Chapter 148: Someone Needs Deep Ideological Re-education

"I suppose you lot would practically can't wait to hold my memorial service right now."

Zhu Suihan's voice came from deep within the thick layer of scale powder. Even his motion, which generated a gust of air, wasn't enough to blow the powder away, which gave a clear idea of just how thick it had piled up.

"Mew!"

"Milu!"

Third sister, come play!

Mewtwo: [?]

Lapras and Milcery had bright gleams in their eyes. Seeing Zhu Suihan in this state instantly reminded them of a car wash commercial they had once watched.

A filthy car would be quickly restored to cleanliness with the help of a team of Pokémon.

The company's selling point seemed to be utilizing a pure Pokémon squad for cleaning, using clever editing to make the Pokémon's actions look crisp and efficient in the ad.

Watching the originally dirty car gradually become clean bit by bit always made Lapras and Milcery feel deeply satisfied, as if the grime in their own hearts had been washed away as well.

Wasn't their Trainer's current state an absolute match for the car in the commercial?!

"Milu!"

Don't rush, Big Sis, I'll smear some cream on the Trainer, that way cleaning him up will definitely make us even happier!

Lapras shot a "job well done" look at Milcery, and then feigned an anxious tone as she called out.

"Mew-mew!"

Don't panic, Trainer, we're here to help you!

Having listened to the explanation between Lapras and Milcery, Mewtwo closed his eyes and imagined the scene.

Well, he actually wanted to give it a try as well, to experience what it felt like to have that so-called "stress-relieving process" unfold right beneath his own hands.

He didn't mean anything else by it; he just wanted to get the Trainer cleaned up and brought out properly, and experiencing a sense of novelty was purely incidental!

"You guys..."

Zhu Suihan chuckled. "Then you'd better hurry up. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll probably be gathering shortly, and we have no reason to stay in this plain any longer."

Take the hustle and bustle away, and leave the quiet life to the Pokémon of the plains.

Milcery condensed a baseball bat, conscientiously wrapped a layer of cream around Zhu Suihan first, and then hopped away gleefully to have Lapras wet the bat.

Mewtwo couldn't help but smile slightly as he watched Milcery use the moistened baseball bat to scrape the scale powder off Zhu Suihan, which looked somewhat like grooming a pet.

"Mew—"

Lapras used a minimum-power Water Gun to wash Zhu Suihan down. After all, an opportunity like this was rare to come by; if she washed the scale powder off the Trainer in a single instant, it would be hard to find such a chance again in the future.

It had to be cherished!

The scale powder and cream slowly flowed downward. Zhu Suihan closed his eyes, "enjoying" the process of his family giving him a bath while making sure nothing got into his eyes.

Once everything was pretty much washed clean, Lapras and Milcery stopped what they were doing and fixed their gaze on their third sister.

A special privilege! The final step of the process is up to you, third sister!

The corners of Zhu Suihan's mouth curved upward. "Mewtwo, don't you want to give it a try?"

[I was just thinking the same thing.]

Mewtwo raised his right hand, and a ball of psychic energy slowly condensed, sending wave after wave of shock ripples toward Zhu Suihan, completely shaking off the remaining scale powder from his body.

"Mew-mew."

Lapras nudged Zhu Suihan gently. A fragrant Trainer really did look much more pleasing to the eye.

"I kind of feel like I've been doused in cream-scented perfume."

Placing Milcery atop his head, Zhu Suihan reached out toward Mewtwo.

"Teleport, please."

[Alright.]

The medical assistance operation in the Silver Plains came to a successful conclusion. The freshmen from both academies were somewhat reluctant to part ways, and eventually took a group photo arranged by the League staff.

Well, as one of the very few male students across both academies, Zhu Suihan took full advantage of his status to sit in the front row alongside several of his peers from the Officer Academy.

It just goes to show that a sparse green leaf amidst a cluster of flowers can also serve quite a neat role as a foil.

"Let's go, let's go. Time for a good sleep once we get back."

Zhu Suihan twirled three Poké Balls between his fingers to recall his partners, turning an incense burner over in his hand as he lined up to board the school bus.

*Tap.*

An arm landed on Zhu Suihan's shoulder. The Officer Academy instructor looked at the white-haired monkey with a beaming smile and dropped a bombshell.

"Student Suihan, your school bus isn't on this side. You've got the wrong one."

Zhu Suihan: ?

"I'm a student at the Nursing Academy, that much is definitely true."

The Officer instructor said, "It seems to have been arranged by the two Deans."

[Sounds like you've just been sold out.]

Zhu Suihan's head was full of question marks. "Let me make a quick call to ask the Dean then."

The call went through—

"Off to the Officer Academy you go, Suihan. I sold you."

Joy Net was sitting in the Dean's office, sipping tea sent by an old friend. On the table sat specialty pastries characteristic of the Officer clan as well.

Utterly cozy.

The pastries were reportedly an internal reward made by an Officer Master who excelled in the craft. In her youth, that Officer had used her pastries to conquer certain malicious Pokémon and humans, making them turn over a new leaf.

Joy Net said, "The Officers and the Investigators have a little event that requires your participation. I've granted you a leave of absence for it, and you can return to the academy after it's over."

Zhu Suihan couldn't help but retort, "That's called working overtime, not a vacation."

"It's fine. You're still just a student without an official job yet, so having you go over doesn't count as overtime; the League can't manage that."

Joy Net's tone turned serious. "The League is about to make a move. Once that's settled, we can comfortably hold the League Conference and let everyone have a peaceful and happy new year."

"That old hag Officer Lyu said a matter like this could also help you gain some experience, so I agreed. It's definitely not because of the good tea and pastries."

Having figured out what he was expected to do, Zhu Suihan searched for the Officer Academy's school bus. Hearing this, he couldn't help but pause for a moment, wondering if his own Dean was somewhat underestimating his market value.

"What kind of tea is worth all that?"

"Ahem, that's not the point."

Joy Net maintained a poker face. "And there's one more thing: that so-called King of Polteageist is something only you can handle; nobody else has a way to deal with it. Better wipe them out in one sweep, understand?"

Zhu Suihan indicated he understood. "Then can the academy assign me a Chandelure? I plan to use the King of Polteageist to feed it. It can also count as an opportunity to observe vicious Pokémon up close."

Joy Net: ?

The pastries and tea on the table suddenly didn't taste so good anymore.

What is this brat trying to do!

"If not a Chandelure, a Litwick is fine too. Litwick are so cute."

He was quite curious whether a Litwick consumed souls like drinking bubble tea, or tore them apart piece by piece like eating meat.

Joy Net took a deep breath. "In any case, just go over there and help out, and stop saying such weird things outside. Do you hear me?!"

If words like that got out, there'd be hell to pay!

Zhu Suihan nodded. "Understood, Dean. I guarantee that there won't be any outsiders around when I do such things. I'm getting on the bus now."

Joy Net slammed a hand onto the table. "That is not what this old lady meant!"

As soon as he boarded the bus, Zhu Suihan furrowed his brow, realizing that the situation wasn't so simple, and furthermore, he couldn't retreat behind the others—he felt completely devoid of any sense of security.

He felt like some heinous criminal worthy of the Officers deploying a whole bus of bread-headed enforcers for an armed escort.

"Student Suihan, right? Come, come, sit here."

The lead instructor waved at Zhu Suihan. "Don't be nervous. Coming to our academy is just like coming home. If you need it, we can even arrange your original spot in the dormitories for you."

"No need, Instructor. I feel like living anywhere is pretty nice."

Zhu Suihan sat down. "It's just that everyone is wearing a uniform, and sitting here in casual clothes makes me feel a bit pressured."

"It's fine, we've all seen you before—or rather, we've all been knocked flat by you."

When you put it that way, Instructor, I'm even more nervous!

"Then let's talk about something you're more familiar with."

The instructor smiled. "This is also content that senior students from both academies need to study."

"When we successfully arrest lawbreakers, their Pokémon are usually left behind directly for re-education, but there are exceptions to some cases."

"For example, among the Pokémon they captured, some may have already suffered beatings and threats, leaving them with various physical and psychological issues."

The instructor's tone lowered. "And Pokémon of this category require the help of the Nursing Academy. Although we do have corresponding psychological treatment programs on our side, they aren't the most professional."

"There are still many lawbreakers in this world, and the mission of Officers and Investigators is to bring them to justice."

Zhu Suihan frowned. "Beatings and threats? There should probably be even more terrifying aspects to it. If it were *just* those, it would likely provoke a desire to resist among the Pokémon, which wouldn't be conducive to subsequent transfers and sales."

The Officer instructor's eyes lit up. "Student Suihan truly lives up to his name as a genius researcher. If you have any different insights, feel free to share them so the students can gain a bit more experience."

Zhu Suihan: ...

"Uh, I'm just speaking hypothetically, mind you. Hypothesizing."

The white-haired monkey carefully weighed his phrasing. "As everyone knows, the Minccino and Cinccino family particularly love cleanliness, to the point where it has reached a severe level of germophobia."

"And because this lineage has a very cute appearance, and their combat capability in terms of abilities is reasonably guaranteed, they should be favored by quite a few people."

The Officer instructor looked at the students listening attentively and nodded approvingly, his favorable impression of Zhu Suihan continuing to rise.

That's right, that's right! Using an example with a clear rationale helps everyone understand better. The Dean truly didn't misjudge him!

"When dealing with this kind of Pokémon, threats won't play any role because there's simply no need for it."

Zhu Suihan said calmly, "You only need to tie a Minccino to a chair and make her watch a clean, tidy room gradually become dirty and messy. That has a much better effect."

"Walk past her and accidentally spill instant noodle soup onto the floor."

"The next time, go roll around in the mud outside, walk all over the house upon returning to ensure there are muddy footprints on the floor and walls, and it'd be even better if there's a bit of an odd smell."

"And during this process, you must pretend to accidentally splash dirty things onto the Minccino, repeating the above process."

Zhu Suihan concluded, "There's no need for beatings or threats; just a little psychological suggestion targeting Minccino's racial traits is enough to completely break her mental defenses and use that as leverage to make her obedient."

The smile on the Officer instructor's face gradually vanished, eventually replaced by a blank expression as his hands—accustomed to arresting criminals—began to tremble.

No, no, that familiar feeling was creeping back!

Back in the past, at a moment like this, he should have pointed forward and ordered his Arcanine to use its maximum-power Flamethrower to deal a massive blow to those outlaws!

This white-haired guy is reeking of criminal vibes from head to toe!

Lapras and Milcery were rolling around laughing inside their balls without a care in the world, while only Mewtwo maintained a shred of sobriety with his powerful psychic energy—though not by much.

Letting someone with such a profound understanding of Pokémon habits and traits fall to the dark side was truly a dangerous thing, because you genuinely never knew how the other person might strike!

[Stop talking, stop talking, shut up already! Keep talking like this and I reckon you won't ever want to return to the Nursing Academy in this lifetime!]

Mewtwo certainly didn't want to experience the plotline of "partners automatically bursting out of their balls to hijack the execution ground and make a daring escape" so soon after boarding the bus!

Dangerous, far too dangerous. No wonder the Nursing Academy always placed such high importance on students' mental health!

The Officer instructor experienced thoughts similar to Mewtwo's, and after a dry cough, he forced an explanation.

"Everyone heard that, right? Student Suihan used this negative example to tell us that when facing injured and persecuted Pokémon, we need to hold the greatest goodwill and love."

"As for those violent lawbreakers, we must strike them down with heavy blows!"

"Yes!"

The uniform response allowed the Officer instructor to secretly breathe a sigh of relief, and he decided to switch to a much more normal topic.

Before the Nursing Academy could guarantee that Zhu Suihan had undergone profound ideological re-education, he couldn't be allowed to corrupt their students!

Dean, just what kind of bizarre freak have you recruited!