Chapter 128: Conversation with Professor Oak, Opelucid Academy
“Hello, Professor Oak.”
“Oh, hello there. You must be Cheng Cheng’s companion, right?”
“Yes. My name is Saito Muko.”
“Saito... Are you the little girl from the Saito family? Your father must be Saito Zhi.”
“Professor Oak, you know my father?”
“Of course. Your father is a formidable Dragon-type Pokémon Master. We battled each other years ago. His Hydreigon left a deep impression on me.”
“Professor Oak, do you know where my father’s weaknesses are?”
Muko was extremely excited to hear that Professor Oak had known Saito Zhi in the past.
“Your father has plenty of weaknesses, but I won’t tell you what they are. If you want to defeat him, you should rely on your own strength and beat him head-on. Only then can you truly call yourself a Dragon-type Pokémon Master.”
“All right, Professor Oak. I’ll work hard.”
Muko was not disappointed even though she had failed to learn Saito Zhi’s weaknesses.
“Good. I’ll look forward to the day you become a Dragon-type Pokémon Master.”
“By the way, Cheng Cheng, go ahead and ask your questions.”
“All right, Professor Oak.”
Cheng Cheng paused for a moment, organizing his thoughts.
“Professor Oak, do you remember what happened in Viridian Forest last time? I mean the incident that caused the Pokémon to run wild.”
“Of course I remember. What is it? Have you discovered something?”
“Professor Oak, what happened in Viridian Forest last time has appeared again in the Dragonspiral Mountain Range.”
“Oh? You mean the Pokémon have gone wild again?”
“No, they haven’t. The Pokémon here didn’t lose control. Instead, they joined forces to fight against the arrival of the Dark Ball Monster.”
“The Dark Ball Monster?”
“That’s a name I gave that creature. It’s an incredibly powerful being covered entirely in black. Several extremely powerful Pokémon in the Dragonspiral Mountain Range joined forces, but they still couldn’t defeat it.”
“How can you be certain that what happened where you are is the same as what happened in Viridian Forest?”
“I sensed that the energy fluctuations were identical on both occasions.”
“You’re certain?”
“Yes. I’m absolutely certain that the two energy fluctuations were the same. Professor Oak, do you know whether this Dark Ball Monster also appeared in Viridian Forest?”
“I can’t tell you about that for the time being. Come and see me again after you’ve finished traveling through Unova. I’ll explain everything to you then. By the way, how are things on your end?”
“The Unova League has taken the Dark Ball Monster away.”
“Since the League has already intervened, Cheng Cheng, you should stop concerning yourself with it. When you come here, I’ll explain the whole situation to you.”
“All right, Professor Oak.”
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll end the call for now.”
“All right. Thank you for your help, Professor Oak.”
Professor Oak ended the call.
Since Professor Oak did not wish to discuss the matter for the time being, Cheng Cheng stopped asking questions. Besides, with his current strength, he had no way of getting involved. He had to improve his abilities as quickly as possible.
“Cheng Cheng.”
“What is it, Muko?”
“From your conversation with Professor Oak just now, does that mean you’ve encountered the strange ball from today before?”
“No, I haven’t. However, when I was in Viridian Forest in the Kanto region, I encountered a massive Pokémon rampage. At the time, a burst of energy swept through the entire forest and caused the Pokémon to run wild, plunging all of Viridian City into crisis.”
“At the center of Viridian Forest, a huge crater also formed, much like the one in the Dragonspiral Mountain Range. I sensed the same presence inside it, so I suspect that the Dark Ball Monster may have appeared there as well.”
“The Dark Ball Monster? You gave that thing its name?”
“Yes. Look at it—it’s black all over, like a ball, but it also looks like a monster. So I called it the Dark Ball Monster.”
“Although your name isn’t very impressive, it is quite fitting.”
“All right. Since Mr. Drayden has already begun investigating, there’s no need for us to worry too much.”
“You’re right.”
Cheng Cheng temporarily set the matter aside and stayed at Muko’s house.
That evening, while they were eating, Saito Zhi called Muko and Cheng Cheng over to speak with them.
“Cheng Cheng, Muko, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”
“Uncle Saito, did something happen?”
“No, nothing happened. There’s just a favor I’d like to ask of you.”
“Uncle Saito, please tell us what it is.”
“One of the teachers at the school has taken a few days off. I’d like the two of you to fill in for them during that time.”
“You want us to be teachers?”
“That’s right.”
“But I’ve never been a teacher before. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to teach.”
“You don’t need to deliberately teach them anything in particular. You only need to serve as their teachers for three days and look after them.”
“All right, no problem, Dad. I’ll make sure to take good care of them.”
Cheng Cheng had not even agreed yet when Muko accepted on his behalf. Seeing that Muko had already accepted, Cheng Cheng had no choice but to agree as well.
“All right, Uncle Saito. We’ll do our best.”
“Good. You two don’t need to worry. You’ll only be looking after a few youngsters for three days. You can teach them some knowledge about Pokémon or Pokémon care. I assume neither of you will have any trouble with that, right?”
“No problem.”
Cheng Cheng might not have been capable in other areas, but when it came to Pokémon knowledge and Pokémon care, he was quite skilled.
“Then it’s settled. Remember to come to school tomorrow morning. I’ll take you to the classroom when you arrive.”
Cheng Cheng had not expected to be teaching children so soon, and he was genuinely surprised. Muko, however, seemed extremely excited, so Cheng Cheng accepted the arrangement without further objection. After all, it was only three days of teaching. It was hardly a big deal.
Early the next morning, Cheng Cheng and Muko arrived at Opelucid Academy. This was Cheng Cheng’s second visit to the school. The first time, he had come as a visitor and had been able to relax. This time, however, he had come to serve as a teacher. What a dramatic change.
Saito Zhi then led Cheng Cheng and Muko to a classroom.
“Students, your teacher, Ms. Zhenyan, has taken three days of leave. During that time, Teacher Muko and Teacher Cheng Cheng will be filling in for her. Let’s give them a warm welcome.”
Saito Zhi began applauding, and the students followed suit.
Cheng Cheng and Muko walked into the classroom, both of them feeling somewhat nervous.
“Hello, everyone. My name is Hataki Chengcheng. I hope we’ll get along well over the next three days.”
“Hello, everyone. My name is Saito Muko. I hope we can spend these next three days happily together.”
Muko was more enthusiastic than Cheng Cheng, after all. Most of the teaching would fall to Cheng Cheng, while she was mainly here to have fun.
“All right. I’ll leave the class in your hands.”
With that, Saito Zhi left the classroom. The students all stared at Cheng Cheng and Muko, making the two of them feel somewhat awkward.
“All right, everyone. During these three days, Teacher Muko and I will mainly be discussing Pokémon with you. If there’s anything you’d like to ask, feel free to bring it up. We’ll answer all your questions.”
“That’s right. I used to be a student at Opelucid Academy too, so you can consider yourselves my juniors. If you have any questions, you can come and ask me.”
“For our first lesson, I’ll be explaining the different Pokémon types. If you have any questions while I’m speaking, raise your hands and ask.”
Cheng Cheng prepared to begin the lesson, while Muko stood at the back of the classroom to observe the students.
“At present, the Pokémon types we have discovered include Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Bug, Flying, Ground, Rock, Fighting, Psychic, Ghost, Normal, Dragon, Poison, Steel, Ice, and Dark. In addition, Professor Oak recently discovered the Fairy type. That brings the total number of known Pokémon types to eighteen.”
“The Pokémon world is vast, and there are countless species and individuals. We have already discovered eighteen Pokémon types, and each type possesses its own unique characteristics.”
At this point, Cheng Cheng glanced at the students. Seeing that they were all listening attentively, he was quite pleased. He was beginning to understand the joy of being a teacher.
“Pokémon of every type have their own traits. Take the Dragon-type Pokémon that the students of Opelucid Academy know best, for example. Can anyone tell me about the characteristics of Dragon-type Pokémon?”
As soon as Cheng Cheng finished speaking, more than a dozen students raised their hands. He was delighted to see how eager everyone was to participate. This really was an elite school.
Come to think of it, there ought to be a substitute-teaching fee for these three days, right? A school of this caliber probably paid quite well. He would have to have a serious talk with Uncle Saito.
But first things first—he needed to choose a student to answer the question.
“All right, you there—the fourth student in that row. Please stand and answer.”
Cheng Cheng chose a female student.
“Hello, Teacher. As far as I know, Dragon-type Pokémon are naturally endowed with great strength. Their various attributes are also generally among the highest of all Pokémon types.”
“Very good. Thank you for your answer. Dragon-type Pokémon possess natural advantages in both offense and defense. However, everyone must also pay attention to their weaknesses.”
“First, Dragon-type Pokémon are naturally more irritable than some other Pokémon. Because their strength is greater, they are also more difficult to control. Second, raising Dragon-type Pokémon requires more resources than raising other Pokémon, and this is another point everyone should bear in mind. Dragon-type Pokémon are also more difficult to evolve than other Pokémon, so raising them requires even more time and effort.”
After saying this, Cheng Cheng gave the students some time to absorb the information. Several minutes later, he continued the lesson.
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