Chapter 229: Lucky Scale

Champion Dawu watched very intently.

Even though there was a screen between them, he picked up a single-barrel magnifying glass, and only tucked it away with slight embarrassment after realizing the magnified view made the details harder to see.

A long while later.

"Hmm… Baimu, pardon me for asking."

He said, "Regarding this entire rock, do you have any intention of parting with it?"

"By 'entire rock,' you mean even the outer rocky shell?" Baimu asked carefully.

"Yes."

Champion Dawu nodded. "Personally, I actually rarely buy stones from others, because I really enjoy the process of searching. But this one of yours has truly caught my fancy, so I'm willing to purchase it from you at a fair price."

"…Deal."

He agreed. Actually, seeing how much Champion Dawu liked it, he had wanted to say he'd just give it to him, but hearing the other man put added weight on the word 'purchase,' he immediately understood the other party was dead set on paying.

"Then how should I get it to you?" Baimu asked again.

"I'd love to come receive this stone in person, but unfortunately I have other matters to attend to right now. I may need you to deliver the stone to the Devon Corporation headquarters in Lumiose City for me."

Champion Dawu gave him a string of phone numbers. "Once you arrive, please contact this number, and a professional will come to appraise it. Oh, and if possible, please don't let my father see them."

"Huh?"

"My father, like me, is a fanatic stone enthusiast. I'm very worried that once he sees it, he'll stick his nose in." Champion Dawu said it like he was telling a joke.

But Baimu somehow felt he was completely serious.

What kind of father and son are these, fighting over rocks?

He couldn't understand stone collectors.

"Understood." Baimu nodded.

Champion Dawu paused, then said, "Oh, I mentioned before that I'd give you a gift next time we met."

"Right!"

He was suddenly full of energy. Was Champion Dawu about to mail him a Key Stone?

The other man said helplessly, "But this gift seems to have clashed with the arrangements the People of the Stars have made for you… I only just learned of this not long ago."

"Arrangements?" Baimu was stunned. "What did they arrange?"

"Huh? You don't know yet?"

Champion Dawu seemed a little surprised, then said awkwardly, "Looks like I may have spoken out of turn, said something I shouldn't have. In any case, considering the issue on the People of the Stars' side, I've swapped out the gift for you and stored it at the Pokémon Center in Lumiose City.

"Once you arrive, Young Lady Qiong will hand it over to you… So that's all from me."

With that, the video call was hung up.

It sounded like he'd just heard something quite something…

Baimu rubbed his chin. Based on the information Champion Dawu provided, his identity as a descendant of the ancient dragon tamers seemed truly confirmed — the People of the Stars had even started making arrangements for him.

Arrangements for what? A challenge to become a successor? Like the kind Korrina had?

But if there were arrangements, why hadn't they called him? He remembered he did have those few ancient dragon tamer numbers.

Complicated enough.

And the fact that he really was a descendant of the ancient dragon tamers left him at a loss for words. He'd originally just made a fake badge to bluff his way through, and now by sheer chance he'd actually returned to his roots — what was that about?

"Let's set that aside for now. What's more important is this."

Baimu turned to look at Aggron and Mawile, grinning. "Looks like we might be about to get rich? Though it might be a bit of hard work."

Originally, not wanting to carry something so heavy, he'd specifically planned to shrink it, but in the end he still had to haul the whole thing away.

The two Pokémon responded softly, then began to figure out how to carry off these two rocks.

One whole piece was already not easy to carry; split into two, it was even harder.

He tried stuffing it into his backpack, but unfortunately, even split in two, the thing was still too big — the opening of the spatial backpack wasn't wide enough… and whether he could lift it was another question.

"Roar~"

Aggron tried pressing the two split stones together and hoisting them onto its shoulder, but it was still not very manageable.

In the end.

Baimu took out some nylon rope, followed an online tutorial to weave a net sling, placed the rocks inside and tied them up, which made it considerably easier for Aggron to carry.

"Take the bus from Frostpoint Town to Lumiose City. We should be able to make it before dark."

He checked the map and confirmed the direction he needed to head.

But just as they were about to leave, a strange, eerie shriek suddenly came from deep within the dense forest, moving from far to near at tremendous speed.

"…Shiftry?"

Baimu had once fought this Pokémon in a life-and-death battle, and its voice had left a deep impression on him.

The next instant.

A Bai Huahua figure indeed appeared on a nearby large tree — feet in wooden clogs, hands made of three leaves, a long pointed nose, triangular eyes, big white teeth, looking rather fierce.

And beside Shiftry was the Nuzleaf that had almost been punched by Mawile earlier.

"Well, well — I let you off easy and you actually brought a my lord back to deliver yourself?" Baimu, about to get rich, was in a good mood and decided that if this guy attacked first, he'd just give it a beating and call it even.

If it kept pestering him for trouble, he'd consider sending it to Iron Town for "rehabilitation," to keep that Gyarados company that had nearly drowned Little Victory.

"Dill!"

Shiftry glanced at Aggron and Mawile, then looked at Baimu, and unexpectedly didn't attack, but let out a loud shout.

bidige.

"What is it saying?"

Baimu turned to ask, only to see Mawile suddenly activate Magnet Rise and float up, approach Shiftry, do something unknown, then float back.

"Cheedo!"

It held out the thing in its hand.

"... What's going on?" Baimu stared at the orange-red rock that looked like a little sun, his expression a bit numb. "Orange Grove Forest is rich in evolution stones?"

After handing the thing over to him, the Murkrow took the Weepinbell and left.

Mawile gestured with its hands, telling the trainer that the Murkrow had come to "apologize with a gift" — because it had dropped the honey, it traded him an evolution stone in return.

What a great deal.

"It's really a Dark-type Pokémon?"

Baimu couldn't help feeling a little doubtful, thinking it might be an older individual — this kind of Pokémon grows wiser and more rational with age.

It had dealt with trainers plenty in Orange Grove Forest.

It's just that...

"My luck today is way too good," he couldn't help muttering to himself — sudden windfall from the sky, inside information, and now a new evolution stone on top of it all.

You never know when it might come in handy.

"Is your effect a bit over the top?" Baimu took out the Beautiful Scale, inevitably attributing all the credit to this thing.

But if it really were that amazing, why hadn't it helped Toshiki solve the problem of nobody coming to the gym?

... Heaven only knows.