Chapter 371: Disgusted Shinji! The Ghost Story Rumors of the Grape Academy!

The status of the Naclstack line in Paldea is just like that of the Miltank line in the Johto region.

With the high-value rock salt they naturally produce, no one cares whether they are good at battle or not.

From ancient times to the present, the people of Paldea have thought this way, so almost no one uses the Naclstack line for combat; this also resulted in Lei Ji's lack of understanding regarding Naclstack's moves, leading him to issue incorrect commands.

The moment Luo Mu's voice fell, Turtwig slammed its head fiercely into Naclstack; even though Naclstack's footing was as steady as a rock, the impact from Turtwig, boosted by Grass Glide, caused it to stumble, nearly losing its balance.

In terms of weight, the two Pokémon were not much different, but in terms of size, Turtwig was slightly larger, and combined with attacks that were super effective against Naclstack, this was able to achieve such significant results.

Lei Ji didn't have time to show joy on his face before he suddenly heard Turtwig let out a painful roar; anxiously, he cast his gaze between Turtwig and Naclstack.

He discovered that Turtwig's head was now covered in the pure white salt sprayed by Naclstack, and this salt seemed to possess extremely strong corrosiveness, firmly embedding itself into Turtwig's head and gradually growing larger as time passed, causing Turtwig to emit cries of pain.

Lei Ji's expression changed, and an unbelievable guess surged up from the bottom of his heart.

Could it be that the move called Salt Cure is not some Rock-type attack that Turtwig could tank with its defense without serious injury, but rather a move that inflicts a status condition on Turtwig, just like Poison or Burn!?

"This is troublesome; Turtwig, use Rest."

"I'll just remind you, the Salt Cure state will persist until you recall Turtwig into its Poké Ball, or until the battle ends."

"The status-condition-removing effect attached to the move Rest cannot cure the Salt Cure state, after all, it isn't a status condition."

As Lei Ji suddenly froze in place, Luo Mu reminded him with a smile on his face.

Hearing Luo Mu's words, Lei Ji's eyes widened, and he finally understood where his decisive tactical error lay.

From the very beginning, he should have guarded against Naclstack's Salt Cure!

"Since you aren't giving an order, then I will issue the second command: Iron Defense!"

Following Luo Mu's command, an order that made Lei Ji's expression look even worse was executed on Naclstack.

In an instant, Naclstack's body was plated with a metallic sheen, as if the hardness of its body had increased dramatically.

"Tsk, Razor Leaf!"

Although things were gradually slipping out of his control, Lei Ji still forced his spirits up and issued a command to Turtwig, which had autonomously created distance from Naclstack to avoid getting another face full of salt.

Enduring the pain brought by the chunky rock salt growing from Salt Cure, which felt like being pickled alive, Turtwig gathered Grass-type energy; from both sides of its body, countless sharp, crescent-shaped leaves shot out, covering Naclstack's body.

The corner of Luo Mu's mouth lifted slightly as he said with full spirit: "Take it, and use Iron Defense again!"

Lei Ji:???

You still dare to greed for stat boosts!?

As a dense chorus of Razor Leaf cuts faded away, Naclstack's body, now with even more prominent hardness, appeared in Lei Ji's field of vision.

Luo Mu didn't know whether Lei Ji had realized that besides wanting to disgust someone, there was a deeper purpose to him battling with Naclstack, but he still issued the fourth command that made Lei Ji's mindset explode.

"Recycle!"

As a faint green light lit up on Naclstack, even the damage brought by that opening Grass Glide and the current Razor Leaf was healed by Naclstack.

Everything had returned to square one.

The subsequent battle could be described as so disgusting that for many years to come in his future trainer career, whenever Lei Ji recalled this scene, he would be unable to stop himself from feeling nauseous.

It was too disgusting; he had never seen such a disgusting fighting style, completely unable to feel the joy of Pokémon battles; continuing to battle like this was simply torture!

Luo Mu and Naclstack perfectly interpreted what it means to overcome motion with stillness, letting you, Turtwig and Lei Ji, attack fiercely while they remained immovable.

Throughout the entire process, aside from occasionally throwing out a few minor moves like Tackle, Rock Throw, or Mud Shot when bored out of their minds, they basically just waited for Turtwig, raging impotently under the Salt Cure state, to scratch at them ineffectively; once it felt like enough scratching had been done, they would follow up with a freshly learned Recycle, turning all of Turtwig and Lei Ji's efforts into bubbles.

To make matters worse, Salt Cure was continuously draining Turtwig's stamina, and those minor moves from Naclstack, which lacked attacking power but were extremely insulting, pushed Turtwig into a state of overheating rage.

Even though the battle turned out this way, Luo Mu himself still felt somewhat regretful.

Aside from the Naclstack that fought, the other two Naclstacks were still practicing Recycle, and there was clearly still some distance to go before learning their main offensive move, Body Press, and evolving; however, their body hardness had indeed increased greatly, it seemed the soil of Mt. Silver mainly functioned to improve physical attributes.

It wasn't until Lei Ji recalled Turtwig, whose entire body was covered in rock salt crystals, back into its Poké Ball that those rock salt crystals, seeming to have lost their anchor, fell to the ground after Turtwig turned into red light and was recalled, then gradually dissipated.

First patting Naclstack on the head and promising to give it extra food later, letting it eat another bag of Mt. Silver soil, Luo Mu then stood up, looked at Lei Ji who was hanging his head unsure of what he was thinking, and walked towards him.

It wasn't until Luo Mu approached closely that he could hear Lei Ji's muttering to himself, which was inaudible unless one got close.

"Turtwig's fighting style doesn't seem suitable for actively approaching the enemy; after it evolves, its body will become even more Clumsy and Heavy... once it rashly approaches an opponent, it is very likely to have its advantage seized by a sudden move, or even have the outcome of the battle decided."

"In that case, it seems Naclstack's fighting style could be tried for replication, but Turtwig doesn't have such cheating moves; to win, we still need to consider the direction of training move power."

"Next time, next time I will definitely be able to deliver a battle that satisfies Teacher Luo Mu..."

Stopping to listen for a while, the arc of Luo Mu's smile increased considerably.

Different from Hearing Hearing Nimo and Ash's hot-blooded bond-style tactics.

While possessing a calm mind, Lei Ji also had high tactical sensitivity; he almost never made the same mistake twice, which could be seen from his and Turtwig's subsequent choice of fighting style using long-range moves.

Furthermore, judging from Lei Ji's tactical literacy in gaining advantage through rotation during the Sinnoh League Conference in the anime's Sinnoh arc, he was undoubtedly an excellent seed possessing the qualities to become a top-tier trainer.

Clap, clap, clap!

Lightly clapping his hands, Luo Mu drew Lei Ji's attention to himself and announced: "You have passed my test; from now on during battle classes, you don't need to be with those classmates; like Hearing Hearing Nimo and the others, you can go to the place specially prepared by the academy to receive my guidance."

Hearing these words, Lei Ji, whose face still hadn't hidden its disappointment and unwillingness to admit defeat, was stunned; then, hanging his head, he asked incomprehendingly: "But... I lost the battle."

The loser has no qualification to make demands of the winner.

Looking at Lei Ji, who was stubbornly sticking to one track of thought, Luo Mu helplessly pressed his forehead: "From the very beginning, I never said that if you defeated me in battle, I would teach you Pokémon battling or how to become stronger."

Lei Ji was taken aback, and a trace of disbelief colored his expression.

Luo Mu continued: "Similarly, if I am not satisfied with you, even if you defeat me in battle, I will not accept you as my student."

"Since I have accepted you, it means you have met my requirements."

"... Your idea is very good; a Pokémon like Torterra is suited to stand firmly in place, suppressing the enemy with powerful attacks that leave them breathless, achieving victory without even needing to move its body."

Lei Ji's eyes widened slightly; under Luo Mu's clarification, the fog lingering in his heart had clearly been dispelled by more than half.

Regarding Turtwig's subsequent training direction, it was therefore fixed: possessing powerful defense while having exceptional move power, becoming a fixed turret!

At this moment, the look in Lei Ji's eyes as he gazed at Luo Mu had completely changed.

If before, he only wanted to learn from Luo Mu how to become stronger, then undergo constant cultivation to go defeat Pyramid King Brandon and Regirock, and his respect for Luo Mu was merely superficial politeness and upbringing.

Now, the respect in his eyes was solid and real, heartfelt respect for a powerful trainer and teacher.

Shinji bowed deeply to Luo Mu and spoke in an even more respectful tone: "Thank you for your guidance; both Turtwig and I have gained something extremely important!"

Luo Mu chuckled and said, "Are you heading back to the academy next? Do you have a second Pokémon with you?"

"I plan to return to the academy," Shinji nodded lightly, affirming Luo Mu's first question, then immediately shook his head, "Since I haven't started my journey yet, I haven't caught a second Pokémon."

"Oh, I see."

Luo Mu stroked his chin; originally, if Shinji still had a second Pokémon, he wouldn't have planned to call over Comfey, and would have just sent Shinji straight to the Pokémon Center.

But if he walked the wilds on the way back to Mesagoza without a Pokémon companion, he might encounter attacks from wild Pokémon; to be on the safe side, it was better to let Comfey treat Turtwig first.

Luo Mu quickly laid out his proposal, to which Shinji nodded very awkwardly, indicating he would listen to whatever Luo Mu said.

Shinji's reaction surprised Luo Mu somewhat, yet at the same time felt entirely reasonable.

In the anime, he was terrifyingly polite when meeting elders like Cynthia and Professor Oak, let alone Shinji now, before he had developed those extreme ideologies.

On the way to the infirmary to find Comfey, Luo Mu curiously asked Shinji, "Do you have any plans regarding catching subsequent Pokémon?"

Shinji paused his steps, pondered seriously, and then answered, "I currently have some ideas; after Turtwig evolves into Torterra, its type will gain Ground, making its weaknesses Bug, Fire, Flying, and Ice, so right now I want to catch a Rock-type Pokémon."

"Not a bad idea."

Luo Mu's eyes lit up; a Rock-type Pokémon would almost perfectly complement Torterra's weaknesses, forming an effective defensive synergy.

His gaze then fell upon the Naclstack quietly following at his side.

"It's a pity my Naclstack has only been raised for a few months; Pokémon Eggs are still a long way off, otherwise I would definitely help you pick one and entrust it to you."

Hearing the regret in Luo Mu's voice, Shinji began to imagine the scene of himself commanding Naclstack in battle against others.

It had to be said, once the disgust was directed at someone else, one's own feelings instantly became much more comfortable.

At this moment, Luo Mu suddenly added, "By the way, how about Teddiursa and Ursaring? Do you have plans to catch them?"

This time, Shinji didn't ponder but answered immediately, "Because I previously planned to travel to the Kanto region, I considered catching Teddiursa or Ursaring; Ursaring's physique is outstanding and very worth training."

Luo Mu reminded him, "Teddiursa and Ursaring are also distributed in the Paldea region, you know."

Shinji was slightly puzzled: "You seem to really hope I catch Ursaring?"

Looking at the house coming into view and the two brothers, Feng Su Gou and the Twist-Hound, rushing toward him, Luo Mu directly painted a big picture for Shinji: "There will be a surprise for you all then, provided you pass the challenges of the eight Gyms."

"By the way, Hearing Hearing Nimo also has an Ursaring; she should finish challenging the remaining Gyms around this time, so you can see the surprise she receives then."

With those words, Luo Mu stopped looking at the deep-in-thought Shinji, directly planted his feet in a horse stance, and stood ready, waiting for that big lump Feng Su Gou to crash into him.

This time, he couldn't let it knock him flying!

After letting Turtwig receive treatment from Comfey, Shinji politely bid farewell to Luo Mu and embarked on the road back to Naranja Academy.

With some free time, Luo Mu also called over Lei Guan Wang and Oranguru to discuss the matter of the fields.

To soothe the little tempers of those two big fellows, Spectrier and Glastrier, it was definitely necessary to replicate the Black Radish and Ice Radish, which could only be planted in the Wang Guan Snowfield, within the Paldea region.

But regarding how to replicate such fields, there was currently no very good plan.

The field for planting Black Radishes was established beside an ancient graveyard, while the field for planting Ice Radishes was built beside a snowy valley stream.

So, to create fields suitable for planting Black Radishes and Ice Radishes, was it necessary to replicate the environment there, or would sufficient amounts of Ice-type or Ghost-type energy be enough?

Replicating the environment of the snowy valley stream was one thing, but the ancient graveyard was a bit more troublesome...

When the discussion reached this point, Luo Mu, Oranguru, and Lei Guan Wang still made the same decision.

"Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth!"

On the other side.

At dusk, the evening glow filled the sky.

Accompanied by Turtwig, Shinji walked through the wilds, wrestling with whether his attire truly didn't suit him, and returned to Mesagoza and Naranja Academy.

Naranja Academy allowed students to carry their Pokémon out with them, provided the students assumed all responsibility for anything caused by their Pokémon.

Turtwig was very steady and reliable, so Shinji felt completely at ease with it.

Walking through the purple-toned campus of Naranja Academy, Shinji occasionally looked around, his gaze subtly falling on fellow students from the same school also wearing the uniform, pondering that they seemed to pull it off just fine, even a balding uncle in his fifties could wear this school uniform.

Indeed, that remark must have been Teacher Luo Mu teasing him.

Thinking of this, Shinji breathed a slight sigh of relief, feeling his entire person relax considerably.

Just then, his ears suddenly picked up the whispering of two girls sitting on a bench inside the campus.

Normally, Shinji wasn't the type who liked eavesdropping on others' conversations.

Perhaps his mood was quite good right now, or perhaps the topic of the two girls' whispering had sparked his interest.

Shinji chose to stop and listen to the content of the two girls' quiet conversation.

"... Have you heard? Recently, our academy is being haunted!"

"For real!?"

"For sure! Some say the resentment of those students and teachers who were expelled has gathered to form ghosts!"

"I heard that shiny little trinkets in many teachers' and students' rooms have vanished without a trace!"

(End of Chapter)