Elf: Start your slow-paced life after becoming a farmer.

“Jialuo. (Understood.)”

Serperior, who knows Karl's personality very well, knew that his trainer's "persecution complex" had struck again. Karl took out the full-coverage helmet he wore when riding from his backpack and put it on. Then he took out a powerful flashlight and held it in his hand before stepping into the mine.

After entering the mine, Charcoal Servant acted as if he were home, leading Karl through one entrance after another until they finally stopped at the end of a blocked mine tunnel.

"Charcoal!" The strangely colored charcoal servant pointed to the blocked mine tunnel in front of him and looked up at Karl.

"Are you saying your companion is behind this mine tunnel?"

Upon hearing this, Tan Xiaoshi immediately nodded and then looked at Karl with expectant eyes.

Karl did not immediately order the Monarch Serpent to act, but instead carefully examined the blocked mine tunnel in front of him, which had only a fist-sized opening.

"Monarch Serpent, reinforce this mine tunnel with Crazy Plants first," Karl ordered after a moment's thought.

As soon as Karl finished speaking, vines the size of bowls burst from the ground, supporting the mine tunnel.

Carl led Charcoal Knight back a short distance before giving Serpent the second command: "Serpent, use the Seed Bomb to blast this wall open."

Chapter 181 Gathering the Secret Seasonings

As the fist-sized seed bomb landed on the rocks blocking the mine tunnel, a loud bang immediately echoed throughout the tunnel.

Under the protection of the Monarch Serpent, the flying debris did not cause Karl any harm.

Before the smoke and dust had even cleared, the little charcoal servant took off running forward on its short legs, calling out anxiously, "Charcoal!"

When the smoke cleared, Karl saw two Charcoal Sprites hopping and jumping on the pile of rubble, hugging each other.

Karl wisely refrained from disturbing the two companions' reminiscing. Instead, he reached out and touched the Serpent's neck, praising, "Well done, Serpent."

The Monarch Serpent rolled its eyes at Karl upon hearing this. Although it did like Karl's praise, it didn't think that something as trivial as shattering rocks was worthy of Karl's praise.

Nevertheless, the Monarch Serpent moved closer to Karl without hesitation and turned its head to the side.

Not long after, the little charcoal servant with its companion came to Karl and bowed to thank him.

Karl was very pleased with his charcoal servant's polite behavior: "Let's go, we can talk about it after we leave this mine."

Upon hearing this, the charcoal servant of the different colors immediately grabbed the hand of the other charcoal servant and came to Karl's side, leading Karl and the Monarch Serpent out of the mine along the original route.

Just as the one person and their three Pokémon arrived at a fork in the road, Serperior suddenly narrowed its eyes: "Garr. (Garr, something's up.)"

At the same time, Kyurem's voice echoed in Carl's mind: 'Carl, a gigantic Pokémon is approaching your location from underground.'

Carlton's expression changed immediately. He knew he was in a mine, and if the mine collapsed, he would be buried alive.

Upon hearing the words of the Serpent Lord, the charcoal servant realized that danger was imminent, so it immediately quickened its pace and ran wildly towards the exit of the mine.

Meanwhile, the Steel Treasure Lord, traversing underground, was unaware that it was heading towards the mine tunnel where Karl was.

In fact, the mine tunnels in this area were all drilled out by it bit by bit. In the eyes of the Steel Treasure Master, this area was originally its territory, and the miners working in the mine were just collecting the "leftovers" that it had eaten.

After running for a while, Carl realized that if the mine wasn't reinforced now, the aftershocks from the Pokémon's actions underground could cause it to collapse. So he immediately shouted to Serperior, "Serperior, Mad Plant!"

Upon hearing Karl's shout, the Monarch Serpent immediately understood, and countless vines sprouted from the ground, instantly transforming the mine tunnel into a pipe woven from vines.

As time passed, Carl felt the tremors beneath his feet becoming more pronounced, but thankfully they were about to leave the mine.

The moment Karl stepped out of the mine, a muffled sound came from inside. He turned around and saw a section of what looked like a cast-iron "torso" piercing through the temporary passage woven by the Monarch Serpent.

"Monarch Serpent, pull it out for me," Karl said coldly.

Carl knew that with the power of the Monarch Serpent, it could easily protect itself in the collapsed mine tunnel.

However, if he couldn't escape quickly, he risked suffocating in that confined space, and in that narrow environment, he couldn't release Kyurem from the Poké Ball.

Therefore, Karl is very angry right now.

The Monarch Serpent sensed the anger in Karl's words, so it stopped holding back. Countless thick branches burst from the ground, wrapped around the section of "steel body" in the mine, and pulled it outwards.

As Serperior increased its strength, the mountain began to crumble and crack. Finally, with a deafening sound that exploded in the night sky, a giant Pokémon shaped like an earthworm was forcibly pulled out of the mountain by Serperior and slammed hard onto the ground.

The Steelix, pulled from the mountain by Serperior, was in a daze. It had never imagined that it would be forcibly pulled out of the mountain by another Pokémon and slammed to the ground.

After its body grew larger, it was able to scare away a large group of coal carts simply by relying on its heavy body, and became the sole overlord of this mining area.

But who would have thought that it would encounter a "monster" that could pull it out of the mountain while it was just "strolling" in the mountains after a meal?

Meanwhile, Karl looked closely and realized that the "culprit" that had almost buried him alive in the mine was the very Steel Treasure Master he was looking for.

"Serpent Lord, use Leaf Storm at full power to finely chop it into minced meat."

With Karl's command, leaves formed from grass-type energy appeared in the air, transforming into a green storm that surged toward the Steel Treasure Master, who was tightly bound by vines.

Although the Steel Lord's outer shell was formed from the minerals it had devoured, under the full force of Serpent Lord's Leaf Storm, this metallic shell instantly turned into metallic powder and scattered with the wind.

The little charcoal servant, standing to the side, held its companion's hand tightly, staring in disbelief at the terrifying yet magnificent sight before it.

As the fluttering green leaves dissolved into specks of green light and vanished into thin air, Karl slowly approached the battered and bruised Lord of the Steel Treasure, his gaze fixed on him with a chilling intensity: "Hand over all the treasures you've been guarding, or else..."

Upon hearing Karl's unfinished words, the wounded worm suddenly coiled itself up, then let out a painful whimper as it aggravated its wounds.

Under Karl's "tyranny," the Steel Lord dragged its massive, wounded body to a rock wall and rammed into it.

As the rock wall crumbled, a dark cave appeared before Karl, who stepped inside without hesitation.

Under the protection of the Monarch Serpent, Karl arrived deep into the cave and saw the secret salty seasoning that grew there.

After Carl skillfully transplanted the secret savory seasoning into the flowerpots he had prepared in advance, he had now collected all five secret seasonings.

If he goes to Tabletop City tomorrow and uses Dragon Express to send the remaining two secret seasonings he found these past few days to Aldek in Unova, then Aldek can learn a more efficient way to use the secret seasonings.

And it would also leave Adek with a huge favor that would be extremely difficult to repay.

Thinking of this, Karl felt much better. He took out a can of healing spray from his backpack, quickly treated the wounds of the aggrieved Stegosaurus beside him, and then returned to the camp with Serperior and the two Charcoal Squires.

Upon returning to camp, Carl immediately took out his Rotom phone and made a call to Alder, who was far away in the Unova region.

"Hey, Senior Adek, I've just finished collecting the last of the secret seasonings. Tomorrow..."

Chapter 182 An Encounter with Peonies

When Carl returned to the camp with Serperior and two Charizards, the wild Pokémon that had been attracted by the aroma of food had already left.

The little charcoal servant trapped in the mine was chattering away with the other-colored charcoal servant. Karl merely glanced at them before snuggling up to the Monarch Serpent, enjoying the gentle night.

Since Xuezha Town only produces minerals and has no factories, one can enjoy the dazzling starry sky in this mining area.

Suddenly, the little charcoal servant was pulled by its companion to stand in front of Karl, looking at Karl somewhat embarrassedly.

"What's wrong?" Karl looked at the two little guys with some curiosity.

The rescued Charcoal Sprite leaped in front of Carl and pointed to the Poké Ball that Carl had tucked into his waistband.

"Do you also want to become my partner?" Karl asked somewhat uncertainly.

"Charcoal!" The little charcoal servant nodded seriously, then began to gesture wildly.

“Garro. (This guy means he also wants to have the same strength as me.)” The Monarch Serpent leaning against Karl translated lazily.

“I see.” Karl looked the dancing Charcoal Servant up and down. In fact, he had originally planned to tame two Charcoal Servant and train them into Crimson Armored Knight and Azure Flame Blade Demon respectively. This was a manifestation of Karl’s collecting obsession.

And the little Samurai in front of him also wanted to become Carl's Pokémon, which, in a way, perfectly aligned with Carl's principles for catching Pokémon.

So, under the watchful eye of this little charcoal servant, Karl once again took out a blank Poké Ball from his backpack and handed it to the other, smiling as he said, "Then I look forward to your guidance from now on."

"Charcoal!" Charcoal called out happily, then reached out and pressed the button on the Poké Ball. And so, Carl caught the Charcoal brothers that night.

After being released from the Poké Ball by Carl, this Samurai grabbed the hand of the Shiny Samurai and jumped around happily.

"Well, to make it easier to distinguish, you'll be called Tanjiro from now on." Karl stroked his chin, looking at the cheerful little guy in front of him, then pointed to the heterochromatic Tanjiro beside him, "And you'll be called Tanjiro, how about that?"

The two little guys looked at each other, and then nodded to Karl in unison.

……

The next morning, as the first rays of dawn appeared, Karl rode his Kyurem to Tabletop City.

After arriving in Tabletop City, Carl released Tantaro and Tanjiro from their Poké Balls.

"Charcoal!" x2

The moment the two little guys saw the huge city in front of them, they immediately looked around curiously.

Compared to Tanjiro, Tantaro is more cheerful. He holds Tanjiro's hand and darts around the alley, curiously looking at everything on the street.

The shop owners on the street were clearly used to the way the two little guys looked around, or rather, most Pokémon that had just been caught by their trainers would behave this way when they first arrived in a big city like Tabletop City.

After spending 400 League Coins to buy a hot dog for each of the two little guys, Carl followed the instructions from Rotom on his phone to the Pokémon Post Office located on the south side of Tabletop City.

Since it was still early, the Pokémon Post Office wasn't crowded. Carl roughly estimated that, including the staff, there were only about thirty people inside.

In fact, Professor Yamanashi would occasionally send Carl supplies while he was traveling, so Carl was very familiar with the Pokémon Post Office's operations.

Due to the different distribution of Pokémon in different regions, the "employees" employed by Pokémon Post Offices also vary.

For example, in the Kanto region, most Pokémon post offices employ the Pidgey family as mail carriers for short-distance mail delivery, while in the Sinnoh region, the Stark family is employed as mail carriers.

However, most Pokémon Post Offices hire Machamp and the Machamp family as cargo handlers, and in some places they also use the Stealth family.

When Carl led the two little ones into the post office and approached the counter, a staff member in a navy blue uniform was melting sealing wax with the help of Candlelight to seal the letters.

After sealing the letters in his hand, the staff member immediately looked up and smiled at Carl: "Hello, sir, would you like to use our mailing service?"

“That’s right.” Carl said, placing the two secret seasonings, which had been pre-packaged in glass jars, on the counter. “I would like to apply for the Dragon Express service.”

After Carl uttered the words "Dragon Express," the staff member's smile became much more genuine. He reached out and picked up two glass bottles containing the secret seasoning from the counter, examined them, and then pulled out a form decorated with a few gold leaves from under the counter and placed it in front of Carl.

"Sir, please fill out this form and I will arrange for Express Delivery service for you immediately."

Carl casually picked up a pen from the counter, quickly filled out the form in front of him, and handed it to the staff behind the counter.

"Hmm... sir, the type of item you mailed is seasoning?" The staff member glanced at the form, then looked up at Karl to confirm.

“Yes,” Carl nodded in affirmation.

"Okay." The staff member glanced at the glass bottle in his hand with some curiosity, then handed a bill to Karl. "This is a payment of 10,000 Alliance Coins. Would you like to pay in cash or online?"

"Online payment." Carl took out his phone, Rotom scanned the QR code on the bill, and immediately completed the payment.

With a "beep," the machine next to the staff member automatically printed out a receipt. The staff member quickly glanced at it and placed the receipt in front of Karl. "Mr. Karl, the goods you mailed will arrive at the delivery address at 1 p.m. local time. Do you have any questions?"

“That’s all.” Carl put away the bill and receipt, then turned around and walked out of the post office while sending a text message to Aldak in the Unova region using his Rotom cell phone.

Due to the time difference between Padia and the Unova region, the secret seasoning that Carl sent would arrive in the Unova region at 7 p.m. He needed to inform Aldek of this so that Aldek wouldn't forget to receive it.

After confirming the text message was sent, Carl put away his Rotom phone and then planned to take Tantaro and Tanjiro on a tour of Tabletop City.

As Carl led the two children past a coffee shop, a red-and-blue-haired girl carrying an Eevee backpack happened to push open the door and walk out with a cup of coffee.

"Hey, Peony, what are you doing here?" Karl asked curiously.

In Karl's mind, Peony, this homebody, would almost never be anywhere other than her dormitory at this time.

"Hmm...it's Professor Karl." Peony perked up slightly upon seeing Karl, raised her hand to greet him, and then let out a big yawn. "I stayed up all night last night, but I have things to do this morning, so I came out to buy a cup of coffee to perk myself up."

"Are you really alright?" Carl's expression turned worried. "If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know."

Peony looked up and stared at Karl for a while, then slowly said, "In that case, please come with me, Mr. Karl."

Chapter 183 The Celestial Star Team was founded by that great man...

Led by Peony, Carl led the two little ones up the steps, through the gates of Orange Academy, and into a classroom.

"Hey, Mr. Karl?! Peony, what's going on?" The tall Pipa immediately asked Peony after seeing Karl following behind her, "Did you invite Mr. Karl to be our club's advisor?"

Clubs or organizations?

Upon hearing this word, Carl raised an eyebrow. He glanced at the six students present and discovered that, apart from himself, the others were all leaders of the "Sky Star Team" in the original timeline.

“No, I just happened to run into Mr. Carl on my way back.” Peony took a sip of her coffee, then her little face scrunched up. “Then I realized that if we really wanted to start a club, we would need an advisor, and Mr. Carl was just right, so I invited him over.”

"Oh? What club?" Karl asked curiously, leaning against the classroom wall with his arms crossed.

"Actually, I was the one who initiated the establishment of the club." Qiu Ming raised his hand somewhat shyly, and then began to explain his original intention to establish the club.

“During our recent exchange program with Blueberry Academy, I learned that Blueberry Academy established the ‘Blueberry League,’ modeled after the Pokémon League. After returning from Blueberry Academy, I wondered if our Orange Academy could also establish a similar league.”

After Qiuming finished speaking, Biwa continued, "When we heard Qiuming's idea, we thought it was a very good idea, so we wanted to implement it in the form of a club first."

"And I happen to know a little about computers, so after Pipa heard about this, she pulled me into their plan," Mudan added.

'You're a top hacker who can even hack into the Padia Alliance's currency system, you know way more than just a little bit.' Karl muttered to himself, then pretended to suddenly understand: 'Oh, I see. No wonder you all said I'm very suitable to be a teacher in this club.'

"However, I actually mentioned this plan to Chairman Yeci after I returned to Padiya."

As soon as Karl said this, everyone in the classroom turned to look at him.