Chapter 59: Iron Chicken: A Modern Breed

The Dragonite hovered slowly at a low altitude, while Luo Mu looked up at the sky with lingering fear.

Thunder and lightning permeated the pitch-black clouds; occasional bolts of lightning often illuminated half the sky, and heavy rain began to fall, making Luo Mu even doubt whether Grandma Ju Zi Academy could open normally tomorrow.

Finally making it back to the farm before getting soaked through, Luo Mu had planned to boil water in the house and then take a hot bath with his Dragonite and Poliwag.

Who could have expected that after noticing the bad weather, instead of immediately organizing the Pokémon on the farm to seek shelter or return to Thunder Lake as they should, the Luxray strode back from outside the farm with its head held high, carrying something in its mouth.

Luo Mu: "????"

He remembered that the Luxray's Ability was Guts, not Pickup!

How had it brought back another pitch-black, indeterminate lump?

Last time it was Moltres; could this time be Articuno or Zapdos?

Luo Mu hurriedly opened the door to let the Luxray inside; water droplets dripped from the Luxray's fur, and after setting the object down, it moved to an unoccupied spot before shaking its body to fling off the water beads.

The other Pokémon that had temporarily returned indoors to avoid the rain also gathered around, examining with curious gazes the... creature? that the Luxray had carried back.

Since its rising and falling chest and abdomen were still clearly visible, they would tentatively define it as a Pokémon of unknown identity.

This Pokémon clearly appeared to be a bird-type Pokémon; unfortunately, all its feathers, which should have been distinctive, had turned scorched black and were even falling out; as someone whose starter Pokémon was the Electric-type Luxray, Luo Mu knew at a glance that these were marks left by lightning.

Recalling the thunder and lightning still roaring continuously outside, Luo Mu inferred that this Pokémon, unlike the Dragonite with its rich experience and keen senses, had probably been flying high in the sky while lightning was already brewing in the dark clouds, and with poor luck, it had been struck squarely by nature's falling bolt.

Luo Mu's gaze swept over the assembled Pokémon; apart from the Swampert and the three little Poliwag minions who should have already returned to Thunder Lake to rest, all other Pokémon were currently gathered inside the house to avoid the rain.

Regarding the several main battle Pokémon, Luo Mu knew them inside and out; throughout this year of travel, they had relied on medicines purchased with earned money or treatment at Pokémon Centers to heal injuries, as none of them knew any healing moves.

Poliwag, Moltres, and Growlithe simply could not learn moves capable of healing others; only Bai Bai Pengpeng and its kind had that potential.

However... Bai Bai Pengpeng could only learn Aromatherapy and Pollen Puff, and coincidentally, none of the three Bai Bai Pengpeng had learned these moves yet.

It seemed he would have to rely on his old partners after all.

After a moment of contemplation, Luo Mu said to his Serperior, "Please help fetch the medical kit from the house; if this continues, this Pokémon will likely die from severe injuries going untreated."

The Serperior nodded slightly, its serpentine body winding its way up to the second floor.

Soon, the Serperior returned holding a large medical kit with its Vine Whip; Luo Mu took the kit, quickly extracted wound medicine and paralysis healers from within, and then had Cangyan Cangyan Rengui fetch two Oran Berries from the kitchen.

Luo Mu skillfully treated this Pokémon's injuries using the paralysis healer, wound medicine, and Oran Berries in sequence, and during this process, he formed a judgment about the true identity of this unlucky Pokémon based on its general outline.

It was a Delibird, an Ice/Flying dual-type Pokémon; although it was not Articuno, the Luxray had indeed carried back a bird-type Pokémon sharing the same types as Articuno.

Luo Mu's impression of Delibird mostly stemmed from the one belonging to Team Rocket in the anime; a Delibird's tail is hollow, and if it lifts its tail and places something inside, the lifted tail looks just like a bag.

That Delibird from Team Rocket had used this method to help Team Rocket transport Poké Balls containing Pokémon to various locations.

The Delibird carried back by the Luxray appeared quite large; its big tail was nearly the size of a snakeskin sack, suggesting that if it belonged to a flock, this Delibird was most likely the flock's leader.

After finishing the treatment for the Delibird's injuries, Luo Mu found a spot in the living room far away from Moltres and the burning fireplace, temporarily settling the Delibird there.

As an Ice-type Pokémon, the Delibird was somewhat intolerant of heat; placing it near the fireplace would only add pressure to its already scar-riddled body.

Judging by the current situation, the Delibird would not wake up anytime soon; Luo Mu glanced at his phone and discovered the time had quietly reached nine o'clock at night.

Although the heavy rain outside showed a trend of becoming even heavier, Luo Mu could not guarantee this storm would last all day, so it was better to sleep early and maintain a good mental state for the first class at Grandma Ju Zi Academy.

Early the next morning, Luo Mu was awakened by the whistling sound of the wind outside the window.

Luo Mu opened his eyes and found it was exactly seven in the morning; he tucked the Mimikyu sleeping on his chest into the warm blankets and moved away the tip of the Serperior's tail that was coiled in the bedding.

Luo Mu got out of bed gently, walked barefoot around the bedroom, and discovered that his right cotton slipper had vanished once again.

Most likely, the Growlithe had sneaked into the room while he was asleep and stolen it to play with; Luo Mu helplessly pressed his forehead, feeling a slight pain in his temples so early in the morning.

Although he had long suspected it, was the Growlithe's personality becoming more and more like... a Husky?

Luo Mu dared not think any further.

Stepping over the Dragonite lying on its back with its belly exposed on the carpet, Luo Mu approached the window and looked at the sky outside, his brows slightly furrowed.

The rain was truly getting heavier, showing no sign of stopping whatsoever.

As soon as Luo Mu cracked the window open a sliver, cold wind drilled into the house through the gap.

"Bo~ wu..."

The Dragonite, sleeping soundly on the carpet, reached out a claw to touch its belly, feeling somewhat cold; in its sleep, it autonomously changed its posture and curled up again to continue sleeping.

Luo Mu hurriedly closed the window, glancing guiltily at the Dragonite; fortunately, he hadn't woken it with the chill.

Rubbing his eyes, Luo Mu felt that after facing the cold wind, his previous sleepy drowsiness had completely vanished, and he could now get dressed and head to Grandma Ju Zi Academy.

Yawning, Luo Mu walked toward the bedroom door; just as his hand grasped the doorknob, the phone in his pajama pocket suddenly vibrated several times.

Luo Mu paused, took out his phone, and discovered it was a mass-sent message.

The sender was Principal Mu Fei of Grandma Ju Zi Academy.

【Notice to all subject teachers: Due to the impact of extreme weather, today's outdoor classes are suspended; students of the academy will remain in classrooms or the library for self-study; below is the list of suspended classes...】

Luo Mu focused his gaze and saw that Battle Studies was prominently listed among them.