Chapter 530: The Green of the Earth

Relying on the fame brought by these two ultra-high-quality academic papers, plus the new Pokémon evolution forms and the past forms of Pokémon that had gone extinct.

Even if Luo Mu later wanted to become an official researcher, or even apply to become a Pokémon Professor after supplementing his basic knowledge, it would not be impossible.

After all, the websites represented by the two journals that Professor Oak had already contacted could be considered top-tier in the research community.

For anyone, this would be an opportunity sufficient to skyrocket their career.

But for Luo Mu, did he really need such titles?

In contrast, the ensuing interviews, attention, and even many troublesome follow-up matters would surely occupy a considerable amount of his energy; the profession of a researcher was, just by thinking about it, an easy path to hair loss and death from overwork.

Although he wouldn't go so far as to say he liked lying flat, Luo Mu still tried as much as possible not to create trouble for himself.

What was wrong with easily tagging along behind two big shots in the research world to "pad" his resume?

Thinking of this, the answer naturally surfaced in Luo Mu's mind.

Although your proposal is quite tempting, I refuse! That's what he thought, but when the words reached his lips, they took a turn and changed.

"Thank you both, Professors, for your kind intentions, but my personal abilities are still insufficient to bear the title of first author, and I am not yet mentally prepared to become a researcher."

Very tactful and humble words slipped out.

He didn't know what others thought, but Professor Oak and Professor Rowan greatly appreciated this junior who could not be swayed by benefits; this point was the most difficult.

However, thinking about his active performance on Asertia Island afterward, where he never showed up to accept any interviews, one could roughly guess that Luo Mu was someone indifferent to fame and fortune.

Professor Oak nodded slightly, accepting Luo Mu's choice with a smile on his face.

"Then, allow this old man to take the first author spot, while you serve as the second author, listed after Professor Rowan; Xiao Xiao Jian also contributed quite a bit, so he will be listed as the third author. What do you think of this arrangement?"

Professor Oak presented his proposal.

Professor Rowan, who had only helped a little, naturally had no objections; speaking practically, having only helped remotely meant he had actually gained quite a bit.

Luo Mu had even less objection.

As for Xiao Xiao Jian.

He seemed as if struck by a prize falling from the sky, standing there in a daze, unaware that the corners of his eyes had turned slightly red.

These two papers sufficient to shake the Pokémon research community, and he, a person who did nothing but draw and run errands, could actually get his name on them?

Overjoyed, Xiao Xiao Jian didn't think twice before hugging Professor Oak's thigh, loudly promising that if Professor Oak secretly ate instant noodles in the future, he could occasionally pretend not to see it.

Then he hugged Luo Mu, the real "thigh" who had brought the Bloodmoon Ursaluna and Feng Su Gou, so excited that his tears and snot were almost smeared onto Luo Mu's trouser legs.

With a face full of horror, Luo Mu could only let the Bloodmoon Ursaluna lift Xiao Xiao Jian up like holding a little chick.

The matter regarding the academic papers came to a temporary end.

With the data in hand, Professor Oak could prepare to start writing the papers.

After a few more rounds of refinement, they could be sent to the email addresses of the journal websites that had been arranged in advance; the other side would arrange specialized reviewers to conduct a fair review, confirming and verifying the reliability of the papers before publishing them.

Calculating the time, they should be able to appear in the December issue, printed at the end of this month, which is the end of November.

By then, they could prepare to register Feng Su Gou, Teddiursa, and Bloodmoon Ursaluna into the Pokédex database.

Since the relevant data had already been collected in advance, there was no need for Luo Mu to make another trip.

With everything coming to an end and Pallet Town already thoroughly explored, Luo Mu planned to ride his Dragonite and return immediately to the Paldea region.

However, before that—

Looking at Xiao Zhi Chong Chong who had come seeking him out, Luo Mu, lost in thought, repeated the words Xiao Zhi Chong Chong had just said.

"You said you plan to set off for the Hoenn region?"

"Yeah! Charizard has returned to the Charicific Valley, and Pikachu and I can't lose either!"

Xiao Zhi Chong Chong nodded heavily, writing Ji De Xiang Fa completely on his face.

The Pikachu on his shoulder was much the same, Emperor Yan Di filled with longing for the new region and new challenges.

Luo Mu naturally had no reason to stop him; thinking about it, one could guess who was the "trigger" that made Xiao Zhi Chong Chong decide to travel to the Hoenn region.

It was naturally Ye He Yue, who lost to Xiao Zhi Chong Chong at the Silver Conference, but whose Blaziken and Kecleon also left a deep impression on Xiao Zhi Chong Chong.

Merely muttering softly that Kyogre and Groudon were probably waking up soon, Luo Mu opened his mouth to ask, "So, have you decided who you will take with you to travel in the new region?"

Luo Mu always felt that Xiao Zhi Chong Chong could completely swap his carried Pokémon during the gaps in his travels, while simultaneously setting about cultivating newly joined Pokémon, achieving common progress for both old and new Pokémon.

Instead of having old partners only watch the matches through the television in world-class competitions, appearing only at the very end to trigger a wave of nostalgia.

Xiao Zhi Chong Chong had clearly taken Luo Mu's words to heart; first, he shrugged his right shoulder where Pikachu was standing.

"Pikachu will go with me to the Hoenn region."

Immediately after, he listed a few more names.

"Then there are Ceruledge, Pidgeot, and Larvitar."

Luo Mu noticed that among the three Pokémon, only Larvitar was a Pokémon that had not yet evolved.

Unlike Bulbasaur who had no desire to evolve, or Wartortle who had returned to work part-time at the Squirtle Squad to earn money for the family, Larvitar showed no rejection toward evolving, and was even very much looking forward to his own evolution.

It seemed Xiao Zhi Chong Chong had finally had an enlightenment.

Luo Mu sent Xiao Zhi Chong Chong off with gratification, and amidst Xiao Zhi Chong Chong's strange expression, asked him whether he had finished repaying the money for Misty's bicycle.

Confused, Xiao Zhi Chong Chong still answered Luo Mu's question.

One bicycle was too expensive, and he hadn't finished paying it off yet, but Misty, who planned to return to Cerulean City to take over the Cerulean Gym, seeing their relationship, mercifully granted Xiao Zhi Chong Chong an extension of one regional journey.

Watching the back of Xiao Zhi Chong Chong scratching his head as he left, Luo Mu let out a deep sigh.

Good luck, boy from Pallet Town.

In a little while, the debt on your back will be two bicycles.

However, since this time he was bringing along three combat forces—Ceruledge, Pidgeot, and Larvitar—perhaps things wouldn't go wrong like in the original plot? But regardless, this didn't stop Luo Mu from cursing those profiteers who sold bicycles at sky-high prices and monopolized the market.

It made it so that now when he went out, he could only ride Feng Su Gou and Dragonite; although the farm's income meant he could afford a bicycle, it just felt too expensive, giving him the feeling that once he bought one, he would be a huge sucker.

"Hoo—"

Exhaling a breath, watching the white mist rise and disappear due to his own exhalation, Luo Mu sighed with emotion that the temperature in the Kanto region had finally dropped.

The temperature fluctuations these past few days have been significant; many Pokémon in Professor Oak's backyard have started huddling together for warmth.

Judging by this trend, Pallet Town probably won't see any snow, much like a certain basin region in the country where I lived before transmigrating.

With his mind wandering through random thoughts, Luo Mu turned and walked toward the interior of the laboratory.

Calculating the time, it was about right to call back the few Pokémon playing in the backyard, then go bid farewell to Professor Oak and Tracey.

There were only a few days left before the Blueberry Academy challenge team arrived. Luo Mu hadn't brought many Pokémon to Pallet Town this time.

Aside from Arcanine and Ursaluna, whom he brought as "research subjects," there was only Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, brought specifically so Tan Xiao Shi, now evolved into Ceruledge, could meet him, plus Dragonite, who served as Luo Mu's confidence for roaming the world.

At this moment, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui should have taken Charizard away, leaving only Typhlosion, whom he trains himself, to practice controlling its flame temperature.

Dragonite had gone to find that seemingly unfathomable Dragonite belonging to Professor Oak.

Arcanine was likely racing against several native Kanto Arcanine, raised by trainers and boarded in Professor Oak's backyard.

As for Ursaluna, it was staying together with that evolved Ursaluna.

Speaking of this Ursaluna, Luo Mu suddenly seemed to recall something and murmured to himself, "Could it be that this is those two people's Pokémon?"

By "those two people," he naturally referred to the legendary trainers who had departed from Pallet Town.

Luo Mu still remembered the incident when he, holding a piece of peat block, was led by Professor Oak to find that Ursaring.

Even in Professor Oak's backyard, where sleeping dragons were everywhere, that Ursaring occupied a rather excellent living spot, indicating its formidable strength.

Gary's Ursaring definitely didn't possess such strength; moreover, Professor Oak had mentioned this was a boarded Pokémon in the backyard, implying it wasn't his own.

Given that, weren't the famous and powerful trainers of Pallet Town just these few individuals?

Sighing at how Pallet Town truly hid tigers and concealed dragons, Luo Mu, following the order of distance, called back Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, Dragonite, and Arcanine one after another.

However, on his way to find Ursaluna, he encountered someone entirely unexpected.

It was a handsome young man with brown hair, wearing an unknown pendant on his chest, looking somewhat similar to Gary but entirely an upgraded version of him, and about the same age as Luo Mu.

The young man's eyes held a hint of arrogance; chin raised, arms crossed, he scrutinized Luo Mu with a assessing gaze.

Immediately after, a voice highly consistent with his demeanor rang out.

"Just to avoid wrongly accusing anyone, I, the Great One, will ask first."

"You aren't a poacher who has sneaked into the laboratory, are you?"

A subtle coldness flickered in the young man's eyes, as if he would strike without mercy the moment Luo Mu made any suspicious move.

It was evident he possessed immense confidence in his own strength, expressed through his manner of speech and behavior as a defining "trait."

He must have received some advice or complaint, which was why he didn't mind giving Luo Mu a moment to react.

Meanwhile, Luo Mu gazed at the young man's face and mused thoughtfully, "Blue?"

"Hm?"

A look of confusion appeared on the young man's face; did this person know him?

Yet he had absolutely no impression of Luo Mu whatsoever.

Luo Mu glanced at Blue, then looked at the essential path behind Blue leading to the den where Ursaluna and the other Ursaluna were located, and asked again, "Did you go see Ursaluna, or have you just finished visiting and are leaving?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Blue, being Professor Oak's grandson and possessing outstanding intelligence himself, understood Luo Mu's words and immediately realized his identity.

"... Could you be the person the old man mentioned?"

A smile floated onto Blue's face, his previous faint hostility vanishing; he quite generously hooked his arm around Luo Mu's shoulder and issued an invitation.

"As it happens, I, the Great One, was also planning to go see the evolved form of that Ursaring the old man talked about; want to come along?"

Luo Mu naturally did not refuse; he nodded. "Mm, I was planning to retrieve my Ursaluna. So that Ursaring really is your Pokémon."

"Ursaluna?" Blue looked slightly puzzled, but true to his carefree nature, he immediately brushed it aside, shrugging his shoulders. "That's right. The Ursaring that the old man is using as a 'test subject' is the Pokémon I boarded in the backyard."

Speaking of this, Blue seemed to grit his teeth slightly. "Relying on the fact that I am his biological grandson, that old man sent me a single message and then went silent, forcing me to rush back in a panic, fearing he'd go mad from his research and do something wrong, dragging my Ursaring into disaster."

In just a few words, Blue clearly explained the reason why he, a person who had been missing for several years according to Ash, had suddenly appeared in Oak's backyard.

So he rushed back because Professor Oak acted first and reported later? Watching Blue beside him, angrily muttering and already exposing Professor Oak's dark history, Luo Mu, not wishing to hear too much of their family affairs, simply interrupted his rapid speech and reminded him, "Shall we head up directly, then?"

"... Fine."

Seeming to realize he had lost his composure, Blue nodded and asked one final question.

"Come to think of it, I, the Great One, still don't know your name."

"I, the Great One, am called Blue, a powerful trainer. And you?"

"Luo Mu. My current profession is farm owner."

"Farm owner? That's strange; when I saw you, I actually felt an impulse."

"What kind of impulse?"

"The impulse to battle with Pokémon."

Inside the cave.

"Ho, so this is Ursaluna? I never expected Ursaring could evolve again. That guy would surely be very surprised if he knew."

Blue carefully examined the Ursaluna sticking close to him, confirming it was indeed his own Ursaring and not some other Pokémon that had been swapped in.

Not only had its muscles become more robust, but those sharp claws also held tremendous potential for development, rarely stirring his long-dorment spirit of breeding.

With some serious training, it would surely become a newly promoted ace in his team.

Immediately after, Blue turned his gaze to the Ursaluna beside Luo Mu, looking it up and down.

"Indeed, there is a clear difference in appearance compared to Ursaluna. It's called Hisuian Ursaluna, right?"

"It looks quite strong. Are you really just an ordinary farm owner?"

"I am currently operating a farm in the Paldea region. You can come take a look if you have the chance."

With a single sentence, Luo Mu blocked Blue's voice of doubt.

The corner of Blue's mouth lifted. "The Paldea region, huh? I, the Great One, recall that a League was only established there within the last decade or so. It seems you've come from quite a faraway place."

"However, if this were earlier, the meticulous me might have accepted your invitation, but I'm afraid I won't have any free time during this recent period."

"Why?"

Luo Mu asked with simple curiosity.

Having served as the Kanto League Champion for only five minutes, Green, who should currently be an unemployed idler, actually had something to keep him busy? Green stroked the Ursaring's coarse fur, which felt slightly prickly against his palm, and gazing at it, he murmured, "Ground and Normal types? They are quite suitable for yours truly, who is about to assume the post of Viridian Gym Leader."

"Let me think, my new title shall be—"

"Green of the Earth."

"How is that?"

(End of Chapter)