Seeing Iono fully dressed, summoning Luxray with a look like she was heading out for revenge, Elesa immediately pounced on Iono, afraid she'd really run out at this hour to pick a fight.
"Iono, calm down, he has a Ho-Oh!"
Iono struggled hard to break free from Elesa, "I can't calm down, even the Dragon King can't stop me."
"It's just a game, not some life-or-death grudge. Why go so far?"
"It is a life-or-death grudge!", Iono's silver teeth clenched with grinding sounds, "Who plays games like that?"
Just recalling how Axel didn't even let her leave the base in-game made Iono really want to settle things face-to-face offline.
So what if she loses?
As if he wouldn't forbid her from sending out Pokémon in real life too.
Elesa looked helpless, somehow feeling like she was staring into a mirror.
"But... you just said getting angry makes your figure worse."
Iono: "I'm not a model, I'm not scared of getting out of shape."
Elesa: "And you also said Axel was a good guy, even asked me to add him as a friend…"
"That's because I was blind!", Iono broke free from Elesa's restraint and flipped over to mount Luxray.
"Sis Elesa, if I don't make it back, just treat me as dead."
"Today, either I or Axel must die, AHHHHHH!"
Elesa clung tightly to Luxray's tail, putting in her final effort.
"Take a sister's advice, going like this now is just handing yourself over for free. Better spend a few years training, maybe you'll actually beat him then."
"And you don't even know where he is."
"Unova is huge, are you gonna search town by town?"
"No need to search," Iono bit her lip, her big eyes flashing with light as she looked in the direction of the S.S. Anne.
"I talked with him a lot today, I know he's on the S.S. Anne right now."
"Well… alright then," Seeing Iono's intelligence work and emotional determination so solid, Elesa knew she definitely couldn't stop her now.
She could only pray that Axel had a conscience and would go easy on her a bit in the upcoming battle. [T/N: Why?]
Otherwise… Iono might end up carrying this emotional scar for life.
Just then, Iono's broken-shelled Rotom rang.
Iono glanced at the contact label on the Rotom screen, squinted her eyes, and picked up the call.
"What?"
Axel laughed awkwardly and pointed at the scenery outside.
["The S.S. Anne's too boring, I came out for a walk. Don't go to the ship looking for me, okay?"]
Smack!
———
The view in Rotom spun like a hurricane. Axel ended the call with lingering fear, letting out a long sigh.
"Phew~ good thing I reacted fast. Otherwise, I'd have been ambushed offline again."
Thinking back to the terrifying scene of being "ambushed" last time, Axel secretly made up his mind.
That time it was Cynthia, he couldn't win the fight, couldn't run, couldn't resist.
'But a mere Iono?'
'There's no way I'll let you claim me.'
'So what if you are prettier, more lively, a little cuter…'
'Emmm?'
Axel swallowed hard. Suddenly he felt he couldn't keep thinking like that.
This was pure self-seduction.
'No narcissism, no belief in perk effects, don't provoke any rich woman!', Axel made up his mind silently.
As long as he stuck to those three principles, nothing could go wrong.
He hung up the call, set the navigation, and flew off toward Blueberry Academy...
As a top university in the Unova region, Blueberry Academy's status could rival that of Ninox University and Rainbow University in Aurient League.
Still a few kilometers away, Axel could already see the huge school gates and the ecological dome.
Seeing the ecological dome that covered several hundred square kilometers, Axel couldn't help smacking his lips.
"So rich~"
The city where he and Eva grew up only spanned a few hundred square kilometers. This ecological dome alone was already larger than an entire city.
And according to Axel's understanding of Blueberry Academy, it was also divided into various elemental zones and terrains.
Here, one could even see many Pokémon in their regional forms from other areas.
As the first university to establish an ecological dome, Blueberry Academy's academic standing was even comparable to Yuhong University.
In Unova, there was even a saying, entering Blueberry Academy meant an unlimited future.
Although a bit exaggerated, it did show how much the ecological dome contributed to students' growth.
After sighing emotionally, Axel found a relatively hidden location.
He pulled a tent from his backpack and set it up on the ground skillfully.
"Everyone rest early tonight. Tomorrow we officially start our exchange student journey."
"I heard there's an interesting student league here, there'll probably be a lot of battles."
"Garde~", Gardevoir nodded and obediently went back into the Poké Ball to sleep.
She didn't really like the tent environment, being in the Poké Ball was more comfortable.
Pheromosa was about the same. She liked cleanliness, so she couldn't handle this setting very well either.
But the Three Dragons and Nihilego were super excited, they wished they could all squeeze into the tent with Axel.
Axel looked speechlessly at Gyarados, "The others are fine, but you really can't."
"Roar?", Gyarados tilted its big head, clearly not understanding why Axel wouldn't let it stay in the tent.
"Look at your body size. Are you living in the tent, or is the tent living in you?"
Gyarados blinked and a big light bulb popped up over its head.
He had an idea.
The next moment, Gyarados's tail swung high, slamming down with rich ground-type energy.
BOOM!
A loud noise echoed as cracks spread across the ground, loosening the earth.
Gyarados let out a hearty roar and dove straight into the earth.
Hoo~
A sea-scented breeze whooshed out from the tent, and Gyarados's big head poked out from inside.
"ROAR!"
'My body can't fit in, but my head can!'
Axel: "..."
'Gotta admit, Pokémon in this world really know how to live.'
Nihilego circled once to the side, repairing the ground with ground-type energy, then laid down two layers of Toxic Spikes and one Stealth Rock, and even added some Light Screen and Reflect.
"Muuu~"
'It's safe now, Master!'
Axel chuckled, nodding his head and gently patting Nihilego's head.
She felt great to touch, like half-ethereal jelly, soft and bouncy.
"With Gyarados buried underground tonight, you rest early too."
"Muuu~"
Nihilego's body turned a little pink, then floated above Axel and fell into a peaceful sleep~
Looking at his harmonious team of Pokémon, Axel carefully took out Rotom and snapped a selfie.
Then he opened the chat windows with Norton and Raihan, and sent two messages, [Don't bother looking for me tomorrow morning. I've already arrived at Blueberry Academy. Waiting for you guys in the tent near the gate.]
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