ALL NOVEL Chapter 33: Let's go play together!
In the afternoon, Angie, as usual, spent the day leisurely, neither working nor worrying about making a living.
He lay on a rocking chair under the porch, gently swaying back and forth, while Munchlax stood behind him, giving his shoulders a soft massage.
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
Does it feel good, Master?
"Feels great~ So good~"
Hearing this, Munchlax increased its efforts. Its skilled hands were the result of constant practice from kneading dough every day.
"With your technique, Munchlax, you wouldn't have to worry about business if you ever opened a massage parlor," Angie commented, eyes half-closed, enjoying the moment.
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
Munchlax buzzed around joyfully like a happy little bee after hearing the praise from its master.
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
I don't want to open a massage parlor! I'll only give massages to Master.
Munchlax said proudly.
After a while, Angie felt his whole body was refreshed and energized. He waved his hand and said to Munchlax, "Come, come, let's take a nap together."
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
Munchlax excitedly moved another rocking chair closer to Angie, then plopped down comfortably beside him.
Angie handed it a blanket. "Here, cover yourself. It's not cold now, but if you fall asleep, it's different. Be careful not to catch a cold."
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
Thank you, Master.
Munchlax happily took the blanket and draped it over itself, relishing in the care from its master.
Creaaak~ Creaaak~~
The two rocking chairs swayed, occasionally letting out soft groans, blending with the distant calls of Swablu and Fletchling in the sky. Gradually, Angie and Munchlax dozed off.
When Diancie came out of the house, she found the pair sleeping soundly with peaceful smiles on their faces.
"These two…" she chuckled, shaking her head as she quietly walked over, gently pulling their blankets up a little more before tiptoeing back inside.
Angie slept until mid-afternoon before he slowly opened his eyes to a clear, cloudless sky—a perfect example of crisp autumn weather.
"Swablu~ Swablu~"
Angie, Angie, good afternoon!
At that moment, Swablu flapped its wings and descended from the sky, landing on Angie's leg.
Angie gently stroked its back, "Swablu, good afternoon to you too!"
"Fletchling~ Fletchling~"
Angie, Angie.
"Spritzee~ Spritzee~"
Angie, I'm here!
Soon, Fletchling and Spritzee also landed, and the three Pokémon nestled together on Angie's lap. Before long, the trio of little birds rolled into a ball, playing on Angie's legs.
Happiness! Pure happiness! Angie squinted, playing with the three Pokémon. This was the life he dreamed of when he first came to the Pokémon world!
It was unfortunate that his health wasn't great back then, and he couldn't interact with Pokémon as freely as he wanted, but now his wish had come true.
After playing for a while, Fletchling hopped into Angie's hand.
"Fletchling~ Fletchling~"
Angie, let's go play!
Angie couldn't understand what Fletchling was saying, and Fletchling became anxious, flapping its wings and chirping frantically.
After a long moment, Angie finally guessed, "You want to go out and play?"
Finally! You understood! You're a bit slow, Angie!
Fletchling sighed deeply, spreading its wings in exasperation.
Angie laughed, amused by its expression.
"Alright, let's go play."
As Angie stood up, the three little birds hurriedly flew off his body.
"Munchlax, wake up." Angie gave Munchlax a nudge.
"Munchlax? Munchlax?"
Munchlax had been dreaming, and with Angie's light push, it leapt off the rocking chair in a panic, looking around frantically. Once it spotted Angie, it heaved a sigh of relief.
It dove into Angie's arms, pressing its head into his stomach, seeking comfort and acting spoiled.
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
Master, you scared me! I looked everywhere and couldn't find you—I thought you didn't want me anymore.
Angie gently patted its back. "What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"
"Munchlax~"
Munchlax nodded softly.
"Don't worry." Angie reassured it. "I'm here, so you don't have to be afraid of anything."
Once Munchlax had calmed down, Angie asked, "Do you want to come with us and play?"
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
Yes, let's go play together.
Munchlax nodded enthusiastically and grabbed Angie's hand.
"Diancie, I'm taking Munchlax out for a bit," Angie called into the house.
"Alright, just don't stay out too late," Diancie's voice echoed back with a gentle reminder.
With that, Angie set off with Munchlax, Swablu, Spritzee, and Fletchling.
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~~"
Munchlax happily bounded after Fletchling and the others, reaching out to grab them, but they skillfully dodged away. Munchlax's joyous laughter and the birds' chirping filled the empty field with echoes of pure joy.
This little one really has a carefree spirit! It had been terrified by a nightmare just moments ago, but now it was running around happily as if nothing had happened.
As they walked, Angie came across two Gogoat grazing on the grass. It seemed like they were about to turn and run, but for some reason, they suddenly stopped in their tracks.
"Gogoat~Gogoat~"
"Gogoat~Gogoat~"
They called out to Angie, as if greeting him.
Angie was stunned. It wasn't the first time he had seen Gogoat in the area, but usually, they would run away as soon as they saw him.
Has the sun risen from the west today?
Angie decided to greet the Gogoat, "Good afternoon!"
The two Gogoat seriously nodded at him, leaving Angie pleasantly surprised.
After bidding farewell to the Gogoat, Angie continued on his way and soon encountered a Hippopotas and a Hippowdon. Strangely enough, they treated Angie with the same warm attitude as the Gogoat.
Not only that, but as Angie walked further, he came across Baltoy, Aron, Deerling, Drilbur, Patrat, and Watchog. All these Pokémon, who used to turn tail and run at the sight of him, now willingly greeted him.
Thinking it over, Angie figured he must have finally earned the recognition of the Pokémon on Nebel Plateau, becoming a true part of the plateau's community.
In fact, this was true.
The story of how Angie helped Gardevoir had spread across the plateau. The Pokémon of Nebel Plateau were all closely connected, and by helping Gardevoir, Angie had, in their eyes, helped them as well.
They were now willing to accept Angie as a resident of Nebel Plateau and treat him as one of the family.
Before he knew it, Angie, Munchlax, and the others had arrived at Nebel Lake.
Spritzee, always mischievous, quickly landed on a sturdy lily pad floating on the water. With a playful jump, it stomped down, causing the pad to bend toward the water. The water swirled into the center of the leaf, and before it could touch Spritzee, it shrieked with laughter and flew away just in time.
"Spritzee~ Spritzee~"
Finding it fun, Spritzee laughed heartily in midair and did it again.
Fletchling and Swablu, not wanting to be left out, followed suit and began stomping on lily pads just like Spritzee.
"Spritzee~ Spritzee~"
"Swablu~ Swablu~"
The three little birds were having the time of their lives.
Seeing how much fun they were having, Munchlax immediately wanted to join in, lifting its legs to rush into the water and stomp on the lily pads.
"Hey, hey, hey~ what are you doing?" Angie grabbed Munchlax by the scruff just in time to stop it.
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
Munchlax gestured wildly, wanting to join Spritzee and the others in their game.
Angie sighed, "They're tiny, and you're not. Those lily pads wouldn't stand a chance under your weight."
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~~"
Munchlax looked dejected, casting longing glances at Spritzee and the others, its eyes full of envy. It really wanted to play too.
Angie scanned the surroundings and suddenly noticed a group of Marill by the lake shore. His eyes lit up, and he said to Munchlax, "Hey, don't you and Diancie love that Salveyo Weed? Why don't we go ask the Marill where we can find some?"
As soon as food was mentioned, Munchlax's mood shifted immediately. It forgot all about the lily pads.
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
Munchlax grabbed Angie's hand and dashed toward the Marill, waving enthusiastically as it ran.
The Marill were playing in the water with a few Azurill. Upon seeing Angie and his group, they hopped out of the water and bounced over to greet them.
"Marill, Azurill, good afternoon."
"Marill~ Marill~"
Angie, good afternoon.
Angie greeted the Marill warmly, and they cheerfully returned the greeting.
"Azurill~ Azurill~"
Munchlax, Munchlax, come play with us!
The Azurill surrounded Munchlax, their springy tails bouncing them high like little rubber balls.
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
Sure, sure!
Angie glanced at Munchlax, who was already playing excitedly with the Azurill, then turned around to ask the nearby Marill, "Marill, I wanted to ask, where did you gather the Asirea seaweed you gave me before?"
"Marill~ Marill~"
The Marill gestured as they explained to Angie, pointing in another direction.
Following their gaze, Angie noticed that Spritzee and the others had somehow gotten into a scuffle with a group of Poliwag.
"Poliwag~ Poliwag~ Poliwag~~"
Poliwag were shooting Water Guns at the airborne Spritzee, Fletchling, and Swablu, who retaliated with Ember, Fairy Wind, and Echoed Voice.
Seeing this, Angie rushed over to intervene, but when he arrived, he realized it was just a misunderstanding. Poliwag and the birds were simply playing a battle game, and the area was filled with laughter and joy.
The lily pads had originally been Poliwag's sunbathing spot, and when Fletchling and the others stomped on them, it naturally disturbed Poliwag hiding beneath.
After a tough explanation from Marill, Angie finally understood: the Salveyo Weed they had given him before was actually a gift from Poliwag. The Marill had merely been passing it along.
So, if Angie wanted more Salveyo Weed, he would need Poliwag's help.
Since Poliwag were having such a good time, Angie didn't want to interrupt. He sat down with Munchlax, Marill, and the Azurill on a soft, lush patch of grass, watching the bird Pokémon's playful battle.
Poliwag outnumbered Fletchling and the others, so it didn't take long for the three little birds to admit defeat.
"Fletchling~ Fletchling~"
"Spritzee~ Spritzee~"
"Swablu~ Swablu~"
The three birds landed beside Angie, panting heavily and lying on their backs, gasping for air.
Poliwag were equally exhausted, each lying belly-up on the lily pads.
Angie laughed and asked the three birds, "Had a good time?"
The moment the birds heard him, they sprang to their feet and animatedly gestured, excitedly telling Angie all about their victories in the battle.
Even though they were the ones who lost.
Unfortunately, Angie didn't understand a single word.
After Poliwag had rested for a while, Angie approached them to ask about the Salveyo Weed.
In the past, Poliwag would have immediately jumped into the water to avoid him, but this time they didn't.
When they learned that Angie wanted some Salveyo Weed, they didn't refuse either.
One of Poliwag hopped into the water and signaled for Angie to follow.
Angie asked, "Do you want me to come with you?"
Poliwag nodded, then called out to the others still on the lily pads. Soon, all Poliwag jumped into the water in a line, swimming off into the distance together.
Although they loved sunbathing here, their home was elsewhere.
Watching Poliwag swim farther away, Angie felt troubled. Did they expect him to swim across Nebel Lake? He really couldn't do that—this was Nebel Lake, not some small pond or puddle.
"Marill~ Marill~~"
Just then, Marill tugged at Angie's pant leg.
Angie asked, "Marill, are you… offering to help me?"
"Marill~ Marill~"
Marill nodded, then with a splash, it jumped into the water. The other Marill and Azurill followed, disappearing beneath the surface.
Angie and Munchlax waited on the shore for a little while. Soon, Marill returned with its companions, and accompanying them was another Pokémon.
"It's you, Lapras!" Angie greeted the Pokémon with surprise.
"Lapras~"
Lapras narrowed its eyes in greeting.
Realizing that Marill had gone to fetch Lapras to help him, Angie gratefully said, "Marill, thank you so much."
"Marill~ Marill~"
No need to thank me.
Marill waved its hands dismissively.
"Lapras, I'll be counting on you as well," Angie said to Lapras.
"Lapras~~"
Lapras nodded, then motioned for Angie and Munchlax to climb onto its back.
And so, Angie and Munchlax rode on Lapras as it swam toward Poliwag's home, while Fletchling and the others chirped away in the sky above.
Both Lapras and Marill knew where Poliwag lived, and with their guidance, it didn't take long before Angie spotted an area teeming with lush aquatic plants.
Through the thick seaweed, Angie could see Poliwag and Poliwhirl playing together, and watched as Surskit darted across the water's surface, while Masquerain rested on the seaweed.