Chapter 533: Sheep Town

Late that night.

Relying on its increasingly refined air-current manipulation abilities, which in turn boosted its flight speed, Dragonite carried Luo Mu back to the farm located on the outskirts of Cortondo in the Paldea region.

Luo Mu and Calyrex had tested it; with Dragonite's current capabilities, it could already use the move "Hurricane" to form the embryonic form of a true natural disaster: a super typhoon.

If Dragonite continued to grow like this, given time, it might truly be able to create a storm connecting heaven and earth just like Lugia, and by then, learning Lugia's signature move, "Aeroblast," would no longer be a dream.

By that time, even Rayquaza's "Air Lock" would not be able to so easily nullify the abilities Dragonite took such pride in.

Coupled with the "Extreme Speed Secret Technique" obtained from the Dragon Tamer clan, before anyone realized it, in less than a year, Dragonite had become much stronger than it was before the farm was even established.

The ice layer on Thunderfall Lake had grown thicker; every day, Dragonite and the others had to deliberately break the ice just to leave the water, so tonight Luo Mu simply let Dragonite sleep inside the house to avoid disturbing Politoed and Dragonair.

After a good night's sleep, time arrived at the second day.

Having stayed in Kanto for a few days and finding himself slightly unaccustomed to the midwinter temperatures again, Luo Mu struggled for a long time before finally "dragging" himself out from under the quilts.

Fortunately, Moltres soon began providing heating.

After washing up and having breakfast, Luo Mu, dressed in thick clothing and fully armed against the cold, opened the main door.

He had only just glanced at the gray, hazy sky when a gust of cold wind immediately rushed into the house, making him shiver from the chill.

Not to mention Ogerpon, who found wrapping itself in a cotton quilt insufficient; it went straight to the fireplace, which finally alleviated some of the cold.

But now Ogerpon faced a dilemma.

After all, it was a Grass-type Pokémon; staying far away felt cold, but staying close for too long felt scorching hot.

It could be described as being in a predicament, unable to advance or retreat.

Just then.

Alcremie, carrying a tray of freshly baked cookies and humming a tune as it walked by, caught Ogerpon's attention.

"Poni."

Ogerpon gazed thoughtfully at those cute-shaped cookies, which were still emitting faint steam; apart from feeling a bit craving, Ogerpon suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

That's right, why hadn't it thought of this!

Ogerpon's starry eyes lit up as it pulled a fiery red mask from within its straw cloak and fitted it over its face.

Hmm, this way it was not only warmer, but the sacred fire burning in the fireplace no longer felt scorching; perfect!

The proud Ogerpon, however, forgot that its mask was somewhat terrifying.

When Greavard, having just climbed groggily out of its treasure chest, passed by, Ogerpon turned its head, and suddenly Greavard saw such a crimson ghostly face that it was frightened into letting out a sharp, explosive scream.

"Ding-ding-ding—!"

It's a ghost—! Meanwhile, on the other side.

Accompanied by Luxray, Luo Mu ran out to the pasture area, which was now covered in heavy snow with the pasture grass nowhere to be seen.

Here, a row of houses had been built specifically for the Pokémon living in the pasture area to rest in.

Among the residents were five Miltank, two Skiddo, and Mudsdale along with its two Diglett minions.

With the ground frozen and the weather frigid, from the perspective of a farm owner, one certainly could not let them remain living outdoors.

According to what Hanze had said, there was no need to worry about whether wild Miltank had shelters built by savages to shield them from wind and rain; one only needed to consider how to take good care of them oneself, ensuring the production quality of Moo Moo Milk as well as their physical and mental health.

Even though Miltank's constitution allowed them to withstand low temperatures while living in outdoor pens, the quality of Moo Moo Milk would inevitably be affected to some extent by their physical condition.

As for Skiddo, being Grass-type Pokémon, and Mudsdale, being Ground-type, preparations for keeping warm were even more necessary.

Thermostatic equipment had been installed inside the houses, keeping the temperature consistently at the optimal level.

Houndoom, while patrolling the pasture area, would occasionally stay inside these houses when the night grew deep.

The main doors of the houses were also designed in a style suitable for Pokémon to enter and exit; after opening the door, Luo Mu and Luxray walked into the warm interior and saw the Miltank, having just finished their milking work, huddled together and sleeping on piles of hay, catching a second round of sleep.

This was not due to Luo Mu cutting corners; it was simply that they preferred sleeping on dried pasture grass.

Originally, Luo Mu had prepared warmer and more comfortable mats for them, but neither the Miltank nor the Skiddo liked sleeping on them, so in the end, Luo Mu could only lay down this layer of hay piles for them.

When laying it down, he had also taken an unconventional approach, secretly mixing in a lot of warm fur and cotton; judging by their appearance, they had not yet discovered it.

The two Skiddo were also lying nearby; usually, it was fine when it wasn't snowing, but once it snowed, even though they loved running around, they rarely went outside.

Recently, the ones staying outdoors all day were instead Ninetales, Regice, Ice Rider, the Sandslash family, and the Abomasnow family.

Seeing that they were all resting, Luo Mu and Luxray unconsciously slowed their steps considerably and went straight to the second room.

Compared to the previous room, which was filled with hay, this one was somewhat different.

In the center of the room was a huge mud pit; this was something Luo Mu had specifically asked Swampert to create, and combined with the room's thermostatic equipment, it made Mudsdale feel quite content living there.

At this moment, Mudsdale was lying in the mud pit snoring, while the two Diglett were nowhere to be seen; most likely, they had run off to play.

They used to be wild Pokémon living on the back mountain but were eventually brought here and recruited; Luo Mu did not specifically restrict their freedom, only instructing them to try not to spend the night outdoors.

A pair of Alolan Diglett, recruited at the same time as the regular Diglett, were becoming increasingly adept at housework under the training of Oranguru.

Once they evolved, they would be able to learn the housekeeping divine move "Defog," and needless to say about dust and spiderwebs in the corners of the house.

They could even sweep away Spikes, Stealth Rock, Sticky Web, Toxic Spikes, and Substitute all at once.

Carefully walking past the mud pit without waking Mudsdale, Luo Mu arrived in front of the door to the final room.

During spring, summer, and autumn, Mudsdale needed to work.

Now in winter, apart from supplying some fruit crops to Chairman Zhi Mi's restaurant and to Ah Feng's Patisserie Lei Mu, all work in the farming area had temporarily halted; aside from regular maintenance, no large-scale plowing would be conducted until the arrival of spring.

This winter, Luo Mu hoped to give Mudsdale a proper vacation and let it rest.

The same applied to Comfey, Bai Bai Pengpeng, Politoed, and the others.

The last room was an independent chamber; perhaps because it was the first time the Miltank had become mothers, they had directly handed the Pokémon Eggs over to Luo Mu to care for, while they themselves acted as hands-off managers.

Fortunately, the follow-up care guide for Miltank Pokémon Eggs provided by Hanze was written in great detail, covering every aspect, even mentioning details such as room temperature.

When Luo Mu was not at the farm, Oranguru would help take over the care; during this period, the Pokémon Eggs had been cared for very well, and even when Calyrex passed by, it said the life energy within the Pokémon Eggs was very vigorous, clearly indicating a group of healthy babies.

Luxray and Luo Mu entered the room and began looking around.

Compared to the first two rooms, which could be described as "unfinished shells," this one had been decorated very well.

Beneath his feet was a floor that isolated the ground, possessing superior heat-insulating properties.

The entire room was a warm 26 degrees; on eleven tables, each bearing a label, sat eleven incubators, inside which the Pokémon eggs floated up and down as the liquid level decreased.

This was the configuration used when hatching Growlithe eggs.

From this alone, one could see how much care Luo Mu devoted to hatching Pokémon eggs.

Since they rarely received care from their mothers—unlike Sandshrew, Applin, or Tropius—he could only resort to technological means.

Luxray found a comfortable spot to lie down, quietly watching as Luo Mu skillfully removed a Pokémon egg from the incubator, wiped it with a hot Mao Jin in the routine morning, noon, and evening thrice-daily ritual, and finally returned it to the incubator; repeating this cycle, nearly half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Only when Luxray unconsciously let out a yawn did Luo Mu finish his morning duties of caring for the Pokémon eggs.

Gazing at the eleven Pokémon eggs, Luo Mu's eyes held warmth, yet even more so, anticipation.

He was simply anticipating what these eleven "blind boxes" would ultimately reveal; that was precisely why he worked with such diligence.

Before leaving the hatching house, Luo Mu specifically inspected the cameras distributed in every corner of the room; confirming they were still functioning normally, he turned and departed with Luxray.

This was merely part of his morning work; there were still many matters requiring his attention.

During the time Luo Mu attended to farm duties, Luxray remained quietly by his side.

Whenever Luo Mu had a need that Luxray could fulfill, it would immediately attend to it.

Unknowingly, the time arrived at noon.

Returning to the spacious kitchen of his new home, Luo Mu began preparing lunch for the Pokémon once again.

Nowadays, the farm housed dozens of Pokémon in total, meaning dozens of mouths to feed, including several big eaters; the quantity of food required was quite astonishing.

Even with Oranguru and Cangyan Cangyan Rengui having pre-processed the ingredients, and with them and Shuang Nai Xian continually assisting nearby, Luo Mu still felt his arms were as heavy as if filled with lead once all the Pokémon portions were prepared.

Being someone who refused to cut corners, Luo Mu preferred preparing nutritious and delicious meals himself rather than relying on convenient but inferior Pokémon food.

Enjoying the flattering massages from Wo-Chien and Tinkaton, along with the Eevee sisters kneading his legs, Luo Mu slumped like a corpse on the soft sofa, muttering to himself whether he truly ought to hire a chef.

It wasn't as if he lacked money, so why exhaust himself? Hiring a human chef would be convenient, but Luo Mu personally disliked having people he wasn't close to living in his home.

If he were to hire a Pokémon chef, however, he happened to have a suitable channel.

Cradling the warm Volcarona resting on his chest, Luo Mu recalled visiting Hanze's Da Nai Guan ranch in Anaza Town, and that Emboar, the second senior brother, who had prepared many signature dishes and could even toss a wok for stir-frying.

A question arose.

What kind of Pokémon would an ordinary Pokémon chef be? Surely, possessing hands capable of gripping a spatula and an iron wok was the most basic requirement.

Just as Cangyan Cangyan Rengui could only manage grilling and ingredient preparation, yet could never accomplish stir-frying.

The difference in flexibility between having hands and lacking them was simply too great.

On the contrary, Armarouge was highly flexible; possessing hands, it could also merge its shoulder armor into a cannon.

If only Cangyan Cangyan Rengui could do the same; floating arm guards shaped like great swords—just imagining it sounded incredibly cool.

If having hands was the criterion, then many Pokémon would qualify.

Such as Machamp, Jynx, Gothitelle, Indeedee, and Gardevoir, among others.

But if one added the keyword "Fire-type," then options like Typhlosion, Infernape, Magmortar, Emboar, Delphox, and Groudon appeared; the range of choices was quite extensive.

Thinking thus, Luo Mu directly summoned Oranguru, who was busy knitting clothes, explained the matter to it, and intended to hear Oranguru's opinion.

Upon hearing this, Oranguru's eyes lit up, and a telepathic voice resonated within Luo Mu's mind.

"Young Master, you have finally seen reason!"

Oranguru had long wished to say that nowadays the farm's profits were improving steadily; even establishing a small company would be more than sufficient, so why must Luo Mu exhaust himself so?

Training someone from scratch would be somewhat difficult, and time was also an issue.

It would be better to hire a highly skilled chef at a generous salary to take over Luo Mu's duties routinely; if Luo Mu ever felt inclined to cook, the chef could simply assist him.

Waving the feather fan in its hand, Oranguru used its psychic power to accurately seize the tablet on the table and bring it over; after unlocking the screen, Oranguru eagerly stated, "I will immediately ask the Principal whether he knows any Zhou Zhou Shuren with relevant channels."

"... Ah, alright."

Astonished by Oranguru's efficient execution, Luo Mu nodded dazedly, allowing it to begin contacting people with full vigor.

Seeing Oranguru in such a state, for a moment, Luo Mu found it difficult to mention that he might find a good channel through Hanze.

Afternoon.

Not loafing around at home, Luo Mu brought several bottles of rock salt specially prepared from the Salt House, along with several baskets of Tapu Tapu Moumou fresh milk reserved from that morning, and a pile of farm crops, waiting quietly before the farm gate.

By his side followed the Eevee sisters, wrapped in warm scarves knitted by Oranguru, while he cradled Volcarona, which served as a hand warmer.

The snow-covered road before the farm gate had already been cleared clean by Dragonite and Hakuryu using Twister upon his earlier command, no longer obstructing vehicle passage.

He did not wait long; accompanied by the sound of a car horn blaring, the person Luo Mu awaited arrived punctually.

It was a pink pickup truck, which appeared particularly conspicuous amidst this world of white snow.

The pickup truck came to a halt, and from the driver's cabin descended a young girl with braided hair, wearing a thick woolen coat and a woolen hat.

"Are you Mr. Luo Mu?"

The girl appeared to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, giving off a very steady impression.

"That is me."

Luo Mu nodded gently and affirmed.

"Hello, I am Sasha, from the neighboring Yangyang Town."

Sasha smiled and extended her hand.

Luo Mu politely shook her hand, bowing his head slightly. "Mm, Nurse Joy has already informed me."

"Is that so? Then that is excellent!"

Sasha withdrew her hand, her gaze falling behind Luo Mu.

"Are these the goods intended for exchange? Let us load them up together!"

Pointing to the cargo bed at the rear of the pickup truck, specially designed for transporting goods, Sasha proposed.

Luo Mu, however, shook his head gently. "This is only a small portion; there is much more. Your vehicle likely cannot accommodate it all."

"Ah!?"

Sasha froze, blinking her eyes, momentarily at a loss for words.

Just how much wool was Luo Mu planning to exchange and take back!

Usually composed, Sasha grew slightly flustered and stammered, "Th-then let's go to Sheep Town first; can I contact a larger cargo truck?"

"That won't be necessary."

Luo Mu raised an eyebrow and took out a whistle.

As a sharp whistle blew, the sound of flapping wings rang out from above.

Under Sasha's astonished expression, Skarmory Skarmory Sanmao, captain of the farm's "Sky Guard," descended before the two with his kin.

(End of Chapter)