Pokémon Egg

Los Platos was a quiet, peaceful little town, free of the clamor of big cities.

It was already four in the afternoon, and Luo Mu had to buy everything he needed before six.

This little town had no concept of overtime. When it was time, shops closed and stalls packed up, punctual to the minute.

The Entire pace of Los Platos was slow, perfectly embodying the saying: work at sunrise, rest at sunset.

As a small town, Los Platos had no large supermarkets, only a Farmers Market with fairly decent foot traffic.

During his stay at an inn in Los Platos, Luo Mu had figured out what was sold at this Farmers Market.

Aside from the roadside vendors around the perimeter selling crops grown on their own small plots of land, the inner area catered to merchants and individuals who needed to purchase goods in bulk.

Simply put, the inside was a wholesale market. Most commonly needed items could be bought here at wholesale prices.

After walking past the noisy vendor stalls, Luo Mu did not stop for their calls. He knew that most of These people represented the lowest standards in The Entire Farmers Market; rigged scales and passing off inferior goods as quality products were commonplace.

When Luo Mu had first arrived in Los Platos, he had come here once to buy apples. Perhaps because he was an unfamiliar face, he had not only run into rigged scales, but the vendor had also swapped out some of his apples while he was not paying attention. Some of those apples were overripe and had even begun to rot.

Perhaps because he had never stayed in one place for long during his travels, he had never encountered such things in the past year. Always believing that there probably were no dishonest merchants in the world of Pokémon, Luo Mu received his first harsh lesson from society at this Farmers Market.

Where there were bad people, there were naturally good people too.

At the time, Luo Mu had carried the apples farther into the Farmers Market. At a shop near the vendor stalls, a kind old grandmother had warned him, and only then did he realize he had been cheated.

Not giving the vendor a chance to slip away, Luo Mu immediately grabbed him and intended to send him to the Los Platos Police Station. Even the market administrator's attempts to smooth things over were useless.

After that, Luo Mu Became famous in one battle, and the dishonest merchants with stalls in the Farmers Market all went out of their way to avoid him.

But it seemed that after a month had passed, These people had forgotten about him. Otherwise, they would not have tried calling out to him.

Luo Mu ignored them and headed straight for the location of the shop he remembered.

Seed Wholesale

It was an extremely straightforward, utterly unadorned name.

The shop was not large, around thirty square meters or so. Most of the space was filled with neatly categorized seeds of various kinds.

At the entrance was an old-looking reclining chair. Lying on it was a kindly old grandmother with graying hair and pleasant features.

The old grandmother had her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling slowly, as though she had fallen into a light sleep.

Though she was only lightly asleep, the old grandmother was extremely sensitive to her surroundings. Before Luo Mu even approached, she opened her eyes and Looked at the visitor.

Seeing that the old grandmother was awake, Luo Mu smiled and gave a small wave. "Grandma Juzi, long time no see?"

"That voice... you are..." Juzi slowly took a pair of reading glasses from her pocket and put them on. After carefully looking Luo Mu over, her memories gradually returned, and a smile appeared on her wrinkled face. "It's Xiao Mu. Long time no see. How is your farm coming along?"

Luo Mu replied, "I've already mapped out the different areas. I came to buy some seeds from you."

"That's good, that's good!" Juzi nodded slightly, as though she were happy for Luo Mu, and the smile on her face grew warmer.

With Luo Mu supporting her, Juzi slowly stood up. She then led him into the shop and asked, "Have you thought about what crops you want to grow? Tell this old woman, and I can give you some advice. I've sold seeds for so many years, so I do have some experience."

Luo Mu looked around and found that there were quite a few kinds of seeds. He picked several names he had long decided on and listed them. "Potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, cabbage, and cucumbers."

"I want a small packet of each of these seeds. I plan to try growing them first, then buy them in bulk once I know there are no issues."

Juzi nodded as she listened. It seemed Luo Mu had done his homework well. These crops were all suitable for planting in the current season, and their growth cycles were not particularly long. As long as he could grow crops of normal quality, he would definitely make money.

After all, Luo Mu had taken over such a large stretch of wasteland. Conducting trial plantings in advance was indeed necessary and could reduce the chances of losses.

Juzi accurately picked out the kinds Luo Mu needed from the dazzling array of seeds, packed them into small bags, sealed them, and thoughtfully attached labels.

"Potato seeds are eighty per bag, cucumber seeds are one hundred and forty per bag. Take a look and see if there are any issues." Juzi read out the prices one by one from the price list posted on the wall.

Luo Mu nodded slightly. These prices were even a little cheaper than the ones Peter had quoted him, so naturally there was no issue.

The seeds for these five crops cost only 600 League currency in total. Compared to the cost of building the farm, it was practically dirt cheap.

Luo Mu paid directly, then accepted the bags of seeds from Juzi. He looked at them curiously. He had only seen what they looked like after growing, so this was his first time seeing the seeds themselves.

He examined the potatoes, cucumbers, and tomatoes one by one. Then, when he noticed a sixth bag of seeds and saw its label, Luo Mu suddenly froze.

Strawberry Seeds?

Luo Mu Looked at Juzi with a puzzled expression. "Grandma Juzi, did you give me an extra bag of seeds?"

Seeing that Luo Mu had noticed, Juzi smiled. "You young people really do have sharp eyes. A bag of Strawberry Seeds is not worth much, so consider it a small gift from this old woman to celebrate your farm officially beginning operations."

"I can't accept this."

Luo Mu wanted to return the seeds to Juzi. If he accepted this bag of Strawberry Seeds, Juzi would definitely not earn a single cent from this sale. She might even lose money on it.

"Just take it." Juzi waved her hand and refused to accept the seeds Luo Mu offered back. During their polite back-and-forth, Juzi noticed the Poké Ball hanging from Luo Mu's waist. She suddenly remembered something, and her eyes lit up slightly. "How about you do this old woman a favor in exchange for that bag of Strawberry Seeds?"

When Juzi saw Luo Mu stop moving, she immediately briskly walked to a cabinet at the very back of the shop. Taking out a key, she opened the small lock and carefully carried an oval object out from inside.

Juzi said, "This old woman remembers that you're a Trainer. If possible, could you try taking care of this Pokémon Egg?"

As she spoke, the Pokémon Egg in Juzi's arms slowly emerged from the darkness into the light with her steps, revealing its true appearance.

It was an unknown Pokémon Egg with a red base covered in gray-black stripes.

Meanwhile, South District One, Lighthouse Research Institute.

After bidding farewell to Dragonite, Arven sprinted home with an excited look on his face. When he saw the darkened room and the note on the table, he instantly understood something.

Arven's arm slowly fell to his side, and his eyes began to redden.

After a long while, Arven lowered his head and murmured in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "Liar."