Chapter 298: The Lava Bug's Cozy Home
Chapter 298: The Lava Bug's Cozy Home
Upon learning about the wonders of television, the Lei Crown began to develop a keen interest in the square box that could produce sound and display images.
Noticing her fascination, Naoki invited Her to join them on the sofa to watch TV together.
The Lei Crown readily agreed.
As Naoki's sides were occupied by Babo and Gulton, She could only sit on the single sofa across from them.
But that didn't hinder Her enjoyment of the television.
At that moment, a documentary called "The Cozy Home of the Lava Bugs" was playing on the screen.
The film told the story of a young girl named Anna, who returned to her grandparents' home in the countryside during her winter vacation to visit them.
The elderly couple lived alongside a group of Pokemon.
There was the Axew Dragon, who split wood with its teeth, the Snow Worm that served as a refrigerator, the Electric Spider that provided electricity, and the Aridos who supplied silk for knitting...
And of course, the Lava Bugs, who resided in specially made heating pipes, providing warmth to the house and helping with fire and cooking.
Anna adored the Lava Bugs and longed to befriend them, so she spent her days chasing them around the house, only for the elusive bugs to scurry through the heating pipes.
Her grandfather told Anna that when Lava Bugs were happy, they would make a "boom boom boom" sound and emit smoke from their bodies.
Sensing Anna's sincere desire for friendship, the Lava Bugs, on the day of her departure, produced a "boom boom" sound in the house and bid her farewell with their Smoke Screen move.
Though the documentary was short, its atmosphere was heartwarming.
The elderly couple, though not trainers, lived harmoniously with the Pokemon, and in this age, such households were not uncommon.
After thousands of years of development, humans and Pokemon had finally achieved a peaceful coexistence.
Having watched the entire program, the Lei Crown couldn't help but exclaim, "Television truly is magical!"
Naoki chuckled and nodded in agreement, "Humans have never ceased to push forward. Perhaps in the near future, we'll be traveling to other planets in spaceships."
The Lei Crown expressed admiration, "That's something even I cannot achieve!"
During the commercial break, Babo remained entranced by the documentary.
Longingly, it tugged on Naoki's sleeve with its claw.
Naoki turned, "Yes?"
Babo: "Ba Mo!"
The Lei Crown interpreted, "It says, '[Lava Bugs are such wonderful Pokemon!]'"
Taken aback, Naoki asked in surprise, "You really like Lava Bugs?"
"Ba Mo!" Babo nodded vigorously.
It too wanted to build a lava bug pipeline and befriend the lava bugs that lived there!
"I see..." Naoki pondered the idea, finding it feasible, though he knew that Lava Bugs typically inhabited volcanic regions, making them hard to come by elsewhere.
But it wasn't impossible.
For instance, he could take a trip to the Hoenn region in his free time and search for Lava Bugs at the famous Mt. Chimney.
After some thought, Naoki said, "Let's see if I can come across any Lava Bugs later on. If I do, how about I invite one to come live with us?"
With a Lava Bug in the house, they could even replace the natural gas with the bug's heat. After all, Lava Bugs had very high body temperatures, perfect for cooking.
Additionally, they could provide warmth for the entire house.
The only hassle would be the need to remodel the fireplace, ventilation, and heating pipes if they welcomed a Lava Bug into their home.
Naoki began formulating plans for the future.
Upon hearing Naoki's response, Babo let out a delighted cry, "Ba Mo!"
But then, it realized something and, with its small claws, scratched at Naoki's leg, looking up at him expectantly.
"Ba Mo? Ba Mo Ba Mo!" (When will Naoki's granddaughter come to visit the ranch? I want to be her friend, just like the Lava Bug!)
Naoki: "......?"
Puzzled, Naoki was at a loss. Babo, what are you talking about?
He didn't even have a girlfriend, let alone a granddaughter appearing out of thin air!
Babo, however, had already begun fantasizing about the future: "Ba Mo?" (Will Naoki's granddaughter live with us?)
Influenced by Babo, the Frost Fairy beside them chimed in with her thoughts, "Mama!" (Of course, she will!)
The Lei Crown smiled, watching this exchange, and used telepathy to convey the Pokemon's whispers to Naoki.
Babo pouted, feeling dejected. "Ba Mo...?" (Why not?)
According to Naoki's understanding of this world, children moved out after getting married to live with their spouses.
Just like Mayor Thomas' son.
Naoki recalled Mayor Thomas mentioning that his son had moved to Nectar City after getting married, and only returned to visit during holidays with his wife and children.
Naoki organized his thoughts and, glancing at the curious Pokemon in front of him, explained, "Children will eventually have their own lives. They will encounter their own Pokemon partners, just as you left your parents and came to live with me."
The Pokemon listened, only partially understanding.
Only Golurk remained unfazed, lying calmly by Naoki's legs, as it possessed a secret known only to it.
Naoki's words made Babo homesick for its parents.
Unlike the Eevee siblings, Babo hadn't left its parents of its own volition. It had been brought to the ranch by a Roggenrola.
Babo wondered if they had worried about it after it left.
Noticing the sudden change in Babo's mood, Naoki immediately guessed what was on its mind.
"Let me see what I can do..."
Roggenrola mainly inhabited the mountainous regions of southwestern Pasio.
They would use the downy feathers and shed feathers from their chests to make bags, then fly down to pick up stones, branches, and other items to put inside. They enjoyed dropping these bags from high places.
With this in mind, Naoki returned to his room and retrieved a map of the Pasio region from his desk.
He spread the map out on the table, and a group of Pokemon immediately gathered around.
Naoki located the ranch on the map, then found the nearest mountain range inhabited by Roggenrola and drew a straight line connecting the two places.
Additionally, he considered that Roggenrola wouldn't stray too far from their nests when picking up items.
"So... it should be somewhere around here."
Naoki used a pen to circle the vast wilderness area south of Shiver City.
However, he couldn't be completely sure. After some thought, he asked, "Babo, do you remember what the place you used to live in looked like?"
Babo thought hard and replied, "Ba Mo!" (It was in a forest with lots and lots of trees, and there was a really big tree there, too!)
Aside from that, it couldn't remember anything else.
A forest region?
There were plenty of places that fit that description! Naoki was stumped.
If only Mewtwo were here, he thought.
Mewtwo had the ability to examine the memories of humans and Pokemon. Perhaps it could have extracted more information from Babo's deep memories.
Unfortunately, Mewtwo had left earlier...
What about the Pokemon that visited the Pokemon Tavern?
Lately, more and more Pokemon guests had been drawn to the tavern.
Among them were some wild Pokemon.
For example, there was the wild Chatot that had migrated from another region and happened to hear about the tavern from other Pokemon. It had stopped by for a short while before continuing on its journey.
With this in mind, Naoki decided to post a missing Pokemon notice at the tavern, asking these wild Pokemon travelers for help. He hoped that they might encounter Babo's parents during their journeys.
So, Naoki immediately shared his idea with his sister, Aigross, and asked her to spread the word among the Pokemon guests at the tavern the next day.
Aigross readily agreed.
With a gentle and kind heart, she looked at Babo and softly reassured, "Ai Yi~" (Don't worry, I'll ask everyone to help.)
"Ba Mo..." Babo was deeply touched. "Ba Mo!" (Thank you!)
Aigross smiled softly.
The next evening, the Pokemon Tavern opened as usual.
Aigross took the opportunity to verbally spread the "missing Pokemon notice" among the Pokemon guests. She asked them to come forward if they had any information.
Naoki didn't go to the tavern, but he still learned about the developments from Aigross.
All they had to do now was patiently wait for a response. However, something interesting happened during this waiting period.
One morning, Naoki was weeding in the fields when Mrs. Dantes, a resident of the town who ordered a bottle of fresh sheep's milk from the ranch every day, came by.
Naoki was surprised to see her and asked, "Mrs. Dantes? What brings you here?"
At that moment, the kind old lady smiled and said, "Naoki, has the quality of the sheep's milk you've been selling lately improved? I noticed that the market in Zichin is also selling a brand called Vitality Sheep's Milk... I wonder if they're sourcing it from your ranch."
"That's correct," Naoki nodded.
Since Mrs. Dantes was a long-time customer and had helped him a lot in the past, the price of the sheep's milk he sold to her remained the same as when they first started doing business.
Hearing this, Mrs. Dantes hesitated for a moment before asking, "Do you still have any regular quality sheep's milk?"
Naoki was taken aback and sensed something amiss from her tone. He couldn't help but inquire, "Has something happened?"
Mrs. Dantes looked surprised as she exclaimed, "Ever since my husband drank the sheep's milk that you delivered the other day, he's been full of energy and jumping around all day! He even has nosebleeds several times a day!"
"We went to the hospital, and the doctor said it was due to excess nutrition. I thought we hadn't taken any supplements lately! Then I realized it must be the sheep's milk."
"Really?" Naoki was puzzled.
Usually, he drank milk from the large dairy cans, and had only tasted the Vitality Sheep's Milk once before. The taste of sheep's milk was quite particular, and most people preferred the more familiar flavor of MooMoo Milk.
Mrs. Dantes nodded, "So, I wanted to ask if you still have any regular sheep's milk. The effects of that milk are just too exaggerated!"
"I'm afraid I don't have any regular sheep's milk left," Naoki shook his head. Unless he captured a few more Ride Sheep Pokemon and fed them the cuisine to enhance their milk's quality.
After some thought, Naoki suggested, "How about trying the fresh milk produced by the Large Dairy Can instead?"
The Large Dairy Can at his ranch had also consumed the cuisine to enhance their milk's quality, so the MooMoo Milk they produced was also of high quality.
Hearing this, Mrs. Dantes nodded, "Then let's switch to cow's milk!"
"Sure," Naoki smiled and replaced the sheep's milk with cow's milk.
Mrs. Dantes breathed a sigh of relief and handed a paper bag to Naoki. With a kind smile, she said, "These are some cookies I baked. Try them!"
"Thank you very much," Naoki politely took the bag of cookies and bade farewell to Mrs. Dantes, seeing her off as she turned to leave the ranch.
Naoki thought this was just an isolated case, but he never expected to receive several more calls from his milk subscribers in the following days.
They all complained that the sheep's milk was too nourishing and that drinking it caused nosebleeds, sleepless nights, and even weight gain.
Not wanting to turn into obese, they requested to switch to the Large Dairy Can's cow's milk.
Naoki was speechless. After hanging up, he took a bottle of sheep's milk from the refrigerator and wondered if the effects were truly that exaggerated.
Intrigued, Naoki tilted his head back and drank the entire bottle.
Immediately, he felt a surge of energy welling up from within.
The fatigue from working in the fields earlier vanished, and he felt full of vigor, as if he had an endless supply of strength.
This feeling made him want to spin in circles like a Pokemon evolving!
Power... it kept surging forth!
"This is indeed too exaggerated!"
Naoki was astonished.
The next second, two warm streams flowed from his nostrils.
Naoki wiped his nose and saw his hand stained with blood.
"Damn!" He was having a nosebleed! Brother Ai Guanshi, who witnessed this, rushed over with a tissue to help stop the bleeding.
"Thanks!" Naoki took the tissue and frantically tried to stem the flow of blood.
"Ai Yi..." Brother Ai Guanshi beside him was worried.
It took a while for the nosebleed to stop.
But Naoki felt his body brimming with energy, and he couldn't just sit idly.
So, under Brother Ai Guanshi's concerned gaze, he rushed out of the room, grabbed an axe, and started chopping firewood vigorously.
(End of Chapter)
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