"Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, let's take care of those Team Flare members first," Ange said with a smile.
"Alright, I'll go call Officer Jenny inside," Diantha nodded and said.
"Great," Ange nodded.
After Diantha left with the Team Flare executives, Ange turned to Aegislash and said, "Let's go check on Glaceon and Salamence."
"Aegislash~" Aegislash nodded.
Led by Aegislash, Ange arrived at the room where Glaceon and the others were being kept.
In the hallway outside the room, unconscious Team Flare members and their Pokémon were lying scattered everywhere.
Ange stroked Comatose's back and praised it, "Great job!"
Comatose did not react, merely rolling over in Ange's arms and burying its head deeply into his chest.
Stepping into the room, he saw dozens of Pokémon lying unconscious inside.
Ange looked around and quickly spotted Glaceon and Salamence.
He hurried over to Glaceon's side, took out a Chesto Berry capable of curing sleep effects, squeezed out the juice, and fed it to Glaceon.
After drinking the juice, Glaceon slowly opened its eyes and looked extremely surprised when it saw Ange.
"Glaceon~" Ange, you're back?
Ange smiled and said, "Yes, I managed to get the Rom Leaves and came back successfully!"
Hearing this, Glaceon was overjoyed. Did that mean Salamence would wake up soon?
However, it quickly remembered another matter.
"Glaceon~ Glaceon~" What happened to the group that broke into the Pokémon Center?
Ange replied, "Don't worry, they were all dealt with by Aegislash and Comatose."
Hearing this, Glaceon let out a sigh of relief. At the same time, it finally noticed that the original Doublade was gone, replaced by an unfamiliar Aegislash.
"Glaceon~" Did Doublade evolve?
"Aegislash~" Hearing this, Aegislash flew in front of Glaceon to greet it.
Glaceon was a bit surprised, then offered its congratulations to Aegislash, "Glaceon~ Glaceon~ Congratulations on your evolution, and congratulations on becoming stronger."
At this point, it suddenly paused, then spoke again, "Glaceon~ Glaceon~ I'm sorry for calling you weak before. Actually, you aren't weak at all..."
"Aegislash~ Aegislash~" It's okay.
Although Aegislash kept Glaceon's words in mind, it harbored no resentment toward Glaceon whatsoever.
Ange looked at Aegislash, then at Glaceon.
What's going on here? Did something happen between the two of you while I was away?
Just as they were talking, a commotion echoed from outside the door, clearly indicating that Officer Jenny and her officers had arrived.
"Let's go outside," Ange said to Glaceon. "Can you stand up?"
"Glaceon~" Glaceon nodded and struggled to its feet. Ange and Aegislash quickly stepped forward to support it.
Afterward, Ange retrieved the unconscious Salamence into its Pokéball and led his Pokémon out of the room.
As for the other Pokémon here, they could be left for Officer Jenny to handle.
They had merely been hit by Sleep Powder and were completely unharmed; sleeping a little longer wouldn't hurt.
Fearing that Officer Jenny might scold him for sneaking into the Pokémon Center despite her warnings, Ange deliberately avoided her as he left, taking Glaceon back to their original ward.
However, unknown to Ange, Officer Jenny had already noticed him slipping away but chose not to call him out.
Officer Jenny had already learned about Ange from Diantha.
Since he was a powerful Legendary Trainer who had indeed saved everyone in the Pokémon Center without a single scratch, Officer Jenny felt she had no grounds to scold him.
Furthermore, he had previously helped capture quite a few Team Flare members.
The police handled matters efficiently, and the Pokémon Center soon returned to normal operations.
After bringing back Lilligant, Floette, and Flabébé, Ange spent time in the ward chatting with them and Glaceon.
At that moment, a knock sounded at the door.
Ange turned his head and saw Officer Jenny's sweet smile through the glass on the door.
"Please come in, Officer Jenny."
After entering, Officer Jenny first checked on the condition of Glaceon and Salamence. Seeing that they were both fine, she turned to thank Ange.
"Ange, Officer Jenny told me that everyone managed to stay safe this time thanks to your Aegislash and Comatose. Thank you so much!"
Ange smiled and said, "Then I'll accept Officer Jenny's thanks on behalf of Aegislash and Comatose!"
"Aegislash~~" Aegislash, hanging on the wall, waved and greeted Officer Jenny.
"Aegislash, thank you for your hard work," Officer Jenny said with a smile, waving back in response.
As for Comatose, it naturally continued to sleep soundly, paying Officer Jenny no mind at all.
"By the way, Officer Jenny, I've harvested the Rom Leaves!" Ange said, pulling the basket containing the Rom Leaves out of his backpack.
Seeing this, Officer Jenny exclaimed in pleasant surprise, "That's wonderful! With this, Salamence will wake up soon."
Ange handed the Rom Leaves to Officer Jenny and said, "I'll leave Salamence in your hands!"
Officer Jenny sighed, "I never expected you to actually make it into the Allearth Forest. It's been a very long time since anyone managed that."
Then, recalling her own words, she added, "Though I suppose it makes sense, seeing as you're a Legendary Trainer."
After chatting with Ange for a few moments, Officer Jenny left with the Rom Leaves to prepare the medicine that would wake Salamence as quickly as possible.
To wait for the medicine to be prepared, Ange stayed at the Anistar City Pokémon Center for two more days.
During these two days, Glaceon's injuries had mostly healed.
Aside from accompanying Glaceon and Salamence, Ange also began searching for a person named Xiao Chen, keeping his promise to Skeledirge.
Since that person had taken the risk to steal Skeledirge's child fifty years ago, there was a very high probability they wanted to become a Trainer.
If they wanted to become a Trainer, there was no reason for them not to participate in a League Conference.
Consequently, Ange searched online for the lists of participants across all regional League Conferences over the past fifty years.
Although the person named Xiao Chen stole the egg in the Kalos region, they weren't necessarily a Kalos native.
Unfortunately, despite searching repeatedly, Ange failed to find anyone named Xiao Chen.
However, the internet only listed the top sixteen participants of each tournament. Given that it happened fifty years ago, finding anyone outside the top sixteen was extremely difficult.
When Ange searched again today and still found no results, he said to Lilligant, "Do you think this guy's skills were just too terrible to even make the top sixteen of a League Conference?"
"Lilligant~ Lilligant~" Lilligant nodded solemnly.
Certainly. People with such crooked intentions wouldn't amount to anything anyway.
"Fletch~"
"Flo~"
Floette and the Flabébé chimed in to agree with their teacher.
Gardevoir and Gallade were helping wipe the scales of the sleeping Salamence. Hearing the conversation between Ange and Lilligant, they both smiled and shook their heads.
How could anyone be so judgmental?
Ever since they learned from Olympia that Kirlia was safe and sound, the couple's moods had improved significantly.
As long as their child was safe, they could accept a brief separation.
They only hoped the day of their reunion wouldn't come too late.
While Ange, Lilligant, Floette, and Flabébé gathered together to search for news about Xiao Chen on their phone, a knock suddenly came from the door.
"May I come in?"
It was Officer Jenny's voice.
"Please come in!" Ange said.
Officer Jenny pushed the door open, followed by a Wigglytuff pushing a small cart.
As soon as she entered, she shared some good news with Ange.
"The medicine is ready! Let's wake Salamence up right now!"
Ange's face lit up with pleasant surprise as he sprang to his feet and said, "Really? That's fantastic!"
"Glaceon~" Glaceon also excitedly ran over to Officer Jenny's side.
Officer Jenny and Wigglytuff approached Salamence. Taking out a syringe, Officer Jenny drew a tube of red medication.
Wigglytuff stepped forward to lift Salamence's wing, and Officer Jenny inserted the needle, slowly pushing the medicine into Salamence's body.
After finishing, Officer Jenny said, "Alright, Salamence should wake up in about ten minutes. I'll be going now. If you need anything, come find me."
Ange expressed his gratitude, "Thank you for your hard work, Officer Jenny."
Officer Jenny gave Ange a playful wink. "Compared to saving lives, this is nothing."
With that, she turned and left.
Watching Officer Jenny's retreating figure, Ange chuckled softly. He hadn't expected that the usually composed Officer Jenny could also have such a lively and playful side.
About seven or eight minutes after Officer Jenny left, Salamence indeed began to stir and woke up.
Ange hurried forward and asked, "Salamence, you're finally awake! Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?"
Salamence looked confused. "Ange? Why are you here? Weren't I captured?"
"Glaceon~ Glaceon~" At that moment, Glaceon excitedly hopped over to Salamence's side and recounted how Ange had rescued them.
"Ange, thank you so much!" Salamence expressed its gratitude to Ange.
Ange patted its neck and said, "Don't be so polite. You and Zygarde are friends, and Zygarde and I are friends. By extension, we're friends too."
Salamence and Glaceon were both amused by Ange's logic.
Not far away, Lilligant watched Salamence and Glaceon laughing and chatting with Ange, curled its lip, and muttered, "I really don't get it. Why are they so close to humans when humans are so terrible?"
Floette whispered softly, "Teacher, I noticed you've been getting along quite well with Ange these past two days, laughing and talking with him too."
Lilligant immediately flushed and retorted defensively, "I only did that to find Xiao Chen!"
"Is that so?" Floette and Flabébé tilted their heads in unison as they looked at their teacher.
"O-Of course it is!" Lilligant protested with a stiff neck.
Because its voice was a bit too loud, it startled Ange. Ange, Glaceon, and Salamence all turned their heads to look over.
"Lilligant, what's wrong?" Ange asked.
Remembering Floette's words just now, Lilligant purposely gave Ange a fierce glare and said, "Nothing, mind your own business!"
Knowing the story of Xiao Chen, Ange certainly wouldn't mind Lilligant's attitude, so he turned back to continue talking with Salamence and the others.
"Salamence, what are your plans for the future?"
Hearing this, Salamence and Glaceon lowered their heads simultaneously. They didn't know either.
Zygarde was no longer in Terminus Cave, and Salamence didn't know if it should continue staying there. It wanted to find Zygarde, but had no idea where Zygarde was.
Seeing the two Pokémon remaining silent, Ange suggested, "Would you like to come home with me? We can wait for Zygarde to return together. The League is already investigating Team Flare, and I'm sure Zygarde will be found soon."
"Is that okay?" Salamence asked happily.
"Of course. If we stick together, we can look out for each other," Ange nodded and said.
"Then it's settled!" Salamence was straightforward and never beat around the bush. Once a decision was made, there was no hesitation at all.
Furthermore, by staying with Ange, it would receive timely news if the League found Zygarde.
With that, it looked down at Glaceon and asked, "Glaceon, you don't have any objections, do you?"
Glaceon nodded and said, "If you don't have any objections, I don't either."
Salamence: "Then it's settled!"
At that moment, Ange said, "Salamence, you've been sleeping for days, you must be hungry. I'll go make you something to eat."
Hearing this, Salamence was thrilled. "That's wonderful! I get to eat Ange's cooking again!"
Ange smiled. "Wait here for a moment."
With that, he stood up and walked toward the door, closely followed by Aegislash and the Gardevoir couple.
"Aegislash~" I'll go help.
"Gardevoir~" We'll go too.
"Gallade~" We'll come too.
Thus, Ange led the three Pokémon to the Pokémon Center's kitchen.
Gardevoir and Gallade were responsible for prepping and washing vegetables, Aegislash handled chopping and slicing, and Ange took charge of cooking and stir-frying.
Soon, rich aromas drifted from the kitchen: Steamed Mandarin Fish, White-Cut Chicken, Crab Roe Tofu, Fish-Flavored Eggplant, Braised Prawns, Stir-Fried Pork... Delicious, fragrant dishes emerged one after another.
Knowing that Salamence had a big appetite, Ange prepared a bit extra.
Once the food was ready, Ange packed it into food boxes while it was still hot and carried them toward the ward.
To his surprise, just as he stepped out of the kitchen and entered the Pokémon Center lobby, he saw Diantha pushing the door open and walking in.
She looked delighted upon seeing Ange and waved to greet him with a smile, "Ange!"
Seeing Diantha, a sudden idea popped into Ange's head.
Right, could he ask Diantha for help in getting a list of participants from past League Conferences?
As the League Champion, getting her hands on something like that shouldn't be difficult, right?
With that thought, Ange handed the food box in his hand to Gardevoir and instructed her and Gallade, "Deliver this to Salamence first, I'll be right back."
Gardevoir took the food box, nodded, and left with Gallade.
Ange walked toward Diantha and asked, "Hasn't Ms. Diantha left Anistar City yet?"
Diantha replied, "There's still some cleanup work to take care of."
"I see..." Ange nodded.
"Let's sit down and talk!" Diantha pointed to a table and chairs not far away.
"Alright!" Ange agreed.
Once they sat down, Ange asked, "Ms. Diantha, were you looking for me?"
Diantha nodded. "Yes, thanks to you, everything turned out fine this time. I've been wanting to thank you, but I've been too busy the past two days to find the time. Fortunately, you haven't left yet."
Ange replied, "Didn't you already thank me? Why thank me again? Besides, all of that was done by Aegislash and Comatose; I didn't really help much."