Chapter 480: Zhen Si Is Also Participating in a Contest?

"This time, it must succeed—"

"Feraligatr, now! Use Ice Fang on Sandshrew!!"

Seizing the opportunity, Ash widened his eyes, pointed toward the direction from which Sandshrew was shooting, and shouted without hesitation.

The Feraligatr under his command immediately hopped with cheerful steps, opened its jaw to reveal a large mouth filled with forty-eight teeth, from which wisps of cold air began to rise.

As a Pokémon modeled after an alligator, Feraligatr possesses formidable biting power; it is foreseeable that any other Pokémon taking such a hit would suffer greatly.

But—

The target Feraligatr wanted to bite was Sandshrew!

At this moment, Sandshrew was like a rolling ice ball, crashing toward Feraligatr.

The move "Rollout."

However, unlike Miltank and others that are perfectly round, due to its hard ice armor, it could not curl up completely, resulting in a reduction in speed.

Yet precisely because of the ice armor, Sandshrew gained unparalleled defensive capabilities.

It shot straight into Feraligatr's widely opened mouth, which had been positioned with precision; the powerful impact knocked Feraligatr off balance, causing it to stagger and fall backward.

Even so, Feraligatr did not release its grip but instead bit down fiercely on the "prey" in its mouth, emitting a sound that made one's teeth ache.

Even so, it remained completely useless.

"Using a non-STAB Ice Fang on a Sandshrew that has a quadruple resistance to Ice-type moves, and biting directly onto its hardest ice armor... In a certain sense, Ash, you are a genius."

Luo Mu said with a speechless expression.

Ash thought Luo Mu was praising him, so he immediately scratched his head foolishly, looking embarrassed. "I-It was okay, hahaha!"

Even Pikachu nearby could barely stand to watch.

Luo Mu, who had originally planned to let Ash practice moves, decided not to continue and simply commanded, "Counter."

Sandshrew, which had been lying flat and allowing itself to be bitten, suddenly flashed with determination in its eyes; red energy surged across its body, gathering on its short, stout little claws, and delivered a solid strike to the left side of Feraligatr's face.

Boom! Normally, a Pokémon like Feraligatr would never release its grip as long as it had bitten its target and its teeth remained intact, but under the severe impact of Sandshrew's Counter, it instantly fell into the deepest slumber, and the force applied by its jaw naturally relaxed.

Seizing the chance, Sandshrew slipped out, rolled a few times on the ground, steadied itself successfully, and let out a milky, cute victory cry!

"Sha-sha!"

"Look how proud you are."

Luo Mu stepped forward and rubbed Sandshrew's little head; since hatching, this little fellow had become increasingly energetic.

Furthermore, as the weather gradually turned cooler, the Sandslash couple often took them out for activities, and even Ninetales, who usually stayed cooped up in the Ice Spirit Cottage, frequently wandered around the farm outside of training hours.

Stroking the cool-to-the-touch ice armor on Sandshrew's back, Luo Mu sighed with emotion, "Truly hard."

Once the initial period after hatching passed, Sandshrew's ice armor began to harden rapidly; nowadays, it could truly be described as impervious to swords and spears.

Based on current observations, unless facing a Pokémon whose strength far surpasses Sandshrew's, no one could breach its ice armor defense with physical attacks.

Of course, Luo Mu had not yet attempted the insane act of having Cangyan Cangyan Rengui attack Sandshrew.

Judging from the battle against Feraligatr and previous small-scale tests, the conclusion was that the ice armor's defense was quite excellent, offering a crushing advantage compared to its peers.

This was largely thanks to Lei Guan Wang, who had bestowed blessings upon the Pokémon Egg.

On the other side.

Ash picked up Feraligatr, and Comfey immediately went to heal it, while on the other side, the battle between Heracross and Tropius ended with Tropius as the victor.

He exhaled a mouthful of stagnant air and, together with Pikachu, looked up at the sky.

"Lost again; everyone is really strong—"

It had been quite some time since they arrived at Luo Mu's farm for special training.

Thanks to the Pokémon on the farm, although they were often beaten badly, the gains were endless, and the progress of his partners was visible to the naked eye.

This was different from the bit-by-bit experiences during their journey.

Such concentrated training thoroughly unleashed the Pokémon's possibilities, realizing their potential and transforming it into solid strength.

There was Wartortle, Annihilape, Feraligatr, Quilava, Donphan, and Jumpluff, all of whom had completed their evolution.

There was Charizard, who had learned many flying techniques and Flying-type moves; Pikachu, who had improved its electrical output alongside Luxray and Meng Lei Gu; Larvitar, which had overcome its psychological trauma; and finally, Tan Xiao Shi, who had agreed to become his partner.

At this moment, Ash couldn't help but feel ambitious; for this Silver Conference, he was determined to defeat Xiao Mao fairly and squarely and win the championship of the Silver Conference!

However, before that—

Ash turned to look at Luo Mu and asked, "Brother Luo Mu, I heard from Mu Dan and others that Grape Academy is holding a campus Contest; can I participate?"

Originally, Ash had no interest in this Contest at present.

But he happened to learn from Mu Dan and Jing Xiang that Zhen Si had actually signed up!

Ash, who already considered Zhen Si his rival, naturally did not want to fall behind; although he really wanted to retort, "What is that guy doing?", nothing could stop his desire to compete for superiority.

Luo Mu paused in his action of cleaning Tropius's leaf wings, saying with some surprise, "You can, it's just—"

The Silver Conference was about to open soon; instead of focusing on training, why did Ash suddenly think of participating in a competition?

Moreover, there were only two days left until the Contest was held; there probably wouldn't even be time for training.

Why had Ash suddenly become interested?

Having accompanied Feebas and Ninetales in practice for a long time until dusk, Luo Mu finally dragged his slightly exhausted body back home.

Fortunately, with more and more partners on the farm nowadays, there were many places where he didn't need to worry too much, as Pokémon shared the burden for him.

As soon as he entered the house, the Oranguru greeting him handed over a set of change-of-clothes loungewear and reminded him via telepathy, "The hot water is ready."

"Trouble you."

Luo Mu responded, walked through the living room, turned the corner, and headed toward the bathroom.

Along the way, passing the kitchen, a faint sweet aroma drifted out, accompanied by a faint "ding-ding" sound resembling coins clinking.

Luo Mu instantly knew that Shuang Nai Xian was testing a new product again, and the one making the sounds was likely Greavard, whom Shuang Nai Xian had called over to taste-test.

A few days ago, after Annihilape evolved, several hours passed before the Captain finally rushed back with Cangyan Cangyan Rengui in tow.

The ancient Paldean gold coins found in the ruins this time were not many, only 14; added to what was currently held, the total came to 113, so one must continue striving.

After spending a while petting the Luxray at the bathroom door, a contented Luo Mu hummed a little tune as he entered the bathroom, removed his clothes, and comfortably soaked in a hot bath.

The day's fatigue instantly dissipated by more than half; for the remaining time, he either gathered with his Pokémon in the living room to watch various programs on the television or sought out battle recordings from other regions to understand the skill level of trainers elsewhere in the world.

He could also browse the agriculture and medical channels to acquire knowledge.

Following routine, he took out a black ball to harass Mewtwo, then exchanged some items with the Delibird.

Luo Mu sent the Delibird several caramel puddings freshly made by the Alcremie, and the Delibird, as per usual, delivered several photographs in return.

Picking them up for a careful look, he discovered they were aerial overview maps of a temple taken via "true aerial photography."

"Wasn't it near the Silver Conference Athletes' Village? Where has it run off to now?"

Luo Mu was clearly stunned for a moment, but fortunately, the Oranguru beside him worked with astonishing efficiency, pulling up a host of introductions on a tablet and displaying them before Luo Mu.

"Ho-Oh Temple?"

Reading these three characters, Luo Mu continued viewing the tablet, which contained a detailed introduction to the Ho-Oh Temple.

The Ho-Oh Temple is located on Mount Silver in the Johto region; it is quite famous yet rarely open to outsiders.

The origin of this temple involves a legend that fits its name quite well, a story that is far from ordinary.

Legend has it that in the past, where the Ho-Oh Temple now stands, there was a fierce war in which many Pokémon became consumables of the conflict and died because of it.

Even so, humans remained unrestrained; the war intensified, the land became barren, lakes dried up, and the environment turned into a complete mess.

The enraged Ho-Oh descended with heavenly fire of judgment, burning away human weapons while simultaneously restoring the lakes and the earth.

Whether out of fear or genuine repentance, the people, realizing their mistakes, collected the remaining flames burning upon the earth to reflect on their faults; they named this the Sacred Fire, preserved it within the newly established temple, and passed it down through generations, and now this Sacred Fire also serves as the flame source for the Silver Conference.

Whenever the Sacred Fire is about to depart, the temple entrance is crowded with people coming to witness the torch relay, passing down the story and their faults as the ringing sound of a warning bell for ages to come—oh, Sacred Fire.

Luo Mu subconsciously glanced toward the Moltres dozing nearby, curled up in a hen-hatching-eggs posture.

With one whole basin of them on the Indigo Plateau, who knows how many are inside the Ho-Oh Temple; why does Ho-Oh's fire shed everywhere like feathers? One wonders what reaction Lugia would have upon hearing this news.

After finishing the history of the Ho-Oh Temple, the Oranguru reported to Luo Mu on the current development status of the farm.

"... Regarding Tapu Tapu Moumou's fresh milk, many products similar to ours have appeared on the market, and quite a few ranches have begun introducing Da Nai Guan to create and sell their own brands; with this massive influx, our popularity has cooled slightly."

"The goat milk from the Skiddo is holding up well, with a specific batch of customers continuing to place orders."

The Oranguru's market research has always been quite excellent; now, the cotton fluff produced by Bai Bai Pengpeng and the others was also directly handed over by Luo Mu to the Oranguru to coordinate with the side in Ziqin Town.

Very reassuring.

As for the issues mentioned by the Oranguru, they were actually no problem at all.

"Our daily production volume is just that much; we cannot even supply all the residents of Pingdie Town, let alone the ongoing orders from Zhuotai City and from Ms. A-Feng's Patisserie Lei Mu."

"Having other products on the market is naturally a good thing; we are not engaging in monopoly, so as long as we maintain good quality and uphold our current reputation and status, we can make money anytime."

"Expanding the business is not urgent."

Luo Mu waved his hand, speaking with an expression of complete clarity.

Unless the farm suddenly gained a group of Da Nai Guan, there was absolutely no need for expansion.

The current model already utilized the farm's resources perfectly without creating an overload.

Having any more would actually become slightly troublesome.

Furthermore, those commercial tactics were ineffective on his side; since everyone treated him kindly and harmoniously, what was wrong with him being kind and generous in return?

"Currently, our goal is still to complete the farm's expansion as soon as possible, then plant apple trees, and before winter arrives, annoy those in the Northern Province."

The Luo Mu who had just displayed such a magnanimous demeanor instantly became petty and vindictive.

The Okidogi beside him revealed a sweet smile, very happy that Luo Mu was venting his anger for him in a way that would hurt no one (physically).

The Oranguru had also heard about the matters concerning the Northern Province; nodding seriously, it said, "Then I will contact the Tinkatuff as soon as possible; it is familiar with the situation at Little Mountain, and once the wild Pokémon there are settled, only a few scattered wild Pokémon in other areas will remain."

Luo Mu nodded, pondered slightly, then shifted his gaze toward the Serperior idly extending its vines nearby to play on a swing with the Mimikyu and Victini.

Pointing at it, he said, "Take the Serperior along as well."

(_)? The Serperior's motion of swaying its vines paused; it looked at Luo Mu, and a question mark clearly appeared above its head.

What does this have to do with me?

"Houndoom and Houndour, have you forgotten?"

Luo Mu looked at the Serperior with a teasing expression.

"Ser!"

The Serperior's vines whipped through the air with a swishing sound as it let out an angry cry, embarrassed into fury.

It had not forgotten!

It was just poor Victini that suffered; after one spin on the swing, its sense of direction failed, its head spun dizzily, and it could not even fly steadily.

The small eyes hidden beneath the Mimikyu's rag doll blinked, showing some relief.

Fortunately, it had just let Victini cut in line to play a second time.

League Year 798, October 12.

Today was neither a holiday nor a day worthy of commemoration.

Yet the entire Grape Academy was a scene of bustle; even though cold winds blew in gusts, they could not stop the students from donning their favorite clothes and carefully dressing up their Pokémon to gather together at the temporary venue that had already been constructed.

Today, the Grape Academy Campus Contest was about to begin, open for participation by both students and teachers.

After all, the purpose of holding this Campus Contest was to promote Pokémon Contests.

Moreover, Mr. Wallace, the Hoenn League's Contest Master and League Champion, would also attend this event!

Many media outlets swarmed forward, hoping to obtain broadcasting and rebroadcasting rights for the event, but all were rejected by Geeta.

She did not want external voices to affect the academy's students; the students only needed to enjoy this festival to the fullest, and if the event proceeded smoothly, Geeta would consider adding Pokémon Contests to the curriculum, and any related clubs would be approved with a green light all the way.

And at this very moment.

Luo Mu, however, was heavily shocked by a piece of news.

He stared at the genuine-looking, naturally fierce triangular eyes of the boy before him, who wore the purple uniform of Grape Academy and solemnly voiced his thoughts; his pupils contracted repeatedly as if struck by an earthquake.

His expression alone revealed just how shocked he was.

"Fine, if it's just Ash, but you're entering the Contest too!?"

(End of this chapter)