Chapter 633: Three Punches Shatter Flashy Souls

Lisia: "???"

Wait, who belittles their niece's most admired uncle right in front of her?

And what is all this sophistry, this twisted logic meant to confuse?

Having been a child star since she was little, Lisia may not rival the world-famous actress Caroline, but the morning dramas she starred in received high praise within the industry.

This gave Lisia knowledge and experience far richer than most her age, allowing her to see through the flaws in Luo Mu's words at a glance.

Indeed, there was some truth to what Luo Mu said.

Before absolute strength, no matter how flashy the moves are, they are like flowers in a mirror or the moon on water—fragile at a touch, easily crushed.

But Lisia felt Luo Mu was looking down on Contests and on Coordinators like them who truly loved Contests.

Trainers with strength can simply aim for the goal of becoming League Champion.

Coordinators who gather ribbons and participate in the Grand Festival are people who genuinely love Contests.

Even if someone wins through brute force lacking any beauty, to everyone else, that victory will not be acknowledged!

Lisia grew slightly angry; perhaps years of "idol" training had seeped into her habits, for even her pouting expression looked like she was acting cute.

"Even though you are a guest, Lisia cannot ignore what you just said; belittling others to elevate oneself is bad!"

"I really will make up my mind to issue a formal challenge to you!"

"Isn't that right, Xiao Xiao Qingqing?"

"Churu!"

The Altaria named Xiao Xiao Qingqing firmly chose to stand on its Trainer's side.

Luo Mu hadn't expected Lisia's mind to work so quickly, which cut off the speech he had been preparing.

Whether to "defend" himself or simply finish what he wanted to say, he had no intention of letting Lisia label him so directly.

"See, getting impatient again."

Under Lisia's confused gaze, Luo Mu spread his hands, his face full of innocence.

"I haven't finished speaking yet; at least hear me out to the end?"

"Then speak."

Lisia shrank her neck slightly; inexplicably, she felt a powerful aura from Luo Mu similar to what she used to feel from her homeroom teacher back in school.

Before the debate had even begun, she was already one step weaker in momentum.

"The example I just gave you was also my personal experience; although it might sound somewhat ambiguous, it should be quite simple and easy to understand."

Luo Mu tried to speak in a way "even Lisia could understand," so that this child star, who likely hadn't attended school properly, could fully grasp his meaning.

As if back in a classroom, facing Luo Mu's question, Lisia subconsciously nodded, only then realizing what kind of nod she was giving.

He isn't my teacher!

Luo Mu didn't care what Lisia was thinking; seeing her nod, he continued speaking.

"Just as I said earlier, because the combined power of my strength, command, and foundation was greater than your uncle's, I achieved victory."

"And during that time, I could even try to copy the cat, using my own understanding and methods to make the moves my Pokémon released as flashy and elegant as a Milotic's."

"Carefully analyze and think about what I just said; do you have new feelings now?"

"No."

Lisia looked at Luo Mu with clear eyes and honestly shook her head.

She still didn't quite get it; it would be better if he could explain it more simply.

Speechless, Luo Mu: "."

Wallace, you really should send your niece to school.

Otherwise, even if she truly becomes the number one idol of Contests in the future, just a few questions will expose the fact that she's a little bit not too bright.

After sighing sincerely, Luo Mu, no longer expecting Lisia to have a sudden realization, directly gave the standard answer.

"Why did I say your training method is wrong?"

"Because you focused too much on the external and lost the internal; it is completely putting the cart before the horse."

"What a Coordinator needs to do is not blindly make their Pokémon's moves flashy yet empty; they must also pay attention to cultivating the Pokémon itself."

"If a Pokémon's strength improves, it can learn more moves and create more move combinations."

"If a Pokémon's strength improves, it can naturally gain an advantage over opponents in Contests, possessing the leeway to realize its Trainer's flashy ideas."

"If a Pokémon's strength improves, it can also accomplish many things that were impossible no matter how hard one tried before, fulfilling the Trainer's whimsical ideas."

"One could say that, in a certain sense, what a Coordinator needs to learn and achieve is even several times more complex and difficult than what an ordinary Pokémon Trainer faces."

"Top-tier Coordinators are powerful not just in their superficial appearance, but also in their inner substance."

"Isn't your uncle, and your great-uncle-by-marriage, the best examples?"

Lisia's eyes widened slightly; even she realized something from Luo Mu's long speech.

Luo Mu seized the moment to throw out another question.

"Then let me ask you, besides the title of top-tier Coordinator, what other identities do they hold?"

"Gym Leader, Hoenn League Champion."

Lisia answered without even thinking.

Then she froze.

Right, why didn't I think of that?

Whether it was her uncle or her great-uncle-by-marriage, only under the premise of possessing great strength could they freely unleash the aesthetics they believed were correct, try various ideas, and naturally step into the highest realms.

From the very beginning, the boundary between Coordinators and ordinary Trainers was never blurred; the two are connected, even complementary.

A powerful Trainer can be a Coordinator, and a top-tier Coordinator can also be a powerful Trainer.

At this moment, Lisia felt as if enlightened by a sudden revelation; the problems, anxieties, and shackles that had troubled her before completely vanished.

Master, I've realized it!

One could say this moment belongs solely to Lisia's "Longchang Enlightenment"!

Watching the girl who seemed to have suddenly attained enlightenment, Luo Mu smiled, pretended nothing was amiss, and stroked the fluffy cloud-like wings of his Altaria, "Xiao Xiao Qingqing."

Mm, the texture was excellent, just like cotton candy, and it didn't stick to his hands.

—Although Xiao Xiao Qingqing immediately pecked him a few times, Luo Mu was still quite happy.

Heh, today I got to stroke an Altaria's wings; not a loss!

At the same time.

In a certain corner outside the training hall.

Wallace and Juan were squatting sneakily by the wall corner, completely overturning their usual elegant and composed images; both had their ears pressed against the wall, listening intently to the movements inside.

Sebastian, acting as the butler, stood not far away with a full smile, specifically tasked with keeping watch for the two of them to prevent passersby from seeing them and causing their personas to collapse.

After all, the training hall was rather close to the road.

Rubbing his chin where some stubble had grown with his right hand, Juan lowered his voice and said, "Now I understand why you made this decision."

"Guiding step by step, teaching with patience, and more importantly, speaking with clear logic while possessing experience and knowledge far surpassing that of ordinary people."

"—This kid is naturally cut out to be a teacher."

"Indeed, even I was surprised." Wallace nodded slightly, a smile tracing the corners of his mouth. "With this teaching method, even my niece should be able to gain something."

"It seems we have no need to worry anymore."

Juan and Wallace exchanged a glance and spoke in unison.

The next day.

January 19th; today was the second day since Luo Mu had arrived in the Hoenn region.

Early in the morning, a chattering figure appeared beside Luo Mu.

Fortunately, the girl's lark-like voice was impeccably perfect, at least not causing anyone irritation.

—Probably.

Lisia, sporting panda-like dark circles under her eyes, once again requested a challenge from Luo Mu.

Since last night's sudden enlightenment of the "Longchang Enlightenment," she had hardly slept all night, her mind filled with brand new plans and aspirations for the future.

Luo Mu's words had swept away all the confusion in Lisia's heart; now she was full of motivation, radiating the vitality unique to young people.

Thus, early in the morning, she couldn't wait to seek out Luo Mu.

"I've already decided: after participating in this already-registered Wallace Cup, I will devote myself to training, striving to make up for the shortcomings I previously ignored."

"Only then will I challenge the Contests again, step by step, keeping my feet on the ground, to win the Grand Festival."

"To clearly recognize how far I am from that realm, please engage me in a one-on-one serious battle!"

Lisia bowed deeply to Luo Mu, her lightning-shaped ponytail nearly whipping him in the face.

She had attained enlightenment: before becoming a top Coordinator, she must first become a powerful Trainer.

Just as Luo Mu had said, under the crushing weight of absolute strength, all elegance would become empty talk.

At the same time, she could ensure that after obtaining great power, this power would be used to realize even more dreamy☆miraculous elegant art.

Silently shifting back a few steps to maintain distance, Luo Mu did not refuse this time, instead nodding lightly.

"Alright, I accept your challenge."

"Really? Great! Yay!"

Lisia's eyes lit up, and she excitedly jumped up.

Juan, silently eating nearby, raised his knife and fork to remind them, "Starting today, the Sootopolis Gym will resume accepting challenges; remember to finish quickly."

After all, the gym arena still required routine maintenance before receiving challengers; if possible, Juan hoped the battle would end before the scheduled maintenance time.

Having finished speaking, before Lisia and Luo Mu could answer, Juan himself froze on the spot.

Wait, wasn't his reminder merely useless words?

He knew quite well in his heart just how strong this child Lisia was.

In contrast, Luo Mu was a formidable figure who had genuinely defeated his own disciple in a direct battle.

Even though at that time his disciple had focused more on displaying Milotic's charm rather than considering how to defeat the opponent in direct combat.

But a loss is a loss.

If a Trainer of Luo Mu's level got serious, could this child Lisia really hold out until that time?

Soon, Juan's worries became reality.

On both sides of the Water Battle Field at the Sootopolis Gym, Luo Mu and Lisia stood facing each other.

Juan and Wallace sat in the front row of the spectator seats, watching the battle as an audience.

"Let's go, Xiao Xiao Qingqing!"

Accompanied by Lisia's lively and playful voice, the Altaria hummed a song with its beautiful voice, making its grand entrance with its usual elegance.

Lisia sending out her Altaria was completely within Luo Mu's expectations.

However, who he should send out on his side was a problem.

Luxray and Mimikyu were not very suitable for this Water Battle Field with very few footholds; even if they could fight, there was no need to put them through the trouble.

Swampert fit perfectly; he believed that once he unleashed Mega Evolution, Super Swampert could crush the opponent's Contest Soul without even needing three punches.

That would be somewhat too rough.

As for Comfey, Milotic, and Ninetales, although their combat capabilities were not poor, they likely still fell short of what Lisia needed.

Victini usually served as rear support; as for Bagogo, Luo Mu did not yet understand its specific strength, but it probably wasn't very strong, at least not comparable to the strongest individual in the Zero Gauntlet.

Politoed was a good choice; over the past year, its progress had been quite outstanding, its strength leading most of the Pokémon on the farm, and more importantly, it was very suitable for the Water Battle Field.

Using Moltres against Altaria might offer quite a spectacle, but considering this was a rare opportunity for Politoed to go out with him, Luo Mu made up his mind.

"Politoed, I choose you!"

"Nyuru~"

The red beam shot from the Poké Ball descended into the pool; accompanied by a "splash," Politoed appeared together with the splashing water.

It clapped its hands happily, wearing an expression that looked harmless to humans and beasts alike.

Unsurprisingly, Lisia was also charmed.

"Wow, this child is so cute!"

Having hardly ever left the Hoenn region, this was her first time seeing a Pokémon like Politoed!

"Don't just focus on its appearance; although Politoed isn't my absolute main force, it is already among the strongest batch of my Pokémon outside of my absolute main force!"

Luo Mu offered a reminder, and at the same time, Politoed puffed up its throat and let out a piercing cry toward the ceiling overhead.

"Nyuru——!"

Dark gloomy clouds instantly gathered indoors, the air abruptly turned humid, and bean-sized raindrops poured down from the rain clouds, dripping and dropping into the pool.

"Oh oh oh, is this the Drizzle Ability?"

As a seasoned Water-type expert, Wallace saw through the essence of this heavy rain at a glance.

"Yes, and it is extremely high-quality Drizzle; you can tell just from the fact that the rain cloud's range only covers the battlefield."

Wallace nodded in agreement, a trace of astonishment floating in Emperor Yan Di.

In his judgment, this single "Drizzle" was enough to show just how well Luo Mu had raised Politoed.

(End of Chapter)