Chapter 278: A Complete Victory and Arrival in Area Zero for the Harvest

From Alder's description, Luo Mu could draw two conclusions.

First, Alder's original Volcarona had not yet been laid to rest in Unova's Celestial Tower; this was the reason Alder still possessed the will to battle him today.

Second, the problem with Alder's Volcarona now was a depletion of its origin that could not be replenished, leaving them only to watch the Volcarona, whose lifespan should have been among the longest of Bug-type Pokémon, gradually weaken and die.

There were methods to cure the Volcarona, and Luo Mu could think of several, but all required seeking out legendary Pokémon with elusive whereabouts, such as Ho-Oh, capable of bringing the dead back to life, or Xerneas, who could share eternal life.

These notions were somewhat unrealistic, if one thought from a practical perspective.

As Luo Mu sat in deep thought, his gaze suddenly fell upon Pepa behind him, whose face was brimming with excitement; in that instant, inspiration gushed forth like a spring.

In the game, Pepa's Mabosstiff seemed similarly unable to heal its own injuries or depletion, much like the Volcarona, so it could only watch itself decline day by day.

The method Pepa used to cure such a Mabosstiff was to have it eat a sandwich dish infused with five secret herbs—sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty—which literally dragged the Mabosstiff back from the brink of death!

"Perhaps there is a way."

After recounting the Volcarona's plight, Alder had been closely watching Luo Mu; upon hearing Luo Mu's murmur, which Alder almost thought was his own illusion, a spark of hope suddenly ignited within his heart.

"You have a way!?"

Ignoring the students and media reporters surrounding them, Alder grasped Luo Mu's hand like a drowning man seizing a straw.

In the dead of night, during countless dreams, he had spent sleepless nights haunted by memories of the Volcarona.

If he could save the Volcarona, he would do anything as long as it did not endanger the Unova region, even selling off all his assets without hesitation.

Luo Mu was startled by Alder's sudden agitation; if possible, he did not wish to make promises he could not keep, but the mixture of sorrow and hope on Alder's face silenced him.

After a few seconds, Luo Mu slowly said, "There is a method, but I do not have one hundred percent certainty; let us discuss the details after we complete the exchange tournament proceedings."

Alder was momentarily stunned; shifting his gaze to the surroundings, he saw Du Ruo, Tyme, and the others, along with the students and media reporters, looking at them in complete confusion; although they could not hear what Alder and Luo Mu were saying, Alder's sudden emotional act of gripping Luo Mu's hand left everyone wondering what was happening.

Fortunately, the media reporters who entered Blueberry Academy today were all professional and discerning enough not to court disaster; otherwise, headlines like "Alder Defeated in Battle, Suspected of Emotional Outburst Preventing Victor from Leaving" would likely be flying everywhere tonight.

Alder also realized he had lost his composure; clearing his throat, he said, "Then let us continue with the next two doubles exchange matches."

After Alder was defeated by Luo Mu with a score of 3-0, the overall morale of Blueberry Academy's students indeed plummeted, even affecting the first doubles pair to appear, Kip and Tyme.

Compared to Tyme, who remained calm and issued meticulous commands despite her disappointment, Kip, though younger but possessing immense battle talent, performed with great instability.

Even though Tyme did her utmost to trade knockouts against Grusha's Breloom and Penny's Jolteon, it was difficult to turn the tide; in the six-on-four doubles battle, they unfortunately suffered defeat.

The second pair to appear, Du Ruo and Rika, performed much better; as a Steel-type specialist trainer, Rika maintained calm and meticulous battle thinking at all times, much like Champion Steven of the Hoenn region, while Du Ruo further displayed the domineering aspect of a Dragon-type trainer during the battle.

Unfortunately, they encountered the pair of Hearing Nimo and Pepa.

Setting aside Pepa's commanding abilities for now, at least the tactic Luo Mu recommended to him—Cloyster using Shell Smash followed by Icicle Crash straight to the face, a strategy so simple even his grandmother could reach Master rank with it—truly caught Du Ruo off guard.

Rika's support was directly blocked by Hearing Nimo's fierce offensive, and from this moment on, the situation tilted completely in favor of the Hearing Nimo and Pepa combination.

This girl Hearing Nimo's battle style was truly fierce; seemingly reckless, she actually perfectly resolved every crisis and conveniently provided cover for Pepa to attack safely.

Her Ursaring broke through Rika's Empoleon, then cooperated with Cloyster to take down Flygon; after Cloyster was taken out by Rika's second Pokémon, Scizor, the Ursaring endured the attacks of a Pokémon named Archaludon, inflicting considerable damage on it before finally losing the ability to battle.

The Pawmot that appeared next further demonstrated Hearing Nimo's combat quality far surpassing that of her peers; first engaging in a rapid exchange of punches with Scizor, then trading beam attacks with the turret-like Archaludon.

Pepa and his Mabosstiff directly became support, their greatest role being to protect the carry from tricky attacks coming from blind spots.

After Scizor and Archaludon fell one after another, Du Ruo looked at Hearing Nimo in surprise; judging by her age, she should be about the same as him, yet the overwhelming strength she displayed actually instilled a hint of fear in him.

Luo Mu, who had watched the entire battle, also enjoyed a visual feast, though the fact that Tyme's ace was Excadrill left him somewhat baffled; wasn't this child fond of cute Pokémon, especially Fairy-types?

And then there was Du Ruo's ace, Archaludon; it seemed to be an evolved form of Aron, but could Aron, which could already arm-wrestle Tyranitar, evolve further, or was its relationship with Archaludon the same as that between Scyther and Scizor?

It couldn't possibly ascend directly to become a Pseudo-Legendary with a base stat total of 600, could it?

During the spectating, Luo Mu also reviewed his own battle against Alder.

First, he reached a conclusion: Alder's biggest problem now was that his absolute ace, the Volcarona, was gravely ill, causing his current strength to be only slightly superior to that of an ordinary Elite Four member.

Cynthia's Garchomp, Diantha's Gardevoir, Steven's Metagross, and Dan Di's Charizard were all their absolute aces, possessing a decisive role that could sway the outcome of a battle.

The current Alder was roughly an enhanced version of that fellow from the Galar region, Raihan, who was said to be capable of becoming a Champion in other regions and who surprisingly used a Gigantamax Aron.

Conversely, after nearly half a year of settling and refining, unknowingly, his Serperior and the others had made significant progress compared to when they challenged Geeta, and he had additionally gained the combat power of Mega Swampert.

With multiple factors combined, this was what allowed Luo Mu to achieve the terrifying record of three wins to zero.

This was also the reason he wanted to fight against Alder in his prime; a hero in twilight always evokes a sense of regret in people.

With the students of Blueberry Academy wearing expressions of sorrow and unwillingness, the exchange tournament between sister schools, full of "harmony and friendship," concluded, while the media reporters wore happy smiles at having secured good news.

The four of Hearing Nimo's group were motivated by a fulfilling sense of achievement, and Principal Clavell wore a smile of satisfaction and successful planning; appropriate failure and stimulation would only grant the younger generation of the Unova League stronger motivation to become ever stronger.

As the event dispersed, amidst a crowd of Alliance Club students looking as if they had lost their parents, Carmine, who was shorter in stature and exuded an aura of timidity, quietly glanced at the figure of Luo Mu departing.

From this day forward, the powerful trainer he admired became synonymous with Luo Mu.

As soon as the event dispersed, Alder eagerly sought out Luo Mu; under Principal Clavell's arrangement, the two came to a quiet, empty room.

As soon as they sat down, Alder asked, "Regarding the matter we just discussed..."

Luo Mu raised his hand to stop Alder from continuing, saying with a helpless expression, "Do not rush; regarding that item, to be honest, I am afraid I cannot produce the physical object for the time being."

Alder's expression immediately turned dejected.

Sighing, Luo Mu continued, "That is a peculiar plant circulated in the Paldea region, known as Secret Herbs; it is said that after consuming a dish made from all five flavors—sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty—even a Pokémon heavily injured and on the verge of death can be saved."

Although in the game one could directly snatch the herbs from Titan Pokémon, at least Luo Mu had never heard any rumors regarding Titan Pokémon up to now.

Fortunately, they were currently being cultivated in his own farm.

Under Alder's expectant gaze, recalling the plants in that small patch of farmland whose leaf veins and shapes were slightly different, Luo Mu slowly said, "The farm I currently operate is cultivating Secret Herbs, and coincidentally, I have all five types."

"However, this plant not only requires a large amount of energy to grow but also has a long growth cycle; after planting them at the beginning of this year, even though I had Pokémon moisten the Secret Herbs with Grassy Terrain every day, the day of maturity will likely not arrive until the end of the year, or perhaps even next year."

"Can the Volcarona hold on that long?"

Alder fell silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I am not sure; it grows weaker every day, and I do not know how much longer it can last; if there is a way to replenish a bit of its origin energy, perhaps it can hold on."

"Replenish energy, huh..."

Luo Mu stroked his chin, lost in thought; coincidentally, the place they would go to after concluding the Blueberry Academy itinerary, Area Zero, had that very Pokémon there.

But Luo Mu ultimately did not speak; giving Alder vague hope would only add unnecessary worry and pressure.

After discussing the Volcarona's condition with Alder a bit more, Luo Mu and Alder exchanged contact information.

Since there was finally hope that the Volcarona could be healed, Dai Ke stood up and bowed deeply to Luo Mu, saying, "I entrust the matter of cultivating the secret seasoning to you. Regardless of whether it succeeds or not, I will provide a reward."

Luo Mu did not decline; this was Dai Ke's sincerity and hope.

However, when Dai Ke asked what reward he desired, Luo Mu's gaze happened to fall upon the ecological giant egg map hanging on the meditation room wall.

After Luo Mu departed, Dai Ke looked at the map of the ecological giant egg, revealing an expression of deep contemplation.

Luo Mu had mentioned that his main profession was running a farm; could one assume he was very interested in the construction technology of the ecological giant egg?

On the night the exchange match concluded, Geeta called immediately. She first praised Luo Mu and his students for their active performance over the phone, and before Luo Mu could even speak, Geeta voluntarily announced that the prize money for this event would be doubled, directly becoming 100 W.

It was evident that Geeta was extremely satisfied with the results of this event.

Over the next two days, Hearing Nimo and the other three participated in Blueberry Academy's courses like exchange students, enjoying their youth.

Meanwhile, Luo Mu frequently carried his three little cuties—Shuang Nai Xian, Comfey, and Vulpix—on his person, wandering around Blueberry Academy all day like a street loiterer, even being asked by passing Grusha if Luo Mu intended to become a Fairy-type specialist Trainer.

Initially thinking Grusha was talking nonsense, Luo Mu fell silent that evening after seeing the Mimikyu emerge from his shadow and recalling Feng Su Gou's subordinate, Alcremie; altogether, that made five Fairy-type and future Fairy-type Pokémon.

Immediately afterward, Luo Mu quickly made peace with himself; after all, if one were to discuss which attribute was most numerous among the Pokémon on the farm, it would certainly be Grass-type Pokémon.

Come to think of it, he didn't recall there ever being a Grass-type Elite Four member; since even a Bug-type existed, perhaps he should just go and become a Grass Elite Four member.

Two days passed swiftly; on the morning of the third day, just as Luo Mu and the other four were about to leave Blueberry Academy under the send-off of Director Clavell and Grusha, Du Ruo, with heavy dark circles clearly indicating a sleepless night, suddenly rushed out and proposed a battle against Luo Mu.

It was an extremely fierce, one-sided battle that, even many years later, would make Du Ruo blush with embarrassment upon recalling it.

Luo Mu's Dragonite left a Shen Ke De Yin on Du Ruo, causing him to seriously contemplate the feasibility of raising a Dratini; that was a Dragon stronger than his grandfather Xia Ka's ace, filling Du Ruo's heart with immense excitement.

On the morning of June 5th, the five of them boarded a cruise ship and departed from Blueberry Academy.

After the cruise ship docked at an unnamed port, Luo Mu and the other four set off, following navigation and maps toward Einneoch, a city built amidst clustered mountains.

Along the journey, the Vulpix that Luo Mu kept by his side acted like a curious baby fascinated by everything new, constantly attracted by various things in the outside world, which slightly delayed their travel progress.

Although they should have arrived in Einneoch before noon, the delays along the way caused them to reach the mountain path at the entrance of Einneoch only around one or two in the afternoon.

Before entering Einneoch, Luo Mu spotted several Deerling with greenish bodies on the mountain path; Deerling are the pre-evolutionary stage of Meng Ya Lu and similarly change their appearance with the seasons.

The Deerling Luo Mu saw were in their summer form, looking exactly identical to the Deerling encountered by Ash and his companions in the movie before entering Einneoch.

This indicated that their arrival period coincided with that of Ash and his companions in the movie; every summer, Einneoch holds a Harvest Festival.

However, they did not encounter any plotline involving a Deerling trapped on a cliff along the way, and as for that mysterious mythical Pokémon capable of turning invisible, Victini, not even a shadow of it was seen.

Luo Mu was not in a hurry; it would be time enough to deliver the letter first, then rely on the system in his mind—which was good for nothing but giving directions—to locate Victini and formulate a kidnapping plan.

Legend has it that Victini is a Pokémon capable of bringing victory; Trainers accompanied by Victini will be invincible. Investigating the reason, it is likely that Victini possesses the ability to generate infinite energy, share it with Pokémon and humans, and amplify their capabilities.

Luo Mu had been thinking over the past few days: if it were Victini, could it, to a certain extent, slow down the rate of Volcarona's decline, further amplify the effect of the Grassy Terrain for the farm's Pokémon, and accelerate the growth of the secret seasoning, thereby achieving the goal of saving the Volcarona?

He originally had plans to kidnap Victini; the existence of Dai Ke and the Volcarona merely strengthened Luo Mu's resolve to attempt establishing contact with Victini.

(End of Chapter)