In-depth Education, Top Students

Jiang Chuan and the other two turned their heads at the same time to look in the direction from which the sound came.

Then came a panting reply: "Yes...yes! Pidgey, Normal/Flying type, ability...the ability might be Keen Eyesight or Stagger, common moves include Tackle, Sand Shot, and Turbulence..."

"The sound is coming from over there."

Xiaoxia perked up her ears, her sense of justice instantly surging: "That voice... it sounds like they're bullying someone!"

Hanako asked with some concern, "How could there be anyone in this desolate wilderness?"

"Let's go take a look."

Jiang Chuan picked up his bowl and continued eating the hot bean curd sheets from the pot as he walked toward the sound.

Xiaoxia and Huazi exchanged a glance, then quickly picked up their bowls and followed.

After walking a few steps, a thick fog parted.

The sight before them stunned all three of them.

In front of them, on a relatively flat open space, were several brand-new, high-tech treadmills.

A thin boy was desperately running on a treadmill, his face covered in sweat.

Beside him stood three tall, arrogant teenagers dressed in matching uniforms.

The leader was a guy with red, spiky hair, who was standing with his arms crossed, glaring at the boy on the treadmill with a displeased expression.

"Xiao Chun! You're too slow! You can't even remember the knowledge! What other potential characteristics does Bobo have? Tell me!"

"And...and there's also a hidden trait, 'Strong Pectoral Muscles'!" the boy named Xiaochun answered breathlessly, his steps faltering.

"What are the common moves of the evolved Pidgeotto? Tell me! Don't stop running!" another blond-haired boy urged, even reaching out to speed up the treadmill.

"Pidgeotto... its moves include Quick Attack, Wing Attack, and Blow Away... Ah!"

The treadmill suddenly sped up, and Xiao Chun almost fell because she lost her balance. She could only keep up by frantically twisting her legs.

The third purple-haired girl sneered as she wrote something down: "Reaction speed C-, knowledge mastery B-, physical fitness D... Xiao Chun, you're going to drag our 'Elite Reserve Group' down like this."

【Ding! 】

The system notification sounded crisply in Jiang Chuan's mind.

[Trigger Quest: Help Xiaochun find the right path as a trainer, use Pokémon training to defeat the academic prodigy—the Elite Prodigy—and shatter his arrogance.]

[Quest Rewards: Premium Miracle Seed - Increases the power of Grass-type moves by 40% when held by a Pokémon; 3 Basic Rare Candies]

Jiang Chuan chewed on some bean curd skin while checking the newly popped-up task panel.

Oh?

A privileged child with excellent education?

That's the arrogant young lady from the original story who always had the word "prodigy" on her lips.

Tongzi, are you sure you can break down her pride just by using Pokémon battles to train her?

Why not resort to more direct corporal punishment?

Jiang Chuan chuckled inwardly, but his face remained expressionless as he slowly picked up another piece of meat.

At that moment, Hanako gently tugged at his sleeve, leaned closer, and whispered:

"Jiang Chuan, look at the uniforms these people are wearing... Don't they look a lot like the 'Nanzan Noble Academy' students who challenged you when you set up your arena in Tokiwa City?"

After Hanako reminded him, Jiangchuan also noticed it.

The uniform embroidered with the noble's emblem was indeed exactly the same as those guys who had called themselves "academic elites" before.

"Hey! You guys!"

Before Jiang Chuan could speak, Xiao Xia beside him couldn't stand it anymore.

Full of a sense of justice, she rushed out with a bowl still floating with chili oil and a slice of beef, and stood between the treadmill and the three tall students.

"What are you doing? Don't bully your classmates!"

Xiaoxia's eyebrows were raised, her voice was clear and bright, and she exuded a powerful aura.

Bin, with his red-haired, spiky hair, turned his head away unhappily after being interrupted.

Upon seeing that she was a pretty girl dressed in ordinary travel clothes and carrying a hot pot bowl, a look of contempt immediately appeared on his face.

"Bullying? You ignorant country bumpkin."

Ah Bin chuckled and pointed at Xiao Chun on the treadmill:

"This isn't bullying! This is 'encouragement through love'! It's pushing him to improve! What do you wandering ascetics know about the training methods of our 'elite reserve group'?"

As he spoke, he deliberately pressed the speed-up button on the treadmill.

The treadmill suddenly accelerated!

"Whoa!" Xiao Chun cried out in surprise, her steps completely faltering, and her body suddenly lunged forward!

boom!

He fell solidly off the treadmill, rolling twice on the ground before stopping.

His forehead and knees were scraped and bleeding, and his cheeks were rubbed red, making him look quite disheveled.

"What love! What whip! Stop it!"

Xiaoxia was furious. She quickly stuffed the slice of beef from her bowl into her mouth, chewed twice, swallowed, and raised her voice:

"That classmate got all bruised and battered! Isn't that bullying?"

"cut."

Ah Bin turned around completely, put his hands in his pockets, and looked down at Xiaoxia, as well as Jiang Chuan and Hua Zi who were walking slowly behind him.

His gaze swept over the three men's ordinary clothes and the hot pot bowl Jiang Chuan was holding, and the look of disgust on his face became even more obvious.

"No, who are you? Where are you from?"

Ah Bin waved his hand impatiently, as if shooing away flies:

"Not only did they interrupt our precious training time, but they even dared to...eat hot pot in our Nanshan Noble Academy's advanced mountain training ground?"

He pointed at the bright red soup base in Jiang Chuan's bowl, with an expression that said, "Are you guys out of your minds?"

"Huh? What, your school?"

Xiaoxia was taken aback by his words and subconsciously turned her head to look around.

Everything was a vast expanse of white, nothing but fog.

What schools are there?

Hanako blinked in confusion and looked at Jiangchuan.

Just then, a clear and melodious electronic notification sound seemed to come from all directions:

The specialized training course on foggy environments has concluded.

Please return to your dormitories in an orderly manner.

[Tomorrow's Course Preview: Extreme Weather Adaptability Training - Combat and Survival in the Snow.]

As the notification sound rang out, the surrounding thick fog seemed to be controlled by an invisible hand, and began to rapidly thin and dissipate.

It's like... turning off a fog-making machine.

The scene before my eyes gradually became clear.

Where they were located was not some desolate wilderness!

This is a meticulously maintained and extremely spacious mountain platform.

Below the platform, looking down the hillside, the thick fog dissipated, revealing vast and magnificent architectural complexes!

The teaching buildings blend Gothic and modern styles, the towering clock tower, the glass-domed gymnasium, the dormitory area that resembles a manor...

A vast and incredibly luxurious academy suddenly appeared before them!

At the academy's main gate, the gilded characters "Nanshan Noble Pokémon Training Academy" gleamed in the dissipating mist.

The three of them had actually unknowingly stumbled into the training ground of this top-tier academy renowned throughout the Kanto region!

Jiang Chuan raised an eyebrow.

It turned out to be the case.

No wonder the fog rose so strangely and dissipated so suddenly.

It turns out it was a teaching prop from someone else's college.

"See that? You country bumpkin!"

Ah 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 popped out of nowhere aren't even worthy of carrying our shoes!"

"It's all your fault!"

He grew increasingly agitated as he spoke, and his anger turned to Jiang Chuan:

"Today's fog training session was interrupted, Xiao Chun didn't complete his training, and the data wasn't fully recorded! This will affect our group's score!"

"What do you suggest we do to compensate them?"

The other two students, a boy and a girl, also crossed their arms and glared coldly at Jiang Chuan and his two companions, looking like they were there to interrogate them.

Next to the treadmill, Xiao Chun had already gotten up on her own.

Despite his injuries, he quickly ran between Ah Bin and Jiang Chuan, bowing repeatedly.

"I'm so sorry! Brother Bin, it's all my fault! I didn't master the knowledge well, and my physical strength is too poor, which is why I dragged everyone down!"

He then turned to Jiang Chuan and the others, his eyes showing some timidity, but he still tried to straighten his thin back:

"Well... these travelers didn't do it on purpose, they were probably just lost... If anyone's to blame, it's me! Please stop blaming them!"

"Xiao Chun! Get out of my way!" Ah Bin shoved him aside, angrily took a few steps closer to Jiang Chuan, and waved his fist:

"If I don't teach you a lesson today, you won't know the rules of Nanshan College!"

Judging from his posture, it seemed like he wanted to take action directly.

Jiang Chuan held the bowl still, without even lifting his eyelids, and gently blew on the scalding hot soup inside.

Pikachu beside him didn't seem to care at all, and just curiously looked at the treadmill.

"Bin! Why isn't your group finished yet? It's been five minutes since the fog cleared!" Just then, a somewhat familiar, disgruntled young male voice came from the corner where the platform connected to the main road in the distance.

Upon hearing the voice, Ah Bin's anger instantly turned into respect, and he quickly jogged over to greet it.

"Brother Xiong Yan! What brings you here?"

Around the corner, a handsome young man, dressed in a more refined dark blue uniform with a silver-trimmed trench coat and a perfectly styled haircut, walked over with two followers, his brows furrowed.

Ah Bin ran up to Xiong Yan, pointed towards Jiang Chuan, and loudly complained:

"Brother Xiong Yan, it's because Xiao Chun is too stupid! He always fails to finish training! And today, three clueless troublemakers showed up! Look, they're even eating hot pot on our training field! It's an insult to the academy!"

"What kind of bastard dares to cause trouble at our Nanshan Noble Academy?"

Xiong Yan's face darkened, and following the direction Ah Bin pointed, he looked up with his usual arrogant expression.

Then, his gaze met Jiang Chuan's, who was also lazily glancing over.

Eyes facing each other.

The arrogant "elite" expression on Yu Yan's face froze instantly.

Then, as if a freeze-frame had been pressed, the reaction quickly turned to astonishment and disbelief, followed by... a hint of barely concealed panic and shame.

His harsh words, which he hadn't finished saying, were choked back down in his throat.

His lips even twitched involuntarily.

"Brother Xiong Yan? That's the kid with the bowl! He's so ill-mannered! Should we teach him a lesson right now?" Ah Bin didn't notice Xiong Yan's change in expression and was still fanning the flames, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

The blond-haired man and the purple-haired girl behind him were also eager to try.

"Shut up!"

Xiong Yan suddenly came to his senses, his face turning red and white in turns, and his voice even changed tone.

He used almost all his strength to maintain his composure, turned his head away from Jiang Chuan, and whispered a reprimand to Abin:

"W-What are you saying? We are students of a prestigious academy! We have received the finest education!"

"How could you... how could you be like those barbaric, uncouth wandering ascetic sects, always thinking about fighting?"

Ah Bin was stunned by the scolding: "Huh? Brother Xiong Yan, but they..."

"There's no 'but' about it!"

Takehiko interrupted him, speaking faster but in an even lower voice, with a barely perceptible urgency:

"Training...if the training isn't finished, we'll make it up next time! Getting entangled with these...these nonsensical people will only lower our standards!"

"Let's go! Immediately! Right now!"

After saying that, he didn't want to stay a moment longer. He turned around and walked quickly back the way he came, almost as if he were fleeing.

The two henchmen looked at each other, not understanding what had happened, but quickly followed.

"Brother Xiong Yan? Wait for us!" Ah Bin was completely dumbfounded. He looked at Xiong Yan's almost fleeing figure, and then at Jiang Chuan, who was still calmly eating hot pot not far away. His mind was a complete mess.

But Xiong Yan held a much higher position in the academy, and he dared not disobey. He could only glare fiercely at Jiang Chuan and utter a remark:

"Xiao Chun! You're a little slow-witted, but we can use more 'loving encouragement' to motivate you."

"But if you continue to associate with these... these crude and barbaric cultivation sects, tarnishing the reputation of our Nanshan Academy's elite..."

He pointed at Jiang Chuan, then at Xiao Chun, his tone threatening:

"Then our 'team friendship' is truly over! You'd better watch out!"

After saying that, he quickly led the blond-haired man and the purple-haired girl, and ran away in the direction of Yu Yan.

In the blink of an eye, the group of people who had been so aggressive just moments before had vanished without a trace.

Only Xiao Chun, with a wound on his forehead, looking bewildered and uneasy, and Jiang Chuan, holding a bowl, remained.

It was quiet all around.

The only sound was the occasional crackling of the leftover wood in the hot pot stove.

"Wh...what is this?!" Xiaoxia broke the silence first, angrily putting down her hand that was touching the Poké Ball. "A bunch of bullies who pick on the weak and fear the strong! But they run away fast!"

"And what kind of weird friendship is this? You call this friendship?"