Chapter 549: Beach Vacation: The Blue-Haired Girl

Accompanied by the smooth landing of a flight departing from the Paldea region.

Soon after, Luo Mu dragged his luggage, for which he had spent a fortune specifically for this vacation and which had undergone internal spatial expansion processing, out of the Akala Airport terminal.

As the automatic doors opened, a warm sea breeze carrying the distinctive scent of the tropics rushed toward him; Luo Mu took a deep breath, savoring this climate so different from the dead of winter.

His gaze naturally shifted toward the distance.

This was Heahea City, a coastal commercial town located in the southwest of Akala Island, facing the gateway city of Hau'oli City across the sea, where sea breezes blew constantly and shops stood in dense rows.

The entire city of Heahea was built in a unique Eastern style, though in Luo Mu's opinion, it leaned a bit too heavily on stereotypes.

However, this could not obscure the fact that Heahea City was one of the most popular cities on Akala Island, second only to Hau'oli City, which bore the title of "Welcoming Visitors."

There were specific reasons why the plane had landed here instead of in Hau'oli City on the other side.

As for the specifics, though, one would have to see how Oranguru arranged things.

In any case, Luo Mu had come with the mindset of vacationing in the Alola region while also resolving various accumulated matters and lingering issues from the past that were piled up on his hands.

"Oranguru."

The Poké Ball opened, and Oranguru's figure appeared beside Luo Mu.

Luo Mu had originally intended to call out Luxray, but upon reflection, they would definitely need to settle into their accommodation for the next few days first; since Luxray could only carry one person, it was better to let Oranguru come out first as a guide, and only after reaching their residence via Alola's characteristic transportation would he release Luxray along with the other Pokémon.

Generally, whenever Luo Mu went out, he would deliberately leave Oranguru at the farm to oversee all affairs, but the main reason for bringing it this time was because—

"How about it, do you feel nostalgic about this place?"

Luo Mu asked Oranguru.

Indeed, as the region where the Pokémon species Oranguru was first discovered, it was no exception that Oranguru had been recruited into the Pokémon School here in Alola.

Coming to the Alola region, Oranguru felt as though it had returned to a hometown it had not seen for a long time.

However, Oranguru's reaction left Luo Mu somewhat disappointed.

It looked left and right calmly, seemingly lacking any awareness of a wanderer returning home, and communicated via telepathy: "Young Master, the accommodation is located near the seaside; we will get there faster if we take a car."

"Oh."

Luo Mu could only put down his camera and follow the familiar Oranguru to find a pair of partners parked outside the airport, moving in remarkable synchronization.

A middle-aged uncle wearing a sun-shielding straw hat and a Tauros of common appearance.

They seemed to be dozing, leaning against a sightseeing cart emblazoned with the large slogan "Welcome to Alola," their heads bobbing up and down in a very leisurely manner.

Before Oranguru could make a move, Luo Mu stepped forward and called out: "Uncle, are you open for business right now?"

"Moo!"

The uncle showed no reaction, but the Tauros, which had been sleeping soundly by the roadside, was startled; its four legs suddenly straightened, and it looked at Luo Mu and Oranguru with lingering fright.

Those widened eyes perfectly illustrated what it meant for eyes to be as big as copper bells.

"Really, I told you not to sleep so deeply, and now you've made a fool of yourself!"

Patting the Tauros's bovine rear, the uncle lifted the brim of his straw hat, revealing a bronze complexion marked by long exposure to the sun, and offered Luo Mu an enthusiastic smile.

"Alola, young sir, do you wish to ride the Tauros Sightseeing Taxi?"

"Alola! Yes, please take us to this location."

Returning the smile, Luo Mu took a slip of paper from Oranguru containing the address of his residence for the next few days and handed it to the uncle.

People in the Alola region always add the phrase "Alola" when greeting one another; these three characters carry many positive meanings, and the consensus of all Alola travel guides is that one cannot go wrong by shouting "Alola" upon meeting someone.

The uncle took the slip of paper, examined it carefully, and then laughed: "No problem, but judging by your smooth, tender skin, young sir, you don't look like a local; could it be that you are a tourist from another region?"

Smooth... smooth, tender skin!? Luo Mu's smile froze; after all, he often worked under the scorching sun doing farm labor, and although he hadn't forgotten to care for his skin under Oranguru's supervision, possessing a very healthy complexion.

Yet in this uncle's eyes, he had become "smooth and tender"!? Luo Mu knew the uncle meant no harm, so he twitched the corner of his mouth, brushed it off perfunctorily, and directly climbed into the cart.

The uncle showed absolutely no awareness that he had misspoken; brandishing a brand-new whip in his hand that served merely as decoration, the Tauros Sightseeing Taxi began to move slowly along the road.

Many other similar sightseeing carts passed by around them; those pulled by Tauros were the most common, but occasionally some pulled by Mudsdale drove past, and when they approached, one could feel the ground vibrating.

Luo Mu even saw a licensed four-armed Machamp carrying a person and speeding away as if riding alone; seemingly noticing Luo Mu's gaze, the talkative uncle immediately began an enthusiastic introduction without hesitation.

Unlike other regions, the Alola region, which advocates nature and promotes living together with Pokémon, permits riding Pokémon on the roads.

Rather, riding Pokémon is the mainstream here, while automobiles are extremely rare, and even those that exist use clean energy.

Land mount Pokémon like Tauros, and the Machamp from just now, are common, while Mudsdale is somewhat special; due to their characteristics, they occasionally leave large pits in the road, all of which are repaired free of charge by each city, reportedly with support from special funds.

In the sky, there are Charizard, Braviary, Skarmory, and many other flying Pokémon capable of carrying people.

There are even more in the sea, such as Sharpedo and Mantine, while Lapras is considered a specialty of the Alola region.

In other regions, Lapras are rare, but in the Alola region, due to over-protection, their numbers have instead become excessive.

Time quietly slipped away amidst the uncle's endless chatter.

It was not long before they arrived at the destination of this journey.

A huge wooden villa with a rather beautiful style, clearly the kind of place one would stay in for a seaside vacation.

Along the way, Luo Mu had seen that from this wooden villa to the bustling seaside beach required only a very short walk, making it a quite convenient seaside villa.

After Luo Mu and Oranguru got off the cart and paid the fare, just before driving away, the uncle kindly added a few pieces of information as a bonus.

"When coming to the Alola region, you Must Savor the famous specialty, the Malasada; be sure to taste it, and I personally recommend these shops."

"Also, if you head north from here toward the jungle, there is a restaurant opened there called 'Aina Cafe'; the taste is quite excellent, oh, and if you don't know what to eat, you might as well treat that place as your cafeteria!"

After speaking, the uncle waved his hand freely, and with the Tauros, sped away into the distance, disappearing from sight.

Fortunately reacting quickly, or else he would have nearly eaten exhaust fumes, Luo Mu gazed at the direction the uncle had pointed to before leaving, pondering thoughtfully as he recited the name left behind.

"Aina Cafe, is it?"

Meanwhile, Oranguru gazed deeply in the same direction, unknown what it was thinking.

A moment later.

They arrived in front of the wooden villa.

Oranguru bent down and found a key hidden beneath a potted plant in front of the villa's main gate.

As for Luo Mu, he surveyed the villa, lost in thought.

"A seaside villa, huh."

Compared to a resort hotel meant for vacations, this villa, though slightly more expensive, indeed offered significantly more activity space and was not far from the beach.

One had to admit, Zhi Zhi Hui Xing really knew how to make arrangements.

Thinking of this, Luo Mu deftly pulled a bunch of shrunken Poké Balls from the satchel at his waist and called out, "Everyone, come on out!"

A flash of red light passed, and the figures of the Pokémon appeared on the vast open ground before the villa.

There were the main team's Luxray, Swampert, and Dragonite.

The second team's Moltres had been left at the farm to watch over Feng Su Gou, who similarly hadn't come.

Due to Swampert's departure, Politoed had to stay behind to look after Thunder Cry Lake, so it hadn't come either. Then there was Milotic, well-suited to the sea, while that dullard Gyarados was still squatting by the creek, seemingly determined to stay put.

Luo Mu didn't think its perseverance was strong; rather, he felt it was somewhat unenlightened.

Compared to that ethereal gift, Gyarados would be better off spending more time with Milotic to brush up on its presence.

Next came the small-sized group: the Eevee sisters, Ogerpon, who rarely got to see the ocean, and—

Spectrier.

Likely still harboring shadows from the previous ghost encounter, Luo Mu had this time borrowed Spectrier from Lei Guan Wang for protection and escort.

Finally, there was a somewhat special Pokémon.

"Booo..."

The Dragonite beside Luo Mu stepped forward solicitously to support its mother, while the Dragonite Leader smiled kindly at it.

Luo Mu had not forgotten what Mewtwo had said regarding the Dragonite Leader's mental issues.

To let it walk out of this on its own, coming to the Alola region was a necessary action.

Since an opportunity had arisen this time, it was definitely to be resolved together with everything else.

As for the farm side, Luo Mu had directly brought Pecharunt over to stay at the farm; with him there these past few days, even if both he and Zhi Zhi Hui Xing left, no problems would arise.

If any issues did occur, Serperior and the others would help Pecharunt resolve them.

Thinking of this, Luo Mu announced to the Pokémon that they could play outside for a while and would depart for the beach together later, then turned and entered the house with Zhi Zhi Hui Xing.

He still had to organize the items he had brought to ensure he would be comfortable for what lay ahead.

The environment inside the villa was quite elegant and quiet, appearing very suitable for relaxation; overall, Luo Mu was extremely satisfied.

Organizing the items was quick; aside from some changes of clothes, there was actually little to bring, as many things could simply be bought at local malls anyway, whereas the items brought for the Pokémon constituted the majority.

It was just that—

After carefully placing several photographs into his personal satchel, Luo Mu looked at that pile of carefully protected and gathered Oran Berries and Honey, then turned to look at Zhi Zhi Hui Xing, who had already changed into housekeeping attire, his face showing difficulty.

Could it be? After all this time, did Zhi Zhi Hui Xing still remember?

Looking at Zhi Zhi Hui Xing, who was already sweeping up some harmless dust, unable to tolerate even a speck of grit in his eyes, Luo Mu fell silent.

Forget it; it was better to pretend he knew nothing. Perhaps Zhi Zhi Hui Xing just felt that store-bought juice was unhealthy and insisted on preparing fresh-squeezed himself?

Having successfully self-hypnotized himself, Luo Mu finished organizing shortly after and walked out of the villa.

Since Zhi Zhi Hui Xing insisted on staying behind to clean the villa, Luo Mu could do nothing about it.

They were only staying for about a week; there was no need to be so thorough.

Carrying his most important old companion, Luo Mu had just stepped outside when several little ones swarmed over.

"Ee-vee, Ee-vee!"

"Oger-pon, Oger-pon!"

The Eevee sisters and Ogerpon impatiently surrounded Luo Mu, clamoring for him to take them to the beach to play.

"Don't rush, don't rush; we're going right now."

Patting each of their heads in turn, Luo Mu spoke to soothe their excited emotions.

He glanced around the surroundings once more and asked aloud, "Who else wants to come along?"

Before long, the team was formed.

Among the several Pokémon, Swampert did not join in; it planned to move freely in the sea for a while, and Luo Mu simply let it be.

Spectrier indicated that although it wasn't afraid, it didn't much like the intense sun, especially with noon approaching soon; it planned to run into the house's shadow to sleep for a while and come out to have fun later.

Dragonite planned to take the Dragonite Leader for a walk nearby to ease its mood and did not wish to go to places with too many people.

Thus, the only ones going to the beach with Luo Mu were Luxray, Milotic, the Eevee sisters, and Ogerpon.

Akala Island Beach.

Bright sunlight poured down, baking the beach into a golden hue that was slightly hot to the feet.

The place was teeming with people; men dressed in cool attire and women with slender figures walked by, often attracting numerous gazes.

At this moment, however, a group of rather eye-catching guests had arrived here.

"Hey, isn't that—"

"What a special Milotic!"

"And there are two Eevees too; so cute!"

Dressed in a cool shirt and shorts, wearing flip-flops, Luo Mu balanced a fishing rod on his shoulder and walked along the beach with Luxray and the others, heading with clear intent toward a certain "pier."

Luo Mu was long accustomed to the gazes of others, and Luxray and Milotic likewise followed behind him with heads held high and chests out.

Ogerpon, excited by arriving at the beach, paid no attention to those looks whatsoever; only the younger Eevee sister was slightly shy around strangers, hiding beside her older sister.

Before long, Luo Mu arrived at his chosen fishing spot.

Several wooden terraces extended toward the sea for a distance of about ten-plus meters, spaced out in rows; beside some terraces, small boats were docked, clearly intended for offshore fishing.

Renting a boat to go out to sea cost money, but the terraces themselves were free; this was also part of the guide he had prepared before setting out on his trip.

Carrying his small folding stool, Luo Mu soon sat on the terrace and began fishing with a calm mind and peaceful demeanor.

That's right.

Luo Mu's method of relaxing was fishing.

The Eevee sisters and Pecharunt were piling sand nearby, Luxray quietly guarded Luo Mu, while Milotic basked in the sunlight, occasionally entering the water to keep its body moist.

It was just that, perhaps because a boat was docked nearby, the fishing rod remained completely still.

Several times, Luo Mu had the thought of whether this fishing spot was no good, and whether he should let Milotic go down to see if there were any fish.

But in the end, he held fast to the bottom line of being a seasoned angler.

At this moment.

From the fishing boat nearby, a slightly immature female voice rang out.

"Eh? Could it be that Big Brother can't catch any fish?"

Luo Mu's movements paused, and he looked over in that direction.

It was a blue-haired girl with a bob cut, looking to be about eleven or twelve years old.

And in the other hand of the girl, who was covering her mouth in surprise, she was holding a sea fish that looked quite plump and delicious.

Luo Mu: "."

(End of Chapter)