Chapter 436: It's Already Summer; Eating Popsicles Must Be the Most Refreshing Thing

The small hill behind the farm.

Still inside the little blacksmith's cave.

"Try this; it's icy and very refreshing."

Saying this, Luo Mu handed the several popsicles he was holding to the little blacksmith.

"Kanu~"

The little blacksmith happily took the popsicle, examining it curiously while letting out a cry of thanks to Luo Mu.

Over these past few days, Luo Mu had essentially become familiar with the little blacksmith; basically, whenever he went up the mountain, he would bring some food from the farm for it.

There had been mushroom soup from before, as well as desserts, Energy Cubes, and Poffins; this time, what he brought was the freshly made popsicles.

The overall color of the popsicles was white; they contained neither added pigments nor any concentrated "technology and harsh stuff," making them a very ordinary, healthy version of popsicles.

The little blacksmith curiously looked at this food emitting cold air; apart from Ice-type moves released by certain Pokémon, this was the first time it had ever seen such a thing! Could this thing be eaten too?

Fortunately, during this period Luo Mu had accumulated a considerable degree of trust with the little blacksmith, so it didn't hesitate much before directly biting off half of the popsicle.

Luo Mu hadn't even had time to stop it.

To the little blacksmith, everything Luo Mu brought each time was delicious food it couldn't find in the wild, so this time must be the same.

As half the popsicle entered its mouth, the little blacksmith's first sensation was sweetness.

It wasn't the cloyingly sweet kind, but a just-right sweetness, combined with a cool texture that melted upon entering the mouth, feeling very novel and interesting.

Eating such a wonderful food for the first time, the little blacksmith couldn't help but widen its eyes.

Seeing this, Luo Mu breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Fortunately, as a Pokémon, the little blacksmith wouldn't be like humans, who would get headaches once they consumed too many icy things in one go.

As a trial product, the recipe Luo Mu prepared for these popsicles was the recipe for old-fashioned popsicles.

The method was very simple: mix glutinous rice flour and clear water evenly to make glutinous rice water, add sugar water sprinkled with white sugar, finally add a little milk and mix evenly, let it cool naturally, then pour into molds and freeze.

He had tasted the flavor; it was the taste deep in his memory, but if the little blacksmith liked it, that would be even better.

Watching the little blacksmith gulp down the remaining several popsicles, Luo Mu was just about to speak when he noticed the little blacksmith's movements suddenly pause; immediately after, a pained expression floated onto its face, its hammer fell to the ground with a clang, and it directly hugged its head, rolling on the ground in pain.

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Why does my head hurt so much! Speechless Luo Mu: "."

It seemed that compared to humans, the little blacksmith merely had a slightly higher tolerance, that was all.

When it rapidly and excessively consumed icy food, it would still trigger the headache debuff; recalling the memory from his childhood when he used his pocket money to buy many ice creams, swallowed them all like a meal, and suffered a headache for half the night, Luo Mu smiled with understanding.

Indeed, the nature of many Pokémon is just like that of small children.

Once the little blacksmith recovered, seeing Luo Mu grinning with a mouthful of white teeth, its anger immediately flared up.

It was delicious and refreshing, but the trap was waiting right here! So infuriating! Luo Mu chuckled and chose to smooth its fur, saying, "Don't be angry; I also brought a type of berry with a texture similar to popsicles. Want to try?"

The little blacksmith: "."

Popsicles? Berries? Although it had just learned what a popsicle was, the little blacksmith was still very confused about how these two things could be lumped together.

Could it be chilled berries?

Seeing that he had already sparked the little blacksmith's curiosity, Luo Mu shouted toward the outside of the cave, "Frosty, come in again!"

A moment later.

A sturdy white horse stepped into the cave with heavy footsteps.

Its whole body emitted a faint cold air; under normal circumstances, the little blacksmith would definitely stay far away from a fellow like Frosty, who looked so ominous.

But during this period when the temperature had not yet dropped, Frosty's arrival was undoubtedly like installing several high-power air conditioners in this mountain cave, making it incomparably cool.

The little blacksmith's resistance toward Frosty diminished greatly, and since it had come along with Luo Mu, it had no objections.

Luo Mu walked forward and pulled out several clusters of berries, still emitting cold air, from a bag carried on Frosty's back.

Frosty lowered its head and stared at the little blacksmith, one not knowing what it was thinking.

These berries were picked by Luo Mu from the couple, Xue Li Guai and Lei Guan Wang.

Having long heard that the berries produced on their bodies had a texture like popsicles and were the favorite of the Galarian form of Darumaka, Luo Mu was naturally very interested in them as well.

After tasting them, he simply decided to bring some over for the little blacksmith.

The little blacksmith accepted them half-believingly, carefully tasted one first, and chewed slowly.

A few seconds later, her eyes lit up, but she dared not eat too many at once, instead tasting them in small bites.

The texture of these berries was also very magical, truly very similar to the popsicles from before! Watching the little blacksmith happily eating the berries, Luo Mu's peripheral vision suddenly caught Frosty staring at the little blacksmith with a focused gaze.

"."

A subtle change appeared on Luo Mu's expression.

The reason he rode Frosty here this time was precisely to preserve these popsicles in his hand, which melted quickly in the hot weather, and the berries borne by Xue Li Guai and the others.

Originally, Luo Mu had planned to call upon Ninetales.

However, after evolving, Ninetales had not only become more dignified and elegant, but its mindset had also undergone some changes.

Although it similarly disliked the hot environment outside, compared to Vulpix's direct declaration of "I don't want to go," Ninetales' reason was somewhat absurd.

Except when absolutely necessary, it did not want to go out and get tanned, affecting its beauty.

Fortunately, even if Ninetales couldn't be mobilized, Luo Mu still had many choices.

Apart from the Sandslash couple who had to look after the small life inside the Pokémon Egg, and the Lei Guan Wang couple and Xue Li Guai who had only recently arrived at the farm and were already far from their habitual snowy mountain environment.

He could call upon both Frosty and Lei Ji; considering that Lei Ji often patrolled everywhere on the farm under the scorching sun, restraining its cold air and acting carefully, fully qualifying as a guardian Pokémon, Luo Mu couldn't bear to casually take it away, so he simply sought out Frosty, intending to take it out to relax a bit.

Recently, Frosty's mood had not been good; previously, it had gorged itself on white radishes and farm food, appearing to have even gained a few pounds, yet during this period it had actually lost weight. Although Lei Guan Wang had told Luo Mu not to worry about Frosty, Luo Mu vaguely understood what exactly Frosty's situation was.

In the Summer Ice Sculpture Competition, it seemed that Vulpix's evolution was what caused Frosty to become like this.

Looking at it again now, having already sensed something, Luo Mu dared not think any deeper.

Ahead lay hell.

Luo Mu shared food with the little blacksmith, and the little blacksmith also took out its gift and gave it to Luo Mu.

It was a tiny hammer, barely half the size of Luo Mu's palm; trying to crack a walnut with it would likely be a struggle.

Rather than a tool, it looked more like an ornament. "Kanu Kanu."

The little blacksmith blushed as it handed the small hammer to Luo Mu, but since its skin was naturally pink, that flush was almost imperceptible.

This was the small hammer it had forged from its last remaining scraps of material; lacking many components, it looked somewhat pitted and uneven, not particularly exquisite.

But the little blacksmith believed this was the best gift it could possibly give.

Although wildflowers grew in many places on the mountain, the little blacksmith considered itself merely an iron-working Pokémon, utterly clueless about making flower crowns, so it ultimately chose this gift instead.

Under its anxious gaze, Luo Mu accepted the small hammer, admired it for a moment, and broke into a brilliant smile.

"Thank you for the gift; I like it very much."

These words were not false.

For the Luo Mu of today, he placed greater emphasis on the sentiment behind a gift rather than its material value.

That the little blacksmith was willing to give him the hammer it had forged as a gift truly made Luo Mu happy.

After all, for the little blacksmith, a hammer was the single most important thing in its understanding of the world.

How could Luo Mu not be delighted to receive a gift imbued with such meaning? Upon receiving Luo Mu's approval, the little blacksmith's eyes sparkled slightly, and it nodded happily.

"Kanu!"

Its careful budgeting of materials had indeed left enough to forge a hammer, even if the resulting form was a bit miniature.

Originally, the little blacksmith had thought that if it had enough materials and completed its evolution, it would forge a hammer nearly as tall as Luo Mu himself, just in case this person, who often traveled without any Pokémon, accidentally got into trouble.

Having a hammer at one's side would at least ensure a bit more safety.

A short while later.

Seeing that dusk was falling again, Luo Mu mounted his Snowy Mountain Horse and, carrying the small hammer, departed from the cave where it lived.

Watching Luo Mu's retreating figure, the little blacksmith stood stunned for a long time.

Only then did it notice that its heartbeat had somehow become very fast, and a warmth emanating from deep within its heart kept spreading throughout its body.

So, having one's own work recognized was such a joyful thing?

No wonder the elders of its clan were so keen on forging the finest hammers; for the little blacksmith, who had simply wanted to be number one, this was the first time it had ever perceived such a feeling.

Climbing to the mountain peak and gazing at the beautiful sunset and twilight, the little blacksmith silently made a resolution.

Once it had conquered the Skarmory clan living in the human territories over there and gathered enough materials, it would forge an even better hammer for Luo Mu! It would keep making them, continuing until it achieved the very best! After making this resolution, the little blacksmith looked toward the other side of the mountain, its expression somewhat troubled.

But then again... why had those slightly silly dogs down the mountain been so quiet lately? Could some mishap have occurred?

On the other side.

Carrying Luo Mu down the mountain, the Snowy Mountain Horse, which simply condensed ice-type energy to form ice layers whenever it encountered difficult terrain, making the entire journey feel as flat as a paved road, turned its head to glance at Luo Mu.

"Neigh—?"

There was a hint of inquiry in the Snowy Mountain Horse's voice.

Originally, Luo Mu could not understand what the Snowy Mountain Horse meant, but fortunately, as a Legendary Pokémon, even though it had not mastered telepathy, it was still capable of letting Luo Mu vaguely grasp its intent.

After remaining silent for quite a while, Luo Mu finally spoke: "If things go smoothly, in another period of time we will be able to show our hand and invite the little blacksmith to settle on the farm."

The Snowy Mountain Horse's eyes lit up.

Seeing its reaction, Luo Mu held back for a good while before murmuring softly: "Can you tell me... when exactly did you discover that you have a penchant for liking cute Pokémon?"

For the sake of the Snowy Mountain Horse's dignity, Luo Mu ultimately swallowed the three characters "Lolicon."

September 9th.

The farm's open ground.

"Not bad, not bad; it seems the time for your evolution is drawing very near."

Luo Mu stroked the Combee's petite body, which felt somewhat unique to the touch, his face filled with a smile.

The Combee vibrated its pair of translucent little wings at a high frequency, all three of its small faces displaying happy expressions as it emitted joyful buzzing sounds.

Nearby, perched atop the Tropius that had been born at almost the same time as itself—not blood siblings, yet closer than blood siblings—the Applin exposed its two apple-like little eyes, in which visible envy floated.

How wonderful; when will I be able to evolve?

As the older brother, its body size wasn't even as large as the head of its younger sister, the Tropius.

If the Applin hung around its neck, it would completely be mistaken for a piece of fruit borne by the Tropius! After interacting with the Combee for a while, Luo Mu did not forget the Tropius and Applin nearby.

The Ninetales that had undergone special training with them had already graduated and was now refining its control over ice-type moves under the guidance of Regice and Lei Guan Wang.

As for Fairy-type moves, Luo Mu had not yet decided on a suitable Pokémon instructor.

Aside from Ninetales, the entire farm had only four Fairy-type Pokémon: Mimikyu, the Twist Hound, Shuang Nai Xian, and the Ring Flower.

Shuang Nai Xian belonged to the support Pokémon and basically rarely used moves, while the Twist Hound was better suited for physical attacks.

For Mimikyu, the Fairy-type moves it commonly used were actually not compatible with Ninetales, so ultimately, only the doctor, Ring Flower, could temporarily guide Ninetales in mastering Fairy-type moves.

Following the Combee over to where the Tropius and Applin stood.

Luo Mu first reached out to scratch the Tropius's chin; seeing its look of pure comfort, and feeling something slightly pointed beneath the Tropius's neck, Luo Mu emphasized once more: "Save your nutrients for your own digestion and absorption; for now, you must suppress the instinct to bear fruit."

Just like the flowers growing from the branch-like antlers atop the heads of the Meng Ya Lu and others, the growth of these things relied on their nutrients.

As a baby not yet one year old, the Tropius was in its growth phase; causing it to consume nutrients to hasten the growth of fruit or the like was not advisable.

In any case, the farm was not lacking in fruit.

There was no rush to hasten the growth of fruit until after the Tropius had passed through its growth period.

Seeing that the seriousness on Luo Mu's face was not feigned, the Tropius nodded rapidly like a chick pecking at rice.

With just that single nod, the Applin on its head was shaken right off.

Fortunately, Luo Mu was quick-eyed and fast-handed, catching it directly.

Meeting the expectant gaze of the Applin in his arms, Luo Mu, having no intention of hiding anything from the child, smiled gently and said: "In a few more days, we will make a trip to the Northern Province."

"There is a huge apple orchard there, filled with apple trees; perhaps within it, we can find the special apple that will allow you to complete your evolution."

(End of Chapter)