Chapter 681: Green Wood: I Really Can't Afford to Raise It

Go home?

As it chewed over these two words repeatedly, the silhouette of a solitary island subconsciously surfaced in Kubfu's mind.

That island was the place of its birth, so it could be considered its home.

Although getting lost meant it probably couldn't find the right direction anymore, that island held not only wild Pokémon but also many humans.

It was even the descendant of the Pokémon belonging to the old man who had purchased that island, having always lived within a smaller pack.

It was just that it itself might be somewhat unremarkable, at least compared to its own siblings who possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts.

Kubfu did not know what reaction its disappearance would cause over there.

It vaguely sensed that if it expressed the desire to return home, the human before it would definitely try every possible means to help it find the way.

After all, based on a full day of observation yesterday and some things learned while interacting with Luo Mu's Pokémon, it could assert with certainty that Luo Mu was exactly that kind of person.

—But, it felt slightly unwilling to accept this.

If it went back just like this, it would remain that mediocre version of itself, enviously watching its siblings constantly widen the gap between them, unable to catch up to their retreating figures no matter how hard it tried.

But now, an opportunity lay right before it.

Perhaps it was through the battle between Dragonite and the former Dragonite clan leader that Kubfu perceived a glimmer of hope.

When it heard that majestic and domineering Luxray say that Dragonite had been raised by Luo Mu from a Dratini with his own hands, Kubfu began to harbor some thoughts.

If it requested Luo Mu's help to become stronger, would he agree?

Gazed upon by Luo Mu's patient gaze, which lacked any sense of oppression and instead felt very approachable, Kubfu gradually felt the hesitation and vacillation in its heart lessen considerably.

It tried to summon its courage, lifted its head to meet Luo Mu's eyes, and poured out its request through its cries.

"Bei-aa—?" (Could you please help train me—?)

The Moltres-brand telepathy translation arrived promptly; Luo Mu's gaze toward Kubfu shifted from initial patience to surprise.

What did it mean by helping to train it?

Did it mean what he understood it to mean—that Kubfu wanted him to train it?

At this moment, Kubfu cried out several more times.

"Bei-aa bei-aa!" (I want to become a strong and amazing Pokémon just like it!)

It did not forget to point at the completely bewildered Dragonite, summoning the greatest courage it had ever possessed since birth, excluding this recent venture into the sea for training, as it strove to express its request.

"... Have you decided?"

Luo Mu did not dash Kubfu's confidence but chose to ask a counter-question instead.

"Bei-aa!"

Kubfu nodded its head firmly.

"I understand." Seeing Kubfu's determination, Luo Mu first nodded, then immediately changed the subject, "But if you don't go home and inform them, your family might be sad, you know."

Kubfu didn't understand whether this meant Luo Mu had agreed to help train it, but facing his latter words, Kubfu's eyes began to flicker.

As for whether they would care or be sad, it always felt that over there, they would likely focus more on that sibling of its own, expecting it to comprehend the hanging scroll on the Tower of Waters and become the new Urshifu.

Seeing Kubfu's stuttering demeanor, how could Luo Mu not understand that it did not wish to bring up this topic?

He just didn't know whether the cause of this personality trait was related to its unwillingness to return home.

Luo Mu had no intention of digging deeper; instead, he placed his hand on Kubfu's shoulder and gave it a gentle pat.

"Alright then, you can tell me when you want to talk about it."

"Now we are returning to our own 'home,' so you should temporarily return with us; I will formulate a training plan for you."

"Let's go, we'll make preparations and set off."

Upon receiving Luo Mu's definite response, Kubfu first froze, then its eyes lit up as it let out a cry of delight.

"Bei-aa!"

It followed closely behind Luo Mu, step by step.

At this moment, the sky light was just right; warm sunlight spilled through the gaps in the clouds, as if illuminating the road ahead for Kubfu's courageous choice.

Galar Region seas.

The Isle of Armor, or simply Armor Island.

This was a massive solitary island floating on the sea; the back of the island featured tides coming and going across beaches, while the interior contained natural landscapes found nowhere else in the Galar region, including forests, wetlands, limestone caves, and even sand dunes.

The island also boasted a rich Pokémon ecosystem, with many Pokémon not native to Galar living leisurely here.

Yet on such an island that maintained its original natural appearance, stood a dojo leaning towards Chinese architectural style.

As the original Fighting-type Gym Leader of the Galar region and the former undefeated Champion who held the Champion League title for eighteen years without a single loss, Mustard, now retired, displayed a trace of anxiety on his aged face.

With his hands stuffed into the pockets of the green track jacket worn over his training uniform, he paced back and forth somewhat anxiously, occasionally reaching up to stroke his goatee, asking his mature and beautiful wife questions an unknown number of times.

"How is it, any clues yet?"

Honey, his wife whose age differed significantly from Mustard's outwardly elderly appearance, gently shook her head and answered patiently, "Not yet, dear."

Honey held her cheeks with her well-maintained hands, her eyes also filled with an expression of worry.

Although they had already dispatched disciples to search the Isle of Armor for Kubfu's whereabouts, since it originally lived within a wild pack, it was extremely difficult to find any traces under these circumstances.

Moreover, most of the disciples did not know much about this kind of Pokémon, Kubfu.

Based on current clues, the missing Kubfu's footprints ultimately vanished on the beach.

But due to the ebbing and flowing tides, they could not determine whether Kubfu had later left the beach or directly entered the sea.

Coupled with last night's heavy rain... if Kubfu had truly entered the sea, given its physique, it would likely encounter life-threatening danger.

Upon receiving Honey's answer, Mustard's hunched back bent a little further; casting his gaze toward the anthropomorphic giant bear sitting uneasily nearby, he sincerely heaved a sigh.

"Sigh—"

"Old partner, I never expected that by not interfering with your pack's life and development in the wild, this old man would ultimately cause such a situation to occur."

The Urshifu addressed by Mustard lowered its head even further, looking just like an ostrich, unwilling to face reality.

Regarding this, Master Mustard could do nothing about it.

After all, he couldn't exactly accuse Urshifu of paying excessive attention to its other cub with better talent, personally training that one and attempting to comprehend the scrolls hanging in the tower, could he?

Certain principles belonging to humans simply cannot be applied to Pokémon.

Let alone Urshifu; even some humans would subconsciously pour their attention onto the child who is more likable or outstanding, thereby neglecting the other.

Even if this was not Urshifu's intention, the reality remains that due to its negligence, Kubfu has gone missing.

"If all else fails, this old man will ask Little Little Dandan to pull some strings and see if anyone went out to sea that night and happened to encounter Kubfu."

Although he knew this was nearly a futile effort, it was the only direction Master Mustard could strive toward now.

While searching on the Isle of Armor, he was simultaneously trying his best to find traces of the missing Kubfu amidst the vast, boundless ocean.

After all, since he and Honey also had a child, and as a fellow father, Master Mustard clearly understood the remorseful feelings Urshifu was experiencing at this moment.

All he could do was cast aside his old dignity and try leveraging various acquaintances to see if there were any relevant clues.

Paldea Region, outskirts of Cortondo.

"So refreshing—!"

Lying on the large bed he hadn't slept in for over half a month, Luo Mu felt so comfortable he was nearly melting.

Not to mention, he was currently surrounded by all sorts of fluffy creatures.

Even though he had been back at the farm for a while, how could the longing accumulated over half a month be satisfied so easily?

It could be said that Luo Mu was undoubtedly mired in a happy dilemma at this moment.

But this did not prevent him from picking up his phone to check the new semester arrangements that Principal Clavell had sent him quite some time ago.

He hadn't looked at them before because he didn't want work to affect his vacation mood.

But now, reviewing them brought an entirely different state of mind.

Just thinking about the holiday ending tomorrow made Luo Mu feel his brain trembling.

As expected, Arven and the others were still assigned to study under his supervision.

With such a renowned brand name as Hearing Hearing Nimo, Luo Mu's teaching abilities, which few had ever doubted to begin with, received further validation; in fact, before his vacation, whenever he occasionally went out, he had already encountered numerous parents and students wanting to make an appearance before him.

However, only two new students were added to his roster this new semester, and both of them had expressed their intent quite some time ago.

Namely Kieran and Carmine, the corners Luo Mu and Geeta successfully pried away through their coordinated efforts.

Nowadays, they had directly completed transfer procedures at Blueberry Academy; judging by the situation of school starting tomorrow, they had likely already moved into the new house Geeta arranged for their grandparents.

Luo Mu could roughly imagine how shocked Principal Cyrano and Dai Ke must have looked when they received this news, which could be described as a bolt from the blue.

"Truly immoral, but if it's me, then let it slide~"

After taking turns being intimate with the Pokémon, who came forward one after another, Luo Mu, whose body was finally free from having an entire Serperior draped over him, along with Shuang Nai Xian and the Eevee sisters who seemed intent on crushing his shoulders into uneven heights, walked all the way to the living room.

The living room was still brightly lit at this hour, with Pokémon gathered in twos and threes, curiously listening to their returning companions recount stories of their travels in the Hoenn region.

Among them, Kubfu appeared somewhat out of place.

Even Victini and the others, who deliberately took care of it, were currently immersed in the atmosphere, gesturing excitedly to display their heroic postures and telling stories.

This also made the newly arrived Kubfu feel somewhat lonely.

However, this situation did not require Luo Mu to intervene.

Before long, a similarly fluffy Pokémon appeared before Kubfu, whose eyes revealed a hint of bewilderment.

"Baa~"

Volcarona curved its eyebrows friendly, raised its small black claws, and greeted Kubfu.

With the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, a voice suddenly rang out in Luo Mu's mind.

"It seems my intervention is unnecessary."

He turned to look and discovered it was Lei Guan Wang, holding a Cosmog that had just finished absorbing sunlight, who was speaking.

Noticing Luo Mu's gaze, Lei Guan Wang, who had appeared suddenly like a ghost, smiled and said, "I guessed you were definitely thinking that."

Luo Mu: "."

Good guess; don't guess anymore after this.

As the dignified former King of Plenty, why are you stealing my lines with such bad taste every day?

"How was it? Did you enjoy this trip?"

Just like casual chatter between friends, Lei Guan Wang asked abruptly.

"It was alright, just... uh, you know."

Luo Mu's expression was hard to describe.

How to put it? In the Hoenn region, he indeed enjoyed quite a few things and brought back a large pile of local specialties, such as items like the Lavaridge Senbei.

But similarly, he also got involved in quite a few matters; it could be said he was exhausted to the point of being worn out.

"I understand, but you encountered so many incidents yet never called upon me; this makes me wonder somewhat if I am no longer needed."

Under Luo Mu's dumbfounded expression, Lei Guan Wang uttered this explosive line via telepathy with a completely expressionless face.

"That's because everything happened to be in a state where it seemed solvable if one just thought of a way, so I didn't call you—wait, that's not right!"

Luo Mu, who originally intended to explain, forcibly cut off his own statement and instead began questioning Lei Guan Wang.

"—Who taught you to be such a green tea bitch?"

Lei Guan Wang pointed at the television in the living room. "Saw it on TV."

"... Watch less of that stuff."

Luo Mu's face was full of helplessness.

Lei Guan Wang must have been idle all day; what kind of things has he been watching?

Putting the bickering aside, Lei Guan Wang did not forget the main topic. "By the way, regarding that crystal you brought back..."

Just as Lei Guan Wang was about to say that he had taken time this afternoon to investigate and discovered some very special reactions,

The doorbell suddenly rang.

Without Luo Mu needing to move, the Chimchar, who was tidying up with a pair of Rattata, stepped forward to open the door.

Luo Mu's position happened to offer a clear view of that spot, so when the door opened and the figure standing outside was exposed to his sight, he wore an expression of shock.

"Brother Brother Qingmu, why have you come?"

After telling Lei Guan Wang they would discuss it later, Luo Mu took a few steps to the doorway and looked at Brother Brother Qingmu, whom he hadn't seen in over half a month, inexplicably feeling that he had become much more haggard.

The numbness in Brother Brother Qingmu's eyes flickered slightly, as if he were steeling himself mentally.

—If he could help it, he absolutely did not want to set foot on this farm, which he regarded as the "Land of the Overtime Curse"!

But there was no choice; forced by circumstances, he could only bow his head.

He did not answer Luo Mu's question directly, but instead said something unrelated.

"Is your farm still short on Pokémon?"

"Huh?"

Luo Mu was stunned, unable to immediately grasp what Brother Brother Qingmu meant.

But the next second, Brother Brother Qingmu pulled a Pokémon Egg out of his miraculous briefcase?

Brother Brother Qingmu thrust the Pokémon Egg at Luo Mu with a "swish," roaring in a somewhat pained voice: "I really can't afford to raise it anymore!!!"

(End of Chapter)