Nemo's Starter Pokémon?

Mui's speech lasted about seven or eight minutes. It was packed with useful information, without any pointless rambling.

His line, "Let's all enjoy campus life together!" especially struck a chord with the students on the sports field, and thunderous applause rang out.

When the lively atmosphere had settled a little, Mui—the focus of everyone's attention—slowly turned toward Luo Mu at the edge of the stage. A smile spread across his face as he opened his arms and said, "Next, I'd like to introduce a new teacher who's joining Naranja Academy. Let's give him a warm welcome!"

Clap, clap, clap, clap!

"It's a new teacher!"

"He looks so young! He can't be much older than us, right?"

"I'm well over fifty, and now I have to welcome a new teacher young enough to be my grandson."

"I've never seen the Pokémon following him before!"

Prompted by the teacher beside him, Luo Mu calmly started toward the platform.

Once he was standing beside Mui on the platform, Luo Mu looked over the crowd below. He could make out every student's expression: curiosity, indifference, distrust—but most of all, interest.

He also spotted Nemo, excitedly bouncing and waving at him, and Pepper, who couldn't meet his eyes and seemed to feel guilty about what had happened earlier.

Every student was different, but the chatter and varied emotions below didn't put Luo Mu under any pressure. After taking the microphone Mui handed him, he noticed that the noise below wasn't dying down—it was only getting louder.

Some inexperienced new teachers might have been thrown by this situation. But as someone who spent plenty of time surfing the internet, Luo Mu had seen countless ways to deal with it.

After a moment's thought, he looked at Mui. When Mui gave him a gesture that said, "Do whatever you like," Luo Mu bent down and picked up Growlithe, holding it in his arms. He moved the microphone close to its mouth. Growlithe wagged its tail vigorously as Luo Mu quietly said, "Give us a few barks."

"Woof! Woof! Woooooof~~~~~"

Growlithe wasn't at all frightened by the crowd. On the contrary, it was excited. Its prolonged bark blasted through the speakers at an ear-splitting volume, immediately drowning out the noise.

Luo Mu set Growlithe down and patted its head in praise. After clearing his throat, he raised the microphone and spoke in a clear voice. "As the principal said, starting today, I'm a member of Naranja Academy, just like all of you."

"First, let me introduce myself. My name is Luo Mu. You can call me Teacher or Teacher Luo Mu. I'll be teaching Pokémon battling, and anyone interested in Pokémon battles is welcome to sign up for my class."

"Normally, I'm easy to get along with, so you don't need to worry."

Luo Mu considered himself a laid-back person most of the time, but since he had accepted the job from Poppy, he intended to take teaching seriously.

The first half of his introduction went smoothly—so smoothly it was almost unremarkable. But then the second half took a sharp turn.

Luo Mu's warm smile vanished, and his expression turned stern. An imposing air radiated from him, and a few of the students who met his gaze guiltily looked away. "On the other hand, if anyone tries to cause trouble in my class, or if I catch you bullying or harassing your classmates, I don't care what kind of connections your family has. Go ahead and see if they'll do you any good against me."

When Luo Mu finished speaking, the sports field fell completely silent.

Mui's smile grew wider as he led the applause.

But this time, the clapping was sparse. The students had clearly been intimidated by Luo Mu's presence and hadn't yet recovered.

"Heh, young people really do have some fire in them," Mui thought as he kept clapping. "Perhaps I could mention to the old master that Young Master Cassiopeia should take this teacher's class. I'm sure he'd grow from the experience."

Taro maintained a calm expression as he clapped halfheartedly, but inside, a storm was raging.

Was it a coincidence—or deliberate?

How had Luo Mu, a new teacher at the school, learned about the bullying? And why had he gone out of his way to mention it?

After the opening ceremony ended, most of Naranja Academy's students returned to their dorms to rest, while others scattered around campus in groups of two or three.

Luo Mu headed slowly toward the library with Growlithe, who was especially excited after stealing the show. Before going home, he planned to borrow some books on planting and animal husbandry.

Just then, Nemo hurried over, panting for breath, and stopped in front of him. "Big bro—Teacher Luo Mu!"

Luo Mu stopped. He spotted Nemo, then the light brown-haired head in the distance, and smiled. "Well, if it isn't Nemo. Long time no see."

"Long time no see!" Nemo clenched her fists, her face alight with excitement. Her eyes sparkled. "I can't believe you became a teacher at our school!"

"You looked so cool giving that speech!"

Nemo felt that today might be her lucky day. After a moment's thought, she took out a Poké Ball and proudly held it out to Luo Mu. "Teacher, look! I got my very own Starter Pokémon, too!"

"Oh? Can you tell me what Pokémon it is?"

Luo Mu was intrigued. He had always been curious about which Pokémon Nemo had as her Starter Pokémon, given that she supposedly never went all out in the games.

"Of course!"

Nemo nodded excitedly and tried to toss the Poké Ball stylishly, but her form was so awkward that it hit the ground halfway there.

That didn't stop the Pokémon inside from emerging.

A flash of red light revealed a tiny orange Electric Mouse Pokémon in front of Luo Mu and Growlithe.

Luo Mu raised an eyebrow, surprised. "It's a Pawmi?"

Come to think of it, these Electric Mouse Pokémon, each with a different appearance, could be found in almost every generation.

After leaving its Poké Ball, Pawmi didn't wander around. Instead, it picked up the ball with its little paws and handed it to Nemo, then quickly climbed onto her shoulder. They seemed to be very close.

At that moment, Nemo suddenly revealed why she had stopped Luo Mu. Without paying any attention to the people around her, she bowed and called out, "Please have a Pokémon battle with me and Pawmi, Teacher!"

Luo Mu wasn't particularly surprised. Seeing how Nemo was dressed differently from the first time they met, he had already guessed that the future "Nemo-senpai" had arrived.

So he smiled without the slightest surprise. "Of course. But we'll need a referee."

"A referee?"

Nemo was at a loss. None of the people she knew well were around.

Luo Mu patted her shoulder and called toward the distance, "Pepper! How long are you going to hide?"

A note on the setting: in this book, Pepper and Nemo are both ten years old and about to turn eleven. In the original, I personally estimate that they're around fourteen or fifteen in their fully developed versions. Team Star was founded a year and a half ago, which means the bullying at Naranja Academy has now reached its final stage.

As for the Academy storyline, I won't go into too much detail about the other teachers. As the plot progresses, the story will transition smoothly to the new teachers and principal taking over. I think everyone would prefer to see familiar characters, right?