Chapter 234: Orange Academy Assembly (Part 1 & 2 Combined)

Luo Mu had previously taken special care to identify them: the two Meng Ya Lu he had brought back from Big Pot Lake were one female and one male; they seemed to have grown up together since childhood as childhood sweethearts, and they shared no blood relation.

Moreover, given how gently the Meng Ya Lu were now accepting the newly arrived Ride Pony companions, they were likely very skilled at caring for young Pokémon.

Luo Mu felt that among this large group of single dogs on his farm, a married couple might emerge in the future; when the time was right, the Meng Ya Lu might even bring him a surprise.

For instance, a Pokémon Egg capable of hatching an adorable Deerling.

As the Meng Ya Lu licked the Ride Ponies, it was as if some mysterious ritual had been completed; the two Ride Ponies happily bleated twice and affectionately pressed themselves against the tall bodies of the Meng Ya Lu.

Seeing this scene, Luo Mu smiled, did not disturb the Pokémon as they bonded, and together with the Oranguru, quickly installed the feeding troughs; after glancing at the Meng Ya Lu, who were already leading the Ride Ponies to identify the most tender and delicious pasture grass, he turned and left.

With these two "great parents" and "senior elders" looking after them, Luo Mu no longer needed to worry about the Ride Ponies struggling to integrate into the farm's atmosphere.

However, the Meng Ya Lu had originally caught Luo Mu's attention precisely because of their sense of responsibility toward their pack, which was why he had saved them from the Lycanroc.

Thus, it was only reasonable that they would act this way toward the newly arrived Ride Ponies.

Luo Mu muttered to himself, "Next up is the matter of settling the Nacli."

The Oranguru, walking quietly beside Luo Mu, pondered for a moment before proposing via telepathy, "As expected, we must build a dedicated Salt House for the Nacli, just as you mentioned regarding the Eli Farm."

"The Salt House must definitely be built; I will contact the Machoke Construction Team immediately. This structure is indispensable, both for the physical and mental health of the Nacli and for us, who need to collect the rock salt they produce."

Luo Mu nodded slightly; ever since seeing such an ingeniously conceived Salt House at Eli Farm, he had been thinking that since he was also raising Nacli, he absolutely had to replicate that Salt House.

When Nacli move, their bodies rub against the ground, producing rock salt that scatters on the floor; therefore, the paths traversed by Nacli are always covered in salt traces.

Consequently, a Nacli's body is constantly worn down by movement, prompting it to manufacture new salt internally to replenish the missing parts; this relates directly to topics such as the Nacli's physical and mental health and nutritional intake.

Although this was his first time raising Rock-type Pokémon, Luo Mu still understood something about the usual diet of Rock-type Pokémon.

Aside from the universal Pokémon food plants, the favorite foods of Nacli, as Rock-type Pokémon, should be soil rich in nutrients for them, along with various miscellaneous stones possessing special effects or energy.

Regarding the soil, Luo Mu had temporarily purchased a month's supply from Eli Farm.

According to Eli Mo Si, this soil seemed to be mined from caves near Cave Town; because the environment was rich in ores, the soil, as a byproduct, contained abundant minerals and fine gravel, making it the perfect food for the Nacli.

As if remembering something, Luo Mu added to the Oranguru, "Let's also include this goal in our future plans."

The Oranguru nodded slightly, adopting an attitude of listening attentively.

Carefully recalling the memories in his mind, Luo Mu spoke without stopping: "Regarding the farm's infrastructure you mentioned earlier, I think we can now prepare a detailed plan."

"Aside from basic road paving, electrifying the farm, and installing streetlights, we must also include in the planning the reconstruction of housing and the arrangement of dwellings tailored to the specific characteristics of each Pokémon."

"Furthermore, I have a method to save funds on electricity; later, I'll pull some strings to see if we can create a storage device connected to the farm's circuit to accumulate electricity released by Pokémon."

The Oranguru's fingers, which had been dancing across the tablet, paused; frowning slightly, it asked, "Generating power... Currently, the only Electric-type Pokémon on the farm should be the Luxray, right? Wouldn't that be too exhausting? Or does the plan involve introducing new Electric-type Pokémon?"

"Not introducing; just an external aid I have an agreement with." Luo Mu shook his head; how could he bear to let the Luxray run off to generate power? The target for exploitation had long been arranged. "Oranguru, you should know that Moltres is now my Pokémon, correct?"

The Oranguru hesitated before nodding; immediately, its brilliant mind seemed to catch a key point, sending a signal for its pupils to contract.

Could it be...

Not beating around the bush, Luo Mu directly clarified things for the Oranguru: "Using Moltres as a stepping stone, I got to know Zapdos; we can just have it come to generate electricity then."

"As for the issue of preserving crops and ingredients during summer, I plan to wander around near the islands another day to see if I can corner Articuno and coerce—ah no, invite—it over to help us create ice houses capable of storing food."

The Oranguru: "..."

One had to say, this was indeed Young Master Luo Mu; to think of so many strange uses for Legendary Pokémon.

Whether it was Zapdos, which could summon massive lightning from the clouds merely by rubbing its wings, or Articuno, which could spit out ultra-cold ice blocks that would not melt even in the scorching summer heat just by opening its mouth.

Ordinary people would be too busy worshipping them to ever dare harbor such blasphemous thoughts.

Butler Oranguru already felt himself gradually becoming numb; unless Young Master Luo Mu somehow brought back another Legendary one day, it would no longer experience any major emotional fluctuations.

Returning indoors, Luo Mu discovered the living room was now covered in white salt traces; the marks were extremely messy, indicating that the Nacli had been playing here for quite some time.

These tiny particles had fallen onto the wooden floor, with some even seeping directly into the gaps between the floorboards; over time, this would undoubtedly become difficult to clean and create a mess, so it was indeed necessary to quickly arrange the Salt House to settle the Nacli.

The trail of salt marks extended toward the kitchen, where several drops of what looked like suspicious cream stains also lay on the floor; without needing to think, one could guess that Shuang Nai Xian had likely become interested in the salt produced by the Nacli and had taken them off to experiment with making "desserts."

"Yuta~"

At this moment, facing the mess, the Oranguru volunteered to step forward; as the butler, it had to maintain the cleanliness of the home, if not dust-free, then at least clean and Liangtang.

Since it currently had no subordinates to use, it naturally had to handle everything personally.

A flash of purple light sparked in the Oranguru's eyes; psychic energy gathered through its arm onto the leaf fan it held, and with a wave from the Oranguru, the scattered salt on the ground trembled for an instant before floating up into the air, swirling into a small salt tornado that fell entirely into the container the Oranguru had prepared.

"Oh oh oh~ The power of psychic abilities is truly amazing!"

Looking at the floor, now clean again and needing only a mop since the salt was gone, Luo Mu clapped his hands excitedly in praise.

Indeed, the convenience and versatility of psychic abilities were ridiculously high; he really wanted to possess them.

If there was a chance, he would go to Saffron City in the Kanto region to ask Sabrina to test whether he had any talent for it.

In the evening, Luo Mu flashed a call to Geeta.

The call lasted about ten minutes, and the general content was clear: mostly, Luo Mu was asking Geeta whether her cleanup operation during this period required his assistance, considering that some factions might put up a last-ditch resistance, which would certainly require the combat strength of trainers.

At that time, he could also earn a commission fee from Geeta to contribute bricks and tiles to the farm's future construction fund; wouldn't that be wonderful?

Unfortunately, it seemed Geeta's side had already begun to grasp the identities of those causing trouble within Orange Academy and providing backstage support to disrupt the academy's atmosphere; she stated plainly that if the Paldea League's power could not suppress these individuals, then she need not remain as the Director.

The most crucial starting clue Luo Mu could provide had already played its most critical role; next, he only needed to wait a short while, and Geeta would inevitably return a clear and bright Orange Academy environment to all the teachers and students of Orange Academy.

For this sake, even damaging Orange Academy's reputation externally was worth the cost.

Rather than allowing cancerous growths to cling to Orange Academy, prolonged pain was worse than short pain; cutting them down early might give Orange Academy a chance to be reborn from the ashes.

Geeta's decisiveness amazed Luo Mu; perhaps this was the reason she could become both the Top Champion and the Chairwoman of the Paldea League.

Since Geeta had said so, Luo Mu stopped thinking about the major cleanup at Orange Academy for the time being.

After finishing dinner, Luo Mu sat in the living room, holding the small Mimikyu in his arms, with the Serperior coiled beside him and leaning against the Dragonite, as he turned on the television left behind by the house's previous owner.

Originally, this television was broken, but Luo Mu felt that having no TV in the living room lacked a bit of life's flavor, so in the end, he simply kept the television; even as a decoration, it was quite nice.

This television was clearly an older model and brand; if taken to an appliance store in town, they might not even have the corresponding parts.

This situation saw a turning point with the arrival of the Oranguru.

No one knew how the Oranguru managed it, but when it opened the television in front of Luo Mu with the dust cleaned perfectly away, Luo Mu admitted he was stunned for an instant, unable to help but wonder just how many skills the Oranguru actually possessed.

The television's picture quality was not high, but fortunately it seemed to have already received a signal, allowing most programs to be watched; during idle evenings, Luo Mu would occasionally sit with his Pokémon in front of the TV to watch for a while, enjoying some leisurely time.

Originally, Luo Mu was focused on watching the world-class classic film "Kalos Holiday," starring the world-renowned actress Diantha as the lead, wherein Diantha displayed all the qualities of a top-tier actress.

Every frown and smile from Diantha, playing the female lead, seemed to tug at the viewers' heartstrings, and combined with that romantic love story, it left Mimikyu, Dragonite, and Serperior extremely emotional, with pink bubbles filling their heads.

Just like that, the tip of Serperior's tail, swaying happily, accidentally poked the TV remote, instantly switching the channel to the Pokémon Battle Channel that Luo Mu often watched.

At this moment, the channel seemed to be broadcasting some battle live; urged by Serperior, Luo Mu had intended to switch the channel immediately.

But when he saw the familiar boy on the screen, he froze for an instant.

This boy wearing the League-limited cap, he remembered, should be the Trainer named Ash whom he had seen from a distance when Mewtwo teleported him to New Island previously, with whom he had not exchanged any words.

At that time, he had been busy dealing with Mewtwo's affairs, so where would he have had the mind to chat with him? Later, after persuading Mewtwo, Mewtwo had directly thrown Ash and the others back to their original port.

Looking again at the boy battling Ash, one could see he was very similar to Ash in various aspects; currently, it was Butterfree battling Squirtle, and combined with the conspicuous text in the bottom left corner reading "Indigo Conference Fifth Round, Round of 16, Ash vs. Ritchie," Luo Mu instantly understood everything.

This match was precisely the one where Ash lost in the League Conference for the first time!

"Ser! Ser!"

Serperior extended its Vine Whip to shake Luo Mu, asking why he was spacing out here when it still wanted to watch "Kalos Holiday."

After just one glance at the battle between Butterfree and Squirtle, Serperior had realized they were merely two noobs pecking at each other; normally it was fine for Luo Mu to watch battle videos of Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, or Champions, so why watch this?

Mimikyu and Dragonite also looked at Luo Mu in confusion, not knowing why he kept staring so intently at the screen.

At this moment, Squirtle had already been defeated by Butterfree, so Ash chose to send out his closest initial partner, the future God Pikachu—Pikachu.

The moment Pikachu entered the field, Luo Mu's tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed, and as if sighing over something, he let out a short, sharp breath.

A slight sense of incongruity had always lingered in Luo Mu's heart, but the moment Pikachu appeared, the fog covering something completely dispersed.

Even through this low-quality television, Luo Mu could see that Pikachu's condition was currently excellent and nothing seemed strange; in reality, only because Luo Mu clearly remembered the reasons for the victory and defeat in this match did he feel that sense of incongruity.

In his memory, "due to Team Rocket's sabotage, several of Ash's Pokémon, including Pikachu, were not in their best condition, and coupled with Charizard's disobedience, Ash lost the Round of 16 match."

But things were different now; in the gap of Luo Mu's recollection, Pikachu had triumphantly and consecutively defeated Butterfree and the Charmeleon that was supposed to defeat it, and then faced off against Ritchie's Pikachu, Raichu.

Immediately after, Ash's Pikachu displayed strength a cut above Raichu, directly accomplishing the feat of defeating three opponents in a row, carrying Ash into the Top 8.

This meant that the trajectory of the established future had changed.

Due to some unknown factor, Ash's Pikachu had become stronger than before, so Team Rocket's sabotage caused no trouble for Pikachu; because stamina had not been depleted too much, Ash and Pikachu crushed Ritchie with overwhelming force.

The change in the future might be huge; without failing in the Top 16 of the Indigo Conference, would Ash still choose to travel to the Orange Islands in the future?

Without his journey to the Orange Islands, then who among the "controllers" would be there to prevent the disaster on Ascorbia Island?

The three Legendary Birds of the Orange Islands were special; their safety determined not only the climate environment of the Kanto region but also that of the entire world; even if the radiation of the process to Paldea would be delayed for a time due to distance, the disaster would still arrive as scheduled.

Luo Mu remembered the Mewtwo he had tricked into going to the Orange Islands to discuss philosophy with that Slowking capable of telepathy, as well as the Delibird traveling outside; at that time, they would directly face the changes in the climate environment.

Mewtwo would be fine; Luo Mu felt that even if the Orange Islands sank, it should be alright, but the Delibird likely traveling near there would probably be in some danger.

(End of Chapter)