Chapter 589: These Kantonians Are a Bit Off

Alliance Year 798, December 6.

Before the Lighthouse on Small Key Path.

This is the location of the Lighthouse Research Institute, home to the two renowned Paldea Pokémon Professors.

At the same time, this is also the home where Pepa grew up, a place filled with memories and a touch of bitterness.

Pepa, rarely, left Grape Academy early in the morning and rushed back here as fast as he could.

Moreover, he even made a special trip to the nearby Flat Plate Town to borrow several capable helpers from Luo Mu.

"A Pair of Mouse, I entrust the cleaning of dust and spiderwebs to you."

"Iron Treads, please repair some of the broken furniture."

"Comfey, today I entrust the guidance of my cooking skills to you."

Pepa bowed solemnly to the several Pokémon, his eyes full of seriousness.

If, aside from his parents, there was someone he was closest to and relied on most, that person was undoubtedly his mentor, the most reliable brother in his heart, who had nurtured him step by step and changed his father's and mother's views—Luo Mu.

Therefore, after hearing that news, Pepa's first reaction was to seek help from Luo Mu, just as he had chosen to visit immediately during the anomaly in the Great Paldea Trench before.

Only this time, unlike the dangerous incident last time, it was something worth celebrating.

Approaching the New Year, Professors Arven and Turo, who had been staying in Area Zero for nearly a year, Pepa's parents, after applying to the Paldea League, received a very generous approval for their leave application from Director Y.

Rather, even Director Y felt they should rest and return home to accompany their child.

If Luo Mu hadn't often accompanied Pepa, Director Y felt that child would probably have developed some psychological issues.

Being a left-behind child is a very miserable thing, one could even say it's a childhood trauma.

Director Y couldn't bring herself to ask the two professors to continue working overtime; she was afraid she might accidentally get hung from a streetlight.

From December 6 until after the New Year, exploration work in the Great Paldea Trench is suspended, and all staff at the Area Zero Research Institute are on holiday.

After all, the research progress after a year of effort is gratifying, and there are three instances of Ci De Cheng Gong.

After the Area Zero Research Institute temporarily closes, it will be the Flying-type Elite Four member Brother Brother Qingmu and the Ground-type Elite Four member Kofu who team up to escort the researchers all the way back from the Great Paldea Trench.

—Although perhaps now the two professors and the researchers no longer need an escort.

Ancient Paradox Pokémon Koraidon and Future Paradox Pokémon Miraidon have already established a good relationship with humans and will accompany the two professors as partners to the surface for a month of "observation."

What impact they will have on the outside world, whether positive or negative, and whether they can adapt to the true modern ecosystem distinct from the hypothetical ancient and future are all matters requiring observation.

After consideration, Professor Arven and Professor Turo chose to take the two Paradox Pokémon home directly to observe them in daily life.

Also to compensate Pepa who was alone at home, the two professors, while accompanying him, also intended for Koraidon and Miraidon to be Pepa's playmates.

And at this moment, Pepa was nervously tidying up before his parents returned home.

—This news was told to him by Luo Mu.

To clean the house that hadn't been lived in for a long time, Pepa took A Pair of Mouse from Luo Mu, who had become increasingly skilled at housework.

Some furniture was slightly damaged, so Pepa borrowed Iron Treads from Luo Mu, whose craftsmanship is unparalleled, to perform simple repairs.

At the same time, wanting to cook a table of hot dishes with his own hands to treat his parents, Pepa took Comfey from Luo Mu, whose cooking has a taste of home, hoping it would supervise him to complete a full meal.

Just as he showed, Pepa was extremely excited about his parents coming home.

After all, no matter how you put it, he is just a teenage boy lacking love.

While processing ingredients under Comfey's patient instruction, Pepa's gaze occasionally fell on A Pair of Mouse, which swept through every corner of the house like a whirlwind.

He didn't know where A Pair of Mouse bought that small feather duster; with just a light sweep, all spiderwebs and dust disappeared.

It was just that the fiery red light trails left where the feather duster passed made Pepa somewhat puzzled.

However, Pepa decided to ask Luo Mu in a few days which market he bought it at; he quite wanted one too.

Iron Treads' movements were quite nimble; holding a somewhat disassembled chair in one hand, it swung the hammer in its hand and started a round of knocking.

It wasn't recklessly releasing power; that would only make the chair fall apart completely.

That rhythmic knocking sound with clever force was very pleasant, almost becoming the background music of the room.

Time flew, and it was noon.

A few more Pokémon guests arrived outside Pepa's door.

"Boo-woo~"

Outside the door, Dragonite, holding a bouquet, politely knocked on the door; beside it were Ogerpon and Flabébé, Ogerpon also holding a large bouquet, while Flabébé carried several beautiful wreaths.

Dragonite, which often sent Pepa home, was very familiar with this road; it had come specifically for this trip.

In a moment, Pepa, with several band-aids on his fingers and an apron around his waist, ran out hurriedly.

As soon as Pepa opened the door, the three Pokémon handed him the bouquets and wreaths in their hands.

"You are..."

A flash of surprise welled up in Pepa's eyes, and his expression was still somewhat shocked.

"Boo-woo~"

Dragonite squeezed past Pepa, bent over, and walked into the room.

It first pointed to the withered bouquet in the vase on the already spotless dining table, then pointed to the flowers it was holding.

"Boo-woo!"

Dragonite felt its explanation should have been quite easy to understand.

"Poni Poni!" "Ring-ring~"

Ogerpon and Flabébé also eagerly introduced the bouquets and wreaths they brought.

Pepa realized they must want him to decorate the house with fresh flowers, and the wreaths were for a surprise, to be given to his parents after they returned home.

However, why did Flabébé prepare four wreaths?

Were the other two for himself and Ao Ao Jiaofu?

If so, Clamperl and the others would probably get jealous.

Pippa's mind raced with wild thoughts, but that didn't stop him from accepting the bouquet and wreath, thanking the Dragonite and the others for making the special trip.

After the Dragonite and the others left with a pile of food, Pippa held the bouquet—clearly fresh and in full bloom—and a warmth surfaced in Emperor Yan Di.

He could probably guess where the flowers tied into the bouquet had come from; although the other party hadn't shown up today, they had provided so much help.

In that case, he naturally had to make tonight's family dinner even better, as a way to repay Luo Mu's assistance.

Pippa then washed the vases and placed vases filled with clear water and fresh flowers in prominent spots at the entrance, on the dining table, and in the living room.

The wreath was temporarily set aside; Pippa remembered that the wreath of Comfey could keep flowers fresh for a very long time, and it would certainly be useful tonight.

After finishing all this, Pippa returned to the kitchen to continue working, prompted gently by the Comfey.

Meanwhile, far ahead of the Kitakami Lighthouse, over the vast, endless sea of the Paldea region.

Luo Mu, wearing only swim trunks—equivalent to winter swimming—sat atop the back of a Milotic, his gaze fixed on the calm, undisturbed ocean ahead.

Light snow still drifted in the sky, but this was not the polar region, and the sea had not frozen over.

Above the tranquil sea, a mermaid figure with a black shell floated quietly on the water's surface, letting the current carry it along.

Its body shimmered with a faint blue light, pulsing at the same frequency as the flowing seawater.

That was Seeing Seeing Kapu, and at this moment, it was establishing communication with the currents of the Paldea sea.

This was not something achieved in one stroke; according to Seeing Seeing Kapu, even holding a special altar ceremony to give thanks to nature would take considerable time.

Today was merely the first day; Luo Mu had decided to come over specifically to observe.

The Seeing Kapu are Pokémon deeply connected to nature; the current situation was like Seeing Seeing Kapu "pitching" itself to the nature of Paldea, gaining nature's approval, then building a connection with the water currents to draw energy and power from them.

Compared to other regions, Paldea was one of the few areas that was not the "territory" of any legendary Pokémon.

The legendary Pokémon here were either outsiders or came from the past or future; perhaps Terapagos could be considered a native legend?

But going extinct due to tectonic shifts was pretty lame.

Luo Mu felt that, because of these factors, Seeing Seeing Kapu's communication with nature might proceed more smoothly.

Before undertaking this task, after some thought, Luo Mu chose to inform Geeta.

The Geeta on the other end of the phone seemed to have no objections; in fact, her voice was strangely excited, leaving him puzzled.

It was thanks to that call that Luo Mu learned from Geeta that Professor Frits and Professor Oran had voluntarily applied for leave, and he had directly informed Pippa during class.

Calculating the time, Pippa should already be preparing dinner by now, and the Dragonite and the others should have delivered the bouquet wrapped by the Oranguru.

With the Comfey helping over there, Luo Mu felt quite at ease.

After all, this was a rare opportunity for someone else's family to reunite; he shouldn't go over himself, but simply lend a hand where it truly mattered.

Still, the Comfey had shown extraordinary professionalism in just a few days since arriving at the farm.

The effects of the medicinal diet preparation were not yet visible due to the short time, but it had indeed relieved Comfey of quite a bit of pressure.

With so many Pokémon on the farm, no matter how harmonious things were, occasional friction or injuries during sparring matches were nothing unusual.

The Comfey, with the Ability "Heal Heart," was fully displaying its talents in healing, its milk supply so abundant it was truly remarkable.

The Comfey, now with free time, even had moments to tend to the flowers in the glass greenhouse; Luo Mu planned to ask it, along with the Bee Queen and the others, to plant the Gracidea seeds gifted by Lady Tyme and Mr. Snow.

Perhaps, by next spring, some Shaymin might truly be drawn to stop here.

But every situation has a good side and a bad side.

The vitality and constitution of Pokémon are quite marvelous; just a few days ago, the thirteen Tauros still looked like newborn calves, but in the blink of an eye, they had grown to only slightly smaller than ordinary Tauros.

Especially the Tauros that was the eldest, the offspring of the farm's enormous "Grass Eating" Da Nai Guan, whose physique already rivaled that of an adult Tauros.

Luo Mu deeply suspected this was related to the blessing Lei Guan Wang had bestowed upon the Pokémon eggs.

They were too robust, and far too energetic.

From morning till night, for at least half the day, the entire ranch area shook as if an earthquake had struck.

The culprits were those thirteen young Tauros, with boundless energy they could only unleash by sprinting wildly.

Though they had only hatched a few days ago, they already looked fully grown.

And there were some matters he found difficult to put into words.

He suspected these Tauros were somewhat into M.

To put it bluntly, the M of masochism, not the M of Mother.

After all, what proper Tauros would crash into each other until covered in bruises, then, after receiving treatment from the Comfey and the Comfey, immediately resume colliding with excited expressions as if nothing had happened?

What on earth is going on with the genes of those Tauros belonging to Little Zhi?

Just recalling the chaotic scene of snow and dust swirling everywhere made Luo Mu's head ache terribly.

Seeing Seeing Kapu's communication with nature continued until sunset, until the orange-red sun dipped below the horizon.

Luo Mu did not ask about its progress; he simply called it, along with the Popplio playing in the water nearby, and prepared to head home for dinner.

The snow had stopped at some point; passing by the Kitakami Lighthouse, he gazed toward the direction of that lighthouse.

Luo Mu was still wondering whether the two professors should be heading home soon.

With the Comfey's help, Pippa worked until evening before producing a table of dishes that satisfied him.

The two Rattata and the Tinkatuff had long since returned together; inside the house, besides Pippa's own Pokémon, only the Comfey remained.

"Thank you very much today, Comfey."

Pippa softly thanked the Comfey.

"Tubune."

The Comfey shook its head; with an expression of surprise on Pippa's face, it cupped his fingers, which were covered in bandages.

The Comfey closed its eyes and began to channel energy.

After a wave rich with the breath of life, Pippa was surprised to find that the wounds beneath the bandages, which had already begun to itch, along with some wounds that hadn't yet been bandaged, had completely vanished.

"This is—"

"Tubune~"

Chansey smiled gently and withdrew her hand.

For a chef, wounds on the hands are proof of their efforts, much like medals for a warrior charging into battle.

It is precisely because of these wounds that Peper's culinary skills have made tremendous progress today.

But—

For a child waiting for their parents to return home, these wounds only add an extra burden, ill-suited to this rare atmosphere.

Spend a wonderful evening with your parents.

After leaving her blessing, Chansey bid farewell to Peper, turned, and departed from the Key Path Lighthouse.

Not long after Chansey left.

Two figures hurried along the path outside the lighthouse, accompanied by a peculiar creature curiously surveying its surroundings.

Gazing at the warm light emanating from the bright windows, the owners of the two figures hesitated for a long time; after repeatedly rehearsing their words in their hearts, they nervously rang the doorbell.

Unknowingly, light snow had begun to fall again outside; accompanied by the crisp sound of wind chimes ringing in the snowy night, the door opened.

Looking at their son, whose eyes had unknowingly turned red, Sada and Turo spoke softly: "We're back, Peper."

(End of Chapter)