Chapter 85: Meixing and Muzi, the eruption of the Lamp Volcano
, Brock's Vulpix, Misty's Psyduck, and Meowth...
finally, Ash's Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and a clone of Pikachu...
It has to be said that Xia Mu has an irresistible affection for Pikachu.
However, apart from Pikachu, Pikachu is just Pikachu, except for this one, because it's a clone of Pikachu, a high-quality replica of Pikachu...
Xia Mu has always believed that luck and fortune exist.
So, this one has a bit of that too, right?
Because Xia Mu's gaze was a bit strange, Pikachu felt uneasy under his gaze.
It wasn't until Xia Mu realized his gaze was too blatant that he smiled awkwardly and looked away.
After grasping the situation and information of all the Pokémon, Xia Mu watched Meixing and Muzi distribute food to the Pokémon.
After all, he was also a trainer of these Pokémon, so he took the initiative to help distribute the food, taking this opportunity to deepen his bond with the Pokémon.
Teamwork makes the dream work, something Xia Mu had never experienced before, but he truly understood it this time. It's a fascinating phenomenon;
which man wouldn't want to shine when surrounded by beautiful women? Even a significant difference in social status doesn't change this. It might be a primal instinct, a feeling that the better one performs in front of the opposite sex, the more attention they'll receive, thus attracting mates and securing mating rights to reproduce. Even though Xia Mu suppressed those wicked thoughts, he still cared deeply about their opinions. Perhaps with more exposure and familiarity, he wouldn't feel this way anymore. [The Pokémon world is truly the Pokémon world! Even research institutes produce stunning beauties; who can resist…] Xia Mu thought to himself. Nei Mu, Sonia, Meixing, Muzi… Xia Mu remembered the many charming researchers and professors in the original story. Watching Meixing and Muzi working efficiently, Xia Mu nodded again. If they were willing, he'd like them to take care of the Pokémon here for a long time. Actually, their job at the research institute was also to take care of the Pokémon's daily needs. According to their self-introduction, their research focused on breeding, so they put a lot of effort into the Pokémon's food. Naturally, it was also thanks to the generous funding from Muxiu that they were able to prepare such a lavish meal, and they wouldn't have had the opportunity to experiment with the effects of various foods on the Pokémon. This time, Xia Mu's return was just too opportune; they were in such a rush that they hadn't prepared many varieties, and there weren't many raw materials left. Under these circumstances, they still managed to create food suitable for Arcanine, Red Gyarados, Beedrill, Gardevoir, Charizard, and Dragonite, showing their skill. Of course, this was also partly due to the fact that Xia Mu's Pokémon weren't picky eaters. During the feeding, Xia Mu casually took out boxes of Energy Cubes from his spatial backpack. Actually, he didn't actually store them in his backpack, but rather used the backpack as a pretext to rummage through his storage space. Each box was labeled as a special Energy Cube. Xia Mu prepared three boxes for each Pokémon, one hundred Energy Cubes per box, enough for one Pokémon for a month. And this was calculated based on consuming them to excess. After all, unless under extreme conditions, one or two Energy Cubes per meal are sufficient, three meals a day, a maximum of six cubes, plus a midnight snack, only eight. This means a monthly consumption of 240 cubes, more than enough for 300. Of course, the consumption will differ depending on the size of the Pokémon, for example, a heavyweight Pokémon and a cute one are incomparable. However, Xia Mu didn't take out too many; he'd deal with the rest later. Xia Mu is still grateful that Energy Cubes are so cheap.
Otherwise, how could he afford to raise so many Pokémon? He needed to establish some private businesses as soon as possible; otherwise, no matter how much savings he had, without the ability to generate more money, it wouldn't be enough.
Thinking about the meager 27,645,000 League Coins left in his account, Xia Mu felt the money was too easy to spend, even with deliberate restraint.
[I wonder if those three from Team Rocket will come to me for help. If they do, I can have them help me build an Energy Cube manufacturing plant…] Xia Mu thought to himself.
This was the idea he initially came up with.
While there were many ways to make money—the existence of the cheat simulator and the system shop—none were as stable as this.
Firstly, other methods were too shocking; he needed to gradually build his own power and foundation before he could slowly lay the groundwork.
Secondly, the Energy Cubes from the system shop had terrifying effects, and they were already sold in other regions; even if he were investigated, it wouldn't matter, since he was only involved in Pokémon food.
…
In the blink of an eye, an afternoon had passed.
Xia Mu spent his time with the Pokémon, interacting with each of these cloned Pokémon.
He was somewhat surprised, as he had expected some Pokémon to leave. However,
all the Pokémon wanted to stay, and seemingly because they were clones, they were exceptionally competitive.
In the evening, Xia Mu saw Meixing and Muzi off.
They usually arrived around 7 or 8 am and returned around 4 or 5 pm.
After finishing their work here, they had to return to the research institute to organize data and report on various research findings, accumulating enough expertise to finally shed their intern graduate student status.
Being a researcher was indeed a very demanding job, far from the simple one Xia Mu had imagined.
Without outsiders, Xia Mu could relax more, no longer worried about Mewtwo being discovered, and could freely communicate and interact with the Pokémon.
Even in his own home, although surveillance cameras were installed in every corner, only his own family could see them.
Xia Mu could also directly control these devices, turning them off and stopping the recording.
"This kind of life is actually quite comfortable. If it continues like this, it'll be pretty good." Lying on a recliner in the yard, Xia Mu said while playing with his phone.
"But you don't seem to be the kind of person who would settle for leisure." Mewtwo's untimely remark left Xia Mu embarrassed.
If he had transmigrated with nothing, just an ordinary person among ordinary people, without any cheat-like simulator, Xia Mu might have accepted his fate, peacefully raising some Pokémon, proving himself, settling down somewhere, and finding a woman who wasn't particularly beautiful but definitely not ugly to spend the rest of his life with.
However, the reality was not like that.
He was not only a transmigrator who knew everything, but he also had a cheat-like simulator and a system store that allowed direct access to games...
All of this, plus his family background, prevented him from being an ordinary person.
Ambition is something that grows step by step.
"At first, I just thought that as long as I had a certain level of strength, that would be enough for me to live a good life.
"Later, I felt that I had to have a certain level of strength. After all, I've come to this world, I can't just do nothing, can I?"
"Then, I received your invitation, and I suddenly felt that I could try doing something bold..."
Xia Mu sat up as he spoke.
His serious expression made the Pokémon surrounding him also become serious, especially the Vaporeon he was holding.
"So, what is your goal now?" Mewtwo asked.
Xia Mu pondered for a moment, then his lips curved slightly: "My goal now is naturally to improve every day and achieve what I can. For example, winning the Indigo League in a month. Of course, this is just the beginning; what I want to do is become the regional champion! To achieve this, I must have sufficient strength and a solid foundation.
A tall building starts from the ground up. Just like building a skyscraper, I need to lay a solid foundation before I can gradually climb to the top! It's the same with everything. If one day I really become the regional champion, I will have more say and be able to do more things." "I might be selfish, because I only want a better life for myself, and for all of you to have a better life too, at least, without being threatened..."
Xia Mu paused here.
He didn't elaborate on his inner vision, as revealing things now would be abrupt.
Besides, how could Xia Mu know the future? He wouldn't reveal the true nature of even his Pokémon.
It wasn't distrust, but rather a reluctance to burden them with the pressure.
"Humans are too complex," Mewtwo murmured, lost in thought after Xia Mu's words.
"What you see is very one-sided; human nature is far more complex than you imagine." Xia Mu finished speaking, put down Vaporeon, and stretched.
His words silenced the surrounding Pokémon; none made a sound.
After a deep discussion that afternoon, they all fully accepted him as their master and were willing to be close to him.
Xia Mu especially communicated more about the Pokémon they wanted to focus on raising.
For example, Pikachu, Vaporeon, Pidgeot, Ninetales and Vulpix…
In some ways, Xia Mu is also a sucker for good looks; who doesn't like pretty and cute things?
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Xia Mu looked at these little guys one by one, then looked into the distance.
The Pokémon were chasing and playing, creating quite a lively scene.
In short, the scene in the backyard was completely different from when it was first built.
Back then, there were only four Pokémon, and even with Gardevoir added, there were only five.
Now, there are at least 31 Pokémon in the yard!
No, 32, plus Mewtwo!
So many Pokémon, although most of them are just there to make up the numbers and don't have much training value, have made this complete ecosystem lively, no longer as empty as before.
In the future, even more Pokémon will arrive, and Xia Mu knows very well that Pokémon of the same egg group will breed if they stay together for a long time.
In addition, his parents mentioned bringing back the Pokémon they had been fostering elsewhere, so he can imagine that it will become even more lively in the future.
Ring ring~~
Just then, Xia Mu's phone rang.
He picked it up and saw Sonia's profile picture.
Without hesitation, he answered; it was a video call.
Sonia was very proactive; most women wouldn't casually video chat with a man.
"Xia Mu, are you home?"
After answering, Xia Mu saw Sonia leaning on her hips, looking at him.
"Yeah, I'm home. What's up?"
"Can't I call you if there's nothing wrong? I finally finished work, and the first thing I thought of was contacting you." Sonia looked a little pouty, which was quite cute.
Xia Mu laughed and could only say no, no.
Then, they got to the point.
It turned out that Meixing and Muzi had returned to the research institute and reported their work to her and Dr. Mulan.
After learning the details, Dr. Mulan asked Sonia to contact him, hoping to establish a temporary research site in Xia Mu's home's wilderness area. This way, they could use Xia Mu's Pokémon for research, saving a lot of money.
How could Xia Mu refuse such a request? Even if Mulan came to him directly, let alone Sonia asking, he wouldn't refuse.
Besides, it would provide proper care for his Pokémon.
It must be said that for a Pokémon research institute to be truly stable, it needs a sufficient number of trainers to continuously send a sufficient number of Pokémon for researchers.
Most research institutes rely on the support of trainers in the local area and nearby towns to continuously send newly caught Pokémon, providing a constant stream of research topics.
With research topics, breakthroughs are possible, and more profits can be generated.
Mulan's interest in Xia Mu's newly built wilderness area undoubtedly indicates that she feels there is no more suitable place on Round Island.
Moreover, Xia Mu possesses many rare Pokémon, which is enough for them to conduct a great deal of research.
Having agreed to Sonia's request, Xia Mu's only condition was that they not use these Pokémon for jokes or conduct reckless experiments.
Sonia understood what Xia Mu meant and knew that these Pokémon were clones, so her answer was very serious, and she no longer joked.
After finishing their business, Sonia provided Xia Mu with another piece of information.
The Earthquake Observation Bureau of Tulip Island City had just relayed information that several nearby islands, including Tulip Island, had experienced earthquakes of varying degrees.
Xia Mu hadn't felt them, but through Sonia's description, he found some related information online.
These were all events that occurred within the last one or two hours.
According to official sources, ocean currents and slight crustal movements caused the Lamp Volcano on Eden Island to be compressed, causing the underground magma to break through its safety barrier, resulting in the largest eruption in history.
The epicenter of the earthquake was Lamp Volcano.
After ending the video call with Sonia, Xia Mu found a lot more information.
So far, the people living on Eden Island had been evacuated with the help of the outer island police to avoid being affected by the volcanic eruption.
However, some elderly people remained, believing in the existence of a deity. They thought this was the fire god's anger, punishing evil, which caused the natural disaster.
While it's true that a fire god could trigger a volcanic eruption, these people were indeed foolish.
They placed their lives in the hands of their worshipped fire god, who was actually just a Pokémon existing to maintain the balance of nature.
Xia Mu suddenly felt something was amiss.
The previously stable Lamp Volcano had suddenly erupted—this was unprecedented.
Recently, because of the thought of Moltres, Xia Mu had specifically collected some information, including information about Eden Island. While earthquakes were common, they were always minor and never caused a volcanic eruption.
Therefore, it was quite possible that, like in the game, there really was a Moltres there.
Furthermore, it's highly likely that Moltres encountered some kind of threat, causing it to unleash its power and trigger this disaster.
After much thought, Xia Mu wondered if he was overthinking it.
After all, this plot point wasn't in the original anime, nor in the games…
It couldn't possibly be that the dark forces of Team Rocket found Moltres's trail, intended to capture it, and ended up angering it, could it?
"Judging from your expression, you seem quite concerned about the volcanic eruption over there?" Mewtwo, standing beside Xia Mu, sensed his emotional shift and asked.
"I just have a feeling that something's amiss…" Xia Mu replied.
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(End of Chapter)