Chapter 260: Exchange Conference

The sunlight was brilliant.

The sand had been baked to a golden hue, heat shimmering upward.

In the emerald sea with rolling waves, many people and Pokémon rode crescent-shaped boards, tumbling endlessly through the spray, trying to conquer the power of nature.

This was the Fighting Beach.

One of Fuji's favorite places to come — he, who bore the title 【Fighting Wave】, often trained here alongside his Pokémon.

And on a scorching summer afternoon, the Fighting Beach was also a place especially beloved by many young men and women.

All Baimu was also young, so he had brought his own Pokémon along.

"Why don't you give it a try?"

Beneath a sunshade, he turned his head to ask Aggron, "Hey bro, you're a Pokémon that can surf! Go show them what professional really means!"

"Guooo~"

Aggron lazily swished its tail, looking utterly listless.

In weather this nice, rather than moving about, a nap was in order.

Was wrestling with the waves really that fun?

"Chira~"

A sunglasses-wearing Mawile lay back on a beach chair in agreement — back in Iron Town, it had always loved hiding in the shade to lounge and rest.

Not far away.

Chansey was playing and roughhousing with Dreepy.

Though to be precise, it was the latter doing all the playing and roughhousing, while the former watched over it like a nanny, keeping the little fellow from crashing into the sand castles others had worked so hard to build.

"Mo Nao~ Mo Nao~"

Dreepy kept letting out calls, trying to lure trainers over to play.

However, All Baimu didn't really feel like moving either.

He felt like he'd been infected by the slack spirit of a certain Galarian Corsola — lately he'd been increasingly fond of finding a spot to just sit, doing nothing or scrolling through his phone…

This couldn't go on.

He wasn't at retirement age yet.

He propped himself up, rubbed his neck, and moved toward Dreepy. Just as he was about to greet the little fellow, he saw three excited-faced kids rushing over to block his path.

"It's really a Dreepy!"

"And a rare Chansey! I'm gonna catch them!"

"Dummy, of course it has a trainer! Don't do something that dumb!"

"Just kidding, relax…"

The three kids made such a ruckus that Dreepy, catching the trainer's scent, got quite annoyed and let out a sudden roar, knocking away the kid who'd said he'd catch it, then pounced to All Baimu's feet.

"Mo Nao~"

"Oof!"

The knocked kid lost his footing and fell on his bottom. Just as he was about to say something, he caught sight of his two companions looking at something behind him with trembling wariness.

He instinctively looked up — a tall, powerfully-built figure immediately filled his vision, its broad shadow falling over him, paired with an expressionless face. At first glance, it was rather terrifying.

"Ugh…" The kid's body went rigid.

"Hahaha."

All Baimu couldn't help but smile — bullying little brats was occasionally good for the body and mind. He crouched down and patted the endlessly-calling Dreepy, "Alright, alright, stop calling. Apologize to them."

"Mo Nao?"

Dreepy didn't quite understand the concept of apologizing, but obediently called out once to the fallen kid, "Mo Nao!"

Chansey used its psychic power to help the kid up, quickly checked him all over, and upon finding no injuries, breathed a sigh of relief. "Lucky~"

Apparently realizing All Baimu wasn't angry, and not so fierce either, the three little brats exchanged glances, their expressions gradually relaxing.

"Big bro, are all these Pokémon yours? What about that Aggron and Mawile over there?"

"Of course."

"Big bro, where did you catch all these Pokémon?"

"As long as fate brings you together, you'll meet them. No need to chase after them."

"I want a Dreepy too…"

"Then hurry up and set out — go travel through the Unova region. You're already ten, right?"

All Baimu chatted with them casually, his thoughts drifting back to Aoba Street in Iron Town. Back then, the neighborhood kids had been just like these three — always asking him all sorts of questions about Pokémon.

Their brows were full of longing.

It was somewhat nostalgic.

If he had simply run away back then without doing anything, he probably wouldn't have known about everything that later happened in Iron Town, or even Ore — he would have been ignorant, sadly lamenting how different people's fates could be.

But fortunately, he had personally witnessed Iron Town's changes, so he could firmly believe that those children's fates had already been altered.

The Pokémon they yearned for in their youth were no longer a dream.

They were reality.

They chatted for a while.

The three little brats seemed to have things to do, casting reluctant glances at Dreepy. In the end, they only had contact with Chansey — Dreepy refused to play with them at all.

"Bye, big bro!"

"Bye~"

"Oh right, this is for you!" One of the kids handed him a flyer. "You have to come! It'll be really lively!"

On it was promotional material for a beach bonfire gathering — free-flow drinks, all-you-can-eat barbecue, and lots of fun little competitions. It looked pretty interesting.

fantuantanshu.

But what really caught All Baimu's eye was the announcement that a Pokémon exchange event would be held.

"Are you guys handing out flyers part-time?"

He noticed all three of them clutching stacks of paper in their hands. He'd originally assumed they were test papers or homework notebooks, but to his surprise they were flyers.

"Yes!"

The kid proudly puffed out his waist, then hurriedly added, "Lots of people are gonna come, I'm not lying."

"He's telling the truth!"

"People from all over Tiannandibei will be there! You're sure to be satisfied!"

The three kids scampered off in a flash.

All Baimu glanced at the flyer again and saw the event was scheduled for tomorrow evening. That was fine, then. After clearing the Fighting-type Gym, he wasn't in any rush to leave, because he still wanted to find Hirokumi near the Abandoned Ship and ask him to help track down Lugia's whereabouts.

He'd already sent a private message back when he first guessed the man's identity, but unfortunately it might have been during the height of the public-opinion storm

To do so, he had to solve the transportation problem — there was no ferry from Fighting Town to the Abandoned Ship.

"A Pokémon exchange event, huh… Too bad I don't think I have any Pokémon I could trade."

All Baimu sighed. He was still very interested in the exchange event, but unfortunately every single Pokémon on his team had a deep place in his heart, and he couldn't bear to trade any of them to another trainer.

The Gyarados that had once been sent to the Iron Town labor camp because of a minor victory had, somehow or other, also won Lady Ayana's affection, so he'd handed it over to her to raise.

He figured he could only go and watch for the fun of it.

All Baimu felt a little regretful, then nudged Aggron's body. "Let's go! Surf time!"

"Gurrr~"

"Surf time! Don't be lazy like a Spoink, okay?"

"Gurrr?"

"What's a Spoink… That's why I tell you to read more books like Mawile, this is a Pokémon." All Baimu said, exasperated at his Pokémon's lack of learning.

Mawile pushed her sunglasses down: "?"

What does this have to do with me? What does it have to do with you? Are you sick in the head?

Anyway.

Under All Baimu's prodding, Aggron stood up and slowly lumbered toward the sea. His massive, silver-glinting body immediately drew many curious onlookers.