Elf: I have a secret realm of emerald green.

Soroyak's translator arrived just in time.

[She said that as soon as she stepped out of the Poké Ball, she sensed a strange, irresistible scent through her antennae. It wasn't the smell of food, but it was a hundred times more tempting than her favorite food.]

Xia Shen nodded gently to show that he understood, then grabbed the sticky baby who was trying to sneak back into the habitat of the sticky dragon and hugged it in his arms, while burying his head in thought.

What is the scent that attracts Sticky Baby?

Could it be related to the type of iron element I'm looking for?

----------

Author's Remarks

Thank you so much to my forever loyal friend for the generous donation! It's too much trouble!

2022-07-03 18:00

## Chapter 162 Due to excessive strength, his intelligence began to decline...

Finally, after a long wait, as the sun rose high in the sky, the first sticky dragon slowly awoke.

"sticky--"

Then, as if crowing like a rooster, a loud cry awakened all the sticky dragons hiding in their shells.

By this time, almost half of the day had passed, and the sticky dragons were just beginning their day.

This state is very similar to those otaku who stay up all night to cultivate immortality in real life.

However, Xi Cui doesn't have a nightlife, and Xia Shen doesn't know what they do at night, or if they just sleep.

He pondered this in his heart, silently observing the sticky dragons from a distance.

The first thing the sticky dragons do after waking up is eat breakfast... no, at this time it could be considered brunch.

The glutinous dragons are vegetarians, and the abundant fruit trees growing in this sandy area are more than enough to meet their needs for survival, and even have a surplus.

This must be a symbol of the status of the tyrant of Xicui.

This area also has a rich variety of tree fruits, such as oranges, mangoes, and wild apples. In no time, several sticky dragons had collected a lot of tree fruits and piled them together, exchanging and eating them.

As the ancients said, one should not speak while eating or sleeping. Xia Shen did not disturb Nian Meilong when he was sleeping, and it is naturally inconvenient to go now that he is eating.

But after they finished eating their breakfast and lunch, rinsed their mouths and drank water by the pond, they lay back down in the same spot, tucked their heads in, and seemed to be preparing to take a nap.

Xia Shen couldn't hold back any longer. She slept and ate, ate and slept. Is Nian Meilong born in the Year of the Pig?

He couldn't help but look down at Nian Nian Bao, then lifted her up and scolded her, "You, you're not allowed to become like that, do you hear me!"

"Sticky..." Sticky Baby looked confused, not knowing why Xia Shen was comparing him to those elves, but still readily agreed.

Xia Shen nodded in satisfaction.

……

He knew that the way these sticky dragons lived was not necessarily due to their racial nature, but rather more related to their living environment.

This group of GooMee lives together in close proximity, passing down their lineage from generation to generation. When they are GooMee, they are protected by powerful older GooMee, and when they grow up, they can protect the next generation of GooMee.

With the torch passed down from generation to generation and no survival crisis, the gentle and obedient Nian Meilong naturally had nothing to do, and over time this led to her current lifestyle.

Meanwhile, my own Sticky Baby had a hellish start. From the moment it was born, before it met me, it had to fight with all its might to survive every day. How could it have the mood or opportunity to live such a leisurely life?

It's not just sticky creatures like Sticky Baby and Sticky Dragon that have this problem; people in real life also have similar disparities...

…………

No, we've gone off on a tangent.

Xia Shen stopped daydreaming and turned her gaze back to the group of sticky dragons that were about to fall asleep again.

The primary task now is to obtain the element I need from Nianmeilong.

But I don't know them at all, so why should they help me?

Xia Shen was a little worried.

It's said that if you eat someone's food, you're bound to be obligated to them; and the sticky dragons don't seem to be facing any survival crisis like the lily root dolls.

Since you have no desires or wants, what can you offer them in exchange for what you desire?

But seeing that the sticky dragons were about to fall asleep again, and all his waiting for a day would be in vain, Xia Shen suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

In the space, the dragon jade crystal, which is also useful to the sticky dragons, seems to be a bargaining chip?

Xia Shen didn't know if they would be interested, but in any case, it was worth a try, since there would be no harm in failing anyway.

Having made up his mind, Xia Shen led Zoroark slowly closer to the Goodys, whose heads and tentacles were only partially visible outside their shells.

------

The leader of the sticky dragons felt the cool breeze at the end of the rainy season and couldn't help but yawn contentedly.

Honestly, why make the weather so comfortable? It makes me want to take another nap.

However, the good days are coming to an end, as the dry season is approaching.

Food is going to become scarce again, and Psyduck, skunk, and raccoon will definitely come here to freeload again.

Getting free food and drinks is a minor matter; even during the dry season, there are plenty of fruits on the trees here.

But it's not impossible for them to stay here and not leave, after all, it's much safer here than outside.

During the dry season, all the elves have less food, and when there aren't enough tree fruits, they have to resort to killing elves.

The leader of the Goomer Dragons could already foresee that the hunters would be lying in wait near their territory, ready to prey on any weak elves who wanted to use the area as their sanctuary.

But what do all these things have to do with me?

Regardless of the commotion in the outside world, I sleep peacefully in my shell.

I just guess I won't be able to sleep as comfortably as I am now, and I might be woken up from time to time.

Forget it, I don't want to think about it too much. I should just cherish the last little bit of the rainy season...

The leader of the Goomei Dragons narrowed his eyes, just about to fall asleep, when he noticed two strange elves walking over from not far away.

He immediately concluded that this was definitely not a native spirit of the Red Lotus Wetland.

As a local strongman that even Umbreon wouldn't easily provoke, Goodra knew the local inhabitants like the back of his hand, but this was the first time he had ever seen these two upright-walking Pokémon.

It doesn't look as strong as the Circle Bear Poison Skull Frogs, nor does it exude any dangerous energy. It's probably just here to freeload.

Honestly, the rainy season isn't even over yet and they're already running into other people's territory. They're so lazy and impolite.

Fine, as the strong, I'll just give them a little something.

…………

Xia Shen and Zoroark had just approached the habitat of the Goodra and were thinking about how to start the conversation.

Then I saw the largest one among them, whose shell was about 1.5 times the size of the other Goodra, suddenly emerge from its shell, moving as nimbly as if it were eating or drinking.

The sudden action of this creature, which appeared to be the leader of the Goodra, startled Xia Shen. Just as he was about to greet this seemingly powerful Pokémon, the Goodra spoke first.

"sticky--"

[He told us to come with him.]

"This is what my personal secretary, Zoroark, translated telepathically."

Xia Shen was overjoyed. Could it be that Nian Meilong had already seen through everything and knew why he had come here?

Was all of this Arceus's choice?

Praise be to the Divine Lord!

Xia Shen nodded hurriedly, lost in thought as she followed Nian Meilong inside.

But then the giant steel dragon led him to a fruit tree. Its iron tail slammed into the tree, and with a "crash," the fruit scattered all over the ground.

"sticky--"

He told us not to be shy, to eat quickly, and to leave as soon as we finished...

Soroyal's translation made Xia Shen realize that he had mistaken them for wanderers begging for food...

Xia Shen was somewhat speechless, but he comforted himself, at least this sticky dragon was relatively easy to talk to, and there was still hope for the iron element!

Xia Shen sorted out his thoughts and said, "You misunderstood. We didn't come here for the food; we wanted to ask you something."

"Sticky?" Sticky Dragon's eyes widened, its antennae tilted, and it uttered a questioning sound.

"So, do you guys have any strange metals... or stones here, something unusual, maybe...?"

"sticky--"

Before Xia Shen could finish asking, Nian Meilong waved his hands and shook his head repeatedly, indicating that he didn't know what Xia Shen was talking about, and the antennae on his head swayed back and forth.

He said their territory didn't have any metal blocks containing steel-like energy...

Hmm, it seems not all wild Pokémon are so cunning. This Goodra is a bit... too innocent, isn't it?

Xia Shen suspected that their intelligence might have slightly deteriorated due to their overwhelming power; this was too obvious a blatant attempt to cover up their true intentions.

However, given their attempt to cover up the truth and their anxious tone, it seems that this thing is very important to their tribe.

"Sticky—" Sticky Meilong's tone was no longer as gentle and calm as it had been at the beginning.

[He's trying to get rid of us.]

Soroyak sounded a little worried.

[I probably... can't beat him.]

Goodness, so you're already thinking about taking action?

When did Zoroark become so violent?

[We definitely can't fight them. There are too many of them, and they look like they're not to be trifled with. Don't worry, I'll outsmart them.]

Xia Shen reassured Zoroark that in times like these, human wisdom was still the most important thing!

…………

"Please don't misunderstand, we know you don't have that kind of metal block here, and we didn't come here for that," Xia Shen explained in a "panicked" manner.