The next day.
In South Area One, in front of the Lighthouse Research Institute, home to Paldea's renowned husband and wife Pokemon Professors.
Luo Mu, dressed in casual clothes, knocked on the institute's door.
Thump, thump, thump.
Luo Mu's three light knocks were quickly answered by a voice from behind the door.
"Coming!"
Luo Mu's hearing was quite good; he could tell it was the voice of a young boy, who was now scurrying towards the door.
Soon, the institute's main door was opened by a boy who looked about ten years old with soft, sandy-brown hair.
Luo Mu's eyebrows twitched slightly, and information about this ten-year-old boy instantly surfaced in his mind.
Batman—Paldea's appearance (x)
One of the main characters in the Pokemon violet game, Pai Pa!
"Welcome home... Dad?"
Pai Pa, who had opened the door joyfully, froze the moment he saw Luo Mu, a flush of red immediately spreading upwards from his neck, his ears turning crimson.
He had recognized the wrong person because he was too excited!
"Mmm..."
Pai Pa was so embarrassed that he let out a series of snorts.
Luo Mu, on this side, also couldn't believe he had unexpectedly become a father, his calm expression gradually turning strange.
Before the two awkward individuals, one large and one small, could recover, another sound of running came from within the institute.
In just a few breaths, a small figure came bounding out, barking, and lunged straight at Luo Mu.
Luo Mu focused his gaze and saw a Mabosstiff, hostile towards him, likely having mistaken him for a bad person with ill intentions towards Pai Pa, thus exhibiting aggression.
All these thoughts occurred in a flash; Pai Pa had no time to stop Mabosstiff from attacking Luo Mu, and though he tried to speak, he realized Mabosstiff was only a step away from Luo Mu.
Pai Pa could only close his eyes in guilt.
Luo Mu was no stranger to sudden attacks; in the past year, to save money and provide ample resources for his Pokemon, he often slept outdoors, having experienced countless ambushes from the shadows.
However, because this time was slightly different, Luo Mu didn't even think of dodging, softly saying, "Don't hurt it, Mimikyu."
A chilling laugh suddenly emanated from beside Luo Mu's foot, and a huge Shadow Claw, radiating dense Ghost-type energy as if from a deep abyss, suddenly rose, directly seizing the protective Mabosstiff in mid-air.
The furious Mabosstiff paused for a moment, wondering when that Pokemon draped in tattered cloth had appeared?
Mabosstiff couldn't figure it out, but it knew it needed to protect its young master now and began to roar, struggling with all its might.
However, no matter how Mabosstiff struggled or used moves, the Shadow Claw remained motionless, as if the Dark-type Mabosstiff was actually weak to the Ghost-type.
Mabosstiff's roar made Pai Pa open his eyes.
Seeing everything before him, he quickly understood that Luo Mu must be a Trainer, and Mabosstiff was no match for the Mimikyu that had appeared out of nowhere.
Pai Pa looked pleadingly at Luo Mu: "Uncle... could you please not hurt Mabosstiff? It..."
"What's all this noise... What are you doing!" Seemingly having noticed the commotion outside, a woman with a strong presence emerged from the institute.
She had barely finished speaking when she saw Mabosstiff suspended in mid-air and Pai Pa's anxious face. As a mother, her anger instantly flared, and she immediately retrieved a Poké Ball from her lab coat, looking threateningly at Luo Mu.
No matter who this person was, Ao Lin would never tolerate anyone daring to bully her son and Mabosstiff.
And she also recalled the recent bad rumors.
With things having escalated to this point, Luo Mu felt that if it continued, the misunderstanding would only deepen.
And there might be unexpected developments, so it was best to clarify things as soon as possible.
To be clear, he wasn't afraid of the red and white Poké Ball in the hand of this obviously Dr. Olin, even if there was a chance a legendary Pokemon from the game's cover might emerge from it.
"I have no ill intentions; this is all a misunderstanding."
With that, Luo Mu had Mimikyu release Mabosstiff as a sign of sincerity.
He then looked at Dr. Olin, who, despite wearing a lab coat, had an unknown animal-skin outfit underneath, seemingly to display a wild charm, and her gaze was stern.
Ao Lin gently stroked the animal-tooth necklace around her neck, and the wariness in her eyes softened slightly.
She shielded Pai Pa, who was about to speak, and the startled Mabosstiff behind her like a mother hen protecting her chicks, slowly saying, "Please, young Trainer, explain why you attacked my son and Pokemon at the entrance of my institute."
Luo Mu didn't feel offended by Ao Lin's reaction; these were things a mother should do, and considering this family's experiences a few years later, he couldn't bring himself to be harsh.
After organizing his thoughts slightly, Luo Mu slowly said, "President Ye Ci introduced me here..."
After listening to Luo Mu's self-introduction, Ao Lin, though already 70% convinced, still looked at Pai Pa, who had been trying to say something but couldn't get her attention, and asked, "Pai Pa, is that right?"
Seeing that his mother finally noticed him, Pai Pa nodded emphatically and told Ao Lin that it was all a misunderstanding due to a series of coincidences.
"Oh, you little rascal, you scared me half to death." Ao Lin breathed a sigh of relief, her movements becoming more unrestrained, and she playfully ruffled Pai Pa's soft hair as a punishment.
This made Pai Pa squat down with Mabosstiff, sulking.
After doing all this, Ao Lin looked at Luo Mu and apologized, "I'm sorry, our three's reaction was too intense. Please allow me to apologize to you."
With that, Ao Lin immediately intended to bow to Luo Mu in apology.
"No, no need for that." Luo Mu quickly stopped her.
Since she was stopped, Ao Lin didn't insist too much; after all, her style of action was always efficient and grand.
Smoothly moving past the topic, Ao Lin smiled, "President Ye Ci has already mentioned it to my husband and me. Rest assured, we will handle the creation of the tera orb!"
"However, my husband just had to go out for something, so if it's just me, the seven or eight days it would normally take might extend to about half a month. Do you mind?"
Luo Mu shook his head, indicating that he didn't lack that much time. Thinking that he had already come all this way, he should at least visit the research institute of these two legendary Professors who never truly appeared in the game's main story. He stated directly, "May I visit your research institute?"
He was very curious about the daily work environment of these two legendary Professors who would later research the Time Machine and had already researched Terastallization.
Ao Lin paused, then happily agreed, "Please follow me."