Chapter 222: The Telecom Scammer Claiming to Be Professor Oak

Bro, do you know what you're saying?

Luo Mu silently scooted his butt to the other side of the chair; after Feng Su Gou's statement, it was hard not to interpret it wrongly.

Lysandre seemed to realize his words carried some ambiguity; he wasn't from the Galar region, after all.

The previous battle hadn't established any connection between him and Luo Mu, so the plan to invite him to the laboratory would likely fail; if he wanted to communicate with Luo Mu, he had to seize this moment.

Lysandre knew clearly that he couldn't force Luo Mu to join his organization; the only way to get him to join was to articulate his ideals and make Luo Mu resonate with them.

Clearing his throat lightly, Lysandre got straight to the point in an organized manner, placing his gloved right hand before Luo Mu: "I want to keep this world in its most beautiful aspect, so I need you, I need your power; your power can help me sweep away all filth."

"I sincerely invite you to join my laboratory."

Finally, he said it.

Luo Mu raised an eyebrow, feeling a sense of relief in his heart.

Since Lysandre had spoken out, it would be much easier for him to refuse, preventing Lysandre from harboring any illusions.

This person was just like Giovanni; he maintained a positive image outwardly, so even if reported, perhaps no one would believe it.

If it were an ordinary person, they would probably think Lysandre wanted to recruit forces to clean up villains; how could they know this guy had gone mad, wanting to destroy the current world and then rebuild a utopia?

Luo Mu never underestimated any League; since Lysandre could disguise himself so well within the Kalos League, it only proved his depth of scheming and backup plans were even more formidable.

Being targeted by such a person was no good; it was better to cut off his thoughts early, then slip back to the Paldea region tomorrow and tend to his own little plot of land.

Luo Mu didn't extend his hand, radiating an air of giving up: "Sorry, I'm not very interested in what you said. Representative Lysandre, you probably don't know this, but despite appearances, I've actually retired and am no longer a Trainer; I have no grand ideals, I just want to live in my own little plot of land."

"Your proposal is good, but, sorry, please allow me to refuse."

Luo Mu's refusal was beyond Lysandre's expectations; he didn't even have time to persuade him a few more times.

But Luo Mu's attitude was extremely firm; Lysandre knew there was probably no chance tonight, so he didn't press the matter further, merely leaving a message that he would always welcome Luo Mu at the Lysandre Laboratories before departing with a smile still on his face.

Luo Mu always felt he hadn't given up.

The remainder of the banquet had nothing worth mentioning; it was just that Luo Mu's phone had a few more contacts now.

For instance, the famous superstar Diantha, and the Elite Four member from Celestic Town in the distant Sinnoh region, Drasna, and so on.

Blaziken Mask also congratulated Luo Mu on obtaining the Key Stone prize at the banquet, and even proposed wanting to battle his Mega Evolved Swampert the next day.

Unfortunately, his Mega Blaziken was knocked unconscious by a single punch from Swampert before even seeing Swampert's Mega Evolution.

On the morning of March 26th, the plane flying directly from Lumiose City to Levincia City landed; standing once again on his familiar land and in his familiar environment, Luo Mu took a deep breath, feeling physically and mentally refreshed.

Here, he didn't have to worry about any Dafan Sect causing trouble, wouldn't be watched by Lysandre, could live leisurely and freely, interact with the farm's Pokémon when idle, and when his hands itched, spar with the students who were about to start school to crush some noobs.

Only this kind of life could be called comfortable.

Since the Lumiose Leigelei Sect cookies he bought amounted to dozens of boxes, Luo Mu summoned an Oranguru, having it use Psychic to carry these souvenir gifts as they walked through the streets of Levincia City.

While sighing that Psychic-type Pokémon abilities were indeed convenient, Luo Mu visited the Memory Lane Bakery and the Levincia Gym in succession, handing the souvenir gifts to Worried Uncle and Iono.

Luo Mu also learned from Iono that Hearing Hearing Nimo had chosen to return immediately after completing the gym challenge that day, saying she wanted to properly digest and absorb the travel experience of the past half-month and settle down.

Hearing Hearing Nimo's choice was indeed very good; not only did she break through three gyms in just over half a month, but she herself remained neither arrogant nor impetuous, which was worthy of praise.

Compared to Hearing Hearing Nimo, it was unknown whether Pecharunt was stuck at the second gym again or had gotten lazy and gone home after challenging the second gym; at the very least, Iono said she had no record of a Trainer named Pecharunt challenging her.

Before Luo Mu left, Iono specifically expressed her gratitude to him and asked him to convey her appreciation to Hearing Hearing Nimo as well.

This was solely because Iono had edited the previous battle between Luo Mu and Hearing Hearing Nimo, covering both their faces, blurring their voices, and then providing commentary according to Hearing Hearing Nimo's suggestions.

As a result, the slightly different-looking Feng Su Gou, combined with the high-quality battle and Iono's witty and humorous commentary, made the video go mildly viral, and Iono's follower count finally broke through five figures thanks to this opportunity.

However, Iono mentioned a comment under the video that concerned her slightly.

That person claimed to be Professor Oak, expressed great interest in the Feng Su Gou appearing in the video which differed from its widely known form, and wanted to invite Feng Su Gou and Luo Mu to visit the Kanto region.

Luo Mu asked Iono to display the comment; clicking into that person's avatar revealed nothing but blankness, and the account registration time wasn't even a full month.

Luo Mu immediately drew a conclusion: "Telecom fraud, don't believe it."

The real Professor Oak's account would definitely have verification; nowadays, scammers don't even know how to disguise themselves online; truly, moral standards are declining.

Iono could only regretfully delete that comment and blacklist the account.

What a pity; she had thought her luck was very good, able to collaborate with the academic giant of Pokémon research, Professor Oak, and relying on Professor Oak's influence, her follower count would probably surge, skyrocket, and explode.

But Luo Mu wasn't wrong; it's likely that scammers rely precisely on this kind of wishful thinking of hers to carry out fraud.

After Luo Mu left, Young Lady Iono removed the Magnemite ornament atop her head, hugged it in her arms to torment it for a bit, then rubbed her shark-like teeth together, mumbling indistinctly: "That damned fake Professor Oak! Young Lady Iono won't be fooled by you in the future!"

After leaving the Levincia Gym, Luo Mu didn't ride Dragonite, but instead hired a truck driver to take him along with the souvenir gifts back to Artazon Town.

The distance between Levincia City and Artazon Town was actually quite far; it wasn't like in the game where one could just fly around casually, watch a few black screens, and arrive.

At Dragonite's flying speed, perhaps they could return to Artazon Town very quickly, but driving a large truck took nearly a full day.

By the evening of March 27th, the silhouette of Artazon Town gradually came into Luo Mu's sight.

(End of Chapter)