Pokémon: Trainers Returning from Monster Hunter

Chapter 123 You mean to have a legendary Pokémon as the examiner?

The next day.

When Oreki woke up and looked at the room full of Pokémon, he felt exhausted.

It rained for most of the night yesterday, and the big butterfly didn't go back to the tree. Even if it hadn't rained, the cricket probably wouldn't have stayed outside.

A large red dog was lying at the bedroom door, and another small red dog was lying on the wooden floor at the foot of the bed. The little blacksmith was fast asleep, hugging his hammer and snuggling close to Growlithe. Gardevoir was sitting cross-legged against the side of the bed, and Tirion was sleeping in a "spread-eagle" position on the bed. Butterfree and Speaker Krookie were lying on the two cabinets respectively.

There were only four Pokémon, but three more somehow appeared in the house.

Oreki was helpless.

If it weren't for signing a professional consultant contract with Daigo and receiving a significant salary increase, he really wouldn't have dared to take in Speaker Squirrel and Guleton again.

Fortunately, like Butterfly, Speaker Cricket has a small appetite, so given Leighton's listless appearance, it probably doesn't consume much energy and doesn't eat much.

We can still afford to raise them.

The only problem is that the house feels a bit cramped.

Looking at the cramped bedroom, Oreki couldn't help but think of Rokuran's large villa.

The yard was several times larger than his detached house, and the interior, whether it was the living room, kitchen, or bedroom, was much larger than his.

"We need to find a way to move to a bigger villa."

Oreki muttered to himself.

He met with Gadriya the day before yesterday. Gadriya's superpowers are becoming more and more effective. He is about to win his bet with Lan. He wonders if it would be too outrageous to ask for a villa as a condition.

"Wouldn't that mean he's just living off a woman?"

"Gah?"

Is there anything wrong with being a kept man?

Outside, Guleton replied with his eyes closed.

With its power restored, it is now able to use the abilities of legendary Pokémon to convey the meaning of language to humans.

"I'm not like you; I'm a man with great ambitions!"

Oreki sat up, his voice filled with fervor and passion.

He's a man destined to be a champion!

A "champion man" in every sense of the word!

How could I possibly give up the initiative and stop at just being a kept man?

"Gah!"

Boring.

Hearing such a comment, Oreki was displeased and immediately said, "You bastard, what kind of job is it to lie at the bedroom door and guard the door? You're not guarding the bedroom door, and it's stopped raining outside, so get out there!"

"Gah!"

He was getting anxious.

Having said that, Gu Leton, too lazy to argue further, yawned and staggered downstairs.

"Tsk—"

Oreki smacked his lips secretly.

"It seems that the reverse psychology tactic only works on that idiot lady, Cattleya. Guleton isn't falling for it."

After the conversation, the Pokémon in the room gradually woke up.

Snorlax immediately invited Gardevoir to battle, and Gardevoir naturally accepted. Training on an empty stomach every morning was its daily routine, except—

Before leaving, it glanced discreetly at Butterfly, who was spying on it from the cabinet.

Why does it feel like there's going to be another vinegar jar in the house from now on?

Currently, the only Pokémon in my house that I can't tell the gender of, besides the big red dog, is the Krillin, which is male.

It seems to be a bully that admires strength and is eager to fight, so Butterfree is definitely not one of the creatures it invites to battle.

This means that unless Butterfree gets stronger, it will forever be stuck watching Krillin battle and train with other Pokémon of the opposite sex.

Shaking its head, Gardevoir teleported away.

Anyway, as long as it doesn't prevent it from becoming stronger, then it's none of its business.

It's already getting trainers to take sparring a little more seriously, which means that if it continues to work hard, it will definitely be able to have a great battle with the trainer.

Surpassing the trainers is just around the corner!

"Eee—"

On the wardrobe, the butterfly's antennae drooped as it watched the cricket fly out the window without looking back.

They won't even look at me?

No!

I need to work hard to become stronger!

If a speaker can do it, so can I!

The butterfly flapped its wings and flew away following the speaker cricket.

"The power of love—"

Oreki sighed softly.

Nearby, the keen-eared Tilley seemed to have triggered some keyword, and her ears suddenly perked up.

However, it was the curious Growlithe who spoke first.

"Woof?"

What is love?

Oreki waved his hand dismissively, "This is none of your business. Wake up your little blacksmith sister."

What good is it for a little puppy to understand "love"?

Who knew?

Suddenly, Tiremy leaped over Growlithe and whispered something to it.

Growlithe suddenly realized.

Got it, got it.

Love is the feeling we have for our trainers.

It turned out to be the case.

No wonder the trainer exclaimed, he must have sensed our feelings for him!

Oreki:? ?

You silly cat, you're not even going to act anymore, are you?

Don't corrupt the puppy!

It was lunchtime, and the sun was high in the sky.

The rare sunny days during the rainy season only make the environment more humid and hot.

Just as Oreki stepped out of his office to go eat, a familiar voice called out from his right.

"Oriki, wait a minute!"

Turn your head.

Director Grand ran over, covered in sweat.

"What's wrong, Director?"

Seeing the other person's appearance, Oreki felt inexplicably wary.

The last time someone disturbed his lunch break, he had to cover a class for them.

But then I thought about it, and now that the courses are all over and everyone is busy with final exams, it definitely won't be a substitute teacher anymore.

"Oriki, I'm so sorry, Ms. Mu Hui has to go back to her hometown due to an urgent matter. The third-year battle class exam that starts this afternoon will be missing a proctor."

Never mind what I said.

He broke off a piece of wood and pressed it to his forehead.

Good news: It's not a substitute teacher.

Bad news: Substitute proctor!

He knew that the proctors for the academy's combat exams weren't like those for pure theory classes where they could just wander around the classroom; instead, they had to engage in combat with each student individually and then evaluate and score the performance based on the results.

Although proctors can borrow Pokémon from the academy in addition to their own, the sheer frequency of battles means the academy doesn't have enough Pokémon available for the exams.

As a result, the entire battle assessment will take longer, often requiring one and a half to two days.

To ensure consistency in scoring, the assessment must be conducted by a single teacher.

In Oreki's view, this was not so much a test for students, but rather a test for teachers.

"Director, you know, I—"

"Add more money!"

"Um?"

Oreki was stunned. They charge extra for this?

"You're now a Level 2 Researcher, and your students gave you very high marks in the end-of-term faculty satisfaction survey. Therefore, the college has decided to increase your monthly salary by 100,000 starting in the second semester!"

Grange lowered his voice, speaking mysteriously.

"Don't make a fuss. We were supposed to give you an official notification during the summer vacation."

"Director, as you know, I've always been very skilled in combat, and exams and evaluations are a piece of cake for me."

Oreki spoke with righteous indignation.

"As expected of the person I had high hopes for."

Grand was pleased and took the opportunity to explain the assessment content and evaluation standards.

As Oreki listened, he suddenly realized that he had been presumptuous.

This assessment was even more complicated than he had anticipated!

Before each assessment, third-year students are required to choose a keyword. For example, the keyword for the graduation exam at the beginning of the year is "Ability," which focuses on testing students' understanding and application of Pokémon abilities.

The keyword that Mu Hui chose this time is "combination technique," which is said to be influenced by Oreki's lesson.

"Wait a minute, Director," he interrupted. "Since you've put me in charge of this final exam, shouldn't I also decide the assessment content?"

"this----"

Grand hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"It's not impossible, but the keyword 'combo technique' has already been given to the students, and that cannot be changed. You can decide on the rest."

"Oh right, the evaluation criteria can't be too different either. You know our college has pretty high standards, so we can't be lenient."

"Don't worry, Director. Just like I said, I have a lot of experience in combat."

Oreki chuckled.

High standards are a good thing! I'm just worried that the standards aren't high enough!

He has already figured out an efficient assessment method that aligns with the keyword "combination technique".

"Then I'll leave it to you, Oreki. I won't keep you from eating."

Grand smiled and prepared to take his leave.

"Oh, right."

Oreki suddenly spoke up and asked.

"I remember Ms. Mu Hui is also from Sinnoh. What do you mean by 'going back to her hometown'?"

Grand shook his head slightly. "I only know that she went back to Beishang Township to handle some matters, but she didn't say what they were. However, she is always very responsible, and she would never ask for leave to return home at this critical juncture unless it was something important."

"Beishang Township?"

"Don't you know she's from Sinnoh?"

"I only knew it came from Sinnoh, I didn't expect it to be Kitakami Village."

Upon hearing this, Grange speculated, "Speaking of which, there's a fireworks festival in Beishang Township at the end of this month. It seems that Mu Hui's family is one of the organizers of this festival. Perhaps that's why she went back? After all, this is the most lively time of the year in Beishang Township. If something goes wrong, it will definitely have a big impact."

"Isn't this celebration held every year? How could an accident happen?"

Grand shrugged. "Who knows? Bad guys could do something, a Pokémon rampage could happen, equipment could break down, or anything else could go wrong."

"A Pokémon riot?!"

For some reason, Oreki thought of Pokémon, which was extremely popular in the game in his previous life.

The strange and mysterious place known as the "Little Widow" of Beishang Township.

And its rivals—the three "treasure companions" led by Momotaro.

"Don't overthink it," Grand reassured her. "Mu Hui isn't one to act tough. If she can't handle it, she'll definitely contact the Alliance or the Academy. Just focus on preparing for the upcoming assessment."

Nodding, Oreki said goodbye to Gorō, but instead of going to the cafeteria for lunch as usual, he walked straight out of the school gate and headed home.

The efficient assessment method he had just come up with was simple yet hardcore: send out Guleton and let the students freely send out two Pokémon to attack it with a combination move.

Aysa and Dujuan are among the most outstanding third-year students. Their main Pokémon are generally in the middle of their ecological niches, while the other students' Pokémon are relatively weaker. Therefore, Leton is currently strong enough to easily handle dozens of battles.

While it may sacrifice some judgment on students' on-the-spot command ability, this can be compensated for by teaching "how to choose the Pokémon and move combinations when facing unknown Pokémon".

If all else fails, for some difficult-to-assess scenarios, he can also send out Gardevoir and Tiremy. Their synergy and combo attacks are a game-changer for those students!

This not only perfectly solves the problem of Pokémon's recovery ability, but also allows for the testing of combo moves.

As for whether Guleton is willing to cooperate—

Oreki says, "It's not up to you!"

Now it's time to witness the magic of "deception"!

Back home, I finished preparing lunch.

Oreki carried the cat food to the "security guard" at the door. "You've been lying there all morning?"

"Gah?"

if not?

So Leighton stood up and looked up, his eyes inadvertently glancing at the steak in Oreki's hand, his large, black, tire-shaped Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily.

Before this morning, it thought the best food in the world was the sandwich it had last night.

That was the most enjoyable meal it had ever had since it could remember.

But after eating the hearty breakfast made by the cat at home that morning, it immediately changed its mind.

What a load of crap sandwich! It can't even compare to spicy nut and lean pork congee.

And from the bottom of his heart, he once again regarded the latter as the best food.

However, it's clear that when Oreki pulls out Tiramisu's signature fruit steak, sandwiches and lean meat porridge have to take a backseat, and thus, the title of "best food" in Leighton changes hands for the third time.

"Isn't it a bit inappropriate to eat out? After all, you're a legendary Pokémon; you should have some self-respect, shouldn't you?"

Oreki deliberately swung the food plate past Guleton's nose, causing it to roll its eyes wildly.

"Gah!"

Enough with the nonsense, hurry up and serve it to this king!

Forget about legends; it's just a gatekeeper now, it doesn't care about saving face.

Of all things under heaven, eating is the most important!

"I'll eat with you, but promise me one thing first."

"Huh?"

On what grounds?

Therefore, Leighton was dissatisfied, as it had already fulfilled its promise to exchange doormanship for room and board.

"Ugh!"

Oreki sighed heavily.

"It's so hard to work these days. Not only am I being exploited by my boss, but now I've been given a task that's almost impossible to complete. If I can't finish it, I'll be at risk of being fired."

"No job means no salary, which means I can't buy all sorts of ingredients or make such delicious food. You know your own appetite, so it's not easy to provide you with meals —"

Regardless of the consequences, Oreki launched into a tirade, describing the most tragic aspects of the situation, almost to the point of tears.

Upon hearing this, Guleton revealed a pained expression.

What's going on? My long-term meal ticket, which I just found, is going to fall through already??

Although it is reluctant to give in easily, after all, it might have countless favors to help in the future, which goes against its original intention, but you shouldn't come up with a life-or-death situation right away!

Seeing this, Oreki stopped talking and just sighed beside Guleton, still holding the plate in his hand and waving it around.

"Plop—"

A soft swallowing sound reached my ears.

Therefore, Leighton also sighed with a worried look on his face.

"Gah!"

Tell me, what do you want me to do?

It seems it finally succumbed to its cravings.

To its surprise, Oreki put down his plate, as if he had made up his mind.

"Forget it, since you've already decided to give up, how can I force you? Stay put until I'm completely bankrupt. Later, I'll introduce you to a young master whose family is so wealthy that they can support you for the rest of your life."

After saying that, he got up and started to walk into the house.

pat!

So Leighton reached out and grabbed his trouser leg.

"Gah!"

This time, I, the great king, am helping you out of my own interest!

"Not forcing me?"

"Gah!"

No forcing anyone—

"Alright, here's the thing—"

inside the house.

Gardevoir, who constantly uses telepathy and aura to probe emotions, suddenly opened her eyes in surprise.

Why does this big red dog seem to have a mix of doting and helplessness in its emotions?