Chapter 233: The Runaway Idol

Miss Liuqi.

Mi Ke Li's niece — anyone who hasn't played Pokémon TCG or kept up with Pokémon Journeys might find her unfamiliar.

But across the Hoenn region and the entire Pokémon world, she's extremely famous.

Because she's a Contest idol, has starred in plenty of hit dramas, and is one of the leads in the morning show that Mawile has recently been hooked on — All Baimu has been forced to keep watching along, so he knows her inside and out.

Hm?

Thinking about it this way, Mawile's decision to enter the Pokémon Contest might well have been influenced by her.

Seeing that she'd been spotted, Miss Liuqi didn't tear off her disguise right away. Instead, she glanced around alertly, pulled down her mask slightly, and made a "shh" gesture.

"Keep your voice down! If my fans find out I'm here, I'm done for… Ah! You're not one of my fans too, are you!"

She said, startled.

All Baimu bent down and scooped up the bewildered Mawile. "No, she's the one who's your fan. Since we happened to run into you, would you mind giving us an autograph?"

"Chicodi? Chicodi!"

Mawile froze for a moment, then squirmed free of her trainer's grip, slightly displeased at his presumptuous overstepping.

A lady shouldn't be picked up like that! And she still hadn't settled the score with him for the head-rubbing earlier!

But taking advantage of the moment when she'd just been face-to-face with Miss Liuqi, she finally registered who was standing in front of her.

A little thrill of delight was unavoidable.

Still, knowing and knowing were two different things. Out in public, she was very particular about her image — especially since she'd just come back from the beauty salon yesterday. Mawile felt she had to play it cool, so she greeted her with great poise and courtesy.

"Kawayin!"

Miss Liuqi couldn't help pulling off her sunglasses, eyes sparkling. Then, noticing the curious glances from passersby, her body stiffened instantly, and she instinctively reached out to drag All Baimu away from there.

But his instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm made him raise his hand the very first instant, causing her grab to miss.

The two stared at each other, both faces blank.

"Uh, if it's not convenient here, shall we find somewhere with fewer people?"

All Baimu broke the awkward silence first, but the moment the words left his mouth he felt he'd misspoken. She was an idol, after all — her self-protection awareness should be pretty sharp; how could she possibly just casually follow a stranger to some deserted spot?

Yet Miss Liuqi agreed in a flash, without a shred of hesitation. "Sure!"

All Baimu: "……"

This one's a bit too carefree.

—

In a somewhat secluded stretch of dense forest.

Miss Liuqi quickly shed her coat, sunglasses, and mask, revealing a casual outfit underneath, and let out a breath. "Phew~ I was suffocating."

A pale-green ponytail, a youthful face, a hairpin on her forehead glinting brightly — the Key Stone looked quite conspicuous.

By every appearance, she was only twelve or thirteen years old.

"A child star, huh…"

All Baimu and Mawile followed behind her and couldn't help saying:

"Miss Liuqi, I might be sticking my nose in, but I'd advise you not to go off alone with strangers to some deserted spot next time. It's dangerous."

"Huh?"

Miss Liuqi looked a little blank, her index finger resting very naturally against her cheek as she tilted her head. "Dangerous?"

An idol is an idol — professional conduct was deeply etched into her everyday habits; every gesture and movement was pure cuteness. No wonder everyone adored her so much.

"Aren't you worried I'll kidnap you? There are scenes like that in the TV dramas you've acted in, right — the villain kidnaps the rich young lady and demands ransom." All Baimu quipped.

"Would you?"

Miss Liuqi's face showed panic, then, as if switching masks, bloomed into a smile. "Just kidding, I know you wouldn't. Because I know you. You're All Baimu, from the Orre region."

"……From Champion Dawu?"

"No, from my uncle." Miss Liuqi's smile didn't fade. "My uncle and Champion Dawu are very close. I'd heard your name ages ago. And we're People of the Lush Forest."

"People of the Lush Forest…"

"Yes, the people who, together with the People of the Shooting Star, safeguard Hoenn's ancient history — a heritage spanning thousands of years." Miss Liuqi said with an air of mystery, then added, "To think I'd run into you here — what a coincidence."

It seemed she hadn't come looking for him on purpose.

All Baimu felt a twinge of disappointment. When he'd heard "People of the Lush Forest," he'd gotten excited for a moment, thinking she was about to set him up with some trial or something.

Turned out it was just a chance encounter.

"Could I trouble you for an autograph?"

All Baimu pulled out paper and pen, and while speaking, glanced at Mawile. "My, ahem, I personally would really like to get your autograph."

Mawile, hearing this, finally gave a satisfied little nod to herself.

As time went on and they spent more time together, she had become like Pikachu — able to easily understand what her trainer was saying.

"An autograph is no problem."

Miss Liuqi signed it briskly. "But there's one thing I have to make clear — don't underestimate the Pokémon Contest!"

She handed the autograph back, then held up one finger to show how important this was.

"Can I plead not guilty to underestimating the Pokémon Contest?"

All Baimu showed the autograph to Mawile, saw her delighted smile quickly school itself, and carefully tucked it into his bag. "You might be wronging me a little."

"No, no, no, you're not being wronged at all."

Miss Liuqi shook her head. "'Go clear the Gyms first, then enter the Contest' — that's what you said, right?"

"Uh… yes, that was me."

"Even my uncle does a week of focused practice every time before entering a Contest. You just finished clearing the Gyms and you're already preparing to enter the Contest — how can you say you're not underestimating it? If you really took it seriously, you should be spending a lot of time preparing!"

Miss Liuqi said very earnestly, "Maybe you think your own talent is amazing, but there's always someone better out there. If someone with equal talent spends a month preparing, and you only spend one day, how are you going to beat them?

"Going into the Gorgeous Contest with a careless, couldn't-care-less-about-the-results attitude is disrespectful to every contestant — it's a form of looking down on them, too!"

…What he said actually makes a lot of sense.

All Baimu had to admit that, subconsciously, he had indeed been looking down a little on the Gorgeous Contest — he had even planned to spend only a single day studying the moves used in it.

"Sorry, my bad." He apologized for his stubborn retort just now, then said helplessly: "Bibarel, looks like we're going to have to enter the next Gorgeous Contest."