Pokémon Egg

Pingdie Town was a peaceful, quiet little town, free of the noise and bustle of big cities.

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

This town had no concept of overtime. Shops closed and vendors packed up right on schedule.

Pingdie Town moved at a leisurely pace, truly living by the saying, "Rise at sunrise and rest at sunset."

As a small town, Pingdie Town had no large supermarkets, just a farmers' market that drew a decent crowd.

During his stay at an inn in Pingdie Town, Luo Mu had familiarized himself with what the farmers' market had to offer.

Beyond the peddlers' stalls around the perimeter, where locals sold crops from their own small plots, the inner section catered to merchants and individuals who needed to buy in bulk.

In short, the inside was a wholesale market. It carried just about anything people commonly needed, all at wholesale prices.

Luo Mu walked past the noisy stalls without stopping for the vendors' hawking. He knew that many of them were the worst the market had to offer, and dishonest scales and inferior goods sold as quality merchandise were commonplace.

When Luo Mu had first settled in Pingdie Town, he'd once come here to buy apples. Perhaps because he was a stranger, he'd not only been cheated by a rigged scale, but the vendor had also swapped out some of his apples while he wasn't looking. Some of them were overripe and even starting to rot.

Perhaps because he'd never stayed long in one place during his travels, he'd gone a whole year without encountering anything like this. He'd always thought there couldn't be dishonest merchants in the Pokémon world, but at this farmers' market, Luo Mu got his first harsh lesson in the ways of the world.

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

At the time, Luo Mu had continued farther into the farmers' market with the apples in hand. Near the peddlers' stalls, a kindly old woman at a shop had warned him, and only then had he realized he'd been swindled.

Luo Mu hadn't given the vendor a chance to get away. He'd grabbed him on the spot and planned to take him to the Pingdie Town police station. Even the market administrator's attempt to smooth things over hadn't worked.

After that, Luo Mu had become famous overnight, and the dishonest vendors at the farmers' market made a point of steering clear of him.

But it seemed a month had been long enough for them to forget he existed. Otherwise, they wouldn't have tried calling out to him.

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

[Seed Wholesale]

A plain, straightforward name that left nothing to the imagination.

The shop wasn't large, maybe a little over thirty square meters. Most of the space was filled with different kinds of seeds, neatly sorted into categories.

Outside the shop stood an old-looking recliner. A kindly old woman with white hair and pleasant features was lying on it.

The old woman's eyes were closed, and her chest rose and fell slowly. She seemed to have drifted into a light sleep.

Though she was only lightly dozing, the old woman was quite alert to her surroundings. Before Luo Mu had even reached her, she opened her eyes and looked toward him.

Seeing that she was awake, Luo Mu smiled and gave a small wave in greeting. "Grandma Juzi, it's been a long time."

"That voice... You're..." Juko slowly took a pair of reading glasses from her pocket and put them on. After studying Luo Mu carefully, her memories gradually returned. A smile appeared on her deeply wrinkled face. "It's little Mu! It's been a long time. How's your farm coming along?"

Luo Mu replied, "I've finished planning out the different areas. I was just about to come buy some seeds from you."

"That's good, that's good!" Juko nodded slightly, as if happy for him, and her smile grew even warmer.

With Luo Mu's help, Juko slowly got to her feet, then led him inside the shop. "Have you thought about what crops you want to grow? Tell me, and I'll give you some advice. I've been selling seeds for years, so I've picked up a bit of experience."

Luo Mu looked around and saw that there were quite a few kinds of seeds. He listed the ones he'd already picked out in his mind. "Potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, cabbage, and cucumbers."

"I'd like a small packet of each, so I can try growing them first. If everything goes well, I'll buy them in bulk."

Juko listened and nodded. It seemed Luo Mu had done his homework. All these crops were suitable for planting this time of year, and their growing cycles weren't too long. As long as he could grow crops of decent quality, he was sure to make money.

After all, Luo Mu had taken over such a large stretch of wasteland. It made sense to test things out with a small planting first and reduce the risk of losing money.

Juko picked out exactly the seeds Luo Mu needed from the dazzling assortment, sealed them in small bags, and even thoughtfully labeled them.

"Potato seeds are eighty a packet, and cucumber seeds are one hundred and forty a packet. Take a look and see if that sounds right," Juko said, reading each price from the list on the wall.

Luo Mu nodded slightly. The prices were even a little lower than what Peter had quoted him, so he had no complaints.

All five kinds of seeds cost just 600 League currency. Compared to the cost of setting up a farm, it was practically dirt cheap.

Luo Mu paid at once and took the bags of seeds from Juko. He looked at them with curiosity. He'd only ever seen the plants once they'd grown, so this was his first time seeing their seeds.

He examined the potato, cucumber, and tomato seeds one by one. Then he noticed a sixth bag among them, and froze when he saw its label.

Strawberry seeds?

Luo Mu looked at Juko in confusion. "Grandma Juzi, did you accidentally give me an extra bag?"

Seeing that Luo Mu had noticed, Juko smiled. "You young people certainly have sharp eyes. A bag of strawberry seeds isn't worth much. Think of it as a small present from me to celebrate your farm finally getting ready to start up."

"How can I accept that?"

Luo Mu tried to return them to Juko. If he accepted the bag of strawberry seeds, Juko would make nothing on the sale, and might even lose money.

"Just take them," Juko said, waving her hand and refusing to accept the seeds Luo Mu offered her. As she did, she noticed the Poké Ball hanging at his waist. An idea suddenly came to her, and her eyes lit up. "How about you do me a favor in exchange for the strawberry seeds?"

When Luo Mu paused, Juko hurried to the cabinet at the very back of the shop. She took out a key, unlocked the small cabinet, and carefully lifted out an oval-shaped object.

Juko said, "I remember you're a Trainer. If you're willing, could you try looking after this Pokémon Egg?"

As Juko walked, the Pokémon Egg in her arms slowly emerged from the shadows and into the light, revealing its appearance.

It was an unfamiliar Pokémon Egg with a red base and gray-black stripes.

Meanwhile, at the Lighthouse Institute in South District 1.

Pepper, having bid farewell to Dragonite, raced home in excitement. When he saw the darkened room and the note on the table, he immediately understood.

Pepper's arm slowly fell to his side, and the corners of his eyes began to redden.

After a long moment, Pepper lowered his head and murmured in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz, "Liar."