Chapter 172: The Yuhong Exchange Team
Chapter 172: The Yuhong Exchange Team
Thursday morning.
Jing He could clearly sense the excitement of the young Pokemon trainers from the moment he woke up. He had been licked three times by Gastly, frozen twice by Vulpix, kicked twice by Beldum, and strangled once by Dratini. Despite all that, he was still alive.
Jing He understood their excitement. After all, if everything went smoothly, they would be moving to a new place tonight. However, before that, they had one more task: welcoming the faculty and students from Yuhong University.
Yuhong University and the Kanaz Pokemon Academy had a close relationship, and there were frequent exchanges between the two institutions. However, when Jing He arrived at the school's reception room and saw the people at the door, his heart skipped a beat.
"Teacher Jing He," a soft, gentle voice spoke.
"Teacher Yuka."
Looking at the flower arrangement teacher he had "cruelly" defeated in the first round of the mentor evaluation, Jing He suddenly thought of someone else: Yuka's distant cousin, the trainer of Grass-type Pokemon, the gym leader of the Yuhong Gym, and a professor at Yuhong University—Rika!
Although he had already apologized to Yuka, and she had understood, the legend of his "cruelty" still circulated among the students at the Kanaz Pokemon Academy.
Surely it couldn't be Rika?
"Is Teacher Jing He here?"
At that moment, a voice came from inside the reception room, followed by the sound of wooden sandals tapping slowly.
A girl dressed in a yellow maple leaf kimono, wearing a headband, with short hair, white socks, and wooden sandals appeared in the doorway. It was none other than the Yuhong Gym leader, Rika!
"Indeed, it is Teacher Jing He."
Rika smiled and bowed slightly. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Teacher Rika, you're too kind," Jing He replied, relieved by her friendly demeanor.
"Is that so? Yuka often tells me how skilled Teacher Jing He is," Rika said with a gentle smile.
"Rika," Yuka blushed and tugged at Rika's sleeve.
Jing He rubbed his temples.
But Rika quickly regained her composure.
"I've heard that Teacher Jing He will be hosting this exchange, so I want to express my gratitude on behalf of Yuhong University."
She bowed deeply to Jing He.
"It's my duty."
Jing He was still unsure of Rika's attitude.
"So, I brought a gift for Teacher Jing He."
She reached into her handbag and pulled out a small glass bottle containing a light green liquid. The moment she took it out, a faint, enticing fragrance wafted through the air.
"Gengar?"
Seemingly drawn by the scent, Gengar emerged from the shadows, sniffing the air.
"Perfume?"
Jing He was a bit surprised.
"I made it myself, with 'Sweet Scent' as the main fragrance. I hope you don't mind," Rika said with a mischievous glint in her eye.
Rika was not only an expert in Grass-type Pokemon and skilled in battles but also proficient in flower arrangement, archery, fashion, and perfume making. She owned a well-known perfume shop in Yuhong City and was very particular about perfumes. In the original anime, when Ash first visited Yuhong City, he was banished from the gym and not allowed to challenge it after making a negative comment about perfume in her shop.
"Not at all," Jing He took the bottle and said, "It smells wonderful."
"Gengar~~"
Gengar eagerly sniffed the perfume, looking completely entranced. The scent reminded him of Foongus.
Hehe, Foongus, hehe.
Jing He felt a bit guilty for not having a gift to return the favor.
"You like it, that's all that matters," Rika said, clearly pleased by the praise, especially Gengar's "cooperative" expression.
But Jing He had a nagging feeling that something was off.
"Sweet Scent" perfume?
Wait!
Where was the perfume?
Rika, dressed in a kimono that matched the autumn colors and wearing wooden sandals, walked alongside Jing He through the Kanaz Pokemon Academy, drawing many admiring glances. With Yuka, who was also considered a "goddess" by many students, the attention was even more intense.
After a brief tour of the academy, Jing He suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, Teacher Rika, where are the students from Yuhong University?"
Weren't they supposed to come for an exchange?
Why was only Rika here?
Rika smiled.
"They couldn't wait and went to warm up."
In the context of an exchange between Pokemon academies, battles were inevitable.
However, from Jing He's perspective, it didn't matter who came.
After all, he had Diantha.
So he smiled and said, "Since they're so eager, we shouldn't keep them waiting too long."
"Oh? It seems Teacher Jing He is quite confident," Rika said with a knowing smile.
"Fair enough," Jing He replied.
Thus, the three of them headed to the academy's battle arena.
As soon as they entered, a figure quickly ran toward them and then...
Knelt down in front of the gentle Yuka, grabbing her hand with a lecherous grin and exclaimed:
"Is this Teacher Yuka, cousin of Teacher Rika?"
"I come from Kanto."
Jing He looked at the boy in front of him: a buzz cut, a square face, squinted eyes that had turned into hearts, wearing a green short-sleeved shirt and a khaki vest, and drooling as he held onto Yuka's hand.
Jing He's brain stuttered for half a second.
The familiar actions, words, and expressions...
Could it be... the only person in the entire Pokemon world who could accurately distinguish between Nurse Joys and Officer Jennies—
Koga?!
"Ge-ge-ge~~"
Gengar, who had silently appeared from Jing He's shadow, approached Koga. Seeing him holding onto Yuka's hand and Yuka's helpless expression, Gengar instinctively took action.
"Ma... ma... ma... so tingly..."
It was a familiar scene. Watching Gengar pull Koga away, Jing He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"Thank you, Gengar."
Yuka thanked Gengar, who returned to Jing He's side, clapping his hands.
Lika could only give a nervous laugh at Koga's boldness.
After all, she had been through the same phase.
After Koga, Jing He noticed two more students from YuHong University.
One was a boy with purple hair, wearing a green shirt and shorts, holding a bug-catching net, and smiling shyly.
"This is Abi, from the Johto region's Mahogany Town," Lika introduced.
Jing He wasn't unfamiliar with him either. Abi, the king of Bug Catchers and future Gym Leader of Mahogany Town in Johto!
In the game, his "Fury Cutter" Scyther was a nightmare for new trainers, second only to the Pink Demon in Goldenrod City.
"Teacher Jing He."
Unlike Koga, Abi was more reserved, scratching his head and smiling shyly.
"Abi is a fan of Teacher Jing He," Lika said with a smile.
"Hmm?"
At that moment, Abi stood straight, his face turning red as he exclaimed:
"I want to become a great researcher like Teacher Jing He in the future! And I want to become a Pokemon Professor!"
He indeed had a deep interest in Bug-type Pokemon and lofty ambitions.
Jing He nodded seriously.
"Keep it up, you can do it."
One should always encourage any beautiful dream.
This made Abi even more excited, nodding vigorously.
"And the last one..."
All eyes turned to the final person.
He had purple hair, wearing a burgundy suit and pants, a silk scarf around his neck, and a black tuxedo with a mask covering his eyes.
It was Itsuki!
The future Psychic-type Elite Four member of Johto!
Jing He took a deep breath after confirming their identities.
Good grief.
This lineup was something else.
A future Elite Four member and two future Gym Leaders?
No wonder YuHong University produced such students.
No wonder the head of the academic affairs department at Kanaz Pokemon Academy, Minjiang, had gone gray from stress over the quality of students.
If not for people like Daigo and Dujian, the gap between Kanaz Pokemon Academy and YuHong University would be even greater.
Itsuki, like a performer on stage, placed his right hand over his chest and bowed with a smile.
"Let me show you a magic trick."
He worked part-time as a magician.
Before he could finish his sentence, Gengar's eyes lit up.
Magic?
It wanted to play too!
"Ge-ge-ge~~"
Gengar floated over to Itsuki and gently poked his shoulder from behind.
"Hmm?"
Sensing something, Itsuki turned around to see a grinning ghost face.
With a puzzled look, Itsuki watched as Gengar's eyes glowed with an eerie blue light.
Hypnosis!
Itsuki: ???
Jing He and the others: !!!
"Ge-ge-ge~~"
Jing He suddenly remembered.
Gengar had practiced "magic" with Nade and Nade's Alakazam.
But this wasn't the kind of magic!
Although Itsuki was a Psychic-type Pokemon Trainer, he wasn't a Psychic user himself.
Itsuki's pupils dilated, his body stiffened for a moment, and then he collapsed with a thud.
"Ge-ge? Σ(дlll)"
Why was he so susceptible to "hypnosis"?
It didn't even use the "old Jing family's hypnosis."
Jing He: "."
He looked at Lika, who also had a speechless expression, and shrugged, explaining:
"I didn't tell it to do that, do you believe me?"
Lika's eye twitched.
She glanced at the students she had brought.
Three in total, and Gengar had already taken down two.
Do you think I believe you?
At that moment, Abi, holding his bug-catching net, looked at the paralyzed Koga on his left and the sleeping Itsuki on his right, trembling.
Should I faint too?
"Teacher, you got them all?"
Daigo and the others, who had arrived late, cautiously approached Jing He and asked.
Jing He: "."
"Ge-ge-ge~~ (ε｀)"
Gengar put his hands on his hips, tilted his head back at a 45-degree angle, and whistled.
"But, Teacher, there's still one left, right?"
Yasha's voice couldn't be contained as she looked at Abi.
Abi: Σ(дlll)
(End of Chapter)
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