Chapter 341: The Forced Rolling Da Nai Guan and the Arrival of the Saddle

Luo Mu's voice exploded beside Victini's ear like a thunderclap striking flat ground.

Its body froze; for a moment, it even forgot to maintain its invisibility, accidentally exposing half of its right hand.

Truly, it had accidentally shown off a trick.

Young Lady Joy paused slightly, a thread of confusion swirling in her eyes.

What was that, a Pokémon?

Seeing that familiar cream-colored arm and orange three-toed hand, Luo Mu sighed; although he had only vaguely sensed something when he spotted Comfey interacting with someone along the way, the clues now clearly pointed to Victini.

Such a mischievous Pokémon that could also turn invisible had blatantly left clues leading straight to Victini.

So, from the very beginning, Luo Mu had known Victini had secretly followed him and hadn't paid it much mind, yet he hadn't expected the little fellow to truly believe he remained unaware, stubbornly refusing to reveal its form even while drooling over the Berry Juice.

Seemingly having given up after being discovered, Victini simply reverted to its original form, crystal-clear liquid hanging from the corner of its mouth, as it eagerly accepted the two cups of Berry Juice Luo Mu offered.

"Vee~"

After downing a cup of sweet-and-sour Berry Juice, Victini cupped its cheeks with an expression of pure delight, just like a little mouse that had stolen some cheese.

"Look how greedy you are," Luo Mu scolded with a laugh, then turned his head to look at Young Lady Joy, who was staring at Victini with surprise, and asked, "Young Lady Joy, do you think my idea of having Shuckle produce the medicinal liquid is feasible?"

Withdrawing her gaze from Victini, Young Lady Joy lowered her head to ponder for a moment before speaking her answer.

"It should be feasible; I've heard that in the distant Johto region, many pharmacies utilize Shuckle's abilities for medicine production."

"If I recall correctly, the principle seems to be..."

Young Lady Joy pulled a book from nearby, flipped to the relevant page based on her memory, examined it for a moment, and then spoke with certainty.

"Shuckle possesses the ability to secrete a mysterious bodily fluid; this fluid can, to a certain extent, stimulate the efficacy of Berries and medicinal herbs while fermenting them into Berry Juice and medicinal liquids with the most purified effects."

"However, the only drawback is just like the Berry Juice we drank earlier; because steps like filtration are missing to refine it, the Berry Juice and medicinal liquids become slightly viscous, making the texture feel sticky when drunk..."

"Gather a few types of medicinal herbs whose properties do not conflict with that sour leaf in your hand, stuff them together into Shuckle's shell, and you should be able to produce the medicinal liquid."

Young Lady Joy's answer was highly detailed, practically laying out a clear path before Luo Mu.

Taking out paper and pen, Joy wrote down the names of several medicinal herbs with mild properties that would hardly conflict with other herbs and should blend well with the Secret Ingredient: Sour Seasoning, then handed it to Luo Mu with a gentle smile.

"Consider this me helping you conduct an experiment; however, once the other medicinal herbs with different effects you mentioned later mature, I hope you will handle the blending yourself."

Luo Mu, who hadn't even reached the level of a complete novice, had no intention of declining; after taking the paper and pen, he nodded solemnly: "I understand."

"But, judging by the effects of the two bottles of Berry Juice, I'm afraid there will be a significant disparity in results."

Although Young Lady Joy could overwhelm others with her authority, her brain was certainly not merely decorative.

Based on the color of the bottles and her knowledge of Pokémon, she could roughly deduce the fact that the different bottle colors likely originated from different individual Shuckle.

Facing Young Lady Joy's reminder, which seemed to carry some concern, Luo Mu directly presented the answer he had already contemplated.

"Regarding this aspect, I have already considered some handling methods."

After buying some more vegetables at the market, by the time Luo Mu returned to the farm, it was already approaching five in the afternoon.

Victini seemed quite happy to help carry the vegetable basket, probably due to having continuously drunk two cups of Berry Juice.

Upon returning to the farm, Luo Mu received the newly delivered saddle from Oranguru.

This saddle was custom-made to fit Mudsdale's physique; its overall color was brown, matching Mudsdale's fur, with added black and orange patterns that prevented the saddle's design from appearing too plain.

For the sake of riding Pokémon, many Trainers and ordinary families have the habit of customizing a set of saddles; this allows the rider to sit more comfortably, avoiding incidents like chafing the inner thighs raw as sometimes happens when riding horses.

A saddle can also secure the rider effectively, preventing accidental falls from a running or flying riding Pokémon, which could cause tragic accidents.

Since Luo Mu and Mudsdale were about to participate in the Pokémon Marathon Tournament held in Flatbean Town, a set of professional riding equipment had to be prepared.

Luo Mu and Oranguru brought the saddle to the pasture area, where they could just see five Miltank curling their bodies into balls and roaring past beside a higher slope; both their rotation speed and force had now implicitly reached their limits.

The move "Rollout" is a Rock-type physical move; in the game, each time it hits a target, the power doubles upon the second use of Rollout.

The multiplication factor begins calculating from the second Rollout, increasing by 2 times, 4 times, 8 times, and 16 times respectively.

If the move Defense Curl is used before employing Rollout, theoretically, the power would double again.

However, in reality, although the mechanism for stacking power still exists, the potency of Rollout depends more on the continuously accumulating speed and momentum during the roll.

All this was information Whitney, the Miltank Rollout expert, had told him.

If the four sub-adult Miltank later added to the farm were enjoying the thrill of wind-like speed during Rollout, then the Miltank Luo Mu had received from Hanze was currently engaging in a life-or-death sprint.

Focusing his gaze behind the continuously rolling Miltank, he saw two Pokémon, one wreathed in electric light and the other in flowing fire, following leisurely behind them, just as if supervising the Miltank's exercise.

These two Pokémon were Luxray and Arcanine, helpers invited by the four Miltank to supervise their exercise and prevent obesity.

However, for the Miltank brought back from Hanze's ranch, this arrangement was somewhat unfriendly.

Hanze's philosophy for raising Miltank was essentially to let them do whatever made them comfortable, as long as they maintained a good mood.

This was completely opposite to Whitney's philosophy of maintaining exercise for both physical and mental health.

This resulted in the Miltank, upon arriving at the pasture, relying on its rare "Sap Sipper" ability which granted a bottomless stomach, spending at least 14 hours a day grazing on grass, subtracting only 8 hours for sleep from the 24-hour day.

Eating without restraint, its body developed at a speed that even surpassed Fire Bird at the time, becoming the farm's veritable new king of gluttony.

No matter how strong a Miltank's digestive capabilities were, this degree of binge eating would inevitably reflect on its body.

If the rolling of the other Miltank resembled a high-speed rolling sphere,

then the "Sap Sipper" Miltank's rolling was purely a flesh-and-bullet impact, bouncing with a "duang" "duang" sound as it rolled, even possessing remarkably high elasticity...

Compared to its four companions, this Miltank's rolling involved a bit of cutting corners.

Often after rolling for a while, the Miltank would pretend to have tripped over a pebble, lying sprawled in the grass with its limbs spread out, panting heavily while wearing the expression of a salted fish giving up on life.

Yet this fellow possessed the strongest stamina among the five Miltank; it did this purely out of laziness—

To help the Miltank successfully lose weight, the Arcanine and Luxray following behind would sometimes choose to singe the Miltank's rear with a small flame or perk it up with an electric current that wouldn't harm it, all to achieve the goal of driving the Miltank to complete its daily laps.

When Arcanine and Luxray were usually busy, the Miltank would generally invite Deerling and Skiddo to come over, occasionally nudging the Miltank with their horns during the run to increase its momentum.

It was truly to the point where even their own kind worried that the Miltank would literally become fat enough to turn into a ball if this continued, forcing them to adopt slightly more aggressive measures.

Fortunately, hard work pays off for cows; although it hadn't yet reached the average size, the Miltank's current physique was at least no longer as shockingly fat as it was initially.

Having been both scorched by fire and treated with electricity, the Miltank, who thought playing dead was effective, let out a wail heavy with theatrical flair and reluctantly continued rolling.

Luo Mu and Zhi Hui Xing fell silent for a moment, then after some thought, decided to take a detour to find the Mudsdale.

They would pretend they had seen nothing of what happened here.

Later, he would prepare some delicious, nutritious food that wouldn't cause weight gain for Da Nai Guan, and then use the techniques learned from the "Da Nai Guan An Mo Shou Fa" notes obtained from Xiao Xiao Qian to give Da Nai Guan a proper massage.

After all, this was an action spontaneously organized by the Pokémon themselves; whether he supported or opposed it, it was somewhat inappropriate for him to get involved.

Pretending to have seen nothing was the best choice.

Although the detour cost some time, Luo Mu and Zhi Hui Xing managed to reach the pasture's Mud District where the Mudsdale was located before sunset, and securely fitted the saddle onto it.

Since the measurements had been taken by Zhi Hui Xing, and although he trusted Zhi Hui Xing's reliability, Luo Mu still felt somewhat uncertain in his heart before fitting the saddle.

Fortunately, both Zhi Hui Xing's measurements and the craftsmanship of the merchant who took the order were quite excellent; although the price was slightly higher, the material felt superior just to the touch.

The saddle not only fit perfectly on the Mudsdale's body but also did not hinder its movements in the slightest.

As soon as the saddle was fitted, the Mudsdale seemed to awaken memories hidden deep within its bloodline and signaled for Luo Mu to mount its back.

Probably thanks to the frequent experience of riding Dragonite, Luo Mu's motion of flipping onto its back flowed smoothly like drifting clouds and flowing water, making him look like a true professional equestrian.

The twilight glow spilled over the Mudsdale and Luo Mu on its back, as if plating them with a halo of light.

Under Zhi Hui Xing's gaze, the human and Pokémon began their training, aiming for victory in the Pokémon Marathon Tournament scheduled for a few days later.

(End of Chapter)