Chapter 1028

Orange Academy.

In the dust-choked training ground.

Under the gaze of countless students, a massive figure beat its wings with a thunderous crash, scattering the thick smoke as it soared high.

"Gyaoosh!!"

The pitch-black giant dragon unfurled its six wings, its whole body glittering like crystal, a Dragon Crown atop its central head, its three heads raised slightly as it let loose a roar!

In an instant.

The air trembled like thunder, a translucent shockwave spreading far, carrying away the gunpowder smoke at the bottom as well.

Only to see, in the battle arena shattered to pieces, the huge Dragalge lay sprawled on the ground in its original form.

It had plainly fainted.

Huang Bo raised a hand. "Dragalge is unable to battle! Hydreigon wins!"

Xin Li, watching from the side, exclaimed in amazement, "Even with Dragalge's physical defense plus its resistance to Dragon-type thanks to Steel-typing, it couldn't hold out?"

"It's because Nemo-jiejie used Iron Tail!" Poppy said in a tiny voice.

She's a Steel-type specialist; there's hardly a Steel-type move she doesn't know.

Nemo's Dragalge has a rather special Iron Tail — it looks like a cannon beam, so telling it apart is actually quite difficult.

【Iron Tail】, beneath its high power, carries the negative effect of draining the user's stamina, causing Dragalge to be unable to withstand Dragon Rush despite its excellent physical defense.

The battle is basically a foregone conclusion.

Goodra was previously heavily injured by Lei Ji's Draco Meteor; facing Hydreigon now, its win rate wouldn't exceed ten percent.

Nemo herself knows this too.

"Good work, Dragalge!"

She gripped the Poké Ball, veins bulging on the back of her hand, trembling as she threw it forward.

"I'm counting on you, Goodra!"

Bang!

"Oh!"

Goodra appeared; when it lifted its head, what greeted it was a roaring energy dragon!

Boosh!

A translucent blue light shield vibrated, desperately blocking the multicolored dragon flames burning fiercely, preventing them from advancing an inch.

But soon, countless cracks crisscrossed the shield's surface; Goodra also wore a pained expression, as if at its limit.

Finally.

The light shield exploded with a bang, the energy dragon roaring as it swallowed Goodra whole!

Boom——!!

Light, flames, and gunsmoke mingled and rose upward.

Burying everything.

Bashuo tilted his head to look at the Hydreigon high in the sky, backlit against the sun, its shadow falling like a sky-blotting canopy, and praised, "What a powerful giant dragon!"

In his view, never mind his own dragons — even the dragons in his clan might not surpass this one.

Clavell said to Yeci, "Chairman, I'll take my leave first."

The outcome is decided.

Watching further would just mean getting squeezed in with the students; he needed to go to the gate to ensure the crowd could disperse normally.

Yeci nodded, her expression calm throughout, hands clasped behind her back, unreadable.

Xin Li glanced at her sideways, hands pillowing her head, and said lazily to Poppy, "Heard that compared to Dragon Pokémon, Baimu excels more at Steel-types. His ace is an Aggron, and a very strong Hariyama."

"Really? Poppy is very happy!"

The little girl pursed her lips and smiled, behaving very ladylike.

Bashuo stayed silent, considering the possibility that Baimu possesses Dragon Tamer bloodline — though in this world, it's not necessarily only Dragon Tamers who can raise powerful Pokémon.

But in most cases, that's indeed how it is.

The dust and smoke dispersed.

Huang Bo confirmed Goodra's condition and shouted:

"Goodra is unable to battle! Nemo has no usable Pokémon left! Baimu claims the final victory!"

Wails filled the surrounding stands.

That powerful Senior Nemo had actually lost; the sun in their hearts had fallen to an outsider—

Huh?

Doesn't seem like an outsider either?

News of Baimu's enrollment wasn't secret; blogs had even started discussing related topics.

Even so, Nemo's defeat still left her supporters especially dejected.

A few looked heartbroken toward the dust-flying arena; that proud student council president might be secretly crying right now?

Sigh.

"Hehehe!"

Nemo not only wasn't downcast, she could even be called radiant.

She was naturally unwilling to accept failure, but how long had it been since she felt this?

Three months? Half a year? A year?

Though she lost to Baimu, the exhilaration actually outweighed the unwillingness; ever since Yeci refused to battle her citing busy work, it'd been a long time since she lost so wholeheartedly.

Not to mention some people can't even beat her when she deliberately holds back...

The world is so harsh.

After Nimo retracted her Adorable Dragon and thanked it for its effort, a smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of her mouth.

Though defeated once more, she felt she had drawn one step closer to her goal.

From now on, Baimu will be her target to strive for!

If only I could battle three times a day… no, once a day will do, or maybe every two days?

As long as I can keep battling, victory will come sooner or later!

Huh?

Isn't this a worthy rival?

I actually have a worthy rival too?

Nimo's heart leapt with joy; she had countless times imagined having a worthy rival, just like the characters in many championship stories.

Yet from beginning to end, no such presence had ever appeared, and even though she later consciously tried to cultivate one, many promising juniors would often change their attitude after battling her a few times.

This troubled Nimo greatly.

Baimu surely wouldn't be like that, after all, he's the Orange League Champion!

Nimo rested her hand on her chest, calming her nervous feelings, then smiled as she walked around the edge of the field, gazing at the youth rubbing the faces of the three-headed dread dragon back and forth.

"A satisfying battle! Thank you!"

She extended her hand.

Baimu glanced at it, then bumped his fist against the back of her hand, saying, "Between acquaintances, there's no need for such formality—let's battle again next time."

What he witnessed at the Orange Academy today made him view Nimo in a new light.

He felt remorse for his earlier thoughts.

The girl before him was merely more distinctive in personality, an excellent trainer who loved and aspired to battle competitions—nothing different from those he had known before.

No different from some people he had once known.

"Battle again…"

Nimo's eyes sparkled; she happily clenched her fist and punched it once, then laughed brightly: "Exactly!"

After issuing the challenge a second time, still continuing to invite battle, having not heard those words for far too long, she temporarily stopped pondering what to ask Baimu.

Such a good opponent is too rare; if I scare him off, I'll have nowhere to cry.

Amidst the bustling crowd.

Pippa, Peony, and Melo quietly withdrew, and Baimu's performance gave the first two a shot of courage.

"Stardust Grand Battle/Challenge the Treasure Master's Path—Success is Certain!"

—

The next day.

Orange Academy officially began classes.

Baimu and Nimo were not in the same class, said to be due to differing schedules.

Of course, she would come to find him every afternoon.

Sometimes they chatted, sometimes they arranged to battle together or go out to eat, and so on.

The two maintained a frequency of one battle per day.

Thanks to this, Baimu gained a concrete understanding of Nimo's Pokémon.

Just like his own.

Nimo encountered the problem of her main Pokémon's level being difficult to raise.

Members generally stayed around level eighty, while newly bred ones—like the three she had battled before—ranged from level seventy-seven to seventy-nine.

They were also nearly at their limit.

"How did you breed them?"

Nimo was astonished by the gap between Baimu's entire team—Bossgodra, Big Mouth Baby, and Three-Headed Dread Dragon were too strong.

The remaining Pokémon were certainly not weak, but compared to the first three, the difference was vast.

"Purely talent."

Baimu could only answer her that way.

Otherwise, what should I say? Did I open it or not?

Upon hearing this answer, Nimo updated her impression of Baimu, having thought someone like him would only say serious things.

Unexpectedly…

"I also rely purely on talent!"

She hehe-laughed, even feeling satisfied.

The students at Orange Academy gradually grew accustomed to the presence of two champions, occasionally erupting in debates over who was stronger.

But they would quickly reach a conclusion after Baimu soundly defeated Nimo.

Their battles were quite peculiar.

No matter how much advantage Nimo gained early on, or if she defeated one or two of Baimu's Pokémon, in the end Baimu would surely win.

Holding back?

Absolutely not.

Entirely due to Baimu's own strength.

His habit seemed to be casually battling the first two, then going all out on the last.

Several days passed.

The reason they didn't depart to continue their mission was that Orange Academy requires students to remain on campus for at least one or two weeks each year at the start of the term.

The purpose seemed to be fostering students' sense of belonging, and assigning some tasks.

This year's task——

Proposed by biology teacher Jinia, the "Terastallization Research" aimed to cultivate students' mastery of Terastallization.

Everyone had to go to designated Gyms and challenge the respective Gym Leaders, earning their approval.

Like the "Treasure Hunt" task promoted by Naranja Academy, it was a major mission conducted by the year.

Baimu studied Naranja Academy's teaching philosophy while exploring the many mysteries within.

He always believed that Naranja Academy, with its hundred-year history, must hide some unknown secrets.

Unfortunately.

They were comparatively hard to find.

He soaked in the library every day, and aside from gaining a deeper understanding of Area Zero, there were no other gains.

The long-missed campus life also gave him a strange feeling.

Of course, in his previous life, people of this age were basically still in school too, except for a small portion who only studied through high school.

The Chairman's presence was also extremely low; several days passed without a single encounter, whereas Clavell could often be greeted.

Penny was nowhere to be seen either, but the two agreed on a time to meet and talk in detail on Line.

Penny……

She actually turned out to be a shut-in, and a tech geek at that.

Baimu had once visited her dorm at her invitation; the spacious room was piled with various computer equipment.

"Are you a computer expert?"

"Not really an expert~" Penny adjusted her glasses, a bit embarrassed, then demonstrated the skill to hack into the Paldea League's system.

Porygon2 was astonished beyond measure.

"Even I couldn't… breach the Paldea League's firewall…"

Defeated by these genius-type players.

The toy duck was dejected, then quickly began asking her for advice on software programming.

After the two computer tech experts exchanged notes, they didn't come to Baimu about Operation Starfall for several days.

Originally, Penny reminded him almost every day.

Afraid he would strike.

Mela went back to East Area 2, saying she'd come over again when it was time to depart later.

Her subordinates really kept their mouths shut tight.

Not a single one of the remaining Team Star bosses knew the true boss had returned, and that the Fire Crew had been defeated.

So-called "secrecy ensures success"; no wonder they were able to pull off Operation Starfall before.

Time flowed on.

The day of departure finally arrived.

On the field, Clavell stood on the podium, delivering the speech for this year's task.

A major trait of this principal was that, like Tang Sanzang, he loved to drone on; speaking, he easily flew off into self-indulgence.

Fortunately, Vice Principal and math teacher Tyme kept a grip on things.

"……Students! Please depart!"

Clavell said, still with more to say.

Below.

Baimu turned his head to look at Penny, "You finally came out."

For a whole week, aside from eating, this great god stayed in her room the entire time.

He, who had turned into an outdoor type since becoming a Trainer, couldn't understand it.

Not to mention anything else, didn't she take her Pokemon out for a walk?

Seeing earlier that her whole team were various Eeveelutions, Baimu was slightly shocked.

"Mhm……"

Penny was somewhat sleep-deprived; these past two days she'd been programming software with Porygon2, which had truly consumed a lot of energy.

No choice.

Besides this, she really didn't know how to repay Baimu.

That her computer skills could be useful, she was quite happy about.

"Gwaah!"

Maschiff voluntarily came out of its ball, giving Penny a frenzied licking.

Klawf especially liked picking soft persimmons to pinch; Baimu had restrained and scolded it several times before.

As the victim, Penny instead told him not to be so harsh.

"It, it probably just likes me."

Penny forced a smile, but was quickly knocked down by Maschiff, and began crying for help, "He, he, help……"

Baimu helplessly grabbed Maschiff's antenna and pulled its head back.

Maschiff immediately resembled a cat with its ears tied up, "Ah, ah-gah!"

Penny slowly stood up, skillfully taking out a handkerchief to wipe her glasses and face.

Beep.

A message from Jinia came on his phone.

This teacher, with hair black on the left and purple on the right, fully exuding a professor vibe, sent him a mission.

"Baimu, your target for the Terastal training is—Gym Leader of Frostbite Mountain, Gurusha."

Frostbite Mountain?

Baimu remembered that this was the highest peak in Paldea outside of Area Zero.

"This is... you really picked a good place for me."

He looked at the map, confirming the directions Peony and Pippa had given him to the Starfall Squad base and the approximate location of the Treasure Pokémon, which happened to allow him to make a turn.

Peony does not participate in the training, but she has some knowledge of Gurusha.

"He might be the strongest trainer in Paldea besides the League Champion and the Elite Four."

Exactly.

Gurusha, this person wearing a thick scarf, with flowing blue hair and a cute appearance, is actually a man.

He was once a professional skier.

Unfortunately, he retired due to injury, with no choice but to become Paldea's strongest Gym Leader.

Baimu nodded, "Looks like I can look forward to it."

The two left the training field and arrived at the front gate of the academy castle, where Meloco in student uniform had been waiting for a while.

Pippa stood on the other side, and when they saw them, they both stepped forward, then exchanged surprised glances.

After realizing they were looking for fellow Wave-type people.

Pippa couldn't help but say: "Baimu! Who are these two?"

"Who is who? And who are you?"

Meloco snapped back, dissatisfied with Pippa's vaguely hostile attitude.

Pippa glared upon hearing this and said: "I—"

"Baimu!! Let's go together!!"

A loud shout came from behind—it was Nimo running out, waving happily.

As she approached, she said: "Baimu, let's join the Terastal training together... huh? So many people?"

Peony, Pippa, and Meloco all turned their heads to look at her, then at Baimu, whose mouth was twitching.

The team seemed to have suddenly grown much larger.

(End of Chapter)