Chapter Forty-Seven: The Trainer Used "Lift High"

“So this is how the era of the League began?” Zhuyuehan’s interest was piqued, and he began to ponder exactly when the Hisui era took place. To put it plainly, neither the Diamond Clan nor the Pearl Clan served as particularly useful examples for comparison. Strictly speaking, they were more akin to religious sects, worshipping the almighty Sinnoh. Though, to be fair, they weren’t exactly worshipping the right figure—they venerated the deity’s offspring. No, not even that—they followed the wayward child.

Judging by the timeline and their attitude toward Poké Balls, it should still have been pretty close to the dawn of the League era. If this were the Dark Ages, the restrictions of arcane beast devices would have been far harsher than Poké Balls, and wouldn’t have provoked the likes of Adamant and Irida at all. Frankly, Jubilife Village was not a place fit for ordinary people; joining the Diamond or Pearl Clan was still better than siding with Team Galactic. One could only feel pity for the two brothers, Northshang and Southsha. Who could say what sort of mindset Arceus had had in making such arrangements?

Apparently, Northshang intended to promote Pokémon battles in this era, but he only made up his mind to do so later, which meant his motives remained questionable. Surely the point wasn’t to provide some homesick modern transmigrant with a teary-eyed compatriot. Even though the two brothers managed the Battle Subway in Unova, not everyone knew who they were.

“Peace really is preferable. In the Dark Ages, all my knowledge would be useless.” Zhuyuehan tossed his Heavy Ball from hand to hand. If he’d been sent straight to the Dark Ages, instead of bringing an encyclopedia, he’d have preferred some sort of overpowered cheat. Something like starting off with Spacial Rend and Precipice Blades, or granting ordinary Pokémon the ability to perfectly copy legendary moves. That would have felt safe!

In history class, the various scholarly perspectives were briefly discussed—essentially, they just kept adding detail to the existing framework. For instance, there was talk of the unique culture of the Dark Ages. Zhuyuehan suspected some of the villainous teams’ mind-control devices were inspired by those ancient arcane beast contraptions. Unfortunately, the teacher didn’t mention any historical tidbits from the circles he might have recognized—he’d half-expected to hear a familiar name, maybe even someone like Cynthia. Aside from her starting Pokémon being Gible, Zhuyuehan honestly couldn’t recall whether Cynthia was a scholar or a trainer by background.

“Never mind, even Lance the dragon master isn’t famous yet. Cynthia probably hasn’t made any big waves either.” For Zhuyuehan, the details of the plot’s future didn’t matter much; once his door closed, it was time for research mode.

He’d already nipped Bertha’s villain arc in the bud, and now it seemed the only known villain in Kanto was a shadowy team under Bishas. Might as well leave that to Giovanni—after all, Bishas had apparently worked under him back in the day, though he’d always been a bit of a rebel. If the main characters had nothing better to do, they could grind against Bishas and give that guy who pined for Celebi a real challenge.

Zhuyuehan picked up his Lapras’s Poké Ball to check—sure enough, she’d fallen asleep. Classes were just too dull for her. After two standard class periods, Zhuyuehan sat down on a bench by the lake, still mulling over how to create a reusable potion. There was a P.E. class in the afternoon, but for him, that was no source of stress; he’d wait until Lapras woke up before heading to the cafeteria for a meal. Incidentally, this wasn’t a once-a-week class—P.E. was held every day. Joy Academy was determined to nurture well-rounded students.

During P.E., Zhuyuehan glanced at his refreshed Lapras and then at the spirited Joy squad, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. It was an ordinary class, but the teacher’s requirements were anything but. The warm-up jog was easy enough, but the next activity left Zhuyuehan baffled. The instructions were simple: pick up your partner and estimate their weight—the estimated figure could not differ from the actual weight by more than five kilograms.

Zhuyuehan looked at Lapras. “You haven’t put on weight lately, have you?”

“Laaa!” Lapras protested indignantly.

Lapras and Zhuyuehan found a spacious spot. Looking around, he saw that everyone else’s partners were Chansey. The teacher made a point of telling Zhuyuehan that if it was too difficult, he could use another method to measure instead of lifting. Lapras glanced at her own bulk, then at Zhuyuehan. Compared to Chansey, this was no easy feat.

“What are you thinking? You’re not that heavy.” Zhuyuehan flicked Lapras’s head lightly. “But honestly, it isn’t easy to lift you. Still, I can try another way.”

For example—just lift you up directly.

“Up you go!” he said.

“Laaa!” Lapras’s eyes widened as she experienced a perspective she’d never had before. Beneath her, her trainer’s arms didn’t even tremble as he supported her, making her feel like a tiny giant.

“Come on, Trainer, show me your full strength!”

“Don’t get any ideas. How am I supposed to go all out in this position? Are you hoping I’ll toss you up like a trampoline?”

Both Lapras and Zhuyuehan paused.

“Laaa?”

“Actually… that’s not impossible.”

“I’m not at my limit, but you’d better be careful. If I slip, just use Surf to catch yourself.”

The teacher stared in shock as Zhuyuehan and Lapras carried out their plan. Not only did he lift her, he tossed her higher and higher, both of them laughing in delight.

Now that was a pair—one daring enough to play, the other strong enough to throw! What on earth was this transfer student’s body made of? Lapras was nearly fully grown, and looked even heavier than average—yet Zhuyuehan could lift her for fun?

After a few exhilarating tosses, Lapras called a halt, worried that Zhuyuehan might strain a muscle. He gently set her down on the grass and looked at the teacher.

“Should I just tell you my estimate now?”

“No, no need. This little test was really meant to help you understand your partners better—you two clearly don’t need any more of that.”

If you can play like this, what else is there left to learn? If you ever partner up with an Electrode, will you just toss it across the field and set off a massive explosion?

Zhuyuehan exhaled, rolling his shoulders. He felt thoroughly exercised—maybe he should add this to his morning routine. Lapras, too, seemed to enjoy the brief moments of weightlessness. It certainly beat dozing off in class.

The teacher didn’t dare let Zhuyuehan join the next activity, to the visible relief of the Joys nearby. With a classmate like him, they were honestly worried they’d end up in the infirmary after a stray sandbag throw.

“Impressive,” Zhuyuehan thought. He was beginning to understand Joy Academy’s teaching philosophy: whatever the activity, it had to involve Pokémon. Whether they were patients or partners, you had to get to know them fully. As the saying goes, sincerity begets sincerity—all of them were good people with hidden strengths.

Deepening your bond with your partner—in Pokémon terms, that was the power of friendship. Take those Dark Team grunts who got flattened by a couple of Lapras’s Hydro Pumps: because their bonds with their partners were weak, they couldn’t pull off miracles like standing back up. But when your bond is strong enough, you don’t even need to shout for them to get up—they’ll know exactly what you want with a single word.

In a way, even Ash and Team Rocket had a bit of a bond in the original story. Just ask them the right question, and Team Rocket would launch into their motto as if someone had flipped a switch—more in sync than any married couple.

“Lapras, you really should just go play in the lake during my classes from now on,” Zhuyuehan said. “It’s too boring to bring you along.”

“Laaa!” Lapras protested. What if there were bad guys?

“If anyone dared cause trouble at Joy Academy, never mind the property damage, the principal would be delighted. You know how strong I am.”

Lapras paused, acknowledging the point. But if her trainer was working hard, how could she, the future big sister, slack off? She resolved that she’d train hard in the lake, so next time she could take her trainer from here to Kagitown in just two hours. Time to get serious!

After class, Zhuyuehan returned to his dorm, took out a fruit-forging device sponsored by Abi, and set about upgrading his Heavy Ball.

“A shoddy net can be broken if a big fish struggles hard enough,” he murmured as he hammered away, tossing in generous amounts of materials. With his skill, such extravagance was hardly wasteful.

“But if the net is top-quality, there’s no breaking through.” Catching wild Pokémon involved fighting—reeling them in—and finally, casting the net for capture.

The Gigaton Ball was finished! Once it cooled, its hefty weight was very satisfying—this might become his second training tool after Lapras. Whoever the villain was, he would be the one to end their days. The ultimate Hisui one-shot rune was now ready!

Lapras, ever perceptive, trotted over with a box of energy cubes in her mouth.

“Thanks. That was quite the workout.” On a normal diet, he’d have no trouble with daily life, but today’s stunt—lifting Lapras—had drained him. If others were supposed to eat small, frequent meals, until Zhuyuehan figured out his own situation, he’d probably need to eat more, and more often. Maybe Lapras would even need to give him a Thunderbolt recharge now and then.

As he opened his dorm door, Zhuyuehan paused and drew his leg back.

Lapras: ?

“Nothing, just seeing that long hallway made me relapse.” Zhuyuehan’s laziness kicked in. “Shame the cafeteria doesn’t deliver. I should mention that to the principal sometime.”