Chapter 688: Spring Has Arrived, The Blooming Gladiolus!

After discovering the Sealing Stakes, Luo Mu had no intention of personally attempting to pull them out, nor did he mean to have Paipa and the others try.

After all, from the very beginning, he had already planned exactly how to deal with these Sealing Stakes.

The Four Treasures of Ruin transformed into their current calamity-bringing forms because they bore the weight of human desire and curses.

According to the research left behind by the Pokémon trainer from the ancient Paldea Empire who suppressed them at that time,

to liberate them from their deeply rooted curses and malice, one must start with these 32 Sealing Stakes connected to the curses and malice within them.

Even though pulling out the stakes in the game could break the seal,

purifying them through the stakes could restore them to their original forms, turning the Four Treasures of Ruin back into the Four Treasures of Auspiciousness.

Ting-Lu, which absorbs the energy of plants and causes surrounding forests to instantly wither and crops in the fields to fail, might transform into an auspicious beast that brings vitality and abundance.

There were also Chien-Pao, Chi-Yu, and Wo-Chien, the latter of which was currently sealed below.

After transforming back into Treasures of Auspiciousness, their power might perhaps shift from bringing destruction and calamity to becoming some kind of auspicious omen whose specific effects remain unknown for now.

After a brief stay on the platform, Luo Mu led the five of them away from this small hill.

On the way back to camp, he specifically instructed them not to tell anyone about the discovery of the shrine here for the time being.

Time flew by, and it arrived at the second day of February.

In the end, Luo Mu and the others chose to camp for one night at Casseroya Lake, returning to the Naranja Academy by car early the next morning.

"I will explain the specific origins of that matter to you again during tomorrow's class."

"Just be careful not to speak of it to outsiders."

Standing at the very bottom of the Hero's Staircase, Luo Mu looked at the five of them and offered this instruction.

All five students nodded obediently; even Penny, whose face remained expressionless most of the time, showed a hint of relief.

In her view, Luo Mu must have already forgotten about that matter.

It would be even better if he never remembered it for the rest of his life; that way, she wouldn't be forced to wake up at six in the morning.

But in the next second, Penny felt a sharp gaze descend upon her.

She stiffly raised her head and found Luo Mu looking at her with a smile that was not quite a smile.

"."

Penny was just about to say something

when Luo Mu leisurely spoke up.

"I have already spoken to Professor Professor Huangbo; she said she would be very happy to sweat alongside you and your Eevees."

"Today doesn't count, but starting from tomorrow, every morning at six o'clock sharp, she will knock on the door of your dormitory right on time."

"Good luck."

Smiling broadly, Luo Mu patted Penny, whose expression and body were both stiff, then waved to the few of them before his back gradually disappeared into the crowd of students heading to class.

He had no classes today, so naturally, he was heading straight back to the farm.

Watching Luo Mu's figure recede into the distance, Kieran let out a soft sigh.

Now he had to wait another day before seeing his idol again.

"Sigh, you'd better do your best."

With a clearly visible hint of schadenfreude on his face, Paipa imitated Luo Mu's earlier action and patted Penny on the shoulder.

Slap!

A crisp sound rang out as Penny slapped Paipa's pig-trotter hand away, her gaze toward him now filled with killing intent.

"Alright, alright, how about I come to keep you company every morning as well?"

Poppy could only step forward to mediate, stating that she would also accompany Penny and her Eevees for their weight loss routine every morning.

But at this moment, Penny, whose eyes had already gone dead, understood the situation as clearly as a bright mirror.

Poppy would wake up at five every morning right on time to train with her Fighting-type Pokémon on the sports field.

Truly, she did not feel the slightest bit of comfort from this.

On the other side,

after leaving Mesagoza,

Luo Mu was driving his beloved small camper van toward the direction of Cortondo.

Kubfu sat in the passenger seat of the camper, obediently hugging the seatbelt stretched across its chest, its little feet occasionally swinging back and forth.

Whether it was the results of the waterfall training or these novel experiences that it found so fascinating,

everything from yesterday was worthy of being remembered by it.

Here with Luo Mu, it had felt those things it had always lacked while on the Isle of Armor.

This also allowed the introverted Kubfu to completely relax in front of Luo Mu when no one else was around.

Luo Mu, who was driving carefully with both hands never leaving the steering wheel, merely glanced out of the corner of his eye at Kubfu, who was foolishly laughing alone, and a smile inevitably appeared on his face as well.

It seemed the direction he had chosen was not wrong.

What Kubfu lacked and needed most was "recognition" from the outside world.

Although he did not know the reason for its such profound lack of confidence, none of that mattered at this moment.

As long as it gained recognition and harvested a sense of accomplishment, Kubfu would possess the motivation to become stronger.

As long as it became stronger, it could harvest even greater senses of accomplishment and recognition from the outside world.

This could be called a virtuous cycle.

"Besides day-by-day accumulation of training, the best method to gain recognition and harvest a sense of accomplishment is indeed—through Pokémon battles, isn't it?"

Murmuring to himself in a voice only he could hear, Luo Mu spoke.

Although saying this might be a bit premature,

for a Fighting-type Pokémon like Kubfu, honing its skills through combat is also a necessary part of the process.

Although letting it spar with the farm's Pokémon was feasible, given that the farm's Pokémon spanned every power tier from low to high, which was already sufficient to cover Cubchoo's growth curve.

But in that case, the external recognition Cubchoo needed would soon reach its threshold, and the effects would cease to be noticeable.

At such times, the best choice was to battle different people and different Pokémon, securing victory.

In that way, the recognition, sense of gain, and sense of achievement that Cubchoo required could be generated endlessly.

This would continue until it completely shed its personality weaknesses and honed its skills and style to their absolute limit.

On that day, its evolution would likely arrive as expected.

Although Cubchoo now needed to focus on building a solid foundation, Luo Mu had to consider plans for the much longer term.

"A method to battle Pokémon with different people, huh."

A certain thought surfaced in Luo Mu's mind, only to quickly sink again.

Better to discuss it later.

After all, that tournament showed not even a shadow of being held so far.

While pondering future plans for Cubchoo, whom he had promised to help grow stronger, Luo Mu steadily drove the RV back to Pingdie Town.

After traversing a stretch of road, the silhouette of the suburban farm came into view.

Luo Mu's state of fatigue, brought on by driving continuously for a long time, instantly refreshed into alertness.

After eating lunch and taking a brief afternoon nap, Luo Mu stretched lazily on his lounge chair.

He also moved Volcarona, Espeon, and Umbreon, who had been pressing down on him and using him as a bed, onto the sofa.

"Sigh, I wonder what I'll do when summer comes."

Luo Mu sighed lightly, his face knitted in worry.

It was already spring; the climate was pleasant, so there was no feeling of stifling heat yet.

But if he continued like this come summer, Luo Mu suspected he would break out in heat rash all over, or even suffer heatstroke.

It was true that he loved fluffy things; indeed, during winter, Volcarona, the Eevee sisters, and Feng Su Gou were top-tier "body pillows" he could hug all day long.

But in summer, this would be somewhat torturous.

"Alright, I'd better go check the condition of the fields first."

Temporarily acting like an ostrich and leaving this problem to his future self, Luo Mu stepped into the slippers he had placed beside the lounge chair before his nap.

"..."

Great, a pair of slippers had vanished again.

Without needing to think, Luo Mu knew who was responsible.

Alas, Feng Su Gou was nowhere to be seen; that silly husky was just like that—as soon as it realized it had made a mistake, it would immediately choose to hide.

—Even though doing so had a high probability of intensifying Luo Mu's fury, it simply never learned its lesson.

In the end, Luo Mu walked barefoot to the door to change his shoes, his face dark with anger.

As for Feng Su Gou, he would deal with it after finishing the farm work.

Otherwise, this guy would truly proceed to climb onto the roof and tear off the tiles next.

Stepping outdoors, Luo Mu did not disturb Houndoom, who was resting lightly at the entrance, but walked straight toward the farming district.

Throughout the snowy winter, the entire farm had been in a state of suspended work.

But now that spring had arrived, it was time for those farmlands, frozen under thick snow for the whole winter, to be replowed.

After all, during this winter, Chairman Zhi Mi's restaurant had gained immense fame among the upper echelons of society not only in the Kalos region but also in several surrounding areas.

As the designated supplier farm for raw ingredients, his own farm had received purchase reservations pouring in like snowflakes just as spring began.

During the period Luo Mu went to the Hoenn region for a "vacation," Oranguru had even been forced to hand-craft an exclusive website for the farm just to handle these purchase reservations.

Although satisfying all buyers was currently impossible, resuming cultivation on the farm had become imperative.

Arriving at the farming district, Luo Mu saw Pokémon busily working in the neatly square fields.

Mudsdale and three Dugtrio joined forces, huffing and puffing as they turned over the farmland soil, which had ceased to be loose due to the low temperatures.

Compared to Mudsdale, which grew increasingly proficient and could till the land alone.

Although the three Dugtrio had learned the "Rototiller" move from Mudsdale, they lagged behind in both efficiency and effect.

However, considering this was their first time participating in spring replowing, such experience simply needed to be accumulated, so it wasn't a major issue.

On the other side, in the fields where tilling was already complete, many other Pokémon were also busy at work.

Politoed, Poliwhirl, and Ogerpon—most of these Pokémon possessing the convenient limb of "hands"—had joined the ranks sowing crop seeds.

The seeds had been purchased in advance by Luo Mu; thanks to improved experience, quite a few more varieties had been added compared to last year.

After they finished sowing one mu of farmland, the Hakamo waiting in the rear, led by the pink Hakamo, would ascend into the sky to summon brief rain clouds.

Once the entire farmland was thoroughly watered, it was then the turn of Bai Bai Pengpeng, Skiddo, and others, who had been standing by, to act.

A composite Grassy Terrain brimming with dense life energy spread out, bringing rich nutrients and vitality to the soil and the buried seeds.

Ever since receiving instruction in this move from Tapu Tapu Moumou, Luo Mu had never purchased chemical fertilizer again.

After all, the composite Grassy Terrain alone was sufficient to provide crops with ample nutrients.

Bai Bai Pengpeng and the others skillfully controlled the duration of the composite Grassy Terrain's coverage, dispersing the move immediately after leaving enough nutrients, even though continuing it could accelerate crop growth.

Such crops, which were akin to being force-ripened, had no such side effects and could greatly enhance the farm's yield.

Yet Luo Mu still resisted this temptation.

From beginning to end, he remained very clear about his reasons and intentions for establishing the farm.

Doing that would be putting the cart before the horse.

Not to mention, if he truly had such an idea, he could simply ask Lei Guan Wang to lend a hand.

With Lei Guan Wang's immense power, it could even make crops grow and mature in short bursts, round after round, to the point where the farm's yield could rival that of the entire Paldea region.

—This was the power of the Legendary Pokémon that presided over the concept of abundance.

But Luo Mu would not do that.

Luo Mu continued to inspect the farming district for a long while, even donning a straw hat himself to work alongside the Pokémon in the fields for an extended period.

"Let's stop about here for today; we'll continue with the rest tomorrow and the day after."

Clapping his hands to gather everyone together, Luo Mu announced that today's work had come to an end.

Nearby, the Oranguru, along with the Milcery wearing a chef's hat, the Audino, and the Falinks, began distributing delicious desserts to everyone after their labor.

Watching Okidogi and Tinkaton gobble down their food, a faint smile inevitably spread across Luo Mu's face.

After everyone dispersed to go their separate ways, Luo Mu did not return home with them; instead, he turned and walked toward the glass greenhouse built not far away.

Although he hadn't had time to check these past two days, according to what the Oranguru had said, the flowers planted in the glass greenhouse during winter should already be in full bloom.

Passing through the greenhouse's access control, the moment he entered the interior, Luo Mu immediately felt various floral scents wafting toward his nose.

Before him, colorful and diverse fresh flowers competed to bloom, resembling a flower field straight out of a fairy tale.

And in the center of this flower field, a special type of flower occupied a considerable area.

—Those were the Gladiolus flowers Luo Mu had brought back from Kitakami, gifted to him by Mr. Yukichu and Ms. Kibi.

At this moment, within the flower field, besides the Gladiolus flowers, quite a few Combee were also collecting pollen.

The Vespiquen was nowhere to be seen; she was likely staying inside the hive.

As for the Comfey, who had not appeared in the farming district just now and served as the leader for the combined Grassy Terrain, she was currently staying within the flower field as well.

And upon her floral ring, that "Eternal Flower" still bloomed vibrantly.

Meanwhile, a dark green, flatworm-like Pokémon also stayed quietly beside the Comfey.

That was precisely the shiny Zygarde Core temporarily residing at the farm.

At this moment, it gazed with a profound expression at the "Eternal Flower" on the Comfey's floral ring, its face filled with complex emotions.

(End of Chapter)