Chapter 89: Night Sky

The next day.

The direct flight from Paldea to Alola booked by Geeta would begin boarding at 5:00 PM and take off promptly at 5:30 PM.

Luo Mu and Kukui had only a little over half a day left to prepare.

"Then I'll go buy enough Pokémon food and Energy Cubes first!"

Kukui mounted on the back of his Braviary, tipped his cap to bid Luo Mu a dashing farewell, but Luo Mu's reply nearly made Kukui lose his balance and fall off the Braviary's back.

Luo Mu grinned mischievously: "Be careful not to encounter another disaster, okay!"

Kukui couldn't hold it in anymore; he replied with a bitter smile: "The weather is very good today, it won't happen!"

Luo Mu looked up at the sky, nodded thoughtfully.

Indeed, the weather was very good today; most places in the Paldea region enjoyed a cloudless sky, with no storms or thunderstorms in sight whatsoever.

After watching Kukui fly far away on the back of his Braviary, Luo Mu stretched, raised a hand to shield his eyes from the dazzlingly clear sunlight, and muttered to himself: "I should get my own preparations done as well!"

The farm lacked the large number of livestock that would normally need management in the pasture and lake areas, so arranging things wasn't difficult.

Luo Mu had already finished selecting the Pokémon to take along to the Alola region.

Ordinary new trainers were limited to carrying six Poké Balls, mainly out of concern that as newcomers they wouldn't be able to care for a large number of Pokémon; six was just the right amount.

As a Champion-rank trainer, Luo Mu himself had no upper limit on the number he could carry, but he couldn't possibly take all the farm's Pokémon with him, so he had to make choices.

First was Dragonite; to ensure mobility, Dragonite would always be Luo Mu's first choice when selecting Pokémon to bring along.

Called upon, Dragonite became extremely excited, snorting breath from its nostrils and raising both arms to display its strength.

Next were the main stars for this short trip: three Whimsicott and a Serperior, whose goal was to learn Grassy Terrain.

Whimsicott bounced around energetically, looking very forward to this outing, while Serperior's enthusiasm was somewhat low; the reason lay in the fact that it had learned Grassy Terrain countless times without much progress, so it didn't hold much hope for this trip either.

For the sixth Pokémon, Luo Mu chose Mimikyu; although there were many Mimikyu distributed across the Paldea region, if one spoke of Mimikyu's origin, it was undoubtedly the Alola region, and Luo Mu wanted to take it along to see the scenery along the way in Alola.

For the seventh Pokémon, Luo Mu selected Mudbray; this child was calm and steady when it couldn't find mud to play with, so it might get along well upon meeting Tapu Bulu, and perhaps Tapu Bulu could impart the essence of the plowing move to it.

Truly annoyed by the system constantly clamoring in his mind, insisting he pay attention to developing his strength even while traveling, Luo Mu chose Growlithe as the final Pokémon.

These were the Pokémon Luo Mu planned to carry with him; during this period, Minccino had been following the Whimsicott to learn, so taking care of the farmland shouldn't be a problem.

As for the farm's security, even though Luo Mu would be away for a week, Luxray, Ceruledge, and Swampert—three major combat forces—would guard the place; as for Moltres... well, it could barely fly, so at best one could hope it would eat less and not devour the seven days' worth of stored provisions.

"Luxray, Ceruledge, and Swampert, I'm leaving the home in your care; you must protect the partners in the farm, and prioritize the partners above all else."

Luo Mu summoned the three Pokémon who felt somewhat dejected at being left behind; come to think of it, the coming week might be the first time they had been separated from him for so long, so feeling dejected was only natural.

Thinking thus, Luo Mu patted each of their heads in turn; although the three male Pokémon were shy, they did not dodge.

Poliwag, bringing along Poliwag, Milcery, Fidough, and Minccino, all gathered around; they too were unaccustomed to Luo Mu suddenly departing on a long journey, so helplessly, Luo Mu could only comfort each of them in turn, promising to bring back local specialties when he returned from Alola.

Although comforting each Pokémon one by one was a tedious and energy-consuming task, Luo Mu found joy in it.

Unknowingly, he had accumulated so many attachments here on the farm, and he greatly enjoyed this feeling.

Off to the side, Moltres had waited for ages without receiving any instructions from Luo Mu; its gaze kept shifting between Luo Mu and the empty air. Although it hadn't been captured in a Poké Ball, it was at least a member of this farm; did Luo Mu not intend to say a single word to it?

Moltres's gaze was simply too obvious; it was hard for Luo Mu not to notice, and he couldn't help but laugh: "I'm counting on you for the home's safety as well, Moltres."

Moltres puffed out its chest, indicating that as long as it was here, any evil spirits or monsters that dared to invade would be burned to crisp charcoal by it!

Luo Mu broke out in a cold sweat: "Let's skip the 'crisp charcoal' part; if it's a person, just catch them and deliver them to Miss Miss Junsha..."

He really didn't want to receive a phone call from Miss Miss Junsha while he was far away in Alola.

Kukui soon returned fully loaded; enough Pokémon food and Energy Cubes to feed all the farm's Pokémon for two weeks were delivered back via air express.

Kukui explained that it was best to be prepared for every eventuality; preparing just enough food for one week was too prone to problems.

Luo Mu expressed his agreement with this.

Time flew by in a flash; soon it was time for the two of them to depart. After tirelessly informing Luxray and the others of the food storage locations once more, Luo Mu mounted Dragonite and, under the unwavering gazes of the farm's many Pokémon, set off for Levincia together with Kukui, who rode his Braviary.

After Luo Mu's figure completely vanished from sight, the Pokémon still sat blankly in place for nearly half an hour before slowly beginning to move about on its own.

Luxray increased the density of its patrols across the farm, Swampert stayed in Thunder Cry Lake to guard the lake and pasture areas, and Ceruledge, like a silent knight, protected the young Pokémon playing carefree in the farm from the shadows.

Even Moltres flew up to the roof of the small villa, closing its eyes to rest while keeping watch over the farm from the position with the best vantage point.

With such a lineup, even Hunter J would probably find it hard to succeed.

Late at night, Luo Mu, already aboard the direct flight from Paldea to Alola, leaned against the airplane window, boredly gazing at the "clear" cloudless night sky.

The cabin lights had been extinguished; the surrounding environment was very dim, relying only on the faint starlight from the night sky to see anything around.

Come to think of it, this was his first time flying on an airplane in the Pokémon world; whether he was worried the plane might be shot down by a passing Rayquaza or simply unaccustomed to not having his Pokémon companions beside him, he was actually experiencing some insomnia now.

Almost all the airplane passengers had already fallen fast asleep; even Kukui in the seat next to him was drooling, sleeping very soundly.

(End of Chapter)