LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 180: Is the dream real or fake?
"Lampent~ Lampent~"
Lampent happily accepted everyone's congratulations.
Angie said to it, "When I get my hands on a Dusk Stone, I'll give it to you. That way, you can evolve into Chandelure whenever you're ready."
"Lampent~ Lampent~"
Lampent gratefully thanked Angie.
"Cinccino~ Cinccino~"
At this moment, Cinccino spoke up timidly.
Lampent's anger had not yet subsided. It floated above Cinccino's head and spoke sternly.
"Lampent~ Lampent~"
You are not allowed to go to Diancie's Grand Dining Hall for dinner tonight. You'll have to stay home and eat Pokéblocks instead.
"Cinccino~!!!"
Cinccino looked as if it had been struck by lightning.
Not being able to go to Diancie's Grand Dining Hall for dinner—what joy could this day possibly hold anymore?
Angie didn't interfere with Lampent's punishment for Cinccino. He simply watched the scene unfold with a smile.
As the head of the household, Lampent bore the responsibility of disciplining its family members, teaching them to care for one another and follow the rules.
After leaving the employee dormitory, Angie took Sneasel to the brewery and handed it over to Passimian.
Komala was also at the brewery.
It had come to see Passimian early that morning.
When Angie arrived, Passimian was letting Komala sample various wines it had brewed. Komala looked like it was in pure bliss.
Unlike Infernape, who had a clear preference for strong drinks, Komala loved all kinds of alcohol. Whether it was rich red wine, fiery spirits, or flavorful fruit wines, it welcomed them all with open arms.
And unlike Infernape, who showed obvious signs of intoxication after just a few drinks, Komala was unshakeable.
No matter how much Komala drank, you couldn't find a trace of drunkenness on its face.
Of course, it might also be due to Komala's Comatose ability that, even if it were drunk, no one could tell.
Either way, Passimian's arrival brought Komala immense joy. Even though it never made a sound, Angie could sense its emotions through the distinct aura it radiated—a feeling called happiness.
Passimian warmly welcomed its new colleague, Sneasel, and the two of them huddled together, chatting in low voices for a while.
Before long, Passimian placed three glass beer mugs on the wooden platform—one for Angie, one for Komala, and one for Sneasel.
These glasses were specifically designed for beer! Passimian picked up a wooden barrel and poured a full mug of beer for each of them.
The beer brewed by Passimian had a brilliantly clear color, almost golden. Tiny bubbles floated up and down in the liquid like shimmering pearls.
Finally, Passimian snapped its fingers at Sneasel. Sneasel understood immediately, exhaling a stream of icy breath along the tabletop.
It was a weakened version of Icy Wind.
In an instant, a thin layer of frost formed on the surface of the three beers, and wisps of cold mist began to rise from the mugs.
"Passimian~ Passimian~"
Quick, try it!
Passimian urged the three of them.
At its cue, Angie, Komala, and Sneasel each picked up their mugs and tilted their heads back, downing the beer in one go.
Gulp~ Gulp~ Gulp~
After finishing, Angie slammed the mug down onto the table and exclaimed loudly:
"It's so refreshing!!!"
Indeed, beer tasted even better when it was cold.
Not only did Angie and Komala enjoy the icy beer, but Sneasel also seemed to love it.
After tasting the beer, Angie said to Passimian, "I'll leave Sneasel in your care."
Passimian made an OK gesture toward Angie, a move it had obviously learned from Kecleon.
When Angie left the secret fortress, Diancie had finally woken up.
As soon as it opened its eyes, it felt something in its arms. After fumbling around for a bit, it pulled out a plump and pink little piglet.
"Where did you come from?"
At that moment, Munna also woke up, grinning at Diancie.
The two Pokémon stared at each other in silence for a while until two Spinarak woke up as well, climbing from the table to the bed.
"Spinarak~"
"Spinarak~"
The Spinarak told Diancie they had experienced a strange but vivid dream.
"You two dreamed too?" Diancie asked in surprise.
"Spinarak~ Spinarak~"
The Spinarak nodded their heads in unison.
Diancie noticed the missing Pokémon egg on the balcony and looked at the Munna in its arms. "Did you hatch from that egg?"
Munna, either truly clueless or feigning ignorance, didn't answer. It only squirmed deeper into Diancie's arms.
However, Diancie felt there was no need to ask such an obvious question.
Thinking this, it let go of Munna, picked up the two Spinarak, and prepared to get out of bed to wash up.
Checking the time, Diancie was surprised to find it was already quite late—it had slept in this long!
Even so, it didn't rush. Late was late; there was no use worrying about it.
As soon as Diancie got out of bed, it noticed Mareep was already awake as well.
Unlike the lively Mareep it had seen in its dream, the real Mareep remained its usual quiet and introverted self. After waking up, it silently lay on the beanbag chair, gazing out the window.
"Good morning, Mareep," Diancie greeted warmly, smiling gently, whether or not Mareep responded.
While climbing out of bed, Diancie said to Mareep, "I'll take the Spinarak to wash up first and come back to help you later."
As expected, Mareep didn't respond as it had in the dream.
Dreams are dreams; they can't become reality.
With this thought, Diancie carried the two Spinarak into the bathroom.
While washing up, the three Pokémon talked about their dreams and were astonished to discover they had all shared the same dream.
What's more, they could vividly remember every detail of it.
Was this a coincidence? Diancie couldn't help but grow suspicious of the newly hatched Pokémon.
When they finished washing up, Diancie turned to Mareep again and asked, "Mareep, did you dream last night?"
Mareep continued to stare out the window, unblinking, without reacting to Diancie's question.
"Sigh~" Diancie let out a deep sigh, giving up on questioning Mareep.
After helping Mareep freshen up, Diancie brought all four Pokémon downstairs.
Just then, Angie returned from the secret fortress. As soon as he walked through the door, he spotted Diancie and greeted her with a smile, "Morning, Diancie."
"Good morning, Angie," Diancie replied in kind.
Angie's eyes quickly fell on the Munna floating above Diancie's head. He asked in surprise, "A Munna? Where did that come from?"
Before Diancie could answer, Angie suddenly had a realization. "The egg hatched?"
"Yes~" Diancie nodded.
"So it was a Munna egg!" Angie exclaimed. Munna was a rare sight in the Kanto region.
"So this little one is called Munna!" Diancie said.
Angie nodded and proceeded to explain Munna's characteristics to Diancie.
"Munna is the Dream Eater Pokémon with a Psychic-type. As the name implies, it feeds on the dreams of living beings to gain energy.
When it consumes pleasant dreams, it exhales pink mist. When it consumes nightmares, it exhales dark gray mist."
After listening to Angie's explanation, Diancie seemed to gain some insight and murmured to herself, "Feeding on dreams..."
Seeing Diancie lost in thought, Angie asked curiously, "What's on your mind?"
Diancie then recounted how it and the two Spinarak had shared the same dream the previous night.
Angie was astonished by what he heard.
Munna did have the ability to eat dreams, but he had never heard of one bringing others into shared dreams. At most, they could project dream content through the mist they released.
It was clear that the shared dream had something to do with Munna—there was no other explanation.
After pondering for a moment, Angie remarked, "This Munna might have a special talent."
Angie observed Munna with a discerning eye as he activated his Eye of Observation.
...
[ Munna ]
Type: Psychic
Ability: Forewarn
Gender: Female
Level: 5
Moves: Stored Power, Defense Curl, Hypnosis
...
[ Individual Values (IVs) ]
HP: 18
Attack: 13
Defense: 19
Special Attack: 16
Special Defense: 23
Speed: 21
...
The overall stats seemed unremarkable, showing no evident signs of uniqueness.
However, Pokémon are inherently mysterious creatures. Raw data rarely reveals their innate talents or hidden abilities.
Angie speculated, "Maybe Munna possesses some unknown, extraordinary gift."
Diancie hesitated before asking, "Do you think the dream we entered last night was truly Mareep's dream? Were the experiences within it real?"
Angie shook his head with a wry smile. "You've got me there—I'm no expert in dream phenomena!"
"Fair point." Diancie sighed, feeling she might be overthinking things.
Suddenly, Angie's face lit up with inspiration. "Wait! I have an idea—maybe we can test whether the events of the dream were real."
Diancie's eyes sparkled. "What's your plan?"
"Didn't you say Mareep enjoys drawing? Let's see if that helps us find an answer."
"You're right!" Diancie exclaimed, a wave of realization washing over her.
Diancie carefully placed Mareep on the table while Angie fetched some paper and pens.
Under the watchful eyes of Angie, Diancie, the two Spinarak, and Munna, Mareep surprisingly reached out, took a pen, and began drawing on the paper.
"It's really drawing!" Diancie exclaimed, delighted.
But her excitement faded quickly. When Mareep finished, she stared at the chaotic tangle of black lines on the paper. It was impossible to connect the scribble to the talented Mareep she had encountered in the dream world.
"So the dream really was just a fabrication?" Diancie murmured in disappointment.
Angie, however, was deep in thought as he observed Mareep, still busy scribbling on the paper. After a long silence, he spoke. "What if Mareep truly does have a talent for drawing?"
"How so?" Diancie asked, puzzled.
Angie explained, "Think about it. Mareep was drawing in the dream, but that was just in its mind. Its physical body never actually practiced holding a pen. How could it suddenly be good at drawing?"
"So… you mean that Mareep's mind knows how to draw, but its body doesn't?" Diancie recalled Angie using a similar analogy when describing his apprentice's struggles with cooking.
"Exactly." Angie nodded. "Besides, didn't you say the comics Mareep created in the dream were very creative?"
"They were!" Diancie agreed enthusiastically. "I can still vividly recall the storylines."
"That proves it!" Angie concluded. "Mareep has a gift for storytelling. Since it enjoys drawing, we should support its interests."
Diancie nodded resolutely. "I'll buy a full set of art supplies for Mareep!"
Angie chuckled, "Then I'll help it find a good beginner's guide."
Diancie added, "I'll get Mareep a tablet and sign it up for online drawing courses!"
Angie: "It's settled then!"
Angie and Diancie didn't realize that while they were discussing buying painting tools for Mareep, a flicker of emotion passed through Mareep's previously expressionless eyes. Whether it was joy or sorrow was hard to tell.
As Angie and Diancie leaned over the table, heads nearly touching, they debated over what type of tools to buy for Mareep.
Meanwhile, the two Spinarak played with Munna on one corner of the table, while Mareep continued to scribble and doodle on its paper with the pen in its hoof.
The system store had quite a variety of art-related supplies, which Angie and Diancie knew little about. They decided to simply buy one of everything.
Angie hadn't spent many Happiness Points on large purchases lately, only on small miscellaneous items that didn't cost much, so he had accumulated a considerable amount.
Before long, Angie and Diancie had bought a pile of art supplies for Mareep.
In addition, they purchased a dedicated tablet computer for Mareep. Once connected to the internet, they also subscribed to various art courses for it, including sketching, oil painting, manga drawing, and even digital art.
The courses were all available online, allowing Mareep to pick whichever it preferred.
After buying the tools and courses, Diancie took Mareep back to its room.
In the room, Diancie set up a small table in the center of the carpet and placed the art supplies and tablet next to Mareep.
Once everything was arranged, Diancie began teaching Mareep how to use the tablet and access the online lessons.
Although Mareep didn't utter a word, Diancie patiently explained everything in detail.
As for how to use the art supplies, that wasn't something Diancie could teach. Mareep would have to learn through practice while following the lessons.
After finishing the instructions, Diancie wasn't sure if Mareep had understood. She placed the tablet in front of it and said,
"Stay here and practice. I have some other things to take care of, but I'll check on you later."
With that, Diancie left the room, taking the two Spinarak with her.
After Diancie and the Spinarak departed, Mareep sat still, staring at the tablet for nearly an hour without moving.
Finally, after an hour, its eyes shifted slightly. It reached out, picked up the tablet, and began operating it with surprising skill. In no time, it had opened one of the art courses.
On the screen, a teacher was explaining a lesson, and Mareep silently listened, its gaze unwavering.
When Diancie returned to check on it later, she found Mareep still in the same position, engrossed in the lesson.
Seeing that Mareep was truly paying attention, Diancie's face lit up with a smile.
Any reaction from Mareep to its surroundings, no matter how subtle, was a good sign in Diancie's eyes.
Meanwhile, Angie, after finishing up with Diancie regarding Mareep's matters, decided to take a stroll and check on things. Having been away from home for some time, he wanted to see how the fish in the fishery were doing, whether the berries in the orchard had ripened, and if the green pastures cultivated by the Gogoat herd had expanded.
However, just as he approached the exit of the courtyard, he spotted two Charcadets riding on the backs of two Oinkologne, returning from afar.