Caidou's heart filled with alarm.
Although she was only seventeen, she was still a woman... well, a girl.
She was well aware of how charming Lurina was as a fellow woman.
"You can't."
In the next moment, Sun Wuming replied almost without hesitation.
Instantly, the wariness on Caidou's face turned to secret delight.
Though she still felt somewhat puzzled.
Was Master really this socially awkward with girls?
Well, she was pretty straightforward herself.
Even better!
"Why?"
Lurina asked in disbelief.
Though she wasn't conceited, she was well aware of her appeal to the opposite sex.
Rejecting me without a second thought makes this really awkward, you know?
"Your level is too low, you can't train in Haki."
Sun Wuming looked Lurina up and down, and after a brief two-second silence, spoke again.
At these words, both Caidou and Lurina fell silent.
Thinking this was way too blunt.
Couldn't he have been more tactful?
Even Sun Wuming admitted he didn't mean to be so direct.
It's just that there was no diplomatic way to answer this question.
Even Bear Disciple was his first Pokémon, and he still hadn't taught it Haki, right?
It was like in the original story where Monkey D. Luffy needed to reach a bounty level of 300 million before he barely qualified to learn Haki.
If his level had only been 30 million at the time, he wouldn't have been worthy to learn it.
And Lurina here was at that 30 million level.
"Is there really no way for me to get stronger?"
Lurina mumbled, head lowered.
Golden tears could no longer be held back and fell from her eyes.
Seeing this, even Caidou couldn't help but feel sympathy for her, and tugged at Sun Wuming's sleeve, saying softly:
"Master, isn't there some way you could help Lurina?"
At this moment, Caidou hadn't yet realized the gravity of the situation.
In the future, she would deeply regret this decision.
Sun Wuming stroked his chin in thought for a long while, and after several minutes raised his head and asked Lurina:
"Do you really want to become stronger?"
Hearing this, Lurina suddenly looked up, not even bothering to wipe away the pearl-like tears at the corners of her eyes.
"Yes!!"
Lurina nodded vigorously like a pounding pestle.
After making eye contact with Lurina's beautiful eyes for a few seconds, Sun Wuming pondered briefly before speaking again:
"Fine, tell your Pokémon to get ready. Tomorrow morning you'll start basic training with Bear Disciple."
"Your Pokémon's fundamentals are too weak, we need to start from scratch."
Lurina nodded firmly, "No problem."
Seeing Lurina crying tears of joy, Caidou quietly ate her last bite of cake, thinking to herself:
"Cherish your last relaxing night, Lurina."
...
...
That evening, at the Galar League Headquarters, Rose Tower.
"Chairman, we've received an email from Hulbury Gym Leader Lurina."
Oleana, still looking half-asleep, walked to Rose's desk with a document in hand.
"Oh? Has she sent her resignation?"
Rose looked up.
As someone who had discovered Leon's talent, Rose treasured every talented person who could serve Galar.
But Lurina... there was nothing to be done, her performance in the past two years had been too poor.
It even felt like she was dragging down the average level of the Galar League.
This had caused Rose to gradually lose confidence in her.
He felt that rather than being a subpar Gym Leader, she might as well be a pretty model.
"No, it's a request for extended leave."
Oleana handed the document to Rose, her tone completely devoid of emotion:
"She's requesting extended leave to train in Stow-on-Side."
"Stow-on-Side?"
Rose raised an eyebrow.
He took the document and reviewed it carefully.
In the document, Lurina only stated that she wanted to undergo special Pokémon training in Stow-on-Side, and thus was requesting extended leave.
But Stow-on-Side...
"That's the city Caidou's in charge of. Could Lurina's special training be related to Caidou's mysterious master that Leon mentioned?"
Rose speculated.
"It's possible."
Oleana responded:
"Should I investigate?"
Rose crossed his arms over his chest, thought for a long while, then shook his head:
"No, there's no need. If it's really related to him, I'm quite interested to see what level he can train these two to."
Speaking with an expectant smile, Rose continued:
"Rather than disturbing them now, wouldn't it be better to wait and see the results at the next Galar Star Tournament?"
"Indeed."
Oleana nodded.
Rose then signed Lurina's leave request.
After all, the Galar League had dozens of gyms.
Losing Lurina wouldn't matter at all.
On the contrary, if she could avoid performing as poorly as she had in the past two years, Rose would be even happier.
...
...
A new day's morning.
No, it couldn't be called morning yet, as the sun was still far from climbing over the horizon, with the full moon and stars still dominating the night sky.
At Stow-on-Side Gym, Caidou's home.
"Wake up, lazy woman."
After knocking repeatedly on Lurina's door with no response, Sun Wuming had no choice but to break in.
***
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