A Bountiful Farm

Pawmi was sent flying by Flame Wheel, landing on the ground and gasping heavily. It could not get back up for quite a while, and several patches of its orange fur had been singed black.

At that moment, Arven called out, "That's enough!"

"I lost." The energy Nemona had gathered dissipated, and a blank look crossed her face for an instant. Before she could even dwell on losing her first battle, she hurried over to scoop Pawmi into her arms and said softly, "You did well."

Though they had stopped at the right moment, Nemona knew very well that if the battle had continued, Pawmi would definitely have lost.

"Good job. Let's head back and get something extra to eat." Luo Mu bent down and patted Growlithe, then walked over to Nemona and praised her. "It's hard to imagine this was your first Pokémon battle. There weren't any fatal mistakes in your commands throughout."

"Teacher?" Nemona's eyes widened.

"However." As Luo Mu examined Pawmi's injuries, he pointed out, "There are two issues you urgently need to improve."

"First, Pawmi's Thunder Shock has too long of a windup. It even closes its eyes during the attack instead of properly aiming at Growlithe, making it far too easy to dodge."

"Second, Pawmi severely lacks strength. That's why Growlithe could withstand its attack and counterattack."

"Before my classes begin, you can try training those two aspects."

Luo Mu's words left Nemona deep in thought. In just a few brief exchanges, Teacher Luo Mu had spotted so many problems?

Luo Mu smiled. "There's no need to understand it all at once. Take Pawmi to the infirmary for treatment first, then think it over slowly."

Luo Mu's reminder jolted Nemona awake. Seeing Pawmi's injuries in her arms, she felt deeply guilty.

After a battle, she should have treated her partner immediately. The rest could wait until later!

Nemona gave him a grateful slight bow, then greeted Arven before rushing frantically toward the infirmary.

Arven, who had walked over, muttered, "She really is like the wind."

"That's just how she is." Luo Mu picked up Growlithe and walked over with a smile.

"Brother Luo Mu..." Arven guiltily looked away.

"At school, you should call me Teacher!" Luo Mu slapped Arven hard enough to make him stagger, then ignored his slightly resentful gaze and asked, "How did the talk with your parents go?"

"It was... fine, I guess." The corners of Arven's mouth lifted slightly.

Arven recalled how, after he went home, Olin and Futu had unexpectedly slept in his room. Sitting on the same bed, they had told him all about their dreams. They had also promised that even if their busy work in the coming year kept them from returning home often, they would still make time to stay in contact with him whenever possible.

"Oh?" Luo Mu studied Arven's expression thoughtfully.

It seemed things were slowly heading in a better direction.

Arven felt uncomfortable under Luo Mu's gaze and changed the subject. "By the way, Teacher Luo Mu, did this Growlithe hatch from that Pokémon Egg?"

Luo Mu nodded. "That's right. This little guy gave me quite a bit of trouble. It only hatched three days ago."

"Three days..."

Arven's eye twitched slightly. This Growlithe had only been hatched for three days and already had this kind of fighting ability? Good thing Nemona did not know.

Arven tentatively held out a hand in front of Growlithe. Seeing that it had no intention of attacking him, he gently stroked it. Feeling its somewhat unusual texture, Arven murmured, "It's a little different from the Growlithe I remember."

Luo Mu smiled without directly answering Arven. "Remember to tell Professor Sada and the others that the Pokémon Egg has hatched, so they don't have to keep worrying about it."

Without thinking much of it, Arven nodded. "Okay. I'll mention it when they call tonight."

As soon as he finished speaking, Arven suddenly realized what had happened. Seeing the look of triumph on Luo Mu's face, how could he not know that Luo Mu had tricked him into revealing it?

A sly smile appeared on Luo Mu's face. Freeing one hand, he poked Arven. "So you've made up, haven't you? And you were still trying to hide it from me."

Arven's face immediately turned bright red as he snapped angrily, "You set me up!"

After teasing Arven for a while and watching him run off in a huff, Luo Mu borrowed several books from the library related to planting and breeding.

According to the faculty and staff meeting, his First Lesson had been arranged for three days later. Although most teachers stayed at Naranja Academy even when they had no classes, Luo Mu was clearly not one of them.

Luo Mu, who kept work and life strictly separate, left Naranja Academy with the books. Taking advantage of Growlithe's momentum, he also had Ceruledge train with it in the wilderness for a while.

Growlithe's training was simple. Aside from basic physical training, it had to evade Ceruledge's deliberately restrained slashes.

Holding the exhausted, panting Growlithe, Luo Mu summoned Dragonite and flew toward Los Platos.

The day after leaving Naranja Academy.

In front of the Farming Area, every member of the farm had come out in full force.

"Heave-ho!"

Luo Mu placed five large baskets, prepared long ago, in front of the Experimental Field one after another. Like a general inspecting troops, he swept his gaze across the fourteen main members of the day.

Luo Mu's face was full of emotion as he spread his arms and declared, "Today is the day our farm reaps its harvest! At the same time, it is the day we announce that our farm can truly begin operating!"

More than a dozen Pokémon cried out excitedly and turned their gazes toward the Experimental Field.

Five plots of land were filled with bright red strawberries, deep emerald-green cucumbers glistening with moisture, plump cabbages, eggplants, and tomatoes.

Under the care of Serperior, Eldegoss, and the others, every crop had borne abundant fruit.

Luo Mu strolled over to the strawberry patch, where a rich fruity fragrance filled the air. He picked a strawberry and slowly placed it in his mouth to taste it.

It had just the right balance of sweetness and tartness. The pale flesh was juicy, and after savoring it, there was even a faint lingering sweetness.

Luo Mu's eyes lit up slightly. He immediately bent down and began harvesting the strawberries from the small Experimental Field.

The other Pokémon followed his example.

Serperior's Vine Whip wrapped around cucumber after cucumber and gently placed them into the large baskets. Swampert and Dragonite lifted cabbages still gleaming with droplets of water.

Every Pokémon's face was filled with the joy of harvest, as well as anticipation for the meals Luo Mu had promised to make with these crops.

Working together, they filled all five large baskets to the brim in just over an hour.

After picking the final eggplant and placing it into a basket, Luo Mu saw that every Pokémon had more or less gotten dirt on them. Smiling, he said, "Everyone, go wash up at Thunderclap Lake first. Leave the cooking to me."

The dozen or so Pokémon all cheered.