Chapter Thirty: Saito Muko

“Now, both sides, please prepare. The battle begins.”

“Let me think, what moves does Mudkip have? It seems Water Gun is one.”

“Mudkip, use Water Gun.”

“Too slow, Beldum, dodge it.”

“Beldum, use Psychic.”

Mudkip was controlled by Beldum.

“Throw Mudkip over here.”

Beldum tossed Mudkip high above itself.

“Use Take Down.”

The force of Mudkip’s rapid fall, combined with Beldum’s collision, caused Mudkip to immediately lose its fighting ability.

“Mudkip is unable to battle. The winner of this match is Beldum.”

The children present were all stunned, even the teacher acting as referee was quite surprised. No one expected Cheng Cheng to win so quickly.

“How can you be this strong?”

“It’s not that I’m too strong; it’s that you’re too weak. You haven’t applied your knowledge about Pokémon to battles. It’s impossible to just follow the textbook. There are countless variations in a battle; different Pokémon and different opponents require different tactics. Adaptability is extremely important.”

“Teacher, I’d like another battle.”

“All right. Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Very well. Is there any student who would like to challenge him?”

The students fell silent; no one was willing to step forward. Cheng Cheng’s fast-paced style left them unsure how to respond.

“Teacher, I’ll do it.”

A voice came from the crowd—it was a girl.

Cheng Cheng recognized her. She possessed a quality similar to his own: a lack of seriousness in class. As someone who, like him, never paid much attention during lessons, Cheng Cheng knew something about her. Her name was Saito Muko, apparently not from the Hoenn region, a year younger than Cheng Cheng, and among the older students in the school.

“Pick a Pokémon!”

Saito Muko casually grabbed a Poké Ball and walked onto the battle platform.

“Let’s have a good match. Come forth!”

A Torchic appeared between the two, and data about it flashed before Cheng Cheng’s eyes.

Pokémon: Torchic
Type: Fire
Level: 15
Grade: Light Green
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Blaze
Moves: Scratch, Growl, Focus Energy, Ember

Another starter. Though Fire-type is at a disadvantage for me, Cheng Cheng was not so easily defeated.

“We’ll start. Torchic, use Focus Energy!”

“Beldum, use Psychic to disrupt it.”

Torchic was about to use Focus Energy but was interrupted by Beldum’s attack.

“Beldum, use Psychic to throw Torchic up, then use Take Down.”

“You think I’ll fall for the same trick? Torchic, use Ember while in the air.”

“Beldum, dodge now!”

Beldum managed to avoid the attack, but was still singed by the Ember.

“Beldum, use Metal Sound.”

Beldum emitted a harsh noise, making Torchic uncomfortable.

“Now, Beldum, use Boost.”

Beldum’s boost quickly brought it close to Torchic.

“Now, use Tackle.”

Torchic was knocked down.

“Use Psychic to lift it, then throw it on the ground.”

Torchic was badly injured and unable to move.

“Hang in there, Torchic!”

At that moment, Torchic began to glow white—a sign of evolution.

What a joke! Cheng Cheng felt a bit annoyed; a single shout prompted an evolution, wasn’t this a protagonist’s privilege? He was speechless, but there was nothing he could do. Beldum was nowhere near its own time to evolve.

Torchic evolved into Combusken, and its injuries recovered somewhat.

“We’re coming, Combusken!”

“Charge in and use Ember!”

“Beldum, use Psychic.”

Beldum’s psychic power altered the direction of Ember, missing its target.

“Combusken, rush in and use Peck!”

“Beldum, use Tackle.”

Just as the two were about to collide, Combusken changed its move.

“Ember!”

Unexpectedly, Combusken used Ember again, hitting Beldum.

“Again, Peck!”

Beldum was struck and lost its fighting ability.

“Beldum is unable to battle. The winner is Combusken.”

“Well? I won.”

“If Torchic hadn’t suddenly evolved into Combusken, my Beldum would have won long ago,” Cheng Cheng protested.

“Hmph, I won anyway. No matter what, the victory is mine.”

“Fine, let’s count it as your win.”

Cheng Cheng recalled Beldum and returned the Poké Ball to its place.

Although Cheng Cheng felt a bit regretful, he had once again encountered a disadvantageous match-up, and his opponent’s combat skills rivaled his own. Clearly, she was a hands-on type as well! Cheng Cheng began to feel intrigued by this girl named Saito Muko.

The following morning’s class was on Pokémon food and Pokéblock making. The teacher required everyone to prepare a Pokémon food according to previously taught methods.

This time, the teacher brought out a Mudkip, also light green. Cheng Cheng wondered just how many starters this school had.

This lesson required two people to cooperate and produce Pokémon food, which would be scored based on Mudkip’s preference.

Cheng Cheng walked to an empty workstation; he still had no partner. He thought, perhaps no one wanted to make Pokémon food with someone who slept through every class! But fortunately, there was someone similar in the class—Saito Muko.

“Hey, why are you teaming up with me?”

“As a noble lady, I found you pitiful all alone, so I decided to partner with you. Don’t drag me down.”

“No problem.”

“This time, I’ll direct, and you’ll do the work.”

“What kind of berry are you planning to use?”

“Mudkip is a Water-type Pokémon, so Water-type fruits would be best. Let’s use Golden Grapes!”

“Golden Grapes are Water-type fruit? Where did that classification come from? How come I’ve never heard of it?”

“I invented it myself,” Saito Muko replied proudly.

“Whatever, if you want to use Golden Grapes, let’s try it.”

Cheng Cheng took out Pokémon flour, added water, mixed it into a batter, and then added some Pokémon-specific additives. He set it aside to ferment.

Next, he prepared to juice the Golden Grapes.

“Wait, are you just going to juice them like that?”

“How else?”

“The skin and seeds of Golden Grapes are bitter, so you must remove all skin and seeds, leaving only the pulp. That way, the food won’t taste bitter.”

“Oh! I didn’t know that.”

“Didn’t you listen in class?”

“You did?” Cheng Cheng retorted.

“I didn’t either, but I often make Pokémon food, so I know these things.”

Cheng Cheng followed Muko’s method, peeling and seeding the Golden Grapes, then juicing them and blending the juice with the flour mixture. After stirring evenly, he shaped it into blocks and prepared to bake them.

“Wait.”

“What now, noble lady?”

His use of ‘noble lady’ seemed to please Muko.

“Mudkip is a Water-type Pokémon; if the food is baked, it won’t like it. We need to steam or boil it.”

“Then I’ll steam it?” Cheng Cheng asked tentatively.

“Fine, let’s steam it.”

Cheng Cheng placed the Pokémon food in the steamer, steamed it for ten minutes, and the food was ready.

“Wait, we have to let it cool completely. Mudkip doesn’t like things that are too hot.”

Cheng Cheng put the food on a board to cool.

“Is it ready now?”

“Not yet, one last step. Spray some leftover Golden Grape juice on top.”

Cheng Cheng filled a spray bottle with juice and sprayed it evenly on the Pokémon food.

“Now it’s time to taste it.”

“How about you try it first?”

“I won’t.”

With no other option, Cheng Cheng took a piece, tasted it, and found it sweet and tangy, soft and pleasant in the mouth. He was confident Mudkip would like it.

“It’s really good. You should try some.”

“No need. If you like it, Mudkip should too. All right, I’ll take it up.”

“You…” Cheng Cheng started to speak, but Muko had already carried the food to the front.

Mudkip ate the food happily, and both Cheng Cheng and Muko received high marks. However, for some unknown reason, Muko spoke with the teacher and Cheng Cheng’s score was a little lower.

But Cheng Cheng didn’t mind. He found Muko quite interesting.

In the courses that followed, Cheng Cheng mostly partnered with Muko, earning high evaluations. His school life became smooth once again.