Chapter 51: Heading to Bottle City

The Poliwag's friendly overture left Cangyan Cangyan Rengui baffled; it remembered that previously, due to its appearance, these Poliwag had never dared to loiter nearby.

Why had the Poliwag taken the initiative to approach today?

Or perhaps it had encountered some difficulty and needed its help?

Cangyan Cangyan Rengui gazed at the Poliwag with an incomprehending look, voicing its confusion: "Syl?"

The Poliwag hopped over to Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's side, radiating a friendly aura from head to toe; it glanced at the apron cradled in Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's arms, pursed its lips, and chirped: "Uruu!"

Cangyan Cangyan Rengui froze; what did the Poliwag want it to do by spreading out the apron?

It hesitated for a moment; although Cangyan Cangyan Rengui did not wish to unfold its precious apron before a Pokémon it wasn't very familiar with.

But considering the Poliwag was a Pokémon brought back by Luo Mu, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui reined in its flames and sword blade, fearing its sharp greatsword might accidentally poke a small hole in the apron or tear it, and carefully spread the apron open.

Glancing at Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, whose gaze was locked tightly onto the apron, the Poliwag immediately understood.

Indeed, its observations during the barbecue party earlier had been correct; this apron held extraordinary significance for Cangyan Cangyan Rengui.

An idea instantly formed in its mind; after gathering its energy, the Poliwag exhaled a mass of Bubble Beam with the gentlest force possible.

In an instant, a sea of foam completely submerged Cangyan Cangyan Rengui and the apron; realizing what was happening, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's expression shifted from bewilderment to anger, never expecting the Poliwag had come merely to play a prank!

Although a mere swing of Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's blade would scatter these fragile bubbles entirely, or it could even unleash flames to evaporate these water-laden foams completely.

But because of the apron, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui dared neither make large movements nor recklessly use its flames, so it could only stand still in place and wait for the foam to dissipate.

After a short while, the foam cleared away.

Since its evolution, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's personality had become more composed and calm; only the apron could be considered its touchy subject; usually, no matter how much the Poliwag pranked, it would be fine, but now it had clearly ignited Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's fury.

Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's purple eyes grew serious, intending to properly educate the Poliwag and make it understand that such behavior was wrong; who would have expected the "mischievous" Poliwag to feel not the slightest bit guilty, instead using its eyes to signal Cangyan Cangyan Rengui to look at the apron.

Cangyan Cangyan Rengui froze, its gaze falling upon the apron hanging from its greatsword, surprise overflowing in its expression.

The little yellow duck apron, originally stained with various types of stubborn, hard-to-clean grease, now, apart from some wrinkles caused by usage, had those stubborn oil stains completely vanished!

"Uruu!"

Seeing its operational plan succeed, the Poliwag leaped up excitedly.

Only then did Cangyan Cangyan Rengui understand the Poliwag's purpose in using Bubble Beam.

So, it had intended to help wash the apron?

The next morning, Luo Mu, dressed in pajamas, woke up surrounded by Growlithe, Serperior, and Mimikyu.

Luo Mu's gaze did not linger on the three Pokémon sleeping like dead pigs; he had long grown accustomed to waking up each day to find Pokémon randomly refreshed under his covers; giving a light yawn, Luo Mu deftly completed his washing and changed his clothes.

Today, there was no rush for tree planting or a new round of sowing plans; Luo Mu intended to visit a friend in another city, as the other party had contacted him by phone regarding some urgent matter.

Considering there was still some distance between Bottle City and Pingdie Town, Luo Mu planned to summon another Pokémon that had no important tasks at hand to accompany him on the trip.

When traveling outside, it was necessary to ensure sufficient combat strength was available for deployment; otherwise, one could easily suffer losses in unexpected events.

Apart from Dragonite, which was essential for its flight speed to travel between cities in the Paldea region within a short time, Luo Mu also planned to bring Cangyan Cangyan Rengui along.

Bottle City happened to have several clothing and accessory shops with decent reviews; he could select a new apron for Cangyan Cangyan Rengui there later.

Dragonite was easy to find; basically, it was either at home or floating in the sky, occasionally landing to sit near the house contemplating life.

Not seeing its trace at home or near the house, Luo Mu ran to the back of the house to where Moltres slept under its small shed.

Although they had fought each other, apart from Growlithe, Moltres got along best with Dragonite on the farm, perhaps because Dragonite had defeated it fairly and squarely in a head-on battle.

After inquiring, Luo Mu learned from Moltres that Dragonite had gone to Thunder Lake to play in the water, so he immediately set off for Thunder Lake.

By the shore of Thunder Lake, Luo Mu quickly spotted Dragonite playing in the water.

It was normal for Dragonite to have a strong affinity for water; after all, Dratini and Dragonair mostly lived in lakes, just as there was a small distribution of the Dratini, Dragonair, and Dragonite family in Great Crater Lake.

However, the two other figures staying together by the lake caught Luo Mu somewhat by surprise.

The boss among the four Poliwag and Cangyan Cangyan Rengui.

Meanwhile, the three younger Poliwag siblings were leisurely dozing while floating on the water's surface.

Only to see the Poliwag leap up and spit a Water Gun at Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, who rotated its greatsword, easily deflecting the Poliwag's attack with a horizontal slash.

The Poliwag did not become discouraged and launched another attack from a different angle.

Judging by this, was Cangyan Cangyan Rengui voluntarily acting as a sparring partner for the Poliwag...?

Luo Mu's face showed a look of confusion: "Strange, was their relationship this close before?"

After picking up Dragonite and Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, along with the Poliwag who strongly expressed its desire to follow, Luo Mu gave some instructions to Luxray, the farm's chief steward, stating he would return tonight and entrusting the farm to its care during his absence.

Upon receiving Luxray's steady reply, Luo Mu immediately chose to ride Dragonite and depart, heading for Bottle City, the Water Capital renowned as the "Land of Rivers and Lakes."

At Dragonite's flight speed, it was not yet noon when it landed with Luo Mu outside Bottle City.

The architectural style of Bottle City was quite unique; the ground and walls were covered with various strange and beautiful patterns, looking very much like Azulejo tile paintings, while the style of the roads resembled Portuguese cobblestone paths.

Waterways crisscrossed throughout the city; indeed, many locals and tourists chose to travel by small boat via the water routes, which reminded Luo Mu of another water city, Alto Mare, and the legendary Pokémon Latias and Latios residing there.

Luo Mu recalled Dragonite into its Poké Ball, leaving only the small-sized Poliwag by his side.

Indeed, in most cities of the Paldea region, Pokémon were allowed to walk on the roads, but Dragonite's situation was somewhat special.