"Teacher Aiden, why does it feel like every time you go out, you come back with a new Pokémon we've never seen before—"
After the battle on Milos Island finally came to an end, Aiden, having concluded his plans for the day, returned to Blueberry Academy.
And, as expected, he was once again surrounded by a crowd of curious students.
The one who spoke was Nemona. She was curiously observing the little colt, which looked a bit shy and was hiding behind Lucario, while silently grumbling to herself.
First, there was that cute, singing Meloetta.
Although it was very shy of strangers and hid in Teacher Aiden's room every day, Nemona, who lived next door, could often hear its heavenly singing voice.
It's a shame it doesn't go out and form a band as the lead singer. It could become the first super-Pokémon band to sell out records worldwide!
Then there was the White Dragon, Reshiram, who for some unknown reason had reverted to a chibi form.
It was clearly the very prestigious Truth Dragon of Unovan legend, but in front of Teacher Aiden, it had become the cute one, its status in the family pecking order probably even lower than Salamence's.
Even N's Zekrom would often look at it with a complex gaze, and she felt the mental drama in his head could probably be expanded into a few thousand words.
As for this time's little colt—was its name Keldeo?
It didn't look very strong. Could it be a future main member that Teacher Aiden plans to train from scratch?
Many other students had similar thoughts. Their gazes all focused on Keldeo, making it very uncomfortable.
So, Keldeo quickly shook its head and asked Aiden via telepathy:
[Human, didn't you promise to find a good place for my special training?]
[Isn't this place a bit too noisy?]
Having been raised by its master, Cobalion, since it was young, it was occasionally curious about the human world but was never willing to become the center of their attention.
For training, one should find a quiet, secluded place to cultivate in peace and achieve tranquility of mind!
Keldeo was starting to feel like it had been hoodwinked.
"Lucario!"
As if sensing the little colt's change in mood, Lucario, who had its arms crossed, suddenly let out a low growl, its tone carrying a hint of sternness.
Hearing this, Keldeo immediately shrank its neck and obediently hid behind Lucario again.
Seeing this, Lucario couldn't help but shake its head.
Although the trainer said this child had a lot of talent—but—
It saw absolutely no sign of it.
The Swords of Justice of Unova, just by the name, should be very powerful Pokémon. So why did they choose this little colt?
However, since the trainer had said so, there must be a reason for it!
Lucario figured it must be that it hadn't yet discovered Keldeo's shining points.
So, it might as well just start the training.
After a few days of training, it would surely be able to see its true character.
"Luca."
Lucario looked at Aiden and spoke softly.
"Are we starting the training plan now?"
Aiden thought for a moment, then finally nodded.
"Right. The sooner we start training the little colt, the sooner it will grow."
"Otherwise, it'll probably start thinking I'm some kind of charlatan."
"Keldeo—"
Having its inner thoughts directly called out by the human, Keldeo looked a bit embarrassed.
But that only lasted for a moment. Soon, it began to look forward to this "new master's" training plan.
"So, how are you planning to train it? Using your old method?"
"Luca!"
Aiden smiled and looked at Lucario. Seeing it nod in response, he couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental.
I hope this little colt can still keep smiling after this.
In terms of raw talent, Lucario might not be the absolute highest at the Sunstone Gym, but its effort was on a completely different level, number one by a long shot.
It had been following that "Saitama Training Method" for intense physical training since its Riolu days and hadn't slacked off even once until now—
If Keldeo could really endure under its tutelage, even if it couldn't reach the heavens in a single step, becoming a Sword of Justice would be an absolute breeze.
"Let's just start now."
"I still have some weights in my bag. Use them as you see fit."
"Luca!"
The encrypted communication between Aiden and Lucario quickly attracted the attention of the gathered students.
The training plan for Teacher Aiden's main Pokémon?!
I have to get in on this!
If I could learn even half of Teacher Aiden's strength, that would be a huge gain!
Besides Nemona and Penny, the other Blueberry Academy students all perked up their ears, held their breath, and quietly waited for Aiden and Lucario's next move.
However, Lucario's next actions soon left them greatly shocked.
"Luca!"
After taking a weight plate from Aiden, Lucario looked at the tender little horn on Keldeo's head behind it, estimated the size, and then directly started bending the plate with its hands.
After some kneading, the iron plate was directly shaped into a slightly irregular ring, but one that was just the right size to fit over Keldeo's head.
"???"
The students weren't shocked that Lucario could bend an iron plate with its bare hands; after all, Fighting-type Pokémon being strong was normal.
They just never expected that Lucario's training method would be so... ordinary.
After all, human martial artists often did similar special training.
"Kyeo—?!"
After Lucario put the weight on Keldeo's head, the originally unconcerned Keldeo suddenly felt its head sink. Its center of gravity completely thrown off, it looked like it was about to fall flat on its face.
Fortunately, its training with the Swords of Justice wasn't for nothing. Reacting quickly, it immediately tensed its whole body and, after wobbling left and right for a bit, managed to forcefully stabilize its precarious body.
No way, I have to train while wearing something this heavy?
Keldeo frowned, feeling that this was almost an impossible task.
Just standing there, it was already drenched in sweat, let alone performing sword swings while carrying such a large weight.
However, Lucario didn't say much more. It just glanced at it and then calmly left a single sentence: "Luca." (Follow my rhythm.)
[I understand!]
Keldeo didn't dare to nod, even afraid that speaking would affect its control over its body, so it could only respond with telepathy again.
As expected, it's still that Saitama Training Method I taught it—
Seeing Lucario prepare to start today's long run, Aiden couldn't help but remind it.
"Go a bit slower, and lower the intensity. The goal is to first let Keldeo get used to the weight, then slowly increase the intensity."
Keldeo was a future Sword of Justice. The current training could be considered a way to forge its will and mindset in advance. Aiden believed it could understand this itself.
After all, the little colt was really weak right now. It couldn't even condense a Sacred Sword move—
How could it call itself a Sword of Justice like that!
So, if you're weak, train more!
Starting today, the devil instructor Lucario would begin to brutally train this disappointing little colt.
"Luca."
Lucario nodded solemnly, then took the lead, starting a slow jog in the direction of the Terrarium.
"Kel—"
Keldeo subconsciously wanted to follow, but the moment it took its first step, the shift in its center of gravity caused its body to tilt, forcing it to tense up and give its all to cope.
So, not only was its running speed shockingly slow, but its posture, in Aiden's eyes, was also a bit—funny?
Thankfully, Lucario had some sense of propriety. Seeing Keldeo's movements were so slow, it actively slowed its pace, barely maintaining a steady rhythm with it.
Watching Lucario lead Keldeo, who was running with a staggering, desperate gait, into the distance, the other students, after a brief moment of thought, decided to grit their teeth and join in. Whether it was useful or not, they had to learn it first!
Especially the students with Fighting-type Pokémon, who caught on even earlier.
"Let's go, Machamp, we're following them!"
"Tomorrow I'll go buy you a weight vest. Maybe this is our chance to get stronger!"
"What's the big deal about just making the Pokémon train? I feel like if I stick with this, I could become a human-like Pokémon too. So, let's go!"
"Wait—you're really doing it?"
"Then my Chesnaught and I can't fall behind. We have to keep up!"
"Damn, how did it turn into a rat race all of a sudden?"
"Forget it, Pancham, we're going too!"
As long as there's a first student to start the involution, soon, the majority of the students staying at Blueberry Academy followed one after another, forming a long line behind Lucario.
Even Nemona was caught up in the moment of passion, leading her Pawmi and Cyclizar to join.
—Of course, she knew she couldn't keep up, so she immediately hopped on Cyclizar, guest-starring as the training weight.
"—"
Only Penny stood where she was with a helpless look on her face.
"If only Lucario's training method were that easy to learn."
"I wonder how many students will still be able to stick with it a month from now."
They were all from around Cabo Poco, so Penny knew a thing or two about Lucario. It had often passed by Poco Path for its morning workouts since long ago.
The truly terrifying part of this training method wasn't the weight on Keldeo's head, but the training intensity that increased steadily every single day.
Perhaps on the first day, only the body would feel tired. After that, it would absolutely be both body and mind.
Anyone who could stick with it for a full month, Penny felt, would already have a very tenacious will and would surely achieve great things in the future.
And what about Lucario?
It had been following this limitless training method for what might be a year—
Not only had the training intensity long been increasing exponentially, but the test on one's mentality was simply terrifying to even think about!
So, the reason that Lucario could grow to its current strength was mostly because it was born with a sufficiently powerful will.
Thinking of this, Penny could only hold her forehead and sigh.
I hope that Keldeo will be okay.
And the other Blueberry Academy students too—they would probably be incredibly sore all over tomorrow.
But as long as they could endure, the gains would definitely not be small.
---
And so, from this day forward, Blueberry Academy gained another rather spectacular sight.
Every evening, Lucario would lead the run, followed by a large group of students in their uniforms and their Pokémon, jogging in circles around Blueberry Academy.
After the run, they would complete several other exercises on the field, each session causing many students to collapse on the spot from exhaustion.
At first, Principal Cyrano thought the students were up to some new activity again, but he was surprised to find it was a training program initiated by Aiden, so he let them be.
—Although he didn't quite understand, since it was Aiden's choice, it must be the right one!
Similar thoughts had long been deeply rooted in many people's minds.
And so, half a month passed in a flash. Aiden was surprised to find that, unexpectedly, very few people had dropped out.
The results of half a month of training were indeed somewhat effective. At least, the students' expressions had become much more resolute.
Their physical strength was another matter, but it was clear they had made a breakthrough in their mindset.
As for Keldeo—
After the first day of training, Aiden discovered that this little fellow was most likely an expert at giving up. It immediately wanted to start slacking off after finishing.
No wonder it hadn't amounted to much after training with the Three Musketeers for so long. It turned out its attitude was the problem.
'Case closed,' Aiden thought. He didn't say much more. He just "casually" removed a weight from Lucario's body after the workout was over.
Then, he "accidentally" let his hand slip.
The small iron plate fell to the ground, instantly leaving a shallow dent and making a sound like a cannonball going off.
"Keldeo—?!"
Keldeo took the bait, its face filled with shock.
Only after comparing the weight difference between the plate on its horn and the one on the ground did it finally understand why Lucario was so powerful—
Moreover, it seemed Lucario had more than one of those plates on it. Its four limb joints all had special straps to fix the weights in place.
Such terrifying physical strength could surely only be achieved through relentless, day-after-day training, right?
After staring at Aiden silently for a moment, Keldeo, who had been ready to give up, looked up again, and a subtle change had already occurred in its eyes.
At this moment, Aiden knew clearly—
The fourth Sword of Justice of Unova might truly be about to grow up.
---
Time quickly flew to September.
When the students, who had spent two months happily slacking off at home during summer break, returned to Blueberry Academy, they soon noticed the special sight.
And then—
They felt like the sky was falling.
What was going on?
What do you mean I was having fun at home during summer break, and you guys were secretly grinding at school?
This world is too dark! Is there any justice left!
At this point, with them already having fallen far behind, there was, of course, only one choice left—join them now, and it wasn't too late!
So, a month later, the number of people in Lucario's "Self-Discipline Squad" not only didn't decrease but actually gained quite a few new members.
In a sense, Principal Cyrano's goal of strongly inviting Aiden to Blueberry Academy as a visiting teacher had been achieved.
"Indeed, wherever Teacher Aiden is, the overall level of the students seems to skyrocket by several levels in no time!"
Sitting in his office, Cyrano watched the boys and girls running under the setting sun and couldn't help but smile.
This was a huge win!
In a few more years, Blueberry Academy's strength would surely rank among the best in the world
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