Recruiting a New Member

Polliwag leaped out of the water in a beautiful arc, its small feet, the same color as its body, landing on the wet ground and splashing a small amount of water.

After reaching the land, Polliwag didn't rush to practice walking. Instead, it let out a few calls at the calm water surface.

Seeing this, Luo Mu and Luxray paused, intending to see what Polliwag was up to.

Polliwag continuously called out to the water surface with encouraging cries, its expression seeming a bit anxious.

After about a minute, a cluster of dense bubbles appeared on the calm water surface, as if something was surfacing. Moments later, three small heads, looking very similar to Polliwag, emerged from the water.

Clearly, these were three more Polliwags.

The four Polliwags seemed to be a group of companions, and the first one that emerged was clearly the leader of the group.

The first Polliwag, which had leaped out of the water alone, continuously opened and closed its thick lips, as if trying to persuade the three Polliwags in the water to be brave and not to be afraid.

The three Polliwags hesitated for a moment, but ultimately swayed out of the water and onto the land, cautiously following their leader as they swayed and practiced walking.

Luo Mu, watching from a distance, murmured, "Not bad."

Polliwags, as Pokémon, do not have feet when they first hatch from their Pokémon Eggs. They are like tadpoles in their metamorphosis period, only growing feet after a period of growth.

These Pokémon seem to have a deep-seated desire for land. After growing feet, even if the ground is full of unknown dangers, they will still risk landing and practicing walking.

Luo Mu was most surprised by the leading Polliwag, which had already shown considerable courage and excellent leadership skills at this early stage.

With a little training, it would definitely have the potential to evolve into a Politoed!

Luo Mu instantly decided to take all four of these Polliwags with him!

Speaking of capturing Pokémon, there are generally only three methods.

The first is food temptation. Delicious food prepared by humans is incredibly attractive to wild Pokémon. In all regions, there are frequent occurrences of wild Pokémon stealing food or attacking Trainers because of the food in their backpacks.

There are only a few types of food in the wild that can provide energy. For example, individual berry trees are almost all occupied by strong individuals, and going hungry is a common occurrence for wild Pokémon.

Beastmen will never be slaves, unless they are provided with food and lodging.

Pretending for three minutes, enjoying riches for a lifetime.

These are accurate descriptions of the living conditions of many weak wild Pokémon.

Swampert, who was a Marshtomp at the time, was tricked into joining Luo Mu in this way.

The second method is ordinary battle capture, defeating a wild Pokémon and then capturing it in a Poké Ball.

Considering Luxray's combat power, Luo Mu silently chose to abandon this method.

The third is cultivating emotions, allowing the Pokémon to willingly follow oneself naturally.

Besides these, there are actually hidden, mythical fourth and fifth methods.

For example, transforming into a Super Hisuian and using sticky bait to capture them with bare hands, or the most outrageous method of being a one-Poké Ball wonder like a certain tycoon.

Luo Mu chose food temptation, starting with the soft approach, and resorting to the hard approach if that didn't work.

The Polliwags lined up neatly on the ground near the edge of the lake, toddling along. Ignoring their wobbly gait, they somewhat resembled the Pokémon Carbink.

Worried that Luxray's presence would directly startle the Polliwags, Luo Mu approached alone.

The sound of his footsteps on the wet ground quickly caught the Polliwags' attention.

The three Polliwags in the back trembled and immediately wanted to jump back into the lake. The leading Polliwag, however, opened its big, bright eyes and looked at Luo Mu with a mixture of curiosity and caution.

Observing the Polliwag slowly moving its feet to block its path, allowing its companions to escape first, Luo Mu's smile widened. He stopped approaching when he was about two meters away from the Polliwag, crouched down slightly, took out the food he had prepared in advance from his pocket, and gently tossed it towards them.

Plop.

Several smoked dried fish, not too big and not too small, landed on the wet ground. The leading Polliwag froze, unsure of Luo Mu's intentions.

The dried fish were among Luo Mu's provisions, easy to carry, store, and tasty. If he were suddenly in trouble in the wild, they could also provide nutrition and salt.

Polliwags, and most Pokémon, are not like ordinary pets; they have no problem consuming human seasonings, so Luo Mu wasn't worried about it being harmful to them.

Before the leading Polliwag could figure out Luo Mu's purpose, the three Polliwags behind it couldn't hold back any longer.

The smoked dried fish, emitting a faint aroma, were incredibly attractive to them, who were still hungry. The Polliwags in the back looked at their leader with greedy expressions and expectant eyes.

The leading Polliwag, in turn, looked back at Luo Mu.

Luo Mu flashed a friendly smile and said, "Eat up. Let's be friends."

No matter how precocious the leading Polliwag was, it was only about the same age as its companions behind it and had never seen much of the world or understood any tricks.

It truly believed Luo Mu's words. The Polliwag didn't hesitate, bit into a smoked dried fish, and savored it.

Seeing their leader take a bite, the other Polliwags also began eating their own smoked dried fish.

After they finished eating, Luo Mu had moved much closer, almost within arm's reach.

This time, the Polliwags were much less wary. In their current worldview, Luo Mu, who had given them food, had been equated with a good person.

Luo Mu seized the opportunity and began the final step. He showed an even friendlier smile, took out four red and white Poké Balls from his pocket one by one, and placed them on the ground. He said to the Polliwags, "Do you want to come with me? You won't be in danger anymore, and you'll have plenty of food, much tastier than these smoked dried fish!"

"..."

After a moment of silence, the three Polliwags made the first decision. They hopped to the red and white Poké Balls, looking at their leader with expectant eyes.

Big brother, there's food, drinks, and no danger. Isn't this a hundred times better than being out in the wild? ( /^▽^)/

The Polliwag leader's face showed shock; it hadn't expected its little buddy to be given away so easily.

After a moment of hesitation, despite the delicious smoked dried fish, it was still more worried about its own little buddies. The Polliwag leader could only reluctantly walk up to the Poké Ball and, setting an example, be the first to plunge headfirst into it.

With the leader's demonstration, the other three Polliwags followed suit, selling themselves one by one to Luo Mu.

"Meow."

A Luxray strode over with a commanding feline gait. It glanced at the stunned Luo Mu and found the situation amusing.

The Trainer had prepared so much, but before he could even use it, all four Polliwags were already given away.