Chapter 568: The Physical Examination of the Stuffed Bear and the Popplio

"Hello, Miss Biku."

Luo Mu politely extended his hand to shake hers, a faint smile gracing his lips.

"I'll be troubling you to give me a tour today."

"How could it be any trouble? You took in Master Gladio; the Chairman is extremely grateful to you."

Biku covered her mouth with a light laugh, clearly having already learned about this from Lusamine.

She was naturally kind to begin with, and with this matter serving as an additional catalyst, her favorability toward Luo Mu had remained quite friendly from the very start.

Adjusting the bag that had slipped slightly off her shoulder, Biku added, "Please, come right in; we will take the elevator directly to the sanctuary, and I will lead you on the tour."

"Alright."

Luo Mu nodded gently and followed behind Biku, who was leading the way.

Although his visit to tour the sanctuary was merely a pretext, he was indeed quite curious about what the Pokémon sanctuary within the Aether Paradise looked like.

While not a completely artificial wilderness environment like an Ecological Dome, the indoor Aether Paradise Pokémon sanctuary still simulated the natural environment outside, allowing the Pokémon under protective custody to live in surroundings familiar to them.

This held considerable reference value for Luo Mu's future establishment of his own "Ecological Dome."

As they walked, Biku provided introductions along the way.

The helipad was generally used personally by Lusamine or to receive distinguished guests, providing direct access to the Pokémon sanctuary located on the second floor.

Even for executives like herself, the route taken was via the waterway below, entering the Aether Paradise by boat from the dock.

After all, to guard against Pokémon hunters who might travel thousands of miles and infiltrate the Aether Paradise in pursuit of rare Pokémon, the security measures at the Aether Paradise were quite thorough.

Boarding the direct elevator, amidst its smooth operation, a spacious area soon came into Luo Mu's view as the elevator doors slid open.

Most of the sanctuary was covered in greenery, and a flowing river running throughout the entire area ensured ample activity space for aquatic Pokémon.

Although it was an indoor environment, the space was quite vast, as one could tell from the Braviary occasionally flying overhead.

The air was also quite fresh, with not the slightest feeling of stuffiness.

Staff members wearing Aether Foundation uniforms hurried past from time to time, yet they did not forget to greet Biku, indicating that these staff members held her in high regard.

Stepping off the elevator in her high heels, Biku explained to Luo Mu: "The entire artificial island of the Aether Paradise utilizes tidal power generation for its energy supply; after all, we are essentially an environmental organization, acting to protect the environment of Alola and even the world at large, and to safeguard injured Pokémon."

"Throughout the Aether Paradise, there are also wild Pokémon that our staff have rescued from various regions; once they recover, we plan to release them back to their original habitats while retaining their wild nature, hence some of the Pokémon may not be very approachable."

As Biku's voice trailed off, she noticed Luo Mu standing by the bank of the flowing river, attempting to wave and attract the attention of two Swanna, a species not native to the Alola region.

Unfortunately, just as Biku had said, the two Swanna merely glanced at Luo Mu before turning their heads and swimming away leisurely.

They showed absolutely no intention of paying him any heed.

Luo Mu was not annoyed in the least; instead, he turned to look at Biku and remarked with a sigh, "What you said is truly accurate~"

After all, he had been listening attentively to Biku's introduction the whole time; it was just that he himself was capable of multitasking.

"Ah, yes."

Biku blinked, suddenly feeling that Luo Mu's train of thought did not quite align with the information she understood.

After all, since this concerned Master Gladio, after Chairman Lusamine returned to the Aether Paradise that morning, she had asked Biku to look up Luo Mu's background.

Basically, everything matched what Master Gladio had said.

The other party was indeed, as the young master stated, a teacher, and furthermore, a teacher at the prestigious Naranja Academy with its long history; the news that students he had taught recently defeated the Blueberry Academy team for the second time was still fresh.

Upon investigating even deeper, they discovered information that the other party had hidden—or rather, had not intentionally concealed.

A retired Champion-rank Trainer from the Paldea region, the hero who halted the Orange Islands crisis half a year ago, and also the owner of a farm that cultivated crops renowned throughout the culinary world.

At that time, Biku felt nothing but profound shock.

How could these utterly unrelated descriptors all converge upon a single person?

Yet looking at him now, she strangely found herself able to accept it.

Biku walked over to Luo Mu's side, just about to speak and lead him to continue touring the remaining areas.

But just at that moment.

A series of bubbles suddenly erupted from the river before them, a dark shadow rising from the depths below, rapidly approaching.

An indescribable entity composed of countless tangled aquatic plants burst forth from the water, emitting a bizarre cry that sounded nothing like a human voice.

"Whoa!?"

Completely unprepared, Biku was so frightened that her feet slipped, and she was about to fall directly into the water.

Fortunately, Luo Mu, who had already been alerted by red text prompts, reached out and pulled her back, thereby preventing the incident.

Patting the shoulder of the still-startled and suspicious Biku, Luo Mu directed his gaze toward the "indescribable thing" that had suddenly leaped out of the water to scare people, and saw their true forms.

A white-haired woman wearing diving equipment, her wet clothes clinging tightly to her body, and a Pokémon, a Munchlax, emitting that "non-human" bizarre cry.

"Hahaha, sorry about that, we scared you—no, rather, I scared you, Biku."

The woman pushed aside the aquatic plants tangled around her head, revealing a brilliant smile, and apologized to Biku.

Meanwhile, the Munchlax beside her spotted the aquatic plants that had fallen before it, its eyes lighting up immediately as it hugged them and began gnawing away.

Thanks for nature's gift!

Having seen one of those women just that morning, the corners of Luo Mu's mouth twitched slightly, "Professor Burnet, what is this..."

"Oh my, isn't this Mr. Luo Mu?" Asked by Luo Mu, Professor Burnet promptly removed her diving goggles, stared at Luo Mu, and said, "I didn't expect us to meet again so soon."

"Let me introduce you; this is my partner, Munchlax."

Clearly quite adept at social interaction, Burnet dragged the Munchlax, which was busy munching on aquatic plants, over to introduce it to Luo Mu.

Just as Luo Mu nodded politely, Biku beside him said helplessly, "Really, you shouldn't appear before people so suddenly like that."

With her good temper, the most she could do was issue such a harmless rebuke.

"The aquatic plants blocked my vision, so I didn't see anyone on the shore; I sincerely apologize." Burnet pressed her palms together in earnest apology, then looked at Luo Mu; not forgetting Luo Mu's earlier question, she further explained, "Munchlax and I were investigating the sanctuary's environment to ensure it is suitable for Pokémon habitation."

"After all, compared to cold, hard monitoring data, I trust personal experience more."

"Oh."

Luo Mu, who felt this scene was somewhat familiar, didn't think too much about it and simply nodded slightly.

Bikini promptly explained to Burnet about taking Luo Mu on a tour of the sanctuary.

As expected, Burnet's eyes lit up, and she immediately requested to join them as well.

Luo Mu had no major objections to this; moreover, upon seeing Burnet, he suddenly remembered something else.

Since this was a Pokémon sanctuary, the relevant equipment should be fully available.

Although he greatly trusted the efficacy of "Life No. 1," he felt that for safety's sake, it was still necessary to verify it again through the power of science.

Considering that Dr. Burnet was here, now was the best time.

Organizing his words, Luo Mu cleared his throat lightly to draw the attention of the two excellent women to himself, then spoke: "Can you perform physical examinations here?"

The two paused for a moment, then nodded.

Of course they could; to prevent wild Pokémon from suffering stress reactions due to environmental changes, the sanctuary was equipped with a full set of examination facilities.

However, why was Luo Mu suddenly saying this?

Under the puzzled gazes of the two, Luo Mu took out a Dive Ball and released Popplio.

Popplio was not afraid of the unfamiliar environment; it simply stayed in Luo Mu's arms, curiously observing the surroundings of the sanctuary.

"Wow, what a cute Popplio!"

Bikini's voice became even gentler, and her eyes, as she looked at Popplio, seemed to sparkle with hearts.

For a Pokémon protector like her, even a Grimer was a cute child, let alone a naturally adorable type like Popplio.

At this moment, the Munchlax by Dr. Burnet's feet finished chewing all the seaweed, squinting its eyes with a look of complete satisfaction as it waved to greet Popplio.

"Munch!"

"Aowu~?"

This was Popplio's first time seeing a Munchlax; it jumped straight out of Luo Mu's arms, approached, and sniffed the Munchlax.

Within a short while, the two Pokémon began playing happily together.

Observing Popplio, Burnet said softly, "Hmm, it seems to have hatched only a few days ago, and its build is somewhat frailer compared to others of its kind; what kind of examination do you intend to perform?"

As expected of a Pokémon Professor, Burnet immediately discerned some details about Popplio.

The two people before him were trustworthy individuals who possessed love for Pokémon and were quite upright in character.

Since an examination was to be conducted, rather than risking misjudgment by concealing information, it was better to be frank from the start to avoid any possibility of accidents.

This was Luo Mu's personal thought.

He simply took out another Dive Ball and pressed the button in the same manner.

However, the figure that appeared this time completely stunned both Bikini and Dr. Burnet.

"Seeing Seeing Kapu·Finneon!?"

Her voice stuttering, Bikini's gaze darted repeatedly between Seeing Seeing Kapu·Finneon, Luo Mu, and the Dive Ball in his hand, leaving her nearly bewildered.

What was she seeing?

An Island Guardian had emerged from a trainer's Poké Ball!?

As a professor, Burnet, who appeared carefree but was actually meticulous, was the first to notice something amiss.

"This color, it's not right—"

She recalled that when she had been invited to the home of a friend, also a professor, on Melemele Island, she had seen a painting in a book about Island Guardians on his bookshelf, and Seeing Seeing Kapu·Finneon was not this color in that illustration.

"It is a shiny Pokémon; more accurately, it is a shiny Island Guardian from another Ping Xing Shi Jie."

With a calm expression, Luo Mu dropped an earth-shattering secret, instantly stunning the two who had just regained their composure.

Ping Xing Shi Jie? A shiny Island Guardian?

When these words are put together, why don't I recognize them anymore?

Seeing Seeing Kapu·Finneon probably understood what Luo Mu intended to do; upon seeing the surrounding environment and those rescued wild Pokémon, its slightly cold expression softened somewhat.

After all, having experienced those events, it had long become desensitized to matters like moderate development, let alone the fact that this was an artificial island.

After nodding to Bikini and Burnet, Seeing Seeing Kapu·Finneon turned toward Popplio, who was running over happily to share with its first friend, Munchlax.

The parental love and gentleness in its eyes made Bikini and Burnet realize that Popplio might also be a Pokémon from the "Ping Xing Shi Jie" Luo Mu mentioned.

Just as Bikini was about to speak, she suddenly noticed a rather cute Stufful walking toward them from the nearby woods, holding a stone several times heavier than itself in its paws, seemingly playing and entertaining itself alone.

Her eyes brightened slightly, and she beckoned: "Stufful!"

Hearing Bikini's call, Stufful effortlessly tossed aside the stone; as the heavy stone crashed into the ground, creating a small dent, Stufful also joyfully pounced toward Bikini.

Seeing this scene, Luo Mu, whose mouth twitched slightly due to Stufful's strength, seemed to remember something, and his gaze toward Stufful instantly changed.

However, this was not the time to discuss that.

After Bikini approached while holding Stufful and introduced it as a Pokémon she had rescued earlier in the forests of Melemele Island, Luo Mu nodded gently and said, "Let's go over there first; we can discuss the details while we walk."

The treatment and examination facilities established for Pokémon in the Aether Foundation's Pokémon Sanctuary were not far away; after passing a separate residential area specially set up for several Ditto, the outline of the facilities came into view.

After Bikini, as an executive, passed verification via fingerprint and iris scan, a space filled with numerous devices reflecting the lights, yet not appearing cold, came into view.

"Stay here obediently, and don't damage the equipment, okay?"

Well aware of Stufful's strength, Bikini gently reminded it, placed Stufful on a crib at the periphery, and only then led Luo Mu and Seeing Seeing Kapu·Finneon, who was holding Popplio, into the interior.

At this moment, both her and Burnet's expressions were somewhat complex; they frequently glanced at Popplio and Seeing Seeing Kapu·Finneon, yet didn't know what to say.

They found it hard to imagine that Alola in another Ping Xing Shi Jie could have turned out that way.

Alarm bells kept ringing in their hearts, and they resolved to pay even greater attention to environmental protection issues in Alola going forward.

"After all, since it remained in the form of a Pokémon Egg for so long in that kind of environment, for safety's sake, we should give Popplio a more comprehensive examination."

After putting on a white lab coat, Burnet instantly entered her professional mode.

Carefully taking Popplio from Seeing Seeing Kapu·Finneon, who already knew Luo Mu's intentions, she subconsciously murmured.

"So light—"

She knew without needing to check.

The Popplio undoubtedly had issues with development and malnutrition.

But whether deeper problems existed, I'm afraid, could only be known by conducting an examination using the equipment that Chairperson Lusamine had purchased at great expense.

Before the formal examination, this was done both to familiarize themselves with the Popplio and to help it adapt to the environment here.

Burnet first performed a basic preliminary check on it, while Mohn acted as her assistant nearby.

Even the endearing little Snorlax, under Burnet's direction, helped with whatever tasks it was capable of.

Luo Mu and Seeing Seeing Kapu waited quietly to the side.

Before long, the results of the Popplio's basic examination came out.

Holding a form, Burnet slowly spoke: "First, hmm... it's a girl."

(End of Chapter)