Chapter 1381: Academy Opening

Baimu never knew what "holding back" meant when coaching battles.

Even if the other party had only been raising Pokémon for less than a month, a rookie Trainer who couldn't be any newer.

And under his guidance, Shiny Zorua won easily, causing its confidence to swell rapidly.

"Awoo!"

Battling isn't hard at all!

Isn't this way easier than exercise?

The fat fox held its head high arrogantly, feeling it could endure this kind of thing no matter how many more times it happened.

Can it really endure it?

Very soon, Shiny Zorua was slapped hard in the face by reality.

Because in the subsequent rematches, Baimu didn't let it attack aggressively; instead, he repeatedly had it stay put and wait.

Causing it not only to be pierced by Dartrix's feathers, but also to be slashed several times in a row by Oshawott's scalchop, hurting so much it ran around the field in a panic.

Shiny Zorua several times couldn't help but want to attack, but was stopped each time by Baimu's stern tone.

"Don't move, I haven't given the command yet."

"Whine..."

The fat fox looked confused and wronged, tears rapidly welling in the corners of its eyes.

This little expression made the two opposing partner pairs feel a bit unable to bear it, as if they had done something unforgivable.

Aiden couldn't hold back, "Principal..."

"Can't you tell this is 【Fake Tears】?" Baimu said as if he hadn't seen it.

Aiden froze, "Fake Tears? But it—"

Before his voice fell, the bodies of both Dartrix and Oshawott lit up with the glow of lowered stats, as if mocking the soft-hearted Aiden and Guang.

So it really was "Fake Tears"!

【Fake Tears】, a Dark-type status move, effect: lowers the target's Sp. Def.

However, Shiny Zorua's tears were actually real; it was truly wronged, and 【Fake Tears】 was a new move it accidentally stumbled into using.

Baimu said: "What Pokémon battle doesn't involve taking hits? If you don't take them now, you'll have to take them later."

"Whine!"

Then I'm not battling anymore!

Shiny Zorua decisively chose to give up; no matter what it did, it always leaned toward the easier option.

Baimu shook his head, "At least you can't escape running today."

Shiny Zorua fell silent.

It kind of wanted to slack off, but the opponents didn't seem likely to let it go; could it be it had to run away?

Thinking it over carefully, Shiny Zorua decided to accept its bad luck for today, obey Baimu for now, and from tomorrow on, even if you beat it to death it won't battle!

Porygon Phone looked at Shiny Zorua, who had clearly developed a resistant mentality, and said quietly to Baimu: "Giving it high difficulty right away today, isn't that too rushed?"

Normally speaking, you should let Shiny Zorua taste enough sweetness first, then gradually make it realize the cruelty of battling.

Not give it two easy wins and then fast-forward straight to the getting-beaten phase.

Baimu shook his head, "Unnecessary. The core purpose of letting it battle is weight loss, building a healthy body. If it can't get substantive enjoyment from it, ordinary methods are fine too."

Liking battling and liking winning are two different things.

He didn't intend to deceive Shiny Zorua, directly letting it experience the real battle environment—

First, getting hit is unavoidable.

There isn't a single Pokémon that can dodge it; the earlier it contacts it, the earlier it faces reality.

Second, battling requires perseverance.

If it wants to quit just because it can't stand the pain, then it might as well quit early.

Listening to his words, Porygon Phone couldn't help but internally roast him: clearly it was he who made Shiny Zorua try battling.

Of course, it also understood the Trainer wanted Shiny Zorua to contact more methods that could help it lose weight, and from them find something interesting it could stick with.

But as things stood, laziness had seeped into Shiny Zorua's marrow; its preferences were almost the same as Galarian Corsola's—eating and sleeping.

The difference is Corsola has a terrible temper; whoever provokes it, it immediately retaliates.

This started from very early on, when it wasn't even this strong yet.

Shiny Zorua, on the other hand, leans more toward playing pitiful, evoking others' sympathy; perhaps because this has worked before.

Baimu had Shiny Zorua accompany Aiden and Guang to train the whole morning, thoroughly grinding away the fat fox's desire to become a battle master.

Even though its Ability, in practical terms, is even more suited for battling than in the games.

Illusion creation and such, if used properly, can exert spatial tricks to a terrifying degree.

Misdirection is a veritable core in competitive Pokémon battling!

What a pity.

It's not interested.

Baimu could only let a Pokémon capable of laughing proudly over the jianghu retire from the jianghu ahead of time.

Aiden and Guang, meanwhile, learned a lot from battling with him.

"The final configuration in a Pokémon battle isn't the Pokémon, it's the Trainer themselves; you must remember that Pokémon act according to the Trainer's will."

Baimu's admonition was firmly engraved in both their hearts.

Midday.

Shiny Zorua successfully started eating; its appetite was quite a bit larger than the past few days. At first it ate quite happily, but later it slowly felt something was off.

Wait!

Is this lunch?

It hurriedly found the multi-sided phone to confirm.

The multi-sided phone strangely said: "Exactly, what else?"

"... Ow!"

Damn! I got tricked!

Shiny Zorua's face almost turned black like a regular Zorua, thinking Baimu had promised it a meal as a snack, but instead he dragged it all the way to lunchtime.

Is this right? Is this reasonable?

What? The food intake increased a little? This is clearly what it deserves!

Shiny Zorua ate its lunch resentfully, its aversion to battles deepening further.

It only enjoyed it for less than five minutes—if it could like that, there'd be a ghost.

The multi-sided phone silently recorded it eating, then showed Baimu: "This guy has deep resentment!"

"It's normal for Ghost-type Pokémon to have some resentment."

He didn't pay much attention to it.

Shiny Zorua's Ghost typing is strange—having a physical body, it completely cannot pass through walls or disappear like other Ghost-type Pokémon.

Its ability to absorb negative emotions is there, but it seems not very practiced.

Not much time was spent on Shiny Zorua.

Facing the upcoming opening ceremony, Baimu couldn't help but busy himself preparing.

At the same time, the news of the second Ore League Conference being held spread throughout Ore.

Currently, fewer than a hundred trainers meet the participation conditions, even allowing them to skip the 【Battle Royale】 pre-selection and directly enter the initial elimination round.

But Shi Yuan Zhi thinks the 【Battle Royale】 is still necessary to hold again.

Because last year's viewership was extremely high, especially Baimu's segment where he let the Super Mega Steel Snake conduct harvesting, which directly exploded online.

This year definitely won't be that exaggerated, but there will certainly be some impressive performances.

As for whether they'll be criticized as barbaric, Shi Yuan Zhi doesn't care.

At least their Battle Royale is set in an open area, unlike neighboring Alola throwing over a hundred people directly into a venue for a chaotic brawl?

Those who know think Alola is holding a League Conference; those who don't think it's a gladiator fight in the Roman Colosseum!

"Invitations and such, let's talk about them next year."

Shi Yuan Zhi is worried sick.

He's under great pressure, needing to focus on Ore's livelihood, Ore's important celebrations, and also act as Baimu's babysitter, safeguarding his academy.

Besides, he himself is training Pokémon in an attempt to usurp the Four Heavenly Kings.

Every day can be said he's so busy he doesn't even have time to sleep.

Shi Yuan Zhi has more than once thought about releasing Loz from prison to let him manage the Ore League for him, but he knows this is merely a wishful thought.

Therefore, he can only find some trustworthy people, like Wu Dance, to share the burden.

Wu Dance is also currently striving forward toward Olivia II.

——

Year-end.

Under the gaze of countless eyes.

The first official term of Ore Academy has begun.

As the owner of Pokesound, Baimu naturally had this news trending on Pokesound.

And publicly encouraged students to film campus videos and upload them.

Netizens were all curious: on the eve of the Eight Masters' upcoming event, as a seeded champion, Baimu didn't seize the time to train his Pokémon, but instead silently opened a school?

The champion's brain circuitry is indeed unlike ordinary people!

Thanks to this, everyone's curiosity about Ore Academy also rose, further boosting Ore's heat and drawing viewers to pay attention to the second League Conference.

Baimu quickly realized this, instantly understanding why Shi Yuan Zhi suggested opening the academy before the conference.

Good buddy! You really have something!

He really wanted to give Shi Yuan Zhi a thumbs-up.

Many attended the opening ceremony—Ore's elite and upper echelon of trainers nearly all showed up, with others from other regions coming to observe, including people from Tangerine Academy and Blueberry Garden.

Baimu reunited after a long time with Nemo, Paipa, and Mudan, but had little chance to chat with them; after a brief meeting, he went to entertain other guests.

Unfortunately, the two honorary professors Zhulan and Champion Dawu didn't come, only sending a pre-recorded video.

The Four Heavenly Kings of Fengyuan came three—

Shi Yuan Zhi, Fuyong, and Queen Boni, all acquaintances Baimu has interacted with.

The old man's body remains robust, appearing able to endure another one or two years; Fuyong then invited him to visit Shenshan, saying adventuring together would be fun.

Adventure? Have you adventured before?

Baimu only remembers Fuyong knowing many of his little secrets.

The Four Heavenly Kings of Sinnoh didn't come, while those of Unova all arrived, with Adeku teaching there, making their presence inevitable.

Aside from those, the only other Four Heavenly Kings present were Zimi from the Kalos Four Heavenly Kings, who arrived together with Locomoco; the latter has two public cooking classes at the academy.

Locomoco still hopes to find a successor besides Baimu, after all, the latter is so renowned in battle circles that he wouldn't feel right asking him to give up being champion to become a cook.

Perhaps after retirement?

Hasn't Adeku already started teaching?

The grand opening ceremony was held at the mountaintop giant arena, where a small Lochia appeared, seeking a sense of presence, bringing light rain to the entire academy island and startling many students.

But it wasn't too surprising.

The existence of Lugia in the Oure region was no secret, and while the students present were certainly drawn to the little Lugia, they had also gotten plenty of close-up looks at the legendary Pokémon.

The Three Pillars had also arrived today; Baimu had sent the Thunder Pillar and Dragon Pillar over, gathering all five pillars to serve as door guardians and keep order at the venue.

Come to think of it, it actually worked quite well—the reporters who rushed over didn't dare speak loudly.

The ceremony wasn't long; Baimu, Adeku, and Professor Oak took turns giving speeches on stage. Originally, they had planned to have a student representative speak as well, but after thinking it over carefully, Baimu decided to let the students off easy.

Just because you got caught in the rain before doesn't mean you have to rip your umbrella to shreds!

The first batch of freshmen at Oure Academy—165 in total—clapped in unison. Compared to the surrounding spacious and empty environment, it seemed rather desolate.

But Baimu believed that sooner or later, Oure Academy's students would be as numerous and outstanding as those of Citrus Academy, emerging in endless succession.

After the opening ceremony ended, Adam came over.

He had come to deliver Murai, and incidentally to check on a certain unfilial "disciple."

"You and Miss Liuqi really have quite a plan," said the middle-aged gentleman, out of the blue.

Baimu laughed awkwardly, and Murai looked utterly confused.

A plan?

What plan?

Naturally, the plan to have her succeed as the馆主 of the Liuli Gym.

Though there had been no precedent of a main character from the Pokémon series serving as a Gym Leader before, this sort of thing could be created.

However, Baimu actually felt the likelihood wasn't high.

Murai seemed, to him, much like the Shiny Sneasel—averse to battles.

The Grand Festival should be fine.

Wow.

So many generations of the Liuli Gym have been ruined by the Grand Festival.

Baimu didn't know how to feel about it, only sensing that sometimes, one simply has to resign oneself to fate.

Murai was adapting reasonably well to the Grand Performance; although so many days had passed and the Fireball Mouse still hadn't evolved, she herself felt she was no longer the same as before.

Clearly, she had found a goal to strive toward, no longer lost as she once was.

The multi-function phone had not spared a moment in peeking at Murai's Pokéchime; even if she went to the Liuli Gym, she still maintained her daily update.

Two days ago, she posted a video that exposed Adam and Menace, and the video instantly went viral.

But it was soon deleted by Murai herself.

Baimu knew she didn't want to cause trouble for Adam.

But what trouble could there possibly be?

Anyway, Baimu didn't hold overly high expectations for Murai—he only wished she could find what she wanted to do and move forward happily and joyfully.

This was the same as how he treated the Shiny Sneasel.

The multi-function phone thought he had already begun to adopt a teacher's mindset.

Huh?

Baimu suddenly had an idea—should he let the Shiny Sneasel also try out the Grand Performance?

This guy taking the cute route would absolutely be no problem.

However, due to being overly busy on the first day of school, by the time Baimu finally had some free time, it was already late at night.

"……Being a principal really isn't easy."

He gazed out the window at the quiet campus, feeling as if he might have gone too far.

Although he was also quite happy with the current situation.

The next day.

Visiting guests were sent off one by one; everyone generally belonged to the busy type, and being able to spare a day was truly not easy, so Baimu dared not impose on them to stay longer.

Professor Oak was the same.

He had stayed long enough in Oure; according to himself, he was quite satisfied with this trip to Oure, merely slightly regretful—

Queen Leiguanwang refused to see him.

The old man felt quite dejected about this—did he really have no charm at all?

The answer is yes.

Nemo, Pipa, and Mudan didn't rush to leave, even though the final exams at Citrus Academy were approaching.

Baimu made time to battle Nemo again after a long absence, and invited the students to come watch.

Needless to say, the battle between the two champions was highly captivating—not just the students, but even the school staff basically showed up in full.

Nemo lost badly, yet was still very happy, as if someone who had been holding it in finally got a thorough and satisfying release.

"I'm so happy! Baimu!"

"Me too."

Baimu replied with a smile.

Nemo soon brought up the matter of the Eight Masters, saying, "By then, I and Pipa and the others will also go to the scene to cheer you on!"

"……Alright." Baimu had wanted to say the tickets might have been sold out long ago.

But thinking that Nemo was the second young lady of the Rotom Phone family, and that the Rotom Phone headquarters were located in Galar, he figured there was really nothing more to say.