Chapter 136: The Vision of an Alliance

Yamane was attempting to set Loz as his target.

While establishing a Pokémon League, to inject into the Orei region an economic system that could make it prosper.

It sounded like an absolute fantasy.

After all, with the interest group led by Elder Ejin still unresolved, Yamane was already looking toward the future after the dust settled — inevitably carrying a hint of overreaching.

But All Baimu had to admit that what truly drove him to agree was Yamane's identity.

No money, no resources, no connections — then everything would be a moon in a mirror, a flower in water. The latter, as a member of the interest group, rescuing the descendant of one of the faction's leaders, happened to fill in these gaps.

In other words, their starting point was far higher than Loz's.

What had originally been an unbelievable hypothesis now became considerably more realistic — though of course, liberating Huang Tie Town remained the primary goal for now.

Inside the living room.

"Let my father and the others handle the Silicon Beryllium City business — our base is right here." Yamane kept painting his vision for All Baimu.

Huang Tie Town was barren, certainly, but it possessed resources the whole world craved.

Mineral deposits.

Not just iron, copper, and tin ores, but also various rare metallic elements — this phenomenon of multiple metals appearing in a single region could probably only exist in the Pokémon world.

As long as they could take Huang Tie Town, Yamane believed they were already half secure—

Something about encircling commercial cities from resource cities.

All Baimu grumbled inwardly, then heard Yamane say: "For now, you still follow the orders of Flobo and Master Liu Ge, and continue according to their strategy."

"And you?"

"I'm going to absorb more people of insight. It happens that both you and I are quite famous — especially you — which will help us a great deal."

"Me?"

"Of course. You come from commoner origins, and now you're at the middle tier of Huang Tie Town, much closer to the hearts of ordinary people and middle-class families here than someone like me, a person above them. That's why I say it has to be you — understand?"

This was going to use him as a model to be set up…

All Baimu twitched the corner of his mouth, saw Yamane's matter-of-course expression, and understood that both sides knew exactly how much weight an example carried.

People are prone to follow the crowd — even more so for those without much education.

Speaking of which.

Over the years that Master Liu Ge and the others had been preparing, they must have gotten more people literate. Without literacy, one cannot grasp the truth; without letting more people grasp the truth, one cannot reshape the Orei region at the soul level.

"Can I bring others in?" he asked.

"Of course."

Yamane couldn't help but laugh, "Our relationship is one of equals, not some superior-subordinate thing — don't get that wrong."

"Alright."

All Baimu nodded.

He naturally hoped to bring Cheng Hong and the others in. Under his urging, Cheng Hong and company had all gone to learn to read, and even their family members were taking the chance to become literate — this was also a force to be reckoned with.

Of course, it had to be gradual — let them progressively accept the ideology of saving Orei, and realize they could accomplish something great.

A-Wu nearby listened, feeling dizzy and muddled.

"What are you two talking about? Why do I understand less and less the more I listen?"

Yamane then said: "In short, we're preparing to beat up the bad guys."

That was way too simple.

All Baimu said helplessly: "I'm heading out for a bit, going to find Big Brother — do as you like from here on."

"Go ahead." Yamane waved his hand.

Not long after.

The office building.

Today, another visit.

All Baimu didn't hesitate, however — he went straight upstairs, greeted Flobo and the others whose faces were full of inquiry, then found Master Liu Ge in the middle of the office and told him what was on his mind.

"I see…"

Master Liu Ge pondered briefly, then stood up and extended his hand. "Welcome to join us!"

"Th-thank you."

He was taken aback for a moment, shook his hand, then said: "Aren't you going to try to talk me out of it?"

"There's nothing to talk you out of. First, as I said before, you're already deeply entangled and can't stand aside — the current wave in Huang Tie Town has your contribution. Furthermore, since you've made this resolve, I cannot and should not dampen your enthusiasm."

Master Liu Ge said sincerely: "If possible, we don't want any child to be involved — after all, bloodshed and sacrifice are unavoidable, and you are the future of this region.

"But when you possess this resolve, it proves you already have the quality an adult should have — taking responsibility. Then between us, we are comrades of shared ideals."

After returning yesterday and thinking it over, it wasn't only All Baimu — the former had likewise considered how he should treat All Baimu, and more people like All Baimu.

This world never lacks heroes. When other regions learn of what was happening here, countless trainers would surely lend a hand, contributing to peace.

When that time came, what Master Liu Ge would face was even more young people brimming with ideals and conviction.

All Baimu said gratefully: "Thank you for your trust. Then may I ask what I should do now?"

"Do what you've always been doing — accumulate strength, wait for the opportunity."

"Yes!"

He said with surging emotion. Although he had long since made his resolve, before coming he still couldn't help worrying that he wouldn't be able to obtain Master Liu Ge's approval.

Whether thinking he couldn't do the same things, or having doubts about his age — either made him immensely uneasy.

Fortunately, Master Liu Ge possessed a higher level of thinking than he had anticipated.

"Reo~"

The King Scyther, who had been lingering somewhere unknown, hung down upside-down, beaming as it looked at All Baimu.

The latter smiled and scratched its chin. "Hey there, take good care of me from now on."

"Rai oh!"

The Scorpion King let out a great cry, threw his arms around All Baimu's head, and rubbed against it vigorously a couple of times before slowly letting go, looking quite pleased with himself at the messy hairstyle he'd left behind.

But the next instant, its head was met with a heavy blow from Master Liu Ge.

"Don't pull boring pranks like this!"

"Rai oh…"

The Scorpion King covered his head in grievance.

All Baimu rose to take his leave. Just as he was about to leave, he heard Master Liu Ge calling from behind, "Right, the Quicksand Team's salary—you should still take it, and the resources—you should still use them. Don't feel any pressure about it."

*Treading Stars*

"…Mm."

"If you don't use them, other people will. Do your best to increase your strength. Adding even a single point of combat power is what you should be doing most. Understood?"

"Understood."

He turned and walked out the door, immediately seeing Furobo and the others leaning over with smiles.

"Not bad, young man—your ideological awareness is quite high."

"With someone like you around, our hard work wasn't for nothing!"

"How about giving the International Police a try?"

"Don't be ridiculous! Where are we going to find the time to train him right now! Besides, he has a future far more suited to him—much better than the International Police."

"Indeed."

They all talked over one another, their words barely concealing a sense of closeness.

All Baimu, surrounded by these people, realized that he had truly been accepted by them. The way they looked at him was no longer as someone who needed protection, but as a partner marching shoulder to shoulder.

This filled him with immense joy.

Furobo stepped forward and said:

"Do you still remember the big Houndoom and the others I took from you?"

"Mm."

"They were taken in by International Police Headquarters to serve as test samples for researching that special drug. Without them, we would have had to find some other method to conduct the actual parameter testing. Of course, we've also taken in more Pokémon of a similar nature."

"Doesn't that mean my Loudred…"

"That's right, it came from the International Police's Pokémon ecological garden. You'd better treat it well—though it might be a bit redundant coming from me. How you've been raising Loudred is plain for everyone to see."

"As long as I haven't let you down, I'm relieved."