"Do you want to go fishing?" Mu Zong asked from the doorway after Xiao Jia left.
Zarude also happened to be looking outside, and their eyes met.
Zarude didn't hesitate and nodded in agreement.
"Then wait for me here first; I'll go buy a fishing rod."
To earn money, he needed a tool. He had seen a fishing tackle shop in Qinghe Town yesterday, and he hoped the money in his pocket would be enough.
Zarude nodded.
After Mu Zong left, he stepped out of the small, dilapidated house and walked onto the lawn.
This place was vastly different from his memory; it was much smaller, without the fountain sculpture, without the large villa, without a glowing starf berry grove, and without many Trainers who wanted to challenge the legendary hermit.
Everything was unlike anything he had ever seen.
He remembered opening his eyes in the Wind Chime Farm, in Mu Zong's arms, and there was another Zarude beside him at that time.
The Wind Chime Farm had already prospered back then...
The dilapidation here was something he had never witnessed.
"luzha..."
So it was this difficult.
He came to the planting area, his gaze shifting from the first mutated starf berry tree to the other seeds.
Then, he pulled out a vine from the vine bracer on his arm and crushed it in his hand.
Golden light scattered, urging the seeds underground to grow.
One by one, small trees rapidly grew under a miraculous power.
Under Zarude's power, these Berry seeds had a 100% success rate for sprouting.
Only after urging about half of them did Zarude stop, panting.
Before falling from the strange time machine, he had been severely injured, and he could only fully recover when he saw his own forest.
And this forest existed in the future.
"Did you do this?" Mu Zong's voice came from behind him.
Zarude turned his head to look; Mu Zong was holding a long fishing rod and carrying bait in his hand.
"luzha!"
Zarude clenched his fist, indicating that he was very powerful.
"Thank you so much," Mu Zong exclaimed. "In a few days, we can apply fertilizer to ensure the output."
Zarude tilted his head slightly in pride, his somewhat intimidating face revealing childlike emotions.
This unexpected contrast made Mu Zong laugh.
"Let's go, let's go fishing in the back mountain, and I'll have to trouble you to escort me."
Zarude was his confidence for entering the back mountain.
After all, he was a Mythical Pokémon, even if he was injured.
Zarude straightened his back and became alert even before leaving the Wind Chime Farm.
"You don't have to be so nervous," Mu Zong chuckled.
This was more cooperative than he had imagined.
However, unlike his somewhat terrifying appearance, Zarude's behavior was a bit silly.
It was like a younger brother eager to show off when his older brother wasn't home.
Of the plaque in front of the Wind Chime Farm, only the character "Wind" was still legible.
According to the original owner's memory, this Wind Chime Farm was called "Wind Chime Farm."
After they arrived at the Wind Chime Farm, they followed a small path towards the mountains.
When the Wind Chime Farm and Qinghe Town disappeared from view behind them, they completely entered nature.
Because it had just rained last night, everything was damp, and their feet were soon covered in mud.
The robe made from a single sheet also got stained.
It was time to get some new clothes.
The sound of a Pidgey came from somewhere.
Something clicked in Zarude's mind; he remembered there was a wild Sitrus Berry tree in this forest.
"luzha!"
He pointed in one direction and then used his hand to make the shape of a fish.
"Are there fish in that direction?" Mu Zong asked.
"luzha!"
Zarude gave an affirmative sound, then extended his hand towards a large tree, and a vine shot out from the bracer on his arm, wrapping around a branch.
Looking at Zarude swinging through the forest, Mu Zong blurted out, "A failed Mega?"
"What if I encounter a Mankey after you leave?" Mu Zong shouted.
"luzha!"
Zarude's voice came from the forest.
Now was not the most dangerous time for Mankey; it would be fine.
Unfortunately, Mu Zong couldn't understand, so he could only walk towards the place with fish, though his steps became more cautious.
"Dee..."
A strange sound suddenly startled him, and his steps quickened as he looked at the dense, impenetrable jungle.
Having only had close contact with Zarude in two lifetimes, he still felt a sense of unfamiliarity with other Pokémon.
But luckily, he arrived safely at an open space, where a blue lake occupied most of the area.
The surroundings were exceptionally quiet, as if nothing was there.
Mu Zong stood on the bank, looking at the lake. The bottom of the water was not clear enough to be seen.
"Then there must be fish."
He sat on the ground, baited his hook, and cast his fishing rod.
"No skunk, no skunk, no skunk..." he murmured softly to himself.
On the other side, Zarude stopped on a tree trunk, startling a nearby Pidgey, which quickly flew up.
Zarude observed his surroundings while swinging a vine to pull it back.
"Do you know where there's a strange tree?" Zarude asked in the Pokémon language.
But this Pidgey just flapped its wings in fear.
"Answer me!"
Zarude's terrifying face approached its face.
Pidgey's mind went blank from fright, then it stammered out what it knew.
After getting the information he wanted, Zarude pulled out a vine and wrapped it around Pidgey's already injured wing.
"Let's go." Zarude released it and swung through the jungle again.
Soon, Zarude stopped. That tree was different from the surrounding ones, with several yellow fruits hanging from its branches.
"Found it..."
At the same time, the Leavanny under the tree also noticed him.
This was Leavanny's territory.
Leavanny
Leavanny's gaze was dangerous and cold, making Zarude realize that they were not yet family.
"luzha!"
"Mu?"
Zarude didn't say much; he was the first to extend a vine and entangle Leavanny.
Leavanny, momentarily stunned, used Razor Leaf, attempting to cut the vine.
Then she used String Shot, about to attack Zarude.
But she didn't expect Razor Leaf to fail to cut the vine; instead, Zarude pulled hard, and she fell to the ground.
"Clang!"
A thick vine swung down like a whip, leaving a scar on her slender body.
The superiority was immediately apparent.
Zarude tied her up and, in front of her, picked most of the Sitrus Berries from the tree.
Noisy sounds also rang out from the forest, and Zarude turned his head to look.
It was a dozen Pidgey and Pidgeotto, led by a Pidgeot, coming for revenge.
Facing this situation, Zarude showed no fear, a ferocious smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Crunch!
The Sitrus Berry broke in his mouth, and its juice slid down his throat into his abdomen.
As he leaped from his spot, a sneaking Pidgeotto missed.
Zarude held the Sitrus Berry with one hand and swung a thick vine with the other.
He flicked his wrist, and the vine spun in the air like a rein, the sound of it cutting through the air like a whip striking leather.
