Chapter 692: A City Filled with Water Vapor, A Pokémon Suspected to Be Suicune

Steam swirled everywhere, resembling a fairyland.

This was the current state of Glass Bottle City.

"Is this... water vapor?"

Pulling the handbrake, Luo Mu stuck his head out of the car window, gazing at the mist swirling over the streets before him; his head was full of question marks.

Where in the world has this brought me?

Although Glass Bottle City was located very close to the Scorching Desert, one could even say that the city's site was originally part of the Scorching Desert itself.

It was merely a rare oasis within that desert.

But regardless, Glass Bottle City should not have looked like this.

Even in Lavaridge Town, the Hot Spring Capital that Luo Mu had visited not long ago, an environment filled with hot springs everywhere still hadn't resulted in streets and alleys being completely filled with water vapor like in Glass Bottle City.

Pedestrians passing by the pickup truck all looked hurried, seemingly unwilling to linger outdoors for even a moment.

Many vehicles currently driving on the streets had also stopped and pulled over to the roadside; the drivers and passengers inside were hesitating over whether to get out.

The once orderly Glass Bottle City now faintly gave the impression of being on the verge of descending into chaos.

The only thing that could be considered comforting was that, likely because the coverage area of the water vapor was so vast, its temperature had not yet reached the scalding levels of high-temperature steam capable of burning people.

If it truly had reached that point, the streets of Glass Bottle City at this moment would be facing far more than just a hint of unrest.

Luo Mu turned his head to look at Lei Guan Wang sitting in the passenger seat; as if knowing what he wanted to ask, the latter shook its head, and a telepathic voice rang out.

"This water vapor contains no energy; it is simply produced by heating up ordinary water resources."

"In all bodies of water, pools, and waterways within this city that my telekinesis can scan, the water temperature remains in a state of rising."

"So, it's not impossible that someone is deliberately heating this water, then..."

Luo Mu murmured in a low voice, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

Lei Guan Wang also nodded in agreement.

However, if it was just water vapor permeating the air, they didn't need to go to great lengths to investigate the cause; they could simply leave it to the city's administrators to handle.

After all, judging by the current situation, apart from the increased humidity in the air and limited visibility, this water vapor had not yet caused any overly severe impact on Glass Bottle City.

Luo Mu restarted the pickup truck's engine, his destination still the feed shop recommended by Grandma Kiku, and began driving slowly through the streets.

Just as mentioned earlier, with limited visibility, driving carelessly could very easily lead to scrapes or even car accidents.

—Though with Lei Guan Wang present, the final outcome would most likely be both cars being lifted up by telekinesis anyway.

The entire Glass Bottle City was divided into three tiers, and the feed shop Luo Mu was targeting was located in the second-tier district.

To reach the second tier, one had to travel back and forth via a massive elevator.

There were elevators for pedestrians and others for passing vehicles.

However, just as Luo Mu followed the flow of traffic to the vehicle-dedicated elevator, a group of people wearing work uniforms came running over.

One of them, a middle-aged man who appeared more mature and was wearing a hard hat, waved the baton in his hand, then leaned down and lightly tapped on Luo Mu's tightly closed car window, which was shut to prevent water vapor from entering.

Thump, thump, thump—

The moment Luo Mu rolled down the window, the man's slightly apologetic voice drifted through the gap along with the water vapor.

"Sorry, due to the influence of the moisture contained within the water vapor, the elevator's electrical circuits might pose a risk of electric leakage; passage here is temporarily unavailable."

After saying this, the man jogged over to the car behind Luo Mu's and began repeating the same actions he had just performed.

Luo Mu saw it all very clearly through the rearview mirror.

At the same time, in several surrounding lanes, people dressed in similar attire were running back and forth, notifying everyone of the unexpected situation that the elevators were temporarily unusable.

Gradually, those anxious to reach the second and third tiers began to complain, but those workers could only repeat their apologies.

After all, as long as there was a safety risk, no one could be allowed to use the elevators under any circumstances.

A similar situation was occurring at the pedestrian elevators on the other side.

In the end, both vehicles and pedestrians had no choice but to turn back and go home.

Seeing the surrounding traffic flow beginning to make U-turns and leave, the pickup truck driven by Luo Mu showed no intention of starting its engine.

Returning from the end of the traffic queue, the middle-aged man who had been nagged at all the way looked at this scene and his face turned bitter again.

If he went to remind them again, he would probably just get complained at or scolded once more.

He could only hope that the young fellow wouldn't have too short a temper.

But before he could approach the pickup truck, he discovered a powerful surge of telekinesis pouring out from within it, which directly lifted the entire pickup truck into mid-air, steadily ascending to the second tier.

"... It can be done like this?"

The middle-aged man's eyes bulged like copper bells, his mouth gaping open in shock wide enough to stuff a duck egg inside.

But he quickly recovered; having worked for many years, the actions of that pickup truck's owner immediately gave him inspiration.

Grabbing his apprentice, who was similarly being nagged at relentlessly, he instructed, "Quick! Contact headquarters and see if we can mobilize a batch of Psychic-type Pokémon!"

"The number must be large; otherwise, relying solely on the power of a few Psychic-type Pokémon, it's impossible to perform the task of lifting heavy vehicles up to the second tier using telekinesis."

As he spoke these words, the image of the large-headed Pokémon sitting in the passenger seat, which he had vaguely seen through the young man's face when he first tapped on the window, floated in the middle-aged man's mind.

Lifting that pickup truck to the second tier so casually; it seemed that Pokémon, which was most likely a Psychic-type, was quite powerful...

At the same time.

While those below were busy working, Luo Mu, having ascended to the second-tier area with Lei Guan Wang's help, had already driven his car to the front of the target feed shop.

Parking the pickup truck in a designated parking space by the roadside, Luo Mu unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the door, and got out together with Lei Guan Wang, walking straight into the feed shop.

—However, just as they had vaguely suspected in their hearts.

The young female shop manager was wearing a worried expression as she directed her own Chatot to flap its wings, employing "bird labor" to execute the move "Defog."

Unfortunately, the water vapor had already permeated nearly the entire Glass Bottle City, naturally including the second-tier area; no matter how the Chatot flapped its wings to create air currents and disperse the vapor, new water vapor would soon rush in through the gaps.

Soon, this large parrot, standing sixty centimeters tall, was so exhausted that it stuck out its tongue.

"I don't know where all that food you eat every day goes; you're out of energy so quickly."

The female shopkeeper complained with a mix of frustration and disappointment, only to be met with the Angry Parrot's "noise attack" born of shame turning into rage.

Unable to bear watching any longer and unwilling to suffer the same noise attack, Luo Mu attempted to insert himself between the quarreling human and bird.

"Um... how about we close the door first?"

"If we do that, the only places water vapor can enter will be those cracks."

His words finally made the oblivious pair notice the customer who had been standing at the shop entrance for quite some time.

With the shop closed, the influx of water vapor finally decreased somewhat.

The female manager, her face full of apology, demonstrated to Luo Mu exactly what "craftsman spirit" meant by bowing deeply.

"Hongdou ni si mi ma sai!" (I'm so sorry!)

"We really didn't mean to leave you, our valued customer, waiting!"

While speaking, the female manager even pressed her own stubborn Angry Parrot, who would rather die than surrender, into apologizing alongside her.

Luo Mu, however, felt there had been no neglect; besides, watching her bicker with her own Pokémon was quite entertaining, so he hurriedly said, "It's no big deal, you don't need to worry about it."

"By the way, you must be Miss Miu Lan that Grandma Grandma Ju Zi mentioned?"

"Yes, Miu Lan is indeed me."

The female manager, Miu Lan, first nodded blankly, then realized what was happening, her eyes lighting up slightly.

"I get it! Could it be that you're the farm owner Grandma Grandma Ju Zi said would be coming today to purchase fish feed?"

A few years ago, she had worked part-time at Grandma Grandma Ju Zi's shop; later, after saving up some money, she opened this feed store in Bottle City.

Only now, having seen much more of the world, did she understand that back then, such a tiny shop could easily be managed by Grandma Grandma Ju Zi alone, and hiring her was purely due to the old woman's kindness.

This realization instantly made Miu Lan enthusiastic toward Luo Mu, who had been introduced by Grandma Grandma Ju Zi.

"Indeed, it is me." Luo Mu nodded with a smile, his gaze sweeping around the shop once more, "But given the current situation..."

Miu Lan naturally understood his unspoken meaning and said with a bitter expression, "I know what you're worried about."

"Indeed, whether opened or unopened, none of the feed displayed on the shelves can be sold anymore."

In this environment filled with water vapor, the effects were far more severe than in any ordinary damp conditions.

Damp feed might still have a chance of being saved, but this feed, which continuously absorbed moisture, rapidly softened and expanded, and would eventually grow mold and spoil over time, was certainly very difficult to salvage.

After all, higher temperatures combined with high humidity would promote the proliferation of molds and bacteria, triggering spoilage even faster than in ordinary damp environments.

Luo Mu nodded to show his understanding and casually asked Miu Lan, "Do you know how long this water-vapor-filled environment has lasted?"

"Hmm, let me calculate... it should have started last night, so by now, it's been nearly a full day," said Miu Lan, trying hard to recall.

"I heard that Miss Miss Junsha has already started leading people to investigate the cause and has invited some Trainers to help; it seems the Gym Leader Mr. is also involved."

"But there's still no movement so far..."

"A full day, huh..."

Luo Mu stroked his chin, lost in thought.

In a city like Bottle City, it was only natural that specialists would be assigned to investigate such matters.

But with nearly a day passing and still no movement, it seemed the problem was either not difficult to solve, or the cause hadn't been discovered yet.

As if she had finally found a tree hollow to pour her heart out to, Miu Lan's words suddenly became dense and rapid.

"Yes, I heard from Brother Ah Qiang next door at the fish shop that many ornamental fish or food fish raised in private ponds are suffering from oxygen deprivation due to the temperature changes, resulting in mass deaths."

"Aquatic Pokémon are holding up better, but I've also heard that some have already started falling ill."

"No one knows when this matter will be resolved."

"Fortunately, I still have quite a bit of stock stored in the basement where the water vapor can't reach temporarily, but I can't sell it to you right now, given the outside conditions as you know—"

Luo Mu nodded and completed Miu Lan's unfinished sentence, "Feed that can be stored for a long time will spoil quickly once exposed to water vapor."

"Right?" Miu Lan nodded in sync with her Angry Parrot, her face full of regret, "So I'm very sorry, but I temporarily cannot sell you the fish feed you want."

Miu Lan had expected to see disappointment on Luo Mu's face, but instead found him pondering something.

After a moment, Luo Mu responded, "It's fine; the incident will be resolved very soon."

"Huh?"

Miu Lan was slightly stunned; just as she was about to ask Luo Mu if he knew some inside information, she noticed him exchanging a glance with that Pokémon which had remained silent all along, whose head was inexplicably large and looked just like a piece of broccoli.

The next instant, accompanied by a slight distortion of space, the figures of Luo Mu and Lei Guan Wang vanished completely.

Only Luo Mu's final words remained lingering in the air.

"I'll come visit again later."

Miu Lan fell silent for a long time, staring wide-eyed at her Angry Parrot.

Her puzzled voice echoed within the shop, which was still filled with a slight amount of water vapor.

"Was that... Teleport?"

In merely the blink of an eye, the scene before Luo Mu shifted from the interior of the feed store to a tall building surrounded by swirling water vapor.

Hanging above the building was a plaque composed of several large characters.

【Bottle City Municipal Government】

"Let's go."

Having arrived at their destination, Luo Mu wasted no words; bringing Lei Guan Wang along, he walked straight into the building.

Without him needing to explain, his purpose should already be evident.

—To go directly to the person in charge and inquire about the progress of the incident.

If there were any unsolvable problems, he would simply solve them himself if he could.

It was that simple.

Of course, Luo Mu also knew that mere water vapor wouldn't actually affect his ability to purchase fish feed.

After all, Lei Guan Wang beside him could completely use psychic powers to teleport the feed outside the range covered by water vapor, or even deliver it directly to the farm.

—But Luo Mu felt this simply wouldn't do.

He was just here to buy some fish feed; why did he have to go through so many twists and turns?

Therefore, he decided to join Lei Guan Wang in directly extinguishing the source of this incident.

No one along the way would stop him; after all, as a worker at the city hall managed by the Paldea League, most people recognized him as this Champion-level Trainer whose appearances had been increasing recently.

Thus, Luo Mu proceeded unimpeded all the way to the Market Office inside the city hall.

However, unexpectedly, after the secretary waiting outside the door went in to report and then opened the door to indicate he could enter directly—

when Luo Mu stepped into the Mayor's Office, he discovered the place was quite lively.

The Mayor of Cortondo, a bunch of officials whose titles Luo Mu couldn't name, Mr. Master Haidai the Gym Leader of Cortondo, Miss Miss Junsha, and quite a few police officers were all gathered here.

It appeared they were holding a meeting.

On the whiteboard at the very front, covered in writing, was posted a slightly blurry photograph of a Pokémon.

Noticing the appearance of the Pokémon in that photograph, Luo Mu paused slightly in surprise.

Was that Suicune?

(End of Chapter)