Chapter 527: Green

The three had just sat down on the sofa when, after a rapid clatter of footsteps, a yellow figure suddenly leaped out from a corner, letting out a cry of delight.

"Pika Pika!"

Luo Mu instinctively caught the Pikachu that pounced toward him.

Compared to Professor Oak and Tracey, whom he had seen frequently lately, Pikachu naturally leaned more toward him.

But Pikachu clearly understood the art of balancing water; without favoring one over the other, it raised its small paws to greet both Professor Oak and Tracey.

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Pikachu?"

Luo Mu rubbed Pikachu's chubby cheeks, a smile spreading across his face.

If anyone else rubbed its face like this, say Ash, Pikachu would absolutely not hesitate to hit them with a Thunderbolt.

But Luo Mu was a different matter.

Seeing the bottle Luo Mu casually took from his backpack, Pikachu's eyes lit up, staring unblinkingly at the red liquid inside.

"The farm happened to have some tomatoes in its final winter harvest, so I simply made them into ketchup to bring along; hurry and taste if it suits your palate."

While speaking, Luo Mu's hands never stopped; he pinched Pikachu's electric sacs, feeling a rebound sensation that surpassed even a cushion.

"Chu~~"

At this moment, Pikachu's eyes held nothing but ketchup; clutching the bottle in fascination, it popped the lid, and as soon as a little ketchup was squeezed out, its pink tongue immediately licked it away.

The unique sweet-and-sour flavor of the ketchup exploded in its mouth; Pikachu felt as if floating on clouds, all worries vanishing.

Rub away, rub away; as long as there is ketchup, you can rub however you like!

Pikachu lay in Luo Mu's arms like it had given up on life, nearly melting into a puddle, allowing Luo Mu to rub at will.

Seeing Luo Mu's actions, Tracey asked curiously, "Is Pikachu rare in the Paldea region?"

Even though Tracey, as a Pokémon Observer, often sketched wild Pokémon, he rarely sketched Pokémon like Pikachu.

First, this kind of Pokémon was extremely common in the Kanto region, as numerous as stray dogs by the roadside.

Second, because Pikachu was so common, when learning painting in the past, teachers loved dragging them to a gathering place of Pikachus to have them draw from life.

Drawing Pikachu was the foundation of foundations; they had long grown tired of it.

Seeing how much Luo Mu treasured Pikachu, Tracey was intensely curious.

Could it be that Pikachu is a rare species in the Paldea region?

Facing Tracey's question, Luo Mu responded without thinking: "Not quite; Pikachu in the Paldea region are just like Pikachu in the Kanto region..."

"... as numerous as stray dogs by the roadside."

The two spoke in unison.

Pikachu, happily licking ketchup: "..."

How rude you all are! But for the sake of the ketchup, let it slide, chu~

Luo Mu still hadn't directly answered Tracey's question, but his heart was clear as a mirror; he knew very well why he was frantically rubbing Pikachu's cheeks.

Do not be fooled by Pikachu looking chubby and easy to rub right now.

Perhaps when taking the ship to the Hoenn region, because the journey approached crossing half the globe, the long sea voyage caused Pikachu to thin at a visible speed, no longer retaining its former chubby appearance.

That was right.

Before Ash set out on his journey, this would likely be Luo Mu's last time touching a chubby Pikachu.

How could he not rub his fill while he still could? Just then, Ash also hastily finished washing up and came over, shuffling in his slippers.

Seeing the interaction between Luo Mu and Pikachu, he felt a bit jealous, "Usually Pikachu isn't this intimate with me!"

Pikachu didn't want to pay attention to its foolish Trainer who loved to sleep in; it continued licking the ketchup until Delia, who had appeared before it at some unknown point, snatched it away, causing it to suddenly lift its head and look pitifully at Delia, attempting to use a gaze attack to get the ketchup back.

But to Delia, Pikachu also counted as one of her "children"; as a parent, she had to pay attention to preventing Pikachu from falling ill due to unhealthy habits.

Loving to eat ketchup was fine, but treating ketchup as a staple food was a huge problem.

For this reason, Delia had to put on a serious expression, and only after repeated warnings did she reluctantly agree to pour the ketchup over Pikachu's meal.

Soon after Delia turned and walked back into the kitchen, the dining table was filled with various steaming dishes.

There were six chairs in total; on one of them sat an infant chair Ash had used when he was small, which was the seat Delia had prepared for Pikachu.

Without any formalities or stiffness, after Delia said a few words, lunch began with Ash's "Let's eat" as the signal.

Luo Mu tasted quite a bit of every dish; perhaps the flavor was not as exquisite and harmonious as what Chairman Zhi Mi had made that night, but the dishes indeed possessed a strange flavor named "the taste of mother."

After a full meal and dividing the work to wash all the bowls and chopsticks clean, they bid farewell to Delia and returned together to Professor Oak's Laboratory.

However, this time the group went directly to the backyard of Professor Oak's Laboratory.

"Hurry and release your Pokémon!"

As soon as he stepped onto the grass, Professor Oak could not help but urge them eagerly.

Only heaven knew how excited Professor Oak had been upon receiving Luo Mu's contact, when the other party said they were bringing two Pokémon that existed only in the past to visit.

To actually see living Pokémon that had already gone extinct!

Although Professor Oak usually gave those around him the impression of an approachable old man, within his beloved professional field, he possessed an enthusiasm unmatched by anyone.

Indeed, right now he could barely suppress his desire to research.

If he did not know that Professor Oak was no mad scientist, seeing him in this state would have made Luo Mu somewhat apprehensive.

"Come out, Ursaluna, Feng Su Gou."

Nodding slightly, Luo Mu directly took out an Ultra Ball and a Poké Ball, releasing the two Pokémon.

Professor Oak already knew about Feng Su Gou, so his first reaction was to look at Ursaluna first.

Just after emerging from the Ultra Ball, Ursaluna yawned, obviously feeling a bit sleepy.

"Ho ho, it looks very sleepy; I heard it is snowing heavily in the Paldea region right now; is it wanting to hibernate?"

Based on Ursaluna's mental state and physical reactions, Professor Oak immediately made his judgment.

At the same time, his gaze burned intensely as he stared at Ursaluna, sizing up its body from top to bottom; with such naked eyes, Ursaluna nearly thought the fur on its body had been shaved off, and it instinctively shivered.

Then Professor Oak went even further, shifting beside the Moon Bear as if teleporting, attempting to touch its muscles—

The Moon Bear looked at Luo Mu as if seeking help; hadn't they agreed on a trip at a moment's notice? Who was this perverted old man?

Fearing the Moon Bear would slap Professor Oak, Luo Mu quickly soothed it: "He is Professor Oak; we just need to cooperate with him for a physical examination."

"Roar?"

The Moon Bear stared with bear-like eyes, its voice filled with suspicion.

Is it true or false? Do you swear you won't trick a bear? "True, true, I won't trick you."

Patting the Moon Bear's shoulder, which was covered in solid earth, Luo Mu made his promise.

"Roar..."

Half-believing, half-doubting, the Moon Bear finally relaxed, choosing to trust Luo Mu this once.

On the other side.

As soon as he saw Feng Su Gou appear, Ash shouted excitedly: "Long time no see, Feng Su Gou!"

Speaking thus, Ash even spread his arms, attempting to hug it.

Meanwhile, after staring blankly for a few seconds, Tracey woke as if from a dream and hurriedly released a Scyther with a slightly aged aura, begging it to quickly go to his room and fetch his sketchbook and pen.

Feng Su Gou's majestic appearance, which was extremely deceptive, had clearly conquered him; he couldn't wait to try recording Feng Su Gou's heroic posture through sketching.

After conducting a routine physical examination on the Moon Bear, Professor Oak moved on to Feng Su Gou, finally exclaiming with astonishment: "Whether it is the regional form of Feng Su Gou that existed in the past, or the evolved form of the Ring Bear, each would be a discovery that shakes the research world!"

Because Luo Mu had communicated with Professor Oak before arriving, and furthermore, after seeing Feng Su Gou through Qi Shu's live stream, Professor Oak had been investigating Feng Su Gou's background ever since.

Ultimately, through a channel provided by an old friend of his, Professor Rowan of the Sinnoh region, he obtained clues.

It seemed that a hundred years ago, on the land of the Sinnoh region then known as Hisui, there had been records of related Pokémon existing.

It was just that those Pokémon had gone extinct for various reasons.

According to what Luo Mu said, the Moon Bear also seemed to be a Pokémon that once lived on the Hisui land.

Merely being able to see the forms of two Pokémon with his own eyes caused Professor Oak's research soul to erupt completely.

He directly proposed: "Next, we need to conduct a detailed physical examination within the laboratory; only after obtaining accurate and rigorous data can we meet the conditions for public announcement."

Luo Mu naturally understood this principle; he knew nothing about such matters and did not wish to waste his brain cells learning from scratch, as merely studying medicine under Young Lady Joy Rin in Pingdie Town had already occupied much of his time.

After whispering a few instructions to the Moon Bear and Feng Su Gou, he watched as the two Pokémon entered the laboratory with Professor Oak and Tracey, who, acting as an assistant, was forced to stop drawing.

The surroundings suddenly fell silent, leaving only Luo Mu, Ash, and Pikachu.

The air around them was somewhat quiet; after pondering hard for a while, Ash simply spoke in a Yao Gong manner: "Master, I successfully secured victory at the Silver Conference!"

"Pika Pika!"

Pikachu on Ash's shoulder also held its head high, full of pride.

"Mm, I know; you already mentioned it over the phone."

Luo Mu nodded helplessly, reminding Ash of the fact that he had already mentioned this matter.

"... Oh, it seems there was such a thing."

Ash scratched his head in a daze, his thoughts taking another turn, and simply invited Luo Mu to stroll around Professor Oak's backyard.

"Everyone is currently living separately in the backyard; besides Charizard and Wartortle, Charizard said it wants to dominate Charicific Valley and plans to return in a few days."

"Wartortle cannot let go of its few friends and is still working at the fire brigade; it only returns during its weekly rest days."

Seeming to truly regard Luo Mu as his master, Ash's bursting desire to share erupted all at once.

Luo Mu did not brush him off either, listening attentively.

Thus, while talking, Ash led Luo Mu on a stroll through Professor Oak's backyard.

Perhaps driven by curiosity, along the way Luo Mu indirectly asked Ash if he had an older brother, or if Gary had an older brother.

Ash gave two answers.

He did not have an older brother, but Gary indeed had one.

Ash first looked left and right as if feeling guilty, confirming no one nearby was eavesdropping, before whispering: "That guy Gary has an older brother; it's just that we rarely get to see him."

"Big Brother Blue is a very powerful trainer; once Gary showed off to me, saying Big Brother Blue had obtained the Champion title of the Kanto League!"

When saying this sentence, Ash's voice was obviously filled with gnashing teeth, as if he had truly been shown off to by Gary before.

But immediately after, his voice became somewhat gleeful at another's misfortune.

"However, it seems that five minutes after Big Brother Blue obtained the Champion title, it was snatched away by another mysterious trainer who also hailed from Pallet Town!"

"It's just that now no one knows where that person is, and Big Brother Blue, who occasionally appears, seems busy with something unknown; I haven't seen him in nearly two or three years."

Luo Mu: "..."

There really is a five-minute Champion?

For a moment, Luo Mu didn't know how to retort.

Based on his own experiences, combined with Ash's gossip, he drew a conclusion.

Currently, it seemed there were indeed two people, Red and Blue, in Pallet Town, and they had also successfully obtained the League Champion titles one after another.

Previously, when he was in the Johto region, Luo Mu had even helped Red on Mount Silver, who was nearly stranded due to food shortages, so he had been thinking that Blue should exist as well.

It was just that for some reason, records regarding the two of them within the Kanto League were pitifully scarce; it was also possible that Luo Mu's browsing permissions as a tourist were insufficient.

Now that he had obtained an accurate answer from Ash, it could be considered settling a matter weighing on Luo Mu's mind.

Luo Mu had not expected.

In Professor Oak's backyard, the first of Ash's Pokémon he would see was actually it.

It was a bird-type Pokémon of massive size.

Its main feathers were brown, the feathers on its belly and under its wings were cream-colored, and it possessed red tail feathers as well as longer crest feathers of red and yellow.

Its sharp claws, with three pink toes faintly visible, gripped the tree branch firmly; its wide wings were folded, and its incredibly sharp gaze cast down.

Its aura was very strong; if placed in the wild, it would likely be a clan leader commanding a group.

But upon seeing Xiao Zhi, the majesty in Pidgeot's eyes instantly turned to affection; it leaped directly from the tree and landed steadily before Xiao Zhi and Luo Mu.

Spreading its vast wings, Pidgeot let out a clear cry from its sharp beak.

"Pidgee!"

"Pidgeot, why are you here?"

Xiao Zhi hugged Pidgeot's head as it affectionately nuzzled against him, asking with a smile.

Pidgeot explained with a flurry of gestures; in any case, Luo Mu did not quite understand how Xiao Zhi comprehended Pidgeot's meaning.

Xiao Zhi suddenly realized, saying, "You just went to visit your kin in the forest, so you only just returned."

(End of Chapter)