Chapter 370: Coming to Us Voluntarily? Perfect Chance to Test the Youth Version of Lord Salt!

Unlike its earlier demeanor in the Iceberg Ruins, where it attacked him without hesitation, the hostility emanating from Regice now was exceedingly faint.

Even though Regice rarely experienced emotional fluctuations and never displayed them on its surface, making its emotions and thoughts difficult for anyone to discern, it appeared just like a stiff, rigid robot.

But Luo Mu's intuition told him that at this moment, Regice held no hostility, only curiosity about what he would do next.

Because Regice had just attempted to modify the environment, the ground had now formed a thin layer of ice covering the surface.

This ice layer was extremely fragile; every step Luo Mu took emitted a crisp cracking sound, which made the Snowstorm Horse beneath Lei Guan Wang somewhat eager to act.

The cracking sounds brought by Luo Mu's every step and the shattering of the ice layer felt as if they were stepping directly on Shinji's heart; at this point, even Shinji realized that, at least for now, Regice was not a Pokémon obeying Luo Mu's commands.

Most likely, Regice had been captured into Luo Mu's Poké Ball only recently, and they hadn't even performed the important "communication" yet.

Arriving before Regice, which stood quietly there, and noticing it still showed no signs of attacking, Luo Mu breathed a slight sigh of relief and first tried to greet Regice.

"Hello there, Regice."

"Reji... eh?"

Regice tilted its head slightly, as if pondering the highly difficult question of whether "Regice" was indeed its own name.

But from Luo Mu's perspective, Regice had merely swayed its body slightly; thinking it was responding to him, Luo Mu's smile broadened even more as he reached out, attempting to make close contact with Regice.

Luo Mu's target was locked onto Regice's fingers.

Even for Pokémon, a handshake, body rubbing, or intertwining tails were signals expressing friendliness, so doing this should allow Regice to understand Luo Mu's gesture of goodwill.

However, when Luo Mu extended his finger toward one of Regice's three crystal-like fingers, Regice first froze for an instant, then, as if refusing, quickly moved its hand behind its back, even showing a tendency to shift its body.

Lei Guan Wang, who had been closely monitoring the situation, narrowed its eyes, already prepared to protect Luo Mu should Regice suddenly launch an attack.

Observing Regice's seemingly panicked demeanor, Luo Mu, who had been somewhat puzzled, noticed that after a crisp cracking sound, the three crystal-like fingers Regice had desperately hidden to avoid Luo Mu's outstretched right hand touched the earth exposed by the shattered ice layer.

There were some tiny fissure patterns on the earth, and within those fissures grew some low-lying weeds, which happened to interlace with Regice's fingers for just an instant.

In that very instant, those weeds were covered by a layer of frost, subsequently turning into a lifelike ice sculpture.

Luo Mu's eyesight was quite good, so he captured this scene.

"Could it be... that you withdrew your hand because you didn't want to hurt me?"

Having observed this scene, Regice's movements now appeared to Luo Mu as nothing but panic.

Regice's panicked movements paused abruptly, its yellow dot-like eyes flashing again, as if revealing its unsettled inner state.

Then, as if finally gathering its courage, Regice crossed its hands in front of its body, pressed its fingers together, and nodded gently.

"Reji-eh-su..."

Seeing Regice admit his guess was correct, Luo Mu found it somewhat amusing, while suddenly feeling that this big block of ice before him seemed honestly adorable.

Thus, Luo Mu no longer suppressed the upturning corners of his mouth and said to Regice, "You don't dislike me, do you?"

Regice nodded again, this time with a larger amplitude of movement, visible even to Shinji and Lei Guan Wang not far away.

The momentum Lei Guan Wang had gathered slowly dissipated; it looked at the beloved horse beneath it with a mix of helplessness and amusement, saying, "Truly too clumsy, the Giant of Binghe."

It seemed there would be no need for him to intervene next.

This was for the best; rather than tampering with the object Regice wished to protect, having it willingly stay here was the optimal outcome.

Shinji's expression was somewhat crumbling; he found it hard to imagine that this Pokémon named Regice, moving so cautiously, was actually related to the powerful Regirock belonging to the Pyramid Pharaoh Godai.

A moment later.

Once it was confirmed that Regice currently held no hostility and seemed to possess some delicacy of thought, the subsequent communication became much easier.

Luo Mu first introduced to Regice its current location, as well as the fact that inside the Iceberg Ruins, apart from Regice itself, there was nothing left, and thus nothing requiring protection.

Then, gazing at Regice's suddenly quiet yellow dot-like "eyes" that no longer flashed frequently, Luo Mu extended his hand in invitation, saying, "Will you stay here to live and become our companion?"

"Du du du."

Seemingly falling into contemplation, Regice continued to emit the same sound.

In its mind, images surfaced: the Cang Yan Ren Gui that fought recklessly alongside itself following Luo Mu's command, the Mimikyu that protected Luo Mu, and the Dragonite and Swampert that protected Mudan and Xiakoya.

Regice saw in their eyes their one hundred percent trust in Luo Mu, which made it curious while simultaneously stirring within its heart a certain emotion it couldn't quite understand.

Without making Luo Mu wait long, a short while later, Regice similarly extended its hand, clasping Luo Mu's hand in mid-air without physical contact.

"Reji-eh-su."

Shinji witnessed with his own eyes Luo Mu successfully and perfectly capture Regice.

Luo Mu must have defeated Regice under conditions where his combat strength surpassed Regice's, capturing it into an Ultra Ball; the injuries on Regice's body upon exiting the Ultra Ball could not be faked.

On the foundation of possessing such strength, Luo Mu was even able to connect hearts with Regice, establishing a bond in the brief span of less than ten minutes.

Comparing the current rapport between himself and his Turtwig to this, they were surprisingly on par, which made Shinji feel a slight sense of frustration.

But this also confirmed that his decision not to travel directly in the Kanto region, but to first come to the Paldea region to attend school, was correct.

From Luo Mu, he would surely be able to learn much precious knowledge and experience; as long as he continuously accumulated this knowledge and experience, Shinji believed that sooner or later he would be able to defeat the Pyramid Pharaoh Godai!

"Hmm, as for your residence, what do you think of the Ice Cellar?"

"The space there is quite large, and the temperature is similar to that of the Wang Guan Snowfield, but you must pay attention to the Sandslash couple living in the ice house in the corner; they seem to be expecting new life soon, so they are highly vigilant; do not frighten them."

Squatting before Regice, Luo Mu counted on his fingers while explaining the precautions to it.

After all, Sandslash and the others were essentially wild Pokémon living in a human-simulated wilderness area, so maintaining vigilance while giving birth to offspring was not strange.

Upon hearing that it would soon witness the birth of new life, the brightness of Regice's yellow dot-like eyes clearly increased somewhat, showing it was looking forward to that moment's arrival.

Knowing that Regice would be moving into the Ice Cellar next, the Snowstorm Horse beneath Lei Guan Wang became somewhat dissatisfied, snorting heavily.

Could these days even be lived through anymore!?

It was only the first day; asking the great Lord Snowstorm Horse to avoid those two weak Pokémon was one thing, but how could even part of its precious territory be given to Regice!?

Lei Guan Wang helplessly stroked the beloved horse's mane, which was frozen with ice crystals, soothing its emotions.

"The environment of the Ice Cellar is large enough, and the range for running in the Pasture Area is usually sufficient; if all else fails, there is still the wilderness."

"The matter of preparing the Ice Radish fields will be settled within these couple of days, so don't throw a tantrum, okay?"

"Hiss-whin—"

Hearing "Ice Radish," the Snowstorm Horse's ears twitched, yet it feigned indifference on its face and magnanimously indicated that, since things were this way, it wouldn't mind making a small sacrifice for itself.

After settling Regice, Luo Mu asked Lei Guan Wang and the Snowstorm Horse to first take Regice to the ice cellar to familiarize itself with the environment, only then turning to look at Shinji, who had been quietly waiting behind him, and revealing a smile tinged with apology.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting."

Shinji shook his head seriously: "You have your own matters to attend to; my visit was not part of your plans for today, so waiting was only proper."

Luo Mu blinked; it seemed Shinji truly held great respect for his seniors.

He remembered that in the anime, Shinji wore a scowl for everyone, yet only when facing seniors like Cynthia and Steven did he become frighteningly polite.

Under his influence, Lei Si had not suffered a crushing defeat against Steven, and Shinji too had been stirred to fighting spirit.

Instead of following his original life trajectory to become extreme, imposing harsh training demands upon his Pokémon, conducting militarized and cruel drills, casually releasing "weak" Pokémon, making "Useless trash" his catchphrase, and wearing an expression all day long that was even colder than mere emotionlessness.

Luo Mu was unclear whether Shinji, having not grown along the predetermined track, would undergo any changes.

But if it were up to him to teach, he would certainly be willing to instruct this Shinji before him, who was polite, possessed a strong desire to become stronger, and likewise maintained a love for Pokémon.

However, before that...

Luo Mu looked at Shinji and asked: "You want to become stronger, and you want to accept my guidance, correct?"

Shinji stared with his somewhat fierce triangular eyes and nodded heavily: "Yes! It is precisely for this reason that I have come to Grape Academy!"

"Before you can endure the pace of my teaching, there is one important question." Under Shinji's bewildered expression, Luo Mu raised an eyebrow, "Currently, I have four students under my special care."

"One student possesses outstanding talent; counting from the time she became a Trainer, it has been barely over half a year, yet she already possesses the strength to pass through the eight Gyms. Unfortunately, Paldea does not have a League Conference, otherwise she would surely have achieved a quite respectable ranking at the Conference."

"The talents of the other three students, in my view, are at least superior to yours, who have yet to demonstrate anything before me; I imagine you should understand my meaning, correct?"

Hearing Luo Mu's words, Shinji was bewildered for an instant, but his naturally meticulous mind, even more so than his older brother's, quickly activated, extracting several key points from Luo Mu's speech.

Shinji asked hesitantly: "Do you mean a battle?"

As if thinking of some bad idea, the corners of Luo Mu's mouth curled into a mischievous grin, his gaze roaming over Shinji: "Having stayed at the Academy for seven days, you should also know that regular battle courses are taught by Professor Professor Huangbo, correct?"

Shinji recalled that energetic figure, the corners of his mouth twitching, "That teacher is very energetic, but her teaching methods lean too heavily toward those students who know nothing; I feel I cannot learn anything useful."

"I see, so this is the reason you couldn't wait to come find me?"

Luo Mu stroked his chin; the intelligence Shinji brought was an unexpected joy. In any case, Professor Professor Huangbo counted as half his subordinate; when he went to work at Grape Academy, he could call her into his office to discuss matters regarding teaching quality and content.

"Yes." Shinji took out a Poké Ball that had been wiped very clean, shining brightly under the sunlight, and made his solemn request once more, "Please battle me with your Pokémon; I will prove to you that I possess the qualities of being chosen."

"This is what you requested; if you regret it later, don't blame me?" Luo Mu's gaze fell upon the Poké Ball held in Shinji's hand, "Release your Pokémon first."

"Yes."

After replying, Shinji directly pressed the button on the Poké Ball.

A red beam shot out from the Poké Ball; that mass of red light constantly twisted and deformed, finally transforming into a land-turtle Pokémon approximately one meter tall.

Luo Mu's eyes widened slightly; had this Turtwig evolved into Grotle?

The evolved Grotle carried a yellow shell on its back, upon which grew small trees resembling bushes; these small trees bore brown nuts resembling acorns, and beside them were three long, coffee-colored ridges.

Grotle's limbs were short and thick, yellow at the bottom; one could see that compared to its Turtwig stage, it was no longer adept at teasing opponents with a petite body and agile movements.

Upon seeing Grotle, Luo Mu immediately gained some interest.

Gesturing for Shinji and Grotle to wait there for a moment, he turned directly from the open ground into the farmland, then went to the Salt House built nearby, took away the strongest of the three Nacli siblings, the one who mastered the most moves—the "older brother"—and returned to stand before Shinji and Grotle.

Shinji focused intently on Naclstack; this past week, he had not spent his time waiting for Luo Mu's return in vain.

Regarding knowledge of some common Pokémon in Paldea, he had already consulted quite a bit, learning a fair amount of basic information.

This was the Rock-type Naclstack, often appearing in farms and ranches, tasked with producing precious rock salt; few Trainers would have them participate in battles...

Moreover, in terms of type matchups, Grotle held an overwhelming advantage; if Grotle were to complete one more evolution and become Torterra, most Rock-type Pokémon would no longer be its match.

When that time comes, I will use Torterra to defeat Regirock!

Observing Shinji's expression, Luo Mu roughly guessed what he was thinking and said meaningfully: "Considering the future because you feel the enemy before you poses no threat is the very mistake one should least make in battle."

Shinji was startled; by the time he regained his senses, Luo Mu had already brought Naclstack to stand opposite himself and the high-spirited Grotle, waving his hand and saying: "You attack first~!"

Shinji took a deep breath, adopting the attitude of first probing Naclstack's true strength, and called out: "Grass Glide!"

This was one of the few new moves he had managed to have Grotle learn during the battle courses at Grape Academy.

Grotle lowered its body; its thick four legs became surrounded by green light, and immediately after, it erupted with a speed relatively fast for its size, dragging the green light as it charged toward Naclstack.

Luo Mu could see that Shinji clearly had not yet broken away from Turtwig's fighting style; just like Ash during the Sinnoh period, Shinji was still exploring Grotle's fighting style after evolution, striving to prevent it from becoming a "cannon-fodder turtle."

However, for this current battle, neither activating Grassy Terrain to enjoy Grass Glide's priority acceleration nor choosing to approach Naclstack meant this move was wrong from the very start.

Locking his gaze on Grotle running toward Naclstack, once Grotle truly entered range, Luo Mu decisively commanded: "Salt Cure!"

(End of Chapter)