Chapter 148: It's Great to Be Rich

The calligrapher left the professional wrestler Jixian the characters "Number One Under Heaven."

She had originally planned to write "Wetland," but at the latter's strong request, she changed it to this phrase. And after receiving the satisfying characters, Jixian couldn't help but praise the calligrapher's Smeargle as uniquely styled, and said battling her was quite fun.

This burly man, who went shirtless year-round, hated that rigid, by-the-book style of battle, and Smeargle's painting combat style suited him perfectly.

Upon hearing the praise, Smeargle immediately set to work producing an oil painting of a great wetland to gift to Jixian.

Both sides were very satisfied.

The calligrapher's journey continued, and by now she already possessed seven badges — only one more remained before she qualified for the conference.

【You have arrived at Binhai City, but you did not rush to challenge the Gym; instead, you came to your family's villa located in Binhai City.】

As a once exceptionally outstanding Trainer, the calligrapher had already burned through seventy or eighty percent of her old foundation to reach this point; only Smeargle could be considered a particularly outstanding one.

Facing the strongest among the Sinnoh Gym Leaders — Electric, who was said to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Elite Four — even though the opponent would not reveal a hundred percent of his strength in a Gym battle, she still had to arrange special training for her Pokémon.

At this moment, the 【Wealthy Family】 talent came into play.

Trainers like Miniskirt and the Chef certainly had decent family backgrounds, but they were still at the level of figuring out special training on their own.

The calligrapher, however, used her family's connections to find one powerful Trainer after another to battle her, then sought out move masters one after another to learn the moves they specialized in, and further studied with those tactical masters on how to better raise her own Pokémon.

The 【Never Abandon】 talent also meant she did not swap out her current team members, and she threw herself wholeheartedly into it.

All sorts of high-quality food, professional massage techniques, and thorough logistical support placed Smeargle and the other Pokémon in paradise.

Their bond with the Trainer rose dramatically.

In the end,

After a round of extremely money-burning training, let alone the calligrapher's Trainer talent being already not bad to begin with — even a greenhorn novice with mediocre aptitude would by now have transformed into a seasoned veteran.

Baimu watched through the screen as the calligrapher kept switching opponents, and couldn't help feeling envious.

It really is great to be rich.

Granted, ordinary people going to challenge these Trainers — they probably wouldn't refuse either — but having Trainers come to your home to spar versus traveling untold miles to seek them out yourself, could those possibly be the same?

Trainer really is a profession that both saves money and burns through it like crazy.

Scene after scene flew by.

Very quickly.

The special training ended.

The calligrapher brought her Pokémon to the Binhai Gym.

Binhai Gym Leader Electric was someone who hoped to feel excitement and novelty in battle, and Smeargle undoubtedly satisfied his needs.

After a thoroughly exhilarating battle, the calligrapher successfully obtained her eighth badge.

【You defeated Binhai Gym Leader Electric and obtained the Lighthouse Badge.】

At this point her Gym Challenge journey could be considered successfully concluded. After gifting Electric, who had no interest in her calligraphy copybook but plenty of interest in her personally, the phrase "Thunderbolt," she left this port city that generated inexhaustible electricity through solar power.

Regarding Binhai City, the deepest impression in her heart was none other than "the lighthouse" — that lighthouse which at night seemed to illuminate the entire Sinnoh region truly struck awe deep within the heart.

The scene shifted.

The calligrapher returned to her home on the outskirts of Jiayuanshi, a castle-like residence.

She had to begin considering the theme for the Winter Calligraphy Academy Exhibition. As the annual grand event of the calligraphy world, she hoped to display on it the fruits of her past half-year.

Whether in calligraphy, or in spirit.

At first, she attempted to compose the ancient-legend hymns she was best at — her special trip to the Three Great Lakes was precisely for this purpose.

But as she wrote, she realized that what had left the deepest impression on her was not only the Three Great Lakes, but also the natural fields and unique city scenery she had seen along the way, the Gym Leaders she had encountered, and the little moments of her Pokémon living out in the wild.

Writing only about the Three Great Lakes could not satisfy her.

After much agonizing.

She set her original draft aside.

【You have decided to record what you saw and heard on your journey, using it as the theme.】

【You have named it, "Reflections on Viewing the Sinnoh Land."】

"This is... she's founding her own school?"

Baimu saw the calligrapher's brushstrokes growing ever more resolute, her entire being radiating a temperament utterly different from before, and understood she had truly taken a step toward becoming a "master."

Originally, she was nowhere near this level.

And Smeargle, as if it could sense what was in its Trainer's heart, began constructing its work on a great canvas.

Wherever the Trainer wrote, it painted.

By the time both collapsed exhausted onto the ground, their work was truly complete.

【You look at the fruits of your and Smeargle's labor and realize that the exhibition's rating is both important and unimportant to you. Important because you must let those who look forward to you see your achievements; unimportant because you have already proven yourself.】

【You have climbed over the high walls named "Boredom" and "Ordinariness."】

The calligrapher submitted her work to the Calligraphy Academy, then submitted Smeargle's work to the Painting Academy, and afterward resumed Pokémon special training.

Since she had decided to be like her peers, naturally participating in the conference was part of that.

The calligrapher was someone who focused intensely on whatever she did; otherwise she wouldn't have, upon having her calligraphy talent discovered in childhood, decisively given up the Trainer profession.

YaWen8

Now that she had picked the Trainer profession back up, she would never allow herself to muddle through it.

In everything, she had to fight her way to the top!

That was her motto.

Fortunately, the Calligraphy Academy Exhibition came after the Lily of the Valley Conference, which allowed her to display her abilities as a Trainer without any reservations.

—

The Lily of the Valley Conference opened on time.

All participants knew clearly that only by winning the Lily of the Valley Conference could one challenge the Sinnoh Champion League, challenge the Elite Four, challenge that most beautiful and strongest lady.

As an ancient document enthusiast, the Calligrapher was also a fan of Bamboo Orchid, and very much longed to face her on the Champion League circuit.

Therefore, although this tournament was packed with strong opponents, the Calligrapher still set her sights on winning the championship.

The preliminary round.

For the Calligrapher, there was almost no difficulty to speak of; cutting through every opponent along the way, with her ace Pokémon Divine Brush Ma Liang Smeargle, almost no one could match her.

The opening rounds were the same as always.

The Calligrapher's other Pokémon also displayed the level they were supposed to.

The architectural genius Mr. Rime, who performed mime while conjuring transparent houses; the seer Luxray, who could easily see through the enemy's cunning tricks and strike back with Lei Ting; the singer Swellow, who possessed an extraordinary talent for sound-based moves;

The tree-impersonating, still tree-pummeling Sudowoodo; the perpetually pirouetting spinning Bellossom.

Combined with her ace Pokémon Divine Brush Ma Liang Smeargle, with so many distinctive Pokémon, Baimu figured this match should at least start from the semifinals.

As for the championship…

Hard to say.