Chapter 264: Heading to Johto? An Evil Transaction Between Adults & Hatching

Inside the Chairman's office, Geeta placed two steaming cups of black tea on the table, then sat on the sofa opposite Luo Mu.

As the supreme authority of the Paldea League, Geeta did not usually keep several secretaries or assistants by her side; for many small matters, she preferred to handle them personally.

It was precisely because of this trait of Geeta's that she enjoyed an extraordinary approval rating and calling power among the people of the Paldea region.

Geeta lifted her teacup, looked at Luo Mu who seemed to already know why she had summoned him, and smiled: "Judging by your expression, it seems you already know the content of our conversation?"

Luo Mu took a small sip of the black tea, raised his head, and asked: "Is this about the Blueberry Academy matter?"

"Yes, but not limited to the exchange with Blueberry Academy."

Geeta took out a gilded envelope and handed it to Luo Mu.

Luo Mu hesitated for a moment, accepted the envelope, did not open it, but instead looked at the emblem of a rearing giant dragon drawn in ink on it, raised an eyebrow slightly, and returned the envelope to Geeta.

"Is this the clan crest of some great family that uses Dragon-type Pokémon?"

After taking back the envelope, Geeta placed it on the table, nodded slightly, and said: "The Clair family of Blackthorn City in the Johto region, also known as the Clair Clan. They are the family of Lance, 'Peerless' the Dragon Master, who is the Johto League Champion, a former Kanto League Elite Four member, and the trainer who made Kukui from the Alola region lose previously."

Luo Mu paused mid-action as he set down his teacup, pondered for a moment, and said: "Does the Chairman want me to go?"

"Not bad, you've even learned to answer before the question is finished." Geeta clapped her hands as if teasing Luo Mu, then emphasized: "This time, it is not a task I am commissioning you with, but an opportunity—an opportunity to make your Dragonite stronger."

Luo Mu sat up straight: "Make Dragonite stronger?"

Geeta nodded slightly: "As far as I know, your Dragonite hasn't learned Extreme Speed yet, correct?"

"That's right."

"The Clair family of the Johto region, the Village of Dragons in the Unova region, and Drayden's Dragon Tamer family are all ancient houses with long-standing traditions dedicated to training Dragon-type Pokémon."

Geeta tapped her fingers on the desktop, as if recalling something.

"And each of these families has different focal points in cultivating Dragon-type Pokémon; leaving aside the Village of Dragons and the Dragon Tamer family, let's speak only of the Clair Clan."

"Besides their unique insights into the cultivation of Dragon-type Pokémon, regarding the training and usage of the move 'Extreme Speed,' especially when used by the Dragonite species, they achieve extraordinary effects."

"Therefore, I call it an 'opportunity' rather than a commission. Originally, my plan was to send Drayden, but as you know his current state, I will get straight to the point: are you interested in representing the Paldea League on a trip to the Johto region?"

Geeta and Luo Mu locked eyes, as if asking for his opinion.

Luo Mu did not answer Geeta's inquiry immediately, but entered a state of contemplation.

Geeta was not in a hurry either; she simply drank her tea while waiting for his answer.

Upon hearing the names Extreme Speed, the Clair Clan, and Lance, Luo Mu admitted he felt a moment of surprise.

He had never expected that the move 'Extreme Speed' could unleash such effects under the Clair Clan's guidance that even Geeta seemed to praise it endlessly.

In his mind, whenever 'Extreme Speed' and Dragonite were equated, what appeared was the explosive scene of a Terastallized Normal-type Multiscale Dragonite using Extreme Speed.

To tell a joke, in the ninth generation Zhu Zi, Dragonite is jokingly referred to as the Normal-type Pseudo-Legendary; from this, one can infer how much value a Terastallized Normal-type Extreme Speed Dragonite holds.

And in reality, as a priority move, 'Extreme Speed' allows the extremely fast-flying but somewhat clumsy and heavy Dragonite to avoid being played around in the palm of the hand when facing agility-oriented Pokémon, such as the Dragon-Slaying Blade Weavile.

As a strategic skill, its significance is great, not to mention that Geeta has already mentioned that the Clair Clan's 'Extreme Speed' is somewhat unusual.

The Johto region, huh... over there seem to be quite a few Pokémon that Luo Mu covets and that are rare in the Paldea region.

Let's not even mention the native Da Nai Guan; there are also the Wooloo that produce wool, and the Shuckle that can brew fruit juice and medicinal liquids inside their bodies—Luo Mu has coveted Shuckle for a long time.

Leaving aside Shuckle's juicing function, perhaps the Herba Mystica, which are medicinal herbs in a certain sense, could be processed by Shuckle into highly effective medicinal liquids!

Luo Mu felt there was significant room for experimentation here.

Whether from the perspective of making Dragonite stronger or from Luo Mu's own collecting obsession, he felt the Johto region was worth a visit.

Having made his decision, Luo Mu no longer had any reservations; he raised his head, looked at the smiling Geeta, nodded, and said: "I am interested."

Geeta's smile widened; after handing the envelope to Luo Mu again, she waved her hand before he could open it, saying: "Read the contents when you get back; for now, let's discuss official business."

Luo Mu's action stalled: "Official business... is it regarding the exchange with the Blueberry Academy in the Unova region?"

"Correct, the time has been confirmed."

Geeta nodded slightly and took out another document to hand to Luo Mu.

"It will be in early June; you will lead the team departing at the end of May. Since the Unova region is quite far from the Paldea region, during this month, you must screen out suitable students to take with you to Blueberry Academy."

"Because this is a revitalization plan concerning the reputation of Orange Academy, to put it bluntly, I hope you can surpass them, both at the student level and at the level of the leading teacher."

"Double battles are prevalent at Blueberry Academy; I hope that after you gather the students within a month, you will focus on cultivating them in this aspect. After the task is accomplished, the bonus will not disappoint you."

Luo Mu: "..."

Why would Geeta conduct such a blatant 'monetary transaction'? Did she think he was some mercenary who turned green-eyed at the sight of money?

However, Blueberry Academy and double battles... Blueberry Academy was likely DLC content he had never encountered; he must carefully consult the relevant data.

He remembered that Ai Li Qi Si's older brother, the grandson of Ai Li Mo Si, was currently studying at Blueberry Academy, wasn't he?

Perhaps he could start from that angle.

Luo Mu displayed a polite yet slightly awkward smile: "In that case... I will accept this job. By the way, Chairman, recently my farm is undergoing infrastructure construction... you understand, right?"

No matter what, he had already bragged in front of Oranguru; naturally, he had to seize every opportunity to make money.

Geeta also revealed a knowing smile: "I understand."

If restoring Orange Academy's reputation could be bought with money, she would gladly spend all her savings, let alone using it to issue bonuses to Luo Mu while simultaneously cultivating a batch of excellent students.

Evil monetary transactions were always consummated in this inconspicuous little room.

Before Luo Mu left, Geeta gave one final reminder: "The invitation from the Clair family in the Johto region comes later; during this month, you just need to focus on improving the students' double battle abilities."

"Ideally, you could seek advice on double battles from Grusha, the Ice-type Gym Leader, or nearby from the math teacher Tyme."

May 3rd, the weather was clear and sunny, suitable for Grass-type Pokémon to carry out photosynthesis.

After finishing the farm work, taking advantage of the clear weather, Luo Mu called his Grass-type Pokémon together to bask in the sun outdoors.

Although ultraviolet rays can darken skin tone, moderate and frequent sun exposure can boost immunity and prevent illness, not to mention Grass-type Pokémon that can rely on sunbathing for photosynthesis to obtain energy for activity.

Serperior loved basking in the sun; it had been this way since its Snivy days. Its ability to manipulate massive Frenzy Plants for powerful battles was inseparable from sunny weather.

If on a cloudy day Serperior could only manipulate a few Frenzy Plants, then under the blazing sun of a clear day, Serperior could, relying on its innate talent to enhance solar energy, manipulate tree roots resembling an ocean.

This was many times larger and denser than the Frenzy Plant of Sawyer's Mega Sceptile in the XYZ animation.

Under the sunlight, the Serperior was in high spirits, its tail tip wagging incessantly; occasionally coiling around Luo Mu's wrist as he slept soundly made it secretly happy for a while.

Then, the Serperior came to its senses, looking left and right like a thief; discovering the Pokémon were all enjoying the sun, it quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Hmph, being this proactive made it seem too cheap; it needed to be more reserved, after all, it was a Serperior!

After a short while, finding everyone still asleep, the Serperior stealthily extended a vine whip to coil around Luo Mu's wrist again.

A few days ago inside its Poké Ball, it had seen that Sylveon do exactly this!

Under the shadow of Luo Mu's lounge chair, the Mimikyu: (ω)

Speechless. jpg.

Grass-type Pokémon were the most numerous and diverse on the farm.

There were the Cottonee currently huddled together for a nap, the Arboliva photosynthesizing in the chicken coop while caring for the slightly grown chicks, the Deerling and Skiddo who should currently be sunbathing together in the pasture, and the Comfey, which although a Fairy-type Pokémon, was half plant.

The Serperior often busied itself among these Pokémon, all because of Luo Mu's single sentence, "As fellow Grass-type Pokémon, I'm counting on you to keep a close eye on them"; even though it stubbornly refused to learn Grassy Terrain and inexplicably learned Grassy Glide, which it barely used, the Serperior still cared for these Grass-type Pokémon in its own way.

It taught them simple and efficient Grass-type energy control techniques, how to utilize sunlight to reduce move consumption, and taught them Grass-type attacking moves, ensuring they would have the power to protect themselves against dangers that might come in the future or might never arrive at all.

The Serperior, which ought to be noble and aloof, possessed a gentle heart and did many things inconsistent with its personality; it was undoubtedly contradictory.

The Serperior itself did not care about these small matters; to it, it was simply itself, and whatever it did was its own choice.

Having accumulated enough solar energy within its body, the Serperior opened its crimson eyes, its gaze falling upon the two Pokémon Eggs basking in the warm sunlight beside Luo Mu's lounge chair, recalling what Luo Mu had said when he brought the eggs out.

"They are all Grass-type Pokémon and cannot stay on the house balcony all day; bringing them out to bask in the sun will make newly born Grass-type Pokémon healthier."

Ever since learning that these two Pokémon Eggs were also Grass-type Pokémon, the Serperior could barely hold itself back; although Grass or Water-type Pokémon already made up the majority on the farm, it still had to say, wasn't the type ratio of Pokémon on the farm somewhat unbalanced?

This time, Luo Mu had specifically kept Moltres away from the Pokémon Eggs, saying he feared the dense Fire-type energy surrounding Moltres might not be good for the Grass-type baby Pokémon inside the eggs.

He would rather let them hatch slowly than risk anything going wrong.

Thus, there was a high probability that the task of caring for the Grass-type Pokémon afterward would fall upon itself.

Seeing the time until the Pokémon Eggs hatched drawing nearer, although somewhat unwilling on the surface, the Serperior honestly ran to consult Moltres, with whom relations had previously been poor but had now improved slightly.

After all, Feng Su Gou had often been cared for by Moltres when it was young.

The Serperior glanced inconspicuously at the Pokémon Eggs, confirmed that everything was normal, and then stretched its serpentine body.

Just as the Serperior intended to patrol the farm area to see if any short-sighted little bugs were ruining the crops, the two Pokémon Eggs simultaneously burst forth with blinding light!

Serperior: Σ(д|||)

So suddenly!?

Nothing had been prepared yet—the hot water Moltres mentioned, the Mao Jin, the warm Tapu Tapu Moumou milk, and an environment that wouldn't let the baby Pokémon catch a cold!

The moment just after hatching is the most vulnerable stage for a Pokémon, and there was a breeze blowing outside right now!

Watching the light begin to flicker, the Pokémon Eggs were on the verge of hatching at any moment.

The Serperior froze for an instant due to shock; then, as its serpentine pupils turned increasingly crimson, dozens of Power Whips burst through the earth, and amidst splashing dirt, the two Pokémon Eggs were protected tightly once again.

The huge commotion immediately woke Luo Mu and the crowd of Pokémon; before they could react, the Serperior's voice, full of pressure, rang out.

"Gah-lok! Gah-lok! Gah-lok!"

The Cottonee, accustomed to being commanded by the Serperior, moved their bodies involuntarily.

Warm water! Water basins! And Mao Jin!

Comfey and Mimikyu also hurriedly flew into the house; fortunately, the farm now had Skiddo and Da Nai Guan, so it was necessary to quickly notify the Oranguru butler to prepare warm Tapu Tapu Moumou milk and sheep milk, allowing the newborn Pokémon to choose which one they preferred to drink.

As for Luo Mu, who was still drowsy from deep sleep, after receiving a strike from the Serperior's vine whip that woke him without causing harm, he understood the situation clearly and immediately picked up the two Pokémon Eggs, running toward the house at full speed under the Serperior's urging!

Once everything was ready, in the room with the windows left open just a crack to ensure air circulation, under the tense gazes of Luo Mu, the Serperior, and the crowd of Pokémon, the flickering frequency of the Pokémon Eggs grew faster and faster, until—a crisp sound of eggshells cracking rang out.

Two small, cute figures subsequently appeared in their field of vision.

One Pokémon looked like an apple, but in reality, that was merely a shell; the true Pokémon hid within the apple.

With a crisp "pop" sound, a pair of eyes resembling apple stems extended from the top of the apple, and behind it was a small green tail.

Its name was Applin, a Grass and Dragon-type Pokémon.

On the other side was a "petite" Pokémon less than half the size of its kin.

Its body was mostly brownish-gray, possessing a long neck like Meng Lei Gu, with its head and neck wrapped in fresh green leaves like sprouts, and huge green leaf wings growing on its back like those of a forest fairy.

Its name was Tropius, a Grass and Flying-type Pokémon.

(End of Chapter)