Chapter 496: Lei Guan Wang Returns Again

The strategy against the Flame Queen Lizard group was set for tomorrow.

After the Houndour group had time to rest and recuperate, they would be led by the Twist Dog and the former Houndour leader to crush the Flame Queen Lizard group and complete the unification.

Luo Mu still would not appear to help, hoping the Houndour group could accomplish this task using their own strength to the greatest extent possible.

Of course.

In terms of support, the Serperior had long made preparations; it and the Milotic would modify the battlefield to make it more suppressive against the Flame Queen Lizard group.

Although Flame Queen Lizards and Sneasels are Poison and Fire-type Pokémon, they are essentially based on reptiles; once the surrounding temperature drops, their movements will inevitably become somewhat sluggish.

Milotic's "Mist" move could perfectly achieve this effect.

If they tried to raise the temperature by setting fires, then it would be the turn of the Houndour and Growlithe with the Flash Fire ability to step forward.

There was no need for some deus ex machina or an unreasonable suppression by an outsider; with a certain amount of assistance, it was enough to let the Houndour group win this conflict that had lasted for such a long time.

As for the subsequent arrangements for these Flame Queen Lizards, Luo Mu and Lei Guan Wang had already considered them.

Those among them willing to eat human food would be entrusted to Lip, who operated businesses in cosmetics and perfumes, to take them in and raise them.

Those unwilling to interact with humans would be taken by Lei Guan Wang to the area near Xuezha Town, where there were many idle caves to house them.

The resources surrounding that area were quite abundant, no worse than here, and more importantly, they could enjoy them exclusively without the Houndour group taking half.

If the resources were not abundant, Lei Guan Wang could make them so.

Before returning to the farm, Luo Mu, as usual, went to the vicinity of the small stream to check the condition of the saplings that had just been transplanted in the orchard.

However, this time he was followed by the Twist Dog and the Tinkatink, who were visiting this place for the first time.

The Politoed and others had left not long ago, and the soil where the saplings grew still felt slightly moist, clearly indicating it had been watered recently.

Luo Mu had originally planned to leave immediately after taking a look, but just as he lifted his foot, he heard the sound of flapping wings.

He turned around to look.

He discovered that a Tropius was carrying the Shuckle siblings along with an Appletun, flying toward them.

The combined weight of the three Pokémon exceeded half of the Tropius's own body weight.

That it could still fly under such conditions could only mean that Luo Mu and the Serperior had raised it to have an exceptionally strong constitution.

Its leaf-like wings flapped several times in succession, stirring up a whirlwind on the ground that caused the saplings' branches and leaves to sway slightly as the Tropius landed smoothly.

Shuckle Sister and Shuckle Brother directly retracted into their shells and rolled down, landing quickly.

Meanwhile, the Appletun had to test its footing several times before it could move its body, which had become increasingly clumsy after evolution, to land.

"Squish~"

Shuckle Sister exposed her body from her shell, waved her front limbs, and greeted Luo Mu affectionately.

Shuckle Brother imitated her; his socially anxious personality had improved considerably, and he was gradually becoming more cheerful as well.

"Moo~"

The Tropius stretched out its neck and rubbed affectionately against the Serperior, its adoptive mother, while the Appletun trotted over eagerly to seek credit from Yao Gong.

It turned out that...

Considering that the newly selected orchard site had not yet been fully incorporated into the farm's boundaries or fenced off, it would be bad if passing wild Pokémon trampled the still-fragile saplings.

Originally, the Luxray had planned to stay here for a few nights to guard the orchard, but the four Pokémon had volunteered, stating they also wanted to contribute their share of effort.

Thus, they had just arrived and happened to bump into Luo Mu and the others.

Appropriately providing emotional value helped boost the Pokémon's enthusiasm.

Luo Mu, giving them plenty of face, praised each of them in turn, and then he looked toward the Serperior.

His eyes were full of urging, hinting, and encouragement.

Serperior: "."

Unable to maintain its aloof demeanor under the assault of several pairs of starry eyes, the Serperior could only helplessly admit defeat and stiffly praised them.

It was all Luo Mu's fault for reading parenting guides all day long, dragging it into suffering along with him.

Why suffer?

Because Luo Mu often used it as a practice subject.

He also couldn't understand how the Mimikyu managed to enjoy it so much.

Hearing that the Tropius and others planned to stay here for night watch, Luo Mu felt this was inappropriate.

The temperature had been dropping continuously recently, making the nights even colder; while warming measures would be taken for the fruit tree saplings at night, the Tropius and others staying here would have to endure the cold wind out in the open.

This was not appropriate.

Luo Mu thought for a moment, and suddenly a plan came to mind.

I have a plan! He cast his gaze toward the Serperior, and even the Tinkatink nearby, who was exploring with Shuckle Sister and Brother whether the shell or the hammer was harder, fell under his scrutiny.

If the Tinkatink could draw blueprints for hammers, then crossing fields slightly to create a set of blueprints for a vine hut to shelter from wind and rain should be a piece of cake? And as for the vine hut, that would rely on the Serperior, whose maternal love had awakened, to figure out.

As the sky gradually darkened, Luo Mu returned to the farm with the Serperior, the Twist Dog, and the Tinkatink.

Fortunately, although it had consumed quite a bit of time, at least the temporary vine hut to shelter the Tropius and others from wind and rain was completed.

Worried that climbing the mountain late at night would be inconvenient for the Tinkatink, Luo Mu simply let it stay at the farm for the night, as returning tomorrow would be the same.

Nowadays, with the endless supply of materials provided by Luo Mu and an inexhaustible furnace fire, the Tinkatink's forging skills were improving rapidly, so it didn't lack for this little bit of practice time.

So, right after dinner, it held hands with the Pecharunt and slept in the same bed.

Early the next morning.

The Rookidee and Corviknight alarm clocks arrived punctually above the farm; while responsible for driving away ill-intentioned flying Pokémon, they lifted baskets of sealed fresh milk and flew to every part of Pingdie Town.

Early in the morning, the Tinkatink carried the sandwiches prepared for it by the Oranguru and the Tapu Tapu Moumou fresh milk, heading toward its "workshop."

Luo Mu got up a little later than the Tinkatink, however, he had specially dressed up.

It wasn't that he was going to attend classes at the academy; today was Saturday, one of the two days of the absolutely unchanging weekend holiday.

He dressed more formally because he was going to the airport in Niangguang City to pick someone up.

Who knows what Limone was thinking, letting Citron bring ten-year-old Bonnie on an international flight from neighboring Kalos.

Though there's a saying in the Pokémon world that turning ten and receiving a starter Pokémon counts as adulthood, these parents are, in a sense, incredibly laid-back.

The battle between the Houndoom pack and the Salazzle pack will also commence shortly, taking advantage of the cool weather and higher humidity.

Serperior and Milotic have already departed, and Empoleon, acting as Luo Mu's commander-in-chief, has now donned its outfit.

"Your spirits seem quite high?"

Gazing at Empoleon dressed as a strategist, Luo Mu tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing an expression that was hard to describe.

Empoleon smiled faintly, gently waving the fan in its hand. "Relieving the young master of his burdens is my duty as a strategist."

"Please rest assured, young master. I shall lead the 'army' to a great victory in this campaign." At this moment, Empoleon resembled Zhuge Liang, the Sleeping Dragon, with his confidence and strategic genius, exuding the aura of a flawless strategist.

Luo Mu: "..."

He's gotten addicted to cosplay.

Still, Empoleon's appearance naturally evokes first impressions of "strategist," "sage," or "wise one," so its interest in this role is understandable.

Despite the complaints, Luo Mu looked at it with trust and said, "Then I'll leave it to you."

Based on his contact with the two siblings, after picking them up today, he would stay in Mesagoza for a day, showing them around the most developed city in the Paldea region, just like the city of Lumiose in the Kalos region, before returning the two guests to the farm in the evening.

He left the matter of the Salazzle pack to Empoleon with confidence.

Thinking of this, Luo Mu called Luxray, mounted Dragonite, and left the farm.

Luxray wasn't present when he last went to the Kalos region; this time, he had to make sure it met Citron's Luxio.

One would think that a reunion of the same species would be particularly interesting.

Nine o'clock in the morning.

Paldea region, Mesagoza.

Accompanied by Luxray, Luo Mu carried a bag of bread bought from Uncle You Ren and went straight to the Mesagoza International Airport.

"I remember Citron and Bonnie's flight was supposed to be Kalos Diamond Airlines D0719..."

Muttering to himself, Luo Mu stared at the rolling flight schedule information on the airport hall screen, not even noticing someone suddenly standing behind him.

Luxray, however, spotted the person immediately but didn't intervene, unsure of their relationship with Luo Mu and sensing no ill intent.

Suddenly feeling his shoulder tapped a few times, Luo Mu, still browsing the flight information, instinctively said, "Being mischievous isn't like you, Luxray."

But in the next second, he immediately realized something was wrong.

Luxray usually greeted him by nuzzling with its head or simply making a sound.

How could it stand upright and then tap his shoulder? Glancing down with his peripheral vision, he saw that Luxray hadn't stood up but was instead looking backward at something.

Luo Mu instantly understood in his heart, and while wondering who it was, he turned his head.

Coming into view was a man with golden hair.

"... So it's you?"

Luo Mu said, surprised.

The man before him was still dressed in a pristine chef's uniform, with a blue neckerchief neatly tied around his chest. The suitcase he carried clearly contained a full set of kitchen tools, as Luo Mu could tell at a glance.

The visitor was none other than Zhi Mi, the Water-type Elite Four member of the Kalos region, the elegant chef.

"It's been a while. How have you been, Luo Mu?"

Zhi Mi nodded gently and extended his hand in friendship toward Luo Mu.

Luo Mu reached out to shake it and asked curiously, "Didn't you finish your training? Why has the busy man of Kalos come to Paldea again?"

He remembered that the previous battle banquet was essentially Zhi Mi showcasing his training results to the Kalos elite circle to build his reputation and fame.

Afterwards, he had followed the news from the Kalos region, and it seemed that since then, Zhi Mi's restaurant had become an absolute sensation.

The entire Kalos elite circle, the fashion world, and all sorts of chaotic groups had rushed to book reservations, with the schedule apparently booked until the end of next year.

Zhi Mi should have been busy flying around recently, so why did he drop everything at the restaurant and come straight to Paldea? "According to our agreement, I came to visit your farm to purchase better ingredients. Is that not allowed?"

Zhi Mi said teasingly.

To his surprise, Luo Mu took it seriously and pondered, "Hmm, that's not impossible."

In fact, this was a timely rain!

Not expecting Luo Mu to take him seriously, Zhi Mi quickly explained, "Although I know the ingredients from your farm are of top-tier quality, this time, I truly came to Paldea for other reasons."

Luo Mu was not impatient; instead, he asked curiously, "Then may the esteemed Elite Four Zhi Mi satisfy my curiosity?"

"Of course. It is my honor that you would listen to my troubles."

Zhi Mi gave a bitter smile and began to recount his story.

It turned out.

Precisely because the restaurant was a huge success, he had suddenly visited Paldea during his busiest time.

To put it bluntly, Zhi Mi pursued the combination of gourmet food and art, much like Wallace, who pursued beauty and splendor in food, holding extremely high standards for himself and his works.

Artists, after all, often possess some eccentric obsessions unrecognized by the world.

The restaurant's great success did not make Zhi Mi happy; instead, it made him feel depressed and suffocated.

The two sat together on the airport chairs, Zhi Mi holding Luo Mu's hand, looking like he was complaining to a close friend.

"You know, every day I open my eyes to face orders lined up from opening time until late at night. To maintain high-quality output, not only has the training of Pokémon been forced to slacken, but I even lost the time to develop new works."

"This kind of life is not the life I want or pursue. These past few days, I simply closed the shop, wanting to find Master Master Haidai and get an answer from him."

To Zhi Mi, Master Master Haidai was a remarkably open-minded and clear-headed person. Through communicating with him, Zhi Mi was also won over by Master Master Haidai's eloquence; when confused, the first person he thought of was to consult the experienced Master Master Haidai.

After hearing the whole story, Luo Mu thought to himself, as expected.

No wonder whenever he looked at Zhi Mi, he felt his expression seemed somewhat changed.

So that's how it is.

Luo Mu looked at Zhi Mi sympathetically; only after the other spoke did he notice that Zhi Mi had developed faint dark circles under his eyes.

He must have been tortured terribly.

On one side were reservations booked until the end of next year; on the other, his own nearly obsessive pursuit of "perfection" in his work—both were impossible to compromise.

In the end, before everything collapsed, Chairman Zhi Mi chose to set foot once more in a foreign land, searching for his own answer.

Whether he should compromise, or make sweeping, drastic changes.

"You've worked hard."

Patting Chairman Zhi Mi on the shoulder, Luo Mu expressed his agreement with the man's thoughts.

"In this situation, you could indeed seek out an experienced old chef like Master Master Haidai; perhaps you'll find your own answer."

"That's exactly what I thought. Thank you."

"After finally voicing everything bottled up inside, I feel much more relieved."

Deeply grateful to Luo Mu for listening to his troubles, Chairman Zhi Mi broke into Little Little Dandan's smile.

"Of course, our previous agreement still stands; after I resolve my own affairs, I hope you will agree to my request to visit."

"In the culinary works of Chef Zhi Mi, those top-tier ingredients from your farm are indispensable; being able to procure some would be ideal."

(End of Chapter)