Chapter 224: Planning to Lure a Legend and the Mega Evolution Experiment (4k)

The addition of a new member seemed to inject fresh vitality into the farm; after the welcome dinner for Oranguru, time flew by, arriving at the last day of March.

Over these past few days, Oranguru had been following Luo Mu to learn various operations and precautions within the farm, while also offering many suggestions that hit the mark.

The first concern was the issue of infrastructure within the farm.

In reality, the farm's ground surface was still its original state, merely having the gravel that might trip people cleared away; the ground remained uneven dirt.

Oranguru felt it was very necessary to build a road traversing the entire farm; the farm's scope was vast, and if Luo Mu walked from his home to the furthest pasture area, it would take nearly ten to twenty minutes.

After paving the road, one could drive a small car straight through in a flash, and when selling crops later, there would be no need to struggle to carry those goods outside the farm, which would be extremely convenient.

Beyond this, there were suggestions regarding the reconstruction of the small villa, a detailed division of labor responsibilities for the Pokémon, efficiency in utilizing crops, and so on.

For instance, currently only the Deerling and three Mudsdale reside in the pasture area; vast stretches of pasture grass are essentially wasted, so it would be better to collect them for storage or processing, which would not only improve the diet for Deerling and the others but also save a considerable amount of money.

However, none of these matters could be accomplished overnight; they required not only time but also significant financial support.

Previously, harvested crops and Berries had been sold, and the cotton fluff that Bai Bai Pengpeng had accumulated over a month was also entrusted to Terry for processing.

As of today, the available liquid assets were about to break through the 500,000 mark, meaning the farm's construction should, just as Oranguru said, prepare to enter the next stage.

The first priority was increasing the members of the pasture; currently, the farming area had a Grass-type and Fairy-type Pokémon team led by Serperior, and combined with the Politoed and Dragonair residing in the lake area working together, there was no need to add new members.

Instead, the empty pasture area urgently needed more members, and the target naturally fell upon those Pokémon possessing abundant by-products.

"Yare yuta~"

Oranguru approached Luo Mu holding a sheet of paper covered in writing.

After taking the paper, Luo Mu lowered his eyes to look, his face showing a look of surprise: "Did you write this?"

Oranguru nodded slightly.

Indeed, Oranguru was very formidable.

Seeing that the handwriting was even more beautiful than his own, Luo Mu began reading it word by word.

To summarize the content of the paper simply, Oranguru had listed Pokémon capable of producing their own by-products or whose abilities would be very useful to the farm, leaving Luo Mu to make the selection.

Examples included the Garganacl line, which could produce expensive Healing Salt; Miltank and Skiddo, which produced nutrient-rich milk and goat milk; Shuckle, which could use Berries or medicinal herbs to create delicious juices and highly effective medicinal liquids within its body; Wooloo and Skwovet, which could produce wool; Beedrill and Combee, which could brew honey, and so on.

The list was so detailed that Luo Mu admired Oranguru's work efficiency and ability; it had even taken into account the ecological environments suitable for them.

After obtaining Oranguru's consent, Luo Mu took out a pen and crossed out the section for Combee and Beedrill: "There is no need to introduce Combee; in fact, not far outside the farm, in the woods over there, lives a group of Combee colonies on good terms with me, and their Vespiquen leader promised that if any female Combee appear, she would hand them over to me to raise."

Oranguru had likely discovered the flower field where Ringflower often stayed and the Berry trees while observing the farm, which was why it included Combee and Beedrill, capable of brewing honey, in its considerations.

After Luo Mu finished speaking, Oranguru nodded thoughtfully; this was indeed something it had not anticipated.

Oranguru silently noted this in its heart; maintaining good relations with wild Pokémon around the farm might yield unexpected rewards.

There was still much for it to learn; after the farm's construction reached a pause, it should first consider whether it was possible to establish a place to host wild Pokémon.

Luo Mu then used his pen to circle several key Pokémon, namely the Garganacl line, and either Skiddo or the Miltank line.

These were all Pokémon that could be purchased locally in Paldea; apart from Miltank, which commanded a higher price due to its fame, Pokémon like Skiddo and Garganacl, which also had distributions in the wild, posed absolutely no problem for Luo Mu's current wealth to select a few and bring back.

Today was the last day of March; tomorrow, Grandma Ju Zi Academy would open for the new term. According to the notice sent by the principal, Luo Mu's classes were scheduled for the day after tomorrow, so he could conveniently go to Eli Farm then to select suitable Pokémon.

In the farming area, before a small, specially tended plot of land.

Mudsdale gently lifted and then lowered its forelimbs; a conspicuous Ground-type energy wave rippled outward, and along with the undulation of energy, the soil churned upward slightly, exposing the roots of the plants above, before slowly closing back up, leaving only space to make the soil even more loose.

Immediately after, the waiting Ringflower and Bai Bai Pengpeng stepped forward, skillfully using Grassy Terrain, a move with a smaller range but denser Grass-type energy, capable of providing more nutrients to the crops.

Moments later, the emerald light gradually faded; the leaves and branches of the plants, which had grown another segment taller over the past half-month, now displayed a vibrant, lively green, full of charm.

These plants were precisely the Herba Mystica, which had very long growth cycles and required massive amounts of energy; under the diligent care of the Pokémon during this period, their growth had become increasingly promising.

"Not bad, Mudsdale, your plowing move is becoming more and more proficient; Ringflower and Bai Bai Pengpeng, your control over Grassy Terrain has also improved significantly; it seems this is what is called practice makes perfect."

Luo Mu clapped his hands lightly, looking at the several Pokémon with appreciation.

Receiving Luo Mu's praise, the Bai Bai Pengpeng jumped up happily; Ringflower swayed its body, spreading a pleasant floral fragrance; even Mudsdale, which rarely showed its emotions, curved its eyebrows into a smile.

Seeing the Pokémon's performance, Luo Mu felt very gratified; every single one of them was growing and becoming more excellent.

At the same time, Luo Mu felt somewhat fortunate about his previous decision to travel to the Alola region with Kukui; if he hadn't gone to Alola, he probably would not have received the personal instruction from Seeing Seeing Kapu Tapu Moumou on Grassy Terrain and the plowing move, and planting Herba Mystica would have been an absurd notion.

It had to be said that Seeing Seeing Kapu Tapu Moumou, as a guardian deity of the land, was truly top-tier; pity that it still guarded the Alola region and could not be lured home.

However, although he could not lure Seeing Seeing Kapu Tapu Moumou home, there were still two Legendary Pokémon in this world that he might have a chance to bring home.

The first was Landorus from the Unova region; legend said it could absorb the power of wind and thunder, transforming it into the purest energy to gift the soil, making the earth fertile, while its tail could also generate energy to replenish soil nutrients, allowing crops to grow robustly, thus it was known as the God of Farmland.

The second was the King of Abundance, Lei Guan Wang, from the Crown Tundra in the Galar region, possessing powers of healing and benevolence.

It was said that when it waved its right hand, hundreds of flowers bloomed and green grass flourished; when it waved its left hand, fields became fertile and crops yielded abundant harvests; it was simply the top-tier farming Pokémon, and not dragging it over to farm would be a waste.

Moreover, Lei Guan Wang had a special setting; it seemed it needed to draw upon the power of faith to maintain its own strength.

The world he was currently in should be the anime world; in Luo Mu's impression, Lei Guan Wang had not appeared, so its current status remained a question mark.

Perhaps, if there was a chance, he could go to the Crown Tundra to take a look.

If Lei Guan Wang had already lost its believers and been forgotten by all of Galar, then let Lei Guan Wang come to Paldea; relying on his connections, the faith in the King of Abundance would surely quickly take root and grow in the Paldea region.

With myriad thoughts swirling in his heart, Luo Mu arrived at the abandoned empty lot within the farm; normally, this place was generally used for Pokémon to practice moves and hone their combat experience.

It was the same now; at this moment, most of the farm's Pokémon had gathered here, solely because Luo Mu had said he would let Swampert demonstrate the gains from this trip to the Kalos region.

Inside the circle formed by the Pokémon, Swampert and Dragonite had already been waiting there for quite some time; while Luxray, Serperior, Mimikyu, and Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, these four main force Pokémon, stood to the side with solemn expressions.

Clearly, they all still remembered Luo Mu's description during that grand dinner that night.

Luo Mu had said that the combat power of a Swampert capable of Mega Evolution might perhaps surpass Luxray in every aspect.

This point shocked not only Luxray, the main subject of the comparison, but even Serperior and the others.

Moltres and Feng Su Gou stayed together with the twisted dog; since that night, Moltres had been very curious about exactly what kind of gain could allow Swampert to suddenly acquire power surpassing Luxray.

Having personally experienced Luxray's strength, Moltres felt that Luxray's power might already be comparable to that noble existence known as the Fire God, passed down through generations in their clan's bloodline information.

With its knowledge, it could no longer imagine a form stronger than Luxray; this made Moltres full of interest in today's experiment, and without a second word, it dragged Feng Su Gou and the twisted dog over to forcefully spectate.

The Pokémon present each had their own thoughts; to speak of the only thing they shared, it was the Solemn atmosphere that had somehow spread and hung over their heads.

"Hak?" (Little Dragonite, is this really okay?)

The lead Dragonite with heterochromatic eyes watched Dragonite with concern; although Dragonite had long become countless times stronger than them, in the Dragonites' eyes, it was still that Pokémon Egg needing their care.

"Bo-wu~" (It's fine, just a sparring match~)

Dragonite patted its chest, signaling the Dragonites not to worry.

Luo Mu had mentioned that after Swampert completed Mega Evolution, its power would receive a terrifying boost; among Luo Mu's several main Pokémon, only Dragonite, relying on the formidable physique innate to Dragon-type Pokémon, could go head-to-head with Swampert's strength.

Cangyan Cangyan Rengui relied on its sharp Flame Greatsword, Serperior relied on its thick Frenzy Plant, and Mimikyu's fighting style was even more erratic, so grappling with Swampert was still not quite feasible for them.

As for Luxray, due to type matchups, fighting Swampert was already strenuous, let alone after it underwent Mega Evolution.

Therefore, it still fell to it, the all-rounder Dragonite who attended duty across sea, land, and air, serving as both a flying mount and a sparring partner, to take on this task.

Since Dragonite had said so, the Dragonites could only choose to trust it.

Thus, amidst the varied mental activities of the Pokémon, Luo Mu and Comfey arrived late; Comfey, Bai Bai Pengpeng, and Mudsdale mixed into the crowd of Pokémon, while Luo Mu walked to the center of the open space, his gaze falling upon Swampert and Dragonite.

At this moment, the armband worn on Swampert's right arm was inlaid with an item named "Swampertite"; the armband was crafted by a artisan known to Limone, and it was said that thanks to its material, it could withstand the Pokémon's power without breaking.

On Luo Mu's side, the Key Stone remained just a single stone, exactly as it was when Lysandre first gave it to him; he had not yet decided what kind of accessory to craft it into, but this did not hinder the Key Stone from functioning.

The instant Luo Mu took out the Key Stone, the Pokémon present all held their breath and stepped back several paces, their gazes completely converging on Luo Mu and Swampert.

Luo Mu had heard that Mega Evolution relied on the bond of mutual connection between Pokémon and Trainer to make the Key Stone and Mega Stone resonate, ultimately obtaining the power of evolution beyond limits.

The instant he locked eyes with Swampert, the memory of his first encounter with Mudkip gradually surfaced in Luo Mu's mind, just as the memory of Swampert meeting Luo Mu surfaced in its own.

In fact, many people had curiously asked Luo Mu how he, someone who had never left the Paldea region where no population of Mudkip existed, had managed to catch one.

The reason was actually already laid out on the table.

Why had Swampert become abnormally furious upon seeing the Finizen being captured?

It was because Mudkip, precisely due to its abnormal immense strength, had been targeted by Pokémon Hunters, captured from its group, then drifted across the ocean to the Paldea region, where it was saved by Luo Mu, who was traveling at the time.

For Swampert, the days it was captured by Pokémon Hunters were undoubtedly a past shrouded in gloom, too unbearable to recall.

But Luo Mu's arrival was like a beam of light to it, illuminating its world of despair.

In that instant, a vague sensation connected the minds of Luo Mu and Swampert, as if they had become one, their hearts merging.

Out of the unseen, a feeling that success was possible surged into the hearts of Luo Mu and Swampert; after taking a deep breath, under the gaze of the farm Pokémon, Luo Mu tightened his grip on the Key Stone in his hand and said in a deep voice, "Swampert, Mega Evolve!"

No exaggerated words were needed for embellishment; the current Luo Mu and Swampert could clearly perceive the chain formed by their bond continuously connecting them.

The instant their fervent heartbeats synchronized completely, indescribably brilliant light erupted from the Key Stone and the Swampertite, and the radiant, colorful glow transformed into chains that linked the two strange stones resonating with each other.

Clad in seven-colored light and an evolution radiance so dense it turned white, Swampert's body began to undergo drastic changes.

Pokémon such as Luxray widened their eyes; apart from Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, Oranguru, and Feng Su Gou, this was their first time witnessing an evolution beyond limits.

Bathed in the radiance, Swampert's body began to expand, its stature growing tall, its muscles bulging wildly to form knotted, muscular arms, its orange protrusions turning orange-red, its spine rising high, the entire Pokémon seeming to harbor explosive power.

It was just like a volcano beneath the sea; one slight carelessness, and absolute power would run rampant.

"Lagii—!"

Feeling unprecedented, surging power throughout its entire body, Swampert's aura soared to an unprecedented height; letting out a carefree, sky-piercing roar, its terrifying pressure swept outward like a tidal wave!

One thousand monthly votes achieved; thank you, fellow readers, for your votes. I originally planned to serve up an extra third chapter tonight as part of the bonus updates, but my luck seems a bit off today; a sudden cold and fever have left me dizzy and groggy, and finishing today's regular update has already pushed me to my limit.

(End of Chapter)