Chapter 1259

A bright, sunny day.

Baimu and the others returned to the surface.

Goulton acted extremely reluctant to part, but he knew the other party only cared about the sandwich.

There was definitely some bond, but as for how much...

Anyway, it couldn't compare to Milodon.

The Cyber Giant Lizard was nursed from half-crippled to fully healed by Baimu single-handedly, and he even helped it defeat Goulton.

Therefore, when Baimu prepared to leave Area Zero back then, Milodon insisted on following him to Orre, even willing to abandon the territory it had just seized and hand it over to the loser Goulton.

Despite failing to join the core battle team, Milodon did not regret its former choice.

Is a traveling lizard not stronger than a stay-at-home lizard?

Just look at Goulton's inexperienced, unworldly look!

This time going back, Milodon decided to make another run north; anyway, Baimu didn't forbid it from going out, as long as it kept in regular contact.

The Cyber Giant Lizard lowered its head and gazed at the Primordial Giant Lizard before the transport elevator, its eyes full of pride.

Poor country bumpkin lizard!

You just stay in Area Zero for the rest of your life!

"Guo..."

Goulton's anger flared up, the sadness of the sandwich leaving instantly diluted.

If not for the elevator's fast ascent speed, it would probably have pounced over already.

"Agu si!"

If you've got the guts, don't come back!

Goulton roared loudly, indicating this debt would be settled with Milodon next time it came!

The only response to the Primordial Giant Lizard was a mocking cry.

"Aga—"

It didn't finish the cry, because its head took a slap from Baimu at light speed, "That's enough, do you have to force them to chase you out?"

Milodon sulkily stepped in place, the motion resembling kneading dough, in reality only to relieve its own embarrassment.

It hating Goulton wasn't a matter of a day or two, letting out some steam is perfectly normal, no?

The Trainer is so strict!

Ignoring Milodon, Baimu was watching Lance's battle videos.

Without a doubt, after becoming a Master Ball tier player, his first battle was about to unfold.

The organizers gave him face by not arranging an ordinary player, but sending out Lance, last year's World Championships runner-up.

Furthermore, he was no longer the eighth-ranked Master Ball tier.

The current eighth rank is Carney.

Barely half a month had passed, yet the World Championships rankings had completely changed.

Since Baimu defeated Carney and ascended to Master Ball tier, first Chibana lost to Lian, his hidden rating dropping level with Baimu's, tying for eighth.

Subsequently Denji lost to Dendra, his hidden rating plummeting even lower than Chibana and Baimu, becoming the Master Ball tier gatekeeper.

By bad luck, he just happened to run into Carney reapplying for a promotion battle.

Then Denji directly fell out of Master Ball tier, so Baimu was currently exactly sixth.

The organizers directly arranged the current second-ranked Lance to spar with him.

Following the original plot order, Dendra and Marnie probably wouldn't last long either, bound to fall out of Master Ball tier sooner or later.

Due to his entry, Airan would likely find it hard to re-enter the Top Eight Masters.

Unless either Elise or Ash suddenly had their strength do the splits, there was a chance Airan could squeeze back into the Top Eight Masters.

But is that possible?

"Lance..."

Baimu looked at Lance in the video, recalling the anime's Lance, only feeling they were like two different people.

The anime's Lance played matches as if possessed by a ghost, among other things not worth mentioning.

In the final Top Eight Masters battle, the biggest black mark was against Carney! Knowing the opponent's ace was Mega Gardevoir, he actually chose Hydreigon!

Even if the target was Pumpkaboo, does a Pokemon with a 4x Fairy weakness deserve to appear?

Mega Gardevoir's "Sword" is nothing to scoff at!

Heaven knows what kind of situation the Lance I'll face will be.

When Carney displayed performance vastly different from the anime, Baimu knew the Champions he'd encounter later wouldn't be that "weak" anymore.

He kept reviewing videos, confirming a very important point.

"Dragonite's Hyper Beam has no cooldown period!"

Porygon Phone exclaimed in amazement.

High-power moves often possess the negative effect of being unable to mobilize type energy for a short time after release, or even being unable to act.

A slightly skilled Trainer can gradually compensate for the inability to act.

A more skilled Trainer can then shorten the blank time where type energy is hard to mobilize.

Lance is more exaggerated than both of these.

His ace Dragonite trained away the follow-through of Hyper Beam!

"Power isn't bad either."

Baimu looked at the screen full of intense flashes, thinking the biggest drawback of high-level Pokemon battles was probably that light pollution was too severe.

But compared to watching live, watching through a screen was actually more comfortable.

After all, the video adjusts the lighting, whereas on-site there is only a slight weakening of the defensive barriers.

Sometimes it really can blind the audience.

And Lance's Dragonite's Hyper Beam is among the best of them; it shows he didn't lower the move's power to reduce negative effects.

All relying on sweat and negligible effort, huh...

Baimu thought of Ash's Pikachu, Greninja, and Infernape.

Although his family's Pokemon each have their specialties, a few belong to those Arceus deemed exceptionally gifted, one occasionally still wants the kind with especially extraordinary talent.

While he was pondering, a head leaned in beside him.

"What are you looking at, Baimu?"

Since he was wearing headphones, and the people around him were focused on chatting, they didn't know what he was doing.

Until the elevator reached the gate.

Pippa blinked, "This is... Johto Champion Lance?"

Immediately, his tone suddenly rose, and he said excitedly: "Your next opponent is him!?"

The surrounding people looked over at the sound; upon learning Baimu's next opponent was the dual Johto and Kanto Champion Lance, they all expressed surprise.

As the earliest League Road boss in the Pokemon series, Lance's popularity in the Pokemon world is also sky-high.

If not for the existence of Champion Dan Di, he might be able to claim the title of number one popularity king.

Carrying sixteen major cities across the two regions of Johto and Kanto on his shoulders, no one can imagine how many fans he has worldwide.

Lance is the dream of boys and girls!

He openly and aboveboard revealed his identity as a Pokemon Investigator, not caring in the slightest about criminals' retaliation, while also making the mysterious Dragon Tamer clan become high-class.

Therefore Pippa's reaction is completely understandable.

"You're going to battle Lance?"

Nemo suddenly leaned over, clasped her fists before her chest, her big watery eyes full of thick envy.

Battling the Champions of the major regions is a dream she doesn't even dare to dream!

Baimu eats too well!

Nemo felt both sour and envious, even a little depressed.

Mudan asked: "Battle right away?"

"Half a month later, at the venue on the Shi Ying Plateau." Baimu showed the text message the organizer sent him.

Like matches within the Master Ball tier, the participants themselves are usually notified a period of time in advance, so they can prepare.

After all, Master Ball tier players are either Champions, Elite Four, or popular Gym Leaders; short notice makes it hard to adjust free time.

Dan Yu heard this and thought it necessary to tell her younger brother this news.

Last night she chatted with Wu Li about the Zero Void; the latter, upon learning Terapagos was attracted to Baimu, didn't find it surprising at all.

"He himself is a legend; is it strange for Terapagos to be attracted to him?"

Wu Li was very glad he hadn't chosen to compete with Baimu.

He didn't want to reenact the Kitakami experience again; moreover, Wu Li has clear self-knowledge — could his charm surpass Baimu's?

Of course, saying he isn't envious would be a lie.

What Trainer wouldn't like Legendary Pokemon?

Besides, Terapagos is the source of Terastallization, and inevitably possesses extremely powerful strength!

Dan Yu was very surprised by her younger brother's open-mindedness; in her memory, Wu Li was either taciturn and weak, or obsessed and unwilling to listen.

Completely unlike the current calm and objective demeanor.

Battling Baimu works that well?

Dan Yu couldn't figure it out no matter how she thought; at this moment facing Baimu, after pondering for a long time she stammered: "... Good luck!"

"Thank you."

Baimu smiled and nodded.

The group walked out of the busy gate and discovered Ye Ci and Xin Li were already waiting here.

"Welcome back! Everyone!"

She laughed and spread her arms wide.

Bailaiya stepped forward and hugged Ye Ci friendly; although until not long ago she was only allowed into Area Zero, that was for safety reasons.

The relationship between the two is very good, and Ye Ci is currently trying to lure Bailaiya back to Paldea.

Is there a problem with the descendant of Haizhe returning to his hometown to engage in construction?

Not a single problem!

Noon.

Ye Ci had reserved the best restaurant in Jinhui Town.

Worker Aoki is also there.

But he seems to have just come to eat a meal, sacredly enjoying the delicious food before taking his leave.

Mudan's face was full of admiration, "Section Chief Aoki truly is a model among League staff!"

"Section Chief?"

Baimu asked in surprise: "You mean Elite Four Aoki?"

Mudan nodded, "That's right, Senior Aoki is the Business Department Section Chief."

The internal composition of the Paldea League differs little from a joint-stock company, and a Section Chief in the entire job structure merely belongs to grassroots management.

No.

The Four Heavenly Kings and the dojo master has no dedicated position? Not even a head of the business department?

Xin Li, sitting opposite, understood Baimu's expression and explained: "This position was requested by Qingmu himself.

"Compared to department head or executive director, he prefers to be on the front lines.

Baimu: "..."

After all that, Qingmu's burden is something he imposed on himself.

Is this person...

... a masochist?

An impolite thought flashed through his mind.

Suddenly, Baimu's attention was drawn to Ye Ci, as it turned out this Alliance President wanted to see Tai Le Ba Gesi in person.

He didn't hesitate and generously handed over the crystal.

"The source of the Tai Jing."

Ye Ci deliberately put on her pair of black gloves, leaned in, and observed closely; her unusually large eyes were especially deep.

After a long while, she gently placed it on the table and pushed it toward Baimu.

"Perhaps this is redundant, but please be sure to treat it well. The Tai Jing energy of Tai Le Ba Gesi has benefited Paldea; in a sense, it is Paldea's benefactor."

"Okay, I will."

Baimu agreed.

After firing that angry strike yesterday, Tai Le Ba Gesi never woke up again.

Instead, it stuck even tighter to Qian Zhou's wrist—it didn't loosen even when it turned into a turtle, clinging tighter than anything.

This Qian Zhou wrist of Baimu's was given by Gulisi, and Gulisi is probably the person closest to Arceus in this era since Baimu appeared.

Adding to that, it has shown spirit before...

Frankly speaking, this Qian Zhou wrist is a genuine holy relic.

Bai Leiya and Ye Ci continued discussing the Tai Le Ba Gesi population, star crystals, and related factors, while the welcome banquet gradually drew to a close.

"Baimu! Aren't you going back to school?"

Nimo noticed his intention to leave and said: "Teacher Lei He seems to be looking for you!"

Baimu shook his head: "I don't have time to deal with Lei He's side for now; I'll talk about it next time I get the chance."

This trip to Paldea and Lan Mei Academy has already yielded plenty.

Moreover, a new battle is about to begin, so he must prepare in advance.

A Du.

One must not underestimate the opponent based on their anime portrayal.

As the regional champion of the Shi Ying and Yin Lian dual alliances, the Four Heavenly Kings Cup champion, and the champion of the Fan Ba City Pokémon World Championship, A Du will only be stronger than imagined.

Judging from online video performance, he rarely displays profound battle techniques or strategies, much like Baimu, and overwhelms all opponents with sheer stats.

Including but not limited to gym leaders and the Four Heavenly Kings.

The only one who has ever beaten him is Dan Di, but Dan Di counts as a half-cheat, short for half-cheat.

So it's normal that A Du can't overcome him.

When everyone arrived at Niang Guang City and was about to take separate flights to part ways...

Pai Pa and Mu Dan were both somewhat reluctant.

"Best friend! I'll come to the venue to cheer you on!" he shouted.

Mu Dan weakly raised her hand: "I... I and everyone from the Tian Xing team will cheer for you together!"

She truly dislikes going far away, unless with close friends.

"Remember to prepare snacks and popcorn."

Baimu lightly patted their shoulders.

Nimo was the most upset, clinging to him for another battle before saying goodbye.

What am I to do without you, Baimu!

She looked dejected, the students of Lan Mei Academy...

Eh?

She could go find Wu Li!

Although Wu Li's strength is far inferior to Baimu's, he is, after all, a champion of Lan Mei Academy; if quality fails, quantity can make up for it!

"Hehehe~"

Nimo quickly perked up.

Meanwhile, Wu Li, far away at Lan Mei Academy, sneezed directly.

"Tsk!"

"Wu Li, did you catch a cold?" Na Li cast a concerned glance.

She is a good friend of Dan Yu, entrusted by her to look after this younger brother two grades below her.

Moreover, regarding him, Na Li harbors an inexplicable affection in her heart...

But Na Li herself can't figure it out, and sometimes feels she might be ill; whenever she thinks of Wu Li, she feels chest tightness and loss of appetite.

"It's fine, thank you, Na Li xue jie."

Wu Li rubbed his nose and said: "This afternoon we'll continue holding the meeting to discuss the new alliance community rules."

Not far away, Du Ruo complained: "Still discussing? I think it's fine; everyone likes the old community rules from before you became champion~"

"...... I admit the old community rules were popular with everyone."

Wu Li ignored his sarcastic tone: "But many also want to improve; an environment that's too intensely competitive or too lax is unsuitable for Lan Mei Academy!"

The Pokémon world is like that.

Many people, even after becoming Trainers, don't expect to go too far on the competitive path.

They just want to stay with their Pokémon.

And some Trainers harbor dreams, gazing up at the legends in the clouds, thinking of climbing upward.

At Blueberry Academy, both kinds of people are plentiful.

The strict school rules of Uchitsu before were supported by some people precisely because they wanted to advance.

It was just too extreme!

"I want to find a balance point."

Uchitsu said seriously, while the image of Baimu flashed in his mind; he not only wanted to impress them as a Trainer.

Other things too!

Uchitsu actually knows very well why his idol treated him that way.

It was purely due to his own lack of maturity.

He wants to change!