Chapter 207: Forest Sage

"A Meowth that had been wandering since childhood learned human language for love; at first glance, it seems utterly absurd, yet when it sat alone on a tree gazing at the moon at the story's end, I could feel its loneliness. Perhaps it was precisely this loneliness and its pursuit of love that enabled it to accomplish this unprecedented feat."

"That said, I can somewhat understand the thoughts of that Meowth named Madonna; if I were to encounter a Meowth that could speak, I would indeed feel a tiny bit disgusted."

The Espurr looked peculiar; while the Meowth's inspiring story in the tale was truly moving, if it really encountered a Meowth that spoke human language, its first reaction would most likely be just like this—

A Meowth currently discussing plans to catch Pikachu on the Shi Ying Plateau: "A-choo-meow!"

Luo Mu:.

So even an Espurr, being a fellow cat Pokémon, could reach the same conclusion as Madonna in the animation? As a human, he found the Meowth inspiring, yet the Espurr found it somewhat... disgusting.

Although the Espurr was communicating with him using human language, it was merely outlining characters with its psychic power; when it actually made sounds, it still went "Meowni, Meowni."

That made sense; if a human imitated a Meowth's movements, crawling on the ground and meowing, it would indeed seem rather strange.

Suddenly feeling somewhat guilty toward Meowth, Luo Mu looked around intending to change the subject when he suddenly noticed a small group of Pokémon gathering by the wall at the estate's edge.

Most of those Pokémon were Electric-type, which fit quite well with this city of Electric Bath.

At that moment, those Electric-type Pokémon were lining up in a queue, accepting food distributed by a white-haired orangutan.

That white-haired orangutan wore purple fur draped like a cloak, wielding a fan secured by its own purple fur; with every wave of the fan, psychic power surged, distributing the prepared food to those Electric-type Pokémon waiting obediently in line.

Luo Mu recognized that Pokémon; he remembered it was Oranguru from the Alola region, a Normal and Psychic-type Pokémon.

Why was the Oranguru distributing food to those Electric-type Pokémon? Those Electric-types bore varying degrees of dirt and grime, clearly indicating they were wild Pokémon, so they surely weren't students of the Pokémon Butler Academy.

Among Psychic-type Pokémon, Oranguru counted as intelligent; they generally lived in forests, and aside from their own kind, they were quite amiable toward most other Pokémon, even seeking medicinal herbs to treat injured Pokémon within the forest.

Combined with its appearance, it was exactly like a reclusive sage of the forest.

Perhaps this was the reason the Oranguru was feeding those Electric-type Pokémon?

Before Luo Mu could ask, the Espurr, as if sensing his thoughts, outlined characters: "Those are all wild Electric-type Pokémon and stray Electric-type Pokémon abandoned by humans."

"As for that Oranguru feeding them, well... actually, it is also one of the graduates you are about to meet, though it is slightly special."

"Because it is one of the very few students who have remained at the academy for various reasons; every year, teachers and the principal have nearly gone bald worrying about its employment issues. Before I enrolled, Senior Oranguru had already repeated countless grades."

Luo Mu fell silent; did the Pokémon Butler Academy actually have students who repeated grades?

But seeing that the Espurr also looked unfamiliar with Oranguru's past, Luo Mu did not press further and directly changed the subject: "You said there are abandoned Pokémon among those Electric-types?"

"Yes, for instance, that Luxio." The Espurr's gaze shifted to the end of the food queue, where a Luxio with determined eyes was waiting quietly in line.

"Luxio?"

Following the Espurr's line of sight, upon spotting that Luxio, Luo Mu's expression clearly took on a touch of nostalgia.

His very first partner had been a Luxio just like this one.

"Do you know what lies beyond that wall?"

The characters outlined by the Espurr floated before Luo Mu's eyes.

Luo Mu shook his head, and the Espurr outlined another passage.

"Beyond that wall lies a vocational school for Electric-type Pokémon; it is a school for humans. That Luxio seems to have been abandoned by students of that school back when it was a Shinx."

"I see."

Luo Mu frowned slightly; perhaps because Luxio and Luxray were of the same species, he felt some sympathy for that Luxio's plight.

Just like Cangyan Cangyan Rengui and that Grafaiai, being abandoned was hardly a pleasant experience.

Just as Luo Mu sank into memories, Oranguru handed the final portion of food to the Luxio; facing the Luxio's grateful cry, Oranguru smiled, stroked the Luxio's head for a while, and only then stood up to walk toward the distant building.

The Luxio also watched Oranguru's departing figure for quite some time before clenching the food in its mouth, climbing over the wall, and running toward the interior of that Electric-type Pokémon vocational school.

Oranguru's action reminded the Espurr, which quickly alerted Luo Mu: "It is nearly time; most graduates should be waiting in the auditorium ahead, so we must quicken our pace."

Luo Mu swiftly withdrew his gaze, nodded, and said, "Alright."

The end of the Shi Zilu path led to a grand auditorium; a large red carpet embroidered with golden edges extended from the auditorium entrance down to the stone path below. Walking on the comfortably cushioned carpet, Luo Mu felt as though he were about to attend a banquet.

Near the auditorium's great doors, two massive pillars stood on either side, adorned with exquisitely carved flowers; according to the Espurr, these were the work of graduates from a previous year.

The walls flanking the great doors were painted with murals Luo Mu could not understand but which were certainly high-class, while higher up, climbing vines and flowers served as decorations, seemingly adding a touch of dreamlike color to the graduates' job-hunting journey.

The Espurr guided Luo Mu to two individuals who appeared to have been waiting for quite some time; one was a man dressed in a formal suit, appearing to be in his fifties or sixties, yet his most distinctive feature was his gleaming bald head.

The other was a slightly younger woman dressed in business attire, looking somewhat like a secretary or assistant.

That person smiled at Luo Mu and said, "Hello, Mr. Luo Mu; I am Otto, the principal of this Pokémon Butler Academy, and she is my secretary, Marushiru."

"Hello."

Luo Mu responded mechanically, his mind entirely occupied by the fact that what the Espurr said was actually true—the principal really was bald; he had thought the Espurr was using an exaggerated metaphor.

"Thank you for showing him around, Espurr; you may rest now." Otto first dismissed the Espurr to rest, then turned to Luo Mu, extending a hand in invitation: "Please follow me; next, I will take you to select a butler Pokémon from among the graduates. Please feel free to choose the butler Pokémon you favor most."

(End of Chapter)