Not a trainer this time

"This is the public hall. Let's rest here tonight!" Xuezi led Zhi Shu to a double-story building and introduced to him: "Tomorrow, the mayor will come to show you around Beishang Township. of rice fields and apple orchards.”

"Okay." After running around for a day, Naoki was indeed a little tired.

Yukiko opened the door of the public hall and Naoki walked in. After showing his identity plate to the staff at the front desk, he heard the man say:

"Welcome to Beishang Township. Your room is on the second floor. If you want to eat, you can go to the restaurant on the right. The mayor has prepared a reception dinner for you."

Naoki nodded, then went upstairs to put his luggage in the room, then returned to the lobby, and was led by Yukiko to the restaurant of the public hall.

A bald old man wearing a kimono, glasses, and a white beard was already waiting there.

Seeing Naoki coming over, he immediately walked forward and stretched out his hand with a smile:

"Oh, you are Mr. Naoki who came from the Padiya area for agricultural exchanges, right? I am the mayor of Beishang Township and the mayor of this town. I am very happy that you can come here!"

"Hello, Mr. Mayor." Naoki extended his hand, and after briefly introducing himself, the group sat at the dining table.

Kitakami Township prepared apple pie, apple candy, sticky cakes, mushroom soup, sushi and other dishes for him for dinner.

Although not very rich, the variety of these foods is full of local characteristics.

At the dinner table, the township head introduced him to the itinerary of this agricultural exchange:

"Tomorrow morning, I will accompany you to visit the rice fields in Beishang Township. By the way, there is no rice in the Padiya area, right?"

Zhi Shu thought for a while, shook his head and said: "The main crops grown in the Padia area are wheat and corn. Rice is not seen very much, at least not near Zhiqin Town. It is not very clear in other places."

"So that's it!" The township head smiled and nodded: "Last year's grain output in Zhiqin Town reached a very exaggerated level! It was even published in the World Agriculture News!"

Zhi Shu smiled slightly: "The weather in Zhiqin Town was smooth throughout last year. Both the climate and temperature were very suitable for crop growth, and the people there also believe in the great King of Fertility."

"King of Harvest?" The mayor was very surprised, with a curious expression on his face.

Naoki nodded: "That is a legendary Pokémon that can fertilize the soil and have a bumper harvest. It is said that farmers who believe in it will have good weather and bumper harvests throughout the coming year."

"For this reason, the local people affectionately call Him the King of Plenty, build a shrine for Him, and hold festivals to thank Him every year."

"There is such a thing..." The mayor was shocked.

Naoki nodded slightly: "Perhaps King Lei Guan saw the people who worked hard on the land and lived hard, and was moved by them, so he brought abundance to everyone."

"King Lei Guan?" The mayor was stunned for a moment.

"That's the name of the King of Plenty." Naoki said.

"King Lei Guan...the legendary King of Fertility..." the township chief murmured to himself, remembering the name in his mind: "But having said that, there are also legends of Pokémon circulating here in Beishang Township. !”

Is it also a legendary Pokémon? Naoki thought of what he had seen in the travel guide before, raised his eyebrows, and asked, "The legend of ghosts?"

"Eh? You know that too?" The mayor was very surprised.

Naoki: "I read the travel guide to Kitakami Township on the way here."

The township chief suddenly said: "That's it!"

A happy smile appeared on his face: "That's true. Beishang Township has also built a statue for the three companion Pokémon that died protecting the town. Many trainers and tourists have been attracted by this legend. Attracted!"

"Because of them, our remote rural town, which originally relied on farming to make a living, has caught up with the times and become more and more prosperous."

Naoki nodded thoughtfully.

Are you relying on the name of legendary Pokémon to attract tourists and develop tourism?

"The statue of Baoban is in Baoban Square in the northwest of the town. You can also go there for a stroll after tomorrow's work is over." said the mayor.

Naoki did have this plan: "Okay."

"That's it." A kind smile appeared on the mayor's face: "Let's have a good rest at the public hall tonight! If you can't sleep, you can also take a stroll in the town."

At the end of dinner time, the mayor left the public hall and turned around to go home.

Naoki, who had eaten and drank enough, also returned to the room and began to sleep.

Early the next morning, Zhi Shu got up early. After breakfast, he met the township head and others and went to the rice fields outside the town to observe farmers planting rice.

Several urbo and lobster soldiers working in the fields stood on the ridges of the fields and observed the situation here.

Naoki watched for a while, and then took Gu Lerton to join in, experiencing the local rice transplanting work.

"How's it going? Are you still used to it?" the mayor asked.

Zhi Shu nodded, this job was quite easy for him: "It's a pity that Zhiqin Town is not suitable for planting rice."

The farms and pastures in Zhiqin Town are mostly based on animal husbandry, and most of the crops grown throughout the year are wheat and corn.

If we want to switch to rice cultivation, we have to build a special rice field, which is too troublesome.

"Yes!" The township head also knew something about the situation in Zhiqin Town: "But every place has crops suitable for planting. Rice is also a specialty of our Beishang Township, right?"

"Oh, by the way, we also have a special delicacy in Beishang Township, which is the sticky cake made from these rice. You can try it later!"

*

Naoki tasted this specialty of Kitakami Township at noon.

He originally planned to go back to the public hall for dinner, but as soon as he left the rice field, he was dragged to her home by an enthusiastic aunt, who invited him to have lunch here and taste the sticky cake she made.

Naoki looked confused, thinking, are the people here so enthusiastic?

Soon, however, he knew why.

Because the land he and Gu Ledun farmed today belonged to this aunt!

"Let's eat here!" The aunt asked Naoki to come into the house, and then went to the kitchen to work.

Seeing this, Naoki didn't refuse, thinking that the people in Beishang Township were quite simple and kind-hearted.

He came to the yard and released all the Pokémon.

The aunt lives alone all year round. Her husband died young and her son has settled in other areas. He rarely comes back except for New Years and holidays.

So except for the aunt, there is no one else in the family.

Naoki couldn't help but sigh, even in the Pokémon world, there are still problems with left-behind children and left-behind elderly people!

The yard was cleaned very neatly, and there was a Magikarp fountain in the corner.

Kuailong and Motorized Lizard were very curious about the stone statue of Carp King, so they all came closer to watch.

Zhan Yifa hid in the shadow under the eaves, quietly observing the surrounding situation.

Gu Luton and Naoki stood on the floor tiles, looking at the appearance of several Pokémon.

The Babu landhog looked around with a curious look on his face.

Suddenly, Naoki heard Babu Woodchuck let out a cry of surprise.

He looked up and saw Babu Tubo flying to the window, looking excitedly at the scene inside the window.

The aunt who was cooking saw Babu Woodchuck and opened the window with a smile: "Are you hungry? But lunch will have to wait for a while, so let's eat some biscuits I made to cushion the meal!"

"Bamo...Bamo!" Babu groundhog stretched out his paws to take the biscuits and squealed twice happily, then turned his head and flew to Zhishu's side, gesturing for him to go over there and take a look.

"What's wrong?" Although Naoki was a little surprised, he still got up and went to check with Babu.

Soon, he understood what Babu was thinking.

Because there is a lava bug in the kitchen!

The lava worm is hiding under the stove, using its own body temperature to help the aunt cook food!

"Bamo!" Babu was very happy. He had wanted to make friends with the lava bug for a long time!

The aunt also discovered Babu's intention. She looked at the lava bug, then at Babu, and said with a smile:

"So you saw lava bugs?"

Naoki was also very surprised: "Auntie, can lava bugs be caught here in Kitakami Township?"

"Yes!" The aunt smiled, and by chance, the food in the pot was already cooked, making a gurgling sound.

While putting food and sticky cakes into the tableware, she said: "You can encounter lava bugs on the ghost mountain behind the town. They live in a place called Hell Valley."

"Hell Valley?" Naoki stepped forward to help the aunt put the food on the table.

The aunt nodded and said: "Yes, the ground in that place will emit terrible volcanic gas, causing the temperature nearby to be very hot, like hell, so the locals call it Hell Valley."

"Although the name is scary, Hell Valley has actually been a very famous training place since ancient times! Many trainers and travelers will go there specifically to practice."

"That's right..." Naoki nodded. If it was such an environment, there must be a large number of fire-type Pokémon living in that place.

Decided! He will go over and take a look in the afternoon!

"Lunch is ready! It's time to eat!" The aunt greeted outside.

Three minutes later, Guluton and other Pokémon all ran over and gathered around the dining table to enjoy lunch.

The lava bug also ran out, and the aunt fed it a tree fruit, which the lava bug happily ate.

"I also met this lava bug on Ghost Mountain. It fell from Hell Valley and was injured on the mountain path. I fed it a tree fruit. From then on, it started to stay with me. Live together.”

"That's great." Naoki said softly.

"That's right!" The aunt suddenly remembered something, and her face suddenly became serious: "If you want to go to Ghost Mountain, don't wander around there!"

Naoki was slightly startled: "What do you mean?"

Auntie: "Because it is said that the ghost chased away by the three companion Pokémon is still wandering there. Once you encounter it, your life will be taken away by the ghost!"

ghost……

If he guessed correctly, this ghost should be referring to a certain Pokémon, right?

Could it be some kind of ghost-type Legendary Pokémon?

Hearing these words, Naoki hesitated slightly.

He turned around and looked at the Pokémon around him. With them around, even if that ghost was a Legendary Pokémon, there wouldn't be any danger, right?

The aunt murmured: "When the shadow comes at dusk outside the village, be sure to pay more attention.

Put the mask on your head quickly, covering your face and not showing it.

No matter whether the shadow is a person or a ghost, you can pass by covering your face and nodding your head.

If you don't bring a mask, you can only hope that the shadow is human.

If the shadow is life-threatening, never forget to wear a mask again.

If Ying died as a ghost, his true appearance would lead to tragedy.

Once a ghost steals your soul, you will never return to the village. "

"This is a song that has been circulated in the village since ancient times. It is said that someone once encountered a ghost on the ghost mountain and never returned to the village." The aunt said seriously.

Naoki nodded thoughtfully.

He found that everyone in the village seemed to be afraid of the ghost.

Is it because that ghost killed three companion Pokémon?

After lunch, Naoki said goodbye to his aunt.

There wasn't much else to do in the afternoon, so he could wander around the town as he pleased.

Therefore, Naoki immediately rode Gulton to Ghost Mountain, preparing to go to the place called Hell Valley to see if he could encounter lava bugs.

Because he once watched the animated short film "Warm House of Lava Bugs", Babu Woodchuck liked the lava bugs that made a "puff, puff, puff" sound very much.

After hearing Naoki say that lava bugs could be encountered in this place, it didn't even want to go back to the Poké Ball.

Instead, he stayed outside and went into the mountains with Naoki to look for lava bugs, make friends with them, and invite them to play in the pasture.

The scope of Ghost Mountain is huge, and there is no specific map, so Naoki doesn't know the specific location of Hell Valley.

In order to facilitate the search, he directly rode Gu Ledun and flew high into the sky, overlooking the entire ghost mountain from top to bottom.

Babu Woodchuck also flew up, looking around curiously.

Before coming here, his aunt had told him that Hell Valley was halfway up the mountain to the west of Ghost Mountain.

However, Naoki searched for a long time but could not find the specific location.

In desperation, he could only let Gulledon randomly land on the ghost mountain, preparing to determine the location of Hell Valley based on the types of Pokémon living nearby and the surrounding temperature.

Looking around, most of the people living in this area are bronze mirror monsters and pot monsters.

The Pencai Monster is very timid. After seeing them, he immediately turned around and ran away in a panic.

The Bronze Mirror Monsters were much more courageous. They floated in mid-air and made a tinkling sound, not paying any attention to the sudden visit of Guluton and Babu.

"Without fire-type Pokémon, the temperature nearby is no different from that at the bottom of the mountain..." After thinking for a moment, Zhi Shu lifted up and saw a waterfall falling from above, so he said to Guluton: "Go and take a look at the waterfall. "

"Ah gah!"

Gu Luton responded, his strong legs suddenly exerted force, and then he fell steadily to the cliff.

There are no traces of wild Pokémon here.

Looking at the empty and quiet environment around him, Naoki felt a little confused.

At this moment, the Babu landhog floating in the air seemed to have suddenly discovered something, and he called out in confusion: "Bamo?"

"What's wrong?" Zhi Shu turned his head, followed Babu's gaze, and saw a green figure peering over at the corner of the cliff.

As if realizing that he had been discovered, the man turned around and ran, quickly disappearing into the cliff.

Naoki was slightly startled, was that... a town citizen living nearby?