work partner. Its personality is a bit shy; please take good care of it in the future."
Hearing this, Gengar became even shier, twisting its two small fingers together.
Riolu~ Riolu~ Riolu patted its chest to ensure that it would definitely take good care of Gengar. Despite its small size, it had a great sense of responsibility.
Gengar~ Gengar~~~ Seeing this, Gengar pounced over, hugging Riolu tightly, and kept rubbing its cheek against Riolu's.
Riolu~ Riolu~~ Riolu was made to laugh out loud by Gengar's affectionate behavior.
Gengar's friendly and enthusiastic attitude and Riolu's lively and cheerful personality soon made the two Pokémon familiar with each other, looking like best friends.
That's right, both this Riolu and Inteleon's sous-chef, Lucario, were female.
Even though the ratio of males to females in the Lucario family is much higher, both of Ange's were coincidentally female.
How strange!