Chapter 218: Clemont and Lysandre, From Lysandre

"Then I'll trouble you to take the Electivire to the Pokémon Center. Also, please keep what you saw today a secret from Clemont."

Limone clasped his hands together and pleaded with the referee.

The referee naturally understood what Limone meant, nodded slightly: "I understand, as always, right?"

Limone smiled awkwardly and waved goodbye to the departing referee.

Since Clemont became the Gym Leader, he had grown increasingly busy. Limone, as his father, felt for his son and occasionally brought the Electivire to cover shifts for a day or two; over time, he grew familiar with the referee.

After arranging matters for the Electivire, Limone turned to look at Luo Mu and asked, "Do you really not need to go to the Pokémon Center?"

At that moment, Luo Mu had just finished treating the Arcanine's electric shock injuries and the numbness that flooded in like a tide after the battle. He patted the Arcanine's head in praise and returned it to its Poké Ball.

After doing this, Luo Mu replied, "I also have Electric-type Pokémon partners. Injuries are inevitable during their training, so over time, I've become skilled at handling wounds left by Electric-type attacks myself."

"Moreover, thanks to the energy barrier of Flare Blitz, the Arcanine actually only suffered some superficial injuries; it just looks a bit frightening."

Limone: "..."

Recalling the Electivire's severely burned body, Limone's mouth twitched. Although the Electivire wasn't specialized in physical strength, was its physical constitution that much worse?

Calming his mood, Limone extended his hand to Luo Mu: "It seems you truly have no ulterior motives toward Clemont. First, let me apologize for my suspicion."

Luo Mu reached out to shake his hand and smiled: "It's fine. After all, he is a famous invention genius in the Kalos region; your caution is only natural."

The two smiled at each other. Friendship between trainers is always established so quickly; one battle is enough to determine if the other is worth deepening a relationship with.

Limone, looking like a close buddy, put his arm around Luo Mu's shoulder and said with a beaming smile: "Coincidentally, no one has booked a Gym battle this morning. Clemont will probably return around noon. You're from Paldea, so this must be your first time in the Kalos region, right?"

"How about it? Shall I, a local, take you on a tour? Don't judge me by my appearance; I have many connections. I can take you through back doors to many attractions without queuing."

Luo Mu had intended to refuse, but Limone's last words made him hesitate.

Indeed, having a local connection made traveling much more convenient.

Not to mention, the Oranguru was frantically poking him with telepathy, saying that instead of risking a long queue at 1 PM to buy the Lumiose Galette, it would be better to ask Limone if he had any connections.

So, the words slipped out.

"I want to buy some Lumiose Galette as souvenirs to take back, and I'd also like to visit the famous Lumiose Gallery. Is that okay?"

Luo Mu looked at Limone; that last request had been strongly added by the Oranguru, even though Luo Mu had no interest in art.

Limone gave a thumbs-up and patted his chest: "Leave it to me!"

Under Limone's guidance, Luo Mu once again experienced the comfort of having connections in high places.

To be honest, Limone's connections in Lumiose City were indeed extensive. No queue was needed for the Lumiose Galette; Limone led Luo Mu directly through the back of the shop, and they returned with several large boxes.

After returning the souvenirs to the hotel, Limone took Luo Mu and the Oranguru to visit the renowned Lumiose Gallery.

Key point: today happened to be the Lumiose Gallery's closed day, yet Limone directly found someone to let them in.

Luo Mu couldn't understand a single thing about those art paintings, but the Oranguru watched with great interest. For a moment, Luo Mu couldn't tell which one was human and which one was the Oranguru.

Why did he have absolutely no artistic cells?

During the visit, Limone also asked Luo Mu exactly what business he had with Clemont. Luo Mu held nothing back and recounted the story of the Litten waiting for Clemont at the Electric-type Pokémon Specialty School.

When Limone brought Luo Mu back to the Lumiose Gym, a blond boy in a jumpsuit was chatting inside the Gym with a tall man with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and red hair styled like a lion's mane.

The blond boy was naturally Clemont, the one Luo Mu was waiting for. Judging by his age, he seemed to be twelve or thirteen. At this age, he had already achieved the accomplishments of an inventor; in the future, he would seemingly invent epoch-making devices like the Rotom Pokédex.

He truly deserved the title of child prodigy.

The other person was not so pleasant. If Luo Mu remembered correctly, he should be

Lysandre.

Seemingly sensing the commotion of Luo Mu and Limone returning, the chatting Clemont and Lysandre turned their heads. The moment they saw Limone, Clemont's eyes clearly brightened for an instant.

Limone knew his son's personality: not good at socializing, liked to bury himself in work, easily shy, slightly lacking in confidence, and particularly bad at refusing others.

That person, he remembered, should be Lysandre, the director of the Lysandre Labs. Rumor had it that he had once done many good deeds, helping many poor people in the Kalos region. Although he gradually stopped doing these things later, Lysandre's good deeds were still well-known to all.

Even Diantha, the hot female star and Champion of the Kalos region, chose to endorse the Holo Caster invented by their lab because of Lysandre's reputation.

But for some reason, Limone always felt he couldn't like Lysandre from the bottom of his heart.

"Dad!"

Clemont's voice carried a barely perceptible joy, as if Limone's arrival had helped him out of a predicament.

Limone nodded: "Clemont, and... Mr. Lysandre."

Clemont rushed toward Limone. After hugging him, he looked curiously at Luo Mu and asked, "Dad, who is this?"

"He is Luo Mu. Consider him a friend of your dad's."

Limone's eyes, filled with a hint of amusement, met Luo Mu's for an instant. Luo Mu also tacitly accepted this identity; in a way, this would make things easier to handle.

Luo Mu greeted: "Hello, Clemont."

Although somewhat curious why Limone had such a young friend as Luo Mu, Clemont politely said: "Hello, Big Brother Luo Mu."

Before Luo Mu could respond, Lysandre, wearing a smile on his face, casually stepped into the circle of the three. His unhurried manner seemed to naturally possess a certain leadership and a power that made people trust him.

"Since your father has returned, I shall take my leave here. Clemont-kun, I hope you will consider my invitation. The Lysandre Labs guarantee you the best treatment and allow you to fully research the technological inventions you love most."

Luo Mu, standing aside, twitched the corner of his mouth. What he called "the technological inventions you love most" was probably the Mega Evolution Energy Collector or the development of the Zygarde Thermal Imager.

Clemont stammered: "I..."

Limone suddenly stepped in front of Clemont and smiled at Lysandre: "He is still young. His work as a Gym Leader is already busy enough; there is no need to take on other positions for now."

"Mr. Lysandre, please return."

Facing Limone's overt and covert dismissal, Lysandre was not annoyed at all. After a free and easy smile, his gaze swept past the silent Luo Mu and the Oranguru beside him, and a hint of surprise appeared between his eyebrows.

That Oranguru... was bred very well, as if it possessed a magic that could attract people's gaze and make them sink deep into it.

Lysandre had seen Diantha's Gardevoir; that Gardevoir also possessed such a trait. He remembered, this seemed to be called by scholars... a characteristic of powerful Psychic-type Pokémon?

Lysandre recalled Limone's introduction just now. This person was called Luo Mu by Limone, looked very young, and he had no impression of him. Was he a rising trainer?

The organization was just lacking some talent in combat. The only one who had been on the stage before was that boy with the Charmeleon met at the ruins. Why not invite him to help collect energy for Mega Evolution?

A hint of interest appeared between his eyebrows. Lysandre took a business card from his pocket and inserted it into the surprised Luo Mu's shirt pocket.

"Mr. Luo Mu, we at the Lysandre Labs are actually also very short on combat-oriented talent; you should understand, things like collecting data in the wild."

"If you are interested, you can contact me anytime using the contact information on the business card."

As soon as the words fell, knowing that Lemont was not fond of him, Lysandre did not give Luo Mu a chance to refuse; he simply waved his hand and stepped onto the elevator leaving Prism Tower.

Later, when Lemont was not around, there would still be plenty of opportunities to invite Clemont and Luo Mu.

After Lysandre left, Luo Mu could no longer hold it back; looking at the business card in his hand, Luo Mu never expected that one day he would actually receive an recruitment offer from the Dafan Sect of the Kalos region.

Glancing in the direction Lysandre had departed, Lemont said in a deep voice: "Luo Mu, although this is just my personal opinion, you had better not agree to Lysandre's offer; he gives me a somewhat bad feeling."

Clemont looked up at Lemont with some confusion: "But... isn't Mr. Lysandre a great benefactor who has rescued many impoverished people?"

Ruffling Clemont's head, amidst Clemont's wails, Lemont grinned wickedly: "That is exactly why you are still a child; you cannot look only at the surface of things."

Clemont hugged his head and moved away from Lemont, saying excitedly: "I am not a child anymore; nowadays I am a Gym Leader! If we are really going to say it, You You Lijia is the child, okay?"

At this moment, holding up the business card Lysandre had given him, Luo Mu suddenly asked: "Where is the trash can?"

The two froze for a moment, then said in unison: "Over there."

A moment later, Luo Mu returned to stand before the two with nothing in his hands; his calm gaze fixed on Clemont, making Clemont feel inexplicably nervous and want to retreat behind Lemont.

To him, Luo Mu was merely someone occupying the title of his father's friend; in reality, he was still a stranger.

Lemont raised an eyebrow, placed his large hand firmly on Clemont's shoulder, and pushed him forward with force; Clemont stumbled, turning his head to cast a confused glance at his father with eyes like those of a pitiful puppy.

Lemont ignored his gaze and said in a deep voice: "As a man, there are some things one cannot escape from, especially the mistakes you made in your youth!"

Clemont did not know why Lemont was being so serious and felt somewhat at a loss; just then, Luo Mu stepped forward with his Infernape and said: "Clemont, let's talk about the matter of the Luxio you abandoned."

(End of Chapter)