Chapter 588: The Flower of Grassacia

Union Calendar Year 798, December 5th, winter.

Since the vacation in Alola ended not long ago, Luo Mu's life had returned to its usual state.

In this winter season when no farming was needed, his daily routine consisted of accompanying his Pokémon, laughing and playing with them.

He also made time three times a week to visit Grape Academy, where he formulated teaching plans based on the conditions of students like Peper, and occasionally received messages from the Hoenn region to answer questions from students traveling abroad.

Most afternoons, Luo Mu the teacher would transform back into a mere student, receiving strict instruction from Miss Joy of Flatdish Town, who hailed from a family of medical professionals.

This was despite the fact that the farm not only had an Oranguru quite familiar with medicinal herbs, but also Lei Guan Wang, a legendary Pokémon capable of healing near-fatal injuries with a mere gesture, along with Comfey serving as a logistical physician, and indeed, the newly arrived Audino, which was integrating into the farm's atmosphere at an extremely rapid pace.

With a lineup that could be called a "Medical Dream Team," he theoretically had no need to study this knowledge.

But Luo Mu always felt that only by committing knowledge to memory could one possibly achieve a stroke of genius at critical or necessary moments.

Even if it might not be useful temporarily, it would indeed remain as a "technique" mastered by himself.

Well, to put it simply, as a farm owner, Luo Mu felt that learning more could never be wrong.

Apart from occasionally bringing some local farm specialties, he was essentially freeloading the Joy medical techniques that outsiders wanted to learn but had no access to; how profitable was that!

He heard that Brother Brother Qingmu had also returned from Alola two days ago and had thrown himself back into tense, exciting, and endless work.

Luo Mu felt that the Brother Brother Qingmu he had seen those few days probably belonged to a limited-time rate-up in a limited character pool.

After seeing him once, it would be difficult to get him to return.

"I'm heading out."

After greeting the Oranguru and Lei Guan Wang, who was holding Cosmog, Luo Mu looked at the Bai Xue outside the door, exhaled a breath of hot air, and stepped directly onto the snow.

Although carrying Volcarona was warm enough, Luo Mu still did not want too much cold wind blowing on his neck, so he chose to wrap a scarf around himself.

Behind him, the leader of the Falinks led five subordinates out in single file, their small hands holding or their heads balancing quite a few items.

Those were farm specialties prepared by Luo Mu and some souvenirs brought back from the Alola region; today he planned to go out and visit two people.

And relying on their numerical advantage and discipline, the Falinks were impeccable as helpers.

Parked outside the new house was a white pickup truck, which Luo Mu had borrowed from the neighboring Jones Ranch.

After all, if he relied solely on walking to reach today's destination, he didn't know how long it would take.

Although letting Dragonite fly would be the best choice, with the weather so cold recently, Luo Mu did not want to force Dragonite to fly back and forth in weather it disliked.

Moltres didn't mind, but neither Dragonite nor Moltres possessed the capacity to carry large amounts of cargo over long distances by flight.

After some thought, Luo Mu simply went to the neighboring Jones Ranch to borrow a vehicle.

Although its carrying capacity was limited, Luo Mu wasn't engaging in wholesale; after loading the goods, he stepped on the accelerator and zoomed off in a flash.

It had to be said that sometimes having a car was quite convenient; Luo Mu was even considering going to pick up a car for himself in a few days.

It wasn't like he lacked money.

Luo Mu called the Falinks over, and following the Jones couple's instructions, they fitted snow chains onto the tires to prevent brake failure and traffic accidents when passing through icy road sections.

With only one month left until the New Year, such incidents absolutely could not happen.

Once everything was prepared and the gifts he brought were covered with snow-proof cloth, Luo Mu was ready to depart.

However, before he could ignite the engine, a pointed white hooded hat popped up from outside the car window.

"Snover!"

Seemingly wanting to give Luo Mu a surprise or a scare, Xue Li Guai moved quickly, slipping over just as Luo Mu got into the car.

Unfortunately for it, Luo Mu had already spotted its sneaky figure in the rearview mirror; although not frightened in the least, he still cooperated very well by acting scared.

Volcarona, however, shuddered violently and squirmed a few times, clearly having been frightened.

Noticing that Xue Li Guai seemed to want to play with him, and perceiving that trace of longing in its Emperor Yan Di, Luo Mu smiled and asked, "I'm going out; do you want to come along?"

"Snover!?"

Xue Li Guai's eyes lit up, and it scrambled with all four limbs to climb into the front passenger seat.

Just now, it had been very curious about this big white thing; although its parents had told it best not to make contact, seeing that Luo Mu actually sat on it himself, Xue Li Guai still boldly came over.

"Fasten your seatbelt."

Luo Mu spoke the reminder, then turned the car key.

Accompanied by an ignition sound resembling a beast's roar, and under Xue Li Guai's excited expression, Luo Mu stepped on the accelerator; the tires bound with snow chains began to rotate under the engine's drive, accompanied by a clattering sound of metal shaking.

The pickup truck, laden with cargo, slowly drove out of the farm gate.

Meanwhile, Xue Li Guai gazed at the scenery flashing past at high speed, its mood instantly becoming exhilarated.

This even caused Volcarona to open its bright blue eyes, curiously sizing up the scenery outside, with a hint of longing subtly arising in its gaze.

Luo Mu had said that after it evolved, it could dance freely in the sky and enjoy the clear breeze brushing against its face.

Luo Mu's destination for this trip was set on Zaozhen Town, the town boasting the largest market in all of Paldea.

However, he was not going to the market to stock up on goods, but to visit a family that had just moved to Paldea.

That's right; it was only when he met Brother Brother Qingmu in the Alola region that he learned that, likely within these couple of days, Mr. Xue Zhong and Mrs. Shu Zi would move to live in Zaozhen Town under Young Lady Eri's arrangement.

Last night, he had specifically called to ask Young Lady Eri and obtained the exact time.

Calculating the time, the old couple should have already finished packing their moving items and were currently familiarizing themselves with the environment of Zaozhen Town.

After all, it was his own suggestion that led Li Liang and Danyu to persuade the old couple to move to this unfamiliar Paldea region.

Although it was also because those vicious villagers in Beishang Village had bullied them excessively, Luo Mu believed that as the matchmaker, he still ought to pay a visit in person.

Driving all the way along the mountain roads planned by the Paldea League, Luo Mu did not enter the city but drove straight in the direction of Zaozhen Town.

The reason for this, apart from not wanting to take a detour, was also the factor that he did not want to be invited by Miss Miss Junsha to have tea.

Why would he be invited by Miss Miss Junsha to have tea?

Hmm, because at this very moment, he was driving without a license.

Of course, no matter what, Luo Mu would not go so far as to joke with his own life; he indeed did not possess a driver's license, but that did not mean he did not know how to drive.

To be precise, he had indeed once possessed a driver's license, just one obtained in another world.

As a former corporate slave stuck in the 996 grind, driving the boss to business banquets was merely basic operational knowledge.

Although structural differences existed between vehicles in this world and his own due to worldly disparities, Luo Mu quickly mastered the knack, driving fast yet steady.

Around two or three in the afternoon, Luo Mu caught sight of Ziqin Town's silhouette.

Parking the pickup truck in the outskirts lot reserved for merchants flocking to Ziqin Town Market, Luo Mu grabbed his bags and headed toward a specific cluster of buildings.

There, two-story Western-style houses stood arranged in an orderly yet varied pattern, each accompanied by a small plot of land suitable for leisurely gardening or as a miniature family farm.

These structures were built uniformly by the Paldea League within the livable coastal town of Ziqin to house technical talent or serve as rewards for internal personnel.

Geeta had once mentioned arranging a unit for him, but Luo Mu had refused.

After all, whether this seemingly free gift was truly free remained uncertain.

At the very least, Luo Mu did not wish to accumulate ever more debts and end up like Brother Brother Qingmu.

"083083."

Following the house number Geeta provided, Luo Mu quickly located the corresponding residence.

The house's location was excellent; situated among those farthest from the coastline, it offered ample evacuation time even during high tides or the nearly impossible occurrence of a tsunami.

Adjacent to Ziqin Market, daily shopping was extremely convenient, and numerous supporting facilities had been constructed nearby; if these buildings weren't restricted from external sale, Luo Mu would have bought one just to become Mr. Xue Zhong's neighbor and occasionally retire here.

"Snap!"

Noticing movement coming from the attached small garden outside, Xue Li Guai clung to the wooden fence and called out several times in that direction.

Luo Mu looked over and discovered it was none other than Ms. Shu, long unseen, holding a Psyduck watering can, leisurely irrigating the fields.

Hearing the noise from outside, Ms. Shu immediately looked over; upon spotting Luo Mu's figure, her eyes instantly brightened.

"Isn't this Luo Mu? How did you come here?"

She hastily set down the Psyduck watering can and made moves to go out and welcome him.

Luo Mu quickly stopped her, lifting the bags in his hand and smiling as he said, "I heard from Chairman Geeta that you had already moved over, so I thought I'd come to pay a visit."

"How can we accept this? We should be the ones visiting you."

A hint of guilt appeared on Shu's expression; if not for being busy with the new house these past few days, and upon hearing that heavy snow had fallen in Pingdie Town, she and her husband would certainly have visited Luo Mu first to thank him for facilitating the connection.

The two children, Kuri and Danyu, might not have understood, but could she and Xue Zhong fail to see who was pulling the strings behind the scenes?

According to that child with slightly fierce eyes, who seemed somewhat exhausted and bore dark circles under both eyes, the entire procedure had received personal attention from the Chairman of the Paldea League!

Their family possessed merely an ordinary background as mask craftsmen, yet they received such concern and care from the other party; this must surely be thanks to Luo Mu's blessing.

Hearing the commotion outside, Xue Zhong, who had been busy assembling wooden furniture, also poked his head out.

Upon discovering the visitor was Luo Mu, his reaction differed little from Shu's.

Nevertheless, since Luo Mu had previously stayed several nights at their guesthouse, the slight distance and formality in their relationship dissolved quickly.

"Xue Li Guai is just like a small tree; if we prepare fertile soil heavily fertilized for it, can we make it grow faster?"

Holding a handmade clay teacup, Xue Zhong took a sip of hot tea and gazed at Xue Li Guai with intense eagerness.

"No, I think it's best not to do that."

Luo Mu wiped away non-existent beads of sweat from his forehead.

"As for Volcarona, I seem to recall A-Li mentioning it before; he said it was the initial form of some Champion's ace Pokémon he admires, and he even threw a tantrum demanding Volcarona as his starter Pokémon."

"In recent phone calls, he often mentions you, saying he wants to catch a Shinx."

Smiling warmly, Shu fed small bites of Daifuku brought from Kitakami to the Volcarona, which was curled up comfortably in a ball, her eyes overflowing with joy.

After all, being elderly themselves, it would be stranger if they did not feel affectionate toward the Volcarona and Xue Li Guai, who distinctly resembled baby Pokémon.

The group chatted for several hours before the coffee table, and the two elders even intended to keep Luo Mu for dinner.

However, Luo Mu politely declined, citing that the sky would grow dark if he did not return soon.

Yet before Luo Mu departed, Shu still brought out a bouquet of beautiful flowers from inside the house, insisting on pressing them into Luo Mu's hands.

Located in a relatively warm zone of the Paldea region, Ziqin Town was not blanketed in snow like Pingdie Town; indeed, little snow had fallen here at all.

Nevertheless, the overall climate remained somewhat cold, making Luo Mu curious about where they had obtained fresh flowers.

"These are Gracidea flowers; their place of origin is the Sinnoh region, separated from Kitakami by a stretch of sea, though some were later introduced to Kitakami through trans-oceanic trade."

"Its flower language signifies gratitude, appreciation, blessings, and thankfulness."

"I hear that in the Sinnoh region, people bundle these flowers into bouquets and gift them on important occasions like birthdays or anniversaries to express their gratitude toward the recipient."

Shu said with a smile.

Luo Mu paused slightly, not expecting the bouquet in his hands to be the renowned Gracidea flowers.

This was truly his first time seeing them.

"Then, just now you were—"

Luo Mu asked hesitantly.

Shu nodded, her gaze shifting to the fields outside the window: "What I was tending to just now were Gracidea seeds; by next spring, they will sprout, grow, bloom, and bear beautiful flowers."

"I've heard that if the Gracidea flowers bloom beautifully, they can even summon Pokémon carrying good fortune!"

Listening carefully, Luo Mu nodded; he reasoned that the Pokémon Ms. Shu referred to must be Shaymin.

Fields of blooming Gracidea flowers attract migrating Shaymin to pause there, enabling them to change forms and gain the ability to fly.

"As for this bouquet in your hand, we brought it from Kitakami; Gracidea flowers possess decent cold resistance, so with careful care over these few days, they won't wither so quickly."

Shu explained in meticulous detail; seeing Luo Mu's expression of wanting to speak but holding back, she seemed to instantly guess what was on his mind.

Shu called out to Xue Zhong: "Old man, bring over all the remaining Gracidea seeds too, so Luo Mu can take some back as well!"

(End of Chapter)