Chapter 181: Poisoned

Ultimately, it was Dragonite that flew directly over to the Coast Guard's speedboat, bringing them before the five individuals who were bound hand and foot.

Amidst a series of "Boo-wuu" sounds, the Commander handled the handover procedures in a daze; even as he led the remaining poachers of this Hunter J gang back to port, the question still echoed in his mind—

Could it be that Chairman Geeta's mentioned Mr. Luo Mu is actually a Dragonite?

Shortly after the Coast Guard departed, Popplio Leader, carrying Luo Mu, leaped out of the water, while Swampert also clutched a massive stone and forcibly swam ashore, prompting the other Popplio to exclaim that truly, only the Aqua Hero could possess such immense strength!

Swampert gently placed the huge, wet rock on the ground; Luo Mu paid no heed to the water dripping down his body, instead sweeping his soaked hair back with one hand and gazing toward Dragonite and what lay behind it.

Seeing the empty tree trunk, Luo Mu knew Dragonite had completed the handover with the Coast Guard; he took the towel Dragonite retrieved from its backpack and began wiping the water droplets from his hair and body.

Unfortunately, the towel was quite small, becoming soaked after only half-drying his hair; pondering for a moment, Luo Mu beckoned to the Dragonite beside him, saying, "Give me some Heat Wave."

"Boo-wuu?"

Dragonite covered its mouth, its face a mask of disbelief, its large tail forgetting to wag due to the shock.

Luo Mu knew what random thoughts were swirling in Dragonite's little head and emphasized, "Just the temperature of a hairdryer will do; don't nearly burn off my eyebrows and hair like last time."

That had happened shortly after Dragonite evolved; it had just learned the Heat Wave move, and its control over the technique wasn't yet sufficient, yet it had suddenly decided to dry Luo Mu's body and hair with Heat Wave right after his bath, never expecting its control to be off by just a tiny, tiny bit.

"Boo-wuu..."

Dragonite pressed its fingers together aggrievedly; it hadn't meant to, so why bring up those old stories again?

However, Dragonite's pair of small wings fanned honestly enough; Luo Mu felt only a warm breeze of suitable temperature envelop his body, and within moments, he was completely dry.

Luo Mu was not surprised by this; after all, since that incident, he had witnessed Dragonite practicing the Heat Wave move countless times, so letting it demonstrate the results of its training was a good opportunity.

At sunset, beneath the dim yellow sky, Luo Mu smiled at the grieving Popplio, who was sad to see the Aqua Hero Swampert depart, saying, "Don't get lost in the future, and don't be so impulsive in everything."

"Pop~"

The Popplio Leader also promised nearby that it would surely give this mischievous kin a good "lesson."

The Popplio's sobbing ceased abruptly, its face filled with terror.

Seeing its expression made Luo Mu laugh heartily; indeed, unruly children still need their parents to discipline them, but just as he intended to turn and leave, he couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for it and saved face by adding, "Although it is indeed a bit loud and rash, its courage to sacrifice itself for its companions and other Pokémon is truly commendable."

The Popplio Leader paused slightly, then nodded gently.

Indeed, courage is one of the most precious spirits; perhaps one day in the future, this courage will motivate this still-immature child to become a true Aqua Hero.

"Pop?"

Finally, the Popplio Leader turned its gaze toward that huge, wet rock and let out an inquiring cry.

Luo Mu understood its meaning; the Popplio Leader was asking how he intended to take that huge, wet rock away.

"A wise man has his own clever plans." Walking over to the long-waiting Swampert, Luo Mu pointed at the huge wet rock and said, "Hug it!"

Swampert nodded slightly, took a few steps to the side of the huge wet rock, and directly embraced it in its arms.

Just as Swampert established a connection with the Water-type energy within the wet rock, Luo Mu took out a Poké Ball, aimed it at Swampert, and pressed the button; together with the wet rock in its embrace, Swampert transformed into a bright red light and was drawn into the Poké Ball.

This scene caused the Popplio to simultaneously drop their jaws open, their faces filled with shock.

Seeing those expressions, Luo Mu explained with great animation, "No matter what, the wet rock counts as an item; even if it's a bit large, it can still be carried as a held item by Swampert into the Poké Ball."

That said, in truth, Luo Mu himself hadn't been confident before trying it out; fortunately, everything went smoothly, otherwise he would have lost face.

Looking up and down at the shrunken Poké Ball in his hand, its weight having hardly changed at all, Luo Mu sighed with emotion.

The technology of the Pokémon world.

Amazing, isn't it?

Under the send-off gaze of the Popplio, Luo Mu mounted Dragonite, gradually disappearing into the horizon beneath the hazy light of dusk.

From this point on, centered around the parent-and-child Wailord pair and the Popplio tribe, a slightly different legend of the Aqua Hero began to spread.

It was a legend of an Aqua Hero who formed a partnership with a human.

By the time Dragonite flew near Pingdie Town, the sky had long since grown dark; just before returning to the farm, Luo Mu suddenly noticed lights flashing on the ground not far away.

Those lights flashed at a specific frequency, and combined with the police sirens and ambulance sirens cutting through the vast sky, they added several degrees of solemnity to this deep night.

Luo Mu's heart first tightened, thinking something had happened at his own farm, but the ambulance and police car were merely passing by the farm, soon stopping in front of Jones Farm, which was slightly farther from his own.

Letting out a long breath of relief, Luo Mu hesitated for a moment before having Dragonite carry him toward Jones Farm to see what had happened.

After all, Peter, who worked at Jones Farm, had helped him with some things before, and the Jones couple had even introduced him to a supplier for fish fry; as a semi-neighbor, he ought to go show some concern.

After Dragonite landed with Luo Mu, an officer quickly came over to check the situation; after Luo Mu stated his purpose, the officer hesitated for an instant before leading Luo Mu to Miss Miss Junsha, who had just finished her investigation.

The officer introduced, "Miss Miss Junsha, this Mr. says he is from a nearby farm and wants to understand what happened."

Luo Mu also offered a greeting, "Hello, Miss Miss Junsha."

Miss Miss Junsha had not intended to reveal too many details about the case, but upon seeing Luo Mu, she changed her mind; anyway, she still needed to visit the households and farms living near Jones Farm next to remind them of certain matters.

It was quite convenient that Luo Mu had arrived.

Miss Miss Junsha cleared her throat and spoke to Luo Mu with a serious expression, "You've arrived just in time; I was actually planning to go to your farm to remind you as well."

Luo Mu asked in confusion, "Did... did some kind of incident happen here?"

Miss Miss Junsha nodded, "Actually, the Jones couple and some of their staff have currently collapsed due to poisoning; the specific cause is temporarily unknown, with only one thing confirmed."

"It likely has some connection to a certain Poison-type Pokémon."

(End of Chapter)