Chapter 18: Pokémon Egg

Pingdi Town, a quiet and peaceful little town, free from the noise of big cities.

It was already four in the afternoon, and Luo Mu had to finish buying what he needed before six.

This small town had no concept of overtime—shops closed on time, punctual to the minute.

The pace of Pingdi Town was slow overall, fully embodying the saying “rise with the sun, rest with the sunset.”

As a small town, Pingdi Town had no large supermarkets, only one agricultural market with decent foot traffic.

During his stay at the inn in Pingdi Town, Luo Mu had learned exactly what this market offered.

Outside the perimeter, street vendors sold crops grown on their own small plots; deeper inside, the space catered to merchants or individuals needing bulk purchases.

In short, the inner area was a wholesale market—almost anything commonly needed could be bought here at wholesale prices.

Passing the noisy vendor stalls, Luo Mu did not stop despite their calls, knowing most of them were the lowest quality in the entire market—fraudulent scales and substandard goods were common.

When Luo Mu first moved to Pingdi Town, he once bought apples here; perhaps because he was a newcomer, he not only got cheated by a faulty scale but also had some apples swapped without his notice—some were overripe, even rotting.

Perhaps because he never stayed long in one place during his travels, he had never encountered such things before, always believing Pokémon’s world had no crooked merchants—this was his first real lesson in the harshness of society at this market.

Where there are bad people, there are also good ones.

At the time, Luo Mu continued walking deeper into the market with the apples in hand, until an elderly, kind-faced grandmother near the stalls reminded him—he then realized he had been cheated.

Without giving the vendor a chance to escape, Luo Mu immediately grabbed him and headed for the Pingdi Town police station; even the market manager’s attempts to mediate failed.

After that, Luo Mu became famous in the market, and all the crooked vendors began avoiding him.

But it seemed a month had passed, and they had forgotten him—otherwise they wouldn’t have dared to call out to him now.

Luo Mu ignored them and walked straight toward the location of that shop in his memory.

【Seed Wholesale】

A straightforward, unadorned, humble name.

The shop was small, about thirty square meters, most of its space filled with different seeds neatly categorized.

At the entrance stood an old-looking rocking chair, on which lay an elderly grandmother with white hair and a gentle, likable face.

Her eyes were closed, her chest rising and falling slowly—she appeared to be in a light doze.

Though in a light doze, the grandmother was highly perceptive to her surroundings; before Luo Mu even reached her, she opened her eyes and looked toward him.

Seeing the grandmother awake, Luo Mu smiled and gave a small wave. “Grandma Ju, long time no see?”

“That voice—you’re...” Ju slowly pulled out her reading glasses from her chest, put them on, and studied Luo Mu carefully. Memories surfaced slowly; a faint smile appeared on her wrinkled face. “It’s little Mu. Long time no see. How’s your farm coming along?”

Luo Mu replied, “I’ve already planned the zones. I’m here to buy some seeds from you.”

“That’s good, that’s good!” Ju nodded slightly, as if genuinely pleased for him, her smile deepening.

With Luo Mu’s help, Ju slowly rose, then led him inside the shop and asked, “Have you decided what crops to plant? Tell me—I’ve sold seeds for years, I still have some experience to offer.”

Luo Mu glanced around and saw many seed varieties; he named the few he had already decided on: “Potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, cabbage, cucumbers...”

“I want a small packet of each—I’ll try planting them first, then buy in bulk if they work out.”

Ju nodded as she listened—Luo Mu had done his homework well; all these crops were suitable for this season, with short growth cycles. If he could grow them with normal quality, he’d definitely make money.

After all, he had leased such a large patch of wasteland—testing small-scale planting was necessary to avoid losses.

Ju precisely selected the seeds Luo Mu needed, packed them into small bags, sealed them, and even added thoughtful labels.

“Potato seeds eighty per packet, cucumber seeds one hundred forty per packet... Check, any problems?” Ju read off the prices posted on the wall.

Luo Mu nodded slightly—these prices were even cheaper than what Peter had quoted him, so no issues at all.

The five types of seeds totaled only six hundred Alliance Coins—pennies compared to the overall cost of building the farm.

Luo Mu paid immediately, took the seed packets from Ju, and examined them curiously—he had only seen these crops grown, never their seeds before.

He examined the potato, cucumber, and tomato seeds one by one—until he reached the sixth, extra packet. Seeing the label, he froze.

Strawberry seeds?

Luo Mu looked at Ju with a questioning gaze. “Grandma Ju, did you give me an extra packet?”

Ju smiled. “You young people have sharp eyes. This packet of strawberry seeds isn’t worth much—I’m giving it to you as a small gift to celebrate your farm’s official launch.”

“That’s too much...”

Luo Mu wanted to return it—if he accepted this packet, Ju would make no profit, maybe even lose money.

“Just take it,” Ju waved her hand, refusing to take the seeds back. As she spoke, she noticed the Poké Ball hanging at Luo Mu’s waist and suddenly remembered something—her eyes brightened slightly. “How about this—you do me a favor, and you can keep the strawberry seeds.”

Seeing Luo Mu pause, Ju swiftly walked to the back of the shop, opened a small cabinet with a key, and carefully pulled out an oval object.

Ju said, “I remember you’re a Trainer—could you possibly care for this Pokémon Egg?”

As she spoke, the Pokémon Egg in her arms moved from shadow into the light, revealing its form.

It was a red-colored, gray-black-striped Pokémon Egg of an unknown species.

Meanwhile, in the Lighthouse Research Institute, District One.

After bidding farewell to Dragonite, Piplup rushed home excitedly, only to find a dark room and a note on the table—he instantly understood.

Piplup’s arm slowly dropped, his eyes beginning to redden.

After a long silence, Piplup bowed his head and whispered in a voice barely audible, “Liar...”