There was a child in orange-yellow shorts who looked quite young!
But his idiot Trainer wasn't looking at the water at all. He was staring fixedly at the fishing rod, ready to yank it up with all his might.
Idiot! If he did that, the hook might scrape that child!
Serperior furrowed her brow, and two green vines shot out from near her leafy collar.
One vine smacked Luo Mu right on the butt, making him suck in several sharp breaths. He dropped the fishing rod and turned to Serperior with a plaintive look.
He hadn't done anything to upset Serperior, had he? Had she found out about the schemes he'd pulled on her in the past?
Serperior ignored him. The other vine reached purposefully into the water and pulled up the unconscious child.
When Luo Mu saw Serperior rescue a child from the water, he forgot all about the burning pain in his backside and hurriedly caught the child from her vine.
"From what I can see, there are no external injuries. She probably swallowed some water. She keeps coughing, so we just need to get the water out of her airway."
Luo Mu quickly judged that the child wasn't in any danger of dying. While marveling at how absurdly tough people in the Pokémon world were, he directed Serperior to use her vines to perform the Heimlich maneuver and clear the water from the child's airway.
Serperior was much better at controlling her vines and applying the right amount of force. He was an adult, but he might misjudge how hard to push and end up hurting the child further.
At last, Luo Mu had a moment to get a proper look at the child who'd fallen into the water.
He'd need to take her to the police station and ask Officer Jenny to help find her parents.
She had fair skin and adorable twin tails. Her face belonged to a little girl of about ten.
She looked vaguely familiar, but Luo Mu couldn't quite place her.
The girl's clothes were soaked through. Judging by their color and style, they looked like the Naranja Academy uniform Luo Mu remembered.
In other words, the girl was probably a student at Naranja Academy.
Luo Mu began wondering whether he should contact Poppy.
It seemed like overkill to bother the ever-busy president of the Paldea League over something so minor. But Poppy was the only person he knew at Naranja Academy, and the other teachers weren't the ones he remembered.
As Luo Mu wondered whether Poppy would answer if he called now, a much louder cough caught his attention.
He turned his head and saw the little girl slowly opening her eyes.
Nemo's unfocused eyes gradually came into focus. But the moment she saw Luo Mu leaning over her, her pupils widened. Her lips trembled as if she wanted to call for help.
But Nemo was afraid of making Luo Mu angry, so she could only clamp a hand over her mouth as tears welled in her eyes.
"?"
Luo Mu looked puzzled. From the obvious fright on the little girl's face, she'd probably been scared by something.
He thought it over. The only ones here were him, a kind and friendly big brother, and Serperior, who looked like she'd be dangerous to mess with.
The answer was obvious.
Serperior had scared her!
Luo Mu marveled at his own cleverness for figuring it out so quickly. The solution was simple, too.
He put on a warm, sunny smile. As Serperior gave him a look like he was an idiot, he reassured the girl, "Don't be afraid. Serperior is my Pokémon."
"She may look a little fierce, but she doesn't mean any harm."
Before Nemo could process that, a vine whooshed through the air with a loud crack. Serperior, looking furious, whipped Luo Mu on the butt a few more times.
She controlled her strength quite well. She chose the fleshy, resilient part of his backside and hit hard enough to hurt without breaking the skin.
Luo Mu knew Serperior was going easy on him. Her Vine Whip could easily snap trees and rocks, but he still hissed in pain.
After Luo Mu and Serperior had finished fooling around, he noticed that the little girl no longer looked frightened, though she still seemed timid.
She'd probably realized from their interaction that they weren't bad people.
Still, the faint wariness in her eyes bothered Luo Mu.
It was good to be cautious, but was this little girl a bit too wary?
After thinking it over, Luo Mu decided to ease her nerves with a conversation, then hurry back home with her so she could at least get dry. Staying in soaked clothes made it all too easy to catch a cold.
"Hi, I'm Luo Mu. I own this farm." He briefly introduced himself, then continued, "This is my partner, Serperior. Could you tell me your name?"
"Geh-lo~"
Serperior tried her best to soften her expression, but it wasn't easy to shake off her naturally regal air.
Nemo glanced at Serperior, then studied Luo Mu, who was trying to show her he meant well.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Nemo timidly said, "My name is Nemo. Thank you for saving me, big brother."
"Mm-hmm, Nemo? What a lovely name." Luo Mu nodded without thinking and praised her in a gentle voice.
Then Luo Mu's eyes suddenly widened, and his expression turned dramatic.
Wait, wait, wait. Had he heard her wrong?
Was this fair-skinned, adorable little girl actually Nemo, the future Champion, energetic girl with a healthy wheat-colored complexion, known as "Hopelessly Lovestruck"?
She didn't look anything like her!
Her personality and appearance were both completely different. Only her features seemed a little familiar.
Was this a case of sharing the same name, or had he accidentally entered Tsukuyomi?
But Nemo really was wearing a Naranja Academy uniform. Luo Mu made one last desperate attempt to confirm it. "If you don't mind, could you tell me where you live?"
"I live in Small Key Town."
This time Nemo answered quickly. For some reason, her instincts told her this big brother wasn't one of the bad people who'd kidnapped her.
"Gasp."
That settled it. This little girl really was a human-shaped Future Paradox Pokémon, the battle-crazed Nemo, better known as "Hopelessly Lovestruck."
Luo Mu had once howled online about wanting to be Nemo's Arcanine or Lycanroc. Now, he felt an immense sense of dissonance. He was completely stunned.
It seemed the main characters of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet had different personalities as children than they did at the start of the story.
No—rather, their personalities had changed as they grew up.
Luo Mu was about to ask Nemo to come home with him when she grabbed his hand in a panic and cried, "Big brother, we have to get out of here!"
"The people who kidnapped me might still be nearby!"
Luo Mu's smile froze. Confused, he said, "Huh?"
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