Chapter 206: Observations at the Pokémon Butler Academy

"This is truly... impressive."

Luo Mu's eyebrows raised slightly; before his eyes stood the main gate of the Pokémon Butler Academy, and the reason for his surprise was that this Pokémon Butler Academy resembled less an academy and more a private manor occupying an extremely vast area.

A huge iron gate painted black blocked Luo Mu's path; without him needing to contact anyone, a blue halo suddenly enveloped the gate, and under the influence of a mysterious power, the gate slowly opened as a Pokémon floating in midair bowed lightly to Luo Mu.

This Pokémon looked very similar to the one that had visited Luo Mu's farm, yet there were obvious differences in the details; its body was predominantly white, with indigo making up the minority.

It was a female Meowstic, and he did not know what relationship it shared with that male Meowstic butler.

This female Meowstic's posture was far more elegant than that male Meowstic's; it used its psychic power to trace characters in midair: "Greetings, honored Mr. Luo Mu; I shall guide you during this academy tour, so please observe the students to your heart's content and then make your decision."

Luo Mu nodded gently: "Then I shall rely on your kind guidance."

Ci previously had also basically explained to Luo Mu the process for selecting butler Pokémon.

Because Luo Mu had already passed the academy's audit, this time he would be the one selecting from the Butler Academy's students; the butler Pokémon available for him to choose all possessed a clear desire to seek employment, so the situation where Luo Mu took a fancy to a certain Pokémon only for it to refuse the job would not occur.

The Meowstic gestured for Luo Mu to follow behind it, then turned its body and walked toward the interior of the academy.

Luo Mu glanced once more at the great gate and followed the Meowstic's retreating figure; at that moment, a line of characters lit up beside the Meowstic, which had its back to Luo Mu: "You must be wondering about my relationship with that examiner who visited you; it is my older brother."

Luo Mu was momentarily stunned, having not expected the two Meowstic to be siblings.

After fully entering the academy, the first thing to come into view was a pebble road extending continuously inward; it appeared to be paved with cobblestones and some stones Luo Mu did not recognize, yet walking on it did not feel uneven underfoot.

On both sides of Shi Zilu lay a vast garden; the emerald-green lawn looked full of vitality, and its uniform growth indicated that someone must usually tend to it with great care.

After advancing for a short while, a magnificent garden entered Luo Mu's field of vision, and at that same moment, Luo Mu finally saw the figures of Pokémon.

Beside neatly arranged plants of an unknown variety, a light-pink Pokémon with a vibrant figure and graceful movements was waving the red scythes at the ends of its arms, performing a splendid dance.

With its movements, the crown of a wildly growing purple-leaf plum tree was pruned by it into an aesthetically pleasing spherical shape; Lurantis did not even stop, completing the entire pruning in one seamless motion, a skill that could truly be called a work of divine craftsmanship.

Not far away on the other side, beside an arched bridge where numerous flowers competed to bloom in full splendor, a Florges as dignified and luxurious as a noble lady was carefully tending to the flowers.

"They are all outstanding students of the academy; their capabilities as butlers are all first-rate, and at the same time they cultivate their own hobbies and possess different specialties."

"Those who delve into skills such as landscaping, tea ceremony, chess, cooking, electrical and plumbing repairs, painting, woodworking, and bartending have not neglected their cultivation as butlers; you may regard these as their individual characteristics and make your selections with a corresponding preference."

During their advance, whenever Luo Mu looked toward the location of a certain Pokémon, characters formed by the Meowstic's psychic power would appear at just the right moment, perfectly introducing to him the conditions of those students who had not yet graduated.

Just like the Lurantis and Florges from earlier, there was a Gallade practicing martial arts through woodworking, a Froslass elegantly mixing drinks at a long table, and a pair of Tsareena sisters acting as practice subjects for each other's massage techniques.

Watching the Tsareena sisters forcefully stepping on each other with their long legs, Luo Mu swallowed hard.

Damn, if that foot stepped on a person's back, it would probably shatter their bones.

How is this massage? This is murder!

"Their massage techniques have only just begun, so they have not yet mastered controlling their strength."

The Meowstic's psychic characters floated forth once again, resolving Luo Mu's doubts.

Luo Mu stared blankly at the characters and nodded, a trace of curiosity rising in his heart as he asked: "By the way, could it be that your and your brother's specialty is merely using psychic power to trace human writing?"

The Meowstic leading the way ahead paused, and characters appeared: "Is not literacy the most basic requirement to become a competent and excellent butler? Without knowing how to read, how can one communicate with a master, and how can one meticulously complete tasks assigned by the master without a single error?"

"Pokémon capable of entering this Butler Academy possess intelligence that stands out among their own kind, especially for us Psychic-type Pokémon whose brains are inherently very active; although we truly cannot produce vocal sounds, after undergoing study we can, like me, use psychic energy to trace characters out of thin air; this technique might be considered a secret tradition of our academy."

"I see."

Luo Mu nodded slightly, filled with admiration in his heart.

It seemed this Pokémon Butler Academy, which he had never heard of before, truly had some skill; every butler Pokémon capable of graduating was likely an elite among elites.

Luo Mu felt that Pokémon in the Pokémon world filled with wisdom and intellect ought to be exactly like this; not merely participating in battles that satisfy their instincts, they also integrate into every aspect of human life, and only thus can this wonderful world be fully constructed.

Chatting with a Pokémon was a very marvelous feeling, especially when the other party could clearly understand your meaning and give a reply that you could also comprehend at a glance; once the floodgates of conversation opened, Luo Mu also began chatting with the Meowstic about a story: "Actually, there are also Pokémon capable of speaking human language."

The Meowstic turned its body, tracing characters with its psychic power: "Telepathy? That is a rare ability that only a minority of talented Pokémon can learn; at the very least, neither my brother nor I possess that talent."

"No."

Luo Mu shook his head, his voice steady: "That Pokémon can truly produce sounds using its own vocal cords and is capable of holding fluent conversations with humans."

"Oh? How did it achieve that? I am very curious."

An obvious look of curiosity appeared on the Meowstic's face; it had never heard of a Pokémon being able to produce sound without relying on telepathy.

With a face full of emotion, Luo Mu slowly recounted the story of a wild Meowth that had fallen in love with a domestic Meowth named Madonna, finally summarizing: "Since then, that Meowth became the one and only Meowth in this world; it became unable to use moves that should have been instinctive, and its combat ability also became low."

(End of Chapter)