Elf: Re-employment of retired champion of Padiya

Chapter 724 Hunter Messenger Bird Clan

After a hearty meal.

Touching his slightly bulging belly and feeling his body finally warm up, Trump smiled and chatted with Luo Mu.

"What seasoning did you just sprinkle? The taste and the effect are both unbelievable."

It's no exaggeration to say that after taking a sip of soup and a bite of meat, Trump felt like he had become several years younger.

This wonderful feeling left Trump completely unable to find the right adjective.

"It's just seasonings I grew myself, nothing to mention."

Luo Mu smiled and packed several portions of crab meat and seafood soup in a thermal container, intending to give them to Mr. Trump later so that he could take them back to Mrs. Melanie.

Mrs. Melanie had been seriously ill, and even though she recovered, her health was still somewhat depleted due to her advanced age.

My seafood soup, with a little bit of my "secret seasoning," is basically as mild as the medicinal soup made by a child, and can effectively replenish the body's deficiencies.

"Although you mentioned before that you adopted a messenger bird with a very large tail, I guess it's probably only about the same size as my messenger bird."

"But now that I've actually seen it, wow, it's huge! If it were in the wild, it could easily be the leader of a tribe."

Trump marveled as he watched the messenger bird of the Luo family communicating with its own.

“What a coincidence.” Upon hearing this, Luo Mu immediately raised his eyebrows. “The Messenger Bird is indeed the leader of a wild tribe. I came to Frostmoor Mountain this time to take it to visit its tribe.”

Since he had only mentioned to Trump that he had also adopted a messenger bird, Luo Mu also briefly talked about how he met the messenger bird.

"The tribal chief was struck by lightning while out?"

Trump murmured to himself, clearly stunned by this wondrous coincidence.

Compared to such an interesting encounter story, my own experience of luring a Delibird back home with half a bag of uneaten bird food from my parents' Pokémon Parrot when I was young seems somewhat hasty and ordinary.

As if remembering something, Trump stroked his beard and said, "By the way, there are quite a few messenger bird populations on Frostbite Mountain, scattered throughout the main peak and the surrounding mountains. I wonder which population you're planning to look for."

"If you can provide any specific features and information, I might be able to help you narrow down your search."

It's not that Trump is bragging, but as a ranger who has been guarding Frosty Mountain for decades, he can't say he knows every Pokémon species that inhabit every part of Frosty Mountain like the back of his hand, but he's pretty close to it.

After all, the duty of a forest ranger is to find out as much as possible the number and distribution of the "protected objects" in the patrol area.

This way, we can ensure that the Pokémon hunters don't just walk away without finding anything and are just foolishly patrolling.

Is there such a good thing?

Luo Mu's eyes lit up when he heard Trump offer his own recommendation.

Here comes the benefit of entertaining people.

The system says you're useless now!

【(〝▼plate▼)】

Recalling the information that the messenger birds had shared with him through the translators of the intelligent gorillas before he set off, Luo Mu immediately said, "The messenger bird population has always lived on the mountainside of the main peak of Frostmoor Mountain, and their range of activity is not very large."

"The population consists of about forty to fifty messenger birds, with adults making up a large proportion of them."

"But it's been almost a year, and we don't know if this group has grown stronger or if they have been forced to leave their habitat for some reason."

Luo Mu's explanation is already quite detailed.

Not only can we give an approximate number and former habitat, but we can also give a rough estimate of the proportion of individuals in the population.

Upon receiving the information, Trump immediately began to use his brain, filtering through the messenger bird groups that he remembered had similar characteristics.

He tapped the corner of the table with his knuckles and said confidently, "In my memory, there are three ethnic groups that meet these criteria and live in the area halfway up the mountain."

"And one of the groups, in my memory, does seem to have experienced a change of leadership."

"That's very likely that tribe. Can you tell me the general direction?"

After Trump finished speaking, Luo Mu finally spoke up to ask a question.

In his mind, even if messenger birds could find their way, it was always good to gather more information.

The terrain on Frosty Mountain is complex and varied, and the Pokémon population is not static.

It's not impossible that messenger bird populations have changed territories for some reason.

"In general terms..."

Trump touched the stun gun on his lap and looked behind him.

"Perfect timing, I also need to take a look around there. If you don't mind, you can come with me."

While enjoying the delicious seafood soup and crab meat, Trump told Luo Mu about his mission.

He was responsible for staking out Pokémon hunters in the area, contacting his companions via his ranger-specific communication device when necessary, or seeking help from the police who were also secretly operating on Frostbite Mountain.

He had just rescued a pair of Whale and a mother and daughter Whale, and was waiting in the cold outdoors for the Pokémon hunters to return.

After waiting for almost half a day, Trump did not see the Pokémon hunter, but instead saw Luo Mu setting up a stove and cooking.

He also thought about it while eating. At present, the probability of that group of Pokémon hunters, or the group of unknown numbers, returning is very low.

The mother and daughter whales were placed in a very secluded hiding spot by him, and he will later notify other colleagues to come and take them back to Icebox Town to heal their wounds.

Instead of just sitting here idly, we should expand the patrol area and check out other suspicious locations.

If you are alone, with only a messenger bird, a gravedig dog, a stun gun, and a hunting sniper rifle on your body.

Trump may also be worried about situations he might not be able to handle alone.

Of course, he wasn't afraid of Pokémon hunters; he was by no means lacking in the will to sacrifice himself.

He was simply worried that if he made a mistake, he might alert the enemy, disrupt the higher-ups' plans, and cause the capture to fail.

But all these problems ceased to exist when Luo Mu appeared before him.

Who is Luo Mu?

A champion-level trainer from the Padia region, with a distinguished record of personally capturing the infamous Hunter J.

Not to mention, through his old friends from his time as a forest ranger, Trump also learned about Lomu's activities in several other areas.

The Orange Islands of Kanto, Eindoark of Unova, Larousse City of Hoenn, and the Isle of Lore.
Each and every one of these is a remarkable achievement.

It's no exaggeration to say that the moment he aimed the stun gun at Luo Mu, four words flashed through his mind—

This is sure.

Trump looked at Luo Mu with a hint of eagerness.

But Luo Mu knew exactly what Trump meant.

They simply wanted to leverage their own strength.

And that's all predicated on them actually running into a Pokémon hunter.
To be honest, Luo Mu felt the probability of encountering a specific small group of people in this vast mountain range was not high.

Therefore, he readily accepted Trump's invitation.

Anyway, even if we do encounter it, it's not a big deal; we can just grab it while we're at it.

After tidying up and making sure there was no litter left in the area that didn't belong to nature, I cleaned up the mess.

Luo Mu and Trang then led their Pokémon and began moving towards the mountainside area of ​​Frosty Mountain.

Considering that having too many Pokémon around would be too conspicuous, Luo Mu temporarily put Burning Bug and Little Wobbuffet back into their Poké Balls, except for Luxray, Delibird, Ninetales, and Kumamon.

Luxray is the main force in battle, Delibird is the protagonist today, and Ninetales, also an Ice-type Pokémon, is very suitable for the environment of Mt. Frosty.

As for the bear apprentice's words, it's simply that Luo Mu didn't use a Poké Ball to capture it.

After all, the child's goal is to become stronger, not to become Luo Mu's Pokémon.

As they moved forward, Trump would occasionally glance at the Nine-Tails, a hint of wistfulness on his face.

"I never expected to see a nine-tailed fox in the Padiya region."

he whispered.

Luo Mu, who was engrossed in climbing the mountain, turned to look at Trump, knowing that he was probably recalling some past experiences. After all, older people often reminisce about the past.

Sure enough, the next second Trump said with a look of reminiscence, "That was not long before I became a forest ranger."

“I received a group mission, and the target location was in the Alola region, which at the time had almost no contact with the outside world.”

"At that time, I had already completed my advanced studies in the Ranger Alliance in the Armia region, and I was in the prime of my life."

"But obviously, I was too young back then. The blizzard on Mount Ranakira made me lose track of my predecessors. I hadn't met the messenger bird yet, and I could only stand alone in the blizzard, shivering."

"But just as I was about to lose consciousness, a beautiful ice-blue figure entered my blurred vision."

"When I woke up from the coma caused by hypothermia, I was already in the hospital. According to my senior, when he found me, I had already been placed in a sheltered cave."

"On the way down the mountain, he also noticed that a gaze was following us until we reached the foot of the mountain."

"Perhaps it was a whim, but before leaving Mount Ranakira, he looked back instinctively while carrying me and happened to see an ice-blue figure standing high up."

"It was only after consulting the locals that I learned that the one who saved me was the incarnation of the god on the sacred mountain, whose true form was the Ninetales in the Alola region."

As Trump finished speaking, his gaze towards Kurama softened even more.

Later, he also saw the picture of the Alola Nine-Tails and gained a basic understanding of it. Even though he knew that Luo Mu's Nine-Tails had nothing to do with the Nine-Tails that saved him, he still felt a bit of affection for it.

Luo Mu listened attentively to Trump's story and couldn't help but smack his lips.

Well, should I say that Mr. Trump truly deserves his reputation as a seasoned ranger who has friends all over Eindhok?

His experiences in his youth seem quite remarkable.

During the journey, Trump told him several interesting or thought-provoking stories from the past.

One of the rumors, which Trump himself had only heard about, caught Luo Mu's attention.

"The Black Sea God of the Ore region?"

In Luo Mu's mind, a figure enveloped in a black vortex, with dark wings that seemed capable of blotting out the sky, appeared.

Lugia is a legendary Pokémon with a clearly defined population, and there are various spin-off games set in this world.

So, it's not impossible that Dark Lugia exists?

However, it was just like Trump telling Luo Mu about the rare and wonderful stories he had heard.

Luo Mu simply listened without showing any intention of going to see for himself whether Dark Lugia really existed.

Tran also learned from Luo Mu that Hunter J had successfully escaped from prison with the help of Team Galactic, an evil organization in the Sinnoh region.

The old man frowned deeply at this, remained silent for a long time, and then said in a low voice, "The Sinnoh Police are getting worse as they get older."

Pokémon hunters captured by these rangers in the past will not be released without receiving due punishment.

Now, a criminal of Hunter J's caliber has actually managed to escape from prison.

Honestly, even he doesn't know what to say.

Then, just like the handsome guy back then, Trump emphasized that Hunter J might retaliate against him, and told Luo Mu not to be careless.

Luo Mu could only accept the old man's concern.

Even though he knew Hunter J was currently in Sinnoh and wouldn't leave, it was still the same.
Until the clouds in the sky were stained black, and the mournful, howling wind grew stronger.

The two, who were exchanging words without slowing down their pace, came into view of the mountainside area of ​​Frostmog Mountain.

The distance from here to Icebox Town isn't actually that far, but neither of them had any intention of going there.

After all, their destination was in the exact opposite direction from Frozen Town.

Once they reached the mountainside, the messenger birds around Luo Mu became even more active.

Although there are some differences, the environment here is indeed very similar to some fragments of its memory.

Even if it doesn't live here, it left an impression on my mind because I often passed by this place.

It excitedly led the way.

Seeing the messenger bird's reaction, Trump stroked his beard and said with a smile, "It seems that the messenger bird clan I know of might really be related to it."

"Yes."

Luo Mu was also happy about the messenger bird that he would soon meet his people.

But the unexpected turn of events caught everyone off guard.

Looking at the broken cedar tree trunk in front of me, the messy tire tracks on the snow, and the numerous fishing nets that had fallen to the ground, I saw...

Some very conspicuous red feathers and less conspicuous white feathers were scattered all over the ground.

It's easy to see what happened here.

Although it was already dark, Luo Mu and Trang decided to head straight to the messenger bird's territory.

But the traces of human activity along the way, coupled with the scene before us now, seem to reveal the answer.

"Were you attacked by a Pokémon hunter?"

Luo Mu frowned, completely baffled by the Pokémon hunters' motives for attacking and capturing the Delibirds.

To be clear, this is not meant to be derogatory, but rather a fact.

In terms of rarity, they are distributed in snowy mountains all over the world, and they don't give the impression of being a particularly strong Delibird species, so they shouldn't be ranked among the top Pokémon hunters.

Not to mention that there are many rare Pokémon on Frost Mountain, and the Rhyssoid is a Pokémon that even Hunter J personally goes out to capture.

Why go to all this trouble just to catch a messenger bird?
What is the picture?
With its forepaws landing on the snow, the Röntgen cat stared coldly at the tire tracks, its beastly eyes gleaming faintly.

For the fiercely protective Röntgen cat, the messenger bird had long been considered family.

Therefore, it cannot tolerate the fact that the Delibird's people are captured by Pokémon hunters.

Luo Mu picked up the stunned messenger bird and gently stroked its head to comfort it.

"Don't worry, once Mr. Trump's messenger bird has finished investigating the surrounding situation, we'll set off to rescue people. No, to rescue the bird."

Although he was immediately proven wrong, which was a bit embarrassing, since the matter was already highly relevant to this area, Luo Mu definitely had to take action.

Just then, Trump's messenger bird, which had been sent to scout several specific locations on Trump's instructions, returned.

"Deli—"

With flapping wings, the messenger bird of the Trump family landed on the snow, tugging at its tail, and let out a series of calls towards the serious-looking Trump.

Luo Mu wasn't sure how they were communicating, but after listening to him, Trump looked up at him and said, "Some bad news."

"The Delibird went to explore several nearby habitats of wild Pokémon populations that I know of."

"As it turns out, these wild Pokémon populations are all fine; they simply chose to hide because of the battle that took place earlier."

“Those Pokémon hunters had no intention of capturing them.”

"You mean, Pokémon hunters might have come to Mt. Frosty for the sake of the Delibird population?"

Luo Mu directly extracted the point that Trump wanted to make, and the other party nodded in agreement.

"Although it seems absurd, based on the current clues, they have come for the messenger bird flock."

"I'll contact my colleagues and Officer Jenny first. Now that we've discovered their trail and the crime scene, we should take action immediately."

Trump took out the communication device used by forest rangers and began editing a message.

"Okay, then I'll leave the scene to you. I'll be right back."

Luo Mu nodded slightly. To be honest, he was in a very bad mood right now.

But rather than standing still and raging in vain, he prefers to take direct action.

After saying that, without waiting for Trump's response, Luo Mu led the Röntgen cats and the others, turned around and resolutely headed off in a certain direction.

Trump paused in his editing, staring blankly at the departing figure, muttering to himself, "I have a feeling that by the time Officer Jenny and the others arrive, that kid Luo Mu will have already tied up those Pokémon hunters."

(End of this chapter)