Chapter 77: The Venom Extraction Test

After sending the two noisy troublemakers off to bed, Zhu Suihan opened the dormitory door and glanced at the moonlight. Yes, it was beautiful, but neither Cresselia nor Darkrai could be seen.

There were no immediate devilish demands for classes upon returning. Zhu Suihan jogged all the way to the edge of the great lake. “Big guy, come out.”

“Gyarados...”

The enormous body surfaced, Gyarados fixing Zhu Suihan with a look that clearly said, “You’d better have a good reason for this.” Did you realize what time it is?

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s something good.”

Zhu Suihan sat on the lawn, pulled up some images on his phone, and turned the brightness all the way up. “Take a look at these pictures. See if you get any special insights.”

“Gyarados?”

Gyarados leaned in, glanced at the screen, and the fierce expression froze; his massive face was almost pressed to the phone. “You actually understand it?” Zhu Suihan was surprised. He had only ever thought of his previous Gyarados as big, and besides wondering about its worth, hadn’t given the matter much thought.

Judging from Gyarados’s expression, he clearly understood what was contained within. Now, Zhu Suihan was truly convinced. Besides reproductive isolation, it seemed that species also had similar barriers in transmitting knowledge.

“Gyarados.” Gyarados nodded, indicating he had finished looking.

“No rush, there’s more. The first image is just the whole picture; the rest are higher resolution versions.”

As Zhu Suihan flipped through the images, Gyarados began twisting left and right, sending ripples across the water. It was reminiscent of a child mimicking a dance for the first time, but not knowing the moves, the whole posture was awkward.

If it were a child, such behavior might be considered cute. But in a Gyarados with a face full of menace, it was rather terrifying, as if he’d been possessed by a villain and was about to burst forth in a rampage.

“Don’t just look. Think about how you usually dance or use Dragon Rage. Don’t tell me you don’t know either of those.”

“Gyarados.” How could that be? I just hadn’t remembered at first!

Gyarados slowly submerged, then shot into the sky like a cannonball, his body glowing with a crimson light signifying increased power. Zhu Suihan stepped back to avoid getting his hair soaked by the lake water.

“Gyarados, Gyarados!” It really works!

Gyarados was excited. After viewing the images, he felt he could further manipulate his inner power, channeling that violent force into his special moves. In plain terms, Gyarados sensed a loosening in his own strength’s bottleneck.

As for how to infuse his inner ferocity into his moves—given Gyarados’s wide area of effect—it basically meant overwhelming force.

Your Flamethrower is a tiny, handmade torch; mine is a war-grade inferno launcher!

So it’s a contest of firepower? Let me see your caliber!

“It really is effective. Not bad.” Zhu Suihan clapped his hands. “The advanced technique for Dragon Dance seems to be replacing fixed motions with your own daily activities. Have you grasped that step?”

“Gyarados.” Gyarados nodded. The move he’d just performed, diving into the water and then bursting upward, was his version of Dragon Dance.

After learning the reason, Zhu Suihan clicked his tongue. He could only thank all the Pokémon who flew over the great lake every day.

Gyarados’s strong territorial awareness made him frequently soar skyward to assert dominance. When it came to familiar moves, this upward flight was among his most practiced.

Another key point: this action contained Gyarados’s violent heart.

“All right, leaping through the dragon gate for all to see—it fits well.” Leaping from the sea to elevate one’s power level was far more reasonable than Professor Oak’s Lightning-Fighting Dragon Dance.

At least with Gyarados’s advanced Dragon Dance, there was a way to break through.

“Your next step could follow this approach,” Zhu Suihan said. “Use your body to stir up a tidal whirl, then, while within it, intensify the whirl’s power and incorporate the Dragon Dance movements.”

A whirlpool Dragon Dance? No, this was more like a washing machine Dragon Dance.

Gyarados glanced back at the lake, thought for a moment, and nodded, indicating he’d try it when he had the chance.

Training Dragon Dance with whirlpools on his own turf, Gyarados felt he wasn’t that much of a brute. If things got too rowdy and harmed his underlings, it wouldn’t be fun.

“All right, off to bed with you. Good night.”

Man and dragon parted ways. Zhu Suihan glanced at the brightly lit lab building and suddenly felt the urge to open a laboratory and do some research.

“Forget it, I’ll just go to bed. Today I’ll allow myself a little holiday.”

Early the next morning, Zhu Suihan rode Lapras with a Milcery perched atop his head, heading to the cafeteria for breakfast.

“Gyarados!”

Gyarados’s roar echoed across the lake, his massive blue form moving faster than ever, startling a flock of birds overhead and sending them fleeing in panic.

Previously, Gyarados’s speed might have lagged behind, but after Dragon Dance’s boost, things were different.

“And who said he only powered up once?”

Gyarados had probably been eyeing those airborne freeloaders for ages, and after several power-ups, he was now catching a couple of unlucky birds to assert dominance.

“Lapras.” Lapras glanced askew at Zhu Suihan. Look at what you’ve taught him!

“That just proves Gyarados is strong, right?”

“Milcery.” Milcery nodded in agreement. That was money—it could turn into many delicious energy cubes!

She was currently training her control over cream, kneading it into balls to improve her mastery, with the next step being to combine it with elemental energy.

If she failed, it didn’t matter; her boss and trainer would make sure the cream wasn’t wasted.

After breakfast, both Pokémon abandoned their trainer in perfect sync, running off to the lake to play with Gyarados.

Lapras could learn conventional water-type moves from Gyarados, while Milcery could gain valuable knowledge about controlling elemental energy.

Above all, mastering her own ferocity—being able to wield the power of rage at will—made Gyarados an expert in control.

Otherwise, the Joy Academy wouldn’t allow such a huge creature to live in the lake.

Many students and teachers crossed the lake daily.

This morning’s course was rather unusual—commonly called “milking the cow.” Yes, the MooMoo Milk from Miltank.

But Zhu Suihan felt the course’s name should really be “milking the cow Pokémon.”

The full title was “How to Safely Extract Substances from Pokémon.” MooMoo Milk was the basic version, but there were also variants for sap, venom, and oil.

Oh, and an even simpler one: picking berries from a Torterra’s back—just use your hands.

It was only after taking this class that Zhu Suihan learned the Pokémon world had coconut juice.

The source was exactly what he imagined—harvested from Exeggutor.

In a sense, it was more like sap or bodily fluid, not true coconut juice. However, its value was high, and after further extraction and refining, it became a nutritious beverage.

Unfortunately, Exeggutor’s noble psychic attributes made its cultivation more costly than Miltank, or else it could have been another flagship product.

Though this extraction method didn’t help Pokémon grow, at least it didn’t harm them.

Or rather, many Pokémon raised internally by the League had to “repay their loans” with these things—an arrangement based on mutual consent.

This was also part of Joy’s curriculum, since she might work for the League someday.

Beyond research and daily use, it was also a niche medical technique, usually employed when a Pokémon had absorbed some strange substance and needed it extracted.

The classic example was Pikachu absorbing too much electricity—if unable to control it, he could harm himself, his trainer, or even the environment.

Not everyone was like Ash, immune to electric shocks.

This time, Zhu Suihan’s randomly assigned model was intimidating—a coiled Arbok with its mouth wide open.

Besides the wide mouth, a coiled snake was basically poised to strike.

With Arbok’s size and bite force, a single chomp would be devastating.

Zhu Suihan’s task was to extract venom from Arbok’s mouth. If his grip slipped, Arbok’s gaping jaws would snap shut.

“It’s a bit like playing that toy where you press the crocodile’s teeth.”

But this was far more dangerous.

Zhu Suihan donned a mask and sterile gloves. Personally, he wasn’t too afraid of Arbok’s bite, but for his grades, he needed to follow procedure.

He hoped to get good marks—maybe next time he’d be included in fun events like the Lake of Rage.

Nothing like the thrill of one-shotting a Pokémon with a ball, or flattening a villain with a frying pan. Zhu Suihan loved it.

In his left hand he held a pressure plate smeared with healing ointment; his right hand held a fine needle connected to a long tube, ending in a standard small vial.

Simply put, he had to insert the needle into Arbok’s upper jaw, precisely at the spot where venom was delivered.

A diagram came with the model, indicating the exact location, and Zhu Suihan had spent some effort understanding it—otherwise he’d have to experience Arbok’s bite firsthand.

Normally, Arbok would cooperate; just place the container under its fangs and let the venom accumulate.

But the academy aimed for perfection. As a Pokémon doctor, you had to be prepared for any scenario.

After all, a compliant Arbok didn’t need a doctor’s involvement.

Zhu Suihan steadied his grip and gently inserted the fine needle into Arbok’s upper jaw—success on the first try.

He watched as the shimmering purple liquid flowed out, and when the container was nearly full, withdrew the needle. The pressure plate in his left hand seamlessly pressed against the puncture, holding it in place for three to five minutes.

If it were a real Arbok, this step could include “feeding an energy cube” and a few encouraging words while stroking its head, like “You did great.”