Chapter 401: The Little Blacksmith: Gratitude for Heaven's Gift

The afternoon passed.

Except for Hearing Hearing Nimo, who would passionately issue challenges regardless of victory or defeat, seeming to have limitless stamina when it came to Pokémon battles.

Even Shinji had chosen to pause and rest after suffering repeated defeats.

As for Peper and Momo, those two contestants whose battle IQ wasn't particularly high had long been played right in the palm of Politoed's hand.

Midway through, Shizuka, acting as the team doctor, volunteered to join the fight herself, wanting to put into practice the Minimize + Rock Slide + Substitute + Poison combination she had been painstakingly studying and cultivating these past few days.

But the result was utterly cruel.

Due to a complete lack of proficiency and experience, Shizuka had to agonize over which move to use for what felt like an eternity.

In that time, Politoed directly bound the Minimized Chansey with Ice Beam, then finished the match with a single, soul-piercing Focus Punch.

At that moment, Shizuka was completely stunned.

Why was there such a huge difference between this tactic in her hands versus in Luo Mu's hands!? By the time Luo Mu prepared to clock out and run at five o'clock, even though the five students had worn Politoed down through a wheel battle, they hadn't secured a single victory.

Now, each of them looked as wilted as an eggplant hit by frost, diligently applying injury medicine to their partners.

Luo Mu clapped his hands, gathering the attention of all five, then highlighted the problems he had discovered today.

"Hearing Hearing Nimo, Pawmi's Electro Double Beam already has considerable power, but you've fallen into a misunderstanding, treating it as the final blow to decide victory or defeat, choosing the clumsiest method to charge up—"

"You need to find a way to smoothly integrate this move into Pawmi's combo; although right now it can only be used once as a finishing move, this situation will change soon, so you must prepare in advance."

What Luo Mu referred to was naturally the fact that after Pawmi Terastallized into the Electric type, there would be no need to worry about its Electric attribute disappearing, nor would its electrical energy be exhausted by a single Electro Double Beam; relying on the energy brought by the Electric Tera Type, Pawmi could completely unleash Electro Double Beam many more times.

Hearing Hearing Nimo's eyes shone brightly as she responded with full vigor: "I will work hard to train in this aspect!"

Luo Mu then turned his gaze to Momo.

"Momo, I might not know more about fighting techniques than you do, so I won't elaborate too much; today, the biggest problem between you and Oranguru wasn't fighting skill, but rather that you both enjoy constantly enduring attacks to stack up anger and use Rage Fist at the end."

"This move is indeed very powerful, but you also saw how Politoed dealt with it today; relying on a single trick is hardly enough to dominate everywhere now, so you need to think more about other tactics."

"Oh right, Combusken's Speed Boost ability is also very worth developing; its leg muscles are crucial, so remember to exercise them often."

Momo sat up straight, nodding slightly with a touch of nervousness.

Just as Luo Mu turned his head toward Peper, Hearing Hearing Nimo, who was sitting next to Momo, leaned over and quietly invited her to undergo special training together later.

Looking at the guilt-ridden Peper, Luo Mu sighed helplessly and said, "What gave you the courage to let Capsicumid fight Politoed for control of the weather?"

Peper dared not make a sound.

He couldn't exactly say that he actually intended for Capsicumid to seize the weather first, then one-shot Politoed with Solar Beam.

"However, considering the combination of abilities and moves shows you've improved a lot compared to before."

Luo Mu patted Peper on the shoulder, then turned to look at Shinji and Joy Shizuka.

The problems of these two were, in a certain sense, highly complementary.

Shinji possessed meticulous battle thinking and tactics, but was limited by the fact that Turtwig and Fuecoco had only just started out; their strength and learned moves were far from sufficient to support many of his ideas.

Meanwhile, Shizuka had a Chansey with an awesome move pool, yet her command level was terrifyingly poor.

For these two, Luo Mu temporarily offered only basic suggestions.

Their teams were far from forming a unique style of their own like Hearing Hearing Nimo's and Momo's; basic advice was enough for them to digest for now.

Just as Luo Mu finished speaking, the five o'clock dismissal bell rang.

Several students were discussing whether to go as a group to the Pokémon Center in Cortondo to visit Penny and Flareon.

Luo Mu wisely chose not to join this conversation, turning his head and leaving immediately.

This caused Peper, who had planned to mooch a dinner at his place tonight, to wisely keep his mouth shut.

Walking on the road away from Naranja Academy, Luo Mu was suddenly called out by a voice sounding from behind.

"Yo, busybody, long time no see!"

Pausing his steps, Luo Mu turned back helplessly, "Does Teacher Lei He have something to discuss?"

"It's not really anything serious; I'm just curious about your progress in collecting the Paldean Gold Coins."

Lei He spread her hands, indicating that she had truly stopped Luo Mu out of mere curiosity.

Glancing at her, Luo Mu still answered honestly, "Still 26 coins; I haven't gone collecting recently."

Lei He walked forward a few steps, almost pressing herself against Luo Mu, showing absolutely no sense of boundaries.

As if observing Luo Mu's expression, she said in a frivolous tone, "Do you need me to introduce some channels to you?"

Subtly stepping back a few paces, Luo Mu shook his head, "That won't be necessary; I've already given it some thought."

Compared to Lei He, whose motives were unclear, Luo Mu would rather figure things out himself; he had already put this into practice, he just hadn't received a reply from a suitable candidate yet.

As if hurt by Luo Mu's action of stepping back, Lei He wore a wounded expression and said, "And here I was, intending to make an exception and introduce a few channels to you specifically so I could see the first Gholdengo of the modern era; what a pity."

"Then I suppose I should thank you for your kindness, but I don't need your help for now." Seeing through all of this as Lei He's acting, Luo Mu shook his head and changed the subject, "Is there anything else? If not, I'm leaving; there are many things to attend to at the farm."

Lei He similarly stepped back a few paces, shrugged, and said, "Nothing else; the detailed locations of the Four Treasures of Ruin, the stake points, and the Clear Water are still under investigation; I'll contact you again once there's a breakthrough."

"After all, with just a weak woman like me, even if I unseal the seals of the Four Treasures of Ruin, I wouldn't be able to subdue or capture them."

Luo Mu nodded slightly, said nothing more, and directly left Naranja Academy, mounting his Dragonite on the outskirts of Mesagoza and flying toward the farm.

Just as he arrived above the farm, Luo Mu happened to encounter the Corviknight Sky Patrol changing shifts.

As the clan leader, Skarmory Skarmory Sanmao stood aside directing the Rookidee and Corviknight to change shifts efficiently, then land inside the farm to collect today's daily wages.

Taking into account the mental health of the Corviknight and Rookidee, Luo Mu and Oranguru had previously reorganized the Corviknight Sky Patrol's schedule.

It changed from working the entire day to being split into three shifts divided by time.

After coming in the early morning to deliver milk and sheep milk, the Corviknight and Rookidee only needed to stay until twelve o'clock, at which point they could swap with another shift of Corviknight and Rookidee.

The new shift then lasted from eleven in the morning until around five in the afternoon, after which members of the final shift would arrive to take over, working until nine at night before returning to their nests to rest.

This not only solved the problem of long working hours but also, thanks to the two additional shifts, allowed more Corviknight and Rookidee to participate, ensuring the Corviknight always maintained peak condition while guarding the farm's skies.

And all Luo Mu had expended was merely a small portion of the farm's gradually surplus production.

Watching the Corviknight and Rookidee complete the shift change with great proficiency, Luo Mu was just about to order Dragonite to land when he suddenly noticed something amiss. "Eh?"

As Skarmory Skarmory Sanmao flapped its wings, several of its jet-black feathers, gleaming with a metallic luster, fell off one by one.

Some were blown away by the wind, drifting toward the wilderness.

Others landed smoothly on the farm's ground, in the fields, or in Thunder Cry Lake.

Is molting beginning? Luo Mu frowned slightly, looking left and right to discover that the other Corviknights and Honchkrows were exhibiting the same phenomenon.

There are only two reasons why Corviknights molt their feathers.

First, they have contracted some kind of disease.

The probability of this is very low; it's impossible that the dozen or so Corviknights and Honchkrows before Luo Mu all contracted the same disease, right? Second, their bodies are sufficiently nourished, growing feathers better than their original ones.

Luo Mu felt this was most likely the reason.

Ever since being recruited by the farm to work, the state of Skarmory Skarmory Sanmao and the others, once emaciated with dull, lusterless feathers, had been improving at a speed visible to the naked eye; now, quite a few Corviknights even had an excess of nutrition and had grown a bit plump.

It was only natural, then, that they began molting into harder, higher-quality feathers.

A short while later.

Dragonite landed at Thunder Cry Lake; Luo Mu released Professor Politoed, who had been busy all afternoon, from its Poké Ball, interacted with it along with Dragonair and the Dragonite leader, and only then returned home.

Oranguru must have gone out to purchase daily necessities, while Lei Guan Wang was holding the rarely awakened Cosmog, interacting with it.

Upon seeing Luo Mu return, Lei Guan Wang spoke via telepathy: "Luxray and Feng Su Gou have returned, and they bring good news."

Luo Mu's eyes brightened slightly. "What good news?"

Using psychic power, Lei Guan Wang controlled a slip of paper that looked as though it had been casually torn off, letting it drift toward Luo Mu.

"Nurse Joy at the Pingdie Town Pokémon Center has formulated a prescription to pair with the Salty Herba Mystica, and she entrusted them to bring a copy back."

Luo Mu hastily took the prescription and began examining it carefully.

Perhaps because Flareon's condition required racing against time for immediate treatment, this prescription was somewhat more aggressive compared to the conservative formula previously used for the Sour Herba Mystica, boldly incorporating several medicinal plants that might synergize with and enhance the effects of the Salty Herba Mystica.

It was practically custom-made specifically for Flareon.

Seeing this prescription, Luo Mu understood why Nurse Joy had Luxray and the others bring the formula back.

She was posing a problem for him to solve.

Replace the medicinal plants possessing certain stimulating and sedative properties with milder ones more suitable for general use.

Putting the prescription away safely, Luo Mu planned to study it slowly tonight; once he derived a suitable formula, he would go purchase the medicinal plants and then generate the medicinal liquid inside Sister Shuckle's shell.

Next, Luo Mu told Lei Guan Wang about the Corviknights beginning to molt their feathers and raised his question.

"Can the Corviknights' feathers play a role when reforging the Rusted Sword and the Rusted Shield?"

Corviknight feathers are incredibly miraculous.

While retaining the inherent characteristics of feathers, they can also exist as hard steel; Luo Mu recalled that these feathers should be quite welcomed by certain steel smelting factories in the Galar region.

So, when repairing the Rusted Sword and the Rusted Shield, could Corviknight feathers serve as one of the materials? Lei Guan Wang put down the rattle it had been using to tease Cosmog and answered without hesitation: "If they can be collected in large quantities, adding this material will indeed provide some assistance to the restoration."

As a type of metal, Corviknight feathers inherently possess extremely excellent properties.

Lei Guan Wang vaguely recalled that when it once ordered craftsmen to forge the sword and shield, the craftsmen seemed to have added Corviknight feathers.

The other party seemed to have said something like this.

"Merely using the highest quality iron ore and other materials, no matter how superb our skills, the final product created would absolutely have no possibility of withstanding the King's power, nor could it become an excellent divine artifact."

"Fortunately, there are many living 'steels' in the world; as long as fragments of their bodily tissues or shed items are mixed in, it is sufficient for the created product to possess the strength to endure the blessing of the King's power."

While recalling this, Lei Guan Wang repeated these words verbatim to Luo Mu.

After listening, Luo Mu fell into deep thought.

In other words, one of the necessary requirements for repairing the Rusted Sword and the Rusted Shield was various "components" from Steel-type Pokémon.

Just like the bronze blocks on Copperajah or the metal on Bisharp.

In the wilderness.

Amidst the tall grass reaching up to a person's waist, a rustling sound arose.

A moment later, a small pink figure poked out its large head, which was bigger than its body, looking around vigilantly.

Its name was Tinkatink; it loved forging hammers, and every Tinkatink harbored the dream of becoming a master craftsman, this one being no exception.

However, Tinkatink currently lacked something as important to it as its soul.

Looking down at its empty hands, a sense of loneliness flashed through Tinkatink's eyes.

When it left its clan to embark on the path of cultivation to become a master craftsman, it passed through a bamboo forest where those fierce and vicious creatures stole its hammer, and it was even forced to watch helplessly as those creatures devoured the hammer completely.

Had it stayed any longer, who knew how it would have been treated.

Helplessly, Tinkatink could only flee the bamboo forest in a sorry state, embarking on a wandering journey, searching everywhere for materials in hopes of reforging its own hammer.

Since members of those detestable creatures' kin also seemed to appear nearby, Tinkatink felt it must be even more vigilant.

Moving cautiously through the grass to avoid making conspicuous sounds that might attract those annoying bullies, Tinkatink simultaneously searched carefully within the vegetation.

It remembered that several feathers had suddenly drifted down from the sky just now, so they should have landed somewhere nearby.

After searching for quite a while, Tinkatink's already dirty body became even more covered in mud.

Fortunately, hard work pays off; Tinkatink finally found a feather at the boundary between a water source and the grassland.

The feather was jet-black, reflecting slightly under the sunlight that had not yet set beyond Luoshan, revealing a metallic luster.

Judging by Tinkatink's eyes as a novice apprentice craftsman, using this feather would absolutely allow the creation of a hammer of quality far surpassing the one made previously after ambushing a Bronzor with the elders of its clan! Thanks for the gift from heaven! Tinkatink's eyes sparkled brightly; casting its past hammer entirely out of its mind, it diligently continued searching for more feathers.

But even as the sun set, Tinkatink had barely managed to find five feathers nearby, still far short of the hundreds or thousands needed to make a hammer!

Tinkatink turned its gaze toward the direction from which the feathers had seemingly drifted in its memory and silently made up its mind.

(End of Chapter)