Chapter 1174: The Tangerine Situation Looks Very Promising

"I, I lost..."

Gadeleya's feet touched the ground, and she remained silent for a long time.

No matter how she thought about it, she never expected to lose in such a way.

Looking back on her long battle career, this was the only time that made her feel physically uncomfortable.

Are defensive Pokémon really this difficult to deal with?

Gadeleya, who excelled at stacking dual psychic power with her partner and was accustomed to using Heavy Slam to blast through opponents, fell into intense self-doubt for the first time in her life.

Clap-clap-clap—

Applause rang out.

Zhulan smiled as she approached, "What a splendid battle."

Splendid...?

Gadeleya looked at her in confusion, feeling nothing splendid about it; now, thinking back, she even felt a bit dizzy.

It was exactly like the state of excessive psychic power consumption.

Zhulan spoke softly: "Gadeleya, don't forget what you once told me."

What did you say?

Gadeleya's mind was instantly filled with memories.

That's right.

She had once told Zhulan that her immature self was already gone.

But looking at it now, "she" still lurked in her heart.

Gadeleya took a deep breath and nodded: "Sorry, I lost composure again."

"Take this opportunity to carefully examine yourself. If you gain any insight, you will become stronger!"

Zhulan gently patted her shoulder.

In this champion's view, this was a battle worth Gadeleya's joy.

After all, being able to discover one's shortcomings before an official match—what could be more worth celebrating than that?

"..."

Gadeleya remained silent.

She had begun self-reflection, using psychic power to replay the recent battle.

Zhulan was pleased that she still listened to advice as she used to, a good child who could take in words.

Immediately.

Zhulan stopped disturbing her and walked slowly toward Baimu.

Seeing him crouched beside the Galarian Sun Coral, she likewise crouched down and praised: "What an excellent Pokémon."

The Sun Coral is less than sixty centimeters in body length, about the size of a small watermelon.

Don't let its luminous cooking fool you—it eats plenty, but the actual appearance of Ghost-type Pokémon has been basically fixed since birth, whether it's this one, the Shiny Duskull, or the Duo Dragon Barruledto.

Despite this Pokémon being so small and delicate, it left Super Alraune utterly helpless.

The Psychic Blade could cleave a tree trunk in one swing, yet against the Sun Coral, it couldn't even shave off a bit of dust.

Zhulan had sparred with Gadeleya in private many times and knew exactly what kind of power she possessed.

To be frank, if it weren't for Elise's undeniable strength and outstanding talent, the next regional champion of Unova should have been Gadeleya.

Zhulan had this confidence in her.

Unfortunately, heaven does not bestow talent on only one person; it granted Gadeleya powerful psychic abilities, and also gave Elise a unique 【Dragon's Heart】.

Zhulan felt regretful about this, yet also happy for Gadeleya.

Because she had a goal worth striving for.

And as for myself...

Earlier this year, Zhulan made a bold decision—

Retirement.

She resigned from the champion's throne to wholeheartedly develop her archaeology career.

She had stood on the trainer's peak for too long; looking up at the void truly felt somewhat tiresome.

So she prepared to make room for those who came after.

Barring any surprises, the day the World Championships end will be the time she publicly announces her retirement.

She hopes this match will not disappoint her.

Zhulan remembers the day she ascended the champion's throne, and also hopes that when she leaves, she can leave herself a precious memory.

And just now.

She saw the image of her once-stagnant passion beginning to surge again.

Zhulan's eyes, clear as glass, flashed with a glint of light: "You can tell you've nurtured it very well!"

Baimu smiled in response: "Thank you for the praise."

"Hah!"

The Sun Coral appeared very angry, white smoke bursting from its many holes, like a plant bursting with vitality.

It simply wanted to end the battle as quickly as possible, yet ended up dragging it out until now.

Even longer than most of its previous battles!

Zhulan wondered: "Clearly it won the battle, yet it seems not too happy?"

Baimu: "Hmm..."

Can't really say the Sun Coral is annoyed about winning too slowly, can we?

He tried a different line: "My Sun Coral is a pacifist."

"A pacifist?"

Zhulan visibly paused, then covered her mouth and laughed: "An interesting way to put it. Averse to battling?"

"Averse to trouble."

Baimu picked up Sun Coral, letting its still-unretracted smoke-like tentacles "stab" into his body.

Seeing this, Sun Coral immediately withdrew them.

Even so, it let him experience a intense stimulation similar to touching a live wire.

Zhulan said: "Hope we get a chance to battle."

Sun Coral's performance naturally ignited her fighting spirit; as a Champion, seeing a massive tank like Sun Coral would never make her back down — only feel full of challenge.

And challenge happens to be one of the driving forces that push people to grow.

"I look forward to it too, Ms. Zhulan."

How could Baimu not want to challenge the object of his past admiration?

Zhulan shook her head: "Please just call me by my name. We're both Champions; you don't need to be so polite."

As the two talked, Gardevoir had fully composed herself, stepped closer and said: "Thanks for the lesson! Your Sun Coral exceeded my expectations... but in a formal match I won't lose to you!"

"Likewise."

Baimu nodded, then looked around: "Where's Acerola?"

"She went to borrow books for me."

Zhulan smiled: "Alola's history is fascinating. The Radiant Deity from another world, possessing the power to bestow light upon the world.

"Last year Alola fell into darkness for a long time. Have you seen that news?"

Seemingly touching on a topic of interest, Zhulan spoke on and on.

Baimu chimed in now and then, but found Gardevoir's overly eager demeanor a bit hard to take.

Though he knew this psychic girl idolized Zhulan, she seemed to be acting a bit beyond the bounds of mere admiration...

The three chatted as they returned to the library.

Not long after entering, Acerola came back hugging a book, and Greedy Rap had a pile of books on its head.

Zhulan happily went up to meet them: "Thanks for the trouble, Manager Young Lady. Thank you so much for your help!"

"No problem, it's what I should do~"

Acerola laughed and shook her head.

Because she was too young, many things she couldn't do, leaving her bored out of her mind on ordinary days.

Now that Zhulan asked for her help, she felt very happy.

Faced with a large number of books, Zhulan's chronic indecision acted up as always; she hesitated for a long time before deciding to read several at once.

And what made Baimu rather uncomfortable was that when Acerola brought out several different desserts, Zhulan started hesitating again.

"Hmm... making choices really is a difficult thing!"

She said with a touch of distress.

Gardevoir propped her chin up in admiration: "Big Sister Zhulan looks so cool when she's seriously making a decision~"

Baimu: "..."

Sis, you're really fangirling hard.

——

By midday.

Baimu took his leave, planning to wander elsewhere in Alola.

Though he still liked this childhood goddess, he really wasn't the type to rush up to someone.

If he were misunderstood by Gardevoir, who clearly had feelings for Zhulan, that would be troublesome too.

Even if Gardevoir didn't seem like a difficult person.

Don't let her slightly haughty personality fool you — she has the capital to be haughty.

An extraordinary family background, outstanding talent — neither is something ordinary people can compare to.

This trip to Alola, Zhulan was staying at Gardevoir's seaside villa on Melemele Island; the area was vast, a super luxury mansion that completely dwarfed the seaside cabin Baimu lived in.

Of course, with Baimu's current net worth he could afford it entirely.

Before leaving, he exchanged contact info with Zhulan and Gardevoir, then greeted Modan, and rode Hydreigon to a certain ranch on Akala Island.

"Baimu!"

Kaki, who was milking a Miltank, was delighted; he came over without even taking off his gloves and mask to give him a hug: "Aloha~ How come you're here?"

"Aloha! Naturally just passing by to check on you."

Baimu stepped back several paces, staring down at his gloves.

Seeing this, Kaki hurriedly took them off awkwardly: "Here on vacation in Alola? That's right!

"There's no place in the world more suitable for vacation than the Alola region!"

He proudly clenched his fist; Akala Volcano is his love, Alola is also his love!

Baimu smiled: "Then are you ready?"

"Ready for what... ah! Ready anytime!"

Kaki didn't react at first; upon seeing the man before him take out a Poké Ball, he excitedly turned and shouted: "Hoshi! Come help big brother!"

"Coming!"

A little loli ran over quickly — precisely Kaki's younger sister Hoshi.

In just a year, Hoshi had grown considerably; even Kaki was willing to let her help out now.

In the past, if Xing'er even picked up an empty bucket, Kaki would pounce to stop her.

The little loli was also very happy to see Baimu. "Brother Baimu!"

"Xing'er admires you the most now. She often watches your matches and short videos. She's preparing to personally catch a Hippowdon when she turns ten."

Kaki chuckled, stroking Xing'er's head.

Xing'er pushed her brother a little shyly, then said with full anticipation and longing, "Can you let me meet Hippowdon?"

"Of course."

Baimu quickly took out a Poké Ball and opened it.

One look and you could tell she was a super little fangirl of Hippowdon. Just a request to meet — if he refused, Hippowdon would complain to him.

Sure enough, when Hippowdon landed and learned that the loli in front of it followed its PokéTok account,

and liked and reposted every single day, a thorough die-hard fan, its attitude instantly became unprecedentedly friendly.

"Chido~"

It not only willingly let Xing'er touch and even hug it, but also took several photos with her, posting them on its blog and PokéTok.

The caption —

"Met a little fan offline, truly a cute kid~"

Once posted, it garnered countless likes and comments.

Ever since it solo-swept Elite Four Kahili, its lost traffic had gradually returned.

Seeing the fans and likes increasing every day, Hippowdon was very satisfied.

This was a personal account it had cultivated from zero!

The Young Lady was full of a sense of accomplishment.

And while the two of them were taking photos together, Kaki and his Pokémon were in the midst of inhumane abuse.

Some things that were hard to say to Gardevoir, hard to do to her, he carried out on Kaki one by one.

Leaving the dark-skinned young man inexplicably withdrawn.

"What exactly did I do this whole year……"

He knelt on the ground, eyes vacant.

The Blastoise, Alolan Marowak, and Charizard prostrate beside him deeply empathized.

Before, they didn't know what despair was. Now they knew.

Baimu patted his shoulder comfortingly. "You're already excellent. Inheriting the Island Kahuna position is just around the corner!"

"Really?"

Kaki looked up at him, then shook his head regretfully. "Probably not happening."

The Island Kahuna is different from a Regional Champion. It's not purely based on strength; it equally relies on status and the people's hearts.

Under normal circumstances, no matter how strong a Trainer is,

if they lack the island people's support and the Island Kahuna's own consent, there's basically no possibility of succeeding as Island Kahuna.

Take Poni Island's Kahuna — in terms of strength, Hapu surpassed him early on.

Yet she only inherited the position when the other party truly could no longer serve as Kahuna.

"People must have dreams! I think you can do it!"

Baimu's affirmative tone moved Kaki deeply. "Baimu……"

He thought that after performing so terribly, he would be looked down upon.

Who knew he would actually receive comfort!

Truly, one cannot judge a person by their appearance!

Kaki couldn't help but marvel at how Baimu increasingly bore the bearing of a Champion, and invited him inside to eat ice cream.

As the two chatted idly,

Baimu suddenly smiled and said, "When are you planning to graduate from the Pokémon School?"

"Graduate? What about it?"

Kaki was slightly stunned.

Baimu said, "I'll tell you the truth. I have a school that's about to be completed, and I hope……"

"Go to school? Sure!"

Kaki readily agreed, thinking he would advance his studies at the school Baimu opened, and would definitely become extremely strong after graduating!

Who knew the other party shook his head with a smile. "No no no, I want you to be a teacher."

"Tea……cher?"

Kaki's eyes widened, pointing at himself.

Him?

A teacher?

Baimu nodded. "I've already verified your strength. It fits my requirements perfectly!"

Kaki's growth magnitude is higher than Gladio's.

Perhaps currently he still isn't Gladio's match, but serving as a teacher is absolutely sufficient.

Just as Baimu believed.

A powerful Trainer doesn't necessarily produce powerful Trainers. Kaki's strength is slightly inferior, but his sense of responsibility and personality are extremely suited to the teaching profession.

In the game, Kaki once served as the Island Challenge Captain, responsible for guiding new Trainers.

"I…… I'll consider it?"

Kaki's expression changed.

Baimu said, "Take your time thinking it over, no rush. My school's only just broken ground."

"Only just broken ground? Then I'm relieved."

Kachi let out a breath of relief; he'd thought he'd have to reply right away.

Didn't eat dinner at the ranch.

Baimu returned to Melemele Island, went to the Aina Cafeteria to see Mao, and after finishing dinner, naturally extended an invitation.

"Me, become a cooking class teacher..."

Mao lacked confidence.

Being a teacher or anything — for a twelve-or-thirteen-year-old Miss, that's too far out of her depth.

Baimu, however, didn't care about the age issue at all.

Classic Pokémon joke —

Here, ten years old counts as "adulthood"!

Hmm...

Popplio's matter might need the age bracket pulled down a bit further.