Chapter 489: A Shocked Wallace!

My name is Houndoom.

But that is merely my species name; in truth, I also possess a name unique to myself.

Little Seven.

Because I was the seventh child born to my late mother, Houndour, the number seven naturally became part of my name.

Where the numbers come from, or why we know this, does not matter.

What matters is that since childhood I left home and joined the pack I now inhabit; as a member of the pack, under the leader's command, I engage in open and hidden struggles with the nearby Salazzle pack, neither side yielding.

Through constant battle, I gained experience and honed my strength, so it was only natural that I eventually completed my evolution.

Having evolved into a Houndoom, my power surged; I could take on three Salandit alone, and, unsurprisingly, I earned the leader's high regard, becoming a junior boss leading over a dozen underlings—truly magnificent.

With so many underlings, during idle moments basking in the sun, talk inevitably turned to the past.

Unwilling to mention such an unimposing name as "Little Seven," the Houndoom's eyes darted, and he coined a new name for himself.

Savage Sang Biao.

It sounded imposing at once.

Highly satisfied with the name he had given himself, the Houndoom held his head high and accepted his underlings' worship, striding with the wind at his heels.

But good times did not last; on a certain clear afternoon, he encountered the first Waterloo of his dog life.

It was merely a simple task of driving away wild Pokémon nearing the edge of their territory, yet he never expected to run into none other than the great Serperior.

Those wildly dancing roots, majestic and solemn like wooden dragons, could not be budged even a fraction no matter how much flame he spewed, draining every last bit of his energy.

Under the unquestionable might, far surpassing his own leader's aura of authority, he felt utterly overwhelmed.

He made a decision that betrayed his ancestors.

He would defect to Serperior, serving as a "spy" within the pack, and from this arose a bold idea: Could I not become the leader myself?

However.

Before riding the snake's prestige to seize the leadership, a small problem still stood before the Houndoom named Savage Sang Biao.

First, he glanced at the human before him; then, those eyes radiating "fierce light" darted left and right like a thief's, and upon confirming that none of his underlings were secretly hiding nearby, the Houndoom's eyes lit up, he lowered his head, and sank his teeth into the meaty bone he had been craving.

Given a Pokémon's constitution, consuming some seasoning posed no issue at all; thus, the meaty bone Luo Mu handed to the Houndoom was not simply boiled or steamed, but rather—

Braised bones! Judging by the Houndoom devouring them with gusto, drooling onto the ground without a care, one could tell just how fragrant this braised bone was.

Watching the Houndoom feast with a kindly expression, Luo Mu quickly deduced that this Houndoom before him must be the very first subordinate Serperior had taken in—that traitorous "senior."

Perhaps his hands were simply itching; the action bypassed his brain, and by the time Luo Mu realized it, his right hand was already resting on the Houndoom's head.

The Houndoom's appearance resembled a hellhound from legend, or more realistically, a Doberman; in short, to those unfamiliar, it was no "soft character."

Fortunately, the Houndoom merely paused mid-chew, did not even glance at Luo Mu, and continued biting away.

Reassured, Luo Mu rubbed the dog's head, even stroking the pair of large curved horns atop it; the texture was surprisingly smooth and cool, somewhat similar to touching the horns of a Skiddo.

"Mimi—oh, no, little dog, how are things currently?"

Having fully satisfied his urge to pet, Luo Mu remembered his main business and, after a series of "slips," opened his mouth to ask the Houndoom.

Regarding these nicknames from Luo Mu, the Houndoom merely twitched his ears, not taking them to heart at all.

As long as his underlings did not hear, Luo Mu could call him whatever he liked; let him be happy.

Speaking of which, this bone is truly fragrant.

Only after gnawing the bone clean did the Houndoom reluctantly rise and begin leading the way for Luo Mu.

Fearing the leader might notice, they had set the meeting spot halfway up the mountain, near that crooked-neck tree where they had previously besieged the Tinkatink.

Upon approaching, Luo Mu was surprised to discover that it was not just the Houndoom before him; there was another Houndoom and a small gang composed of over a dozen Houndour.

There, gathered together, were about twenty-some Houndour, along with that one Houndoom who had been defeated by the Eevee sisters.

Glancing in surprise at the Houndoom beside him, Luo Mu thought, This subversion efficiency is quite something.

The entire Houndoom pack consisted of roughly a hundred Houndour and Houndoom; the number here already accounted for one-fifth.

If this continued, they might even raid the Houndoom leader's very foundation.

Luo Mu sought out this group of Houndoom and Houndour for no other reason than to inquire about their willingness.

Choose one of three: a new territory Luo Mu would scout for them, joining the public service with certainly arduous training, or working on the farm, though that option required Luo Mu's personal selection.

After all, since they were rebelling against their leader for his sake, he definitely needed to clarify the terms of their treatment.

Luo Mu did not demand an immediate answer; instead, he gave them ample time to think while also setting a timeline for the "coup."

Today was October 12; within one week, meaning before October 19, they were to complete the coup, seize control of the Houndoom pack, and then defeat the Salazzle pack.

Unlike the newly joined, clamoring Houndour, the expressions of the two Houndoom remained unchanged.

Having witnessed Serperior's power, they harbored no doubt about the plan's success.

In their view, even without their betrayal, under their leader's command they could not defeat Serperior anyway; the issue never existed in the first place.

Rather, it was the neighboring Salazzle pack; although Serperior, under their cover, had been bringing a very beautiful serpentine Pokémon here these past few days to prepare something.

They were still uncertain: if Serperior did not intervene, could the current strength of the Houndoom pack crush the Salazzle pack? After all, that was a pack they had been locked in struggle with for who knew how long.

To this, Luo Mu offered only a mysterious smile, telling them to simply focus on the tasks at hand.

As for the rest, they had ways to resolve it.

There was nothing else particularly noteworthy; Luo Mu set the deadline considering the need to expand the farm before snow began falling in November, plant the first batch of apple trees, and lay the foundation for striking north toward Kitakami.

Before dispersing, Luo Mu distributed a "comfort gift" to each Houndour and the other Houndoom—a braised bone.

For wild Pokémon, aside from various resources and items that could make them stronger, the most tangible gift was, indeed, food; at the sight of these braised bones, these fellows' tails were practically wagging off.

Luo Mu stayed there a while longer before turning to leave.

Returning to the Tinkatink's home—or rather, the cave that in some sense now counted as his own home—Luo Mu called upon Ogerpon, who was having fun playing with the Tinkatink, preparing to head back to the farm.

Last night, Cynthia had contacted him, saying someone would be visiting today, and had specifically sought her out to ask for the address of his farm.

And that person was none other than the Hoenn League Champion, the Master Coordinator, Wallace.

Luo Mu was somewhat confused; why on earth had Wallace come to visit him? Or was he here for Milotic? It was three in the afternoon.

In the living room, where the furniture had been roughly arranged and several potted plants and flowers transplanted from the glass greenhouse were displayed, Luo Mu received Wallace in his new home.

In daily life, Wallace was not wearing that outfit of his which even exposed his waist, appearing slightly revealing, making one wonder in this weather if he wouldn't catch a cold.

Instead, he had changed into a light-colored woolen coat that suited his tastes, paired with a shirt and trousers, topped off with his ever-present white hat.

He looked less like an artist and more like someone immersed in the atmosphere of daily life.

"Please, have some tea."

Oranguru, as always, brought out the farm's specialty, hot black tea, to treat the guest.

In the Hoenn region, where there were no Stantler, Wallace should not often get to drink this kind of tea leaves, making it most suitable for treating a guest.

"Thank you."

Wallace thanked him politely, lifted the teacup, and elegantly savored the rich aroma rising along with the steam, his face showing an expression of ecstasy; immediately after, he took a small sip of the tea.

"An unusually rich aroma, along with a rich texture and a sweet aftertaste; is this black tea brewed from the leaves on the antlers atop a Stantler's head in summer?"

"That's right; I'm truly impressed that you could tell just from the aroma and taste."

Luo Mu said, his face showing surprise.

"Heh heh, the tea ceremony is also an art; my master, Juan, knows a thing or two about it, and through constant exposure, I have also learned much."

Wallace seemed quite pleased by the praise.

"I see." Luo Mu nodded slightly and joked, "Speaking of coincidences, today the furniture in the new house was just arranged; we haven't even had time to add appliances yet, so Mr. Wallace is the first visitor."

"No wonder I saw a three-story western-style house over there bearing ample traces of age."

Wallace revealed an expression of sudden realization, stood up from his chair, and bowed elegantly.

"It is my honor to be the first to tour such a beautiful house."

Some people involved in the arts often place great importance on a sense of ritual, just like Wallace before them; sometimes their behavior might be somewhat exaggerated, but their intentions are good.

Luo Mu knew this clearly, thanks largely to Koya and Grusha.

Wallace resumed his seat, drank his tea, carefully admired the exquisite pastries served by Alcremie, and then brought up the topic of Oranguru.

"That Pokémon from earlier looks like a rather elegant butler; its etiquette is impeccable, and it can even perform telepathy; did you raise it?"

"I hired it from the 'Pokémon Butler Academy' in the Kalos region,"

Luo Mu replied.

"Oh, so that's where?" Wallace pressed his palms together as if recalling something, revealing a charming smile, "That is a quite famous academy; even my master, Mr. Juan, hired a Gardevoir butler from there."

The two chatted about ordinary topics that nonetheless deepened their understanding of each other, until the tea grew cold and only crumbs of pastry remained in the exquisite bowls and plates.

When he learned that half the reason Wallace had chosen to succeed as the League Champion and seek cooperation with the Paldea League was because he had seen the ice sculpture of the Sky Dragon Rayquaza that he and his partners had carved during the live broadcast of the ice sculpture competition, along with Ninetales' eye-catching performance,

Luo Mu admitted he was dumbfounded.

That the Hoenn region's League Champion changed quite casually was something Luo Mu roughly knew and understood.

But Wallace's behavior was squarely using public funds to cheer for his own hobbies! Damn, it was truly enviable.

After exposing his thoughts, Wallace, unsurprisingly, or rather without the slightest attempt to conceal it, stated his purpose for coming.

Since the Grape Academy Campus Contest, he had been thinking constantly about the evolved Milotic and Ninetales, wanting to visit and see them, and if possible, he wanted even more to get in close contact with them.

Furthermore, he also wanted to observe that ice sculpture of the Sky Dragon Rayquaza up close.

For the entire day yesterday, besides handling the follow-up affairs of the concluded Grape Academy Campus Contest, he also, representing the Hoenn League Champion, negotiated quite a few business collaborations with Geeta.

The Hoenn region stands in the sea opposite the Paldea region, as well as the parts of the Kalos and Galar regions that share some tectonic plates; establishing cooperation would be convenient for the Hoenn League and could also bring many benefits to the Paldea League, which had been established only a little over ten years.

After all, the Hoenn League was among the earliest batch of Leagues to be established; with the experience of seniors, the development of the Paldea League would be even smoother.

Wallace's wishes were easy to satisfy; whether because he personally got along surprisingly well with himself, or simply to contribute to the development of the Paldea League, Luo Mu had little resistance to doing these things which, for him, were merely a simple effort.

Wallace wanting to observe the Rayquaza ice sculpture and wanting to meet Milotic and Ninetales were all achievable.

Luo Mu first took him to the ice cellar.

Before entering, Luo Mu even teased Wallace that the clothes he wore today could at least keep out the cold, otherwise he feared that after one trip into the ice cellar, he would come out frozen stiff.

Opening the heavy door of the ice cellar, he walked down the stairs leading underground, where a chilling cold air wafted out.

Soon, an ice cellar with a world of its own came into view.

"This is..."

Wallace's eyes widened slightly; he had never expected that underground there would be such a vast environment, resembling a snowfield!

Moreover, what surprised him even more was—

There, not far ahead, a being composed entirely of unmelting, indestructible ice, known in the ancient legends of the Hoenn region as one of the three golems, the Giant of Binghe, Regice, was sitting on a rock, fiddling with beautiful flowers frozen in its hands, quietly admiring their eternal beauty.

Wallace's eyes instantly widened as he looked at Luo Mu beside him, his handsome face filled with uncontainable astonishment.

Isn't that... the Legendary Giant, Regice!?

(End of Chapter)