Chapter 1022: The Embarrassing Lizard

The Scarlet and Violet mascot legendary!

What was it called? Right! Miraidon!

Is this a wild one? It couldn't be a Ditto in disguise, could it?

Its appearance doesn't look quite like the one in the promotional PV; in that, Miraidon could fly, and its hind legs were two thrusters, whereas the one in front of him has claws for hind legs.

Even if it can't fly, it still has the look of a motorcycle.

This is...

Miraidon's initial form?

Many thoughts flashed through All Baimu's mind, but his body moved instinctively.

"Wait!"

After taking just two steps, he thought for a moment, then turned back to pick up the sandwich on the table.

"Gaa-ss!"

Miraidon stumbled in a panic, crawled out a few meters, then simply sprawled on the ground and extinguished its electronic eyes to play dead.

Such a cowardly, timid display couldn't help but make All Baimu doubt once again whether this Miraidon was the real deal.

A juvenile form similar to Cosmog?

He crouched down in front of Miraidon, and just then, the creature's electronic eyes lit up, as if it wanted to confirm if its deception had succeeded.

Who would have thought it would lock eyes with All Baimu, immediately tilting its head in fright and deepening its act of playing dead.

The next moment.

Gurgle...

The sound of a stomach rumbling echoed.

All Baimu: "..."

A Legendary Pokémon that gets hungry?

It looks like the kind that's hungry to the point of having no strength left; it's simply unimaginable.

With its strength, couldn't it just snatch food from ordinary Pokémon to get full?

Is it injured?

He observed Miraidon's physical condition but found no obvious wounds.

But it could also be internal injuries.

Or perhaps, just like Cosmog, its initial form simply has no combat power.

This guy looks like a Cyclizar...

A future Cyclizar?

It feels like it has a deep connection to Area Zero as well.

All Baimu pondered carefully, silently placing the sandwich in front of Miraidon's nose and shaking it slightly.

Although this guy looks like a mechanical lizard, there are plenty of other Pokémon that are more mechanical than it, and don't they eat just the same?

So All Baimu believed that ordinary glowing cuisine could tempt it.

The fact that it appeared here in the first place most likely meant it was attracted by the aroma of the food, just like other wild Pokémon.

Sure enough.

When the wheat aroma of the bread, the rich scent of fruits and vegetables, and the sweet taste of the Secret Seasoning wafted out, Miraidon couldn't hold back anymore.

Its electronic eyes flickered several times before finally lighting up, revealing a salivating expression.

"Ga... ow..."

The cry came with its own electronic distortion, very cyberpunk.

All Baimu pushed it forward.

The aroma right under its nose made Miraidon unable to endure any longer; it took a bite and swallowed it whole.

In an instant.

The intense hunger vanished, its body and mind felt fully satisfied, and the weakness from within and without gradually dissipated.

What made it even happier was that its lost power was surging back in waves.

It's that thing!

Miraidon remembered tasting this sweet flavor before; it didn't expect to encounter it again after escaping.

Not bad, not bad~

"How is it? Is it good?"

Seeing it shaking its head and looking shocked yet happy, All Baimu asked with a smile.

Miraidon raised its upper body to look at him, no longer as timid as before, and there was a bit more closeness in its eyes.

"Gaa-ss~"

It took the initiative to nudge forward, as if expressing gratitude.

While All Baimu was happy, his expression turned strange.

A mascot legendary that can be easily bought with food—and just a sandwich at that; he could roughly imagine how the game protagonist in the PV managed to obtain it.

He added, "Is it enough? If not, there's more."

There's more!?

Miraidon's eyes lit up, and it hurriedly revealed an expectant look, its wariness completely gone.

"Follow me."

All Baimu led it toward the dining table, his peripheral vision constantly monitoring its behavior.

He noticed that when Miraidon faced fierce Pokémon like Hydreigon, it kept its head lowered, but it could actually lift its head toward those with gentle temperaments like Blissey.

A timid personality?

Plus speed, minus attack... pfft!

All Baimu cleared his distracting thoughts, very curious as to how a dignified mascot legendary ended up in this state.

Perhaps it was time to activate the Heart of the Divine again.

His hands felt a bit itchy.

Ever since Regice and Registeel warned him not to use the Heart of the Divine casually, he hadn't had a heart-to-heart exchange with a strange legendary beast in a long time.

"Here."

All Baimu handed a soufflé to Miraidon, feeling eager to try.

Who would have thought Miraidon would sniff the soufflé, take a step back, and shake its head, refusing to eat it.

Hmm?

He said gently, "This is very delicious, try it first."

Not far away, Hydreigon tilted its head and sighed.

"Tss!"

He's at it again, the Trainer is at it again. Whenever he encounters an interesting Pokémon, he's always especially calculatingly gentle.

Seeing the human in front of it strongly recommending it, Miraidon buried its head and tasted a little.

"Gaa-ss..."

It's okay.

But it doesn't want this.

Miraidon blinked its electronic eyes, its antenna-like sharp horns trembling, trying to convey information.

All Baimu was silent, then had a sudden inspiration: "You want to eat a sandwich... eat that thing from before?"

"Gaa-ow! Ah gaa-ss!"

Miraidon nodded rapidly, excited that the person in front of it could understand its thoughts.

"..."

All Baimu was speechless.

What's so good about that stuff?

He only felt that Miraidon's dietary preference was as magical as the sandwich glowing.

"Fine, fine."

All Baimu helplessly began to make sandwiches, while Miraidon crouched to the side like a cat waiting to be fed, its claws folded inward.

Not long after.

Several sandwiches were finished, and Miraidon stood up impatiently, approached, grabbed one, tilted its head, and swallowed it with a gulp.

It didn't even chew...

The corner of his mouth twitched; he had just caught a glimpse and discovered that Miraidon had no teeth, and its entire oral cavity was full of mechanical sensation.

No wonder its taste was so peculiar.

While All Baimu was complaining inwardly, Miraidon's expression was extremely satisfied, with flowing light overflowing from its chest, as gorgeous as the color of the starry sky.

"Gaa-ow~"

It rubbed against All Baimu's side, finished all the sandwiches in succession, and its gaze swept over the other Pokémon nearby.

Immediately after.

Miraidon leaped up suddenly.

As if evolving, its entire body shone with light, transforming into the powerful stance All Baimu had seen in the promotional PV.

It turned to look at All Baimu, and without any warning, rushed toward the wilderness at an extremely fast speed!

Whoosh!

Blue light flowed like a tail flame, and in the blink of an eye, it had disappeared without a trace.

It was currently the middle of the night.

The hazy moonlight could hardly illuminate the winding canyon, and once Miraidon ran inside, it was like a wild rabbit diving into a burrow; there was simply no catching up.

The most important thing was this attitude.

All Baimu reached out his hand in a "wait" gesture: "..."

Ran away after eating?

You're not a real friend, man!

"Sha-sang..."

Hydreigon stifled a laugh, causing the crowd of Pokémon to look back, and it immediately pretended to be a dragon with nothing going on.

The Orthworm Titan's basketball-sized eyeballs scanned back and forth, feeling that it was no longer its business, and its stomach was full, so it quietly retreated to the side.

Seeing this, the wild Pokémon also thought something was going to happen and tiptoed away one after another.

But All Baimu didn't get angry.

He just sat on the camping chair, feeling unhappy, and pondered the reason for the failure of his gourmet strategy.

"Does it have a Trainer?"

This was the most likely answer.

Otherwise, there was no reason to run away after eating; did he look like a bad guy?

All Baimu turned to ask the concerned-looking Blissey, and was naturally denied.

Aggron was speechless.

It gazed at the pitch-black canyon in the distance, then looked around, always feeling like something was missing...

Where is Dragapult!?

"Goo-roar!"

Aggron stepped forward to remind the Trainer, All Baimu was stunned, then stood up abruptly to search everywhere, calling its name.

No response, it's not invisible.

The socially anxious dragon has run away from home again!

He slapped his forehead with a smack, feeling too tired to love.

It was hard enough to encounter a mascot legendary, and now that it had run away, Dragapult had to pull another stunt!

Wait.

Think carefully, what if the socially anxious dragon went to chase Miraidon?

Last time it didn't run away from home for no reason, but went to find the Spectrier hiding in the Spirit Realm.

All Baimu sat back down calmly.

"Wait a moment."

He told the crowd of Pokémon not to be impatient, waiting on the spot with anticipation and anxiety.

Hoopa was his last line of defense.

With this little demon god with great magical powers around, there was no need to worry about not being able to find Dragapult in the end.

About ten minutes passed.

On the horizon.

Blue-purple lightning crashed down, like a tree of thunder, instantly illuminating the pitch-black night sky.

Crack—Boom!!

The ear-splitting thunder spread rapidly.

All Baimu frowned; a thunderbolt from a clear sky was highly likely to be Miraidon's attack.

Who was it attacking?

It couldn't be Dragapult!

The unknown situation of his own Pokémon made him unable to sit still.

"Let's go! Go over and take a look!"

He rode on Hydreigon's back, calling Steelix, Gengar, and Blissey to accompany him, while the remaining Pokémon stayed behind to guard the camp.

The Dreepy siblings consciously followed; they usually only stayed with Dragapult during battles.

"Gaa-ne gaa-ne."

The Orthworm Titan watched his hurriedly departing back, its eyeballs rolling, not knowing what it was thinking.

——

In the canyon.

All Baimu was about to accelerate.

A blue-purple light from far away, accompanied by a thin cat-like cry, approached at a speed invisible to the naked eye!

"Gaa-ow~"

"Sha-sang!"

Hydreigon roared and flapped its wings, and a glowing blue light shield lit up.

If the Trainer weren't on its back, it would choose to charge directly and compete in strength with this guy.

And judging by the thunderbolt just now.

Doing so would most likely hurt All Baimu, so Hydreigon had to choose to play it safe.

It's just that the blue-purple light didn't charge over directly.

"Gaa-ss?"

Miraidon stopped in the distance, its electric-like dragon horns crackling and flashing, looking puzzled.

The next instant.

Light suddenly radiated from its body surface, and it became listless in a state visible to the naked eye, then reverted to its previous form and fell from the air.

"Steelix!"

"Hoon~"

The giant Steelix swooped down like a long dragon, catching Miraidon just before it hit the ground.

Seeing this, All Baimu's gaze quickly looked elsewhere.

"Dragapult!"

He called out loudly, and soon saw the sneaky Dragapult in a corner covered by shadows.

Sure enough, it went to chase Miraidon!

Acting on its own again!

All Baimu was so angry he clenched his fists, wishing he could beat up this guy who made him worry.

"Loo-tuo~"

It flew forward, and without waiting for the Trainer to attack, it started gesturing with its hands and feet.

All Baimu's face was dark, and after a long time, he understood what it meant.

Dragapult said that after Miraidon transformed, it went to trouble a group of Tinkaton, Tinkatuff, and Tinkatink.

Why?

Could it be that they had attacked Miraidon before?

All Baimu knew the habits of such Pokémon; they were adept at attacking various Steel-type Pokémon to use their scattered body tissues to forge hammers.

It could be called insane.

Given Miraidon's previous appearance of not daring to look people in the eye, it was normal for them to target it.

Was the first thing it did after recovering its strength to go back for revenge?

You kid, you're quite big but quite petty!

All Baimu looked at Miraidon, who was being carried up by Steelix; the latter had a look of hopelessness, unable to understand why it had lost its power again.

It had only been strong for such a short time.

"Gaa-ss..."

Miraidon was like a cat being held up by the middle, its limbs hanging limply, its body arched.

Turning back to the camp.

All Baimu grabbed Dragapult's triangular cheeks and forcibly pressed it into a corner for a beating.

"Let you run away without a sound! Let you run!"

"Loo-tuo..."

"You're even feeling wronged! Do you know how worried I was about you?"

"Loo-tuo~"

"Am I the kind of person who forgets his partners for the sake of a legendary beast?"

"Loo-tuo."

"Talking back! Talking back again!"

Slap slap slap slap!

He was truly furious; he had never beaten his Pokémon when they made mistakes before, and today was the first time he had broken the rule.

Dragapult wailed incessantly.

Miraidon was stunned, then looked at the surrounding Pokémon. Seeing the fierce Hydreigon looking fearful, it immediately lowered its head in anxiety.

This.

Is it my turn next?

Miraidon didn't dare to look.

It had thought about turning and running away directly, but then remembered the taste of the sandwich, and the power it had briefly recovered after eating it.

"Gaa-ss..."

Miraidon quietly hid in a corner, hoping All Baimu wouldn't notice it.

But how could that be?

After finishing with Dragapult, who had angered him, All Baimu found Miraidon immediately.

"You—"

"Gaa-ss!"

The mechanical lizard hugged its head and sprawled out, looking up at him pitifully.

Let's make a deal; you can't hit me after you're done hitting it.

All Baimu looked surprised and said softly, "Don't worry, I won't hit you."

You're not my Pokémon anyway.

He complained inwardly, then gently told Miraidon to relax and tried to mobilize the Heart of the Divine.

Unfortunately, this thing required the Pokémon's cooperation; without it, it would fail, just like when he linked the electric pillar and the dragon pillar earlier.

All Baimu tried a few times simply but failed, so he had to give up this convenient method.

He switched to other means.

"Where do you come from? Do you have a Trainer? Are you injured?"

He called for Porygon2, the interpreter, to come online.

Miraidon responded briefly, looking around from time to time, as if afraid of something.

After a series of questions.

All Baimu got an answer that disappointed him a little.

First, Miraidon had a Trainer; it had lived with a human family and later followed in someone's footsteps.

Second, it did come from Area Zero.

It couldn't describe what it looked like inside, nor could it describe what was there; it only knew it had been defeated by something red.

It had gone through great hardships to escape, only to lose its power and wander everywhere.

It spent its days either getting beaten up or on the way to getting beaten up and being hungry.

Today was the day it had eaten the most.

"Gaa-ow~"

Miraidon curled into a ball. ===== CHAPTER 1023 =====