Chapter 86

Blaziken was extremely frustrated; whenever it tried to close in and attack Mimikyu, it was always blocked by Mimikyu’s Protect, Substitute, or offensive moves, leaving it unable to make contact at all.

Blaziken was confident it was slightly stronger than Mimikyu, but that slight edge wasn’t enough to create a decisive gap—trying to find an opening to instantly knock out Mimikyu was pure fantasy.

Kukui’s right wrist, hidden beneath his sleeve, rose and fell several times.

He was torn.

Even if Blaziken used its Z-Move, the best outcome would merely be a mutual knockout; Kukui would still lose, and using the Z-Move would only make the defeat look a little less humiliating.

Sighing, Kukui raised his hand. “That’s enough. No need to continue.”

The combination of Curse and Pain Split had caught his eye, but such a combo isn’t without flaws—it only works when the Pokémon are closely matched in strength. Using it to overcome a stronger opponent isn’t impossible, but the difficulty likely exceeds that of bursting out and defeating the opponent outright.

Luo Mu’s creative pairing of different move effects had sparked his inspiration; the vast, intricate mysteries of Pokémon moves still awaited his exploration, and just this alone made the battle immensely rewarding.

Luo Mu and Mimikyu froze, blinking—was that it?

They hadn’t even used half their tricks; Luo Mu had already considered the possibility of Kukui having Blaziken use its signature Z-Move and devised several countermeasures.

Are we playing “stop just short”?

Yaci stepped forward, smiling and clapping. “What an incredible battle—truly dazzling! It reminded me of the match not long ago, when Luo Mu also combined moves to effortlessly defeat my Espeon.”

Kukui’s eyes widened, and a strange sense of comfort washed over him.

So I’m not the only one who’s been screwed over by Luo Mu. That’s a relief.

“How about it? Are the Oran Academy’s library collections impressive?”

Yaci led Kukui and Luo Mu on a tour of the Oran Academy’s library, finally stopping at the academy’s front desk.

Kukui nodded vigorously. “It’s like a treasure trove of knowledge! Especially this entrance, surrounded by books—it feels like being embraced by wisdom itself. Absolutely enchanting.”

Yaci’s smile widened. “I’m so glad to hear that. I personally designed and supervised its renovation—it was only completed less than half a year ago.”

Kukui marveled. “That’s incredible!”

“Ahem.” Luo Mu, forced to tag along all morning, cleared his throat and interrupted their mutual flattery, turning to Yaci. “Director, weren’t you saying you’re swamped with work? Why not call it a day today...?”

If they kept chatting like this, the sun would set.

Yaci gave Luo Mu a strange look. “It’s rare to have a distinguished guest from another region—I’ve already delegated urgent matters to Aoki. The rest can wait until tomorrow. Is there a problem?”

“...No problem.”

Luo Mu’s eyes widened, a chill of relief running down his spine.

Thank goodness I didn’t accept Yaci’s offer to join the League—otherwise, I’d be the one being exploited today.

Keep going, hardworking office worker brother!

Kukui stole a glance at Luo Mu. Knowing him well, he guessed Luo Mu wanted to go home. He felt a pang of guilt, but was thrilled by today’s gains.

Talking alone won’t establish a Pokémon League in Alola—the mature operational methods and experience of the Paldea League were invaluable to him.

After speaking at length with Yaci, his vision had begun to take shape.

Thinking of this, Kukui volunteered, “Time’s getting late, Director Yaci. We should be going. Thank you for your hospitality.”

Yaci nodded in surprise. “It is about time. Then I should return to the Pokémon League too.”

Hearing this, Luo Mu felt as if freed from prison—it was finally over.

“Then I’ll take my leave first.” Yaci turned gracefully and walked toward the main gate of Oran Academy. A few steps later, she paused as if remembering something, turning her head toward Luo Mu.

As Kukui and Luo Mu wondered what else she might have to say, she spoke to Luo Mu: “That previous agreement of ours still stands, right?”

“Huh?” Luo Mu blinked, then remembered his earlier promise to Yaci at the Pokémon League. “Of course it does.”

Yaci nodded slightly, smiling. “I’ll likely have a private commission soon. It would be perfect if you took it—we’ll discuss the details and reward later.”

Luo Mu nodded, watching Yaci’s uninterrupted back disappear from Oran Academy, then turned to Kukui. “Let’s head back. After such an intense battle, our Pokémon must be exhausted.”

Kukui smiled. “We should give them a special dinner tonight.”

The next morning, the farming district.

Four elegant arcs of water landed around the saplings—led by Wooper, three Wooper were performing irrigation, a task done daily.

After the soil absorbed the moisture while still damp, Porygon-Z and its companions shook their bodies, scattering clouds of nutrient-rich cotton seeds onto the ground, which instantly dissolved into pure nourishment, absorbed by the soil and fed back to the saplings through their roots.

This was essential daily work; there were also tasks like checking for insect damage and pulling weeds that thrived due to the rich soil.

Once all tasks were complete, the overseer, Sceptile, slithered forward and used its side-protruding vines for final verification.

Kukui crouched nearby. Even though he’d seen this many times, he was still stunned by Luo Mu’s bold approach.

He hired no human workers—except when he had to act himself, all daily care was entrusted entirely to Pokémon.

But that question was still glaringly obvious.

Kukui stood up, muttering, “Why doesn’t Sceptile just use Grass Pledge? It’d be so much easier.”

Having Porygon-Z and the others scatter seeds one spot at a time is tiring and inefficient—surely Sceptile isn’t incapable of Grass Pledge?

“What are you thinking about?”

Luo Mu, moving silently, suddenly appeared behind Kukui, holding a fishing rod and a bucket.

“I was wondering why Sceptile doesn’t use Grass Pledge... When did you get here?!”

Kukui nearly jumped out of his skin at Luo Mu’s sudden appearance.

Luo Mu set down the fishing rod and the bucket full of river fish, smiling. “I knew you’d been staring at Sceptile lately—turns out you were stuck on this.”

“The reason Sceptile doesn’t use Grass Pledge is simple—I’ve taken it to learn the move many times, but neither the Grass-type Gym Leaders in Paldea nor any other experts could teach it.”

“As for Porygon-Z and the others, I simply haven’t had time to take them yet.”

Kukui froze, then a smile spread across his face. The words he’d been holding back burst out: “You’re going to take Sceptile and Porygon-Z to learn it?”

“Huh?”

“I mean—I know someone who’s an expert in Grass Pledge. Should we take them to learn from them?”

“...Where?”

“To Alola!”