Chapter 677: The Origin of the Bear Apprentice?

At this moment, the beige little bear’s fur was half-damp, half-dry, as if it had been pulled from water some time ago.

Though it was already too weak to stay conscious, it still stood upright, as if keeping watch over the Dragonites.

Only when it saw Luo Mu—a human it found relatively familiar—did it stagger forward, stumbling until it collapsed right at his feet.

Startled by the bear’s reaction, the wild Dragonites’ chorus of “bo wu” noises jolted Luo Mu’s still-dazed mind; he immediately knelt down and picked up the bear.

Even now, he still couldn’t understand it.

How the hell did a bear end up on Dragonite Island?

This is Dragonite Island, not Armor Island!

But rather than dwelling on the origin of the bear disciple, what needs to be done now is to stabilize the bear disciple's condition.

Luo Mu turned to a familiar-looking adult wild Dragonite—probably the one beaten by the Dragonite chief yesterday—and said, “Go find Hua Liao Huan Huan. She’s probably by the flower field.”

The entire Dragonite Island had a rich ecosystem, naturally hosting a wild flower field.

During yesterday’s exploration, they’d already spotted it; since Hua Liao Huan Huan wasn’t there when he woke up, she’d likely gone there.

The adult wild Dragonite Luo Mu called out to froze for a second, then immediately responded to his order.

—After all, yesterday they’d all seen their chief treat Luo Mu with such friendliness.

It’d be a waste to get beaten by the chief under the excuse of “training” just for disobeying.

The seemingly dumb and simple Dragonites were actually quite shrewd—they never made things harder for themselves.

After the adult wild Dragonite flew off, Luo Mu immediately returned to his tent and fetched some towels and the leftover firewood from last night.

Then he asked the still-crowding Dragonites, “Who can breathe fire? Give it a light here—just enough to warm the wood, don’t turn it to charcoal.”

Fortunately, these giants weren’t just here for spectacle; soon, a Dragonite with softer features—clearly female—stepped forward.

A perfectly measured flame landed on the pile of wood Luo Mu had arranged, and it immediately caught fire.

“Phew—first, keep it warm.”

Luo Mu exhaled, placing the towel-wrapped bear at a slight distance from the fire.

That way, it wouldn’t burn, nor would the heat be too intense.

The bear’s fur, already wiped dry by the towel, was slowly drying under the gentle warmth radiating from the burning woodpile.

If the Dragonites and Flareon hadn’t vanished, Luo Mu wouldn’t have needed to go through all this trouble.

After all, Dragonites’ temperature-regulating hot winds could’ve dried the bear’s fur in minutes—like a hairdryer.

“A bit feverish—could this be from prolonged hypothermia?”

Relying on his limited medical experience, Luo Mu assessed the bear’s condition.

Thanks to his systematic training with Joy Lin at Pingdi Town’s Pokémon Center, his foundation was now solid enough to quickly and accurately diagnose this non-complex illness.

He didn’t even need the overeager prompt system to chime in.

Recalling the bear’s soaked state, the fact that they were on Dragonite Island, the surrounding crowd of wild Dragonites, and their well-known legends,

Luo Mu suddenly had a bold hypothesis.

Could this bear have been rescued from the sea by one of the Dragonites?

Last night brought heavy rain; the sea must’ve been anything but calm.

Dragonites often rescue drowning humans or Pokémon adrift on the endless ocean.

The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed; Luo Mu asked the surrounding wild Dragonites, “Which one of you rescued it?”

At once, one Dragonite stepped forward, confirming it had indeed pulled the bear from the sea.

It had been swimming nearby when it spotted the bear, growing weaker in the water.

The sea was raging with waves, torrential rain, and gales—who knew how long the bear had been drifting? Moved by compassion, it brought the bear back.

Though Luo Mu couldn’t understand the wild Dragonite’s “bo wu” due to lack of translation, its behavior made his guess almost certain.

This bear, for unknown reasons, had drifted across the ocean, nearly drowned, and was rescued by a passing wild Dragonite, then brought straight to Dragonite Island.

For a Fighting-type Pokémon as robust as this bear to be so weak, it must’ve drifted for an unimaginable length of time.

But the Dragonites clearly didn’t know how to treat hypothermia or fever; that’s why they’d reacted so urgently upon seeing him.

After piecing together the bear’s origin, Luo Mu pulled out some specialized Pokémon medicine from his pack, mixed it with warm water, and fed it to the unconscious bear.

That was all he could do.

Now, he could only wait for Hua Liao Huan Huan to return for more effective treatment.

The adult wild Dragonite soon returned with Hua Liao Huan Huan.

Under the combined effects of “Flower Healing” and “Aromatic Therapy,” plus the medicine Luo Mu had administered, the bear’s unstable vital signs quickly stabilized.

It lost its fever about half an hour after treatment, but still showed no signs of waking.

In Luo Mu’s view, its body had triggered a protective mechanism due to exhaustion—it now needed deep, sleep-like rest to recover its drained energy and strength.

Luo Mu could only carry the bear to his campsite, cancel his plan to continue exploring Dragonite Island that morning, and tend to the little bear himself.

—After all, he couldn’t expect these Dragonites to understand any of this.

Near noon, the Pokémon that had left while Luo Mu slept began returning one by one.

Seeing this unfamiliar face, they all reacted with surprise.

Some speculated it had hatched from a Poké Egg.

Others thought Luo Mu had kidnapped another new member from somewhere.

“It’s not a new member—it’s just a Pokémon rescued from disaster by the island’s Dragonites.”

Luo Mu patiently explained.

Never mind whether he craved the bear’s evolved form, Breloom’s thick, muscular fur—

Without knowing the bear’s origin, Luo Mu couldn’t claim it as his own new member.

For the bear’s origin, he currently had two hypotheses.

One: it drifted across the sea from nearby Galar waters for unknown reasons.

In that case, this bear was likely from Armor Island.

If it truly drifted this far, Luo Mu had to admit—he admired the bear’s determination.

—A true perseverer!

Two: the bear was a wild individual existing in this world but unmentioned in the game.

For unknown reasons, it drifted across the sea—not only possessing perseverance, but also the great fortune of being spotted and rescued by a wild Dragonite.

But regardless of its origin, until its intentions were clear, he couldn’t rashly classify it as a new farm member.

—Who knew if it would want to go home once it woke up?

After Luo Mu’s patient explanation, the overexcited Pokémon calmed down.

They quietly stayed beside Luo Mu, waiting for the bear to wake.

The chief election wouldn’t be held until evening; they had plenty of time.

Fortunately, the bear didn’t keep them waiting long.

Perhaps thanks to Fighting-type Pokémon’s exceptional physical resilience, and its latent Legendary potential,

Around four or five in the afternoon, the bear’s tightly shut eyes finally fluttered open after a slight tremor.

“Bè a?”

Letting out a weak moan, the bear looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and instinctively tried to rise.

At that moment,

Luo Mu, half-asleep beside it, instinctively placed his hand on its body; sensing its sudden tension, he murmured, “Don’t get up yet—you need to rest a bit longer.”

Hearing the human voice, the bear’s tension eased slightly.

It turned its head toward Luo Mu, its dark, glossy eyes blinking.

“Bè a?” (Did you save me?)

“Technically, I only treated you.”

“The ones who saved you are the Dragonites outside.”

Listening to Flareon’s translation, Luo Mu half-closed his eyes, yawned, and rose to pull back the tent flap.

Outside, a sea of Dragonite faces filled the entire exit passage of the tent.

Wild Dragonites: (〃'▽'〃) Bo wu~ (Hello~)

The bear: “.”

Luo Mu expected some reaction from the bear—but it simply turned its head away.

As if pretending it hadn’t seen the wild Dragonites at all.

Ignoring the wild Dragonites’ stunned expressions, Luo Mu, standing from a different angle, noticed the bear’s subtle shift in expression.

First blank shock, then a flicker of guilt, ending in shame.

The bear… seemed ashamed of having misunderstood the wild Dragonites?

Recalling how tense the bear had looked when he first saw it surrounded by Dragonites, Luo Mu suddenly realized: the bear must’ve thought the wild Dragonites meant it harm.

That’s why it turned away like an ostrich, avoiding reality.

Only after Luo Mu pulled the flap shut again did the bear finally turn back.

Clearly, it still didn’t know how to face the wild Dragonites it had misjudged.

After a while, having drunk more warm water, the bear could now sit up normally.

Luo Mu seized the chance to ask about its origin.

If it came from Armor Island, he’d send it back.

If it was wild and wanted to return home, he’d send it back too.

Luo Mu wasn’t so desperate for a Legendary Pokémon’s baby form that he’d resort to trickery or fraud.

“First, do you remember drifting at sea before?”

Relying on the Flareon outside the tent to translate, Luo Mu questioned his Bear Apprentice in detail.

“Bè a.” (I remember.)

After a two-second hesitation, the Bear Apprentice gave a slight nod, a faint fear of survival flashing across its face.

As it answered, fragments of memory surfaced in the Bear Apprentice’s mind.

It had completely underestimated the sea’s power.

It had wanted to swim to strengthen its body, hoping to become less useless, no longer the weakest.

But it never imagined the sea could be so dangerous.

After swimming for a long time and realizing it had lost its way, a fierce wind surged across the water, and with the storm’s fury, the once-calm ocean turned violent.

Under wave after wave of assault, its already meager strength drained instantly; by the end, it could barely muster the strength to rise, about to sink helplessly into the sea.

What came after, it barely recalled—only vaguely remembering that, one second before losing consciousness, a pair of large hands lifted it up.

When it came to its senses again, the Bear Apprentice found itself surrounded by massive Dragonites.

Each of these Dragonites towered far larger than itself, and with their Dragon-type aura, how could the Bear Apprentice not be tense?

Only when it saw Luo Mu—a human in every respect—did it finally relax.

Unaware the Bear Apprentice was recalling, Luo Mu asked it several more questions.

For instance, its origins, why it was at sea, and whether it wanted to return home.

But for some reason, the Bear Apprentice resisted answering these questions, only saying it had gone swimming to strengthen its body and gotten lost in a storm by accident.

As for its origins and whether it wished to return, the Bear Apprentice answered with silence.

Helpless, Luo Mu stopped questioning and said, “You must be hungry—we’re about to eat. Want some?”

The Bear Apprentice’s eyes lit up; it was about to say yes, but then hesitated, embarrassed, and stopped itself.

Before it could pretend any longer, its small belly let out a loud gurgle—it was starving.

In the end, the Bear Apprentice could only blush and take its share of the meal.

By the way, because last night’s and today’s lunch had been stolen by wild Dragonites and Haxorus, forcing Luo Mu to do all the work, this afternoon’s meal, Luo Mu flatly refused these gluttons’ evil plans to mooch again.

After eating their fill, seeing the hour grow late, Luo Mu asked the Bear Apprentice, “My Dragonite is going to compete in the Dragonite Clan’s leader election—there’ll be battles.”

“Do you want to come watch, or stay in the tent?”

“Don’t worry—if you stay, I’ll have my Raichu and the others keep you company.”

Without hesitation, the Bear Apprentice made its decision.

It tightened its white, headband-like fur and let out an eager cry: “Bè a!”

It wanted to watch the battle!

A spark of longing burned in the Bear Apprentice’s eyes—unseen by Luo Mu, since the Bear Apprentice faced away.

For the Bear Apprentice, it longed to witness the battle between powerful Pokémon.

After all, that was exactly why it had gone swimming into the sea, lost its way, and couldn’t find its way back—it wanted to become stronger, better.

(End of Chapter)