Chapter 276: The Unova Champions Arrive: Meeting the Champion and Elite Four at Blueberry Academy

That Ninetales was highly intelligent; just now, it probably felt capable of caring for its Vulpix, which was why it entrusted its child to him.

Luo Mu had considered taking the Ninetales as well, capturing both mother and daughter, but he knew clearly that this Ninetales was most likely the Pokémon of some Trainer within this Blueberry Academy.

It understood everything about humans; before leaving, the Ninetales even specifically used its gaze to hint that Luo Mu could capture the Vulpix with a Poké Ball.

Holding the Vulpix, Luo Mu watched until the figures of the Ninetales and its kin vanished into the wind and snow, only then lowering his head to look at the Vulpix, which was staring blankly ahead.

He wanted to say that its mother had handed it over to him, but felt such words were inappropriate; after pondering for a moment, Luo Mu spoke as gently as possible: "When there is a chance in the future, I will bring you back to visit her."

The Vulpix lifted its head, gazing at Luo Mu with watery eyes, and let out a soft, sticky cry; only then did it bury its head in Luo Mu's embrace, its body trembling as if crying, yet making no sound, and Luo Mu felt no dampness on his clothes.

After the Vulpix calmed down for a while, Luo Mu took out a Poké Ball and placed it before it; knowing that from now on it would eat delicious food every day with Luo Mu, the Vulpix hesitated no longer and directly extended its paw to touch the switch of the Poké Ball.

When Luo Mu landed on his Dragonite at the entrance of the Terarium, he discovered that Taro was still lingering there, as if she had never left from the very beginning.

At this moment, Taro was standing at the edge of the entrance, combing the hair of a Pokémon with beautiful sea-blue tresses; in her hand, she held a cute, bear-shaped comb, moving it gently through the strands with an air of great proficiency.

Luo Mu raised an eyebrow; although he had heard rumors that the Terarium contained Rowlet, an Alolan starter Pokémon, and that little Flame Monkeys and Torchics could be found on the snowy peaks of the Polar Biome, actually seeing a Unovan Trainer who had captured a Primarina from the Alola region still filled him with a slight sense of surprise.

After all, there were always some people with certain Ke Ban Yin who believed Trainers could only capture Pokémon native to their own region.

Before Luo Mu even landed, Taro had sensed his arrival; putting down her comb, her surprised gaze swept over the Dragonite first, and since she had grown up following her father, a Gym Leader, she could naturally perceive this Dragonite's extraordinariness.

It seemed the muddle-headed principal truly had not deceived her this time.

Immediately after, Taro's gaze fell upon the Vulpix in Luo Mu's arms; the moment she saw the Vulpix, her eyes erupted with dazzling brilliance, and covering her mouth in excitement, she exclaimed: "Vu... Vulpix!?"

So cute, so cute, so cute!

Taro genuinely loved all kinds of cute Pokémon, which naturally led her to specialize in the Fairy type; although her ace Pokémon was the Dugtrio, her father's signature Pokémon given to her by him, this did not hinder Taro's heart that pursued cuteness.

The Alolan form of Vulpix was the white moonlight that Taro desired but could not obtain; she had traveled to the Polar Biome more than once seeking traces of Vulpix and Ninetales, yet she had never once encountered them.

"Teacher Luo Mu!" Taro suddenly raised her voice to ask: "Could it be that you have captured this child?"

"Ah, yes, not just it, I also captured two Alolan-form Sandslash; that shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Thinking Taro was confirming how many Pokémon he had captured within the Terarium, Luo Mu nodded.

The Vulpix seemed to sense that Taro bore no malice; instead of acting like an ostrich, it tilted its head, looking at Taro with an innocent expression.

"It's wonderful; throughout the entire Terarium, there is only that one clan of Ninetales, and the leading Ninetales seems to be the Pokémon of a teacher from the academy who has already passed away." Taro pressed her palms together and requested: "The principal said you are free to capture whatever you wish, so naturally, there is no issue, but... may I touch the Vulpix? Just once!"

Seeing that the Vulpix showed no resistance, Luo Mu agreed to Taro's request; watching the girl interact with the Vulpix, Luo Mu shifted his gaze to the nearby Primarina, whose face wore an expression of helplessness, his eyes becoming slightly vacant.

He wondered whether this Primarina of Taro's was male or female; it seemed the number of males in their species accounted for a terrifying proportion of the population, and he recalled the male-to-female ratio being something like seven to one, one female to seven males.

Therefore, Primarina had earned the nickname "Cross-dressing Seal," which was utterly ridiculous.

After Taro finished interacting with the Vulpix, she was visibly overjoyed and content, her speech even carrying a wavy intonation at the end, and consequently, she became much more affectionate toward Luo Mu.

Because Luo Mu returned very early, only half a day having passed since their departure, and there was still no sign of Hearing Nimo and the others returning, the cheerful Taro took Luo Mu to register the three Pokémon he had captured, stating that this was also for the convenience of managing the Terarium and facilitating adjustments.

Along the way, Taro told Luo Mu quite a few things, even revealing intelligence that double battles would take place tomorrow, at which time important figures from the Unova region would visit, accompanied by a group of media personnel.

When Luo Mu asked Taro why she was telling him these things, she merely smiled slightly, saying this was simply the reward for Luo Mu fulfilling her wish.

While waiting for Hearing Nimo and the others to return, Taro occasionally mentioned her life at Blueberry Academy.

Whenever the conversation touched upon Principal Crispin often dumping tasks onto her without explanation, Taro would cross her arms, pout, and say things like, "I think this is not good!" or "Teacher Luo Mu, you must not become an adult like the principal!"

They waited until dusk; after Luo Mu did not know how much intelligence about Blueberry Academy he had coaxed out of Taro through casual chat, Hearing Nimo and the other four finally arrived late.

Each of the four had gained different things.

Peony had not captured any Pokémon, but one of her Eevee had accidentally come into contact with a Water Stone and directly evolved into a Vaporeon.

Biwa had captured a Torchic; she said she encountered it on the return journey after training in the Canyon Biome when she stopped by the Polar Biome.

Penny wandered around the Savanna Biome for half a day, yet in the end, instead of capturing a Pokémon from another region, she captured a Capsakid, a species already present in the Paldea region, which left Luo Mu quite perplexed.

Hearing Nimo surprised Luo Mu the most; the Pokémon she captured was actually a Rowlet from the Alola region, the famous "Little Southern Bird," whose adorable appearance was a favorite among many Trainers.

Some Trainers had even created the famous saying, "You are not allowed to become like that!" which was quite amusing.

All four students were extremely interested in the adorable Vulpix held in Luo Mu's arms; they played until very late before finally returning to their dormitories to sleep under Luo Mu's urging.

According to the intelligence revealed by Taro, tomorrow would be the main event, so resting early to conserve one's energy was the true way.

Before falling asleep, Luo Mu lay on the soft bed, pondering the intelligence Taro had revealed; the important figure from the Unova region arriving tomorrow was most likely some Gym Leader, or even a member of the Elite Four, or perhaps a Champion.

The current Champion of the Unova region... he recalled it should be Alder; since Ash was still in Kanto, the future Unova Champion Iris should currently still be attending classes at Opelucid Academy in Opelucid City.

However, besides this news, the most useful piece of information should be what Taro mentioned regarding her and her club classmates participating in the battles together.

The League Club of Blueberry Academy had constructed the Blueberry League in imitation of the Pokémon League; although it was merely "playing house" among students, judging solely from the Primarina that Taro released today, their strength might surprisingly be quite formidable.

The Champion of the Blueberry League, the Dragon-type expert Du Ruo, and the Elite Four members Taro, Carmine, and Lacey, who specialized in Fairy, Fire, and Steel types respectively, should be the four appearing tomorrow.

This battle might be somewhat difficult, but Luo Mu believed that given neither side had fully matured yet, Hearing Nimo and her group would be stronger!

June 3rd, the weather was clear and sunny, suitable for winning victories in battle.

Within the vast Blueberry Academy, crowds surged; the major media outlets from the Unova region, prepared long ago, along with a few media reporters from the Paldea region, had already set up their long lenses and short cannons, aiming them at the largest battle arena in Blueberry Academy, their faces filled with excitement.

The news that Naranja Academy, which had recently been embroiled in a shocking scandal, would actually hold an exchange match between students and Blueberry Academy was, from any perspective, full of explosive points; fortunately, they had been selected to enter Blueberry Academy.

Recalling the envious and jealous looks of those colleagues squatting outside during entry, the media reporters felt a surge of dark satisfaction in their hearts.

Unlike Naranja Academy, which advocated diversified teaching, Blueberry Academy was an institution dedicated to Pokémon battle education.

In short, it felt like a case of the entire populace valuing martial prowess.

Even with different interests and hobbies, nearly all the students in the entire academy were Trainers; one could say that Blueberry Academy was an incubation base supplying Trainer talent for the Unova region.

Nearly the entire school's students had taken their seats in order; one of the protagonists of this event, the members of Blueberry Academy's League Club, had even received the best viewing positions to watch the performance of their Champion and three Elite Four members within their Blueberry League.

The League Club was the largest club in Blueberry Academy, and its membership was naturally numerous; within the crowd, a tall girl looked helplessly at her younger brother cowering behind her and said softly: "Kieran, acting like this will only make you stand out even more."

The timid boy called Kieran shrank back slightly, still unwilling to let go of the hand gripping the hem of his sister Carmine's skirt; under Carmine's helpless expression, Kieran simply kept his head down without making a sound.

Seeing this, Carmine sighed with a mix of anger and disappointment, stopped paying attention to Kieran, and lifted her gaze to the arena, intending to cheer on her good friend Lacey.

A moment later, as a dashing woman with a seaweed hairstyle, holding a microphone and possessing a fine figure, made her entrance, it signaled that today's grand ceremony was about to begin.

The woman first introduced herself, stating her name was Bai Bai Leiya, a teacher at Blueberry Academy, and also the host of this exchange event.

Most of the students present knew Bai Bai Leiya, and everyone understood that she was specifically introducing herself for the visitors from the Paldea region and the media reporters.

Soon, regardless of the outcome, the results of the exchange tournament within Blueberry Academy would be disseminated by the media to every corner of the Unova region, the Paldea region, and indeed the entire world, so the proceedings had to be somewhat formal.

After a brief introduction, Bai Bai Leiya further clarified that three rounds of battles would take place today: first, two rounds of double battles featuring students paired into two teams, and second, an exhibition match between herself, as the leading teacher from Orange Academy, and the guest.

"Now, please welcome today's visiting guest to Blueberry Academy, who will appear alongside Principal Clavell—he is Alder, the pride of the Unova region's Champion, a man dedicated to nurturing new generations of Trainers, Mr. Alder!"

The air fell silent for an instant, immediately followed by an unprecedented eruption of enthusiasm; students and media reporters, shocked at having struck gold today, applauded fervently, their cheers seeming capable of flipping over the sky above.

Any Trainer who grew up in the Unova region would idolize Alder. As Principal Clavell, dressed in gentlemanly attire, entered alongside Alder at that moment, the surrounding students went wild, shouting Alder's name.

Inside the League Club, Kieran, hiding behind Carmine, peeked out to glance at Alder, his eyes, partially obscured by long hair, displaying obvious admiration.

A flush of excitement dyed Kieran's pale cheeks red as he joined in "shouting" Alder's name in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's hum.

Alder was a bold man with dark skin, a flamboyant head of fiery red hair, and thick eyebrows; responding to the students' cheers with an unperturbed, heroic smile, he waved back and even shook hands with a few students standing nearby.

It was evident that Alder was a very approachable League Champion.

Even Du Ruo and others from the League Club who styled themselves as Champion and Elite Four members felt visibly nervous when facing Alder directly.

This was Alder's first visit to Blueberry Academy; glancing at Du Ruo and the others, he smiled and said, "The Paldea League's Elite Four and Champion, not bad. You have ambition. In the future, you will surely become the pillars of this Unova region. I look forward to it."

Everyone knew this was merely childish play among students, a form of "role-playing" in a certain sense, yet Alder still offered them his affirmation, making the students admire him even more.

Off to the side, waiting to make their entrance, Luo Mu peered out with Nemo and the others to observe Alder; at this, Arven sighed, "Champion Alder really is incredibly popular."

Nemo clenched her fists tight: "Speaking of popularity, Geeta, the Top Champion, is in no way inferior to him in the Paldea region, not to mention that Teacher Luo Mu is here today and will be battling against guest Champion Alder!"

"A battle between a League Champion and a Champion-level Trainer—just imagining it gets me fired up, wow!"

"However, Teacher Luo Mu will definitely win in the end, so the four of us must also go all out to secure victory!"

Penny nodded in agreement, while the calmest among them, Momo, cast a subtle glance at Nemo; having spent so much time together, she had roughly figured out Nemo's personality.

Momo knew clearly that aside from being a battle maniac, Nemo was also the world's number one Luo Mu fanboy.

But as the daughter of a League Champion, Momo understood clearly the difference between a League Champion and a Champion-level Trainer; however, last night during her leisure time, she had hacked into the Unova region's League system.

From within it, she discovered that after seemingly undergoing some incident, Champion Alder was no longer in his prime; viewing it this way, perhaps Teacher Luo Mu really could defeat Champion Alder?

Withdrawing his gaze from Alder's direction, Luo Mu listened to the students' mutterings; before he could sense anything amiss, the sound of stagehands announcing that they could come on stage came from behind him.

"Teachers and students of Orange Academy, please prepare to come onto the stage!"

"Okay!"

Reflexively replying to the stagehand, it was only as the group walked toward the stage that Luo Mu realized something was off.

Originally, he had thought he would be engaging in a double battle with some teacher from Blueberry Academy; after hearing rumors from Tyme last night, he had assumed he would be battling some Gym Leader guest from the Unova region.

Neither of those would have posed much difficulty, and even facing an Elite Four member shouldn't have been a major problem.

But the guest turned out to be Alder, the Unova region's League Champion; did this mean he had to defeat Alder to get the prize money?

Understanding everything, Luo Mu's eyes instantly widened: So that's it, Geeta, you actually plotted against me!

No way; when I get back, I must make Geeta increase the payment!

(End of Chapter)