Chapter 82: Pokémon Are a Terrifying Creature

"Hah... ah... hah... I can't... I can't go on..."

In the vast playground, under Luo Mu's lead, a total of seventeen students and their Pokémon were together sprinting along the track, shedding their youth in sweat.

With a body towering over her peers, Penny took the lead, running at the very front, her long black hair fluttering in the wind.

Penny left the other students far behind; after a significant gap, students like Peony, Piers, and Ai Li Qi Si followed steadily in her wake.

Ortega was much more well-behaved today; he neither verbally provoked the other students nor showed any resistance toward Luo Mu, instead maintaining a steady pace with a stern face while his two henchmen watched in confusion.

Among this group of students, one had emitted the unbearable sounds from the beginning, drenched in hot sweat and barely clinging to the very tail of the line.

Matching Penny's speed, Luo Mu temporarily handed the leadership duty to her, slowed down to wait for Hearing Hearing Nimo to catch up, and said helplessly, "Do you need a rest? There's no need to push yourself so hard."

Hearing Hearing Nimo panted heavily without stopping, feeling as though her lungs were struggling to supply enough oxygen, but as an admirer, she didn't want to show her weak side in front of Luo Mu; forcing a strained smile, Hearing Hearing Nimo said, "I'm fine... Don't let my appearance fool you; I still have the endurance to finish the full course."

The Pawmi staying right beside Hearing Hearing Nimo also cried out with full confidence, believing its Trainer surely possessed extraordinary perseverance to complete the full run.

While running, Peony occasionally looked back, his expression somewhat strange: "So she's the type who isn't good at sports?"

Peony had thought that after changing into an outfit full of athletic style, although Hearing Hearing Nimo probably couldn't compare to Penny, who specialized in sports, she should at least be able to keep pace with him.

He hadn't expected that Hearing Hearing Nimo couldn't even outrun that rich young master with a bad attitude who looked delicate and tender-skinned at first glance.

"Go, Hearing Hearing Nimo!"

Penny smiled broadly, waving her hands to cheer for Hearing Hearing Nimo, who was about to finish the final lap, while the other students who had already completed the full course stood at the finish line waiting for her arrival.

Although at the start, Ortega's henchmen had mocked Hearing Hearing Nimo's athletic ability, now that she was truly about to forcibly complete ten laps, a hint of respect appeared on their faces as well.

If it were them, they certainly wouldn't have the perseverance to actually finish the full course.

Feeling as though her consciousness was becoming blurry, once Hearing Hearing Nimo's feet firmly stepped onto the finish line, her entire body, which had been tense, suddenly relaxed; her willpower receded like a tide, and her body swayed, about to collapse to the ground.

Seeing this, Penny, who was very clear about various post-exercise conditions, stepped forward without hesitation, faster than Luo Mu by an instant, and directly caught Hearing Hearing Nimo, who was collapsing due to her sudden relaxation.

Though Penny was only fourteen or fifteen years old, her tone was very gentle; patting Hearing Hearing Nimo's head, she said softly, "You've worked hard."

Kukui, who had been observing from the side, also quickly ran over at Luo Mu's signal, carrying a cup filled with warm water.

"Let me do it."

Penny took the cup from Kukui's hands and gently fed Hearing Hearing Nimo little by little; one could see that although she was taller and more robust than average boys, her actions were as gentle and meticulous as an ordinary girl's.

"Troubling you, Penny."

From this side of Penny that she had shown, Luo Mu could see why she would receive so much respect in Team Star in the future; even that sharp-tongued Ortega listened to her words.

After replenishing her water, Hearing Hearing Nimo took quite some time to recover, but Luo Mu could still tell from her movements that her stamina had not fully returned.

It seemed Hearing Hearing Nimo's athletic cells were naturally weak; training them later in life would likely not yield better results.

While Hearing Hearing Nimo rested, Luo Mu led the students in learning other methods of physical training together with Pokémon, as the time approached for class to end.

Clapping his hands to gather everyone's attention, Luo Mu said, "Does everyone feel that today felt more like a physical education class than a Battle Studies lesson?"

No one answered, but Luo Mu could see from their faces that basically everyone felt exactly that way.

"As I said before class, as Trainers, we will more often be exploring the wild alone; besides relying on our partners, all we have are these two legs."

Luo Mu paused, then continued, "For example, if you encounter an exceptionally powerful Pokémon in the wild, and even if your Pokémon uses every trick in the book but still cannot repel the opponent, what should we do?"

"Penny, you answer."

Sitting cross-legged on the playground ground, Penny pointed at herself; after receiving Luo Mu's affirmative nod, she stood up and said with boiling blood, "Relying on the bond between me and Mankey, we'll use a boiling-blood combination fighting technique to repel them!"

Mankey strongly agreed with Penny's answer, nodding repeatedly.

"Wrong." Luo Mu lightly tapped Penny's head, took out a Poké Ball to release Swampert, and smiled, "Penny, do you think your and Mankey's boiling-blood combination skill can make my Swampert move even slightly?"

"I accept this challenge!"

Glancing at the knotted muscles of Swampert, a scorching heat flashed in Penny's eyes; moving forward in unison with Mankey, flanking it on the left and right, Penny and Mankey turned their right palms into knife-hands and slashed fiercely at Swampert.

"A double Brick Break move!"

Ortega, who was closest to Penny, felt only a gust of wild wind sweep past; startled, he watched as that tall woman rushed forward together with that utterly unrefined Mankey. With a stern face, amidst the echoing voices of his henchmen, Ortega muttered, "As expected of a gorilla with monstrous strength..."

Facing the confident double attack from Penny and Mankey, Swampert merely lifted its eyelids, raised both arms casually, and grabbed the knife-hands of Penny and Mankey; its power-filled body didn't sway even a thread.

All the force from Penny and Mankey was easily dissolved into nothingness by Swampert.

Penny sank into a horse stance, trying to mobilize her entire body's strength to pull her right hand free, but Swampert's robust arms remained motionless, while Mankey grew so anxious it started kicking and biting.

At this moment, Luo Mu stepped forward and patted Swampert's shoulder; neither human nor Pokémon could hold back their momentum, retreating several consecutive steps before steadying themselves, their eyes filled with shock.

They felt that Swampert's strength was completely on another dimension level, simply incomparable.

The other few students were also stunned by this scene; Penny's monstrous strength was famous throughout the entire academy, yet no one expected that she and Mankey couldn't even make Swampert move.

Luo Mu calmly recalled Swampert and said, "Now do you understand? Wild Pokémon are living, breathing lives; they also move. Who can guarantee that the area you venture into will definitely be safe?"

"As I said in the first class, my lessons won't teach you theoretical knowledge that you can learn from books; everything is practical combat experience gained through my struggles as a Trainer."

"Although it doesn't compare to the era thousands of years ago when Pokémon were called 'magical beasts' by the ancients, modern wild Pokémon still include many that retain their wild nature. Pokémon are a terrifying creature; in situations where the disparity in combat power is obvious at a glance, do not hesitate—use every means possible to flee!"

"Only by staying alive is there a future to speak of."