Pokémon: No Way! The Golden Finger Only Comes When I'm About To Die!?

After the culinary training was over, Angie, as usual, took his apprentices to practice Aura, with Magearna joining the session for the first time. Unfortunately, aside from Pawmi, none of the Pokémon managed to awaken their Aura powers.

Perhaps they were used to it by now—Munchlax, Drizzile, and Haunter no longer seemed as dejected as they had during their initial training attempts.

Watching Pawmi train with extraordinary focus today, Angie couldn't help but marvel.

"Pawmi, why are you being so serious today?" Angie teased. "Sitting there for hours without even wiggling your butt—this isn't like you at all!"

Pawmi opened its eyes, its expression serious, and declared with conviction.

"Pawmi~ Pawmi~"

This Pawmi wants to grow strong.

"Hahaha, is that so?" Angie was amused by Pawmi's determined little face. "Then you'd better stick with it—don't give up halfway."

"Pawmi~"

I won't. This Pawmi is serious!

With that, Pawmi closed its eyes again and resumed its Aura training with great concentration.

Time flew by, and the training session ended. Angie led his Pokémon out of the training room, ready to head back to their quarters for the night.

"Magearna," Angie said, "you'll be staying in the room I prepared for you earlier today. Is that alright?"

"Magearna~"

Yes!

Magearna nodded.

"And what about you, Volcanion?" Angie turned to the Steam Pokémon. "It's so late now, and it wouldn't be convenient for you to head back. Why not stay here for the night?"

Volcanion hesitated, an uneasy expression crossing its face. Should it stay, or should it leave?

"Magearna~"

Magearna looked at Volcanion expectantly, its gaze brimming with hope.

Angie caught this and winked at Volcanion. "If you stay, I can arrange for you to share a room with Magearna. How about that?"

Then, turning to Magearna, Angie added, "That's okay with you, right?"

"Magearna~ Magearna~"

Magearna nodded eagerly—if anything, this was exactly what it wanted. For five hundred years, it had always been by Volcanion's side. They had never been separated.

Finally, Volcanion gave in to temptation and responded haughtily, "Hmph, I'm only staying to protect Magearna."

"Magearna~"

Hearing Volcanion agree, Magearna immediately ran toward it, intending to give it a hug. However, before it could reach Volcanion, it tripped and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Really now!" Volcanion sighed in exasperation. It reached out with its strong arms, lifted Magearna by the waist, and set it back on its feet. "Without me, what would you even do?"

"Magearna~"

Magearna beamed happily.

Seeing this, everyone else laughed along.

Angie then spoke up, "Alright, everyone, head back to your rooms and get some rest. Diancie, could you please escort Volcanion and Magearna to their room?"

"No problem!" Diancie nodded, then turned to Magearna and Volcanion. "Let's go!"

"Magearna~"

Magearna nodded enthusiastically and gestured for Volcanion to follow.

Once inside the room, Diancie began showing them around, explaining details like where the light switches were, how to use the bathroom, how to open the balcony door and windows, and pointing out the blankets and quilts stored in the closet.

Although Angie had already given Magearna a tour earlier in the day, Diancie's explanation was far more thorough.

As Diancie talked, Magearna curiously explored the room, flipping light switches, opening and closing the closet doors, and turning the faucet handles back and forth.

After finishing the introductions, Diancie made Magearna's bed with a soft mattress, clean sheets, and a pillow with a spider silk pillowcase crafted by Ariados. She also placed a cozy blanket on the bed.

As for Volcanion, being so large, it had no choice but to sleep on a blanket spread out on the floor.

After everything was set, Diancie said to the two, "Goodnight, both of you. Magearna, sweet dreams!"

"Magearna~"

Goodnight, Diancie.

Magearna stepped forward and gave Diancie a goodnight hug, something it used to do with Princess Anna.

Diancie returned the hug briefly.

After Diancie left, Magearna retrieved a small blanket and gently draped it over Volcanion, who was already sprawled out on the carpet. Then it climbed into its bed and snuggled under the soft quilt.

"Magearna~"

Goodnight.

With that, Magearna turned off the bedside lamp.

Moonlight streamed through the balcony doors and windows, casting a silvery glow over Volcanion. It quietly peeked out from under its eyelids and murmured, "Goodnight," before closing its eyes again.

Soon, the room was filled with the sounds of Magearna's soft muttering and Volcanion's deep snores.

Meanwhile, Angie, after freshening up, lay down on his bed and opened his system. At dinner, he thought he'd heard a system notification—was it just his imagination?

As expected, the moment he opened the system, a popup window appeared.

[ Congratulations, Master, on hosting your first mythical Pokémon. ]

[ Reward: Secret Recipe for Growing Mythical Berry. ]

Mythical Berry?

Angie was taken aback. He quickly retrieved a thick book from the system inventory. On the cover, bold letters read: "Mythical Berry Cultivation Guide."

Angie had never heard of Mythical Berry before, but he was familiar with the Mythical Pecha Berry, which is an important item in Pokémon games that was used to summon the mythical Pokémon Pecharunt.

He opened the book, and on the first page, it read.

Mythical Berry are rare berry that grow on trees cultivated by skilled hands. Every few years, the tree produces only one berry of the highest quality, imbued with incredible powers.

The description was vague.

Incredible powers? What kind of powers?

Flipping through the book, Angie found that cultivating Mythical Berry was indeed challenging. Not only did the grower need to tend to the tree with great care, but it also took years for even a single berry to mature.

The booklet also explained that in an entire orchard, only one tree of a specific Berry type could produce a Mythical Berry.

For example, if Angie planted 300 Sitrus Berry trees, only one of those trees could evolve into a "Tree King," and that Tree King would only produce one Mythical Berry every few years.

The more Angie read, the more excited he became. The more difficult it was to cultivate and obtain something, the more precious it was!

He couldn't help but wonder about the uses of the Mythical Berry! His anticipation grew.

As he continued flipping through the booklet, Angie was shocked to discover that the most critical material for cultivating the Mythical Berry was the feces of Mythical or Legendary Pokémon!!

"Heh-heh~~," Angie chuckled mischievously, immediately thinking of Volcanion. "Volcanion, I'm sorry, but I absolutely need your poop!"

As for Magearna and Diancie's feces… No! No! Such adorable Pokémon couldn't possibly have poop!

In addition to Mythical Pokémon feces, the conditions for cultivating the Mythical Berry included frequent exposure to Grassy Terrain and regularly enriching the soil with Rototiller move.

These two requirements weren't difficult for Angie to meet.

Closing the booklet and storing it back in his system inventory, Angie glanced at the system task panel. He noticed that the task to gain Volcanion's approval still hadn't been marked as complete.

It seemed that just having Volcanion live in his home didn't mean it had fully accepted him. He needed to keep working at it!

Next, Angie claimed the rewards for his three daily tasks. They were some insignificant little items, so he closed the system casually and went to bed.

...

At dawn the next day, Volcanion woke to the sound of commotion. As it raised its head, it realized that Magearna was no longer in its bed.

"Magearna?"

"Ugh, how did I sleep so deeply?"

Hurriedly, it dashed to the balcony. Facing the rising sun, it spotted Angie leading Munchlax, Drizzile, Pawmi, and Magearna on a jog across the grass below.

Seeing that Magearna was fine, Volcanion sighed in relief.

Magearna stumbled after just a few steps and fell to the ground with a clatter. Quickly picking itself up, it resumed jogging behind Angie and the others.

Angie turned back to say something to Magearna, likely urging it to return home, but Magearna stubbornly shook its head, insisting on joining the exercise.

With no other choice, Angie let it be.

Not far from where they were jogging, Metagross was busy coaching its students in combat training.

Two Farfetch'd were sparring with iron shovels in hand, grunting and clashing with intensity.

Since they hadn't found suitable leeks yet, they either used random leeks they could find or relied on the iron shovels Angie had provided.

Most of the time, they used the shovels, which they'd grown accustomed to while working in the vegetable garden planting oversized leeks.

Meanwhile, Espathra wasn't training its speed but instead was battling Croconaw and Lairon two-on-one. Even so, the two of them weren't its match and getting played around by Espathra's speed.

Similarly, Drilbur was battling two Charcadet, using its agility and strength to hold its own. However, the Goodboy Charcadet kept instinctively shielding the Crybaby Charcadet from harm, drawing Metagross's stern reprimand.

"I told you to cooperate, not to let one of you act as the other's shield! How will you grow together if you keep this up?"

The Goodboy Charcadet and Crybaby Charcadet looked ashamed, with tears welling up in the Crybaby's eyes.

However, after Metagross finished scolding them, the Crybaby Charcadet suddenly displayed a look of determination. It said something to the Goodboy Charcadet, and in the subsequent battle, it no longer cowered behind its partner. Instead, it started actively coordinating with the Goodboy Charcadet, attacking and defending as a team.

Seeing this, a hint of satisfaction flickered in Metagross's eyes.

Looking at the lively scene below, Volcanion found itself momentarily entranced.

Soon, Angie and his group finished their run. He led Munchlax, Drizzile, and Magearna back home.

Meanwhile, Pawmi ran off to join Metagross' group. It seemed to be saying something to Metagross. As a result, Metagross called out to Quilladin, who had been training on its own. Quilladin jogged over, and the two began sparring.

Although Pawmi was no match for Quilladin, it didn't let being knocked down discourage it. Under Metagross' guidance, it repeatedly launched attacks against Quilladin.

By the time Angie was done preparing and ready to leave for work at the Azoth City, he passed by a third-floor window and saw that Pawmi was still training. A wave of pride washed over him, and he couldn't help but think: My kid is finally growing up.

Shortly after Angie left, the Pokémon began coming out one after another for breakfast before heading off to their respective tasks.

Volcanion dawdled for quite some time before finally heading downstairs. By then, most of the other Pokémon had already finished eating. Diancie and Magearna were setting the table, preparing to have their breakfast with Munchlax and the others.

"Magearna~!"

Seeing Volcanion come down, Magearna enthusiastically waved it over to join them for breakfast.

After breakfast, Metagross returned to its room. Under its command, Robert 2.0 stayed downstairs to clean up.

Komala and Pawmi left the house one after the other.

Diancie sat on the front steps, chatting with two Spinarak while weaving a sofa cover. With her increasing skill, Diancie's ambitions had grown too—from making pillowcases to crafting full sofa covers.

She was even planning to dye the silk threads to create colorful patterns. That was precisely what she had been discussing with the Spinarak moments ago.

Munchlax, Drizzile, and Haunter huddled in the kitchen, discussing culinary techniques.

Magearna, meanwhile, sat next to Diancie with her newly purchased smartphone. She fiddled with it curiously, occasionally asking Diancie for help. Diancie always patiently guided her.

Volcanion observed Magearna for a moment before silently walking outside.

Near the wall, it noticed two Dollive standing on the edge of the wall with their eyes closed as they basked in the sun. A group of Capsakid excitedly ran circles around their Scovillain parent. Meanwhile, Garganacl strolled leisurely across the grass with two Nacli by its side.

The scene was so serene and harmonious.

Volcanion mused to itself: Perhaps this human's presence is a great blessing for Nebel Plateau.

"Pancham~ Pancham~!"

A Pancham suddenly appeared at its feet, patting its leg.

"What is it?" Volcanion asked.

"Pancham~ Pancham~!"

Come check out where we live!

Pancham puffed out its chest, clearly eager to show off. It had wanted to brag about this since yesterday.

"Alright, lead the way," Volcanion replied.

"Pancham~ Pancham~!"

Delighted, Pancham scurried ahead to guide Volcanion.

When they arrived at the secret fortress, Volcanion saw a series of clean, tidy rooms, each thoughtfully equipped with amenities tailored to the Pokémon living there.

There was sand for Hippowdon, charcoal beds for Charcadet, perches for bird Pokémon, and even a television for entertainment.

Everything about this setup defied Volcanion's expectations.

Angie had done so much for the Pokémon. If Volcanion continued to insist that Angie had ulterior motives or ill intentions, it would truly be an affront to logic.

What Angie didn't know was that, thanks to Pancham's casual gesture, he had finally earned Volcanion's approval.