Chapter 1240

The vast, boundless sea.

A luxury cruise ship rode the wind and waves, fully loaded with young students from various grades of Naranja Academy.

"Exchange students for the new semester?"

Kieran stood on the upper deck, overlooking the crowd playing below.

Nemona laughed: "Yeah, we and Blueberry Academy are sister schools, often sending students to study abroad with each other."

As an upperclassman and Student Council President, she originally didn't need to participate in this exchange activity.

But who told her Kieran was going too?

Nemona belonged to the 'people who would die if they didn't battle for a day' star, and was obsessed with high-quality battles; within the Paldea League, the only one who could satisfy her was Geeta.

Unfortunately, Geeta was the League Chairwoman, with busier things to do every day, and didn't have many opportunities to battle her.

Nemona, who hadn't been able to satisfy her battle desire for a long time, could be said to be thirsty.

Having finally waited for Kieran to appear, she naturally had to try every means to stick to him, ensuring as much as possible that she could battle him more.

In addition, the reason for going to Blueberry Academy this time also contained a hint of expectation.

It had been several years since she was last an exchange student.

Maybe there would be a few good ones at Blueberry Academy? The last ones, Carmine and Kieran, were not bad.

Hearing the two say, their ranking in the school wasn't high.

——There are still experts!

Nemona's eyes were full of expectation, wishing she could turn into a speed-form Deoxys and rush to Blueberry Academy.

Suddenly, she remembered something and asked curiously: "Did Ms. Raifort look for you privately before?"

"Hmm."

Kieran nodded and said: "Ms. Raifort talked to me about the Treasures of Ruin."

"Treasures of Ruin?"

Nemona hadn't heard of this.

Kieran explained: "In the imperial era of Paldea, four treasures, having absorbed a large amount of desire and curses, gave birth to four legendary Pokémon that caused disasters.

"After they were sealed, they became a piece of annihilated history; Ms. Raifort wanted me to dig them out."

Nemona's eyes lit up. "Sounds interesting! When are you planning to go? After the visit to Blueberry Academy ends?"

"……I refused."

Kieran said helplessly.

He didn't know where Raifort learned about Area Zero, thinking he had quite a bit of experience in catching legendary Pokémon, and kept urging him to stir up trouble.

But he didn't have time to touch this side quest for now.

Catching is easy, taming is hard; the Treasures of Ruin and Paradox Pokémon weren't much different.

He had to politely decline Raifort's invitation, saying next time for sure.

The treasure hunter was very disappointed, but had to accept it—if she could handle it herself, she wouldn't have come to Kieran.

Nemona was also disappointed. "Is that so…… then if you change your mind, remember to tell me!"

"We'll see."

Kieran waved his hand.

Today is the third day since leaving Area Zero.

Koraidon couldn't stay and was returned to Professor Turo, even though it really wanted to go with Kieran, reluctant to part with the sandwiches he made.

Who told it to fight Miraidon every day?

No one could persuade them, and even if they were persuaded, it was only temporary.

The two big lizards seemed to be born at odds, fire and electricity incompatible.

Miraidon was happy about the departure of its arch-rival at first, but soon felt a bit lonely.

"It doesn't seem to want to leave."

Seeing that Flutter Mane hadn't fled or continued to approach, but was just lingering in place watching them, Arven asked, "Should we drive it away?"

"Let's deal with it later."

All Baimu reached out to touch Roaring Moon's fur; the astonishing heat immediately turned his palm red. "Let's solve the main issue first."

It was another tedious process of territory division.

During this, Geeta arrived from Research Station 1. Even though there wasn't much sun, the elegant woman was wearing a pair of sunglasses.

"What are you all doing here?"

"Dividing territory."

Peony briefly explained the situation.

Geeta clicked her tongue in wonder. "A struggle for survival? To think Iron Valiant would actually 'speak up' for ordinary Pokémon."

She touched her hair, embarrassed. "We didn't do a proper investigation when we relocated them. In the end, the source of the incident is us. Perhaps this is what they call 'every drink and every peck is determined by fate'."

"So, you'll have to handle the follow-up yourselves."

After confirming the boundaries, All Baimu said, "They might not strictly follow the rules we've set."

Roaring Moon looked clearly guilty, observing its surroundings as if it hadn't heard him.

Intelligence and dominance were not opposites; its need for territory far exceeded that of its two brothers, otherwise, it wouldn't have specifically come up to the higher levels.

"Don't worry! We'll handle it!"

Geeta laughed.

It would be a lie to say it wasn't embarrassing to have a Champion from another region handle the League's own negligence.

But no one overreacted.

Firstly, All Baimu had a very good relationship with the Paldea League, and secondly, in the Pokémon world, those truly willing to get things done didn't care much about face.

After setting Roaring Moon's new territory.

All Baimu stood at the edge, looking at this great horned dragon-lion. "I hope you keep your promise, and your brothers too. Otherwise, it won't be so easy to negotiate when I come back next time."

Turning to Iron Valiant, he said, "You too. As long as they don't do anything overstepping, you can't trouble them again."

"Duru~~!"

Iron Valiant gave an affirmative answer.

Their fundamental purpose in driving away the ancient Legendary beasts was for the peace of Area Zero.

As long as their opponents were well-behaved, they could naturally live their own lives peacefully.

All Baimu then looked at Roaring Moon, which hadn't expressed its stance.

"... Ao!"

It let out a low roar, turned, and leaped abruptly, disappearing into the rock walls and caves in a few bounds.

All Baimu gazed at its retreating back and said, "You all should disperse as well."

Iron Valiant's electronic eyes flickered; it backed away a few steps, then quickly turned and withdrew.

Who doesn't crave freedom?

The territory dispute was over, and the conflict between the ancient and future species had temporarily come to an end.

All Baimu recalled his Pokémon, his peripheral vision catching Flutter Mane hiding in the shadows.

This couldn't help but remind him of Scream Tail in the past.

Back then, Scream Tail had also chased them for a long time, until it couldn't keep up and would return to Research Station 2 to wait for them to come back.

Flutter Mane...

"Does it want to play with Scream Tail? Make friends?"

Arven boldly hypothesized.

Peony rolled her eyes at him. "Who bullies people when they want to make friends!"

Miss Cassiopeia, who had had bad experiences, absolutely did not agree with this behavior.

Drayton realized he had said the wrong thing and hurriedly laughed it off. "I was just extrapolating from the strange behavior of that guy Scream Tail!"

"Think about it, Scream Tail was so noisy back then, why did All Baimu catch it?"

Scream Tail hated being alone, so it used loud noises to vent its loneliness, and it also yearned for the lively All Baimu quartet.

Flutter Mane bullying Scream Tail might have a similar motivation.

After all, ancient Paradox Pokémon were generally quite savage!

Hearing Arven's words, Peony also began to think rationally. "Hmm... what you said isn't without reason..."

"Should we let Scream Tail go over and ask?"

Arven suggested.

All Baimu looked down at Scream Tail. "What do you think?"

"Iya..."

Through the Rotom Phone's translation, Scream Tail learned what Arven had said and began to think, which was a first.

In the past, it definitely wouldn't have done that, but having stayed with All Baimu for so long, it had inevitably learned some qualities.

Such as being calm and composed, and thinking from another's perspective.

Although both qualities had a cooldown of several hours to several days, and were easily overridden by other traits, they did indeed come in handy occasionally.

It decided on a whim to give it a try.

All Baimu approached Flutter Mane with it; the latter was as bold as ever, letting them get close.

Instead, Flutter Mane welcomed them, circling the two.

"Kame? Kame?"

"You say it yourself."

All Baimu gently pushed Scream Tail. There were some things he could handle for his Pokémon, but occasionally they needed to act for themselves.

Scream Tail gathered its courage. "Iya? I~ya!"

"Do you want to be friends with me?"

It stared nervously at the playful Flutter Mane.

Flutter Mane's figure suddenly froze, turning its head as if its secret had been revealed, then using its wings to block its face, as if it were shy.

Scream Tail widened its eyes. "Iya? Iya——"

"You actually really—"

"Kame."

Flutter Mane suddenly lowered its wings, revealing a look of disgust. "Kame? Kame!"

"Friends? You're so disgusting!"

Scream Tail: "!!!"

It stood frozen in place, as if struck by lightning.

Flutter Mane tilted its head slightly, looking down at it with a disdainful gaze. "Kame~ Kame!"

"It says it just thinks Scream Tail is fun, a very interesting toy..."

Rotom Phone sighed, "Such pure malice. Ancient species are all too pure."

All Baimu: "..."

He quickly looked down at Scream Tail. The evil big Jigglypuff wasn't evil at all right now, its eyes filled with tears and its body trembling.

Yet Flutter Mane still wouldn't let it go, leaning in to mock it: "Kame? Ka—"

"Alright, since you don't want to be friends, then stay away."

All Baimu intervened, pushing Flutter Mane away.

Flutter Mane, who was about to mock the crying Scream Tail as a small fry, was interrupted and immediately showed an annoyed expression.

"Kame!"

It flew up abruptly, its whole body releasing brilliant pink and colorful light.

It was ready to attack at the slightest disagreement!

The Shiny Gengar flew out from the shadow, and the Rotom Phone prepared to open a shield immediately, but neither was as fast as Scream Tail.

It was seen with tears in its eyes, jumping high in anger, its body suddenly spinning like a metal ball!

【Gyro Ball】!

Hum!

The metal ball collided with the colorful light, and the two clashing energies exploded!

Bang!

Smoke billowed, followed by two entangled figures falling simultaneously.

Scream Tail was seen biting Flutter Mane's wing, continuing to spin with full anger.

The metallic luster shone again.

"This guy only remembers the type effectiveness, but forgot the effect!"

Rotom Phone complained.

【Gyro Ball】 is a move where the slower the Pokémon is compared to the opponent, the higher the power.

Scream Tail wasn't slow. Despite the type advantage, it might not do much damage to Flutter Mane.

Unless the opponent was much faster than it!

But if that were the case, how could Flutter Mane have been caught?

Both fell to the ground. Scream Tail continued to swing and crush Flutter Mane's body. It had been with All Baimu for over half a year; its level hadn't increased much, but its combat awareness had been cultivated.

It was no exaggeration to say that it had transformed.

Flutter Mane hadn't expected that the guy it used to bully at will could now erupt with power that crushed it. In pain, it tried its best to counterattack.

But Scream Tail wouldn't give it that chance.

"Iya!!"

Having learned type effectiveness, it naturally didn't shout uselessly at the Ghost-type Flutter Mane like before.

It used Play Rough, Crunch, or Gyro Ball.

Successive attacks left Flutter Mane unable to parry, and it was defeated and fainted after only a few failed resistances.

"Iya!"

Scream Tail looked at the fainted Flutter Mane, still wanting to vent its anger.

All Baimu quickly stopped it. "Alright, alright, forget it."

"Iya..."

Scream Tail looked at its Trainer, remembering him standing in front of it just now. The anger in its heart gradually dissipated, and tears welled up in its angry eyes again. It let out a loud cry, "Iya!"

It's all your fault! You made me get mocked again!

"My fault, my fault. I'll make you something delicious tonight."

All Baimu squatted down and rubbed its cheeks, coaxing it for a long time before the evil big Jigglypuff was finally appeased.

In the distance.

Arven and the others seemed to have realized something.

"Did I guess wrong?" he asked embarrassedly.

All Baimu nodded. "Flutter Mane is purely evil; it really had no intention of being friends with Scream Tail."

"..."

Peony adjusted her glasses.

Arven laughed dryly and apologized to Scream Tail: "Sorry, it's my fault, I'm sorry."

"Scream Tail, I'm also very sorry. I should have been firmer."

Peony echoed.

Having been burned before, she actually believed Arven's theory.

Scream Tail looked at their sincere attitudes, pouted, and shook its head. "Iya!"

"Not willing to forgive..."

"No, it forgives you."

All Baimu explained for Scream Tail.

Arven and Peony finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Geeta laughed. "You all are really interesting. It makes me, Geeta, want to travel with you too!"

The small interlude passed.

All Baimu caught Flutter Mane as a research Pokémon and handed it to Geeta to handle.

Scream Tail stared at the Poké Ball, belatedly realizing that it could defeat the guy who used to bully it, and couldn't help but beam with joy.

"Iya~ Iya~"

"Keep working hard. You're far from being a 'main force' right now." All Baimu pinched its cheeks.

Scream Tail was full of confidence, vowing to defeat other Pokémon and become the strongest one.

It was clearly getting a bit full of itself.