Poliwag looked at the marks on Luo Mu's arm, its expression a little curious.
"Wululu?" (Was it caused by Charcadet?)
Although Luo Mu didn't understand what Poliwag was saying, he could roughly guess from experience, and he sighed, "Yes, this is a mark left from when I was trying to capture Charcadet, a testament to our story. Back then, I didn't have the means to buy high-grade Potions like I do now, so the mark remained."
"But you don't have to worry about Growlithe's flame burns leaving marks on your back, after all, I now have the ability to provide better conditions for you all."
"Wululu!"
Poliwag wanted to say that it wasn't worried about such superficial things, but Luo Mu shook the small Potion bottle in his hand, and stroked Poliwag's head, saying, "Now for a question! Do you know how much this bottle of Potion costs?"
"Wululu?"
Poliwag tilted its head; it was just a Poliwag, how could it know such a thing?
"It only costs 600 alliance currency. It's much more effective than a regular Potion, and the price is doubled." Luo Mu spread his hands and said in a relaxed tone, "And the four of you Poliwag don't even eat 100 alliance currency worth of food in a day. Even if you freeload and do nothing, raising you is more than enough."
Of course, this was only for the normal nutritional meals required to sustain their activity; if they started training, a large sum of money would be needed to increase their nutritional intake.
Poliwag's eyes were a bit blank; it realized that its little thoughts seemed to have been completely seen through by Luo Mu.
"Of course, I captured you and brought you to the farm because I need your abilities. Even if your role is very minor now, I value long-term development more."
Seeing Poliwag's expression and reaction, Luo Mu knew his guess was correct and said softly, "There's no need to be so scared and anxious. I chose to tell you about Ceruledge's past experience because I also wanted to tell you that I won't abandon the Pokemon I've captured for various messy reasons."
"Look, I haven't even driven away Moltres, who eats the most and lives here for free."
Luo Mu pointed to Moltres, who was lying on its back not far away, looking a bit like a roasted chicken, sleeping soundly without a care in the world. He then gently placed the sleeping Growlithe on its belly.
Poliwag: "..."
The topic suddenly became very sharp.
However, a feeling of sudden enlightenment enveloped Poliwag, and instantly, it felt its worries were a bit ridiculous.
That's right, just as the Eldegoss said, this is home.
Night.
It was a belated celebration for the farm earning its first money, perhaps. Luo Mu brought Dragonite and bought abundant raw ingredients from the market, including both meat and vegetables.
Under Ceruledge's command, they happily skewered barbecue for an entire afternoon.
Poliwag's concerns were perfectly resolved after Luo Mu's heart-to-heart talk. It volunteered to help but couldn't do such delicate work without hands, so it could only follow Luxray and the others to collect firewood in the wild.
Looking at the two large plates full of marinated meat and vegetable skewers, Ceruledge silently brought out its ancestral grill, skillfully used its flaming greatsword to start a fire, and controlled the heat to begin the grilling process, which looked simple but actually required precise control over the optimal cooking time for various foods.
Luo Mu, finally able to rest, sat on the ground without a care for his image, playing and roughhousing with a few Pokemon.
As his gaze swept over Ceruledge, as if remembering something, Luo Mu quickly got up and walked into the house, finding a bright yellow apron.
Although the apron looked like it had been through many "battlefields," it was still neatly folded, showing that its user cherished it very much.
Luo Mu smiled helplessly, carrying the apron to Ceruledge's side, his tone slightly tinged with a hint of complaint: "Look, oil has splattered on your armor again. It's a hassle for me to maintain!"
Ceruledge awkwardly stopped its movements, its purple pupils somewhat unfocused and guilty.
Luo Mu first carefully wiped off the freshly splattered oil stains on Ceruledge's armor, sighing that as a Trainer, he truly had to be both a father and a mother, constantly paying attention to the Pokemon's mental health.
Luo Mu put the bright yellow little duck apron on Ceruledge, feeling that the contrast between a cool swordsman and a cute apron was simply too captivating.
The previous few times Ceruledge grilled, he wasn't there to observe due to various reasons, and he didn't expect its old habit to resurface.
This little duck apron was a gift he gave Ceruledge on the day it evolved. Ceruledge usually preferred to let its cool armor get stained rather than wear this apron.
The various marks on the apron were left when he forced Ceruledge to wear it.
Luo Mu felt that aprons were meant to be worn, and even if this apron had some commemorative significance, Ceruledge would receive many more aprons from him in the decades he would still be around.
Being too careful and protective would go against his original intention of giving the apron.
"Slao..."
Unable to refuse Luo Mu's request, Ceruledge could only helplessly put on the apron and continue grilling.
However, this time, its movements were a hundred times more careful.
Ceruledge always regretted its actions when it was young, and even the burn scar on Luo Mu's arm was caused by it.
Yet, even so, Luo Mu still accepted it, a discarded hedgehog covered in thorns.
It learned to cook because it wanted to make up for the mistakes it had made as much as possible. However, its arms were naturally not suited for such delicate tasks, so grilling was slightly easier to pick up.
Luo Mu didn't know what Ceruledge was thinking; he just looked at Ceruledge, who was seriously flipping and seasoning the food, and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
The solitary Charcadet, once covered in thorns, had grown to this point. Although its emotions were still somewhat reserved and it remained taciturn, even he couldn't quite see through it.
But now, Ceruledge had completely integrated into this group. For him, that was enough.
Poliwag, who had returned from gathering firewood, saw the interaction between Luo Mu and Ceruledge, and a thoughtful glint flashed in its bright black eyes.
Late at night, Luo Mu and the Pokemon, full and content, returned to their respective nests to rest, and the battlefield had already been cleaned up by everyone.
Ceruledge found a spot to sit down, carefully holding the apron, which had still, inevitably, gotten some oil stains, and let out a slight sigh.
It seemed it would have to trouble Swampert to carefully wash it with water again.
Last time they washed it, they were so anxious to control the water flow's force to prevent the apron from tearing that they were sweating profusely, even though they were unfazed when fighting the Elite Four.
Just then, Poliwag, who should have already returned to Thunderclap Lake, suddenly emerged from the side and greeted Ceruledge with a smile: "Wululu!"