Chapter 604: It Was Just Bluffing

Brilliant crystals, accompanied by a crisp shattering sound, turned into scattering light fragments; the outer layer of the Earth King's body had become crystal clear.

Above its head stood a Terastal Gem resembling a crown, upon which appeared an object looking just like a cross-section of the Earth.

Plains, mountains, inner core, outer core, mantle, crust—everything of the earth was displayed upon this Terastal Crown.

Undoubtedly, the Earth King's Terastal attribute was the Ground type!

In Miss Qi Shu's livestream room, after a brief pause, the screen-full of danmu began scrolling even more frantically.

Residents of the Paldea region were less surprised, as they could occasionally encounter Pokémon that had Terastallized due to Terastal crystals in the wild.

However, viewers from other regions were utterly astounded.

Was this evolution, a form change, or perhaps a state enhancement?

They had never seen anything like this!

Pallet Town, Oak Laboratory.

Recently, under Little Xiao Jian's tutelage, Professor Oak, who was becoming increasingly proficient at surfing the web, was tirelessly using his knowledge to provide popular science explanations.

He had even created several accounts: one for uploading his own Pokémon senryu, another for appearing on camera himself to explain Pokémon knowledge and hold Pokémon lectures, and now this alias account mingling across major livestreaming sites.

Professor Oak's acceptance of new things was extremely high; he was now quite a qualified veteran surfer.

Recently, he had also heard about a livestreaming method that used facial expression and motion capture to control virtual characters, and was considering whether to try it.

However, upon seeing Cynia perform Terastallization, Professor Oak rarely found himself at a loss for words.

Although he had heard of the special unique phenomena over in the Paldea region, he had never conducted related research on them, nor could he provide a specialized commentary.

On the livestream feed, Miss Qi Shu, as if finally able to breathe freely after being stifled for a long time, began introducing the phenomenon of Terastallization in an endless stream of words.

From time to time, she cast triumphant glances at the camera, though it was unclear who she was virtually competing against.

In fact, Miss Qi Shu was indeed feeling very satisfied right now.

That guy acting as the know-it-all in the danmu had finally stopped showing up; not only had he stolen Miss Qi Shu's spotlight, but he might have just been someone trying to ride the hype and draw traffic!

While continuing her endless commentary, Miss Qi Shu casually opened that person's homepage and discovered this fellow was someone she had previously blocked.

Although Miss Qi Shu had blocked many people, this person's ID was deeply etched in her memory, not to mention the private messages from before.

That fake Professor Oak!

For a moment, Miss Qi Shu's eyes, itching with annoyance, became even more arrogant.

At the Pingdie Town Farm, Luo Mu, who had been focusing on the battle, noticed Miss Qi Shu's twitching expression in the livestream room and felt speechless.

What was wrong with this guy again?

Meanwhile, at the Paldea Pokémon League Headquarters, the fierce battle had been ongoing for some time.

After Terastallizing, the power of the Earth King's Ground-type moves increased even further.

However, its most threatening aspect was neither its Ground-type moves nor its decent dual defenses.

It was the thick, large thorns that would extend from its body when attacked; once stabbed by them, one would not only suffer heavy injuries but also likely be injected with poison simultaneously.

For Hearing Nimo, she wanted to avoid exhausting her Pokémon's stamina and energy as much as possible before the final battle, and being poisoned was the last thing she wanted to happen.

Although her Diejie Diejie Mengmeng had mastered the move "Aromatherapy," learned from Teacher Comfey.

The pressure of healing would also weaken Diejie Diejie Mengmeng's combat effectiveness, so unless absolutely necessary, Hearing Nimo would try to avoid such situations.

This also led her, when commanding Goodra in battle, to avoid contact with the Earth King as much as possible.

Fortunately, Goodra was a mixed-attacker Pokémon; even without the "Hydration" ability, after summoning rain clouds to cover the sandstorm, the power of its Water-type moves was quite sufficient.

In the end, relying on its physique, Goodra took a direct hit from the Earth King's Terastal Ground "Earthquake" as the price to summon a giant wave rising like a high wall, completely submerging the Earth King's last bit of stamina.

The dominance of a late-blooming Pokémon was fully revealed once it had been fully trained.

"Decidueye, Goodra, and Ursaluna are all fine; after triggering their abilities to boost their power all at once, Tauros seems to have suffered some energy damage and needs to continue resting, so it probably won't be able to fight in the second round..."

After simply treating the injuries on her Pokémon using the methods for handling wounds she had learned while staying by Luo Mu's side, Hearing Nimo trotted over to Cynia, who was looking up at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought.

"Elite Four Cynia, thank you for your guidance!"

"What guidance? Your sister Cynia was just completely shut out by you, you know~?"

Cynia waved her hand, and her tone when speaking to Hearing Nimo became a bit more intimate.

"Don't stiffly call me 'Elite Four Cynia' either; I'm older than you, so let me take a little advantage and just call me Sister Cynia."

Although she lost this battle, Cynia felt incredibly refreshed; trainers who could pass her test were few and far between, let alone someone like Hearing Nimo.

She thought that if it was Hearing Nimo, perhaps she could really make a name for herself, just like Luo Mu, who had risen like a meteor two years ago.

"The second Elite Four member is even stronger, so you must give it your all and cheer up."

Cynia pointed at the large door behind her, one hand in her pocket, looking very dashing.

This was also a reminder to Hearing Nimo that this short rest period after the battle was nearly over.

"Go on; I will personally witness just how far you can go."

"I understand... Sister Cynia!"

Hearing Nimo's cheeks flushed red, seemingly charmed by Cynia's dashing appearance; she recalled her partners who had rested briefly and advanced toward the next room, step by steady step.

Cynia whistled, and only after Hearing Nimo entered the room did she slowly follow with her hands in her pockets.

In principle, as one of the Elite Four of the Paldea League, she naturally had the right to move within and observe battles in the Elite Four battle rooms, provided she did not interfere with the match.

As soon as she entered the room, she heard Hearing Nimo talking to herself.

"It really is Uncle Brother Qingmu... Is this the Normal-type room this time?"

On the other side of the room, Brother Qingmu, dressed in a businessman's suit with a sky-blue tie neatly knotted at his chest, slight dark circles under his eyes, and a face brimming with the weariness of office work, also heard Hearing Nimo's "self-talk."

Tugging slightly at his tie, Brother Qingmu said listlessly, "Although I use Normal types similar to myself, plain and unremarkable, at the Gym, the people upstairs here require me to be unique and use different sub-types for battle."

"If you have a problem, go complain to the Champion; this time, I'll be using the Flying type, so I count on your cooperation."

"Alright then, let's get to work; please treat me well."

Speaking listlessly, Brother Qingmu seemed to have no desire whatsoever to continue chatting; instead, he took a Poké Ball from the briefcase he was carrying and aimed it at Hearing Nimo.

His entire being radiated the aura of someone who wanted to finish this fight early to clock out—oh no, to finish this extra battle early and then handle his actual work for the day.

Such a pure scent of office life caused many workers currently slacking off while watching the live stream to resonate deeply with Brother Brother Qingmu.

Everything was merely a case of forcing himself to endure.

"Braviary."

Brother Brother Qingmu tossed the Poké Ball with the most energy-conserving posture, summoning a large raptor with a white crest, thick legs, and massive talons.

A brave and haughty sky warrior, possessing the Normal and Flying types.

As for the Pokémon Hearing Hearing Nimo sent out, it was quite interesting.

She wasn't foolish enough to send out Ursaluna, which had a type disadvantage, nor did she choose Decidueye, whose type would be countered by Flying, just because of the opponent's aerial advantage.

Rather, aside from Goodra, her team had only one other choice that wasn't weak to Flying types.

"Hey, hey, what is she planning to do?"

Standing in a corner of the room, keeping herself out of the camera's view, Rika looked surprised, pulling both hands out of her pockets.

"I'm counting on you, Pawmot!"

"Paw!"

After Hearing Hearing Nimo threw the Poké Ball, an upright electric mouse nearly one meter tall appeared on the battlefield amidst a flashing red light.

The ace, Pawmot, has arrived!

The appearing Pawmot seemed to have eyes on the back of its head, using its paw to steadily knock the Poké Ball back into Hearing Hearing Nimo's hand.

Meanwhile, in Kiku's live stream, she too froze for a second, her expression management nearly failing.

She knew very well who had learned the most Pokémon moves from that fellow Luo Mu's Luxray—none other than Hearing Hearing Nimo's ace Pokémon!

Could Hearing Hearing Nimo's intention in sending out Pawmot here be to rely on its solid strength to create an advantage right from the start?

Kiku subconsciously began her commentary.

Back in the second Elite Four battle room, upon seeing Hearing Hearing Nimo send out Pawmot, a slight ripple arose in Brother Brother Qingmu's slightly weary eyes.

"You master and disciple of electricity..."

Brother Brother Qingmu felt the tie around his neck tightening again.

Recalling how, after kindly taking in Luo Mu on the streets of Mesagoza, his life had completely turned into one where he was so plagued by bad luck he could barely walk.

By the very next day, during a Gym Challenge, he had been electrocuted until he was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside by that fellow's Luxray.

That Champion Assessment back then was even more heavy-hitting; that guy, just like Hearing Hearing Nimo, had sent out Luxray right at the start, attempting to target his flying corps.

No, rather, this battle style was something Hearing Hearing Nimo had learned directly from Luo Mu!

Several months ago, he had similarly been defeated by Hearing Hearing Nimo's Pawmot at the Mesagoza Gym, and today...

These unpleasant memories made Brother Brother Qingmu's face pale a few shades more, but his instinct as an office worker compelled him to immediately command Braviary to take flight and launch an attack against Pawmot.

"Fury Swipes."

"Screech!!"

Crimson light wrapped around the curved talons of the loudly crying Braviary, and accompanying its dive, it slashed directly at Pawmot.

Against a Pokémon like Pawmot, which excels in close combat, using long-range moves to wear it down would actually be the best choice.

However, the reason Brother Brother Qingmu still chose close combat was, firstly, because Geeta had asked him to pay attention to the entertainment value of the live battle, and secondly, because Braviary's personality was not one to cower; Brother Brother Qingmu believed that while he might be average at everything else, he still respected the inherent personality and desires of his Pokémon.

The brave sky warrior Braviary did not need to engage in long-range attacks it was not good at; fighting the enemy head-on was the best approach.

In the Alola region, thanks to Luo Mu, Kukui, who was also watching the live stream, simply played the broadcast for the students at the Pokémon School.

Watching Brother Brother Qingmu command Braviary's brave demeanor, Kukui couldn't help but feel admiration.

This Elite Four member, Mr. Brother Qingmu, really has a knack for raising Pokémon.

Thinking this, Kukui called out to the class below: "This is a battle by a student personally taught by that Mr. Luo Mu from before; as a Champion Challenge that is rarely seen in person, everyone must watch carefully."

"Okay~"

Several students in Kukui's class nodded in reply, with Kiawe's voice being the loudest, his eyes burning with passion.

Gladion, who had originally intended to leave after dropping Lillie off at school, heard Kukui's words and paused mid-step, subconsciously stopping in place as his gaze fell upon the live stream screen.

Could it be... a student of Mr. Luo Mu?

Gladion's gaze stuck directly to the live stream screen, refusing to move even an inch.

He wanted to see just how powerful Hearing Hearing Nimo was as a student personally taught by Luo Mu, and what he himself lacked in comparison to her.

Inside the second room at the Paldea League Headquarters.

The Braviary diving toward Pawmot looked like an eagle hunting a marmot on the plains, seemingly possessing an absolute racial dominance.

But was that really the case?

Perhaps the former Pawmi would have felt fear, but the current Pawmot, through its growth with Hearing Hearing Nimo and the oppressive special training under Luxray, was long gone from being that weak version of itself.

The instant Braviary pounced, Pawmot's clear eyes instantly turned sharp; sparks of electricity crackled on its fists as it fearlessly rushed to meet Braviary.

Thunder Punch viciously smashed into Fury Swipes, and the force and numbness transmitted from the point of contact immediately caused Braviary's expression to change.

This power is bad!

Braviary flapped its wings, attempting to blow Pawmot away with a gust of wind, but Pawmot and Hearing Hearing Nimo's response was—

"Thunderbolt!"

Boiling lightning erupted from Pawmot's body, instantly piercing through Braviary's majestic form!

With this single hit, more than half of Braviary's stamina was gone.

This had nothing to do with the Trainer's command level; Brother Brother Qingmu's choice was not wrong.

It was simply that, as Hearing Hearing Nimo's ace, Pawmot currently completely crushed Braviary in terms of pure stats.

The instant Braviary's body stiffened, Pawmot delivered another "Thunder Punch," completing its first kill since entering the field.

It didn't even take thirty seconds.

Though Xin Li, present at the scene, could not hear Miss Qi Shu's excited commentary, she still took a deep breath and murmured, "So this is a champion seed."

"Luo Mu, just how did you discover such a super genius?"

(End of Chapter)