Chapter 395: Lei Guan Wang and the Zero Great Void

"Ho, there's even a photo taken with the famous broadcaster Hu Tao."

Luo Mu picked a photo from the center and examined it carefully.

It was a photo of a Delibird and a pink-haired woman wearing round-rimmed glasses standing beneath a broadcast tower.

Originally, Luo Mu couldn't figure out how a Delibird managed to get a photo taken with Hu Tao, who was as famous as a star in Goldenrod City.

But upon seeing the second photo nearby, all doubts were instantly resolved.

The second photo still retained the three elements of the broadcast tower, the Delibird, and Hu Tao, but compared to the photo in Luo Mu's hand, it included an additional elderly man with gray hair, looking vigorous and wearing a white lab coat.

Professor Oak, the Pokémon Professor of Pallet Town.

Luo Mu recalled that the Kanto and Johto regions often broadcast Pokémon lectures co-hosted by Professor Oak and broadcaster Hu Tao, seemingly intended to let more people understand Pokémon characteristics and promote the birth of new Trainers; it seemed they had relied on Professor Oak's connections—truly, having stayed with Mewtwo for so long, even the Delibird had become clever.

His mood, which had been somewhat heavy due to the sudden incident, relaxed considerably; putting away the photo, Luo Mu sat down in the chair with a barely perceptible smile hanging on the corner of his mouth.

Oranguru stood up to brew tea for Luo Mu; seemingly to ensure his skills didn't become rusty, he preferred using his own hands rather than psychic power when making tea.

Shuang Nai Xian jumped out from the kitchen carrying a exquisitely shaped triangular cake, wanting Luo Mu to taste his latest creation.

Taking the plate handed over by Shuang Nai Xian, cutting off a small piece of cake and putting it into his mouth to chew carefully, Luo Mu's eyes brightened slightly as he gave a thumbs-up to the delighted Shuang Nai Xian.

"Delicious!"

Just these two short words of praise made Shuang Nai Xian feel immense sense of accomplishment, as well as the joy of having his meticulously crafted food recognized.

Humming a tune of unknown melody, Shuang Nai Xian jumped off the table and happily ran to the kitchen to prepare distributing the remaining cake to the other Pokémon on the farm.

"Meow~"

Luxray let out a cry, stretched his body, and walked toward the kitchen with vigorous feline steps.

He planned to lend a hand; on such a hot day, it would be exhausting for only Shuang Nai Xian to shuttle cakes back and forth.

Luo Mu waved at Luxray; watching him leave with a plate balanced on his head, Lei Guan Wang put down his teacup and asked, "How is the condition of your student's Pokémon?"

"Thanks to the medicinal liquid mixed with the Secret Spice: Sour and Young Lady Joy's efforts, the condition has temporarily stabilized, but we cannot determine when it might relapse, so we must proceed with treatment as soon as possible."

Luo Mu selected the key points to recount the situation at that time to Lei Guan Wang.

"Currently, we are mainly waiting for Peony to bring back the Terastal fragments containing partial Terastal energy, in order to ripen the Secret Spice: Bitter."

Lei Guan Wang nodded, "For now, this is the only method."

Oranguru handed the steaming teacup to Luo Mu, then set down the chipped teapot, sighing with emotion as he recalled his past when he was just an ordinary wild Pokémon living in the jungle.

"Perhaps it is the Creator's blessing; situations where we Pokémon fall ill are very rare. Even when sick, in most cases it's just minor illnesses like catching a cold or fever; as long as suitable medicinal herbs are found for treatment, improvement occurs within a few days."

"In the jungle, I often treated other Pokémon who came seeking help, but the 'Yan Dai Yan' that Young Master mentioned is something I've heard of for the first time."

Saying this, Oranguru refilled Lei Guan Wang's teacup with tea.

"Thank you." Lei Guan Wang nodded lightly to Oranguru, lifted his teacup as if in recollection, "In the era when I ruled Galar, human diseases seemed to have many types. Conversely, the wild Pokémon of the Crown Tundra rarely fell ill; able to survive in such harsh wilderness environments, everyone's bodies were very robust."

"It is an immune disease formed by two inducing factors: excessively high Fire-type aptitude and underdevelopment of the Flame Sac. I don't quite understand the specific terminology, but just as Luo Mu said, to resolve such an illness, we probably still need to focus on enhancing immunity, promoting secondary development of the Flame Sac, and improving control over Fire-type energy."

Luo Mu said, "To efficiently enhance Flareon's immunity, we must grow healthy, vigorous, and mature Secret Spices; regarding the sharing of nutrients and vitality, with you here, Lei Guan Wang, I am very reassured."

"The main problem remains how to correctly utilize Terastal energy... If we rashly gather Terastal energy near the plant, it might directly cause localized crystallization phenomena."

Lei Guan Wang put down his already empty teacup, exchanged a glance with Oranguru, and said, "Regarding this point, Oranguru and I have already discussed it; we have a rough plan, but we need to experience it personally before making a judgment."

Luo Mu was slightly stunned.

"Experience it personally?"

"Terastallization; only by personally experiencing Terastallization can I understand this kind of energy that exists solely in this land of Paldea."

"Therefore, throw the Terastal Orb at me, friend."

Lei Guan Wang revealed a smile, a trace of expectation flowing in Emperor Yan Di's eyes.

Hearing that Lei Guan Wang intended to attempt Terastallization, quite a few Pokémon on the farm ran over wanting to watch how Lei Guan Wang would Terastallize.

After all, in the impression of all Pokémon on the farm, the strongest one currently on the farm should be Lei Guan Wang, who rides Spectrier and Glastrier.

Even if Luxray or Mega Swampert were to battle Lei Guan Wang, the situation would be completely one-sided.

Serperior wound forward and approached Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, who was staying with Politoed and the others.

Among all Pokémon on the farm, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui has Terastallized the most and often engages in high-intensity battles after Terastallizing; his feelings are very worth referencing.

Vulpix sat on Glastrier's back; even in the hot weather, he hadn't abandoned his heart for watching the drama unfold.

Spectrier dislikes sunny days and was hiding in the shadows with Mimikyu to observe; Arboliva temporarily entrusted her growing chick to Skarmory Skarmory Sanmao to look after, and arrived at the scene carrying Cosmog and Victini, who hung on her like fruits.

Tropius brought Applin and the Shuckle siblings over; Combee also flew out from the glass greenhouse; the Bai Pengpengs stayed in flowerpots on the balcony, planning to gaze from a high vantage point.

Feng Su Gou and Stoutland didn't know where they had wandered off to; they probably ran out into the wild to frolic.

Meanwhile, Luo Mu, holding the Terastal Orb that had finished charging since returning to Paldea yesterday, looked at Lei Guan Wang, who was already prepared and nodding slightly at him; without hesitation, he directly threw the activated Terastal Orb with great precision toward the top of Lei Guan Wang's head.

The thrown Terastal Orb suspended in a beautiful parabolic arc above Lei Guan Wang's head; brilliant starlight showered down accordingly, and Lei Guan Wang closed his eyes, carefully sensing this power named Terastal.

However, even when the Terastal Orb spilled all its stored Terastal energy onto Lei Guan Wang, Terastallization still did not arrive.

Instead, the energy-depleted Terastal Orb first smashed onto the bud on top of Lei Guan Wang's head, then fell to the ground with a 'patter'.

The watching Pokémon immediately let out successive cries of surprise; Luxray, who had experienced Terastallization, changed from lying down to standing up; he didn't believe this was Lei Guan Wang's problem, and having sparred with Lei Guan Wang in battle every night recently, he knew very well how powerful Lei Guan Wang was.

The problem lay with the Terastal Orb.

Lei Guan Wang seemed not surprised by this; using psychic power, he sent the energy-depleted Terastal Orb into Luo Mu's hand, then lowered his gaze to look at the Terastal energy that surrounded him like a brilliant galaxy, bound by psychic power, and there seemed to be realization in his eyes.

Lei Guan Wang's telepathy spread out.

"To put it plainly, the energy within the Terastal Orb is insufficient to support my Terastallization."

Hearing this.

Luo Mu was not as surprised as he had imagined.

He remembered that in Sword and Shield, during Dynamax, only Lei Guan Wang's Dynamax lacked dark red light surrounding his body, instead being enveloped in blue light consistent with his psychic power.

For legendary Pokémon like Lei Guan Wang, who are in their prime, perhaps a large amount of Terastal energy is required to enter the Terastallization state.

What a pity; compared to obtaining a Key Stone or Mega Stone once for lifelong benefit, the energy that can be stored within a Terastal Orb is limited; even if Victini performs the charging, its capacity seems to have a limit.

If one wishes to Terastallize Lei Guan Wang, one must either attempt to throw multiple charged Tera Orbs or go to a place like Area Zero, where Terastal energy dissipates so abundantly that the Tera Orb can be used consecutively without needing recharging.

As for a Tera Orb possessing infinite energy that requires no charging, Luo Mu remains unclear whether such an item exists; after all, he transmigrated after completing the first and second playthroughs of the base game, so he is unaware if the DLC added any supplements regarding this.

Lei Guan Wang did not care much about the failed Terastallization; the goal from the start was to understand the characteristics of Terastal energy, and the understanding gained from that brief period was sufficient.

Lei Guan Wang said to Luo Mu, "We can begin preparing for the experiment; regarding the method of how to utilize Terastal energy, I already have an idea."

A moment later, in the farming area.

In the neat square fields, plants arranged with suitable spacing swayed slightly in the blowing breeze.

Luo Mu pointed to several plants among them that had leaves with yellow veins, saying, "These are all Herba Mystica: Bitter Herba."

The Luxray nearby curiously stepped forward to sniff them, then immediately sneezed.

It did not detect any special or easily distinguishable scent; everything felt like the same earthy smell, and it had no idea how Luo Mu could tell them apart.

Lei Guan Wang and Oranguru exchanged a glance, and Lei Guan Wang stepped forward to begin verifying their hypothesis.

The Terastal energy that had just failed to Terastallize it was still firmly bound around Lei Guan Wang by telekinesis; after carefully distinguishing it and demarcating areas, Lei Guan Wang cautiously injected the Terastal energy into a designated Bitter Herba plant and the soil where its roots were anchored.

While Lei Guan Wang was injecting the Terastal energy, Oranguru briefly explained the conclusion it and Lei Guan Wang had discussed.

"Perhaps the root systems of these special plants can absorb Terastal energy and require it; that is why only Paldea possesses these five types of Herba Mystica in the entire world, why these five herbs possess such strange effects, and why they are so rare."

Listening to Oranguru's explanation, Luo Mu sighed with emotion.

As expected of a king who once ruled a region and an excellent graduate of the Pokémon Trainer's School, this logic was flawless.

The only pity was that all of this was merely speculation.

Luo Mu waited a while; once Lei Guan Wang finished the delicate operation of injecting Terastal energy into the soil for the first time while avoiding crystallization phenomena that might affect the other herbs, he asked, "Can you confirm it now?"

"Confirmed; although it is very faint, I indeed sensed the root system of the Herba Mystica absorbing the Terastal energy I injected. Next, as long as we mix Terastal energy into the soil while injecting nutrients to accelerate ripening, promoting the roots' absorption of energy, we should be able to obtain Herba Mystica in the best condition."

Lei Guan Wang nodded with reserved dignity, feeling very pleased.

Compared to the feelings experienced when subduing invaders, suppressing rampaging wild Pokémon, or handling natural disasters during its time as a king, the sense of accomplishment gained from such a trivial matter was exceptionally interesting.

A smile also appeared on Luo Mu's face.

The experiment had yielded reliable results; next, they only needed to wait for the chunks of Terastal energy that Penny was preparing to be delivered.

Thinking of this, Luo Mu called out to Luxray, intending to visit the Pokémon Center once again.

Arven had sent a message not long ago, stating that he had already arrived at the Pokémon Center and had some matters to convey on behalf of Professors Sada and Turo.

Seeing this, Lei Guan Wang voluntarily offered, "I will go with you; although I cannot cure diseases, stabilizing the Flareon's vital signs and improving its condition is no problem."

Luo Mu nodded. "That would be perfect."

Cortondo, Pokémon Center.

Penny had not sent any news yet, but Arven was already sitting there waiting.

Upon hearing that Arven's Flareon was in trouble and required a large amount of Terastal energy to treat this rare disease, Arven without hesitation called his father and mother.

Fortunately, Arven's luck was good today; not only was the signal in Area Zero stable, but Sada and Turo also happened to be inside the Zero Lab.

Upon hearing about this matter, Sada and Turo, far away at the Zero Lab, exchanged a glance and immediately thought of the "Treasure" within the "Great Crater of Paldea"! According to Sada and Turo's research, the Treasure deep within the Great Crater of Paldea was highly likely the source of the Terastal phenomenon; although they were also very willing to help Luo Mu, their research had entered the most critical stage, and the Treasure could not be removed from the Great Crater.

If Luo Mu needed a large amount of Terastal energy, rather than inefficiently acquiring those Tera Shards containing little Terastal energy at a high cost, it would be better for him to come to the Great Crater of Paldea personally.

The true form of the Treasure was a turtle-like Pokémon resembling a gem, sleeping quietly within hard crystals composed of high-concentration Terastal energy.

Taking away parts of these crystals would contain far more Terastal energy than any Tera Shards.

If Luo Mu had not taken care of Arven and previously saved the couple, they would never allow an unexpected factor to enter the nearly completed Zero Lab and the Great Crater of Paldea.

Sada and Turo had also given a name to this Pokémon codenamed "Treasure."

Terapagos.

The Terastal energy it possessed was filled with mystery and unbelievable power.

(End of Chapter)