Chapter 523: It's Snowing, It's Snowing, A Pack of Dogs Has Come to the Snowfield

November 5, morning.

A day had passed since Luo Mu left the Great Crater of Paldea and returned to the farm.

Yesterday, while choosing necklaces with Pepa on the streets of Kitakami Town, the outdoor temperature had clearly been around ten degrees Celsius; wearing a base layer, a long-sleeved top covering the body, and finally an outer jacket had been enough.

Yet, as soon as he got up, Luo Mu, wearing autumn pajamas and emerging from the warm quilt, felt a chill that could not be ignored.

The carpet laid beside the bed had just been washed and was still drying on the rooftop; the slippers placed by the bed were also nowhere to be found, so Luo Mu got out of bed barefoot.

The icy sensation rising from the soles of his feet made his toes instinctively curl; his mind still not fully clear from just waking up, he couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise.

As if the ground were "scalding his feet," Luo Mu directly leaped back onto the bed, tightly hugging the Scorbunny, which had not been woken by the noise he made, seeking a heat source.

Although the Scorbunny slept very soundly, the Luxray lying nearby opened half an eye due to the commotion Luo Mu made, licked its paw to wash its face, slowly stood up, and stretched its body.

When it went out at midnight to patrol with the Houndoom and the others, the Luxray had already noticed the change in temperature.

Its fur simply had good insulation capabilities; as long as it wasn't that kind of extreme ice-and-snow weather, it generally wouldn't feel cold.

Watching Luo Mu, curled up in the quilt with his back arched almost like a shrimp, the Luxray shook its head helplessly.

It looked like it could go remind the Moltres to start heating up soon.

But first, it should go find the slippers that the Arcanine might have buried somewhere in the farm.

The Luxray skillfully stood up using the strength of its powerful hind legs; it didn't need to jump like an ordinary pet cat, directly opened the bedroom door with its front paws, wagged its tail, and walked out.

As it left, it even kicked the door shut with its foot.

After the Luxray had been gone for nearly five minutes, Luo Mu finally poked his head out from the quilt, exhaled a visible puff of white breath, and murmured softly: "Winter has arrived."

After washing up and wrapping himself in thick clothes, Luo Mu finally dared to open the tightly shut window.

But contrary to his expectations, the moment he pulled back the curtains and opened the window, a cold wind mixed with snowflakes immediately rushed into the bedroom.

Ignoring the cold wind brushing against his face, Luo Mu widened his eyes, looked up at the gray sky, and muttered to himself: "Is it snowing?"

He saw that within the farm, the sky seemed to sigh softly, sprinkling down the first few flakes of snow from above.

The snowflakes drifted down leisurely, like light feathers, accumulating on the farm's buildings like a thin layer of silver gauze.

Not far away, a small amount of snow had also piled up on the grass; it looked like just a thin layer, not enough to make one sink deeply with a single step, appearing like a carefully laid white-green carpet.

At this moment, an excited cry attracted Luo Mu's attention.

He looked toward the distance; the Eevee sisters rushed out of the house, seemingly seeing snow for the first time, their eyes flashing with excitement, dancing and playing in the snowy weather.

"The first snow of winter?"

Luo Mu watched by the window for a while, reached his hand out the window, felt the cold sensation of snowflakes landing on his skin, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

One could imagine that everyone in the farm would, just like him, be looking up at the sky, feeling the beauty of the first snow.

The Ninetales, Abomasnow, the Sandslash family, and Regice and Galarian Rapidash no longer needed to stay in the artificially created ice cellars; most of the time, they could fully enjoy the season that belonged exclusively to them.

Just right, since the farm had expanded, there was quite a bit more open space; he could even ask Crowned King to bring out the Rayquaza ice sculpture from the ice cellar for Bai Bai Pengpeng and Politoed to use as a slide to play on.

Even when the snow covered the ground, they could make even more interesting ice sculptures.

"It's a pity that Delibird isn't here; it should be arriving in the Hoenn region by now, right?"

Sighing with regret, Luo Mu casually picked up the Silver Wing necklace and the crystal pendant placed by his bedside, hung them around his neck, opened the door, left the bedroom, and went straight downstairs.

Primeape should be handling the data generated by today's milk delivery business; Luo Mu didn't disturb it, but instead walked straight to the front door, planning to go out for a stroll and then return to eat breakfast.

Just then, he happened to meet Crowned King returning from a walk.

"Going out for a walk?"

Crowned King's gentle voice sounded in Luo Mu's mind.

Although it was a Grass-type Pokémon, fundamentally Crowned King was the type capable of moving in extreme cold environments like the Crown Tundra; this level of temperature was nothing to it.

In fact, it was more familiar with such an environment.

"Yes, the temperature has suddenly dropped below zero; I plan to circle around the farm to see if there are any places that need attention."

Luo Mu nodded slightly, took down the coat hanging by the door and draped it over himself, then changed into a pair of thicker shoes.

"By the way, after I finish my walk, I'll come back to prepare breakfast; Cosmog isn't hungry yet, is it?"

As if remembering something, Luo Mu asked again.

Crowned King blinked its eyes, a barely perceptible psychic wave rippled out, and surged into a room on the second floor of the new building.

"No, it's still sleeping."

Crowned King, which could know the situation inside the room through psychic powers even while standing still, replied.

"I see."

Luo Mu smiled and walked straight out.

Outdoors.

The Eevee sisters, whose novelty had quickly faded, shook their fur and energetically followed Luo Mu.

They knew that if Luo Mu got up at this time, he would mostly go for a stroll, and they wanted to follow along.

By the time Luo Mu finished patrolling the farm, returned, prepared a steaming hot breakfast, and finished eating, the time had already reached nine-thirty in the morning.

Changing into outdoor clothes, getting ready, it was time to go teach at the Naranja Academy again.

At this moment, Primeape also stepped out right on time, handing Luo Mu a scarf woven from wool.

Luo Mu knew this was something it had woven by hand.

Because Primeape hadn't kept the matter of weaving the scarf a secret from everyone.

After draping the scarf on, the exposed neck was protected, and the cold was even more effectively blocked out.

"Then I'm heading out; I probably won't be back for lunch today."

Luo Mu left these words, turned around, and walked out of the house.

Primeape called out to him at this moment, hesitantly using telepathy to say: "Serperior seems to be in low spirits recently."

As a professional butler, Primeape felt it necessary to care about the health status of every member of the farm.

Under its observation, not only the Serperior, but also the Haxorus, the Appletun, the Applin, the Tropius, the Vespiquen, and the three Combee under its command had all been in low spirits recently.

Oranguru knew this was likely due to the drop in temperature, but still felt it necessary to inform Luo Mu.

Hearing this, Luo Mu paused his steps, casually grabbed Victini who was attempting to turn invisible and follow him outside, scooped the Pokémon into his arms to warm his hands, and said, "No need to worry; it's just like your Ninetales and other Ice-type Pokémon in summer—they simply aren't good at coping with the colder winter temperatures."

"The Serperior was just like this last winter, which is why it spent all day lying next to the fireplace in the old house; after all, they more or less still possess the instinct to hibernate."

"The Luxray at home should notify Moltres that it can start supplying heat; staying indoors will make things much better, and as for the Appletun and the others, it will be time for them to move back from the new orchard soon."

This winter, Luo Mu had no intention of continuing to plant crops.

Even though the farm now had the capability to harvest despite the severe cold, apart from a few necessary crops requiring daily care, including the fields recently reclaimed by the Mudsdale and the Diglett, Luo Mu decided not to plant any crops throughout this winter, treating it as a rest period for the land.

Chairman Zhi Mi had also contacted him, saying he would visit the farm within the next two days; after his visit concluded and the fruits of the final batch of crops were harvested, they could properly settle in for the winter.

Being busy during spring, summer, and autumn was one thing, but if one had to farm in winter as well, working year-round would be far too exhausting; he didn't owe the Paldea League a mountain of debt, so why strive so hard?

After reassuring Oranguru, Luo Mu waved at it, summoned the Dragonite he had conscripted as a porter during his walk, and said unhurriedly, "Class starts in ten minutes; lend me a hand, Dragonite!"

The Dragonite, having just left its Poké Ball: "."

Speechless (￢д￢。)

Inside the battle hall of Naranja Academy.

Looking at the "corpses" lying scattered all around, Luo Mu smiled and said, "With that, the warm-up ends; let's discuss everyone's plans for this winter."

"What kind of warm-up is this!"

Arven muttered softly, recalling his treated Mabosstiff, Greedent, Cloyster, Capsikid, Toedscool, and Ursaluna into their Poké Balls with a pained expression.

Penny, Mela, and Paul, along with Ortega and Ai Li Qi Si who were auditing the class nearby, followed suit, recalling their own battered Pokémon into their Poké Balls, thoroughly agreeing with Arven's complaint.

Apart from Shizuka, who served as the temporary medic, and Hearing Hearing Nimo, whom Luo Mu, wanting to slack off, had called in as a temporary instructor, these few had borne the brunt of all the malice.

They called it a warm-up, yet they had nearly been beaten unconscious by the iron fists of the Pawmi assisted by Victini.

Luo Mu selectively ignored the complaints from below and instead looked at Hearing Hearing Nimo beside him, who seemed to feel it wasn't exciting enough, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.

Fortunately, he had employed the tactic of diverting disaster eastward; otherwise, it would be himself entangled by Hearing Hearing Nimo.

Occasional battles were fine, but who could endure fighting for long periods?

Fortunately, Hearing Hearing Nimo would soon be setting out on her journey again.

"Ahem—"

Clearing his throat lightly, Luo Mu focused the attention of the several official students and temporary students present on himself.

Only then did he speak: "In a few days, Blueberry Academy, traveling all the way from the Unova region, will arrive at our academy; regarding the personnel responsible for facing them, I won't hide anything—the Chairwoman Geeta will most likely choose you all."

"Winter has arrived; due to the drop in temperature, everyone, myself included, doesn't feel like moving much, but maintaining battle condition is still very important; after all, no one wants to lose on their home turf, right?"

All of them nodded vigorously; complaints aside, they certainly did not want to lose.

Especially Ai Li Qi Si; he had learned early on that his older brother was among them, and his relentless training in the battle hall, regardless of wind or rain, was solely to defeat him fairly and prove he was no worse.

Seeing the group filled with fighting spirit, the corners of Luo Mu's mouth suddenly curved upward, making Arven and the others feel a sense of impending doom.

"Then, starting today until the guests from Blueberry Academy arrive, I'll entrust Hearing Hearing Nimo to conduct special training for everyone."

Everyone: "!!!!"

We treat you as a teacher, and you want us to work ourselves to death!?

Facing numerous looks of disbelief, the thick-skinned Hearing Hearing Nimo declared with high morale, "I will do my utmost to lead everyone in special training!"

Luo Mu cheerfully admired the expressions on Paul and the others' faces while his hands kept moving, placing Shizuka's Bulbasaur on his lap and twirling its seed, which had a strange texture.

This satisfied Hearing Hearing Nimo's desire for battles, achieved the effect of training the several students, and allowed himself to happily slack off; truly a move that killed three birds with one stone.

Perfect!

Bearing the resentful gazes of Penny and the others, Luo Mu brought up another matter.

"Once the visit from Blueberry Academy concludes, Hearing Hearing Nimo will depart for the Battle Frontier to train during her journey; accompanying her will be Paul, who volunteered."

"For traveling outside, I generally recommend groups of three; does anyone else want to sign up?"

November 7th.

After the first snow, the temperature did not stabilize; instead, like green stocks plummeting all the way down, the temperature continued to drop.

In just two days, the temperature had fallen to over ten degrees below zero, and what initially appeared as a "small and cute" first snow gradually evolved into heavy goose-feather snowflakes.

The heavy snow fell for a day and a night; by the time it stopped, the entire Paldea region was shrouded in a magnificent snowy landscape, becoming a pure White World.

The entire farm had also accumulated a rather thick layer of snow.

There were many Pokémon born this year on the farm; this scene had a considerable impact on them.

At the same time, it stirred up their excitement.

Early in the morning, as if by prior agreement, the Pokémon filed out one after another through the door opened by Oranguru, entering this world that had become novel to them.

Victini, accustomed to an ever-green environment in Einome Oak's care, excitedly skimmed low across the ground.

Feng Su Gou, the older Eevee sister, and the younger Eevee sister stepped across the snow, immediately leaving behind strings of plum-blossom paw prints of varying sizes.

The Growlithe remained relatively calm, likely because it had experienced winter in its original ranch before.

However, under Feng Su Gou's harassment, the Growlithe quickly joined in as well, frolicking and playing with them.

The Houndoom had barely stepped into the snow with its front paws before immediately withdrawing one leg.

No way; it truly could not adapt to this feeling of frozen feet.

Luo Mu, who walked out shortly after, watched this scene and couldn't help but laugh: "You are at least a Fire-type Pokémon; are you really not going to join them as a dog painter creating plum blossoms?"

(End of Chapter)