Yuuto and the other two turned their heads simultaneously toward the source of the sound.
Then came a breathless reply: "Yes… yes! Pidgey, Normal-type and Flying-type, its ability… its ability could be Keen Eye or Tangled Feet, common skills are Tackle, Sand Attack, Gust…"
"The sound is coming from over there."
Misty perked up her ears, her sense of justice instantly surging. "This voice… it sounds like someone is being bullied."
Delia was a bit worried. "How can there be people in this remote mountain wilderness?"
"Let's go take a look."
Yuuto picked up his bowl and continued eating the blanched bean curd skin from the pot as he walked toward the sound.
Misty and Delia exchanged glances, quickly picked up their own bowls, and followed.
After a few steps, they pushed through a thick fog.
The scene before them stunned all three.
On a relatively flat clearing ahead, several brand-new, high-tech treadmills were set up.
A thin boy was running desperately on one of the treadmills, his face covered in sweat.
Beside him stood three tall teenagers in matching uniforms, looking arrogant.
The leader was a red-haired guy with a buzz cut, arms crossed, glaring unpleasantly at the boy on the treadmill.
"Joe! You're too slow! You can't even remember the knowledge! What are Pidgey's hidden abilities? Speak!"
"There's… there's also the hidden ability 'Big Pecks'!" The boy named Joe replied while panting, his steps faltering.
"And what about the common skills of its evolved form, Pidgeotto? Speak up! Don't stop running!" another yellow-haired youth urged, even reaching out to speed up the treadmill.
"Pidgeotto… skills include Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Whirlwind… ah!"
The treadmill speed suddenly increased. Joe lost his balance and almost fell, forced to move his legs frantically to keep up.
The third person, a purple-haired girl, sneered while recording something: "Reaction speed C-, knowledge mastery B-, physical stamina D… Joe, you're going to drag down our 'Elite Prep Group' at this rate."
[Ding!]
A system notification rang clearly in Yuuto's mind.
[Triggered Mission: Help Joe find the correct path as a Trainer. Defeat the new generation genius of the Academy Faction, Elite, through Pokémon education and break her pride.]
[Mission Reward: Premium Miracle Seed — Increases the power of Grass-type moves by 40% when held by a Pokémon; Beginner Rare Candy ×3]
Yuuto chewed on the bean curd skin while checking the newly popped-up mission panel.
*Oh?*
*Educate Elite?*
That's the young lady from the original story who thinks so highly of herself and always talks about being a "genius."
*System, are you sure just using Pokémon battles to educate her will be enough to break that pride of hers?*
*Shouldn't there be some more direct rod education?*
Yuuto joked internally, but his face remained expressionless as he slowly picked up another piece of meat.
At this moment, Delia gently tugged at his sleeve, leaned in closer, and whispered:
"Yuuto, look at the uniforms they're wearing… don't they look a lot like the students from 'Nanshan Noble Academy' who came to challenge you when you set up the arena in Viridian City?"
Reminded by Delia, Yuuto noticed it too.
The uniforms embroidered with noble crests were indeed identical to those of the guys who called themselves "Academy Faction Elites" before.
"Hey! You guys!"
Before Yuuto could speak, Misty couldn't stand it anymore.
Filled with a sense of justice, she rushed forward with her bowl still containing chili oil and a slice of fatty beef, blocking the way between the treadmill and the three tall students.
"What are you doing? No bullying your classmates!"
Misty's eyebrows narrowed, her voice clear and full of momentum.
The red-haired buzz cut — A Bin — turned his head unhappily after being interrupted.
Seeing a beautiful girl in ordinary traveling clothes holding a hotpot bowl, a look of contempt immediately appeared on his face.
"Bullying? You ignorant country girl."
A Bin sneered and pointed at Joe on the treadmill:
"How is this bullying? This is 'spurring with love'! It's to urge him to improve! What do you wandering independent Trainers know about our 'Elite Prep Group's' training methods?"
As he spoke, he deliberately pressed the treadmill's acceleration button again.
The treadmill sped up abruptly!
"Whoa!" Joe cried out in surprise. His steps were completely messed up, and his body lunged forward!
**Thud!**
He fell hard off the treadmill, rolling twice on the ground before stopping.
His forehead and knees were scraped, bleeding slightly, and his cheek was rubbed red, making him look quite pathetic.
"What love! What spurring! Stop it right now!"
Misty was furious. She quickly stuffed the slice of fatty beef from her bowl into her mouth, chewed twice, swallowed, and raised her voice:
"That student has been beaten black and blue from the fall! Isn't this still bullying?"
"Tch."
A Bin turned around completely, hands in his pockets, looking down at Misty, then at Yuuto and Delia who were slowly walking over.
His gaze swept over their ordinary clothes and the hotpot bowl in Yuuto's hand, his expression of disgust becoming even more obvious.
"Wait, who are you guys? Where did you come from?"
A Bin waved his hand impatiently, as if shooing away flies:
"It's one thing to interrupt our valuable training time, but you actually dare to… eat hotpot in our Nanshan Noble Academy's advanced mountain training grounds?"
He pointed at the red, oily soup base in Yuuto's bowl, his face saying "is there something wrong with your heads?"
"Huh? What 'your school'?"
Misty was stunned by his words and instinctively looked around.
It was all white, nothing but fog.
Where was there any school?
Delia also blinked in confusion and looked at Yuuto.
Just then, a clear and melodious electronic notification sound seemed to come from all directions:
"The Special Training Course for Foggy Environments has ended."
"All students, please return to the dormitory area in an orderly manner."
"Tomorrow's course preview: Extreme Weather Adaptability Training — Battling and survival in the snow."
As the notification sounded, the surrounding thick fog seemed to be controlled by an invisible hand, quickly thinning and dispersing.
It was as if… some fog-making machine had been turned off.
The scene before them gradually became clear.
Where they were was no remote mountain wilderness!
It was a meticulously maintained and extremely wide mountain platform.
Below the platform, looking down the slope as the fog cleared, a massive and magnificent complex of buildings was revealed!
Gothic and modern teaching buildings, a tall clock tower, a glass-domed gymnasium, a dormitory area like a manor… a vast and incredibly luxurious academy was suddenly displayed before their eyes!
At the academy's main gate, the gilded words "Nanshan Noble Pokémon Training Academy" shone in the dissipating fog.
The three of them had actually, unknowingly, wandered into the training grounds of this top-tier noble academy famous in the Kanto region!
Yuuto raised an eyebrow.
*So that's how it is.*
No wonder the fog appeared so strangely and vanished so suddenly.
It turns out it was just a prop for the academy's classes.
"See that? You hicks!"
A Bin's sense of superiority was practically overflowing as he pointed down the mountain:
"This is Nanshan Academy! The cradle of Elites! You wandering Trainers who crawled out of who-knows-where aren't even fit to carry our shoes!"
"It's all your fault!"
The more he spoke, the angrier he got, turning his aim back to Yuuto:
"Today's fog training course was interrupted, Joe's training volume wasn't completed, and the data wasn't fully recorded! Our group's score is going to be affected because of you!"
"Tell me, how are you going to compensate us?"
The other two students, a boy and a girl, also crossed their arms and glared coldly at Yuuto's group, looking like they were demanding an explanation.
Beside the treadmill, Joe had already climbed up on his own.
With injuries on his face, he quickly ran between A Bin and Yuuto, bowing repeatedly:
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Brother A Bin, it's my fault! I didn't master the knowledge well, and my stamina is too poor, which dragged everyone down!"
He then turned to Yuuto and the others. Although his eyes were a bit timid, he still tried to straighten his thin back:
"These… these travelers didn't do it on purpose. They might have just gotten lost… Blame me if you must! Please don't blame them anymore!"
"Joe! Get out of the way!" A Bin shoved him aside and walked a few steps closer to Yuuto, fuming, and shook his fist:
"If I don't give you a lesson today, you won't know the rules of Nanshan Academy!"
From his posture, it looked like he was about to start a physical fight.
Yuuto still held his bowl, not even lifting an eyelid, just gently blowing on the hot soup in the bowl.
Pikachu beside him didn't care at all, just curiously looking at the treadmill.
"A Bin! Why hasn't your group finished yet? The fog has been gone for five minutes!" Just then, from the corner where the platform connected to the main road, came a somewhat familiar, dissatisfied young male voice.
Hearing this voice, the anger on A Bin's face instantly turned into respect, and he quickly trotted over to meet him.
"Brother Xiong Yan! What brings you here?"
At the corner, a handsome youth wearing a more exquisite dark blue uniform with a silver-trimmed trench coat over it, his hair meticulously styled, walked over with two followers, frowning.
A Bin ran to Xiong Yan and pointed toward Yuuto, loudly complaining:
"Brother Xiong Yan, Joe is too stupid; he can never finish his training! And today, three nonsensical troublemakers showed up! Look, they're even eating hotpot in our training grounds! It's simply an insult to the academy!"
"What kind of people? Daring to act wild in our Nanshan Noble Academy?"
Xiong Yan's face darkened. Following A Bin's finger, he looked over with his usual arrogant expression.
Then, his gaze collided with Yuuto's, who happened to be glancing over lazily.
Their eyes met.
The arrogant "Elite" expression on Xiong Yan's face froze instantly.
Then, as if a freeze-frame button had been pressed, it quickly turned into shock, disbelief, and finally… a trace of undisguisable panic and shame.
The harsh words he hadn't finished were choked back into his throat.
The corner of his mouth even twitched involuntarily.
"Brother Xiong Yan? It's that kid holding the bowl! He looks so unrefined! Should we teach him a lesson right now?" A Bin didn't notice the change in Xiong Yan's expression and was still fanning the flames, raring to go.
The yellow-haired boy and purple-haired girl behind him were also eager to try.
"Shut… shut up!"
Xiong Yan suddenly snapped out of it, his face turning red and white, his voice even changing pitch.
He used almost all his strength to maintain a facade of calm, turned his head away from Yuuto's direction, and hissed at A Bin:
"Wha… what are you saying? We are noble students of a prestigious academy! We've received the top education!"
"How can we… how can we be like those savage, vulgar wandering independent Trainers, thinking of fighting at every turn?"
A Bin was stunned by the scolding: "Huh? Brother Xiong Yan, but they…"
"No buts!"
Xiong Yan interrupted him, speaking faster, but his voice was lower and carried a hint of imperceptible urgency:
"If the training… if the training isn't finished, make it up next time! Getting entangled with these… these nonsensical people will only lower our status!"
"Let's go! Right now! Immediately!"
After saying that, he didn't want to stay for another second. He turned around and, almost at a run, walked quickly back the way he came.
The two followers looked at each other, and although they didn't understand what happened, they quickly followed.
"Brother Xiong Yan? Wait for us!" A Bin was completely dumbfounded. He looked at Xiong Yan's back as he practically fled in panic, then at Yuuto, who was still calmly eating hotpot nearby, his mind a complete mess.
But Xiong Yan's status in the academy was much higher than his. He didn't dare to disobey, so he could only glare fiercely at Yuuto and leave a parting shot:
"Joe! If your brain is a bit slow, we can use more 'spurring with love' to urge you."
"But if you continue to hang out with these… these vulgar and savage independent Trainers and tarnish the reputation of our Nanshan Academy Elites…"
He pointed at Yuuto, then at Joe, his tone threatening:
"Then the 'group friendship' between us will truly vanish! You'd better watch yourself!"
After saying that, he also quickly took the yellow-haired boy and purple-haired girl and scurried off after Xiong Yan.
In the blink of an eye, the people who were so aggressive just a moment ago had disappeared.
Only Joe, with a wound on his forehead and a face full of confusion and anxiety, remained with Yuuto and the other two.
The surroundings fell silent.
Only the occasional "crackle" of the wood in the hotpot stove could be heard.
"Wha… what was that!" Misty was the first to break the silence, putting down her hand from her Poké Ball in a huff: "A bunch of bullies who pick on the weak and fear the strong! They sure ran fast!"
"And what's with that weird friendship? You call that friendship?"
--------------Author---------------
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