Pokémon: Starting as a Farmer Instead of a Trainer

Chapter 106 The Secret Hidden on Pebble Island

After signing her name, Zhu Lan handed the paper and pen back, gently brushed her hair aside, and said with a smile, "Don't be so reserved, just treat me like an ordinary person."

"How could this be..."

Mingyou suppressed her excitement and put the autograph into her backpack. This was Sister Baicai's autograph, which was very valuable to collect and had to be kept safe!

However, Zhu Lan shook her head. She had an easygoing personality and didn't like to feel distant from others in her daily life because of her status.

Left with no other option, Mingyou replied, "Well... okay, if you don't mind, I'll call you Baicai... no, I mean, Zhulan-jie."

"It's okay."

Zhu Lan smiled gently. Although most people called her Miss Zhu Lan or Champion, adding "sister" made it sound more intimate and less distant, and she quite liked that title.

With a simple gesture, she could tell that Mingyou was the kind of person who was used to getting close to others; it was almost instinctive, not something she did intentionally.

Therefore, she found the boy in front of her quite interesting, especially since he had just made Gible use the "Cross Poison Blade" move, which was impossible for Gible to learn, which made her even more interested.

So she simply asked directly, wanting to find out what was going on...

"A cross-shaped poisoned blade?"

Seeing that her target had taken the bait, Mingyou became even more excited. So she took the opportunity to start her sales pitch, but did not reveal her purpose directly. She still needed to gain some trust and prove herself first.

"You mean...learning moves from fruits?"

"That's right!"

As she spoke, Mingyou took out an owl fruit with a "supernatural power" technique from her backpack and explained that although the fruit was still relatively fresh after being picked for so many days, its effects were already waning.

Cynthia and Sally both looked at the cat-shaped fruit with curiosity. A fruit that could be used as a TM (Move Learning Tool)? It could even teach Pokémon moves they couldn't normally learn?

Why does this sound so far-fetched? This is probably a setting that even science fiction stories wouldn't dare to use lightly, right?

"Gibles are the best proof. I specialize in cultivating these kinds of fruits and vegetables, but there are still relatively few varieties, and I can't guarantee that every single one will have this kind of effect."

Mingyou continued to explain, which did indeed pique their interest, but that was all. She kept them in suspense for a while, and then immediately changed the subject.

He looked at Shali, smiled, and asked, "Now can you tell me where the bear's arena is?"

"what?"

Sally snapped out of her daze and remembered the agreement before the battle. She smiled helplessly and told him the location: "It's in an open space in the center of this island. You can see a river that runs through the entire island passing by."

"Thank you so much, Sister Sally!"

"Haha, you have a sweet tongue."

Hearing this address, Sha Li covered her mouth and smiled. Zhu Lan, who had just noted down the matter of the fruit, temporarily pulled herself out of her thoughts and said with a smile, "We're going there anyway, why don't we go together?"

"Huh? Is that okay?"

"It's alright. Besides, this kind of wilderness environment is full of dangers, so it's better to have someone to look after us."

"Then... please take good care of me. I'll try my best not to cause any trouble."

Mingyou was completely surprised to be invited by Zhulan, and she also didn't expect that their destination was the same as hers. What were they planning to do?

Before he could even ask, Shali asked curiously, "So, what are you going to the bear's arena for? Is it also for archaeology?"

"I came here looking for the Circle Bear. I heard that there used to be many Circle Bears and cubs in the bear arena, and even Moon Bears... But I searched for a long time and never expected that it would be submerged by the sea."

Mingyou responded to the question, and it was indeed the truth, but she didn't tell the whole story, and neither of them doubted her.

Then Cynthia explained: "Because Sinnoh was in the Green Age a hundred years ago, a huge tsunami occurred due to tectonic shifts. The coastline was basically submerged, and even the largest human settlement in Green Age at that time, Chikashi Village, was forced to relocate to the mountains and developed into Chikashi City today."

"Oh, I see..."

Mingyou nodded slightly. He had learned about this from Heyuexiong. Xiaozhao, who had saved the world, had participated in disaster relief during that natural disaster and unfortunately passed away due to overwork.

He then inquired and learned that Zhu Lan had come here to investigate the relics left over from the Xi Cui era, including the Xiong's arena.

As for Shali, she came to take photos. She is very interested in all kinds of legends and hopes to photograph and record them. Zhulan is a mythologist, which is the common interest between the two.

"However, it's not good to continue wasting time here. Time is very precious. Let's talk about it after we get to the bear's arena."

Sally grabbed her camera and ran out with her Growlithe. Zhulan sighed and shook her head, saying, "Her family used to worship the mythical Pokémon Dialga for a long time, and they were influenced by that, so they value time very much."

As she spoke, she suddenly noticed Latias and Ponpo, who were eating snacks not far away, and paused slightly, "You brought a child with you?"

"Um... haha, I wasn't comfortable leaving them at home, since I'm the only one who can take care of them there, so I brought them along..."

Before he could finish his excuses, Zhu Lan's expression instantly turned stern: "That's incredibly irresponsible! How could you bring your sister to such a dangerous place!"

"Forehead……"

Mingyou was intimidated by the opponent's aura. For a moment, he felt as if he were facing the league champion with full power on the field.

Cynthia stepped forward and patted Ponpo's head. As long as it wore the Oni Mask, it seemed that no one could recognize Ponpo as a Pokémon at a glance. After all, only a very few people knew about the Pokémon Grimpus.

She then instructed Garchomp to protect the two children, and turned to Mingyou, arms crossed: "No matter the reason, putting those who need protection in danger is the biggest mistake. You must remember that!"

Because she also has a younger sister who is about the same age as these two children, and as a champion, it is her responsibility to protect the vulnerable.

"Understood……"

Mingyou responded with tears welling up in her eyes, suddenly feeling reprimanded, and wondering who was protecting whom...

Seeing that Shali had disappeared, they had no choice but to follow her. Only then did Zhulan remember what had happened before, and with curiosity, she wanted to learn more about Mingyou.

After a moment, and after learning more about it, she nodded gently: "I see. You're from Padiya and currently live in Kitakami Village. Why did you come to such a remote place? With your abilities and talent, you could easily choose to become a trainer and travel around."

"I just want a peaceful life, and besides, I have these children to take care of."

Mingyou turned her head to look at Ponpo and the others. This "child" actually also represented all the Pokémon in the manor.

Zhu Lan gently touched her chin with her fingers, nodded slightly, and did not continue to ask about the topic. It was enough to know a little; asking too much would be impolite.

She then steered the conversation back to the bear's arena, asking softly, "By the way, do you know anything about the history of the Green-Washing Era?"

"Well, I know a little bit about it, because the profession of trainer started around that time."

Mingyou answered seriously, and Zhulan nodded slightly: "That's right, even the Poké Balls we use now were developed from that era. My recent research topic is related to Xicui, and I want to investigate the traces of that important era."

"So that's why you came to Pebble Island?"

"Hmm, based on what I understand, peat islands likely hold some secrets, and uncovering them would be very helpful to my investigation!"

Zhu Lan didn't go into too much detail, since even she couldn't confirm whether it really existed.

Mingyou nodded, and was about to continue the conversation when a familiar scream suddenly came from the woods ahead!

"It's Sally!"

Upon hearing the sound, Zhu Lan immediately quickened her pace and ran over, with Ming You following closely behind. Both of them were ready for battle. After passing through the woods, they saw Sha Li standing there, looking quite surprised.

"What's wrong!"

"So cute~"

"Huh?"

The two stopped and looked ahead in the direction she was pointing. They saw a light brown bear cub under a tree in the distance, holding a piece of crystal honey and licking the honey out of it with its paws.

[Bear Cub: A little bear Pokémon who loves honey and can't resist any sweets. Give it honey, and it will follow you around.]

"What's so scary about that?"

"Because it's cute~"

As she spoke, Shali picked up her camera and began to take pictures secretly. However, her shouts had already alerted some creatures in the forest. With a tremor, a roar suddenly came from behind the bear cub!

"Awooo!"

……

(End of this chapter)