Pokémon: Starting as a Farmer Instead of a Trainer

Chapter 26 Ponpo's Treasure

Looking at the broken thorny vine, Pengpeng's eyes instantly filled with tears, feeling extremely heartbroken.

Mingyou quickly stepped forward to comfort her, and at the same time was even more surprised by the sturdiness of the strange sphere. What kind of material was it made of?

"Alright, alright, although I don't have the Ultimate Hand, I'll glue it on for you with super glue later."

"Hmm..."

Ponpon nodded gently and was easily coaxed. Actually, its thorny vine could recover on its own, but it was the first time it had broken, which made it very distressed.

Mingyou dug the strange ball out of the soil and looked at its smooth surface, which was not even covered with a speck of dirt. It was simply outrageous.

"It would be a miracle if there wasn't a problem..."

But he had no other choice but to keep the strange ball with him for now and try to open it later if he found another way.

A moment later, we returned to the villa.

Mingyou took out some candy and lollipops that she had bought. Seeing that there were snacks, Snorlax immediately ran over and looked at them.

"Gambit~"

I want one too!

"I didn't say I wouldn't give it to you..."

Mingyou smiled helplessly, then handed some candy to it. The little Snorlax didn't even eat the wrappers, just threw them all into its mouth. Anyway, they would be digested in the end, so it wouldn't hurt.

Seeing its state, Mingyou sighed and shook her head, unsure of what to say. She then reminded it, "Don't secretly eat all the ingredients in the kitchen. I'm having a feast when I get back tonight!"

I've earned my first pot of gold, so I definitely need to celebrate; we'd agreed on it beforehand.

"Gambit~"

"Um."

Mingyou nodded slightly, then gave the remaining candy to Ponpo and demonstrated how to open the packaging so that it wouldn't imitate Munchlax.

Ponpo curiously took a lollipop and put it in its mouth. It was the first time it had ever eaten this kind of food. After tasting the sweet and sour candy, its eyes widened instantly, and it was somewhat incredulous.

"Mmm~"

"Haha, if you like it, I'll buy it for you next time. Let's go, let's go to Ghost Mountain."

"Hmm?"

Shall we go now?

"Of course, it's so far away. If we go too late, it will be too late for the round trip. I still need to prepare for the banquet when I get back tonight."

"Hmm?"

Ponpo opened her eyes wide with curiosity. What is a banquet?

You'll find out tonight~

Mingyou smiled, deliberately not saying anything. Ponpo could only hold his hand with anticipation, and then they left the manor together, heading towards Ghost Mountain...

Guishan, a symbol and landmark of Beishang Township, is also a volcano. It was not originally called Guishan, but because its shape resembles a horned ghost, and because of the legends of Beishang Township, it was eventually named Guishan.

The mountaintop is the source of water for Beishang Township, and through tributaries, it forms multiple waterfalls, creating a spectacular view that attracts many tourists to climb the mountain every year.

Furthermore, there are natural volcanic hot springs on the mountain, but they are only open in winter because lava worms and lava snails living around them affect the temperature, and the temperature will be particularly high if you go at other times.

Because of the complex terrain of Ghost Mountain, many signs have been placed to prevent tourists from wandering around and getting lost.

After more than an hour, Mingyou finally saw a road that seemed to lead up the mountain. He then walked up and took a look at the sign.

"This is the road to the northbound center, it should be shorter this way, right?"

"Hmm..."

Ponpo shook its head. It didn't like walking this way because it was easy to run into other people who would hate it and drive it away.

"People from Emerald Town...?"

Mingyou scratched his head, wondering what Pengpeng had been through in the past, but he was sure that there must have been some significant conflict between him and the residents of Beishang Township.

"Alright, let's take another route then."

"Mmm~"

After being patted on the head by Mingyou, Ponpo immediately pointed in a direction; it knew a shortcut...

Next, Mingyou really suffered a lot. She had to traverse through various rock crevices, tearing her clothes and pants. She also had to climb some very steep mountain walls, some ten or twenty meters high. While climbing, she even scared some of the vulture girls living nearby.

Ponpon, with her light steps, hopped around on the slightly protruding cliff face with great skill.

This shortcut was indeed a good choice, but it's a pity he doesn't have a KTM. Fortunately, Ponpo will use vines to hold him up, ensuring he doesn't slip and fall.

After climbing over the last cliff face, they finally came to a mountain road. Seeing how tired he was, Ponpo decided to rest for a while.

"I feel like my legs will be sore for two or three days when I get back... I've been exercising too much."

Mingyou rubbed her legs, then turned around and looked down at Beishang Township from the edge of the mountain road. She could see the location of Cuilu Town, which was very small, and she could even see her own manor in the distance.

Although I've been tired for so long, seeing such a view is really nice.

"Take a picture~"

Mingyou took out her Rotom phone, gently pressed the shutter, and added the scenery of Beishang Township to her photo album.

Ponpo watched curiously from the side; it had never seen anything like this before and found it quite amazing.

"This is a phone, come on, take a picture~"

Mingyou aimed the camera at Pengpeng, seized the opportunity to press the shutter, captured the other's curious expression, and then showed it to Pengpeng.

"Mmm~"

So much fun!

Seeing itself appear on the phone, Ponpo covered its cheeks in surprise. Mingyou smiled and ruffled its hair, saying, "If you like it, I'll find some nice backgrounds and take a few more good pictures of you later."

"Mmm~"

"Let's go, let's continue."

Mingyou took its hand, stood up, and continued along the mountain path. Before long, they discovered a whole row of stalactite caves.

From a distance, the shape of the rocks resembles a ghost's teeth, hence the name Ghost Tooth Cave. According to the signpost next to it, you can reach the top of Ghost Mountain by following the mountain path.

"Is this the route to Oniyama Hell Valley, one of the six options for heading north? So, we're going this way?"

Mingyou pointed in the direction of Hell Valley and asked.

"Mmm~"

Ponpo shook her head, then pointed to the north. In the distance, there was a waterfall with rushing water, which was very spectacular.

"Next to the waterfall?"

"Mmm~"

"Let's go then."

Led by Ponpo, they continued along the mountain path leading upwards. After circling around several times, the path suddenly came to an end.

Further ahead lies a cliff, dozens of meters below. However, after the waterfall cascades down, it forms a pond and river, where some mosquito tadpoles and carp live.

"There's no road here."

Mingyou looked around, but Pengpeng led him to the edge of the cliff, where they discovered a path leading to the other side.

It's less than half a meter wide, extremely narrow, and the road is like a single log bridge suspended in the middle of the mountain, less than the thickness of a fist, as if it would break apart if you stepped on it too hard.

"..."

Looking at the road in front of her, Mingyou broke out in a cold sweat. "Don't tell me I have to walk across this. Is it really possible to walk across this? I can feel it shaking!"

"Mmm~"

Ponpo took his hand and walked across the road to the other side without a care. Mingyou had no choice but to bite the bullet and try not to look down as he followed.

Fortunately, the road wasn't very long, only about twenty meters, but it was a real test of courage. He only breathed a sigh of relief after he reached the other side.

"But we'll have to go through it again later..."

"Mmm~"

At this moment, Ponpo pointed to a cave not far away, indicating that they had arrived.

Is that the place?

"Mmm~"

Ponpo took his hand and immediately ran over there, while Mingyou was also observing the surrounding environment. This place was so remote that it would be difficult to be noticed even if you flew over from the sky.

"They actually live in a place like this..."

Soon, he followed Pengpeng into the cave. It was somewhat dark inside, but relatively clean, and some signs of life could be seen.

In the corner were some tree fruits, as well as the plastic bag that Ponpo had worn before, and some "trash" that no one knew where it had been picked up from.

Next to it was a huge rock covered with withered leaves, collected at some unknown time of year, but it was clear that it was a bed.

Looking at all this, Mingyou felt a mix of emotions, especially after thinking of Pengpeng's innocent smile that day. He remained silent for a long time to calm himself before finally asking, "...Do you usually sleep here?"

"Mmm~"

Ponpo smiled and nodded, then jumped onto the rock and covered herself with withered leaves, indicating that it could be used as a blanket so she wouldn't be cold while sleeping.

Then it picked up the "trash" next to the berries, which included snack plastic bags, empty medicine cans, and an old-fashioned Pokédex that was damaged and only had the screen left.

These things are obviously trash carelessly discarded by trainers who are traveling here.

But Ponpo picked it up like a treasure and kept it at home, and seemed to really like it. The innocent little thing didn't know anything about it...

"Mmm~"

Ponpo packed all the "trash" into plastic bags; it came back wanting to take it with it.

Living alone on Ghost Mountain, it is only when it suddenly finds these novel things that it has never seen before that it feels happy.

"..."

Mingyou stood quietly to the side, watching silently, neither stopping it nor telling it the truth about these "treasures"...

Only after Pengpeng had finished tidying everything up did he smile slightly, step forward, take her hand, and say, "Let's go home together."

"Mmm~"

……

(End of this chapter)