Chapter 322: Secret Seasoning and Hu Hu!

July 15th; midsummer had entered its full-blown stage.

The scorching sun forced many wild Pokémon to seek shelter in shady spots, underground, or within caves to prevent the loss of their precious moisture, altering their daily routines to venture out only when the sun was setting yet still casting light.

At Luo Mu's farm, aside from fire-type Pokémon like Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, Feng Su Gou, Moltres, and Victini, most others had chosen to hide indoors during the most venomous hours of the sun, enjoying the air conditioning Luo Mu had newly installed for them.

The electricity meter connected to the farm's main circuit spun rapidly; fortunately, Zapdos's previous full charge meant the farm had enough power to squander through this midsummer.

Not to mention that Luo Mu occasionally called upon Luxray and Meng Lei Gu to generate some electricity; before adding other power-hungry consumers to the mix, there was basically no need to worry about power supply issues.

For instance, after the Vulpix and Sandslash couple returned from the Johto region to the farm, they directly chose to lounge in the Ice Spirit Cabin and the ice cellar, refusing to show themselves, at most venturing out for a stroll only after sunset; as for the ice house built by Articuno, it had long since melted and collapsed due to the midsummer heat.

Recently, Luo Mu had also used the black sphere item given by Mewtwo to pinpoint Delibird's location.

The Orange Islands, being a small archipelago, were not even as large as a single region; after a brief online search, Luo Mu confirmed the current travel progress of Ash and his companions, especially since the official Orange Islands website displayed a massive promotional banner announcing the imminent restart of the Winner's Cup, with the challenger being Ash, who had collected four Southern Cross badges.

In a certain sense, although the scale of the Orange League was not even comparable to some gyms in major cities, this tournament was indeed the competition where Ash obtained his first league championship.

At this moment, Luo Mu was uncertain whether Delibird's next travel plan would be to go to Johto or to Hoenn; after all, Mewtwo had already accompanied Delibird through the gyms of the Johto region, so perhaps it would choose to head directly to Hoenn?

During this period, the black sphere had activated several times, and Delibird had teleported over quite a few items.

This move had just been developed; there was still a significant gap before it could be used in battle, and Politoed was continuously refining it, making Luo Mu very much look forward to its future performance.

After bidding farewell to Swampert and the others, Luo Mu came to the farming district; although there was still some time before nightfall, he still needed to confirm one matter.

After all, many of his Pokémon fought in rainy conditions: Luxray, Swampert, Meng Lei Gu, Dragonite...

Stepping on the moist earth, Luo Mu cast his gaze toward Thunder Lake.

As for Applin... its appearance had basically not changed; apart from the apple on its body being replaced after a period of time, with subtle variations in the apple's texture, size, and shape, the Applin entity inside showed almost no significant changes.

Politoed thought that at least until encountering a Pokémon capable of breaking through its special attacks to reach it, possessing a certain degree of melee capability was necessary for self-preservation, just like when Feng Su Gou burned away the water streams it released and then charged at it with Wild Charge.

Luo Mu's arrival caused several sweating Pokémon to temporarily halt their training and gather around him directly.

Feng Su Gou lay to the side, tongue lolling, watching the chicks chirping busily beneath Arboliva; although it had grown into a majestic form, a trace of childhood innocence remained in its heart, and merely watching such a scene was something Feng Su Gou could do all day without getting tired.

Don't misunderstand; Feng Su Gou was not plotting against Arboliva's chicks; although its own defense was quite good, Feng Su Gou did not want to be hit by Arboliva's bullet-like "Great Compassion" Olive Oil attack, which would cause all the fur on its body to become sticky with oil, rendering sand baths ineffective, at which point Luo Mu would definitely make it go into the water to bathe.

Only this kind of thing was what Feng Su Gou desperately wanted to avoid!

After leaving the chicken coop, Luo Mu went straight to the lake district; compared to other sun-scorched areas of the farm, it was much cooler here, the reason being that this was the venue where Politoed practiced combining its Rain Dance move with its Drizzle ability to create a "Heavy Rain" weather condition.

That's right; for Luo Mu, simply being outdoors required frantic sweating under the venomous sun, yet for Dragonite and the others, it was just right—was this what it meant to be a Dragon-type Pokémon?

Smiling, Luo Mu briefly mentioned tonight's arrangements to the languid Dragonite and the others, then took a detour to glance at the penned fish being raised; they seemed to have grown considerably, but they were still far from the plump state suitable for consumption.

However, when Politoed utilized the Damp Rock to train its control over the weather, the "Heavy Rain" it developed incorporated the energy of both "Rain Dance" and "Drizzle," forming a stronger and more fierce rainy weather; to overwrite such weather, other Pokémon would have to consume significantly more energy.

"For tonight's watermelon banquet, remember to arrive early after training is finished; we need to chill the watermelons with cold water first."

The Orange Islands were only so big; unlike Ash and his companions, Delibird would not get lost, so it was estimated that within this period, Delibird would finish touring the Orange Islands and depart for either the Johto or Hoenn region.

Passing by the trunks of over a dozen apple trees, at the edge of the apple grove, Luo Mu spotted a Tropius flapping the four huge green leaves on its back, carrying three little companions as they played happily in the air.

At this moment, the Pokémon were in a state of rest; three Dragonair lay lazily on the shore, basking in the venomous sun alongside two Dragonite.

Thinking he would let them off the hook for now, Luo Mu came to the other side of Thunder Lake; Politoed must have just finished its weather training, as the air still carried a damp scent; using the Rain Dance move under the venomous weather of midsummer often consumed more energy; if it were a newly evolved Politoed, it might not be able to sustain it for long, but now things were different...

At this moment, Politoed, leading three Poliwag subordinates, was practicing boxing under Swampert's drilling; after evolving into Poliwrath, Poliwag were naturally very skilled at boxing, so learning this was only logical, and Politoed putting aside its dignity as a "Monarch" to learn boxing was also for the sake of training its own melee capabilities.

By then, perhaps one would see pink Dragonite, Serperior, Luxray, and Swampert...

The taste of the candied pomelo was actually quite good; the original pomelo should have been delicious too, pity that the pomelo had already been processed, so the vitality of the seeds was not very strong; unsure if they could be planted successfully, Luo Mu had preserved the seeds nonetheless.

"Dolo~~" "Chuu-chuu~" "Zhibo~"

The laughter of the four Pokémon echoed through this apple grove, causing Luo Mu to inadvertently reveal a smile as well.

After a period of growth, the young Tropius had now entered a sub-adult state, approaching the two-meter height and physique range recorded in its Pokédex entry; all of this was thanks to Serperior grabbing hold of its and Applin's diet and nutritional intake every day, and even specifically consulting Oranguru for some knowledge on nutrition to ensure the healthy growth of Tropius and Applin.

But due to the existence of the "Drizzle" ability, Politoed itself only consumed the energy for "Rain Dance" and the partial energy required to activate "Drizzle."

Inside the fence of the chicken coop, Arboliva controlled the branches and leaves of its body to grow, the shadows cast by the hanging foliage providing coolness for the chicks that had already grown considerably.

Luo Mu himself did not eat the pink berry, nor did he dare let the Pokémon eat it; if he remembered correctly, eating this thing would turn one's entire body pink; it seemed to be called a Pamtre Berry.

Politoed was very smart; a smart mind often plotted a series of goals for Politoed to become stronger; while tempering its weather moves and the intensity of its special attacks, Politoed also wanted to train its own melee capabilities.

Wondering if Feng Su Gou's appearance was somewhat frightening to the chickens, the carefree chicks pecking at the ground silently shrank closer toward Arboliva's direction, which made Feng Su Gou feel somewhat awkward, and it timidly glanced at Arboliva.

Hearing this, both Swampert and Politoed revealed expressions of anticipation, their eyes shining as they nodded rapidly like pounding garlic, indicating they would keep this matter in mind, watching Luo Mu's departing figure as he headed to the next location.

After interacting individually with the enthusiastic Swampert and the others, Luo Mu finally stated his purpose.

Pondering whether to send a text message or make a phone call, Luo Mu walked to the vicinity of the chicken coop.

In Luo Mu's impression, their travel time might have been only about two months or so, and moreover, most of that time was probably wasted on getting lost.

Entering the apple grove, mottled tree shadows swayed gently with the breeze; vaguely, Luo Mu heard the sound of wings flapping; after thinking it over, Luo Mu realized the source of the breeze and quickly walked in a certain direction.

Items like very beautiful glass products, pink berries, unknown fossils that were not fossil Pokémon, sweet-tasting candied pomelos, and a somewhat familiar gold coin...

Luo Mu had an impression of the glass products; they should be specialties from Kumquat Island, home to the Crystal Onix; Delibird had most likely bought them with the money he gave it; he wondered if it had found that Crystal Onix; Luo Mu was already considering buying a camera for Delibird, letting it take photos to record the sights and experiences of its travels.

Luo Mu planned to keep the seeds of these Pamtre Berries to try planting them on the farm in the future.

Seemingly possessing a keen sense of smell, Tropius detected Luo Mu's scent; after stopping its flight, it searched left and right for a moment, quickly discovering Luo Mu's whereabouts, and flew toward him with a look of delight.

Among Luo Mu's array of Pokémon, many were skilled in melee combat, but Politoed felt that Swampert, being also a Water-type, was indeed more suitable for itself, so it chose to request instruction from it on close-combat techniques.

Arboliva, whose nature was becoming increasingly maternal, nodded gently, pondering whether to bring back some watermelon flesh for the chicks after the gathering ended...

But, could chicks actually eat watermelon? Hearing Luo Mu say that watermelons seemed to contain watermelon seeds acting as seeds, the chicks might like them.

Remembering the purpose of his outing, Luo Mu smiled and shouted to Arboliva and Feng Su Gou: "Remember to gather at the watermelon field tonight!"

Beside the contemplative Arboliva, Feng Su Gou stared at the chicks, a few drops of crystal-clear droplets seeping from the corners of its mouth.

Luo Mu did not understand much about camera brands and performance; he pondered whether to ask Shelly, as she, being a photographer, should be very knowledgeable about this; anyway, Luo Mu had already exchanged contact information with her.

Swampert was also very willing to teach, as this was also for the sake of enhancing the farm's overall strength.

"Heavy Rain" was merely a name Luo Mu created for convenience to distinguish it; weather changes brought by ordinary "Rain Dance" or "Drizzle" could easily be overwritten by the weather moves of other Pokémon, unless there was a vast difference in strength between the two parties.

After passing through this competition, they would set off for the Johto region.

With a splash, Luo Mu was pinned beneath the young Tropius; the weight of at least nearly two hundred jin made Luo Mu feel as though he had been hit by a cannonball, leaving him unable to recover for quite some time.

Not to mention, behind the Tropius stood the Shuckle siblings; their shells weighed nearly forty jin.

The Applin's weight was negligible, but this "love" was simply too heavy.

The little Tropius still maintained the habits of its youth; tilting its head, it looked confusedly at Luo Mu beneath it, as if wondering why he wasn't lifting it up like he did when it was small.

Fortunately, the elder Shuckle sister thought quickly; realizing she was a tiny bit too heavy, she pulled her younger brother and the Applin down from the Tropius's back, landing beside Luo Mu and looking at him with an expression of seeking credit.

Luo Mu: "."

You're actually quite a good person.

Fortunately, the little Tropius soon got up; otherwise, Luo Mu felt he would have been pressed by this unfilial child—who pressed everywhere except where it hurt—until he passed out from lack of oxygen.

He stroked the little Tropius, who was eager to act spoiled, giving it plenty of love and care.

The little Tropius's personality was the complete opposite of the Applin's; the Applin was extremely socially confident, basically showing enthusiasm to everyone except those Rookidee and Corvisquire it instinctively disliked.

The little Tropius was just like when it was first born, thoroughly socially anxious; upon meeting any strange Pokémon for the first time, it absolutely kept its distance, displaying some timidity, much like the younger Shuckle brother.

Even though both were raised by the Serperior, and the Serperior itself was filled with the domineering air of a royal Pokémon, one didn't know why the personalities of the Applin and Tropius would be two extremes.

Fortunately, the common point between the Applin and Tropius was that once familiar, they both became clingy; this trait was very liked by the Pokémon up and down the farm, so much so that even that husky-like Arcanine, when facing the only younger brother and sister on the farm, would put on an elder brother's demeanor, showing off its most spirited and reliable side.

Incidentally, after the reliable Oranguru made a distinction, it concluded that the Applin was a boy and the Tropius was a girl.

Every Pokémon was like a child with a distinct personality; Luo Mu was fortunate to have the ability to unite them, providing them with a better environment to unleash their capabilities.

"Shuckle, come here, let me see!"

With the Applin perched on his head and the clingy Tropius rubbing against his side, almost pressing itself against him, Luo Mu struggled to squat down, calling the Shuckle siblings to his side.

When they manipulated the tentacles extending from their shells to crawl over to Luo Mu, it was evident that wooden corks of just the right size had already been inserted into the Kong Dong on their red and blue shells respectively.

This also meant they had already begun fermenting berry juice within their bodies.

For this first attempt, Luo Mu had let the two Shuckle find their own favorite berries to ferment, not putting too much effort into the formula.

Nowadays, the berry juice currently fermenting or already finished fermenting inside the two Shuckle's shells felt to Luo Mu like a gift in a blind box or treasure in a chest, full of anticipation.

Although Luo Mu had originally planned for the red younger Shuckle brother to ferment berry juice and the blue elder Shuckle sister to ferment medicinal liquid, considering the medicinal liquid still required formulas and herbs, he temporarily let them ferment berry juice at will.

When it was truly time to ferment medicinal liquid, he could simply give their shells a thorough cleaning; with the Bubble Beam from the Politoed and others, the probability of flavor contamination should be minimized.

If all else failed, he could travel to the Johto region or the Alola region, find Suicune or Seeing Seeing Kapu, and use a shot of Purifying Water to cleanse any lingering scents.

Luo Mu first picked up the younger Shuckle brother; the muscles on his arms, well-exercised from farm work, bulged appropriately. After pulling out the wooden cork from any one of the Kong Dong on the Shuckle's shell, Luo Mu leaned in and sniffed with his nose.

A scent of berry juice fermented halfway, stuck in an awkward middle ground, rushed into Luo Mu's nostrils.

"... Surely three days was still a bit tight, wasn't it?"

After re-inserting the wooden cork into the younger Shuckle brother's Kong Dong, no longer smelling that scent, Luo Mu's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly.

He wasn't very surprised that the berry juice fermentation wasn't complete.

After all, the custom-made wooden corks had only arrived three days ago, so the berry juice inside the Shuckle had, at most, been fermenting for three days.

However, based on that scent just now, it could be roughly determined that the berry juice fermentation would likely take only seven to ten days.

Actually, this speed was acceptable; after all, the weather had been somewhat hot recently. Just like the grapes grown in many places in the Paldea region, fermentation time was about one to two weeks; in hot weather, it could even extend to twenty days or a month, and after the weather cooled, it might even extend to forty days.

The decisive factor in fermentation lay in stable and warm climatic conditions, which was why Shuckle chose to burrow into tree hollows and rocks to accelerate the fermentation progress of the berry juice inside their shells.

Putting down the younger Shuckle brother, Luo Mu then picked up the elder Shuckle sister and went through the same process.

Luo Mu's expression was no different from when he checked the fermenting berry juice inside the younger Shuckle brother, synchronized to a terrifying degree, yet neither the Shuckle siblings nor the innocent little ones like the Tropius and Applin noticed.

"Hmm, it seems we can't share your fermented berry juice with everyone tonight; we'll have to follow the original plan and make various watermelon-based cooling foods."

Luo Mu wore a regretful smile; the Shuckle siblings also felt somewhat disappointed, but were immediately comforted by Luo Mu's next sentence.

"It doesn't matter; next time, we can gather the farm's Pokémon to hold a berry juice tasting conference with you two as the protagonists. There are plenty of opportunities, and the future days are long."

"Zibo!"

The Shuckle siblings' eyes instantly lit up, revealing happy smiles.

Luo Mu continued interacting with the Applin and Tropius for a while, taking the opportunity to observe the green tip that had already started emerging beneath the Tropius's neck, instructing it to ensure sufficient nutrient intake so that its growth and development wouldn't be affected by excessive nutrients being diverted to the growing fruit, before finally leaving the apple orchard.

During the period from hatching to adulthood, a Tropius would not grow fruits that required nutrients from within its body to mature; only after its body had fully developed would the Tropius species consciously supply energy to the fruit beneath its neck to ripen it.

Luo Mu did not wish for the Tropius to rush to prove itself by dividing important nutrients to the fruit during its growth stage.

Fortunately, the Tropius was obviously well-behaved; the green tip beneath its neck was actually proof of excess nutrients, indicating that Luo Mu and the Serperior had raised it very well, with surplus nutrients even causing the fruit to sprout a tip.

Only after completely leaving the apple orchard did Luo Mu reveal an expression of Solemnity and contemplation.

Being adept at treating everyone equally, he had nearly lost control of his expression and revealed a flaw the moment he smelled the berry juice inside the elder Shuckle sister's shell; fortunately, his powerful self-control prevented this from happening.

"Sigh, how could it be like this?"

Letting out a soft sigh, Luo Mu recalled the nearly completed fruity aroma of the berry juice inside the elder Shuckle sister's shell, his expression complex.

A faster fermentation time than her brother, and a more delicious smell of berry juice; the gap was almost crushing.

If their personalities were swapped, Luo Mu wouldn't be this worried.

One must know that for children with sensitive and timid personalities, it is often precisely this kind of gap that causes them to feel unbalanced; that tiny, cautious heart might drift toward some unknown extreme due to the sense of disparity. This was the worst-case scenario, but even the better cases weren't much good; once their mindset became unbalanced, it might make the younger Shuckle brother even more sensitive and timid.

Merely considering how to balance the conflict arising between the exceptionally talented sister and the timid, sensitive brother made Luo Mu's head feel like it was going bald.

If the elder sister remained completely unaware that she was one of the factors causing her brother to become timid and sensitive, solving this problem would be troublesome.

Fortunately, the elder Shuckle sister clearly took care of her brother; this gave Luo Mu a little confidence, enough to contemplate a method of subtly guiding the younger Shuckle brother so he wouldn't be saddened by matters of talent.

"As expected, I must start by building confidence, right? Perhaps I can try letting the brother participate in a battle?"

While pondering solutions, Luo Mu recalled the old Shuckle man that Ash and his companions encountered in the original anime.

That old Shuckle man had a mountain full of Shuckle, among which a shiny Shuckle, much like the elder Shuckle sister, possessed extremely special talents.

Among the old Shuckle man's Shuckle, only the berry juice brewed by that shiny Shuckle could create a love potion that made any Pokémon feel affection.

Perhaps, there really were some shiny Pokémon that not only differed in body color from their kin but also possessed many special talents.

As for the elder Shuckle sister's special talent, Luo Mu thought that besides her fermentation speed being nearly twice as fast as the younger Shuckle brother's, she likely also possessed the ability to make the berry juice taste more delicious, and perhaps, just like the Applin, could even enhance the effects contained within the berry juice.

If such an effect truly existed...

A small, special plot of land in the farm materialized in Luo Mu's mind.

Could it be that plants grown with the secret seasoning could allow Sister Hu Hu to brew a medicinal liquid with incredibly overpowered effects?

(End of Chapter)