Chapter 349: Contact from the Crown Tundra, An Invitation to Explore Ruins

"Eh~ Lei Qiu!?"

Lei Qiu's sudden collapse froze Emperor Yan Di's face, which had just lit up with hope; immediately after, as if performing a Sichuan opera face-change, she threw her head back, displaying an exaggerated expression of disbelief.

That expression was so vivid it seemed deliberately staged, yet the netizens watching Miss Miss Qi Shu's live stream ate it up, flooding the chat with strings of capital "W"s to show they had been hit right in the funny bone.

But beyond the laughter, many Trainers who followed her due to her Gym Leader status, hoping to learn some experience from her, began discussing fervently.

The focus of their discussion was the set of commands Luo Mu had just issued that left Lei Qiu dazed; if Miss Miss Qi Shu hadn't suddenly pulled out that dark yet glowing orb to perform "Terastallization," causing Lei Qiu to go berserk, the tactic might well have allowed Shuckle to solo Lei Qiu without taking any damage.

A netizen named Xue Cheng extracted the relevant moves and summarized them.

【First, use "Protect" to block Lei Qiu's fully charged, all-out "Thunderbolt," then use "Power Split" to weaken Lei Qiu while strengthening Shuckle, then rely on the hardness of its shell to withstand that "Quick Attack," seizing the only opportunity to hit the extremely fast Lei Qiu with "Toxic".】

【At close range, while spraying Toxic fluid onto Lei Qiu's wound to inflict the poisoned status, provoke Lei Qiu's rage, causing it to misjudge and fail to distinguish between the "Substitute" and the real body, resulting in its furious strike missing entirely.】

【Finally, use "Sticky Web" to seal off Lieh Qiu's speed, ensuring that in the ensuing clash, Shuckle, now possessing half of Lieh Qiu's power, can keep up with Lieh Qiu's speed in terms of move execution and transitions, thereby securing the chance for victory.】

【With such strategic command ability, I can only say: brilliant!】

【If that young lady Miss Miss Qi Shu hadn't performed that seemingly peculiar "Terastallization," forcing an exchange of moves between Shuckle and Lei Qiu, Lei Qiu might have fallen directly to the previous combination of "Power Split," "Protect," "Substitute," "Toxic," and "Sticky Web".】

【Even so, that man could still calculate the exact moment Lei Qiu's stamina would be stripped by poison, causing Lei Qiu's final "Thunder" to fail before it could even be released; such powerful tactical acumen truly commands my admiration!】

【Not to mention developing the potential of a Pokémon like Shuckle, which in the Johto region is more oriented toward daily life, to such a degree—no wonder he is a Trainer capable of claiming the Champion title!】

In this several-hundred-word essay, Xue Cheng made no attempt to hide his appreciation for Luo Mu's tactics, exclaiming as if he had discovered a new world that Shuckle actually had such a method of fighting, and that combining these moves could produce such a powerful synergistic effect.

Reading this left Miss Miss Qi Shu stunned; even she, who had faced Luo Mu directly, had not noticed these details, yet this "Xue Cheng" had dissected them all.

Who exactly was this person?

In the distant Kanto region, within a vast research institute located in Pallet Town, the pure white symbol of beginnings, Professor Oak, wearing the alias "Xue Cheng," was typing out his essay with all five fingers.

Even though it required relaying through several network servers to barely achieve a real-time connection to the Paldea network, the cost incurred was extremely high.

Yet Professor Oak remained tireless; in his own words, as a Pokémon Professor, one must broaden one's horizons to avoid stagnation.

After sending off his analysis and seeing the numerous praises on the comment section, Professor Oak smiled proudly like a child, crossed his arms, and mused, "Indeed, when inviting him to visit the Oak Laboratory, besides observing that Feng Su Gou, I am also very interested in those two Shuckle of opposite colors."

"Sigh, if only Zhi and Mao had been more ambitious during their travels in the Johto region and caught some Shuckle to transfer back to the lab!"

"Zi-bo~~"

Watching the Shuckle siblings hugging each other excitedly, the corners of Luo Mu's mouth curled up slightly as he asked patiently, "How does the taste of victory feel?"

Hearing Luo Mu's voice, the younger Shuckle temporarily separated from his joyful sister; feeling the surging emotions in his chest from the victory, along with the mountainous, tsunami-like cheers from the crowd at the moment of triumph, he nodded heavily.

In that instant, the gathered crowd around them no longer seemed terrifying but instead took on vivid colors.

"Zi-bo!" (This feeling is wonderful!)

The younger Shuckle tapped his shell with the tentacles protruding from it, making a "bang-bang" sound; judging solely by his body language, his excitement was evident.

Luo Mu gazed at the younger Shuckle; having studied psychology to a certain extent, he could discern from the Shuckle's movements what was happening.

Due to the victory, the younger Shuckle's self-confidence had increased significantly, and the traits of his sensitive and timid personality had weakened.

It seems that a first success truly can bring infinite power to both humans and Pokémon.

At this moment, Miss Miss Qi Shu, having finished interacting with the live stream audience, approached Luo Mu.

Although Miss Miss Qi Shu was slightly displeased about losing to Luo Mu and his Shuckle due to those bizarre moves, she had lost after all; even unleashing the Terastallization she had obtained only recently, she still lost to Luo Mu and his Shuckle.

A loss is a loss; Miss Miss Qi Shu's voice became slightly listless as she began reciting her customary lines: "You and your Shuckle shine like ten million volts."

Before she could finish her sentence, Luo Mu suddenly reached out and stopped her right in front of his eyes, halting Miss Miss Qi Shu while saying with a calm expression, "Skip, I've already heard this line; just hand over the badge."

Miss Miss Qi Shu:????

Kora! Don't treat Miss Miss Qi Shu like an NPC who only recites fixed lines, gah!

Feeling an inexplicable pain in her shark-like teeth, Miss Miss Qi Shu ground them and said, "Mr. New Champion, if Miss Miss Qi Shu remembers correctly, you have already cleared the Pokémon League, haven't you?"

"At this stage, what use do you have for a Gym Badge?"

Facing Miss Miss Qi Shu's questioning, Luo Mu found it even stranger.

Picking up the younger Shuckle at his feet, Luo Mu looked completely matter-of-fact (as if it were only natural), his logic flawless: "Leaving aside the fact that your live stream is drawing traffic under the banner of accepting Gym Challenges, issuing a badge to the victor is only proper."

"Even as a commemorative item for my Shuckle's first victory, you must hand over the badge today!"

Miss Miss Qi Shu looked as if she were seeing the person before her for the first time, her eyes widening: "Fine, I'll give it! Miss Miss Qi Shu isn't unable to afford a badge! No one has taken a badge from Miss Miss Qi Shu today anyway, so it's no big deal!"

Having said this, Miss Miss Qi Shu stormed over to her assistant, grabbed a badge, shoved it into Luo Mu's hand, and then used both hands to push Luo Mu out of the battle arena.

"I've given you the badge and let you practice; now scram, scram! Miss Miss Qi Shu needs to prepare to receive the next challenger!"

She must have been suppressed to the breaking point and finally exploded.

Miss Miss Qi Shu, like a hissing, fur-bristled cat, unleashed tremendous potential from her petite frame, actually managing to push Luo Mu, who was holding the younger Shuckle, all the way to the edge of the arena in one go.

This not only established the younger Shuckle's self-confidence but also secured for him a badge that would remind him of this great victory whenever he saw it.

Seeing that Miss Miss Qi Shu was so anxious to drive him away, Luo Mu decided to quit while he was ahead and did not linger, leaving Mesagoza's central square directly under the gaze of the crowd.

Arriving at a quiet park, Luo Mu set down the large and small bags he had just purchased from Mesagoza's largest Shangcheng, casually found a bench to sit on, and then exerted his arm strength to lift the 20kg Shuckle siblings onto the bench one by one.

"Phew~"

Only after doing all this and breathing a sigh of relief did Luo Mu have the leisure to take out the badge Miss Miss Qi Shu had just shoved at him; under the curious gazes of the two Shuckle, he held it up to the sunlight to examine it closely.

At first glance, Luo Mu noticed something different.

Although Luo Mu had heard rumors that Geeta had been frequently carrying out a series of reforms for the Paldea League in recent years.

But it had only been a year; how could the style of the badges have undergone reform as well?

Luo Mu remembered that when he obtained his badges previously, they certainly did not possess this level of exquisiteness.

The Mesagoza Gym Badge featured a border of red copper patterns, with an Electric-type emblem embedded in the center as decoration; though small, the badge looked exceptionally exquisite.

"Nowadays, not only are the benefits improving, but the badges are getting better too."

Uttering a low murmur akin to a sigh, Luo Mu pulled two silk scarves from a nearby pocket.

These were the scarves he had just bought at the mall; he had specifically chosen one blue silk scarf and one red silk scarf.

The item 【Silk Scarf】 has the effect of boosting the power of a Pokémon's Normal-type moves; for Shuckle, such an item is basically useless, but Luo Mu had never intended to enhance the Shuckle siblings' strength through items from the very beginning.

What he valued was the texture of the silk scarf and its commemorative significance.

It must be said that merchants nowadays truly know how to make money; in the game, there were only white silk scarves, but under their processing, they acquired many different colors to match the needs of different Pokémon, which was very user-friendly.

Seemingly aware that the silk scarf in Luo Mu's hands was for them, the Shuckle brother and Shuckle sister were obviously somewhat nervous, watching eagerly as Luo Mu unwrapped the silk scarf's packaging and then tied them around their necks one by one.

This was to match the colors of the Shuckle siblings' shells and also to display the bond between the Shuckle brother and sister.

The silk scarf Luo Mu prepared for the Shuckle brother was the blue of the sister's shell, while the silk scarf prepared for the Shuckle sister was the red of the brother's shell.

"Zibo!" "Zibo~"

The Shuckle siblings admired the silk scarves on each other's necks, their voices filled with a flavor of surprise.

It was clear that they were very happy with this gift.

Accepting the affectionate rubs from the two Shuckle, Luo Mu smiled slightly, his gaze falling upon the large and small bags beside him.

Of course, it was not just the Shuckle siblings; every Pokémon on the farm had a gift.

Upholding the philosophy of treating everyone equally, since he was giving gifts to the Shuckle siblings, he might as well give a gift to every Pokémon on the entire farm.

It was not any special anniversary, nor was there any festival; he simply wanted to give gifts.

Take Luxray, for instance; this time, Luo Mu gave up on buying those strange and quirky cat nests for it.

Luo Mu directly bought it a new scratching board; the quality of this scratching board was excellent, it hardly shed debris, and it would not snag Luxray's claws, so he imagined it should like it.

Incidentally, Meng Lei Gu's gift was a super-large scratching board several sizes bigger.

Serperior's gift was a Wang Guan that very much complemented its temperament.

Swampert's gift was a sandbag that could probably, perhaps withstand a few of its punches, and if used with restraint, should last a long time.

Mimikyu's gift was a bolt of fabric Luo Mu had newly purchased, with a color close to Pikachu's; later, Luo Mu planned to personally craft the plush toy for Mimikyu to hide inside.

Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's gift was, as always, an apron, but this time Luo Mu chose an apron with a Tan Xiao Shi pattern, thinking it should like it.

Since Dragonite was, after all, a girl, Luo Mu thought it over and finally ordered a cute dress custom-made for it.

Because Dragonite was already by his side and had personally undergone body measurements by the tailor, there was no need to worry about it feeling a disparity in treatment compared to other Pokémon due to not seeing the actual gift.

Besides these, there was Feng Su Gou's frisbee, Moltres's whole roasted chicken, Politoed's sunny doll (which it requested itself), the Poliwag's boxing gloves, the Bai Bai Pengpeng's little capes, Shuang Nai Xian's dessert ingredients, and so on.

Although Luo Mu's head was nearly bald from thinking about confirming gifts for every Pokémon, fortunately, everything was finally settled.

After withdrawing his gaze, Luo Mu took a small object from his pocket and attached it to the back of the Gym Badge in his hand, then beckoned for the Shuckle brother to poke its head over.

Under the smiling gaze of the Shuckle sister, Luo Mu fixed the Gym Badge with a pin onto the blue silk scarf around the Shuckle brother's neck.

Amidst its cry of surprise, he gently stroked its head.

Since the first step had been taken, as long as this glory representing its first victory remained with it, the Shuckle brother would sooner or later complete its transformation entirely.

Luo Mu firmly believed this as well.

Time rewound to early July.

The Galar region was vast in territory and diverse in terrain.

It possessed areas ranging from tranquil countryside to modern cities, and from vast grasslands to treacherous snow-capped mountains.

Pokémon battles were popular in the Galar region, even serving as the entertainment most favored by the people of Galar, which was also a major characteristic of the Galar region.

After fully entering the rhythm of summer vacation, Hearing Hearing Nimo, Pipahe, Mudan, and Pipahe Sect traveled by plane to the Galar region, which was not too far from the Paldea region.

Although travel was a factor in their purpose for coming to the Galar region, more importantly, they intended to train themselves in this region where Pokémon battle development had reached its peak.

However, due to an invitation from Mudan's father, Peony, their original one-month travel time was greatly shortened.

After experiencing the fervent Gym challenges in the arenas of Turffield, Hulbury, and Motostoke, and accepting the enthusiastic atmosphere and cheers that enveloped the entire arenas.

Hearing Hearing Nimo and Pipahe Sect swept through continuously, securing three Mei Hui Zhang, while Pipahe struggled a bit more but ultimately claimed the third Mei Hui Zhang as well.

As for Mudan, she had no interest in obtaining badges from her hometown; this would only reignite that uncle's Zuo De Xiang Fa of wanting her to work for the Galar League.

Therefore, Mudan chose to become a sparring partner for the three; while slacking off, she also introduced the characteristics of the Gym Leaders to them, making ample contributions to the victories of Pipahe Sect and Pipahe.

In the Galar region, as long as a Trainer successfully passed the first three Gyms, they would receive attention from the Galar League, and even have the opportunity to share lunch or dinner personally with Chairman Rose of the Galar League.

Although such opportunities often became extremely rushed under the urging of Olive, the secretary beside Rose, this did not affect the desire of Trainers in the Galar region to qualify for a meal with the Chairman.

Sweeping through and breaking through the three major Gyms in one breath, showing no weakness even when facing the Gym Leaders' Dynamax Pokémon, Hearing Hearing Nimo naturally entered Rose's field of vision.

The accompanying Pipahe and Pipahe Sect were also talents not to be underestimated; at Rose's request, Secretary Olive organized a group dinner, inviting Hearing Hearing Nimo and her group, intending to recruit them as well.

If Rose had not been unaware that his niece, who completely countered him, was also accompanying Hearing Hearing Nimo and the others, and had he been better prepared, then relying on his capitalist eloquence, he might have actually managed to deceive the three who were inexperienced in the world.

Due to Mudan's disruption, and furthermore because Rose learned that the three had no intention of leaving the Paldea region to settle in the Galar region, he ended the dinner with a hint of reluctance.

Upon departure, Rose curiously asked Hearing Hearing Nimo whether that Teacher Luo Mu she spoke of was stronger than Champion Dan Di of the Galar region.

As a result, Hearing Hearing Nimo answered without hesitation that Teacher Luo Mu was definitely stronger, which made Rose even more curious about that Paldea Champion-level Trainer whom he had never met.

Coincidentally, the Galar region was currently pushing forward with "that" plan; perhaps he could discuss it with Chairman Geeta over there, and once the plan succeeded and gained responses from other Leagues, they could arrange for that Teacher Luo Mu and Dan Di to have a battle in the Galar region.

At this moment, Luo Mu, who was traveling through the scorched desert, was completely unaware that he had been tricked by Hearing Hearing Nimo and the others again.

After sharing dinner with Rose in Motostoke, Hearing Hearing Nimo and her group continued forward, passing through the Wild Area to reach Stow-on-Side.

When they wanted to challenge the Gym Leaders, they discovered that Bea of the Fighting Gym had gone out for training, while Allister of the Ghost Gym seemed to have run off to some ruin and was completely unreachable.

After waiting for a day, helplessly, the group could only choose to return home, going to Hammerlocke to take a Corviknight flying taxi to the Crown Tundra south of Hammerlocke.

The Crown Tundra was the coldest place in the Galar region.

Countless treacherous snow-capped mountains stood tall here; known as the land of extreme cold, only a few residents lived scattered within the villages of the Crown Tundra.

After arriving at the Crown Tundra station, the four of Hearing Hearing Nimo's group saw an enthusiastic middle-aged man who had been waiting for a long time.

The middle-aged man wore a standard snow mountain expedition suit and a multi-functional safety helmet; upon seeing Mudan, the man emitted a clipped voice that made the bodies of the several people tremble, addressed Mudan as "Little Little Dandan," and enthusiastically embraced her.

The man's name was Peony, a former League Champion of the Galar region, specializing in the Steel type, and his relationship with League Chairman Rose was that of "brothers."

Yet, in front of Mudan, who had learned a few fighting techniques from Pipahe Sect and possessed a flexible body that even Pipahe Sect praised.

Peony's final destination was naturally the cold floor of the Crown Tundra station, watching helplessly as his eldest daughter, "Little Xia Xia," Xiang Ke Ya, led the group away.

On the way, Xiang Ke Ya roughly explained to the curious Hearing Hearing Nimo and the others the purpose of her and her father's visit to the Crown Tundra, and brought the group to Freezington, the village where she and her father lived.

The reason Peony and Sycamore had been residing in the Crown Tundra was their desire to verify several rumors regarding legendary Pokémon associated with the "Crown Tundra."

However, the Crown Tundra was not only vast, but verifying these rumors also required considerable effort to decipher ancient texts, while locating the sites themselves proved even more arduous.

Although Peony and Sycamore had now discovered a ruin situated within the Snowslide Slope, a long road still lay ahead before they could actually enter it.

During this period, just as Peony had stated when he first invited Hearing Nimo and the others, he took the group on a tour throughout the Crown Tundra.

While the wilderness was extremely dangerous and the snow-capped mountains perilous, numerous fierce wild Pokémon such as Salamence, Garchomp, and Hydreigon made their lairs here.

Yet, with Peony—a former League Champion possessing extensive exploration knowledge and formidable combat prowess—leading them, Hearing Nimo and the others spent a joyful time playing around the Crown Tundra.

That was, until one week remained before the four of them were scheduled to depart the Crown Tundra.

One night, or perhaps even earlier, many strange phenomena suddenly began occurring in Freezington, the village where the group resided.

For instance, crops planted by villagers in the fields would frequently vanish without a trace, and at times, villagers could be seen floating in the air as if possessed, muttering incoherent nonsense.

The former could be attributed to the mischief of wild Pokémon native to the Crown Tundra, and while the latter also held the possibility of Ghost-type Pokémon causing trouble.

Under the leadership of the exceptionally powerful Peony, the entire village spent several nights trying to catch that Ghost-type Pokémon, yet they failed to capture it and instead ended up suffering from nervous exhaustion.

The disturbances escalated to the point where even Arven and Penny were possessed once.

Just as Hearing Nimo and the others were considering simply leaving this "haunted" village ahead of schedule, they suddenly recalled Professor Luo Mu's glorious achievement mentioned during class: successfully exorcising "ghosts" at an abandoned supermarket in the Alola region.

Furthermore, since Luo Mu seemed to enjoy exploring various ruins in his spare time, and Peony had made a new breakthrough in his investigation of the ruin he named the "Bingshan Ruin."

After discussing the matter, they considered whether to use the Bingshan Ruin as a pretext to invite Luo Mu to the Crown Tundra for an expedition, and while they were at it, ask him if he had any solution to the haunting.

Although they had devised a plan, Hearing Nimo and the others still felt somewhat hesitant.

Since they were about to leave the Crown Tundra anyway, they felt it was somewhat improper to trouble Professor Luo Mu to make a special trip all the way here.

Following this, time marched on to the morning of July 30th.

Having endured the terrifying experience over these past few nights of watching Penny, Hearing Nimo, and Sycamore get possessed right before their eyes, the group, sporting dark circles that even a Pancham could not match, dialed a phone number displayed as belonging to the Paldea region.

(End of Chapter)