Chapter 572 Competition among the Same Race
Melemele Island, in the forest near Haoole City.

The Forest Pokémon Cafe is located here.

It is impossible to know when this Pokémon Cafe opened, but it is worth noting that this is a "peace zone" where all wild Pokémon in the forest will consciously abide by the rules.

No matter what grudges there are in the outside world, fighting is not allowed here.

It is said that even the warlike Tapu Kokoro, the guardian of Melemele Island, will consciously abide by this rule.

Looking at the tree house built on tall trees in the dense and quiet forest in front of him, Luo Mu's eyes fell on Tapu Kokoro next to him.

It was obvious that the other party was a regular customer here and was very familiar with the route. He didn't need to navigate through the prompt system at all.

The tree house is made of native materials, mainly consisting of wooden boards and hay, and the roof is made of large leaves to form a pointed top.

A winding wooden staircase extends from the ground to the entrance of the wooden house suspended in mid-air. It may look a bit simple, but it is in line with Luo Mu's idea of ​​an architectural style that coexists with nature.

The tree house exudes a quaint charm that blends with nature. If you stay inside and have a drink, you will definitely be able to feel the different natural scenery.

Zhihuixing's eyes fell on the tree house. Through the style of the residence, he roughly judged the personality traits of his own people.

It was Gladion's first time to come to such a place, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"I didn't expect there was such a place in the forest. Was it really opened by Pokémon themselves?"

"I don't know if they will entertain human guests."

"Don't worry, we'll entertain both humans and Pokémon."

Luo Mu gave Gladion a reassurance.

If he remembered correctly, the wise ape in the animation even accepted a human apprentice, who seemed to be Mao's father.

And it itself is suspected to have had a trainer in the past.

"Puka."

Tapu Mingming called out to Luo Mu, and without taking the stairs at all, he flew directly to the door of the tree house and knocked on the wooden door politely with his shell.

Even though he had expected this, Luo Mu still felt a little sad when he saw this scene.

To be able to make Tapu Kokoro achieve this, this forest sage must have quite a lot of experience in this forest.

After all, Tapu Kokoro usually went through the window even when going to the house of the king of his own island to purchase goods, and never went through the front door.

It is still morning, and normally coffee shops should be closed at this time. Even the few coffee chain brands before Luo Mu traveled through time did not open until ten o'clock.

Whether the forest sage, the operator, is in it probably depends entirely on luck.

Fortunately, Luo Mu's luck has always been good (? ). Shortly after Tapu Mingming knocked on the door, dull footsteps were heard in the tree house.

With a long "creak" sound, the wooden door was opened from the inside, and a figure brushed aside the straw door curtain, revealing half of his body.

A white giant ape holding a grass feather fan, covered with purple hair like a cloak, and exuding the aura of a hermit sage.

The forest sage of Melemele Island, Zhihuixing.

"Yeah~?"

The tone of this forest sage's voice was obviously longer than that of the wise ape, and it sounded slow and yet reliable.

It wondered why Tapu Kokoro came to knock on the door so early. Just as it was about to move aside to entertain the other party, it caught a glimpse of the Chimp below from the corner of its eye.

In an instant, the eyes of the Forest Sage and the Wise Ape suddenly became sharp.

The two lines of sight met in mid-air, and there seemed to be faint sparks flashing between them.

Gladion took out a notebook that looked like a vocabulary book and he didn't know where he got it from.

He read the introduction from the illustrated book: "Spiritual Gnat is a solitary Pokémon, but that doesn't mean it rejects the existence of other creatures in its territory."

"It treats the Pokémon living in the forest very gently. If any of them are injured, it will take the initiative to find herbs to heal them, and will also provide food to the hungry ones."

"But the relationship between the Zhihui ape and its peers is very bad. It is keen on repeatedly competing with each other to see who is smarter, who is better at doing things or planning. Some people have even witnessed it appearing on the beach to compete with the Slow King to see who is smarter."

The more I read, the more strange Gladion's expression became.

He tried to find a way in the text on "how to stop two wise monkeys from meeting each other peacefully", but in the end he only found a line of small words in the lower right corner.

"If the readers of this illustration book accidentally encounter such a situation, in order to avoid being used as a tool to compare the good and the bad, it is recommended to run away!"

But it was too late.

There is a saying circulating among the Zhihuixing clan.

——If their eyes meet, it means the competition is about to begin.

As a guardian god who is more or less related to war, even though it was the first time he saw this scene, the dazed Tapu Kokoro still vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

Why does it feel like if one isn't paying attention, the two monkeys will start fighting?

After a while, Zhi Huixing took the lead in moving.

It raised its hand and waved the feather fan in its hand, while with its other hand it held its "arsenal", and walked towards the wooden ladder with a calm look.

In front of its own kind, it will not show the slightest sign of fear.

The forest sage, who had the other half of his body sticking out of the tree house, narrowed his eyes and greeted the wise ape who came in front of him as if he had a wisdom in his hand.

"Yeah yeah~"

"Yeah yeah~"

Zhi Huixing also responded politely.

It was such a harmonious scene, but Luo Mu always felt that a tense atmosphere was spreading rapidly with the two of them as the center.

Fortunately, both sides remained elegant and did not behave like wild beasts, such as swearing, tearing, and fighting. They were just quite reserved and tried to kill each other with their eyes.

But can we really determine who is better in this fight?
Luo Mu, who had a bad premonition, discovered that the two intelligent apes seemed to be communicating in other ways, and the smell of gunpowder in the air became stronger and stronger.

After a while.

The forest sage, who had no idea what he had communicated with Zhihuixing, nodded directly and accepted the other party's challenge.

The forest sage was confident that his formula, which had been constantly improved, would be able to easily defeat this strange fellow.

Zhi Huixing also felt that his research over the past few months was definitely not in vain, and he was clearly superior in terms of intelligence and ability.

Apparently, they both looked down on each other equally and thought themselves much better than the other.

The two monkeys pointed at Luo Mu, Kapu Mingming and Gladion and said, "Yale Yuta."

The three of you will be the referees for today's showdown, competing to see whose pear juice tastes better.

At this moment, Tapu Mingming realized what Luo Mu meant by "interesting things". Oh no, I've been tricked!

Although the atmosphere between him and Zhihuixing was always a bit bad, the Forest Sage still invited Luo Mu, Gladion and Tapu Mingming into the cafe first.

Even during non-business hours, the restaurant always maintains a friendly attitude towards guests who come to visit.

Except for Zhihuixing.

After entering the tree house, the view suddenly became dim.

Although there was light seeping in through the gaps between the wooden boards and the hay, it was still somewhat difficult to see the road ahead.

"Youyou, ah."

The forest sage who was searching for something in the dim house suddenly shouted.

Tapu Kokoro and Zhihuixing understood it, but Luo Mu and Gladion were confused.

What did the Forest Sage say?

It was only then that Luo Mu remembered that not every intelligent ape seemed to possess the ability of "telepathy".

At least the forest sage in front of him doesn't have this characteristic.

Seeing that Luo Mu really didn't understand, Zhi Huixing could only sigh. Between confronting his own people and fulfilling his duties as a housekeeper, he chose his professional dignity without hesitation.

It communicated to Luo Mu through telepathy and also translated the words of the forest sage for Gladion.

"The store employees, the Lampshade Night Mushrooms and Coal Turtles, haven't come to work yet, so we can't provide lighting or hot food for the time being."

Luo Mu: “.”

Come to think of it, he did seem to remember that the Forest Sage's cafe did employ shop assistants?
“Puka.”

Seeing that he couldn't escape, Tapu Kokoro had no choice but to obey.

In order to have a delicious drink later, it is willing to use its body as the guardian of the island to serve as a lighting fixture in the house.

A "zipa zipa" sound was heard in the air, and electric current flashed around Tapu Mingming's body. Soon he turned into a mobile light bulb that could stably illuminate the space.

With the help of the "light", the forest sage quickly found what he was looking for and walked out of the bar carrying a basket he had woven with leaves.

After leaving a few words, it turned and left the cafe.

Of course, this is not because the Forest Sage is avoiding a fight. It’s just that Luo Mu and his group came suddenly, and the ingredients for making juice are not ready yet, so he needs to go out and pick some.

The Forest Sage also reclaimed a small piece of land near the cafe and planted some fruit trees and other plants for making drinks.

The distance is not far, so it goes and comes back soon.

Zhi Huixing was a little unhappy to be the mouthpiece again, but at the same time he was secretly happy that he was better than the other party in this aspect.

After the footsteps of the forest sage faded away, Zhi Huixing did not hesitate to open the box he carried with him and started to prepare.

Even if they don't like each other, they all have a common consensus -

Neither yourself nor the other party will cheat.

When the forest sage came back with a basket of fruits and a jar of honey that he got from somewhere, Zhi Huixing was already holding a knife and ready to cut the phoenix pear.

Seeing this scene, the Forest Sage frowned, but said nothing. Under the attention of several people, he silently returned to the bar and began to skillfully mix the juice.

The forest sage's method of making pear juice seems obviously much more primitive.

Squeeze the pomelo fruit directly with your fingers, and at the same time take out a container made from a hollowed-out coconut shell to catch the juice.

Occasionally add some liquid from unknown small fruits, and finally pour in an appropriate amount of Three Bees Honey, stir evenly, and insert a straw made of a hollow reed stem into the cup.

It may seem a bit shabby, but it is surprisingly clean.

After all, after each process, the forest sage would use his telekinesis to wrap up some clean water for washing hands, and the discarded fruit peel residues were also properly collected in a bamboo basket that also functioned as a trash can.

If the Forest Sage's method of making juice is an ancient technique of simplicity, then Zhihuixing's method is quite modern in style.

With a fruit knife that glowed with purple light, he cut open the pomelo fruit brought from the farm, squeezed the juice and poured it into a cocktail glass. In the process, he used a measuring cup to accurately season it. Finally, he gently stirred it with a long-handled stirring spoon, then lifted up the cocktail glass with all the liquid mixed in it and shook it skillfully.

It looks pleasing to the eye without being too flashy.

After all, Zhihuixing has obtained the qualifications of bartender and Pokémon sommelier.

After a while, six cups of pear juice were placed in front of Luo Mu and the other three.

It is worth noting that compared with the work of the Forest Sage, Zhihuixing’s work has a few more crystal clear square ice cubes.

That is, drinks at room temperature and drinks with ice.

It seems that after Erguiyan told him that the taste was exactly the same last night, Zhihuixing spent a night making some fine-tuning.

Facing the pressure that was spreading again, Luo Mu hesitated for a moment and took the lead in reaching for the phoenix pear juice prepared by the forest sage.

There are two reasons.

Firstly, he was quite curious about the taste of the juice in the animation, and secondly, the juice prepared by Zhihuixing needed a certain amount of time for the ice cubes to lower the temperature of the juice.

This way it will taste cooler and smoother.

Gladion and Tapu Kokoro, who had been staring at him, also chose the pear juice made by the forest sage one after another.

Luo Mu looked at the small bowl of golden juice in front of him, which had a sweet aroma and would probably attract a large number of insect-type Pokémon if it was placed in the wild. He pinched the hollow reed stem with his thumb and index finger and stirred it slowly.

The turbulent liquid suddenly gave off a sweeter smell.

Luo Mu had to admit that this cup of pear juice deeply attracted his attention just from the appearance.

Picking up the coconut shell container, Luo Mu lowered his head slightly, and couldn't wait to hold the straw in his mouth and start sucking in small sips.

How to describe this taste?

Phoenix pear is a kind of tree fruit that is quite sour.

Even with the addition of honey from three bees, the sour taste is almost impossible to cover up.

But the forest sage took this into consideration and used some unknown small tree fruits or berries, and based on his own feelings, he adjusted the taste of the entire drink to a fairly harmonious level.

This is a layered sweet and sour taste that cannot be described in words.

Although the first sip was not amazing, this cup of pear juice seemed to have magic, tempting people to subconsciously suck, suck, and continue sucking.

The person's anxious mood suddenly slowed down. If he had any troubles, he would probably not be able to help but talk about them!
Until I came to my senses.

Luo Mu realized that he had drunk the entire cup of pear juice in one breath without realizing it.

(End of this chapter)