Chapter 473: Why Are You Just Watching from the Side, Senior!

After enjoying a pleasant breakfast, Luo Mu and Ash temporarily bid farewell to Hearing Nimo and her two companions, who planned to continue their journey to their final destination, Glaseado Mountain.

Hearing Nimo intended to claim the final Gym Badge at the Glaseado Mountain Gym, Arven needed to catch a Cubchoo or a Beartic, and Rika was set to participate in the Grand Tournament of the Fighting-type competition.

Everyone was steadily advancing toward a better future, which lifted Luo Mu's spirits.

Carrying this good mood, Luo Mu and Ash rode Dragonite, arriving at the farm before lunchtime.

After a day had passed, the farm showed no significant changes.

The clingy Larvitar once again pounced toward Ash, who caught it steadily.

Meanwhile, Luo Mu, having anticipated this, successfully captured a series of photos.

After applying a mosaic blur to Ash's face, Luo Mu imported the relevant data from the camera into his computer, selected several photos that clearly depicted the continuous motion, packaged them together, and sent them to Nemona.

It wasn't long before Nemona replied.

【Nemona:????】

【Nemona: 【Image: Growlithe staring in shock. jpg】】

【Nemona: Wait—】

【Nemona: I recall Larvitar having an average weight of 72kg; where did you find a superman?!】

【Luo Mu: Heehee】

Luo Mu directly shut down the computer; having successfully whetted her appetite, he ignored the string of follow-up messages Nemona sent and turned his gaze to the Oranguru waiting nearby.

"Is there something you need?"

Oranguru nodded and tactfully reminded him, "Have you perhaps forgotten something?"

At first, Luo Mu didn't realize what was meant.

Then, as Oranguru's subtle gaze fell upon the ornaments worn by Greavard, who was sitting on the sofa nearby, swinging its little feet while holding and interacting with Cosmog,

Luo Mu remembered.

Indeed, he had made an agreement with Tinkatink to invite it to his home as a guest, but they hadn't set a specific time, nor had he told Tinkatink where his home was located.

Fortunately, he was free today, and Lei Guan Wang was also present.

Having just parted ways with Hearing Nimo, Ash's battle fever was acting up again; in a little while, he would likely rush off to Naranja Academy to torment Paul, Penny, and Shizuka.

Inviting Tinkatink to visit his home right now seemed perfectly timed, didn't it?

Thinking this, Luo Mu informed Lei Guan Wang, who was smiling nearby while observing the interaction between Greavard and Cosmog, and also instructed Oranguru to take Ash to find Dragonite a bit later so they could fly directly to Naranja Academy.

Only then did he set off, leaving the farm accompanied by the bouncing older Eevee sister and the quietly walking younger Eevee sister.

"Eevee~ Bui~ Eevee-bui~"

Having not ventured into familiar wild areas for a long time, the older Eevee sister was currently in high spirits, humming a little tune and walking with a distinctly bouncy, skipping gait.

Walking along the path, Luo Mu said with a chuckle, "If we encounter any attacks on the way, I'll be relying on you to protect me."

"Bui!"

The older Eevee sister lifted her head, wearing an expression that said, "Leave everything to me."

During this recent period, she had eaten and drunk well all day long at the farm; the energy she consumed was incomparable to what she had managed while struggling for survival in the wild.

Nowadays, the older Eevee sister's fur had become smoother, her body, once somewhat malnourished, had grown healthy, and her originally agile physique had become even more nimble.

Moreover, with many seniors at the farm available to consult, the current Miss Eevee could easily defeat even those Houndour who had once surrounded and attacked her!

In contrast to her sister, the younger Eevee sister was much more quiet.

She walked with light steps,

perhaps due to her congenital deficiencies in the past; she had grown accustomed to a life where taking even a single step required panting several times.

Although her body was becoming healthier day by day under the care of the mild, secret-recipe medicinal liquid prepared by Luo Mu,

the younger Eevee sister's personality remained quiet; she liked being an observer, smiling as she watched her sister release her vitality, and she also felt somewhat dependent on Luo Mu, who had brought her new life.

Though the two sisters possessed completely different personalities, they could accommodate each other well and shared a spiritual connection; in the past, they had relied solely on each other, never abandoning one another.

Luo Mu felt this was an ideal relationship.

He allowed the two sisters to interact with any Pokémon at the farm, yet the moves the two sisters learned in their daily lives were entirely different.

As the older sister, Eevee mostly learned offensive skills, covering both close-combat and long-range techniques; Luo Mu felt that if a Pokémon's talent could be materialized into numerical values,

then the older Eevee sister would likely be a prodigy with both Attack and Special Attack individual values at 31.

Meanwhile, the younger Eevee sister mostly mastered various status moves, and even her offensive techniques tended toward types possessing different additional effects.

One could say one specialized in attack, while the other specialized in support.

Precisely because the two sisters had shown good growth during this period, Luo Mu was now taking them to find Tinkatink.

With their current strength, they were more than sufficient to handle the ordinary wild Pokémon lacking training that they might encounter along the way.

On the road to the small hill, whenever wild Pokémon suddenly jumped out from the bushes to block their path, everything was left to the older Eevee sister to handle.

She loved using Quick Attack to toy with her opponents, then employing Swift to kite them from a distance; even if they closed in, she wasn't afraid, as the wild lands were full of dirt—she could kick up sand to obscure the opponent's vision and follow up with a counter-kick.

Meanwhile, the younger Eevee sister stayed to the side, timely inserting various status moves to support her sister, such as "Helping Hand" to boost move power, "Cute Charm" to make the opponent careless, or "Yawn" to impose control, and so on.

Being twins with a spiritual connection, they naturally understood exactly what the other needed at any given moment.

Luo Mu felt they were truly well-suited for Double Battles.

However, Double Battles were ultimately not the mainstream format in this world; the true mainstream remained 6v6 and 3v3 Single Battles, or even the ace-decides-all 1v1 Single Battle format.

It was quite a pity.

Although they didn't sweep through everything as overwhelmingly as usual, Luo Mu still successfully arrived at Tinkatink's dwelling just before mealtime.

The Eevee sisters curiously gazed at the den, which was neatly organized and appeared clean and aesthetically pleasing.

A question arose in their hearts.

Was this the home where the wild Pokémon Luo Mu intended to invite as a guest resided?

Compared to their own past, where they could only find a spot to dig a small hole, endure the muddy stench, and remain vigilant against malicious troublemakers, the place where their counterpart lived was truly spacious and well-ventilated.

Fortunately.

Nowadays, they already have a bigger home.

The two Eevees proudly lifted their heads slightly.

As for Luo Mu, carrying an insulated food container, he walked into a cave where no trace of the Tinkatink could be found, and gazing at the neatly arranged furnishings, he revealed a contemplative expression.

"It doesn't look like they fled in panic, so they should still be somewhere nearby?"

Recalling the scene from his second visit to find the Tinkatink, when the other party had been lying on the mid-slope on the other side of the small hill, wearing a self-made "ghillie suit" and peering down below.

Luo Mu felt that the Tinkatink might be over there.

He made his way all the way to the mid-slope.

Just as he arrived here, Luo Mu heard a clamor of noises.

"Wang Wang Wang Wang—!"

Luo Mu focused his gaze and distinctly discovered that on the not-so-wide mountain path leading down the mid-slope, a group of about a dozen Houndours and two Houndooms had gathered, viciously howling at a crooked-neck tree growing at the edge.

Looking up at that crooked-neck tree again.

As expected.

The Tinkatink, draped in a "ghillie suit," was clutching the hammer in its hand, brandishing it with fierce appearance but inner timidity, seemingly trying to drive them away by sheer momentum.

This trick was clearly ineffective against the Houndours and Houndooms.

This bunch was accustomed to running rampant at the foot of the mountain; how could they be scared off just by the Tinkatink waving a hammer and bluffing?

It was just that—

Luo Mu felt something was a bit off.

Compared to the leading Houndoom charging forward and the three Houndours obviously following it,

the other Houndoom and more than ten Houndours looked not only completely unenthusiastic but were huddled together, silently retreating, as if slacking off.

Luo Mu didn't know why he thought this, but his intuition as a former corporate slave told him that the Houndoom and the more than ten Houndours were definitely slacking off!

He dared to swear by it!

No one understood slacking off better than him!

That aura of a salted fish, emanating from the inside out, could not be faked.

When the elder Eevee sister saw this group of Houndours, she clearly froze for a moment.

Her little nose was quite sensitive.

Even though she couldn't smell the scent of that specific group of Houndours on these Houndours, they were ultimately of the same species.

In the elder Eevee sister's mind, those ferocious faces that had surrounded and attacked her immediately surfaced, and her body instinctively trembled imperceptibly.

That could be counted as the moment she had been closest to death; exhausted, dehydrated, she couldn't even control her own body.

Even though she ultimately succeeded in driving them away, relying on the desperate fighting spirit forged through struggling in the wild and the belief that her younger sister couldn't be without her, she had endured.

Logically speaking, as the victor, she shouldn't exhibit such a reaction, but the experience at that time was indeed extremely terrible for her.

For the elder Eevee sister, the scene from that time remained a thorn stuck in her heart, one that would erupt at specific moments.

The younger Eevee sister noticed her elder sister's unease, moved closer, extended her pink little tongue to gently lick her, soothing her emotions, and then let out a soft cry.

"Vee~" (Big sister isn't afraid; we are here~)

We?

Looking at her younger sister in surprise, never expecting that there would be a day when she would be comforted by her younger sister, the elder Eevee sister replied with a somewhat shy and annoyed cry.

"Eevee Vee!" (I'm not afraid at all!)

But her body's subconscious reaction gradually stabilized; hearing the word "we" and recalling the sight of Luo Mu commanding his companions in battle, the elder Eevee sister suddenly felt there was nothing left to fear.

She silently stepped forward a few paces, encompassing both her younger sister and Luo Mu within her protective range.

At this moment.

The Houndoom that had been howling the most fiercely seemed unable to endure it anymore, or rather, had grown impatient.

The snarling Houndoom had flames seeping between its teeth, seemingly intending to spew fire to burn down both the crooked-neck tree and the Tinkatink together.

The Tinkatink above panicked, waving its hammer and shouting something incessantly.

Luo Mu couldn't hear clearly, nor did he understand the meaning.

But he could roughly understand the reason for the Tinkatink's reaction.

Living in the wild forests, there were also many Fire-type Pokémon.

But why were forest fires extremely rare to see?

Besides Water-type Pokémon mastering moves like Rain Dance being active, and many Fire-type Pokémon residing near volcanoes,

there was an even more important point.

Even wild Fire-type Pokémon would try their best to restrain the frequency of releasing Fire-type moves within the forest; this was an unspoken agreement among them.

After all, once the forest was ignited by flames, they would truly be homeless.

This Houndoom actually wanted to spit fire at the crooked-neck tree connected to a vast expanse of vegetation; even its own few underlings were startled and jumped out one after another to stop it.

Seeing this scene, Luo Mu said to the Eevee sisters beside him: "In a moment, I will command you two; we might have to deal with multiple targets. Are you willing?"

"Fortunately, they aren't a solid block; with disagreements arising, we can defeat them one by one, and that Tinkatink will also become our helper."

"Vee!"

Eager to fight a hearty and exhilarating battle to thoroughly dispel the gloom in her heart, the elder Eevee sister leaped out without hesitation.

The younger Eevee sister also nodded gently and followed closely behind.

Luo Mu also patted the small satchel on his back.

Of course.

If things reached a point of last resort, it would be time for these little gadgets, which he had made after consulting with Shari, to make their appearance.

"Houndour!" (You can't set fires!)

The Houndour loafing off to the side also joined the ranks of those trying to persuade him.

But how much of its persuasion was sincere, and how much was merely worry that things would spiral out of control and bring down the wrath of the boss above, was hard to say.

Just thinking of the new boss's powerful and majestic presence made the black Houndour feel that the current leader of the pack was nothing but a rotten fish or a shriveled shrimp, and this newly evolved hothead before him was even more so!

While offering advice, the black Houndour cautiously sized up the little Tinkton up in the crooked tree above.

The black Houndour remembered this fellow.

Back when the black Houndour had led its underlings to charge up, tracking its movements, the new boss had directly intercepted the black Houndour and the others.

The black Houndour guessed that this fellow probably had some connection to the new boss, so it absolutely could not let this hothead bully him.

Otherwise, if the new boss held it accountable, that would be bad.

This held true even though the other party had not shown his face for a very long time ever since taking the black Houndour as an underling.

However, the hothead before its eyes was truly stubborn; he seemed determined to spray out that Jet Flame he had only just learned.

This made the black Houndour extremely anxious.

The new boss's order to it was to lie in ambush; it could not afford to expose itself!

Fortunately, a turning point arrived quickly.

A sound of footsteps came from the path leading up the mountain; the black Houndour and the Houndours, with their keen senses, looked over and discovered Luo Mu and the Eevee sisters heading straight for this spot!

The black Houndour's eyes immediately lit up.

Leaving aside those two seemingly weak little ones for now, that human's scent was familiar to it!

It was the scent associated with this little Tinkton and the new boss, which it had firmly memorized!

Seeing that Luo Mu and the Eevee sisters actually dared to head straight for this spot, the hothead black Houndour instantly flew into a rage.

Temporarily casting the little Tinkton to the back of its mind, it ordered the three underlings accompanying it to guard the crooked tree.

It directly leaped past its companions and fiercely emitted a threatening low growl toward Luo Mu and the Eevee sisters.

At the same time, it let out a howl toward those behind it.

"Roar-aow—!" (Brothers, everyone charge together and drive off these intruders who have invaded our territory!)

However.

That human, along with the two little ones, showed not the slightest sign of being frightened; instead, they took a few more steps toward this side.

With their side having greater numbers, that human ought to be afraid, yet—

Although the black Houndour was a hothead, its perceptual abilities were still keen.

It subconsciously looked back, and then froze in shock.

Its senior, whom it trusted implicitly, was currently far away, staying beneath that crooked tree, showing not the slightest intention of coming over to help.

Even its own three underlings were being blocked by that fellow's underlings and could not get through.

The black Houndour's pupils contracted, its face filled with disbelief.

Why are you just watching from the side, Senior!!!

(End of Chapter)