Chapter 469: There's a Monster, Sound the Alarm!

Lillipup got into her private car and left.

This time, Luo Mu did not stop her; after all, Lillipup was indeed busy, and delaying her for a few minutes was already the limit.

Furthermore, Lillipup's subsequent schedule would likely be affected.

He turned his head again to look at the ugly fish in the fish tank, reached his hand into the water, and waved it in front of the ugly fish like bait.

"Do you want to evolve?"

"Wururu."

The ugly fish spat out a string of bubbles, its eyes not following Luo Mu's finger at all.

Whether it wanted to evolve or not? Naturally, it did.

Born as a Pokémon, evolution is its instinct.

Of course, there is no excluding the rare freaks who resist evolution, but the ugly fish is certainly not among them.

It just didn't know how to evolve.

The ugly fish had estimated its own memories; the time it lived in the Crystal Pool was far longer than that of the Magikarp at that time, which is now the Gyarados.

Even so.

The Magikarp had completed the arduous leap over the Dragon Gate and evolved, yet the ugly fish was still completely in the dark about how it should evolve.

The person who captured it was obviously very powerful, so the person he found should also have some merit.

The ugly fish felt that perhaps it could look forward to the future.

Who knows what its evolution will look like?

The matter of the ugly fish was temporarily settled; given Lillipup's personality of doing everything at the highest level, Luo Mu knew her prepared plan would definitely be top-tier.

Walking all the way to the outskirts of Bertha Town, Luo Mu summoned his Dragonite and flew towards the direction of the Bertha Hollow, following the prompt system's instructions to find people.

The scale of the Bertha Hollow was indeed massive; apart from some rock formations so high they could only be climbed to block the way, even Dragonite flying inside did not feel cramped at all.

Fortunately, there were many torches in the dim cave, left by the residents of Bertha Town; someone would come regularly to maintain them. Although they couldn't illuminate the entire hollow, they were more than enough to see the ground clearly.

In a short while, Luo Mu, approaching the depths of the Bertha Hollow, saw the figures of four people.

What a coincidence.

Four unlucky kids were burying their heads and running away.

Chasing behind them was... Wattrel?

Luo Mu blinked, reminded Dragonite to lower its flight altitude, found the right timing, and landed handsomely; without Luo Mu's command, Dragonite directly blocked in front of the Wattrel.

Wild Pokémon are alert; blocked by Dragonite, the Wattrel, unsure if it could defeat it at extremely low cost or even without injury, turned around and left without hesitation.

"Teacher Luo Mu!"

Hearing Hearing Nimo and the other four saw Luo Mu as if seeing a savior; they happily gathered around, shouting Luo Mu's name.

Heaven knows how unlucky they had just been.

First, they were attacked by a flock of Murkrow and accidentally got separated from the Revavroom serving as their mount; just then, they arrived in an area where the torches had gone out. If the four of them hadn't always stayed close, holding hands, they would have been lost.

Then they were chased wildly by various wild Pokémon; it was miserable.

Seeing the four of them with dirty faces, Luo Mu was rarely speechless.

He sighed and said, "Let's go; we won't return to Bertha Town. We'll go to that beach and wait for that huge Pokémon one last night."

The four nodded repeatedly at first; then, as if remembering something, Ash said with a worried face, "What about the four Revavrooms that got separated from us?"

Without Luo Mu explaining, Paldea spoke up: "The sister who rented them to us said to remind us that the Revavrooms know the way and can go back by themselves; if they get separated by accident, please prioritize your own safety first."

Paldea also smiled lightly. "Ash, you definitely didn't listen carefully; you just went to look at the Revavrooms."

Before Paldea finished speaking, when she saw Hearing Hearing Nimo beside her, showing the exact same surprised expression as Ash, she fell silent.

So you didn't listen either, you just went to look at the Revavrooms!

Paldea suddenly realized that, in a sense, Hearing Hearing Nimo was a complete gender-swapped version of Ash... except for stamina.

Time flowed quickly like sand in an hourglass.

The five left the Bertha Hollow, returned to the beach, and set up a larger, wider tent to spend the night.

Paldea accompanied Ash and Hearing Hearing Nimo to battle, while Luo Mu and Paldea prepared dinner.

While his hands kept moving to process the ingredients, Luo Mu asked curiously, "When traveling, do you still keep in touch with your parents?"

"Mm."

Paldea's action of peeling the tomatoes paused; he nodded lightly and made an "Mm" sound.

"They are now staying every day in the new space discovered under the Zero Area Research Institute, muttering that the research is about to yield results. I have gradually figured it out; that is their dream. Since I have become their child, I can naturally only support them."

"Mm, it's best if you think this way."

Luo Mu nodded and changed the subject.

"However, occasionally you still need to clearly express your own needs to them. Judging from the fact that they can do things like forgetting the agreement just because the research made progress, they are obviously not very reliable."

"It would be best to wait until the research ends and let them make up for the things they owe properly."

Luo Mu smiled slightly at Paldea.

Paldea was stunned, then revealed a smile of mutual understanding.

He thought the same.

"Currently, we have agreed to contact each other regularly in the middle and at the end of every month; it's just that there is another matter that concerns me..."

Paldea hesitated.

Luo Mu raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Can you tell me about it?"

Paldea nodded lightly, organized his words, and spoke: "When going to Blueberry Academy for the exchange match, the person named Bai Bai Leiya, who was responsible for hosting the match and was also a teacher at Blueberry Academy, contacted me."

"Bai Bai Leiya?"

Luo Mu thought for quite a while before digging up his impression of this person from the nooks and crannies of his mind.

A woman, a teacher at Blueberry Academy, and the host before the competition.

That was all.

If Peony hadn't provided the keywords, he might not have been able to dig up even this scrap of memory.

But why was she contacting Peony? Luo Mu looked toward Peony.

Peony didn't beat around the bush; frowning with a look of utter confusion, he opened his mouth and said, "That Teacher Bai Bai Leiya said she wants to meet my parents."

"She wants to meet Professor Sada and Professor Turo?"

Now Luo Mu understood why Peony looked so confused and why he had suddenly brought this up on his own.

A teacher from another region whom they had likely met only once suddenly held contact information obtained from who-knows-where and immediately asked to meet his parents.

Anyone in that situation would be dumbfounded.

Luo Mu squatted down to start a fire and asked, "So how did you respond in the end?"

Peony skillfully slapped the cucumbers. "Uh, I'm just stringing her along for now; I haven't decided yet."

"Oh." Luo Mu replied, thought for a moment, then said, "Then just ask the two Professors for their opinion during the next scheduled contact. If they're willing to meet, then meet; if not, just refuse. It's simple."

Hearing this, Peony's eyes lit up. "That's right!"

Why hadn't he thought of that? He could just dump the decision-making responsibility onto his troublesome parents; why was he worrying about this! Within a few breaths, Peony's Dao-heart became clear, all doubts vanished, and even his food-preparation movements became several times more agile.

Seeing this,

Luo Mu silently slowed his own movements and subtly began to slack off. Time flew by; after the few of them ate and drank their fill around the dining table, they continued to watch Ash and Hearing Hearing Nimo engage in a Pokémon battle that seemed to possess infinite energy, finally setting their alarms for early the next morning before retiring to their respective tents to sleep.

Of course.

In order to maintain the occasional little surprise in life, Luo Mu did not ask whether the giant Pokémon would actually arrive late tomorrow night, and the Hint System tactfully mentioned nothing either.

A night of good sleep.

Three o'clock in the deep night.

The southwestern seas of Paldea.

The entire world was utterly silent.

The sea at night was calm, the bright moon reflected on the water's surface, waiting for a curious Infernape to come scoop it up.

Occasionally, some wild aquatic Pokémon surfaced to breathe; among them were schools of Finizen, a Paldean specialty, along with the splashes sprayed by the occasional passing Wailmer and Wailord as they breathed.

In this stretch of sea at this hour, there was almost no trace of fishermen or their transport vessels.

Thus, no one could discover that an extremely massive figure was slowly swimming beneath the sea surface.

That was undoubtedly some kind of mysterious creature.

Judging by the area of its shadow, even the Wailord, hailed as the world's largest Pokémon, would be merely an undeveloped child before it.

It seemed the loneliness in its heart could no longer be suppressed.

The creature's swimming motion paused, and it began to ascend.

Splash! Accompanied by churning seawater, first its head broke through the surface, contacting the air upon which most living beings rely for survival.

Next came its massive body, hands, and wings.

Until nearly two-thirds of its body was exposed to the air, the ascent was finally complete.

Simultaneously, sky-high splashes fell; a sudden light rain began to fall around the massive creature, the sea surface churned with waves, causing many aquatic Pokémon to consciously distance themselves from this area.

Regarding this, the massive creature, having experienced ascending countless times before, did not care; it simply raised its head, gazing at that bright moon which seemed to have never changed, and with a nearly numb mindset, emitted a roar akin to a whale's cry.

"Aoooo—"

That life seemed filled with the vicissitudes of time and an helpless loneliness; even those aquatic Pokémon currently fleeing the area subconsciously halted their swimming motions and looked back.

Sound is one of the best ways to convey emotions; they could feel the many emotions contained within this melodious cry, and a trace of sadness surfaced in their eyes.

But even so, because the disparity in size was too absolute, they would not attempt to approach the other party.

The massive creature knew this point all too well; it did not care, or rather, it had not cared for a very, very long time.

Its heart was already filled with one matter.

That was to find its own kind, no matter how much time it took or how vast an ocean it had to swim through.

The bipedal legs remaining in the sea began to move, its slightly long tail serving for balance; the massive creature began to move slowly across the sea like Godzilla, continuously emitting cries.

Until it passed a lighthouse built near Artazon.

Coincidentally, the person stationed at this lighthouse was woken by a urge to urinate; groggily making his way to the toilet, he gazed out the window at the bright moon while attending to his "three urgencies."

Until, suddenly, a strange commotion appeared outside.

The world was terrifyingly quiet; even the occasional Pokémon cries seemed to have collectively fallen silent.

There was only the slightly cool sea breeze blowing into the window, and the sound of something swimming through the water.

A sound of swimming? The stationer's hand-washing motion paused; he even forgot to turn off the faucet, letting it rush loudly, as he focused all his attention on the commotion outside.

He was on the third floor!

What kind of creature's swimming sound could reach his ears, overpowering the sound of the running faucet?

Was it a large ship lost and in need of guidance? The stationer thought for a moment and decided to go take a look.

When he jogged all the way to the outside of the lighthouse and looked out at the sea, he was instantly dumbfounded.

In the night, on the sea surface which was somewhat unclear to see, a figure much taller than the lighthouse itself moved slowly, yet due to the thick fog, its specific appearance and outline could not be seen clearly.

Undoubtedly, the commotion he had just heard was caused by this fellow.

Before the stationer could react, centered on that massive creature, a melodious cry resounded through the night sky.

The stationer could no longer suppress the shock and fear in his heart; his legs went soft, and he knelt on the ground.

". What is that!?"

He murmured in disbelief, his legs trembling slightly.

As someone who had been stationed at this lighthouse for years, he was not unfamiliar with seeing the Wailord, hailed as the world's largest Pokémon, swim past here.

But compared to the creature before them, whose lower half still lurked beneath the water, the Roaring Whale King looked like an underdeveloped child!

Moreover, the station keeper discovered that, judging by the colossal creature's trajectory, it would absolutely pass near the massive rock where the town named Bakington had been established!

He did not know whether that colossal creature was advancing with clear intent toward Bakington or merely passing through the nearby waters.

To be on the safe side, the station keeper forcibly controlled his constantly trembling hands and dialed the phone.

The call was answered; before the other party could speak, he trembled as he rapidly blurted out, "Is... is this Miss Miss Junsha of Bakington?"

"I am the station keeper of Lighthouse No. 3 nearby. I... I saw a mon... a monster—"

"The monster is coming toward Bakington!!!"

On the other end of the line.

The officer responsible for answering the call initially did not believe it.

However, to be on the safe side, she still reported it to Miss Miss Junsha, the Chief of the Bakington Police Station.

A moment later.

A helicopter rose from the helipad of the Bakington Police Station and flew toward the approximate coordinates provided by the reporter.

Miss Miss Junsha, whose police uniform was slightly disheveled due to the emergency deployment, sat upright, her gaze piercing through the window to look outside.

Moments later, the helicopter hovering over the target airspace paused mid-air, and the several officers on duty carefully scanned the surrounding sea surface.

After quite some time, they saw no trace of the colossal creature the lighthouse station keeper had mentioned; all that existed was a thick fog that had appeared from nowhere.

Just as the officers were complaining whether the other party had mistakenly identified two Roaring Whale Kings in love as a monster, Miss Miss Junsha, whose line of sight kept moving, suddenly locked eyes with a pair of opening eyes.

Even someone as calm as Miss Miss Junsha felt her heart skip a beat, and cold sweat instantly broke out on her back.

The other officers also noticed Miss Miss Junsha's abnormality and looked over one after another, their bodies instantly stiffening.

Immediately after, the youngest officer subconsciously let out a sharp shriek, "Th-there's a monster!!!"

"Idiot, you can't provoke it!"

Miss Miss Junsha hurriedly covered that person's mouth.

The helicopter pilot also noticed the commotion here and, drenched in sweat, manipulated the helicopter in an attempt to flee.

Fortunately, the other party seemed to harbor no malice; it merely glanced this way before turning its head and continuing forward.

Realizing that the direction the other party was advancing was precisely toward the massive rock where Bakington had been established, Miss Miss Junsha anxiously pulled out her pager and screamed hoarsely, "Sound the alarm, evacuate the populace!!!"

After notifying the police station, Miss Miss Junsha felt the matter was still not handled properly enough.

She frowned slightly, pondered for a few seconds, then still took out a special communication device and quickly chose to report to the Paldea League.

As luck would have it.

As far as she knew, Miss Lippy, the Gym Leader of the Bakington Gym stationed in Bakington, had left Bakington that very night after attending a meeting held in town!

Given the size of that creature, if a conflict accidentally arose, I'm afraid only excellent Trainers dispatched by the League would be able to stop it (End of Chapter)