Chapter 585: Returning to the Farm, Time to Open Blind Boxes!

Gladion also came over to formally say his goodbyes, and Luo Mu thought that there probably wouldn't be any other guests visiting today.

Time passed quickly; by the time Luo Mu came to his senses, the orange setting sun had already mostly dipped below the horizon.

He locked the main gate and returned the key to its original place.

Gazing at the beautiful scene of the setting sun, he knew it was time for him to say farewell to Alola, this vacation spot.

Not far away, Oranguru was counting the Pokémon to ensure that no one was left behind in Alola after they all returned to Paldea.

There were Luxray, Swampert, Dragonite and Dragonite's mother, Pecharunt, the Eevee sisters, Spectrier, as well as Tapu Fini and Popplio, who would be following them to live at the farm.

After finishing the count, Oranguru, who had come to report to Luo Mu, cast a hesitant glance at Luo Mu while looking at the swing, where the dark green Zygarde Core had been lying prone for almost the entire day.

Are we really going to take this thing back?

Reading Oranguru's concern, Luo Mu helplessly shrugged his shoulders.

To be precise, it wasn't a matter of whether he wanted to take the Zygarde Core back, but rather that the Zygarde Core itself wanted to go along.

Even if he didn't bring it, Luo Mu was willing to bet that it would find a way to secretly sneak onto the plane and follow him anyway.

He certainly wasn't bored enough to try stopping the Zygarde Core's actions.

Since that was the case, he could only let things be.

The only thing Luo Mu worried about was whether, upon arriving in Paldea, the Zygarde Core would immediately detect the existence of the Paldea Crater, decide that the group of Paradox Pokémon inside would disrupt order and ecological balance, and then launch a direct, heavy-handed assault.

A white giant mecha departing from Melemele Town and then indiscriminately bombing the skies above the Paldea Crater... Luo Mu didn't dare to imagine such a scenario.

Given that, it was better to keep the Zygarde Core somewhere he could observe it; besides, when it got hungry, it could rely on photosynthesis to fill its stomach, so it wouldn't even consume any food supplies.

After recalling Luxray and the others into their Poké Balls, Luo Mu shouted toward the swing, "Have you changed your mind? Because I'm leaving!"

"What an impatient human you are."

The Zygarde Core opened its single closed eye, sighed helplessly, and transformed from its slime-like state sprawled across the swing into an active and elastic form.

With a few leaps, it landed directly on Luo Mu's shoulder, found a comfortable spot to lie down, and immediately entered an invisible state.

If not for the slight weight still felt on his shoulder, Luo Mu might have thought the other party had already departed.

The voice belonging to the Zygarde Core rang out within his mind.

"From now on, speak to me in this manner; I am quite curious about the environment of your region, after all, that Tapu Fini from another world only heard things secondhand."

"Didn't you deploy any Cells in the Paldea region?"

Walking unhurriedly toward the airport, Luo Mu frowned slightly; judging by the Zygarde Core's tone, it seemed there were no Zygarde Cells in the Paldea region?

Wasn't it said that Zygarde was responsible for monitoring the ecological balance of the entire planet?

"You seem to have misunderstood; under normal circumstances, barring special situations, a single Core like myself cannot share the vision of all Cells."

"Not to mention, that Paldea you speak of is likely quite peaceful, so most Cells have dispersed to other, more turbulent regions."

"In other words, there are no Cells of yours distributed in Paldea?" Luo Mu asked thoughtfully.

The invisible Zygarde Core shook its head. "No, it is not that there are absolutely none; it is merely that they are relatively scarce."

Chatting intermittently with the Zygarde Core like this, Luo Mu soon completed check-in and boarded the direct flight to the Paldea region.

And it seemed that the Zygarde Core, having not communicated with anyone for a long time, continued to chatter endlessly, educating Luo Mu on what it considered "common knowledge."

"For instance, in Kalos, I basically do not manage things, as there are two juniors younger than myself responsible for that region."

"However, they are slightly overzealous in their duties. The Cells left behind previously are somewhat insufficient in number, and since your region is relatively empty, I intend to spend some time there splitting into Cells to prepare for any eventualities."

While speaking, the Zygarde Core opened its mouth and steadily caught the rice cake that Luo Mu fed it, which had been distributed earlier by the flight attendant.

Having roughly understood the Zygarde Core's purpose, Luo Mu asked curiously, "Then after you leave, what will happen to Alola, especially the Ruins of Life?"

Previously, even when the Zygarde Core was already in the Alola region, it still took some time to rush back to the Ruins of Life.

This time, being far away in the Paldea region, if the Ruins of Life were invaded by Ultra Beasts again, what would it do?

Transform into a giant mecha and fly back openly and brazenly?

"When the time comes (chew chew chew), one of my fellow Cores (chew chew chew) will come to be responsible for monitoring Alola's ecological balance and (chew chew chew) order."

Luo Mu: "..."

Wait, just how many Zygarde Cores do you guys have anyway?

Under Luo Mu's persistent questioning, the Zygarde Core did not give a direct answer regarding this matter, instead responding somewhat vaguely.

It only stated that the number would not be too large, and that if there were any vacancies, a certain Cell that had split off might evolve into a Core.

The flight departing from Akala Island landed steadily at Levincia Airport; at this moment, Levincia's neon lights were shining brightly, while in the distance, another setting sun was sinking below the horizon.

Before leaving the airport, Luo Mu first went to the changing room to put on a set of warm clothing.

Compared to the Alola region, the Paldea region was currently in the depths of winter, with snow falling outside.

It was fine on the plane with heating and air conditioning, but if one wore such an outfit of short sleeves, shorts, and white sneakers, one would likely freeze into an icicle the moment one stepped out of the airport.

"Do you live in a place like this?"

Upon stepping outdoors, the Zygarde Core surveyed Levincia's modernized environment, frowning slightly, though it showed no intention of acting out.

Compared to those younger fellow Cores, it simply saw things more broadly and with a longer perspective.

As a guardian of order and ecological balance, as long as humans did not go too far, it would not decide to raze a developed city to the ground just because it saw one.

Sensing that the Zygarde Core might not particularly like Levincia, a completely modernized city, Luo Mu shook his head and said, "No, the place where I live is still some distance from here."

"That is good."

The Zygarde Core extinguished its idea of finding a deep mountain or old forest to settle in, shook the part of its body that was neither tail nor foot, and lazily replied, seemingly somewhat affected by the weather.

"Try to return to the farm before December."

Luo Mu muttered to himself, only summoning Dragonite after reaching the edge of the city.

Compared to the Alola region, the Paldea region still had certain restrictions on riding Pokémon within city limits.

Today was late November, and the last month of the year was approaching; he wanted to reunite with the Pokémon staying behind at the farm before then.

Of course, there was also the feeling of missing home, a heart eager to return.

Dragonite flapped its dragon wings, bracing against the cold wind as it flew toward the distant lights.

Suddenly shifting from a tropical environment back to the dead of winter, Dragonite's flight speed was somewhat affected.

By the time Luo Mu caught sight of the farm's outline, the time had landed precisely at 11:50 PM.

Landing on the farm ground already covered in a layer of accumulated snow, Luo Mu exhaled a puff of white breath and leaped down from Dragonite's back.

From within his shadow, Spectrier eagerly poked out, letting out an excited neigh.

"I'm finally back, my beloved black radishes!"

But in the next second, Luo Mu's "Feint" slapped right onto its head.

"Everyone's asleep; don't make so much noise."

"Neigh—whimper—"

Spectrier shook its head aggrievedly, wanting to ask Luo Mu on what grounds his Normal-type move could hit it.

Luo Mu paid it no mind, instead taking out the Poké Balls from his satchel one by one and releasing Luxray and the others.

Luxray and the others were fine; this wasn't their first time going out and returning home, so their emotions weren't particularly out of control.

It was Popplio, who had been worried about catching a cold from the tropical environment, that Seeing Seeing Kapu lifted from the snowy ground, carefully examining the environment where it would soon live.

Oranguru, having just left its Poké Ball, spoke via telepathy: "It has noticed we've returned."

The moment Oranguru's voice fell, Lei Guan Wang's figure materialized on the snowy ground not far ahead.

It seemed to have just gone to sleep, still wearing a red sleeping cap on its head, a pair to Cosmog's blue sleeping cap.

It was probably Spectrier's loud neigh just now that caught its attention.

"Welcome back."

Lei Guan Wang greeted Luo Mu and the others in an extremely casual manner, its gaze sweeping over Luxray and the others as if checking for any new members.

Indeed, it had already grown accustomed to Luo Mu occasionally "picking up" some Pokémon to bring home whenever he went out.

Its gaze first landed on Popplio, then paused on Seeing Seeing Kapu, showing a hint of surprise.

"Eh?"

Accompanied by a soft sound of surprise, Lei Guan Wang looked toward Luo Mu's shoulder.

Since it had been discovered, the Zygarde Core no longer maintained its invisible state, appearing directly before Lei Guan Wang.

"I did not expect you to be here, King of Abundance of Galar."

To be frank, the emotional fluctuation of the Zygarde Core at this moment was quite significant.

It never expected to encounter the King of Abundance it had once heard of—Lei Guan Wang—right here.

No, there should have been signs of this ever since Luo Mu brought Spectrier along.

"Guardian of Order, what is this?"

Lei Guan Wang also hadn't expected Luo Mu to bring the Zygarde Core back; however, compared to the two it knew of, this one was clearly a different individual.

By analogy, it was like that black Rayquaza from that one time.

"I have come to expand my business."

The Zygarde Core used the same explanation with Lei Guan Wang as always.

Lei Guan Wang, however, directly understood its intent, nodding slightly and saying, "I see, I understand."

Immediately after, Lei Guan Wang smiled slightly at Luo Mu: "In any case, regardless of what happened during the vacation, get some good rest first; we can deal with everything tomorrow."

"Serperior and Mimikyu just changed your bedsheets for you this morning."

"Alright."

Luo Mu nodded and readily accepted Lei Guan Wang's arrangement.

Entering the warm house, he instructed Oranguru: "Let Seeing Seeing Kapu and Popplio settle into the guest room first; we'll make further arrangements at Thunder Cry Lake tomorrow, including for Swampert and Milotic."

The several Pokémon responded with a sound and began preparing themselves.

Luo Mu then looked at the Zygarde Core; before he could even speak, its gaze swept around the room and found a spot to its liking.

In the fireplace there, Moltres's "Sacred Fire" was burning slowly, and some cushions stuffed with wool were scattered about casually.

Probably due to something Lei Guan Wang did, Feng Su Gou, Stoutland, and Houndoom, who were usually very alert to sounds, were lying there sleeping soundly, completely undisturbed by the commotion of their entry.

The Zygarde Core found a cushion similar in color to itself, simply embroidered with a Sunflora pattern, emitted a comfortable "Pururu" sound, and collapsed directly onto it like a slime, the entire Pokémon nearly turning into a puddle of liquid.

Indeed, the harsh winter of Paldea must have had some effect on this legendary Dragon and Ground-type Pokémon as well, right?

The corners of Luo Mu's mouth twitched; he called to Luxray and the Eevee sisters, intending to return to the room to rest.

Volcarona should already be curled up under the covers by now, warming the bed, right?

Union Calendar, December 1st, Year 798.

A new month, a new day.

Due to the time difference, and having slept quite a bit on the plane anyway, Luo Mu, tossing and turning unable to sleep, simply had Oranguru use "Hypnosis" on him, conveniently adjusting his jet lag.

Actually, he had wanted to ask Comfey to release its floral scent, but considering it was already asleep, he ultimately chose to give up.

When Luo Mu opened his eyes again, he could faintly hear the cries of Corviknight and Rookidee outside; beside the drawn curtains, a layer of frost had formed on the window.

Picking up the clock by the bedside to take a look, it was exactly 8:00 AM, quite punctual.

Luo Mu lifted the cotton quilt made from Bai Bai Pengpeng and the others' cotton fluff, discovering the Eevee sisters were gone, though Volcarona, serving as a body pillow in his arms, was still there.

Looking down at the floor, sure enough, they had rolled over to Luxray's side and were sleepily kneading on Luxray.

Unfortunately, his own Luxray was male.

Meeting Luxray's helpless expression mixed with a plea for help, Luo Mu could do nothing to assist.

Clearly, Luxray had been awake for some time, but simply couldn't leave due to the Eevee sisters.

With random thoughts drifting through his mind just after waking, Luo Mu suddenly felt something tugging at his sleeve.

Looking in that direction, sure enough, it was Mimikyu.

Mimikyu's bean-sized eyes on its doll's belly crinkled with joy, clearly delighted that Luo Mu had returned.

These seven days felt far longer than it had anticipated; noticing the movement in the room right after waking, it had immediately come over.

"I'm back, Mimikyu."

Smiling, Luo Mu picked up Mimikyu and friendly shook the paw protruding from beneath its rag.

Mimikyu's tail wagged happily, informing Luo Mu that Serperior was waiting downstairs for him to wake up and suggesting he head down as soon as possible.

It seemed to concern a Pokémon Egg.

Hearing this, Luo Mu's last trace of sleepiness vanished instantly; without even time to wash up, he threw on a few clothes and ran downstairs.

Speaking of Pokémon Eggs, the only ones left on the farm were the batch left behind by those yellow-maned Tauros.

According to the manual given by Whitney and Hanze, calculating the time, they should indeed hatch around these days under normal circumstances.

This was precisely why Luo Mu had scheduled his Alola vacation for seven days, though he hadn't expected a reaction to occur the moment he returned!

The moment Luo Mu had been waiting for—the time to open blind boxes—had likely arrived.

(End of Chapter)