Chapter 453: If You Want to Sue, I'll Be Waiting for You at the Paldea League

Cleaning up the aftermath is truly troublesome.

At this moment, Luo Mu firmly believed this more than ever.

Looking at the peach-shaped doll, dog sculpture, monkey sculpture, and chicken sculpture arranged in a row before him, his expression showed a hint of distress.

After Okorin sequentially struck the four Pokémon who had committed every evil deed with its Thorny Vine staff, their life aura rapidly vanished, finally transforming into this state.

How should one put it? Could this be the reason the Three Companions, separated by who knows how many years, were able to resurrect once again? Luo Mu recalled how the sculptures of the Three Companions were enshrined within the shrine at Companion Plaza.

Could it be that these fellows, just like Lei Guan Wang, are capable of drawing upon the power of faith?

If that is the case, then we cannot allow these manifestations of theirs to be picked up again by the townsfolk of Verdant Town.

Based on Luo Mu's understanding of those people, even if they learned the truth afterward and experienced such a terrifying "Gee Gee" incident, they would most likely continue to enshrine the sculptures of these three fellows, and even the peach-shaped doll of Tao Dai Lang.

All for the sake of making money.

"Hmm, what should be done?"

Luo Mu pondered whether to simply have Moon Bear dig a deep pit and bury these four things directly, yet he felt it still wasn't entirely safe.

He had already let Okorin try; the single strike of the Thorny Vine staff that could dispatch Tao Dai Lang completely failed to smash these things.

If that doesn't work either, we must consider summoning Lei Guan Wang to see if it has any method to seal these objects.

Just then.

The sound of hooves treading on the ground approached; Luo Mu looked up and discovered Spirit Spectral Steed walking over.

"Spirit—Neigh~"

Spirit Spectral Steed nuzzled Luo Mu's face, conveying that it could handle this matter.

It even lifted its hind leg, as if hinting at something to Luo Mu.

His gaze fell upon Spirit Spectral Steed's hind leg, which was wreathed in drifting purple mist.

In a flash of lightning and spark, a certain memory surfaced.

"It is said that those kicked by Spirit Spectral Steed are highly likely to have their souls ejected from their bodies."

"Do you want to test your ability?"

Luo Mu asked, his eyes widening.

Spirit Spectral Steed snorted and nodded.

"Then let's try it!"

Luo Mu made the decision immediately.

He remembered clearly that Spirit Spectral Steed possessed a peculiar power called Spirit Power, which was inextricably linked to its identity as a Ghost-type Pokémon.

After Lei Guan Wang mounted Spirit Spectral Steed, it also used psychic energy to greatly amplify this Spirit Power, thereby accomplishing all sorts of feats.

Perhaps, when dealing with this kind of thing, Spirit Spectral Steed's power would yield unexpectedly good results?

No sooner said than done.

Luo Mu first instructed Feng Su Gou, Moon Bear, and the other Pokémon to guard the perimeter, ensuring no one else had the chance to interfere with matters here.

Mr. Xue Zhong, leading his entire family under the escort of Mimikyu, had already departed, saying they intended to seize this opportunity to convey the truth to the villagers and expose the evil disguise of the Companions.

Luo Mu was not optimistic about this, yet he did not stop them.

Once all preparations were complete, Luo Mu stepped back several paces with Okorin and looked toward Spirit Spectral Steed.

Spirit Spectral Steed nodded, stepped forward, the soul-like purple mist beneath its hooves growing increasingly dense, and without hesitation kicked down at that peach-shaped doll! In that instant, Spirit Power burst forth.

Except for a large pit now appearing on the ground and the doll remaining completely intact.

Faintly, Luo Mu heard a scream of agony.

In a place invisible to Luo Mu, detectable only by Spirit Spectral Steed's senses, something so light its weight was negligible was directly kicked out of the doll by it, frantically attempting to return inside.

Snorting coldly in its heart, Spirit Spectral Steed would not give the opponent such a chance.

Spirit Power continued to surge forth; within moments, it completely enveloped the doll, causing the thing kicked out by Spirit Spectral Steed to collide as if hitting an impregnable wall, receiving a massive bump on its head.

It discovered in terror that it could not return!

If it cannot return, resurrection becomes impossible; it can only maintain this state, forever sealed nearby!

Spirit Spectral Steed repeated the exact same procedure on the sculptures of the Three Companions, finally nodding toward Luo Mu.

"Neigh-whinny—"

We can bury them, guaranteeing they won't be able to rise from the dead again! Luo Mu's eyes lit up as he eagerly spoke: "Then let's go find some remote wilderness!"

By the time all cleanup work was finished and they returned to Verdant Town, the sun had long been hanging high in the sky, approaching nearly noon mealtime.

Recalling the three Pokémon that had performed so actively, Luo Mu decided to give them an extra meal upon returning to the farm, then directly took Okorin's hand and, without any attempt to avoid attention, entered Verdant Town through the main gate.

Along the way, they received numerous complex gazes from the townsfolk, especially from those just released from control.

On one hand, their view of ghosts could not be eliminated so quickly; on the other hand, after hearing from other sober individuals what they had done during their missing memories, they felt anger toward Tao Dai Lang and the Three Companions for arbitrarily manipulating their bodies.

But this anger was merely personal; if given a choice, they would still continue to promote the Three Companions.

At worst, they could simply build new sculptures and shrines.

This follows the same logic as the saying: whether a cat is black or white, if it catches mice, it is a good cat.

Luo Mu and Okorin paid no heed to their gazes, for he had already arranged with Little Sha Li to depart Verdant Town today.

Walking all the way to Mr. Xue Zhong's guesthouse, Luo Mu discovered that not only were Mr. Xue Zhong, Aunt Shu Zi, Dan Yu, and the family of Wuli present, but Little Sha Li was there as well.

Even the mayor of Verdant Town in Kitakami was staying inside the house.

The atmosphere within the room was somewhat silent; Xue Zhong and Shu Zi glared angrily at the mayor, Dan Yu and Wuli also bore expressions of rage on their faces, while Little Sha Li frequently rolled her eyes at the mayor.

Seeing Luo Mu enter the house openly with Okorin, a flash of displeasure passed through the mayor's Emperor Yan Di, but since he ultimately needed help from others, he suppressed the reprimand that was nearly bursting from his lips, lowering his tone as much as possible, yet still speaking in a stiff manner:

"Ahem... Mr. Luo Mu, is it?"

"Regarding the matter where you allowed that Luxray and Serperior to act without authorization to threaten and attack the townsfolk, I will let it pass; after all, Tao Dai Lang, Gou Zan Gou, Yuan Zeng Yuan, and Ji Zhi Ji are ultimately the legendary Pokémon enshrined by our Kitakami region."

"Please return the sculpted items they have transformed into to Kitakami."

"The Northern Village has the authority to handle this; otherwise, we will report the matter truthfully to Miss Miss Junsha and the nearby League."

The mayor believed this speech of his was quite beautifully delivered.

It not only displayed the Northern Village's generosity toward outsiders but also perfectly articulated his demands, while the subtext of his final words served as a warning: if they called the police, the other party would become a criminal who incited Pokémon to attack ordinary people.

"Gah-eh-peng!"

Ogerpon glared furiously at the mayor, and the Thorny Staff instantly appeared in its hand.

How could anyone be so shameless! The mayor was startled, pointing at Luo Mu and speaking with false bravado masking inner fear: "Y-y-you still intend to command an evil ghost to attack me!?"

"."

Luo Mu was rendered speechless.

First raising a hand to soothingly pat Ogerpon's head, his expression immediately grew much colder as he looked toward the mayor.

"First, it is not a ghost; it is a Pokémon with a name, and that name is Ogerpon!"

"Want to know where Tao Dai Lang and the Three Treasures are? No matter how silver-tongued you are or how much you try to smear me, let me be blunt: no chance."

"As for your intention to accuse me of commanding Luxray and Serperior to attack the villagers, then please, be my guest."

"If you wish to sue, I will wait for you at the Paldea League; feel free to come."

Having spoken, Luo Mu paid no heed to the mayor's face, which had turned iron-blue, and walked directly toward the second floor with Ogerpon, acting as though he knew the mayor could only offer verbal threats and lacked any ability to stop him. Fortunately, there were not many things to pack, and within a few minutes, Luo Mu descended the stairs with his bag on his back, accompanied by Ogerpon.

The mayor's figure had already vanished from the house; most likely, he had left in a furious huff, or perhaps gone to seek backup.

But none of that mattered.

The moment Luo Mu stepped downstairs, Carmine sparkled with excitement and pounced over, exclaiming with admiration: "Mr. Luo Mu, you were so cool just now!"

Her older sister, Dan Yu, nodded in agreement behind her, while Carmine gave him two thumbs up, feeling much more relieved in her heart after seeing Luo Mu stand up to the mayor.

Luo Mu raised his hand to pat Carmine's slightly long hair, his expression softening somewhat as he spoke with earnest sincerity: "Thank you for your praise. You and your sister are the only two students from this Green Town to gain admission to Blueberry Academy; inevitably, your futures will not be confined by this little Green Town."

"With your family currently in Green Town, there is a high probability that the villagers and the mayor will play petty tricks on you; if you have the opportunity and the willingness, you should move out."

"The world outside is vast; on this point, you should be very clear."

Carmine froze, instinctively looking back at his older sister, as well as his grandfather and grandmother.

Xue Zhong and Shu Zi exchanged a glance, then smiled and nodded.

They did not regret revealing the true historical story while Tao Dai Lang and the Three Treasures were causing chaos and throwing Green Town into disarray.

Reality had made them completely disappointed in many of the villagers, but this was also a good thing; thus, when making other decisions, they would not hesitate.

The two of them spoke with anticipation: "After A-Yu and A-Li become remarkable trainers, we will look forward to the day you take us away from Green Town."

"Mm!"

Warmth filled the hearts of Carmine and Dan Yu, and both nodded seriously.

They had made up their minds: in the future, they would surely achieve distinction and lead their grandfather and grandmother out of the Northern Village within these great mountains!

After this harmonious exchange, taking advantage of the fact that Luo Mu and Carmine had not yet formally departed, Carmine summoned his courage and approached Ogerpon.

He stammered: "O-Ogerpon, the way you defeated Tao Dai Lang was really super—super cool!"

"I-I really have admired you since I was little!"

"Bo-ni?"

Ogerpon covered its small mouth, eyes widening in surprise.

Peng-Peng actually has fans now!?

This "confession" seemed to have exhausted all of Carmine's strength.

He added in a small voice: "P-please be happy in Paldea."

Having spoken, Carmine did not dare lift his head to meet Ogerpon's gaze, fearing that Ogerpon might think he was being overly self-absorbed.

But at that moment, a pair of small hands took hold of his.

Carmine lifted his head to find Ogerpon's starry eyes, full of smiles, looking right back at him.

"Bo-ni!" (Come visit Peng-Peng in Paldea when you have the chance!) Ogerpon flashed a brilliant smile at Carmine.

Miraculously, it seemed as though Carmine understood Ogerpon's meaning; with tears welling in his eyes, he nodded heavily.

"Mm!"

Carmine thought to himself that indeed, his judgment had not been wrong.

The combination of the coolest Ogerpon and the coolest trainer is super cool! After formally bidding farewell, Luo Mu and Carmine left Green Town directly, heading toward the nearest city with an airport.

Along the way, Carmine developed quite a few photos she had taken and handed them all over to Luo Mu.

While handing over the photos, Carmine teased: "Looking at this, you gained quite a lot in the Northern Village."

"Not only did you catch a Gyarados and a shiny Feebas, but also a Bloodmoon Ursaluna and little Ogerpon; you even gained two little admirers!"

"That boy named Carmine even said he would work hard to become stronger and strive to qualify for the next exchange tournament between Blueberry Academy and Grape Academy, didn't he?"

"Truly, popular people are just different!"

Carmine spoke with a hint of sourness, then nudged Luo Mu with her elbow.

"Why aren't you quickly thanking your Sister Carmine for inviting you to the Northern Village?"

"Then, thank you, Sister Carmine."

Luo Mu was in a very good mood at this moment and played along very cooperatively with Carmine's antics, smiling as he said this to her.

"Hmph hmph, very good, very good."

Carmine's nose instantly lifted high; no matter how Luo Mu displayed his mighty power in the Northern Village, didn't he still have to call her 'Sister'!

Of course, aside from the banter, Carmine did not forget the main matter.

She asked with concern: "Is that matter really no problem?"

Luo Mu knew what Carmine was referring to and shook his head. "It's not a big issue; that mayor can only act tyrannically within Green Town."

"Once outside, he cannot influence the police station's decisions, nor can he do anything to me, not to mention that your camera still holds the evidence of their twisting of right and wrong."

"If there's one thing I'm worried about, it's whether they'll trip up Mr. Xuezhong and his family after we leave."

Hearing this, Little Sha Li's anger flared up again, and she waved her fist.

"Seriously, what era is this? There are still towns this exclusionary and administrators this obstinate!"

"Who would know? You'd think we'd time-traveled back to ancient times, surrounded by a bunch of uncivilized hooligans!"

While venting freely with her words, Little Sha Li's face also showed a look of worry.

"As for the thing you're worried about, I think they're definitely capable of doing it."

But Luo Mu had already made plans; looking like a mastermind with a clever scheme, he didn't hesitate to admit his intention to use backdoor connections. "Don't worry, I have connections."

"Uli and Carmine certainly possess qualified talent as Trainers. Our League Chairman happens to be eager for talent, not to mention we have a craftsman like Mr. Xuezhong who can create special masks."

Little Sha Li widened her eyes. "You mean you're going to..."

Luo Mu smiled without speaking.

Otherwise, why would he have left that 'seed' behind?

Little Sha Li was sharp-witted; after understanding Luo Mu's meaning, she immediately sucked in a sharp breath.

Good heavens, Luo Mu was planning to poach talent from Blueberry Academy!

Indeed, just as Little Sha Li suspected, if Uli and Carmine could truly secure a spot in the exchange match between Blueberry Academy and Grape Academy, with that evidence in hand, Luo Mu approaching Geeta would surely make her very willing to handle everything.

Changing household registration, providing financial aid, even supplying housing for special talents—none of these would be problems; schooling would also be fully arranged, guaranteed to be handled clearly and properly.

Although, most likely, it would be Brother Brother Qingmu who would actually carry out these tasks.

After chatting idly for a while longer.

Little Sha Li suddenly said with some displeasure: "It still feels like that town mayor and those people got off too easy."

Little Sha Li thought about it; after they left, the people of Verdant Town would surely cover up the facts, then continue to worship the fake statues of the Three Treasures Companions, and most likely add a statue of Tao Dai Lang as well, continuing to smear Ogerpon.

Just imagining that scene made her angry.

"It doesn't matter."

Luo Mu shook his head, took an apple from his backpack—one of the many fruits Mr. Xuezhong and his family had insisted on giving them before they left—waved it in front of Little Sha Li, and took a direct bite.

Little Sha Li was initially a bit bewildered.

But seeing the apple, and then connecting it to Luo Mu's true profession, she suddenly had an epiphany regarding a possibility, and once again sucked in a sharp breath.

"Hiss—"

Could it be... could it be that Luo Mu plans to, all by himself, seize the entire Kitakami region's world-famous apple market!? (End of Chapter)