Chapter 25: New Farm Member 111

"Bai Pengpeng?"

Bai Bai Pengpeng tilted its head in confusion; it knew Luo Mu was inviting it, but what was a farm?

Luo Mu smiled and said, "A farm is a place where everyone lives, plays, and works together."

"On the farm, I can guarantee you won't face wild threats like today and can grow up safely. Of course, as a price, you must contribute your strength to the farm's development."

Luo Mu tried to clarify both the benefits and drawbacks, after all, he wasn't rich enough to do charity; his original purpose in seeking Grass-type Pokémon was for the farm's future development, so naturally, they needed to provide labor.

Ordinary crops are something a Serperior can at most tend to, not accelerate growth; if it could master the Grassy Terrain move, this worry wouldn't exist.

If Bai Bai Pengpeng and the others chose to join the farm, this remaining work would naturally fall upon them.

Bai Bai Pengpeng first glanced at Luo Mu, then looked at the powerful Serperior beside them that it dared not stare directly at, yet which had stepped forward to save them; thinking of the two sleeping Cottoneel behind it, hesitation surfaced in Bai Bai Pengpeng's eyes.

Although freedom made it feel cheerful, the two Cottoneel faced constant danger of attack on this unfamiliar land; could it accept trading some freedom for safety?

In Bai Bai Pengpeng's mind appeared the scene of this human descending like a god, commanding the Serperior to repel the Skuntank, along with the images of the poisoned, weak Cottoneel and the now peacefully sleeping Cottoneel.

A clear answer surfaced in its heart at that moment; strangely, it felt no resistance whatsoever toward this answer.

Whether from the perspective of repaying kindness or for the safety of the Cottoneel, it should accept this invitation.

Having made its decision, Bai Bai Pengpeng harbored no more hesitation or concern; it nodded gently, effectively entrusting itself and the Cottoneel to Luo Mu's hands.

Upon receiving Bai Bai Pengpeng's answer, Luo Mu's lips curled upward; he took three red-and-white balls from his satchel and, under Bai Bai Pengpeng's gaze, lightly tapped the bodies of the two Cottoneel in sequence, drawing them inside.

The button on the Poké Ball glowed red, shook slightly three times, and a crisp 'thunk' sounded, indicating the Cottoneel had now bonded with these red-and-white balls.

Subsequently, Luo Mu looked at Bai Bai Pengpeng and raised the red-and-white ball in his hand.

Bai Bai Pengpeng blinked its eyes, behaved very obediently by approaching, and actively touched the Poké Ball itself; similarly, after three shakes, the capture was complete.

"Even though I've experienced it personally, capturing Pokémon still inevitably makes one's heart leap with excitement." Peony glanced enviously at the three shrunken red-and-white balls in Luo Mu's hand; upon this look, Peony suddenly noticed the mark on the balls and asked puzzledly, "Brother Luo Mu, what is the little grass symbol on the Poké Balls?"

Luo Mu paused mid-action while returning the Poké Balls to his satchel, smiled, and said, "Poké Balls with this symbol indicate that the Pokémon inside belong to this farm, rather than being combat forces captured personally by me."

Peony nodded with half-understanding, some bewilderment on his face; wasn't this still personally captured by you?

"Let's go; it's getting dark soon, and it wouldn't be good to get lost then."

"Oh."

By the time Luo Mu brought Peony back to the farm, night had completely covered the sky; at this hour, the temperature had dropped significantly compared to daytime, and gusts of breeze blowing against the skin felt somewhat chilly.

With almost no lighting, the pitch-black farm resembled a wasteland from a horror movie set, making people feel somewhat terrified.

Luo Mu took out a newly purchased, unopened blanket and draped it over Peony, whose nose tip had turned somewhat red, saying softly, "This should keep you from feeling cold."

Peony sniffled, carefully feeling the warmth brought by the blanket, and for a moment, his eyes turned red due to these small details.

Luo Mu didn't notice Peony's unusual behavior; instead, he tilted his head, wrestling with whether his words just now had been too 'dad-like'.

Shortly after, Luo Mu looked at the old-fashioned wall clock hanging there and realized the time was approaching nine o'clock at night.

Peony hadn't brought a mobile phone or communication device, and his own phone was hanging around Dragonite's neck; presumably, Professors Sada and Turo must be worrying themselves sick right now from being unable to contact him.

After some thought, Luo Mu decided to call Swampert to personally escort Peony home; Serperior had already followed him all day today and had now returned to its nest, so he couldn't very well wake it up again.

Luo Mu said to Peony, who was standing in place, "I'll go call Swampert to escort you home with me; it's so late, the Professors must be very worried about your safety, so I'll need to apologize to them later."

Peony's expression stiffened, and he immediately panicked.

Didn't he know his parents were at home?

Once Luo Mu took him back, his lie would definitely be exposed; this was the one thing he absolutely did not want!

Before Peony could brainstorm a suitable excuse, Luo Mu pushed open the door, intending to go call Swampert, who liked sleeping outside.

Just then, an orange figure descended from the night sky; the raging wind it stirred up swept sand and dust, causing Luo Mu to eat a mouthful of sand.

Considering Peony was present, Luo Mu forcibly swallowed the curse words that had reached his lips; once his eyes, blurred by sand and dust, recovered, Luo Mu glared with red-rimmed eyes, identified the culprit, and instantly flew into a rage, shouting, "Dragonite! How many times have I said it? Check below for people before landing, and land in a more ladylike manner!!"

"Boo-wu~"

Dragonite looked at Luo Mu with an innocent expression, indicating that it was merely coincidental that Luo Mu opened the door just as it was landing, resulting in this accident.

Dragonite then gently placed the large box it was holding onto the ground, wrapped its palms around Luo Mu, pulling him into its embrace, and pressed close with a face full of happiness.

"."

Struck by Dragonite's combo move, even great anger would dissipate, let alone its round and soft large belly; just leaning against it felt like lying on the highest-grade mattress, possessing overwhelming healing power.

Sanity +1+1+1+1+1.

Luo Mu felt all the day's fatigue completely healed at this moment; after Dragonite released its embrace, Luo Mu followed the light from inside the house to look at the box it had brought back; just one glance at the logo printed on it made his heart ache.

Silph Co., a very famous company in this world, with its headquarters located in Saffron City in the Kanto region, manufactured and sold many Used Items for Pokémon.

"Boo-wu~"

Dragonite then handed the mobile phone hanging around its neck to Luo Mu, signaling him to check the contents inside.

"Let me see..."

Luo Mu took the phone, saw that the battery displayed in the top right corner of the cracked screen was running low, and quickly browsed through it.

Moments later, Luo Mu's expression visibly soured, and he shouted angrily at the sky, "You, Elesa!!!"

(End of Chapter)