Chapter 42: What Is Nimo

Mu Fei’s speech lasted about seven or eight minutes, filled entirely with substance and no empty rhetoric.

Especially his line, “Let’s all enjoy campus life together!” sparked enthusiastic reactions from the students on the playground, triggering a thunderous round of applause.

After the fervent atmosphere slightly calmed, as the center of countless gazes, Mu Fei slowly turned his head toward Luo Mu at the edge of the crowd, smiled, and opened his arms: “Next, let me introduce to you all a new teacher joining our Orange Academy—please give him a warm welcome!”

Clap clap clap clap!

“It’s a new teacher!”

“He looks so young—he’s barely older than us!”

“I’m already over fifty... and now I’m getting a new teacher who could be my grandchild.”

“I’ve never seen the Pokémon accompanying him before!”

At the reminder of the teacher beside him, Luo Mu calmly walked toward the stage.

Standing beside Mu Fei on the stage, Luo Mu’s gaze swept over the crowd below, clearly seeing every student’s expression—some questioning, some indifferent, some distrustful, but mostly curious.

He could also see Nimo jumping excitedly and waving at him, and Pape, who avoided eye contact, still embarrassed by their earlier encounter.

A thousand faces, a thousand reactions—the murmurs and varied emotions of the students exerted no pressure on Luo Mu. Taking the microphone Mu Fei handed him, Luo Mu found the noise below not only unceasing but growing louder.

Some rookie teachers might panic in this situation, but as someone who frequently browses the internet, Luo Mu had seen countless ways to handle it.

After a moment’s thought, Luo Mu looked at Mu Fei, received a “do as you like” gesture in return, then bent down, picked up Cardydog, held it close, and brought the microphone near its mouth. The tail-wagging Cardydog softly said: “Bark a few times.”

“Wang wang wang wu~~~~~”

Cardydog wasn’t startled by the crowd at all—it was thrilled. Its amplified voice blasted through the speakers, drowning out all the noise with piercing volume.

Luo Mu set Cardydog down, patted its head in praise, cleared his throat slightly, then raised the microphone and spoke clearly: “As the principal said, from today on, I am just like all of you—a member of Orange Academy.”

“Let me introduce myself—I’m Luo Mu. You can call me Teacher or Professor Luo Mu. I’ll be teaching Battle Studies; any student interested in Pokémon battles is welcome to sign up.”

“In daily life, I’m easy to get along with—feel free to relax.”

Luo Mu knew his usual demeanor leaned toward laziness and slacking, but since he’d taken this job from Ci Ci, he would treat teaching seriously during his tenure.

The first half of Luo Mu’s self-introduction was perfectly ordinary—even bland. But the second half took a sharp turn.

Luo Mu’s warm smile vanished. His expression turned stern, radiating an aura of quiet authority that made a small portion of students facing him instinctively look away: “On the other hand, if anyone dares to be a troublemaker in my class—or if I catch you bullying or harassing classmates—no matter your family background, feel free to test whether it works on me.”

As Luo Mu finished speaking, the playground fell utterly silent.

Mu Fei’s smile widened, and he began clapping first.

But this round of applause was sparse—the students were still stunned by Luo Mu’s presence.

“Heheh, young people still have edge,” Mu Fei thought, continuing to clap: “Perhaps I should mention to Master that Aldiga’s son should enroll in this teacher’s course. I’m sure the young master will grow from it.”

De Shu’s face remained calm, clapping half-heartedly, but inside, his mind was in turmoil.

Coincidence... or intentional?

How did this new teacher know—let alone emphasize—bullying and harassment?

After the opening ceremony ended, most Orange Academy students returned to their dorms or scattered in small groups across campus.

Luo Mu, accompanied by the overly excited Cardydog after its moment in the spotlight, slowly walked toward the library. Before heading home, he planned to borrow some professional books on cultivation and breeding.

At that moment, Nimo, breathless from running, blocked his path and shouted: “Big brother... Professor Luo Mu!”

Luo Mu stopped, saw Nimo first, then noticed the light brown head in the distance, and smiled: “Isn’t this Nimo? Long time no see.”

“Long time no see!” Nimo clenched her fists, eyes sparkling with excitement: “I never imagined you’d become a teacher here!”

“You looked so cool during your speech!”

Nimo felt today might be her lucky day. After a brief pause, she pulled out a Poké Ball and offered it to Luo Mu like a precious gift: “Teacher, look—I’ve gotten my very own starter Pokémon!”

“Oh? Can you tell me what it is?”

Luo Mu became curious—he’d always wondered which Pokémon Nimo had used in the game, the one said to never have unleashed her full power.

“Of course!”

Nimo nodded eagerly, attempting to toss the Poké Ball with a cool flair—but her clumsy motion caused it to drop halfway.

But that didn’t stop the Pokémon inside from emerging.

Amid a flash of red light, a small, entirely orange electric mouse appeared before Luo Mu and Cardydog.

Luo Mu raised an eyebrow in surprise: “Is that Bulbasaur?”

In fact, variations of these electric mice had appeared in nearly every generation.

After leaving its Poké Ball, Bulbasaur didn’t wander off. Instead, it first picked up the Poké Ball with its tiny hands and returned it to Nimo, then quickly climbed onto her shoulder—clearly, their bond was strong.

At that moment, Nimo revealed her true purpose for stopping Luo Mu, ignoring the surrounding onlookers, bowing deeply and calling out: “Please battle me and Bulbasaur, Teacher!”

Luo Mu wasn’t surprised. Seeing Nimo’s new appearance, different from their first meeting, he’d already sensed the future “Senior Nimo” had arrived.

So, without hesitation, he smiled: “Of course. But we’ll need a referee.”

“A referee?”

Nimo hesitated—none of her close friends were nearby.

Luo Mu patted her shoulder and called out toward the distance: “Pape! How much longer are you going to hide?”