Chapter 1112

Four days ago.

Baimu sent Howl Tail and Miller Dun back to Platinum Silver Mountain.

Now, four days later, the Three Divine Pillars have been guarding the airport overnight, only waiting for the one who can make decisions to return.

And they have launched a strong accusation against him!

"Chit-chit-chit—le!! Chit!! Eh!!"

The reaction of Ice Pillar Lei Jiaisi is the greatest among the Three Divine Pillars; this quiet and serene one truly feels all-around discomfort at the existence of Howl Tail.

How could there be such a troublesome Pokémon!

I wish I had known that staying sealed away for a lifetime would be better than coming out!

"Dududud—le! Chit! Hiss!"

Steel Pillar Lei Jiasilu is comparatively better; it usually stays in an area farther from the main peak of the Platinum Silver Mountain range where Howl Tail is located.

Its dissatisfaction lies in being disturbed by too many Pokémon, causing the biological magnetic fields around Platinum Silver Mountain to become chaotic.

It is a Pokémon that prefers stable magnetic fields.

"Hoom-hoom-hoom—le~chit~ge~"

Rock Pillar Lei Jiailuo is the only Pokémon without disturbance; its "eyes" are floating and sinking particles in the air and vibrations on the ground.

As you know, the earth is always in motion.

Therefore, in its view, Howl Tail's roar is no different from a slight greeting.

In short, one sentence.

When the mountain has no tigers, monkeys call themselves kings; Howl Tail has become lawless!

Baimu wondered: "Your Majesty? No reaction? Hu Pa? Not back?"

"Hoom-hoom-hoom~"

"Lei Jiailuo says the King of Abundance took the two horses out on official business, and Hu Pa indeed hasn't returned." Multilateral phone translation.

The Ba Erza siblings have returned to Kalos, having stayed outside for a year; it's time to go home and take a look.

As for Queen Leiguanwang...

Official business?

Does the Ou Lei region still have any places not yet greened?

Could something have happened again at the Pokémon Paradise?

As Baimu was thinking silently, the E Gui Meng beside him quietly tugged at his sleeve, its expression slightly withdrawn.

"It's fine, Lei Jiailuo and the others are very gentle—"

He was just about to explain to the Three Divine Pillars when he realized the reason for E Gui Meng's hesitation was the gradually approaching crowd, enthusiastic and joyful people slowly surrounding the airport exit.

"Champion! Welcome home!"

"Champion, I watched your match yesterday! The Four Heavenly Kings of Kalos are indeed as expected!"

"Let those who look down on Ou Lei know our strength!"

"Champion! Champion! Champion!"

The crowd began shouting in unison.

Travelers initially annoyed and dissatisfied due to the congestion, upon seeing the towering Three Divine Pillars and understanding the cause, immediately became excited.

The champion has returned!

A few years ago, the people of Ou Lei still did not know what a champion was.

But in the year when Ou Lei officially connected with the outside world, during these few months of Ou Lei Alliance promotion, the weight of the champion has grown increasingly.

To speak frankly, the champion is a soul figure of a region.

Ordinary people may not know the current president of the Alliance, but they absolutely know who the current champion is.

Surrounded by a crowded throng, Baimu wearing a mask silently removed it and waved friendly at the excited crowd.

"Long time no see!"

For a moment.

The crowd became even more excited, with screams and shouts continuously rising.

Airport security began dispersing the crowd; the Three Divine Pillars, at Baimu's indication, increased their humming sound, and this resonant hum, not deafening but soul-stirring, gradually calmed everyone down.

He picked up E Gui Meng, nimbly leapt onto Lei Jiailuo's shoulder via its arm, and said, "Fly steady."

Lei Jiailuo responded, "Le~chit~ge~"

Immediately.

The Three Divine Pillars rose from the ground, accompanied by the crowd's exclamations, flying into midair.

"Thank you for your love! Not delaying your time! All disperse now! I'm going home first!"

Baimu said smilingly to those below.

E Gui Meng in his arms, upon hearing this, followed with a wave, "Bonino~"

Many female fans were instantly captivated by it.

"Cawai~"

"Did you watch yesterday's match? So cute and strong! One move defeated the opponent!"

"Just like the 'Young Lady'!"

"Is the 'Young Lady' you mentioned Big Mouth Baby?"

"You're also a fan of the Young Lady? Add me as a friend!"

Shared affection for the same thing fosters a new friendship; such situations are commonplace.

People gradually dispersed; the fortunate intern journalist who captured the earlier scene excitedly looked at the phone photo.

Tonight's news material just got even better!

Great!

At the same time, above the headquarters of the Ourei Alliance, three divine pillars approached like missiles and crashed down with a thunderous impact, accompanied by a terrifying rumbling wind along the way.

Passersby, either curious or startled, looked up.

"It's the legendary giant! The champion has arrived~!"

Accompanied by low murmurs, the three divine pillars hovered at a height of one meter above the ground, as if time had paused miraculously.

Baimu, with an unpleasant expression, jumped down from Lei Ji's shoulder and punched its belly, saying, "If you pull this stunt again next time, I'll vomit on you!"

Riding the divine pillars was an awful experience, especially this last jolt, which nearly made him vomit his in-flight meal.

"Hmm~hmm~hmm~"

Lei Ji emitted a buzzing sound like mocking laughter.

This guy has been out of tune for not just a day or two—Lei Jiaisi and Lei Jisichilu initially tried to stop him by force, but now they've long grown accustomed...

... to resigning themselves to fate.

Fortunately, the three brothers were molded from the same father; otherwise, Baimu seriously doubted the ice pillar and steel pillar would dismantle it.

Egu Ping gazed at the unfamiliar skyscraper before him and said, "Boni o?"

"Let me introduce you to my closest friend, the most excellent appreciator on life's journey!" Baimu smiled faintly, paused, then added: "Parentheses, regarding humans."

Setting humans aside, the one who first appreciated him should have been Kekodora, a meeting as fated as destiny.

He then turned to the three divine pillars and said: "You may return now—I already know what happened, and I'll come to clean up the howling tail."

Actually, the responsibility mainly lies with him; earlier, he lured the howling tail back to Platinum Mountain by tempting it with the promise of being able to shout freely there.

Who knew it would become so unrestrained...

"Beep beep beep!"

Lei Jiaisi's buzzing was urgent, as if urging him to return soon.

It's clear how unwelcome the howling tail is among Pokémon.

The two divine pillars departed.

What remained was the shrunk Lei Ji.

It had become much shorter than Baimu, inexplicably shifting from tall and mighty to an adorable doll-like figure, similar in actual height to a Nidoking.

"Buzz buzz buzz——"

Lei Ji swaggered through the sensing gate, surrounded by many bewildered passersby and Alliance staff.

Security personnel approached awkwardly and said: "Champion, the headquarters' tiles..."

"It's fine—let it step on them."

The voice came from afar—it was Shan Ren stepping out of the elevator, wearing a sharp suit, with Hu Di and the Superpowered Miao following behind.

Unlike before, Shan Ren now often brings Pokémon to work and even assigns simple tasks to Hu Di.

Hu Di consistently completes tasks well and is secretly referred to by many as the "Li Secretary."

The "surface secretary" remains Wu Wu.

Shan Ren's gaze fell upon Egu Ping, and he smiled: "From afar, I almost thought it was someone's little girl."

"Really that similar?"

Baimu, having grown accustomed to it, felt no resemblance to a human at all.

Shan Ren didn't argue with him on this point and said: "That newly captured Pudding of yours needs proper management."

Baimu: "...... How come you're also tattling? Did it offend you too?"

"A few days ago, we sent a team to survey nearby, and they stayed there for five or six hours—it followed them the whole way, shouting nonstop for five or six hours."

Shan Ren shook his head: "I've never seen a Pokémon with such boundless energy—just listening to the recording's sound feels terrifying."

Baimu: "......"

Howling Tail! What on earth did you do!

He now really wants to rush back to Platinum Mountain, catch that evil fat Pudding, and give it a thorough beating.

Egu Ping heard only vaguely, knowing only that the howling tail had caused trouble again.

The two entered the elevator.

Beep beep beep!

The overweight alarm sounded, prompting Baimu to pat Lei Ji: "Buddy, you're overweight—wait for the next trip."

"Leng~li~ge~"

The Stone Pillar's choice was levitation.

Buzz——

The elevator rose smoothly.

The Superpowered Miao and Hu Di also floated up, imitating Lei Ji's state, and finally looked toward Egu Ping.

As if saying: "Just you left."

Xiao Ping Gan blushed.

It can't fly!

Then, Lei Ji and Hu Di, one on the left and one on the right, grabbed its clothes and lifted it into the air.

Baimu watched the interacting Pokémon and asked: "I heard Lei Ji say that Queen Leiguanwang went out on official business?"

Shan Ren calmly replied: "Yes, I sent it to Nickel Dark Island."

"Is that place finally going to be developed?"

He recalled that the mother and son of Luojia seemed to have made that place their nest—"What are you planning to develop it into? A resort?"

Shanren replied, "School."

Baimu: "... Huh?"

"The League held internal meetings and realized that cultivating the next generation of Trainers cannot rely solely on traditional methods; systematic education is needed even more."

He continued, "Although no regional Champion has yet come from an academy background, I believe one will eventually, especially since the principal will be you."

Ding~

The elevator doors opened.

The two walked out.

Shanren looked at his silent friend and said strangely, "Don't tell me you plan to build a school all by yourself."

"That is the plan."

Baimu said it without batting an eye.

He helplessly held his forehead and sighed, "Ha... I ask you, why do you want so much land, Baimu? Do you know how much money it takes to build a Trainer academy?"

Baimu estimated, "A few billion?"

"Wrong, it's tens of billions!"

Shanren shook his head, "A few billion at most builds an ordinary cultural school; building a Trainer academy is nowhere near enough."

Although PokéYuan isn't as valuable as RMB, it shouldn't be that bad, right?

Baimu pondered secretly.

Shanren added, "Even if you build the school with a few billion, what about the annual funding? A school is a long-term investment, absolutely not something that ends once it's built."

Indeed.

The hidden costs behind a school, calculated long-term, are probably higher than its construction cost itself.

But tens of billions...

Baimu said, "You want to build on the scale of Uva Academy or Blueberry Academy?"

"Of course, this is a school representing the region!" Shanren glanced at him, "Either don't do it, or do it big!"

Very much in line with Shanren's thinking.

This is a man who found he couldn't make it as a Trainer, or rather couldn't climb to the peak, so he settled for the next best thing and became League President.

—And he actually succeeded.

And now he's heading straight in the direction of wanting it all.

Baimu thought of the pile of gold in Gengar's stomach; previously thinking of those hundreds of millions, maybe he could build a good school.

Now it seems, it'll probably only build a teaching building.

"The project will be a joint effort by Team Magma and Team Aqua; one excels at land remodeling, the other at near-sea remodeling, and I'm sure they can build a school that satisfies you."

Shanren pushed open the office door and said while pouring tea, "Lunch together?"

"At this hour... sure."

Baimu glanced at his phone.

It's not like another hour or two matters; let Howletail experience the calm before the storm.

—

Platinum Silver Mountain.

Villa rooftop.

Howletail gathered itself and opened its wide mouth.

"Aaa—!!!"

Visible sound waves spread in all directions; countless forest birds took flight in alarm, fish schools in Moonview Lake boiled, and several Gyarados angrily fired Hyper Beams at the sky.

Inside the room, Alolan Meowth silently swept up the falling dust, face full of despair.

If there are demons in this world, it is definitely pink.

In just five days, the vast majority of glass items in the house were wrecked by Howletail.

Wall plaster cracked everywhere; if not for the reinforced concrete being relatively sturdy, it probably wouldn't be faring much better.

Milotic ran fast, taking the map it gave and heading north to the Pokémon Paradise.

Meowth is the Platinum Silver Mountain chief steward, with the duty to guard the territory, so it can't leave for a moment.

Endure!

The Trainer will be back soon!

Many wild Pokémon on Platinum Silver Mountain are waiting for Baimu to return.

Otherwise they would have run off long ago.

"Meow—"

Meowth gritted its teeth; if it could beat Howletail, it would have pinned this hateful big Jigglypuff to the ground long ago!

It dumped the wall plaster into the trash can, when suddenly it heard a loud shout from the rooftop.

"Shut up!"

It's the Trainer!

The Trainer's back!

Thank the heavens, finally here!

Meowth rushed toward the stairs in excitement and thrill, sprinting all the way to the rooftop, and saw Baimu pinching Howletail's lips with one hand, pulling them back while knocking its head.

"Do you know! How many Pokémon and people have complained to me about your misdeeds! You wicked big Jigglypuff!!"

"Mmph! Mmph!!"

Howletail glared at him angrily, tears seemingly welling in the corners of its eyes, looking like it had grievances it couldn't voice.

Meowth saw the situation and felt a sense of foreboding.

This is preparing to turn the tables and blame the victim!

It hurriedly flew and pounced at Baimu's feet, looking up at him pitifully, "Meow~ Meow meow~ Meow wu~"

"Oh, Meowth~ Poor Meowth, you've had a hard time."

Baimu still held Loudred's mouth, stroked Meowth's head, and said with pity: "I'll think of a way to compensate you."

Enduring the noise at close range, poor cat!

Forcibly dragging the aggrieved and furious Loudred into the villa, seeing the messy scene inside, the corner of Baimu's mouth twitched.

"You guy... you're even more destructive than a Husky."

"Geng ga!"

The differently-colored Gengar from the shadows flew out, rushed into the esports room, saw that several monitors and cases were all intact, and let out a breath of relief.

This is half its life!

In the living room.

Baimu released his Pokemon one by one, and they each rushed toward their personal belongings.

Especially Mawile, who eagerly rushed toward her Princess room; although she usually doesn't live there, she would put the dolls she didn't take with her inside.

As expected, the wall had also cracked, but the dolls in the transparent boxes were unexpectedly clean and tidy.

"Tsk..."

It knew clearly, it wasn't that Loudred showed mercy, but that Meowth had cleaned everything up.

Large patches of wall plaster had fallen off the top, but none were seen on the floor or shelves — that was the proof.

Mawile silently turned her head, grabbed Loudred by the hair, and forcibly dragged the wailing creature out of the villa.

The Key Stone on Baimu's chest automatically flashed bright.

Dong!

A huge boom.

The chaotic cries stopped.

Mega Mawile dragged the fainted Loudred back, "Qi dong!"

If she didn't punch it once, this pent-up anger couldn't be vented!

(End of chapter)