https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-277-Traveling-Bear-Returns-with-Gifts-for-You/12537344/
Chapter 278: Snow Labyrinth, Lei Guanwang's Intentions
Chapter 278: Snow Labyrinth, Lei Guanwang's Intentions
On the 14th of November, 198 AL, the Padia region welcomed its first snowfall of the year.
The snow fell for a full day and night, and when it finally stopped, the entire world was enveloped in a majestic winter wonderland.
As soon as the snow ceased, the Pokemon curious about the snow-covered ground asked Naoki to wrap their scarves around them to keep warm.
With the door opened, a large group of diverse Pokemon rushed out.
In an instant, the once pristine snow was covered in a myriad of dainty paw prints.
Running in the middle of the group, Babo, the Sandshrew, was so excited that he tripped over a hidden rock beneath the snow and fell face-first into the snow, leaving behind a 'Babo' imprint.
The surrounding Pokemon stopped running and gathered around to check on him.
Babo, his face covered in snow, climbed to his feet with a silly grin on his face and exclaimed, "Ba Mo..."
Naoki and Paipa, following behind, couldn't help but smile at the sight and reminded him gently, "Slow down a bit."
"Ba Mo!"
Babo cheerfully responded and quickly scrambled to his feet, brushing off the snow.
Seeing this, the other Pokemon also smiled and continued running and playing in the snow, just like a group of children experiencing snow for the first time.
Paipa's Sirfetch'd stayed by her side, looking on with a hint of envy at the lively scene.
Noticing this, Naoki said, "Sirfetch'd can join in the fun, too!"
"Woof?" Sirfetch'd looked up at him.
Paipa reached out and patted Sirfetch'd's head, reassuring her, "You can go play with everyone else, too. I'll be right here; it's fine."
"Woof!" Sirfetch'd's eyes lit up with excitement.
Naoki called over Frostine, the Alcremie, and asked her to take Sirfetch'd along to play.
Frostine, with her bubbly and cheerful personality, happily agreed and led Sirfetch'd to join the others.
As he watched Sirfetch'd's retreating figure, Naoki turned to Paipa and asked, "Have you always lived alone?"
Paipa honestly answered, "Not alone. Sirfetch'd has always been with me. It was a gift from my parents, and it's been by my side since the day I was born."
Naoki nodded in understanding. No wonder Paipa had been traveling around the Padia region in the game, searching for a way to cure Sirfetch'd.
A child like Paipa must have a strong sense of emotion.
"Have you always lived in Xiao Chi Town?" Naoki asked.
"Not always," Paipa replied truthfully. "My parents used to take me to the Zero Zone Research Institute, and I would occasionally stay there for a while."
"I see!" Naoki pondered for a moment and then suddenly remembered something. "By the way, aren't you turning ten years old next year?"
Paipa looked at him in surprise. "How did you know?"
"Don't you remember? The professor mentioned it when he brought you over last time," Naoki said with a smile.
Paipa thought hard and finally recalled the conversation.
"Do you have any plans for next year?" Naoki asked. "Are you going to become a trainer and travel the world, or will you go to Padia Academy?"
"I... I'm not very good at Pokemon battles," Paipa hesitated. "I don't know what I want to do in the future."
Naoki fell silent.
In the game, Paipa, who claimed to be unskilled in battles, could still bring out six Pokemon above level 60 to fight the player. What would happen if she actually became skilled?
However, Naoki recalled that Paipa's dream wasn't to become a powerful trainer but to be a chef who could bring vitality to Pokemon.
'What's this?' Naoki thought to himself. 'A chef who isn't a trainer isn't a good chef?' But he kept these thoughts to himself and said to Paipa, "Since you don't know what to do, why don't you go take a look at Padia Academy? Maybe you'll find your answer there."
"Okay!" Paipa nodded seriously.
At that moment, the Pokemon in the snow had started building snowmen under Guler's lead.
However, Guler wasn't very skilled, and the snowman ended up with a large head and a tiny body.
Seeing this, Naoki walked up with Paipa and said, "If you want to make it like that, the snowball on top shouldn't be too big..."
As he spoke, the image of Lei Guanwang suddenly popped into Naoki's mind.
"...Or it can be bigger," he quickly amended. "You can create snow sculptures resembling specific Pokemon."
"Ah ga si!" Guler immediately understood.
It began to scoop up snow with its large claws, and soon, several oddly shaped snow sculptures appeared on the snow-covered ground.
Naoki turned and looked around. When he spotted Ai Guanshi and his siblings, he suddenly recalled the shrubbery maze he had once seen in the manor.
At that time, he remembered a group of Pokemon playing hide-and-seek in there.
This raised a question: could he create a small ice maze here for the Pokemon to play in? With this thought, Naoki immediately approached the quietly standing Alcremie, who was calmly watching everyone play in the snow with a smile on its face.
Compared to the other Pokemon, this snow was nothing new to Alcremie, as it had lived in Frostmont in the past, where snow was everywhere.
Noticing Naoki approaching, Alcremie turned its head and asked, "Frostine?"
"Do you have some time? I'd like to ask for your help in creating something." Naoki smiled and shared his idea with the Pokemon.
After listening, Alcremie fell into deep thought for a moment before its eyes lit up. It nodded gently and responded, "Frostine!"
"Great, shall we give it a try?" Naoki asked.
Alcremie nodded.
Soon, the two of them arrived at an open grassland.
Naoki stood behind Alcremie and gave it instructions: "First, use Ice Beam to create an ice wall!"
"Alcremie!"
Alcremie opened its mouth and released a beam of freezing energy.
The intense ice-type power swept across the snowy ground, and instantly, an ice-blue wall appeared.
"Great, just like that!" Naoki was delighted that his idea worked and continued, "Do it again and connect several ice walls together!"
"Alcremie!"
This was easy for Alcremie, and it followed Naoki's commands, continuously using Ice Beam to create multiple ice walls on the snowy ground.
The four outermost ice walls formed a huge square area.
Within this area were countless smaller ice walls of varying lengths, together forming a massive ice maze playground.
The maze had two exits, with paths that seemed to lead everywhere, but only one true path would lead to the exit.
When the maze was completed, the other Pokemon were also drawn to this impressive structure, staring at it in awe.
Naoki looked up at the ice walls, taller than himself, marveling at the power of a single Alcremie.
Looks like all those Creamshakes last summer weren't for nothing!
"Good job!"
Naoki patted Alcremie's head and then called over the other Pokemon to explain the rules of hide-and-seek.
"Hide-and-seek is played between two teams. One team hides, while the other team seeks and tries to find the hiding Pokemon."
"If all the hiding Pokemon are found, the seeking team wins. The first Pokemon to be found will then lead the seeking team in the next round."
"Do you understand?"
The group of Pokemon listened, some understanding, some not. But soon, the clever Babo Sandshrew exclaimed, "Babo!"
It understood!
Babo flew into the air and addressed the other Pokemon, "Babo!" It would be the seeker for the first round!
Naoki: "I'm sorry, but you can't use your flying ability or moves during the game."
Hearing this, Babo showed a surprised expression.
How was he supposed to find the other Pokemon then?!
"You'll have to rely on your eyes," Naoki explained.
Babo looked thoughtful and then nodded in understanding.
It got it!
Seeing that no one else had any objections, Naoki said, "Alright, you can start hiding in the maze now! Babo will count to fifty and then come to find you, so be careful not to be spotted!"
Hearing this, Miltank, Galvantula, and the other Pokemon quickly rushed into the ice maze, each finding a place to hide.
Even Guler was excited by the game and scurried into the maze.
Babo closed its eyes and started counting as Naoki had taught it.
"Babo!" (1!)
"Babo!" (2!)
...
"Babo!" (35!)
"Babo!" (36!)
Babo's counting voice was loud, loud enough for the Pokemon in the maze to hear.
As the countdown neared its end, the Pokemon in the maze felt a strong sense of urgency.
Inside, Miltank frantically looked around for a hiding spot.
In a secluded corner of the maze, Babo closed his eyes and began counting down from fifty as Naoki had taught him.
"Babo!" (50!)
As soon as the countdown ended, Babo eagerly stepped into the maze. Being an intelligent Pokemon, he quickly noticed the tracks in the snow.
"Ba Mo!" (I've found you!)
Babo exclaimed deliberately.
He locked onto a particular set of tracks and followed them, only to find that they led to a dead end. However, there was a strange bump in the snow ahead.
"Ba Mo..." Babo cautiously approached and swatted at the snow bump.
The next second, a startled scream came from beneath the snow.
"Mama!"
"It looks like Frostine was the first Pokemon to be found by Babo," Naoki remarked as he stretched leisurely, listening to Frostine's voice outside the maze.
Leaving the Pokemon to their game, he turned to head towards the greenhouse to check on the Combee's honey production.
"Would you like to come, Paipa?" Naoki asked.
Paipa shook her head. "No, Mr. Naoki. I'd like to stay here with Sirfetch'd."
"Alright." Naoki nodded. "If you feel cold, you can go back inside. The fireplace is still lit, and you'll warm up quickly."
"Okay! Thank you!" Paipa replied gratefully.
Naoki smiled and made his way to the greenhouse.
Lei Guanwang was not there, and Naoki guessed that the Pokemon must have gone to explore the surroundings of the ranch again.
He greeted Butterfree and then proceeded to the Combee's hive. The hive contained only a small amount of honey, and the Combee didn't seem to be in high spirits.
Naoki surmised that, like some Pokemon that hibernate during this season, the Combee were minimizing their activity. This was quite normal for Pokemon like them.
After observing them, Naoki returned to the house and fetched the honey he had prepared earlier for the Combee to help them through the winter. He placed it in their hive as a reserve food source.
Just as he finished, Lei Guanwang returned.
The Pokemon appeared directly in the greenhouse and asked gravely, "I sensed a presence of death from that mountain, devoid of any life. What happened there?"
Naoki immediately understood what Lei Guanwang was referring to. He thought for a moment and replied, "Before you arrived, there was a fire on the mountain behind us. The fire consumed all the plants and took the lives of many Pokemon."
"The Pokemon living in the orchard were survivors of that fire. I took them in and promised to help them replant grass, flowers, and trees on the mountain next spring."
"I see," Lei Guanwang murmured.
Hearing about the loss of many Pokemon's lives, the compassionate king Pokemon felt a pang in his heart.
He sighed sadly, "If only I had come here sooner. With my power, I could have moved them to safety."
"Ah!" Naoki also sighed. "All we can do now is help the survivors rebuild their homes."
Lei Guanwang closed his eyes, mourning the Pokemon who had passed away. After a moment, he opened his eyes again.
"In that case, I shall assist as well!"
"Mhm." Naoki nodded, already planning to purchase tree saplings and grass seeds.
Not all the survivors had ended up at the ranch; some had been rescued by the Padia League and were living in a shelter in town.
The Padia League would undoubtedly send people to help with the mountain's restoration, doing their best to aid the forest's recovery.
I was out working all day yesterday, and my back is sore from moving things. I was too tired to write when I got home, so my apologies for the delay.
(End of Chapter)
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