Chapter 172: I Will Contract This Fish Pond From Now On

Cynthia remembered that, depending on decorations and other factors, Milotic could possess dozens of different appearances.

The Berry Sweet gifted by the Confectionery Association meant the evolved Milotic would surely be a Blueberry Milotic; as for exactly which flavor it would be, even Cynthia grew curious.

As the white light gradually dissipated, Cynthia, her beautiful eyes hidden beneath the Togepi mask, watched unblinkingly the Milotic in Luo Mu's arms that had already transformed greatly, and found her answer.

The Milotic's body, just like its pre-evolved form Milcery, was still composed entirely of whipped cream; its form presented a snowflake-like, delicate and pure white, with faint sky-blue stripes outlined upon its torso, complementing its sapphire-like twin eyes and the two blueberry-shaped ornaments atop its head in extreme harmony.

"Blueberry Milotic—Milky Salted Snow flavor."

Holding the Milotic in his arms, Luo Mu felt quite surprised.

To speak of the most common Milotic flavors, they were undoubtedly Vanilla, Ruby Cream, or Caramel; Milky Salted Snow Milotic were very rare, because besides the rich milky aroma in their cream, they also possessed a salty flavor.

The instant Milotic completed its evolution, a rich milky scent filled with the taste of happiness spread beneath this sugar maple tree; coming to her senses, Cynthia blurted out, "It is very happy."

Legend had it that the taste of a Milotic's whipped cream was directly proportional to its sense of happiness; the happier a Milotic felt, the richer, more mellow, and delicious the whipped cream it produced would be.

Therefore, every Patisserie who wished for a Milotic to become their partner looked up to them with great admiration, and after becoming partners, would raise them with gentleness.

Cynthia could feel that the Milotic at this moment was very happy.

"Thank you for Young Lady Z's praise."

Luo Mu revealed a faint smile and politely thanked her for her compliment.

The dessert competition hosted by the Confectionery Associations of the two major regions had drawn to a close; Luo Mu's winning dessert, the Orange Peel Honey Pokéblock ~ Cream Ice Cream Style, had attracted the attention of many sweet-tooth enthusiasts, and some individuals with extremely strong initiative had already begun inquiring whether he planned to open a dessert shop.

After solemnly thanking Miss Arven for teaching him the technique of making Pokéblocks, Luo Mu then watched her second battle against a regrouped Penny.

The result was naturally good.

Tempted by delicious food, the Greedent erupted with astonishing power; furthermore, Arven had adjusted her lineup a second time based on Penny's strength, and relying on two Pokémon, Penny safely secured her first badge and embarked on the journey to the second gym.

Luo Mu did not linger in Cortondo either; after exchanging experiences on making Pokéblocks with Miss Arven, he took several boxes of desserts she had gifted out of friendship and returned fully loaded while riding his Dragonite.

On this trip, Milotic had successfully completed its evolution, becoming a high-appearance-value Milky Salted Snow style with a somewhat rare flavor, and he himself had learned the method of making Pokéblocks; Luo Mu felt these three days had not been wasted.

The only thing that made him slightly curious was that masked Young Lady Z; if Geeta, as both the League Chairwoman and the Top Champion, needed to conceal her whereabouts to avoid her overworked Brother Brother Qingmu discovering she was slacking off...

... then what about this Young Lady Z from the Sinnoh region? For what reason had she chosen to wear a mask to hide her identity? Surely she couldn't be Cynthia, the Champion of the Sinnoh League, could she?

However, Luo Mu was merely slightly curious, not to the point of digging to the root of the matter; in a few more days, he would turn his head and forget this whole affair.

The next day.

"Right over here; please be careful not to let the fingerlings leak into the other side of the isolation net."

Holding a pointer stick and wearing a safety helmet, Luo Mu directed the small truck that was currently dumping fingerlings into Thunder Cry Lake.

Considering the density of the fish school and the size of Thunder Cry Lake, the quantity of fingerlings he purchased was not enough to fill a large truck; a small truck could haul them all into the farm in one go.

While Luo Mu was busy working, many idle Pokémon on the farm also gathered over, curiously observing their operations.

Among them, the happiest were undoubtedly the Poliwag minions led by the Politoed.

Although they were still classified as tadpoles, fish were also part of their diet; now that they were about to become neighbors with their backup food supply, how could they not be happy?

Even Cangyan Cangyan Rengui had stopped his swordsmanship practice, his pupils burning with ghostly fire staring unblinkingly at the fingerlings continuously falling into the lake, his mind already imagining a future where he wore his beloved little yellow duck apron to make grilled fish for Luo Mu.

Thinking of Luo Mu eating grilled fish with a face full of satisfaction, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's armor-covered face, which never changed expression in ten thousand years, now revealed a sense of anticipation.

Cangyan Cangyan Rengui silently made up his mind that after finishing sword practice each day, he would patrol Thunder Cry Lake a few times to prevent outside Pokémon from sneaking in to steal fish, or to stop that fellow Swampert from stealing from the very place he was supposed to guard.

Soon, the fingerlings finished entering the lake; next, the issue of feeding became Luo Mu's responsibility.

Luo Mu paid the remaining balance of twenty thousand League Dollars, purchased several dozen catties of fish feed to store in the warehouse, and with a face full of smiles, watched the small truck drive away from the farm.

Luo Mu was very happy and muttered to himself, "From today onward, I am also a fish pond owner who has contracted a fish pond!"

Just as he was about to squat by the lakeside to observe whether the fingerlings in the lake were adapting to the environment, Oricorio suddenly came running over in a frantic rush.

"Ori! Ori!"

With a look as if something huge had happened, it grabbed Luo Mu's trouser leg, trying to drag him in a certain direction.

Luo Mu was stunned, wondering if something had gone wrong at the farm.

Was it an invasion by wild Pokémon, or had bad people broken into the farm?

Many unpleasant guesses flashed through his mind; Luo Mu's expression instantly turned solemn as he called upon the crowd of Pokémon beside him and, led by the anxious Oricorio, arrived at an area within the farming zone enclosed by a fence.

It was precisely the area where the seeds for the Herba Mystica had been sown.

At this moment, led by Serperior, the Comfey, Bai Bai Pengpeng, and even the Budew who were also Grass-type Pokémon, along with the Mudsdale responsible for plowing, were all gazing with solemn expressions at the brand new sprouts emerging from the field.

Luo Mu was dumbfounded.

He first looked at Oricorio, who had returned to this field and now wore an equally grave expression as if facing a great enemy, then looked at the fish spear he had casually picked up, feeling that he currently looked like an idiot.

None of the scenarios he had anticipated had occurred; the reason the Grass-type Pokémon were making such a fuss was largely because these Herba Mystica had sprouted.

After all, in their impression, ordinary seeds, under the combined technique of plowing plus Grassy Terrain plus watering plus fertilizing, would sprout within a few days.

Yet these Herba Mystica had shown no movement for over half a month; the Grass-type Pokémon had thought the things had suffocated to death in the soil, so their sudden sprouting naturally caused them to feel strange and shocked.

Luo Mu put down the fish spear, pressed his forehead helplessly, and said, "It just requires a very long time to sprout."

(End of Chapter)