Early morning on the 4th of August.

The fireworks of the summer festival put a good end to the rare vacation of the trainers. Early the next morning, Xiao Ye and Xiao Tian bid farewell to the reluctant Fengming Pavilion and embarked on their respective journeys again.

Both of them have predetermined things to do, and they are very fast "free trainers". After breakfast, Xiao Tian took a cruise to Durian Island, and after Xiao Ye saw off his friends at the pier, he also began to prepare for the transfer of positions.

With less than a week left before the start of the Blizzard Campaign, Saya plans to stay in a small town at the foot of the mountain to concentrate on training Pokémon. Of course, before that, she needed to go to the hospital to have her broken left arm checked - the captain told her three times before parting, and Saya was sure that if she accidentally forgot about it, she would be reprimanded a day later.

Thanks to the excellent pharmaceutical technology tree in this world and the strong self-healing power of the young man's body, Xiao Ye's examination results are very optimistic - the degree of bone healing is enough for her to remove the splint and move freely, and the only thing to pay attention to is clichés such as "don't use your left hand to carry heavy objects in the near future". For the right-hander, this is not even a bother.

In sync with the trainers, Tabitori, who had been badly injured in the Great Battle in the Valley of Flames, also received a report of recovery. The birds, which had not spread their wings and flown for a long time, were already eager to try, staring at the trainer and looking like a small sky, it was rare to show a bit of youth...... No, the liveliness that a young bird should have.

Xiaoye also happily complied, took the broad back of the big bird, and flew all the way to the target of this trip, the town at the foot of the snow-capped mountains, Bailang Town [Japanese: シラナミタウン, English: Whitecap_Town].

Unlike the previous island, Naipuru Island is larger, and the island's population is several times that of Tangerine Island. In addition to the most prosperous city of Aobo, there are many small towns scattered throughout the island. Among them, Bailang Town is located at the foot of the snowy mountain, far from the coastline, and is the most remote and quiet town on the island.

Riding the Dabi bird over the town, Xiao Ye saw small and delicate houses built on the mountain, and the sloping roofs were painted with different low-saturation colors, rich but not chaotic. Some of the roofs are also painted with graffiti, which is just the right amount to add a bit of fireworks to the town on the gray rocks.

Saya lands in a sparsely populated outskirts and follows the trail to the middle of the town. There aren't many residents in the town, but they all seem to know each other well, but the atmosphere is somewhat similar to that of Zhenxin Town.

Before arriving here, Xiao Ye had already investigated, although Bailang Town was small, but due to the frequent stops of traveling trainers - most of them to rest and recuperate before climbing the snowy mountain, the town had a full range of facilities for trainers. The Pokémon Center is located next to the plaza in the northeast of the town, and there are also shops related to trainers, and there is even a ring for battles in the square, and the recorder and referee are online all year round, often attracting young trainers from both local and foreign places to join in the fun. Over time, the townspeople forgot the original name of the square, and called it "Trainer's Square".

Recalling the information she found on the Internet, Saya stepped off the bus in front of the Pokémon Center. She glanced at the black-and-white "Trainer's Square Station" on the station sign in a trance, and began to wonder if this square had its original name.

Like all freelance trainers, Koyo checked in at the front desk with ease.

The Battle of the Blizzard is about to begin, and the number of trainers who come here to stay overnight has increased a lot more than usual. Fortunately, she arrived early, and there was still plenty of room in the single room, so she didn't need to "share a house" with strangers.

After getting a five-day staycation, Xiao Ye didn't leave immediately, but walked to another counter with a "short-term employment" sign.

"Short-term employment" is a system unique to Pokémon centers in the Orange Islands. Due to the low population density and lack of labor in this area, many Pokémon centers will hand over tasks such as running errands to trainers in the form of "temporary commissions". Young trainers who want to earn some money to make ends meet can go to the counter to pick up the job of their choice, sign a contract, and get paid quickly when they are done.

It sounds a bit like a mercenary group that often appears in Western fantasy stories. But unlike the story, there are never missions that require combat on the short-term hire list - entrusting a freelance trainer with dangerous work is outright illegal. Most of the hard work is done such as cleaning the room and carrying goods, and occasionally there are commissions to go to the field to collect some kind of herb or fruit, which is not dangerous for the trainer with Pokémon body, but it just takes some effort.

Xiao Ye still has more than 50,000 elf coins on hand, and she actually doesn't have to worry about food and clothing in a short time. But the countless encounters on the verge of bankruptcy in the past have made her deeply realize that the situation of having to spend money is unpredictable, and in order to ensure that she does not starve to death with the Pokémon, the more money the better.

Under Pichu's energetic gaze, eager to fly out to work now to keep his food, Xiao Ye flipped through the work list at the counter and chose a relatively well-paid task, "Collect fifty bunches of cold herbs".

Icy cold vanilla is a herb with beautiful blue leaves, usually born from water, and is a common ingredient in medicines to treat burns. The only river in Napuru Island, the Bailang River, flows down the mountain and flows south into the sea, where icy herbs grow on the riverside near the mountainside. The terrain is difficult to walk, and collecting medicine in the mountains is a troublesome task even for trainers. The area along the river of Fengxue Mountain is a Pokémon Sanctuary, and trainers are forbidden to attack wild Pokémon, and even if they are hindered in the process of collecting herbs, they can only run away obediently - which is why they are highly paid.

Of course, even Mt. Aso, who managed to conquer Mt. Aso, only felt that this task was not difficult. Instead of "within a week" as the job requirements say, she could get a sack of grass with her hands and feet in two days, and receive a handsome prize at the speed of light to appease poor Pichu who was worried.

At the end of the job description, it is noted that this is a request from the Pokémon Center from the medicine house next door, and you can go to the medicine store to pick up a sample of the herb so that you can search it. So, after signing the employment contract, Xiao Ye pushed the door out and walked to the medicine house on the right side of the Pokémon Center.

As the name suggests, in addition to the Pokémon Center, the Trainer Square is built around a circular plaza with disc shops, training equipment stores, and cultivation houses.

The medicine house adjacent to the Pokémon Center is a small wooden house, and you can vaguely see a few fruit trees planted in the backyard, and a regular medicine garden on the land. Xiao Ye stepped forward, pausing in the middle of the walk.

She saw a Pokémon standing by the door—it was really motionless, like a still painting, and suddenly it didn't look like a living thing, but like a strangely shaped sculpture.

Pokémon are grayish-blue in color, with only the nose being a flame-like bright red. Its eyes were down, its form seemed to freeze, and its rocky face could not make a flexible expression, only a daze, not knowing whether it was contemplating or sleeping, or staring at the distant horizon. There are many potted plants in front of the medicine house, and the flowers are clustered around it, and it seems that the scenery painting and still life sketch are forcibly blended, which makes people feel very strange.

North-facing nose is a very rare species in the Orange Islands. Xiao Ya couldn't help but look at it a few more times, thinking that this was probably the store's Pokémon.

The sight of the rock creatures standing silently by the door made Xiao Ye vaguely feel that something was wrong. However, this strange feeling did not make her think about it carefully, and the girl walked into the medicine room and explained her meaning to the staff.

The owner of the medicine house is a man who looks to be in his early twenties at most, and the last name is "Shimura" written on the name tag on his chest. The young boss's face was not warm, but the etiquette was thoughtful enough, and after listening to Xiao Ye's explanation, he nodded, and took out the sample of the herb with blue leaves that had been prepared long ago.

"Most of the cold herbs grow in the crevices of the rocks near the water, so be sure to watch your feet when picking them, and don't try to be fast. The current in the mountains is very fast, and it is dangerous to fall into the river. "Probably because the trainer who took over the commission looks too young, and his height is exactly the same as that of a standard ten-year-old newcomer, the owner of the medicine house surnamed Shimura told him again and again with a serious face.

"Well, I understand, don't worry. "It's an employee's job to show the employer what they're capable of doing — Saya knows that she doesn't look reliable on the outside, and immediately takes the initiative to pull out Ghoststone's Poké Ball, "I'll leave the area near the river to it." ”

As a flying ghost-type Pokémon, there is no difference between steep mountains and unobstructed flat land, making it the perfect helper for gathering work. Before Shimura could breathe a sigh of relief, he saw the Poké Ball open with a "bang", and the big dark purple ghost jumped out in the shape of a crescent moon...... Then he bit the trainer's head. The electric mouse that almost fell into the mouth of the blood basin was frightened to a height of three meters, and was planted directly into the basket containing the stumps and leaves in the corner.

Sayo: "......"

Shimura: "......"

Ghost Stone: "Bang la Quack!" (Happy)

Seeing that the young boss's expression gradually turned from calm to suspicion, and the action of handing out the cold herb sample became indecisive, Xiaoya immediately made a decision, and quickly took the sample to save Pichu and bowed and thanked him in one go, and finally did not forget to send a well-behaved smile - although this expression was greatly reduced by biting Ghost Stone on his head.

Shimura's hand froze in the air for a moment, and finally reluctantly retracted it.

The contract has been signed, can it still be torn up?

The apprehensive shopkeeper held back a polite smile and watched the unreliable worker leave. After the young trainer pushed open the door, he paused, turned his head and asked with some curiosity, "Mr. Shimura, is this north-facing nose your Pokémon?"

The young man in the cabin seemed to be silent for a moment. His expression was muffled by the light passing through the window, and only a voice of impatience came from his reply, "No, it's a wild Pokémon that came from nowhere." It's annoying to get in the way in front of my store every day. ”

Hanging silver wind chimes jingle with the shaking of the door panels, echoing in the entryway along with the human male voice. Xiao Ye lowered her eyes, and saw that the north nose did not react when she heard this, and she still stared at the air in front of her in a daze, as if it was really a lifeless sculpture.

The wooden door closes, cutting off the wind chimes and the light scent of herbs. Xiao Ye didn't leave immediately, and the gaze that fell on the rock Pokémon revealed a bit of deep thought.

She sensed the source of her faint strange feeling, which is why she asked the shopkeeper a question.

The medicine house is located at the north end of the square, and this Pokémon stands with its back to the medicine house, always staring at the end of the square - it is not north, it is due south.

It is well known that the nose facing north is made of magnets, and the earth's magnetic field makes it face north forever in its natural state, hence the name of the race. Sayo can be sure that there is no magnetic pole in the world that faces the north nose in the opposite direction.

She wanted to ask the owner of the medicine house if the north-facing nose was suffering from any disease, but Shimura's answer was unexpected, and she was suspicious.

Would a person who fears for the safety of a trainer he doesn't know know really feel displeased when he stands by the door with a north-facing nose?

Xiao Ye's gaze swept over the carefully tended bonsai. The delicate flowers are fragrant, and instead of being placed on the right side of the empty door, they are deliberately placed next to the north-facing nose, surrounding it.

"Mound?" the electric mouse hanging from his shoulder let out a puzzled snort and scratched Sayo's neck with his little paws.

The trainer smiled at it, took off the Ghost Stone hat in one hand, and stuffed it back into the Poké Ball.

"Nothing—let's go. ”

====================

Small Theatre:

Pichu: Moulk? (scratches the trainer's neck in confusion)

Sayo: Nothing—I was just wondering, if you put your nose facing north at the South Pole magnetic point, and it's north in all directions, where would it facing? Will it turn into a spinning top?

Pichu: ...... Qiu (confused)

North-facing nose: ......!?(scared south-facing nose)