Elf: Re-employment of retired champion of Padiya

Chapter 780 Ye Ci's Interception Plan

We were supposed to go to Baiyang Town, but there were still three or four days before we were supposed to leave.

During this period, Luo Mu's life rhythm did not change drastically despite the upcoming departure.

At most, he would occasionally comfort himself, based on his conversation with Shizuka, that Ash and his friends had just set off for Poplar Town.

Based on their journey, which included getting lost, the three wizards from Team Rocket causing trouble, and encountering various other events, we can make some guesses.

It's possible that after all the delays along the way, it might take them ten days to half a month to reach Baiyang Town smoothly.

In that case, we could make a perfect and safe retreat. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
—After all, it's common knowledge that the plot of a theatrical version won't start on its own if the main character isn't present.

But despite his optimism, Luo Mu made all the necessary preparations.

First, they proactively increased the training intensity for the X-ray cats to ensure they were always ready to compete in "peak matches".

At the same time, he specially sought out the best tailor in Pingdie Town to make a small bag that could be carried close to the body, with the only requirement being that the bag be kept safe when someone else was around.

Then, in front of Zhihui and the others, they "robbed" all the props in the display case and stuffed them all in.

At a glance, the empty items in the display case were all things that Luo Mu had collected over the past year—items that could effectively enhance a Pokémon's real-time combat power in battle.

He even took the Zygarde Cores that were supposed to stay on the farm, plundering a lot of cells to use as projectile weapons.

Whether it's for self-defense or to be truly "thrown" by Swampert, Dragonite, and Mimikyu, it's all fine.

If it weren't for that sudden inspiration, Luo Mu wouldn't have known that the farm had such high-performance materials and tools.

Those guys from Team Flare have absolutely no idea how to properly use Zygarde cells!

In the animation, they collected so many cells, only to use them to track the location of the softies and Z2.

If used as a throwing weapon or armor, wouldn't it be more versatile than the ultimate weapon or the Zygarde statue, which are difficult to create even with great effort?

However, being preoccupied with making big moves without paying attention to basic infrastructure is a common problem among most villains in the Pokémon world.

Staring blankly at Luo Mu, who was muttering something like "With Victini's help, there's no need to worry about stamina. Theoretically, as long as your hand speed is fast enough, you can unleash a Z-Move in a few seconds," while looting all the items and planning to fill them with various recovery drugs later.

A terrifying thought popped into the minds of the Pokémon watching.

Is this the end of the world?
To know.

Normally, Luo Mu is too lazy to bring these things when he goes out. At most, he will just carry a Taijing Bead with him to use when teaching.

He rarely even carries the keystone with him.

Although Luo Mu gives off a stable vibe in Pokémon terms, that only applies when something really happens; otherwise, he's quite carefree.

The last time he was fully armed was in the Hoenn region, where he clashed with three legendary Pokémon from the sea, land, and air.

Shiny Rayquaza, Hoenn Rayquaza, Groudon (who isn't very bright), and Kyogre.

It can be said that they played two rounds of peak matches in a row.

So, this time...?

Thinking of this, even Zhihui Xing's eyes sharpened.

Although it didn't understand why Luo Mu was able to predict the future to this extent, that didn't matter.

All it knew was that another tough battle seemed to be brewing.

As the logistics hub of the entire farm, I have the responsibility of overseeing everything. Even if my combat strength is meager, I must do the best in logistical work.

Zhihui Xing silently began to prepare.

Meanwhile, the Queen of the Lace Crown, who had taken all this in, also had a thoughtful expression on her face.

On the morning of November 27th.

After the weekend, today should have been a workday, and Luo Mu should have gone to Orange Academy to teach.

But even when the clock in the living room, which happened to be hanging above the head of the large, quietly lying figure of the Iron Warrior, ticked its hands and pointed to the number "9," Luo Mu showed no intention of moving.

Zhihui, who was doing his routine house cleaning with a pair of mice, felt something was off and couldn't help but ask.

And Luo Mu's answer was—

"They went out for practical training on campus, so I'm all alone now."

"It's good to be busy, that way I don't have to go to class."

Luo Mu grinned, looking quite pleased.

After I assigned that final assignment, the students didn't start working on it immediately. Instead, they studied with Leihe for a while before setting off.

This is clearly the right choice.

Unlike the conspicuous sealing stakes in the game that stand there blatantly, exuding an aura of "come and pull me out!"

The sealing stakes scattered across the real world might be submerged at the bottom of a lake, deep within a collapsed cave, or even inside a tomb chosen by a family with a penchant for the bizarre.

Therefore, finding all the sealing stakes should be considered a rather difficult task.

Like the sealing stake that the Uri siblings found in the waterfall before, it was purely because they were incredibly lucky and stumbled upon Rattata by sheer chance.

Luo Mu bailed Lei He out for this reason, using her as a tool to save himself trouble.

He could draw the coordinates of all 32 sealing stakes on the map without pausing at all.

But that would contradict his original intention in setting up this final exam.

Moreover.

The stakes that would normally have required him to painstakingly travel throughout the entire Padiya region to remove can now be handed over to Papa and his team.

Imagine that right now, Pipa and the others are probably wearing hiking gear and wandering around in some deep forest, led by Reho.

Luo Mu felt that there were some advantages to being a teacher.

As for Nemo...

This girl has been quite busy lately.

With the previous Champion Test livestream and the added boost from this Pokémon World Championship exhibition match, Nemo's popularity seems to be growing quite rapidly among both trainers and non-trainers in the Padilla region.

Ye Ci simply struck while the iron was hot and arranged some more public competitions for her.

Nemo herself was quite happy, after all, as long as there were battles, that was enough for her, and no other hardship mattered.

But Luo Mu thought it was a different story.

Bored, Luo Mu idly scrolled through the tablet computer that had been confiscated from Ergui Peng. His gaze fell on a flashing screen in a live stream that had just been pushed out not long ago, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Is the plan to train Nemo to become a star trainer like Leon, who possesses both strength and popularity?"

He muttered something, his expression somewhat intriguing.

I never expected that someone as shrewd as Ye Ci would make such a wrong decision. Luo Mu, a discerning person, could see right through Ye Ci's scheme.

They simply wanted to imitate the practices of the Galar region.

Ye Ci was not pursuing something as superficial as the commercial value of Dan Di.

After all, compared to the Galar region, the Padiya region is not only unexpectedly wealthy, but also far superior in terms of natural resources, making it far better than the Galar region, which is worried about energy problems a thousand years from now.

Of course, this is on the premise that the Paradox Pokémon in the Padia Crater do not escape to the outside world and drastically alter the environment through their ability to destroy the ecosystem.

However, it is precisely because of this strong foundation that Ye Ci, as the president of an emerging regional alliance, took the initiative to make this move.

What is the value of Dante to the Galarian region?
A champion's cape covered in advertisements and sponsorships?

It's not like that, or rather, it's not just like that.

Sponsorship is extra income, a way for Dante to repay the kindness he showed to his discoverer, Loz.

His true value to the Galar region lies in his role as a "spiritual symbol and role model"!
Why is the overall strength of trainers in the "barren" Galar region so great, and why is there a constant stream of new trainers that makes Yaji extremely envious?

The answer is that there is a champion named Leon in the Galar region.

He is a role model for many trainers, a target they want to challenge, and a top-tier trainer who has never been defeated in official battles within the Galar region. If nothing unexpected happens, he will remain undefeated for a long time to come.

It's hard to say about their strength, but in terms of fame alone, Dan is even more famous than Crimson and Azure, who have become "urban legends".

Even in Pokémon Journeys, most trainers, not just those in the Galar region, know Leon and consider him a target they want to challenge.

Among them are even gym leaders from the Carlos region, like Korne.

This is the result of Rose's successful promotion of the Pokémon World Championships, which led to Leon winning the first championship.

That not only brought enormous commercial wealth to the Galar region, but also probably attracted a large number of trainers who came because of Leon's reputation.

Even if only one-tenth of them were absorbed into the Galar Alliance, it would greatly enhance the overall strength of the Galar Alliance.

What Ye Ci values ​​is the enormous potential behind this fame.

In other words.

She had already seen through Loz's plans, which included the traits of a "capitalist" and a "cunning old fox," and that he wanted to get a share of the pie, or even steal it from her!

The Pokémon World Championships, which Rose painstakingly organized by contacting other leagues, was all for the purpose of further expanding Leon's influence and fame, wasn't it?
If that's the case, why can't I take this opportunity to try and realize my own ideas?
Luo Mu thought that Ci probably had this in mind.

But why does Luo Mu think that Ye Ci made the wrong decision?
—That's because this year's Pokémon World Championships are packed with top players.

The first Pokémon World Championship was as simple as a journey, and with only two champion-level trainers, Lance and Leon, competing for the title, the only ones who benefited from the fame were Leon and the Galar League.

No matter which region Ash moves to, most trainers refer to Leon as their target.

On the contrary, Lance, the runner-up of the Kanto League and the first Pokémon World Championship, is hardly ever mentioned by passersby.

The idea that friendship comes first and competition second is utter nonsense.

The runner-up doesn't deserve to be remembered; only the champion can conquer everything.

Nemo has a great foundation and high potential; she might very well reach the level of Dan Di in the future.

But that's only in the future.

Luo Mu had long ago judged that she was at best close to herself a year ago, that is, the strength of a champion goalkeeper.

But now?

Aside from Sinnoh, Kalos, and the yet-to-be-established Alola League, who remained silent.

Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Unova, Galar, and Padiya all got involved.

There are countless powerful trainers in the various leagues, and the intensity of the competition for rankings is far greater than that of the first season on the journey.

And judging from Zhu Lan's previous remarks, she seemed to really want to get involved.

Now is no longer the time to set your sights on first place and try to steal the spot.

Given the intensity of the competition for rankings, which may even surpass the intensity of the second Pokémon World Championships where Alain was also there to make up the numbers.

The immediate priority for the Padiya region is to secure a spot in the final eight-masters elimination tournament, or they will suffer a huge loss of face.

Originally, Luo Mu's goal for Nemo was simply to help her secure a spot in the competition for the first time.

Ye Ci is quite something; now she's thinking about that kind of thing.

Trying to steal it?

Let's focus on securing a spot in the quarterfinals first!

Of course, Luo Mu's considerations were all based on Ye Ci's final plan, which was somewhat unrealistic for Padia at present.

From the perspective of what we gained in the process.

Nemo was able to enjoy the fight and also boosted her fame.

Yorki could further promote the Pokémon battle competition atmosphere in the Padilla region, and the talent-hungry Yorki might even be able to discover some promising talents because of Nemo's popularity.

Although the victory wasn't huge, it was still mostly beneficial to the Padiya region.

As for anything more, Luo Mu felt that Ye Ci shouldn't ask for too much.

That's really not realistic.

Luo Mu's thoughts continued until the live battle broadcast on the tablet ended.

Not surprisingly.

Nemo emerged victorious in this battle once again.

Rather, it would be strange if she didn't win.

Only by carefully calculating will you discover something truly terrifying.

To what extent has the Padiya region suffered a brain drain and talent shortage?
This is evident from the fact that the senior members are still in the position of the Four Heavenly Kings and have no way of retiring.

No wonder Ci was so anxious; as soon as he saw an opportunity, he acted without thinking twice.

Whether it's the Elite Four or the few champion-level trainers, apart from Ye Ci and Luo Mu themselves, there are practically no people in the Padia region who can match Nemo in a single blow.

"Thank goodness I won't be conscripted!"

Luo Mu closed the tablet, just about to burst out laughing.

But when he subconsciously thought about what he would have to go through in a few days, he immediately stopped smiling.

Well, maybe I'm not as carefree as Nemo.

—After all, the large number of matches arranged for her was not a punishment, but a complete reward.

(End of this chapter)