Chapter 404: Find the One-of-a-Kind Treasure!

Ah Feng's tone seemed ambitious, but given the scale of the Pai Shu Lei Mu Zi establishment, consuming the milk and goat milk produced by the five large Da Nai Guan and two mount goats from Luo Mu's farm posed absolutely no problem.

In Ah Feng's vision, just as her master, Master Master Haidai, had taught her.

Centering around the two high-quality raw materials of fresh Tapu Tapu Moumou milk and goat milk, she could rely on specially developed desserts and beverages to forge them into the signature specialty of Pai Shu Lei Mu Zi, using the slogan of "unique in all the world" to aggressively capture customers.

Luo Mu did not know what Ah Feng was thinking; he simply answered with utmost honesty, "I'm afraid that won't work."

Some time had passed since the promotion of fresh Tapu Tapu Moumou milk and goat milk began in Pingdie Town.

By now, most residents within Pingdie Town knew of Luo Mu's farm's existence, and especially upon learning that the delivery person distributing the fresh milk was actually a handsome Skarmory, the ordering phones had once been blown off the hook.

The Oranguru using its text-to-speech function to answer calls was nearly smoking its tablet from typing so hard.

Nowadays, many families directly ordered six months' or a year's worth at a time; one could clearly see that some parents were truly willing to spend on their own children.

Luo Mu calculated the guaranteed daily delivery volume for current clients, added the portion reserved for the Pokémon on the farm, subtracted this sum from the total production, and reported the resulting figure to Ah Feng.

Hearing this, Ah Feng fell silent for quite a while before speaking again: "I'll still take it all."

She already had a plan in mind.

Since the quantity was small, they should pursue a boutique route that was both distinctive and limited.

Making the newly developed desserts the signature item of Pai Shu Lei Mu Zi and conducting hunger marketing with daily limited quantities was undoubtedly a good idea.

Ah Feng clapped her hands together, her eyes narrowing slightly, "When shall we sign the contract?"

Shortly after seeing off a high-spirited Ah Feng, Luo Mu sat down on a chair and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Although Ah Feng's arrival had interrupted his thoughts on how to specially train the Combee, it also brought two good things.

First, the farm's milk sales business was now completely sold out; in a little while, he would go hang a sign at the farm entrance stating "Sold Out, Temporarily Stopping Acceptance of Reservations."

Second, while discussing the contract, Ah Feng accidentally saw the content on Luo Mu's notebook and asked in confusion whether he was struggling with how to raise Bug-type Pokémon.

Recalling that besides her main profession as a pastry chef, Ah Feng was also an expert on Bug-type Pokémon, Luo Mu did not hesitate and explained his considerations regarding how to raise the Combee to her.

Among the Bug-type Pokémon on the farm, the training and breeding plans required for Shuckle, a Bug/Rock type, and Combee, a Bug/Flying type, were completely worlds apart; therefore, he was contemplating formulating an exclusive training and breeding plan for the Combee.

To this, Ah Feng offered only one piece of advice.

"As a queen who will inevitably lead her clan in the future, it would be better to start cultivating her queenly demeanor from the Combee stage."

Cultivating a queenly demeanor? Luo Mu suddenly had a realization.

That's right; just like Milotic, hailed as the most beautiful Pokémon, research has shown that during its Feebas stage, boosting its confidence and increasing its "Beauty" condition allows Feebas to evolve into Milotic.

The evolution of Combee into Vespiquen follows the same principle.

As long as the Combee is female, it inherently faces no restrictions regarding evolution; once it has accumulated enough, it will naturally complete its evolution.

However, a Vespiquen that began cultivating its queenly demeanor during the Combee stage should differ significantly from an ordinary Vespiquen, shouldn't it?

Coincidentally, there was a Pokémon on the farm whose queenly—no, empress-like—aura of oppression was terrifyingly intense.

After making his decision, Luo Mu did not immediately throw the Combee to Serperior right from the start.

He was very worried that in its current state, the Combee would struggle immensely to endure under Serperior's Vine Whip.

It would be better to first lay a solid foundation, and then during spare time, Luo Mu himself would take the Combee to activity near Serperior, allowing it to absorb through hearing and seeing some of the demeanor a queen ought to possess.

Afternoon.

Riding Dragonite, Luo Mu went straight to Naranja Academy.

It wasn't that there were classes this afternoon; rather, an event being held this afternoon made his participation necessary.

The Extracurricular Treasure Hunt.

A special extracurricular activity for Naranja Academy proposed by the new principal, Clavell.

By freely traveling to destinations, encountering numerous Pokémon, and finding treasures belonging to oneself.

Although called a treasure hunt, there were no actual treasures; instead, it involved free adventure throughout the Paldea region, experiencing various things, challenging Gyms, helping people in difficulty, or even truly searching for treasures were all acceptable.

Clavell firmly believed this would allow students to learn many things they couldn't learn in school normally, while also providing more opportunities for battles.

This reminded Luo Mu of the "Kanto specialty" he had heard about from others while traveling in the Kanto region not long ago.

The conflict between the Academy Faction and the Traveler Faction.

The most typical example was like the school that Ash and his group reached through thick fog in the original anime.

The students there were familiar with various theoretical knowledge, having even created data-driven models for which moves Pokémon could learn at what levels, and their experience in commanding Pokémon battles was even trained through computer simulations.

These Academy Faction students looked down upon Traveler Faction members like Ash, who battled by intuition.

Luo Mu remembered that within the Academy Faction, there seemed to be a female student named Honor Student who achieved the feat of making the straight-laced Ash blush.

Launching the Extracurricular Treasure Hunt activity was likely a bold attempt by Clavell to seek a balance between theory and practice.

Originally, Clavell had planned to launch this activity shortly after the school term began.

However, since it was the first time holding it, procedures in various aspects were difficult to handle, plus many parents opposed letting their children move about freely outside—

After all, didn't many parents specifically send their children to attend Naranja Academy precisely to prevent them from starting journeys knowing nothing, possessing only a certain amount of basic knowledge?

The Extracurricular Treasure Hunt activity was delayed until the end of August before it was finally launched.

However, bearing the pressure exerted by many parents, the scale of this first Extracurricular Treasure Hunt was far from the school-wide participation Luo Mu remembered from the game.

The reason he had previously asked Hearing Hearing Nimo and the others whether they wanted to register was precisely because of this.

Out of the several thousand students in the entire academy, excluding those held back without parental permission, there were only slightly over two hundred participants.

The majority of these were students several years older than Luo Mu; students like Hearing Hearing Nimo, Pipahe, and Peony, who had their own willingness and whose parents were reasonable enough to agree, were ultimately the minority.

A considerable crowd had already gathered on the playground, but ninety percent of them were merely there to watch the excitement; the true protagonists participating in the activity were only that small cluster in the center of the playground.

Walking through the crowd that automatically made way, it so happened that Clavell on the high platform had just finished his speech; amidst a round of applause, the excited students dispersed in various directions.

From today onward, except during exam weeks, they could leave Naranja Academy at any time for most of their days to venture into the various major regions of the Paldea region.

In terms of freedom, it was at least maxed out. Among the trio of Hearing Hearing Nimo, the sharp-eyed Pipahe was the first to spot Luo Mu waiting for them nearby.

Prompted by her reminder, Hearing Hearing Nimo and Peony also discovered Luo Mu and trotted over.

"Teacher!"

One minute after Penny and Pipa arrived, Hearing Hearing Nimo came running up, panting heavily.

Luo Mu smiled at them and specifically instructed, "Although you are free to come and go from the academy and adventure in Paldea, you haven't forgotten the second lesson I once taught you, have you?"

Penny and Pipa nodded seriously, while Hearing Hearing Nimo's body stiffened, her expression becoming exceptionally guilty.

Seeing that Hearing Hearing Nimo had written her guilt all over her face, Luo Mu no longer felt speechless; rather, he was long accustomed to it, and with an expressionless face, he briefly summarized, "In the wild, the primary choice is to guarantee your own safety; do not engage in dangerous matters without certainty. Pokémon are terrifying creatures, and this is also why, when I have time, I have you exercise your physical fitness together with your partners."

"Fleeing is not shameful."

Luo Mu dared to guarantee that Hearing Hearing Nimo's mind was currently absolutely full of battles and challenging gyms; all he could do was, before she left Naranja Academy like an unbridled wild horse, give her this final earnest admonition, hoping she would remember it for a long time.

Hearing Hearing Nimo nodded like a chick pecking at rice; as for whether she had actually taken it to heart, that remained unknown.

Luo Mu then looked at Penny and Pipa, pondered briefly, and still decided to set a goal for the three of them in advance.

"The three of you plan to form a team and set out on a journey together, correct?"

The three nodded; that was indeed their intention.

"The distribution is quite reasonable."

Luo Mu's gaze moved sequentially across Hearing Hearing Nimo, Pipa, and Penny.

A Pokémon battle maniac, a female second lead who is a Trainer but has niche hobbies, and the one responsible for cooking—what a familiar configuration.

Clearing his throat lightly, under the curious gazes of the three, Luo Mu first looked at Hearing Hearing Nimo.

"Do you still remember what I once said, about giving you a reward if you successfully challenge the eight gyms?"

"I remember!"

Hearing Hearing Nimo answered with full energy.

"Very good." Luo Mu nodded with satisfaction and dangled his bait, "As long as you successfully collect the badges of all eight gyms, I will tell you the evolution method for Ursaring, and provide the evolution items that are extremely difficult to find in the outside world!"

Hearing Hearing Nimo froze for a moment, and immediately after, her eyes suddenly emitted a light so intense it was nearly tangible.

"Really!?"

"Of course it's real; otherwise, why do you think I occasionally mention letting you few go catch Teddiursa or Ursaring?"

Luo Mu smiled, then looked at Penny and Pipa.

"The items that can be used for evolution are limited; therefore, once you complete your goals, I will also give them to you as rewards. If you encounter suitable Teddiursa or Ursaring during your journey, catch them."

"Although Ursaring evolves into a Ground and Normal-type Pokémon, its close-combat ability will absolutely meet your expectations, Pipa, and in terms of strength, it will become your most important aid when you, Penny, go to the Paldea Crater in the future to protect your parents."

Listening to Luo Mu's tempting words, Pipa and Penny could not hold back and acted almost impatiently, asking, "Teacher, then what goals must we complete for you to consider us successful?"

Hearing the two students' questions, Luo Mu did not hesitate and threw out the answer he had already considered.

"Pipa, don't you like Fighting-type Pokémon? Recently, many cities in Paldea are holding fighting tournaments; why not participate, collect four city-level bronze belts, and then join the grand tournament? We won't ask for the gold belt; just obtaining the silver belt will be enough."

"As for you, Penny, do you remember the Herba Mystica in that small farm plot on my farm? I'm giving you four objectives: go find the four Titan Pokémon, then locate the four types of Herba Mystica in their lairs and bring them back to me, and that will count as completing your mission."

He took out the prepared fighting tournament flyers, as well as the Paldea region map where he had roughly circled the approximate habitats of the four Titan Pokémon, excluding the Asado Desert.

Penny and Pipa excitedly accepted the items Luo Mu handed over and nodded with great anticipation, "We will work hard!"

Pipa was genuinely looking forward to participating in the fighting tournament, while Penny felt that this arrangement was quite good as well.

For some reason, he felt absolutely no resistance toward searching for the Pokémon known as Titans.

"Alright, it's about time; go back to the academy dorms to pack the Required Items needed for the journey."

Luo Mu patted each of the three on the shoulder in turn and offered today's final blessing.

"Go adventure, and find the treasure that belongs uniquely to you!"

Returning to the farm, Luo Mu called Moltres and Cangyan Cangyan Rengui to the open ground where the Pokémon usually trained.

Although the open ground was often ruthlessly trampled by many outstanding Pokémon on the farm, thanks to the efforts of Swampert and Mudsdale, the pitted and uneven ground would always become flat again after a single night, which was very worry-free.

Noticing the puzzled look Moltres cast at him, as if asking, "You called me here just to watch you two bond?", Luo Mu stopped the action of maintaining Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's armor and said with a smile, "Wait a moment."

Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's armor was essentially transformed from the item "Cursed Armor"; back then, in order to obtain this rare item to help Tan Xiao Shi evolve, he had expended considerable effort.

Regarding maintenance, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui had no hands, so naturally, Luo Mu had to be the one to pay attention to it.

Hearing this, Moltres quietly waited for a while.

A moment later, Luo Mu wiped the sweat beads from his forehead, looked at Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's armor gleaming brightly under the sunlight, even capable of reflecting light, and felt very satisfied with the results of his labor.

Not bad, not bad; my own child is still the best.

So valiant and handsome; a cool, handsome shadow knight—who wouldn't love that? "Shi Luo."

Cangyan Cangyan Rengui softly expressed thanks.

The Moltres nearby simply couldn't bear to watch.

Ever since becoming familiar with the Pokémon on the farm, Moltres had known just how secretly flamboyant this guy was in private—the same one who had once teamed up with Luxray and Mimikyu in a triple battle against it, and had forcibly dragged it to the farm.

On the surface, he appeared both cold and calm, but who knew if right now he wasn't secretly rejoicing in his heart.

Ignoring the faint hint of jealousy rising in its heart, Moltres looked at Luo Mu again.

This time, you surely have to say why you called us here, right? Luo Mu did not beat around the bush and explained gently directly, "I intend to verify what changes have occurred in you since that day on the Indigo Plateau, when the Moltres manifested from the sacred fire entrusted a wisp of fire seed to you."

"Elite Karen and Chairman Lance have both said that the source of the sacred fire enshrined on the Indigo Plateau, that Moltres's flames, possess a power to heal injuries that other Moltres do not have."

"Coincidentally, as a Fire and Ghost-type Pokémon, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui not only has a keen perception of flames but is also the Ghost-type Pokémon with the strongest perception ability regarding life energy."

"Therefore, I only called the two of you here."

(End of Chapter)