Chapter 227: Arven's Visit: Presenting Grass Cakes to the Grass-Eating Pokémon

Watching Miss Miss Junsha's figure depart valiantly on her police motorcycle until she vanished from sight, Luo Mu sighed: "What kind of mess is this?"

The fact that the trainer who abandoned that Smeargle turned out to be a student of the Orange Academy could severely damage the academy's reputation if word got out, possibly even triggering a mass wave of student dropouts.

This was also one of the reasons why Miss Miss Junsha could not take action.

Do not think this is an exaggeration; in a world with Pokémon, abandoning a Pokémon is considered one of the most heinous acts.

Of course, within this there are detailed classifications; it is not a case of condemning everyone with a single stroke of the brush.

For instance, if a trainer cannot bond with a newly caught Pokémon, it is legal to return it to the location where it was originally caught and release it.

However, throwing a Pokémon like that Smeargle into the outskirts of Artazon, far from the Orange Academy, where the Smeargle then chose to retaliate against humans due to the shock of abandonment and feelings of vengeance—this would be classified as abandonment, and of the most malicious kind.

If such behavior goes undiscovered, all is well, but once discovered, the penalties range from revocation of trainer qualifications at the lightest to imprisonment at the severest.

"Should I tell Chairwoman Geeta first, or mention it to Principal Mu Fei?"

Luo Mu rubbed his head, feeling utterly overwhelmed; were there really this many hidden dangers within the Orange Academy at this time?!

"What do you want to tell the Chairwoman and the Principal?"

A curious voice sounded from behind, nearly startling Luo Mu; looking back, he discovered that while he had been lost in thought, that kid Arven had silently slipped up behind him.

"How did you get here? Didn't I say you should contact me before coming over?"

Driven by a desire for revenge, Luo Mu reached out with his sinful hands and ruffled Arven's smooth beige-brown hair.

"Don't ruffle my hair and head; the Principal isn't tall!" Arven snapped in embarrassed anger, slapping Luo Mu's hands away, feeling that someone as old as Luo Mu was still so childish; "I sent a message before I left home!"

Arven took out his phone to show him; the timestamp on the message coincided exactly with the time Luo Mu had been talking with Miss Miss Junsha.

Left speechless by this, Luo Mu chuckled awkwardly twice and immediately chose to change the subject: "I heard you didn't go to Levincia City to challenge the Gym; did you fail Kofu's trial?"

Arven's body stiffened; recalling the dark past where Ao Ao Jiaofu and his Greedent were toyed with by that Sudowoodo, his voice lost all confidence: "Uh, I passed, it just took a little bit more time, that's all."

"Oh~?"

Luo Mu looked at Arven with a meaningful gaze; it seemed he had been stuck in Cortondo for quite a long time.

"Since you're here now, does that mean classes have ended at the academy?"

Luo Mu did not let Arven stand outside the farm forever; telling him to follow, he walked inward.

Arven nodded: "The morning was the customary opening ceremony speech; there are no classes in the afternoon."

"Did you see any of the other classmates? How are they doing?"

What Luo Mu was actually asking about were only the students in the Battle Studies course; Arven understood his meaning, and his expression became somewhat hesitant.

"How should I put it... it feels like everyone's condition isn't very good, especially Chairwoman Penny; she seems completely listless, and even when speaking, she appears devoid of energy."

Luo Mu paused his steps for a moment, then continued forward as if nothing had happened.

In a spot Arven could not see, Luo Mu's brows furrowed slightly, as if he had thought of something.

Penny should become a member of Team Star in the future; could it be that she has already encountered that situation now?

Arven did not have any specific reason to come find Luo Mu; he simply had nothing to do after school and came because he felt like it.

If he had any other purpose, it was probably to urge Luo Mu regarding when he could take him to the Great Crater of Paldea to see his parents.

It had been a long time since Sada and Turo entered the Great Crater of Paldea; although they occasionally called back to make contact, they often hung up hastily due to signal issues.

This was the first time Arven had lived alone for such a long period; although he spent most of his time in the academy dormitories surrounded by classmates to talk to, he still felt somewhat lonely in reality.

Occasionally, Arven would wonder: if the version of himself in some other world had never met Luo Mu, and his parents had also gone silently to the Great Crater of Paldea with no news for several months, what kind of person would he have become?

The somewhat sentimental Arven, at the moment he saw the Feng Su Gou passing by just then, cast all such stray thoughts to the back of his mind; the boy's eyes sparkled, his expression extremely excited.

"Is that a Feng Su Gou? Has the Ka Di Gou evolved into a Feng Su Gou!?"

The appearances of the two Feng Su Gou were already somewhat similar, not to mention that Arven knew of the existence of Ka Di Gou, so naturally he could recognize it at a glance.

The Feng Su Gou's ears twitched; realizing Arven had actually run over, and thinking that not long ago it still had to look up to Arven while now it was Arven's turn to look up to it, the Feng Su Gou felt a surge of secret satisfaction in its heart.

Walking over with reserved dignity, the Feng Su Gou displayed its majestic mane, unsurprisingly eliciting a burst of exclamations from Arven.

Luo Mu, watching from the side: "."

How did it even develop a narcissistic personality? Where did it learn that?

But ultimately, the Feng Su Gou's narcissistic personality must have been learned from the Flame Bird; there was no way it could have learned it from itself.

After Arven climbed onto the Feng Su Gou's back and experienced a speed-limited version of speed and passion in the open space of the farm, thoroughly satisfied, he transformed back into Luo Mu's little follower, trotting happily behind Luo Mu all the way to the kitchen.

Seeing Luo Mu take out a bag of unmarked flour, eggs, and various ingredients, Arven felt somewhat puzzled; could it be that Luo Mu planned to make a cake to treat him?

But when Luo Mu pulled out a handful of cleaned... pasture grass from the side, Arven was dumbfounded.

He didn't eat grass himself.

Seeing Arven's bewildered expression, Luo Mu chuckled lightly; he saw at a glance that this kid probably thought he was making a cake for him, dreaming quite beautifully.

"I am making food using pasture grass as an ingredient for the Pokémon that will be stationed in the pasture area in the future; if you want to eat cake, I remember there is still a small piece over on that table; eat it and then quietly watch me work."

Luo Mu jerked his chin toward the dining table outside the kitchen, telling Arven to use the cake to plug his own mouth.

"Yay~"

Arven cheered once, ran over to the dining table, brought back the cake, and according to their agreement, stayed quietly to the side, watching Luo Mu make food using pasture grass.

Most of the Pokémon raised in the pasture take pasture grass or Pokémon food as their staple diet, so when making food, one must use pasture grass as the main component.

The Grass Cake is not considered an ordinary food, but rather a reward, after all, its production process is much more tedious than other foods.

The production process for the Grass Cake is the same as for an ordinary cake, except that crushed pasture grass is used when making the batter, and instead of spreading cream for the final decoration, there is a layer of slightly seasoned grass paste.

Although the final product retains the appearance of a cake, it looks like a clump emitting a slight scent of fresh grass mixed with a faint earthy odor that cannot be removed.

Wondering whether the Mudbray and Meng Ya Lu would be willing to eat it, Luo Mu temporarily set the Grass Cake aside under Arven's indescribable expression and began making other foods.

For example, Grass "Steaks" baked with some breadcrumbs and crushed pasture grass mixed in, Grass Dumplings with pasture grass filling, and Grass Dorayaki.

(End of Chapter)