Poliwag’s friendly gesture of goodwill left Ceruledge a bit confused; it remembered that previously, due to its appearance, these Poliwag had always been afraid to wander near it.
Why did Poliwag come knocking today?
Or did it encounter some difficulty and need its help?
Ceruledge looked at Poliwag with a puzzled gaze, asking in confusion, “Slor?”
Poliwag hopped over to Ceruledge, exuding a friendly aura, and looked at the apron Ceruledge held in its arms, pursing its lips: “Ugh!”
Ceruledge was startled; why did Poliwag want it to spread out the apron?
It hesitated for a moment; although Ceruledge didn't really want to spread out the important apron in front of a Pokémon it wasn't very familiar with.
But considering that Poliwag was a Pokémon Luo Mu brought back, Ceruledge still restrained its flames and sword, fearing that its sharp greatsword might accidentally poke a small hole in the apron or tear it, and carefully spread out the apron.
Poliwag glanced at Ceruledge, who was staring intently at the apron, and immediately understood.
Sure enough, what it had observed at the barbecue party earlier was correct: this apron held extraordinary significance for Ceruledge.
An idea immediately surfaced in its mind, and after a brief deliberation, Poliwag exhaled a pile of Bubble Beam with the gentlest force possible.
Instantly, a sea of bubbles completely submerged Ceruledge and the apron. Ceruledge, realizing what was happening, changed its expression from bewilderment to anger; it hadn't expected Poliwag to be here for a prank!
Although Ceruledge could easily make these flimsy bubbles dissipate with a slight swing of its sword, or even erupt flames to completely evaporate these water-laden bubbles.
But because of the apron, Ceruledge dared not move drastically nor recklessly use flames, only standing still, waiting for the bubbles to disperse.
A moment later, the bubbles dispersed.
Ceruledge's personality had become more composed and calm since its evolution, and only the apron could be considered its Outrage. Usually, no matter how Poliwag pranked it, it didn't matter, but now it had clearly touched Ceruledge's anger.
The expression in Ceruledge's purple eyes became serious, intending to properly educate Poliwag to let it know that what it did was wrong. Who knew that the “mischievous” Poliwag not only showed no guilt but also gestured with its eyes for Ceruledge to look at the apron.
Ceruledge was startled, its gaze falling upon the apron hanging on its greatsword, surprise evident on its face.
The little yellow duck apron, which was originally covered with various hard-to-clean oil stains, was now completely free of stubborn oil stains, except for some wrinkles caused by use!
“Ugh!”
Seeing the plan succeed, Poliwag jumped up excitedly.
Only then did Ceruledge understand Poliwag's purpose in using Bubble Beam.
So, it was to help it clean the apron?
The next morning, Luo Mu, dressed in pajamas, woke up surrounded by Growlithe, Serperior, and Mimikyu.
Luo Mu's gaze did not linger on the three Pokémon sleeping like logs; he had long been accustomed to the daily occurrence of randomly spawning Pokémon under his quilt when he woke up. After a shallow Yawn, Luo Mu quickly washed up and changed his clothes.
Today, he wasn't in a hurry to plant trees or start a new round of sowing. Luo Mu planned to visit a friend in another city, who had some urgent matter and had called him.
Considering that Bottle Gourd City was still some distance from Pingdie Town, Luo Mu decided to call upon another Pokémon that wasn't busy with anything important to accompany him.
When traveling, it was always better to ensure sufficient combat power could be deployed, otherwise, it would be easy to suffer losses in unexpected situations.
Besides Dragonite, which he had to rely on for its flying speed to travel between cities in the Paldea region in a short time, Luo Mu also planned to take Ceruledge with him.
There were a few well-rated clothing stores in Bottle Gourd City, where he could pick out a new apron for Ceruledge.
Dragonite was easy to find; it was basically either at home or floating in the sky, occasionally landing to sit near the house and ponder its Pokémon life.
Not seeing it at home or near the house, Luo Mu then ran to the back of the house to where Moltres slept under his small shed.
Although they had fought each other, besides Growlithe, Moltres had a better relationship with Dragonite on the farm, perhaps because Dragonite had defeated it fair and square in a direct confrontation.
After asking, Luo Mu learned from Moltres that Dragonite had gone to Thunderclap Lake to play in the water, so he immediately set off for Thunderclap Lake.
By Thunderclap Lake, Luo Mu quickly spotted Dragonite playing in the water.
It was normal for Dragonite to have a strong affinity for water, as Dratini and Dragonair mostly lived in lakes, just like the sparse distribution of Dratini, Dragonair, and Dragonite Family in Casseroya Lake.
However, the other two figures staying together by the lake surprised Luo Mu.
The leader of the four Poliwag and Ceruledge.
Meanwhile, the three younger Poliwag were leisurely floating on the water, napping.
Poliwag was seen leaping up and spraying Water Gun at Ceruledge. Ceruledge rotated its greatsword, easily deflecting Poliwag's attack with a horizontal slash.
Poliwag wasn't discouraged and found a new angle to attack again.
From the looks of it, Ceruledge was voluntarily acting as a training partner for Poliwag...?
Luo Mu showed a puzzled expression: “Strange, were they ever this close before?”
After picking up Dragonite and Ceruledge, as well as Poliwag who strongly expressed its desire to follow, Luo Mu instructed Luxray, the farm's head butler, that he would return tonight and entrusted the farm to its care during that time.
After receiving Luxray's steady reply, Luo Mu immediately chose to ride Dragonite and set off, heading for Bottle Gourd City, known as the “Watery Land.”
At Dragonite's flying speed, it brought Luo Mu down outside Bottle Gourd City before noon.
The architectural style of Bottle Gourd City was quite unique; the ground and walls were covered with various strange and beautiful patterns, looking very much like Azulejo tile art, and the road style somewhat resembled Portuguese cobblestone streets.
The city's waterways were well-connected, and many people and tourists even chose to travel by small boat via the waterways, which reminded Luo Mu of another water city, Alto Mare, and the legendary Pokémon Latias and Latios residing there.
Luo Mu returned Dragonite to its Poké Ball, leaving only the small Poliwag by his side.
While most cities in the Paldea region allowed Pokémon to walk on the roads, Dragonite's situation was somewhat special.