Chapter 178: An Unexpected Joy

Just as Luo Mu had expected, the Wailord had indeed come searching for the Wailmer.

Originally, the other party had been highly wary of Luo Mu, Dragonite, Swampert, and the Finizen, but under the lively influence of the little Wailmer, that wariness turned into gratitude.

The Wailord's prototype is the blue whale, so its intelligence was already not low, let alone now that it is an intellectual sentient being—a Pokémon.

As recompense for saving the Wailmer from the mouths of the Sharpedo, the Wailord wished to express its thanks to Luo Mu.

Although the Wailord's eyes were still sesame-seed-sized relative to its body, to Luo Mu, even a single one of those eyes appeared larger than his own head.

Such large eyes stared straight at Luo Mu, seemingly waiting for his reply.

Luo Mu pondered for a moment, then cast his gaze toward the two aquatic Pokémon playing under Swampert's care.

Perhaps, as the Wailord living in these Paldea seas, it knew the location of the Finizen pod; they should send the Finizen home first.

Luo Mu voiced his thoughts.

The Wailord pondered for a moment, its gaze falling upon the tiny Finizen as it began a mental storm, searching its memories.

Finally, an island surfaced in the Wailord's memory.

It remembered that a group of little dolphins looking much like that tiny one lived there.

"Hui hui~"

The Wailord nodded; originally, it had wanted to show Luo Mu that it had a solution, but it had forgotten its own massive bulk, and its mere movement stirred up huge waves—if not for Swampert's protection, the Wailmer and Finizen would have been swept away just now.

Realizing it had nearly caused trouble again, the Wailord felt somewhat awkward.

Luo Mu saw everything clearly; no matter how large the Wailord's size, it was still a simple and honest Pokémon.

On the endless sea surface, the massive Wailord swam toward a certain direction.

By its side, a cute-looking dolphin leaped high out of the water, excitedly looking at the Swampert cruising alongside the Wailord.

"Bo~!" (Aquaman, can you perform that again! You know, that Superhero Aqua Jet that punches the bad guys flying!)

Swampert was utterly annoyed by this brat; it had explained countless times that it was not Aquaman, yet the other party wore an expression saying, "I know Aquaman cannot reveal his true identity; I will keep your secret."

It had been a long time since Swampert last felt such a stifled and aggrieved sensation.

Setting aside the suffering Swampert on the sea surface, Luo Mu and Dragonite were having a very comfortable time.

The Wailord's back was broad; considering Luo Mu was a human inconvenient to enter the water, the Wailord maintained its swimming motion on the sea surface as it advanced.

Luo Mu and Dragonite could rest upon the Wailord's bouncy back, which rivaled the Wailmer's in elasticity; how should one describe the feeling of lying on the Wailord's back?

Luo Mu felt that describing it as 【just like a waterbed in a hotel】 was extremely fitting.

It was elastic, with a softness that perfectly conformed to the body's curves, making one feel as relaxed as if sleeping on a cloud.

Dragonite hugged Luo Mu, the entire Pokémon filled with bubbles of happiness.

Meanwhile, Luo Mu hugged the Wailmer, emitting happy humming sounds.

The Wailmer's elastic, soft body felt just like hugging a giant bolster pillow; holding it was extremely comfortable.

Feeling the occasional gentle sea breeze blowing from ahead, aside from the faint salty and fishy scent hidden within the wind that made one slightly uncomfortable, Luo Mu almost thought he was vacationing on a luxury cruise ship on the sea.

If only his own Thunder Lake could accommodate a Wailmer; it simply could not provide a suitable environment for a Wailord, otherwise he would have wanted to raise a Wailord himself.

Although the Wailord's size was huge, its swimming speed was not slow.

Soon, a whale cry pulled Luo Mu from his dreams back to reality; he opened his sleepy eyes and yawned.

After his mind cleared, Luo Mu silently cursed himself for letting his guard down due to the comfortable environment; after all, he was currently on the unpredictable ocean.

After mentally scolding himself, Luo Mu looked into the distance, where an island covered in dense vegetation and featuring a massive beach meeting the seawater appeared in his vision.

That island was like a "Mediterranean Sea" in the middle of the ocean; even though they were still some distance away, Luo Mu could clearly see the massive "seawater lake" and sandy beach within the island.

Could the Finizen pod actually be here?

However, this was an unexpected joy for Luo Mu; after all, the purpose of his journey was to find a Damp Rock, and since it was a water-type item yet still a rock, a Damp Rock could only form in places containing rocks.

Either on an island or on the seabed.

Compared to the seabed, Luo Mu felt it would be easier to find one on the island.

This was perfect; as long as the Finizen pod inside the island belonged to this husky-like Finizen, he could go search for the Damp Rock immediately after successfully sending the Finizen home.

The Wailord soon swam to the sea surface near the island.

Whether it was the size of the island's outlet or the internal seawater, neither was likely sufficient for the Wailord to swim; clearly aware of this, the Wailord stopped its movements and, holding the Wailmer, emitted a sorrowful whale cry of parting toward Luo Mu with reluctance.

"No need to be so sad; I believe that somewhere in the ocean next time, we will surely meet again, my two friends of the sea."

Luo Mu smiled at the Wailord, then stroked the head of the Wailmer, whose small eyes were hanging with teardrops.

The Wailmer stopped crying and broke into a smile, then acted spoiled in Luo Mu's arms for quite a while before reluctantly following the Wailord to dive underwater and swim into the distance.

Watching the Wailord and Wailmer depart, Luo Mu's mood was quite complex; he hadn't expected that a single trip out could result in making two Pokémon friends.

"Bo wu~"

Emitting a gentle sound, Dragonite lightly hugged Luo Mu and placed him on its back.

Luo Mu knew that Dragonite was saying it would always accompany him.

Luo Mu's low spirits caused by the parting improved considerably; looking at the island covered in lush vegetation, he said softly, "Let's go, to send the Finizen home."

Dragonite nodded gently, and Swampert also turned its body, intending to swim into the interior of the island.

Just then, the Finizen, whose thinking was roughly one beat slower, looked at the familiar surroundings, suddenly realized it was home, and let out a cry of surprise; even its hero Aquaman was thrown to the back of its mind as it accelerated and swam into the island's interior.

The Finizen's swimming speed was truly fast; in just a momentary lapse of attention, it had swum out of sight.

Luo Mu and Dragonite exchanged a helpless glance with Swampert; fortunately, they had already grown accustomed to the Finizen's impatient nature.

In any case, the Finizen pod should reside inside the island, so it was not strange for the Finizen to swim in excitedly; there should be no danger.

Smiling, the one human and two Pokémon advanced into the island's interior.

Inside the island.

Dozens of Finizen were entangled in a large net; struggling desperately, they were constricted by the net until covered in injuries, weakly emitting cries of distress.

Five humans riding in small airships, dressed in black clothing, were smiling so broadly their mouths seemed ready to split open.

They were support personnel left on standby outside by Hunter J; unfortunately, not long ago, Hunter J and the entire poaching syndicate were captured by the damn Paldea League and Interpol.

With no other choice, the five of them had planned to leave the Paldea region to formulate a new plan, but unexpectedly, while resting on this island, they discovered a pod of Finizens.

Thus, a bold idea emerged in their minds.

(End of Chapter)