Chapter 590: New Year Greetings Letter

After the reunion of Pepa's family, Luo Mu, having completed his own duties, did not pay excessive attention to the matter.

Every family has its own affairs; he was not yet at the point of being like a neighborhood committee auntie or uncle who meddles in everything.

Judging from Pepa's mental state during classes over the next few days, the outcome should have been quite good.

A few days later, Professors Sada and Turo specifically came to visit.

Koraidon and Miraidon were not by their sides; they had likely been left behind at the Lighthouse Lab.

This actually made Luo Mu breathe a sigh of relief, as he still hadn't figured out the Zygarde Core's attitude toward Paradox Pokémon.

The powered-off Iron Valiant stored in the living room did not attract its attention, and perhaps because Meng Lei Gu had blended too well with the farm's environment, the Zygarde Core showed no particular reaction either.

Moreover, most of the time, it maintained a state of eating then sleeping, sleeping while basking in the sun, then waking up to eat again.

It was almost comparable to a Baxcalibur currently in hibernation.

Besides thanking Luo Mu for his care of Pepa during this period, Professors Sada and Turo also took the opportunity to check the status of the crystal formed by Terapagos.

Their conclusion was that as energy continued to become abundant, Terapagos could awaken from its feigned death state at any moment, dispel the Terastal shell protecting itself, and revert to its original form.

Luo Mu was quite looking forward to it.

The two professors also brought another piece of news: after the New Year concluded, the second operation of the Time Machine would commence, and the production of Drive Energy would also begin.

If any finished product emerged at that time, they would deliver the Drive Energy to Luo Mu immediately.

After exchanging some more pleasantries, the two professors bid farewell to Luo Mu and left the farm while the snow had not yet become heavy.

They had promised to prepare Pepa's favorite dinner for tonight, and Koraidon and Miraidon were also clamoring to eat sandwiches.

Ordinary daily life thus passed day by day with the flow of time.

In merely the blink of an eye, the year-end arrived, and the New Year was just around the corner.

During this nearly month-long period, nothing major had occurred on the farm.

Seeing Seeing Kapu's communication with Paldea's nature was still ongoing, but judging from its increasingly vigorous aura day by day and the gradually abundant energy, the day of success should not be far off.

Regarding the issue of Regice lingering near the glass greenhouse, Luo Mu had also found the truth and the answer.

It turned out that it had seen some flowers inside the glass greenhouse inevitably heading toward withering under the passage of time.

Regice wanted to use its own characteristics to freeze them, keeping them in their most beautiful moment.

This intention itself was good, but Luo Mu did not advocate Regice doing so; after talking with Regice for a long time and explaining the relationship between flowers and the natural cycle to it, Regice finally desisted.

It would only occasionally come outside the greenhouse, carefully ensuring its cold air did not affect the glass, gazing eagerly at the soil where certain withered flowers in the greenhouse lay, expecting new flowers to grow from them.

The thirteen Tauros also completely completed their development and growth during this period, each brimming with energy and possessing strength as great as an ox.

Beneath the bodies of the Tauros, tempered through a month of wrestling, lurked terrifying power; on one occasion, they even forcibly shoved out a Copperajah weighing close to 650kg that had mistakenly wandered into the farm's boundaries.

Seeing their energy was so excessive that they were nearly turning the pasture area upside down, the two Stantler and Meng Ya Lu, along with their mothers, were finding it somewhat difficult to cope.

Luo Mu simply made a decision.

—If you want to make trouble, go out into the wild.

This did not mean Luo Mu intended to release them into the wild; to describe it accurately, it should be considered "herding cattle."

Every day at a fixed time, the fence gate connecting the pasture area to the wild would be opened, allowing them to run out into the wild to expend their stamina and energy, while simultaneously dispatching a Herdier to follow them to prevent them from running to the wrong places due to excessive excitement.

At the same time, this Herdier had to be calm, capable of holding the ground, and would not engage in reckless behavior together with the Tauros.

After excluding Feng Su Gou, which would mostly likely act recklessly, and the Growlithe, which had a high probability of being unable to hold the ground, the only answer emerged before his eyes.

Naturally, it had to be Houndoom!

Houndoom had once led a pack, its aura was quite ferocious, and the Tauros, who feared nothing under heaven, also held some fear toward it.

It could be said to be perfectly suitable.

However, after Houndoom, Luo Mu had actually considered another option.

It was just that the Zygarde Core refused to transform into its 10% Form no matter what, so Luo Mu could only drop the idea.

The only herding standards Luo Mu gave Houndoom were "cause less trouble," "do not let them attack passersby," and "return home on time for meals."

After implementing this plan for a few days, the commotion in the pasture area visibly diminished greatly, which also allowed Luo Mu to breathe a sigh of relief.

The only thing he worried about was whether the Tauros would attract bees and butterflies (cause romantic trouble) while outside.

Aside from the matter of the Tauros, most places on the farm were quite peaceful.

Popplio had already thoroughly mingled with everyone at Thunder Cry Lake, and Seeing Seeing Kapu would occasionally take it to the Paldean sea; after all, Popplio was a marine species, and although staying in a freshwater lake wouldn't cause issues due to the Pokémon's own constitution, it still needed to go to the ocean frequently.

When Popplio wasn't going to the ocean, Luo Mu would take it to play with the farm's Pokémon.

Snowman building, ice sculpture crafting—they had played through all the winter-limited activities.

Unknowingly, December reached its end.

Union Calendar Year 798, December 31st.

Today was the last day of December, and also the last day of this year.

Early in the morning, Luo Mu and Oranguru began preparing the Required Items needed for tonight's New Year's Eve celebration.

Because the Pokémon world did not have a Lunar New Year, for everyone, tonight and tomorrow were the days to celebrate the arrival of the new year.

Inside the house, Mimikyu, already dressed in red clothes, hung upside down on the wall, helping Lei Guan Wang decorate the living room.

Red pom-poms were strung onto red threads, finally tied together, and then shaped into some form.

In a short while, it became a simple and cute Pikachu smiling face.

Mimikyu had long held no hostility toward Pikachu; after all, most Mimikyu that held hostility toward Pikachu were simply love-deprived children who hadn't received enough love and were jealous of Pikachu receiving human care under the sunlight.

But Mimikyu could proudly pat its red clothes and say, without feeling the slightest shame, that it was being loved.

Loved by its Trainer, loved by its companions, loved by everyone on the farm.

Dragonite, Ogerpon, and Tinkaton were carefully pasting red strips handwritten by Luo Mu at the doorway.

Although there was no custom of pasting couplets here, Luo Mu still wanted to follow the tradition he had always adhered to, which could also serve as some consolation.

Carrying a basket of fresh vegetables and fruits, Oranguru came to the doorway and, looking at the character pasted upside down, still couldn't understand why Luo Mu wanted this character he called "Fu" (Fortune) to be pasted upside down.

Clefable, awakened by the commotion at the door, and the two Unknown Ditto, still bewildered, stared at each other, eye to eye.

Shortly after, Luo Mu returned from the mailbox at the farm entrance, carrying a pile of letters stacked nearly into a small hill, and entered the house.

Lei Guan Wang, who had tied a bow on Cosmog but looked slightly dissatisfied upon closer inspection, curiously asked Luo Mu, "What are these?"

Placing the huge stack of letters on the somewhat messy table, Luo Mu wiped his sweat and replied, "New Year's greeting letters and postcards; they basically arrive a day or two early. Although we can communicate via mobile phones now, this tradition seems to have been preserved."

Looking at this massive pile of letters, Luo Mu rarely found himself in a dilemma.

Opening, reading, and replying to each of these one by one—when would that ever end?

Sighing, Luo Mu casually picked up a letter for now and opened it.

Both the envelope and the wax seal bore the emblem of the Prism Tower; without even thinking, Luo Mu knew who had sent it.

Opening the envelope, as expected, was a letter handwritten by Clemont.

Luo Mu recognized this slightly delicate handwriting at a glance.

The letter contained sincere greetings and briefly described his recent situation.

The development of the Rotom Dex was going smoothly; perhaps the finished product would be seen next year.

If so, items like the Rotom Phone and the Drone Rotom were likely not far off.

Attached to the back of the letter were several photos: some showing Clemont during his research, and others a family portrait, indicating they were living quite well.

After finishing this letter, Luo Mu put it away properly and opened the next one.

This one was thicker; it was from Professor Oak in Pallet Town.

Luo Mu checked and found it was sent jointly by Professor Oak and Green, with one photo even taken at the summit of Mount Silver.

In the extreme environment of wind and snow, there was Green, smiling freely, and Red, with a faint expression.

It seemed Green had indeed gone to fight Red; who knew if the Viridian Gym had opened briefly only to close again.

There were letters from the four Elite Four members—Halber, Rika, Joym Joy Yumi, and Hassel; from Gym Leaders like Master Master Haidai, Arven, and Grusha; from teacher colleagues at the academy; from Director Clavell; and even from Geeta.

Although most of these people were those he saw often, that did not stop everyone from sending their own New Year's greeting letters.

As for Luo Mu's friends in other leagues, there were Kukui, Chairman Zhi Mi, Wallace, and even the great star Diantha, whom he had met only once.

Before long, the stack of opened letters on Luo Mu's right hand side was nearly piling up into a small hill.

He then opened an exquisite letter emitting a faint floral scent.

This letter was sent from the Galar region.

The sender was Lusamine.

Opening the envelope, the first thing that caught the eye was a group photo.

It featured Lusamine and her Pokémon, Lillie, Gladion with his Umbreon and Lycanroc, Silvally free from the mask's restraint, Dai Ke, and a shiny Nihilego.

Looking at this photo, a strange glint flashed in Luo Mu's eyes, and he eagerly picked up the letter to read.

After carefully reading the content several times, Luo Mu exhaled, and a smile appeared on his face.

It seemed things were developing in a positive direction, just as he had predicted and hoped.

Lusamine, Gladion, and Lillie had likely arrived in the Galar region about half a month ago.

They spent several days searching for Freezington in the wilds of the Crown Tundra, and then spent several more days traveling from Freezington to find Dai Ke's residence.

During this period, facing the dangerous environment of the Crown Tundra, it was basically Gladion directing his and Lusamine's Pokémon to take turns battling.

When they finally found Dai Ke's cabin, unsurprisingly, Dai Ke had no impression of them whatsoever.

Upon hearing that he truly had a daughter, just as Luo Mu had said, the shocked Lusamine even fainted for a while.

But as their exploration continued, the truth gradually came to light.

Lillie was attacked by a Nihilego, but this time it was not Ash from a few years later who saved her; rather, it was Gladion, who had remained vigilant under Luo Mu's instructions, along with Silvally.

To protect Lillie, Silvally broke free from the restraints left by Faba and stood before the Nihilego.

Lillie also recalled her past memories, realizing that she had not been attacked as a child, but had instead been protected by Silvally.

The symptom of being unable to touch Pokémon was resolved effortlessly; as for the aftermath of the incident, one could tell from that group photo.

The photo seemed to have been taken a few days ago and was rush-delivered to the Paldea region; calculating the time, Gladion's family was likely still staying in Galar and would probably take some time before returning to the Alola region.

After putting down the letter from Lillie's family, a smile appeared on Luo Mu's face.

But this smile quickly vanished due to the next letter.

Staring at the sender's address on the letter, Luo Mu, with an expressionless face, confirmed it several times before finally accepting reality.

Sender's address: Lysandre Labs, Lumiose City, Kalos Region.

Sender: Lysandre.

The first sentence of the letter read: "I want to obtain you; please be sure to join..."

Luo Mu: "..."

Scared to death!

Wait, where did this guy Lysandre find my home address?

Suppressing the urge to punch someone, Luo Mu, to avoid any accidents, forced himself to finish reading the entire letter.

Most of it was nonsense about recruiting him, along with Lysandre's lengthy discourse on his own ideals.

After reading it, Luo Mu silently crumpled the letter together with its envelope into a ball, viciously threw it into the wastebasket, and uttered a threat.

"Sooner or later, I'll bring White Gundam to your doorstep!"

Besides letters from friends, colleagues, superiors, and some strange people, several students, whether traveling abroad or staying in the Paldea region, had also sent letters full of sincerity.

Hearing Hearing Nimo, Paul, and Shizuka also described the progress of their journeys in their letters.

Hearing Hearing Nimo was making rapid progress challenging the Battle Frontier; Paul and Shizuka had already collected several badges, and Shizuka, just as Luo Mu had suggested, had caught a Skarmory as her fourth Pokémon.

Thanks to Luo Mu's efforts, the pile of New Year's greeting letters was gradually nearing the bottom.

Until the very last letter, where the unfamiliar sender's location and unfamiliar sender's name plunged Luo Mu into deep thought.

"Professor Londo in Lavaron City, Hoenn Region?"

(End of Chapter)