Chapter 684: Chaotic Strike Waterfall

In the bright battle hall.

“Today’s lesson is field training.”

“The location is one of the Paldea Ten Scenic Spots: the Chaotic Strike Waterfall.”

Looking down at the students gathered below, Luo Mu announced this news with calm composure.

Pape, Mudan, and Pipa were already used to Luo Mu’s unpredictable methods.

Still, Pipa raised her hand with concern: “The Chaotic Strike Waterfall is quite far—do we have to walk there?”

Hearing this, the “newbies” Wuli and Danyu froze for a moment.

Only then did they realize that, as an academy with a long heritage, Orange Academy was not as modernized as Blueberry Academy.

Back at Blueberry Academy, they could easily head to simulated outdoor environments inside the Ecological Dome whenever they had free time, but here, reaching the wild required real, tangible distances.

Traveling even a little farther consumed considerable time, and it was impossible to cover all ecological and climatic environments in a single trip.

These limitations indeed made it hard for the two of them to adjust at first.

Before the five of them, Luo Mu, who had already anticipated this, crossed his arms and grinned proudly.

“I proposed this plan because I already had a plan!”

Mudan raised her hand and deadpanned: “You’re not seriously suggesting we ride on Steelix’s back, risking being smashed out of the sky by a wild Hammerlocke, right?”

Luo Mu was speechless: “Do you really think I’m that kind of teacher?”

He first glanced at Pape, who immediately averted his eyes.

Pipa also subtly turned her head away; only Wuli, blushing and flustered, and Danyu, still confused, kept their gazes fixed.

“Alright,” Luo Mu raised both hands in surrender, “Actually, my custom RV has been delivered—it can carry all of you straight along Paldea’s national highway to the Chaotic Strike Waterfall.”

“The round trip takes less than three hours, and if we’re late, we can camp in the bamboo grove near the waterfall—I’ve already informed Principal Cravel.”

“Hmm, seems like you just want to show off your new car.”

Mudan cut straight to the point.

Luo Mu stared at her, baffled—how had this girl become even more sarcastic in just half a month? In the game, she’d never been like this.

Still, he couldn’t deny her jabs were accurate.

Last night, he’d only planned to have the students battle each other.

But this morning, when he stepped outside and saw his custom RV gathering dust in the new garage, he changed his mind and decided to drive straight to Tabletop City.

He did have a faint desire to show off his new car, but the Chaotic Strike Waterfall field training wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment idea—it truly offered effective teaching opportunities.

Of course, Mudan was just teasing; the five of them generally followed Luo Mu’s arrangements without question.

The newcomers Wuli and Danyu were even less likely to object.

But before departure, Luo Mu stopped the five and turned toward the battle hall’s entrance.

“Before that, let me introduce a new classmate who will be joining us for the coming period.”

The moment Luo Mu finished speaking, five question marks appeared above the students’ heads.

“Another transfer student?”

Pape stared at the doorway in disbelief.

Wuli and Danyu looked equally puzzled.

Were there other students transferring in besides them?

But when the “person” entered, they were stunned.

—It was a Pokémon they had never seen before, like a standing toy bear, incredibly cute.

Under so many stares, Bear Apprentice grew nervous, nearly tripping over its own feet as it shuffled into the battle hall and stood beside Luo Mu.

“.Is this the new classmate?”

After confirming several times, Pape looked up at Luo Mu in confusion.

“Yes. For certain reasons, I agreed to help it grow stronger—so Bear Apprentice will train with you from now on.”

Luo Mu nodded slightly and gave a brief explanation.

Though unusual, a Pokémon as a classmate wasn’t beyond their acceptance.

Quickly, their attention shifted to Bear Apprentice itself.

Pipa scrutinized Bear Apprentice and murmured: “It seems like it’s skilled in fighting techniques.”

As a Fighting-type specialist, Pipa could judge from Bear Apprentice’s gait and posture that it was clearly a Pokémon focused on physical conditioning.

Mudan stared at Bear Apprentice, feeling a strange sense of familiarity, but couldn’t recall why.

It was unrealistic to expect the shy Bear Apprentice to immediately bond with them.

After the introduction, considering time, Luo Mu led the five directly out of Orange Academy to his parking lot.

The matte silver RV immediately stunned the five kids, especially when they entered the cabin—its numerous functions and smart butler module left them in awe.

Amidst their praises, Luo Mu, satisfied, happily climbed into the driver’s seat to serve as their chauffeur.

Encouraged by Luo Mu, Bear Apprentice stayed in the rear cabin—hoping that during this hour-long ride, it would get along better with the others.

Luo Mu hoped Bear Apprentice could at least communicate simply, rather than cowering behind him in fear.

After all, as a Fighting-type Pokémon, being timid would not only hinder its combat potential but also prevent its growth.

Most Fighting-types maintain a “fearless heart,” relentlessly pursuing physical mastery.

But this could only be hoped for as Bear Apprentice slowly changed over time.

In Luo Mu’s view, first helping Bear Apprentice overcome this immediate hurdle was the priority.

Soothing music played inside the RV; Luo Mu faintly heard the students chatting behind him.

Not just for Bear Apprentice, this was also a chance for Wuli and Danyu to quickly bond with the others.

Time flew—after an hour and a half, the RV stopped outside a bamboo grove.

Looking at the scenery, Luo Mu, closing the door, felt a quiet sense of nostalgia.

Not long ago, he and then-Young Hammerlocke had confronted the group of Choplocke that had taken over this area.

At the time, Yeguipeng defeated the Hammerlocke that stole Young Hammerlocke’s hammer and drove it to the grove’s edge.

Afterward, Luo Mu found some Fruit Chews in the bamboo grove behind and brought them back to the farm, using their “ripening” trait to cultivate premium fruit.

Returning here again, he wondered if anything had changed.

While Luo Mu recalled the past, the five, now more familiar with each other, stepped down from the rear cabin, with Bear Apprentice lingering nearby.

Clearly, talkative Danyu had already bonded with Pipa and found common ground with Mudan.

Once a shy, lonely child a year ago, Pape now acted like an older brother, walking alongside Wuli.

Bear Apprentice didn’t rush to hide behind Luo Mu upon exiting.

Seeing this clear progress, Luo Mu was quite satisfied.

“Everyone, follow me—we’re heading to the Chaotic Strike Waterfall.”

Luo Mu called out, snapping the students out of their awe at nature.

“Luo Mu… Teacher, are you just leaving your car parked out here in the wild?”

Danyu, still adjusting to the new role, asked hesitantly.

Her gaze lingered on the RV parked simply on the grass—she feared wild Pokémon might wreck it.

Like in her childhood home, Northward Village, wild Pokémon often unintentionally—or intentionally—damaged human structures.

This was unavoidable when living near wild Pokémon habitats.

“Don’t worry—I’ve taken precautions.”

Understanding her concern, Luo Mu gave her a reassuring glance, then winked at the Mimikyu hiding in the RV’s shadow.

Though the RV had built-in wild Pokémon repellent, Luo Mu preferred not to use functions that might affect specific Pokémon.

As the saying goes: biological control is the most eco-friendly.

With Mimikyu guarding the RV, he could safely lead the students deeper into the bamboo grove toward the hidden Chaotic Strike Waterfall.

Near noon, the bamboo grove no longer held the morning’s mist; the bamboo stalks were no longer coated in dew.

Now, with spring approaching, new bamboo shoots rapidly grew leaves, erasing all traces of winter—the entire grove was lush and green.

Sunlight filtered through sparse bamboo branches, casting dappled shadows on the ground; the golden-brown sheaths of new shoots gleamed.

Suddenly, a light breeze stirred through the grove; the tender new leaves rustled softer than the older ones, carrying a faint, earthy scent of bamboo.

“So quiet—”

Pape whispered, feeling the damp soil beneath his feet—likely because they were close to the Chaotic Strike Waterfall.

“Yes, it’s unusually quiet.”

Luo Mu, walking ahead, kept glancing sideways.

In his view, this was probably because wild Pokémon avoided contact with them.

After all, the tyrannical Choplocke group had been dealt with by Yeguipeng and Young Hammerlocke; it wasn’t strange for the grove to return to its former peace.

More importantly, his own Kingdra, which had left its Poké Ball, showed no signs of unusual emotional fluctuation.

His Kingdra possessed refined energy control and exceptional sensitivity to ambient energy.

If anything were amiss, it would detect it immediately.

As Luo Mu expected, no wild Pokémon blocked their path or caused disturbances—they soon arrived at their destination: the Chaotic Strike Waterfall.

Torrential water seemed to plunge from the sky, relentlessly pounding the rocks before flowing into the lake below, eventually feeding other waterways.

As one of Paldea’s Ten Scenic Spots, the Chaotic Strike Waterfall’s grandeur rivaled the great waterfall at Big Pot Lake.

In fact, unlike the single massive cascade in the game, here multiple smaller waterfalls clustered together into a spectacular cascade group.

Unlike the silence of the bamboo grove, the lake beneath the Chaotic Strike Waterfall was bustling with life.

Many wild aquatic Pokémon make their home here, such as the Ducklett Pikachu had encountered before, along with common aquatic Pokémon like Marill and Swinub.

Even the Grimer he utterly despised could be found here.

Suppressing the urge to “electrofish for revenge,” Pikachu glanced around and spotted a smaller waterfall with a stable ledge, pointing toward it: “Let’s choose that one.”

At this, everyone obediently followed his lead.

After all, on the way here, Pikachu had already explained what today’s field training would entail.

He still planned to have them battle each other to check for complacency.

But if they lost this battle, they’d face a punishment—

Enjoying the sensation of being pounded by the waterfall.

The waterfall Pikachu chose was no more than a tiny cascade, easily tolerable for all of them, so they didn’t mind at all.

In fact, thinking about the free time after the battles, when they could splash around here at will, they grew even more excited.

Leaving Ursa and Danyu aside, Piplup and Popplio genuinely looked forward to this natural wilderness—they’d experienced plenty like it during their travels with Nimo.

As for Peony, the homebody was already pondering how to avoid getting into the water.

While the others were lost in their own thoughts, ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work, Pikachu quietly approached his bear disciple.

“Huh?”

Looking up at Pikachu crouched before him, the bear disciple tilted his head in confusion.

Popplio and the others were fine—he was just a Pokémon, not a Trainer. Surely Pikachu didn’t expect him to command Pokémon battles too?

The bear disciple tucked his small hands behind his back and fidgeted nervously with his fingers.

He wanted to grow stronger, not become a Trainer.

Pikachu had no idea what wild thoughts were swirling in the bear disciple’s head; his gaze settled on a slightly faster-flowing section of the waterfall, then said: “You probably guessed it already—this will be one of our fixed training spots from now on.”

“Aside from the time I spend going to the Orange Academy every other day, you’ll need to set aside time each day to train here.”

A Pokémon’s growth is a long and arduous process; to achieve results, you must put in more effort.

Since the bear disciple wants to grow stronger, Pikachu will give him his full support.

Right now, he plans to put the bear disciple through a classic, standard training regimen.

—The so-called waterfall training!

(End of Chapter)