Chapter 74: With a Sidekick Growlithe

The Mudbray, leisurely munching grass, turned a deaf ear to everything outside; it only deigned to move a few steps when Luo Mu spoke.

After finishing the Mudbray's introduction, Luo Mu looked at the Swampert: "Swampert, stay behind after we dismiss everyone; we'll find a suitable spot to create a muddy area for the Mudbray to live in."

"Swamp."

The Swampert nodded, signifying its agreement.

As fellow Ground-type Pokémon, the Swampert held a fairly good impression of the Mudbray; this was merely a simple favor.

With all three new members introduced, just as Luo Mu was about to search for the Milcery, it drifted leisurely onto his palm on its own.

Even after suddenly changing environments, the Milcery's personality remained as lively as ever, its gaze curiously sizing up the other Pokémon.

After the Milcery appeared, the Pokémon's nostrils involuntarily twitched, faintly detecting a sweet fragrance permeating the air.

Especially the Dragonite; already fond of sweet things, it practically floated over to Luo Mu's side, its entire dragon face nearly pressing against the Milcery, making it look from the other Pokémon's perspective as though the Dragonite were about to swallow the Milcery whole.

The Milcery wasn't afraid of this suddenly approaching, magnified dragon face; instead, it giggled aloud, seemingly thinking the Dragonite was playing with it.

Luo Mu used one hand to push away the Dragonite, whose mouth corners showed suspicious glistening liquid, and said helplessly, "It's a Milcery; don't let its small, cute appearance fool you—it can produce sweet, delicious whipped cream for making desserts in the future."

Upon hearing "desserts," not only did the Dragonite's eyes shine even brighter, but even the Serperior, sitting in place with an unhappy expression, felt somewhat tempted.

Even Luo Mu thought that sweet, delicious desserts... they must surely be incredibly tasty, right?

The Serperior suddenly felt that adding a few new members wasn't a bad thing; after all, they couldn't shake its status, nor could they possess the confidence to sneak into Luo Mu's bed at night like it did.

This gathering was merely to let the four Pokémon become familiar faces before the Luxray and the others, preventing any misunderstandings where they might be mistaken for wild Pokémon intruding on the farm and get chased away directly.

Whether it was the Fidough or the Smoliv, both had lived their entire lives within the few acres of the Eli Farm; how could they possibly understand survival techniques in the wild? One careless mistake could lead to disaster.

After dismissing everyone, Luo Mu strolled through the pasture zone with the Swampert and the Mudbray.

At this moment, the pasture zone was completely covered with lush grass, ready at any time to welcome more Pokémon or ordinary cattle and sheep to settle in.

Due to the habits of this Mudbray species, although their usual food is still grass, muddy ground remains an indispensable existence for them.

Mudbray often need to play in mud to relax their minds and alleviate anxiety; for Luo Mu, who had recently been studying Pokémon psychology, creating a muddy area was a top priority.

Since the Mudbray was personally selected by Luo Mu, it had naturally shown affection toward him before being chosen, making communication quite convenient.

Luo Mu let it find a place it liked to create the muddy ground, which made the originally leisurely, almost dull Mudbray become excited.

The little donkey trotted with cheerful small hooves and, in no time, found a satisfactory location, situated right at the boundary between the pasture zone and the lake zone.

The Mudbray dug away the grass with its head, took a mouthful of soil, chewed for a moment, and then spat out the soft earth, which had turned into mud.

This was not the move Mud-Slap; it was simply a lump of plain mud created by the Mudbray.

So-called mud, in short, is just soil mixed with water.

Thus, the next task was very simple.

Luo Mu stepped back several paces with the Mudbray and then looked at the Swampert.

The Swampert nodded in understanding, gathered its energy for a moment, minimized the move's power as much as possible, and then—murky water surged outward from the Swampert as the center, churning constantly.

In the blink of an eye, a small, murky swamp had formed.

Seeing the swamp it had longed for, the Mudbray first affectionately nudged Luo Mu's pant leg, then, unable to suppress its excitement, galloped happily toward the swamp and began joyfully playing in the mud.

From now on, this swamp would be the Mudbray's home.

Luo Mu believed that even more Pokémon would settle here in the future.

Leaving the Mudbray temporarily in the Swampert's care, Luo Mu immediately rushed back home without stopping.

Besides the Mudbray, he still had to arrange accommodations for the other three Pokémon.

Opening the main door, the figures of the Pokémon that had returned indoors first came into view; Luo Mu's gaze swept around for a moment and quickly locked onto the Smoliv, following the three Bai Bai Pengpeng like a little sidekick.

The Bai Bai Pengpeng had just returned from the warehouse; normally, if the cotton fluff on a growing Bai Bai Pengpeng isn't used, it naturally sheds frequently, so they had developed the habit of going to the warehouse at fixed times to shed their fluff voluntarily.

Seemingly tired, the Bai Bai Pengpeng marched like soldiers in formation, moving in perfect unison directly to the third-floor balcony, where three flowerpots of suitable size were placed; on sunny days, they would take root inside them to rest, and at night, Luo Mu would move the pots back indoors.

Following routine, the Bai Bai Pengpeng jumped into the flowerpots one by one to take root, leaving the Smoliv behind, who looked around anxiously.

"Smo..."

There were only three flowerpots here, and the Smoliv, left all alone outside, felt extremely uneasy.

Seeing the Smoliv uneasy, the Bai Bai Pengpeng also became somewhat flustered; recalling Luo Mu's words entrusting the Smoliv to them, the leading Bai Bai Pengpeng hesitated for a moment before jumping out, intending to give its spot to the Smoliv.

The Smoliv hesitated for a moment, then, encouraged by the Bai Bai Pengpeng's sounds, timidly jumped into the flowerpot.

Feeling the sense of security coming from the soil, the Smoliv's tension finally eased, and its eyes squinted comfortably.

A moment later, the Smoliv opened its eyes and looked worriedly at the Bai Bai Pengpeng, its expression somewhat guilty.

It had taken the Bai Bai Pengpeng's flowerpot, so what should the Bai Bai Pengpeng do...

"Bai Pengpeng~"

The Bai Bai Pengpeng, experienced in taking care of children, smiled and made a sound, telling the Smoliv not to worry.

Even though it had given up its spot, Luo Mu would surely add a new one for it later; the Bai Bai Pengpeng saw this very clearly.

Witnessing everything, Luo Mu's lips curved upward; he simply felt exceptionally happy, believing that with Bai Bai Pengpeng's care, the Smoliv would surely integrate into the farm very quickly.

Turning to leave the third floor, Luo Mu planned to search the warehouse; he remembered buying a few extra flowerpots at the time of purchase, just in case.

After reaching the first floor, Luo Mu's gaze swept past the living room, and he suddenly saw a strange combination, feeling quite surprised.

Putting aside the fact that the Moltres looked a size fatter, the Pokémon trailing obediently behind the Growlithe... wasn't that the Fidough?

Luo Mu remembered handing the Fidough over to the steady chief steward, the Luxray, for care; how had the Fidough now become the Growlithe's little shadow?