Chapter 331: The Frail Youth (Triple-Length Mega Chapter)

This time, the rewards from the regular simulation could be considered "top-tier" in scale.

He was only one final step away from the Championship Tournament.

If he made it to the top eight, the level cap on rewards would shift from lv. 50 to lv. 70—but whether gaining four levels or one level was the better deal was honestly hard to say.

Of course, taken as a whole, the fixed rewards meant the top eight was definitely the more profitable option.

He chose one and three.

All Baimu began pondering how to deliver the news of Team Rocket's Spy Plan to the International Police.

He thought it over carefully and felt it wasn't really feasible.

After all, everything requires evidence. He certainly knew this intelligence, but he had absolutely no idea how to explain its source to them—the International Police would definitely press him until they got to the bottom of it.

Besides, he had initially guessed the story's timeline fell after the Lake of Rage incident, but based on Kenta's participation in the Silver Conference, it was actually before the Lake of Rage incident. In that case, the Team Rocket branch base above Petalburg City had very likely already been taken down by the League.

Furthermore, the Team Rocket member he alone knew about had no subsequent development, which made All Baimu hesitate to act rashly.

He could only say that until he had evidence that could stand on its own, the Spy Plan would be very hard to successfully pass along to the International Police.

Since there was no way to do it, he'd just have to set it aside for now.

There was plenty of time ahead.

Team Rocket was a villainous organization that endured all the way to the latest anime series; even if he uprooted one of their secret plans, it wouldn't accomplish much, and he'd only end up drawing Team Rocket's attention, creating more trouble for himself for nothing.

Thinking this far, he stopped dwelling on it.

"No matter how many times I look at it, this lake really is huge…"

All Baimu gazed out over the vast expanse of water before him and sighed sincerely from the heart.

Splash splash splash…

The sound of surging water rose from not far away.

Aggron emerged from the lake water and shook its head at him, indicating it hadn't found the Feebas he wanted—and in different colors at that! It hadn't even spotted a single ordinary one!

"The intel online isn't accurate either."

He let out a sigh.

Who was it that said there were Feebas in the waters near Route 103? Aggron had been swimming down there for over two hours—what Feebas? They were all Beautifly!

"Gurrr~"

Aggron swam to the shore and tossed him a few heart-shaped, multicolored scales.

"Hm? Heart Scales?"

All Baimu picked them up curiously. In the games, this thing could be used to teach moves; in the anime, it was simply an accessory that could be processed and sold.

"Did you peel these off an Alomomola?"

"Roar~"

Aggron helplessly indicated that it had picked them up from the lake bottom—it wouldn't go out of its way to provoke Alomomola.

Those things usually showed up in huge swarms; how would a Pokémon weak to water like it dare provoke fish-type Pokémon in the water?

"Nice. I'll find someone to design something later and have it made into a headpiece together with the Silver Wing for Mawile to use in Contests." All Baimu said this to the Mawile beside him, whose face was full of curiosity.

"Chido?"

The latter wore a bewildered expression.

——

Having failed to find any Feebas,

All Baimu gave up on lingering any longer near Route 103.

The map also showed that he was only one mountain away from Verdanturf Town.

He would definitely make it before nightfall.

"The most comfortable town in Hoenn—I'm finally going to see it. Hope it doesn't disappoint me." He climbed step by step up the mountaintop with his Galarian Corsola.

In an instant—

A vast green plateau came fully into view.

Houses of varying heights scattered in an orderly fashion, stretches of orchards and farmland, Jumpluff and Beautifly drifting along with the wind, and bird Pokémon at liberty.

A gentle wind brushed his face, carrying the faint scent of fresh grass into All Baimu's nostrils.

The sweltering summer heat seemed to not exist here at all; just one glance downward made his body feel as if it had come alive, brimming with vibrant energy.

Urging him onward.

"Sang…"

Galarian Corsola silently opened its eyes and let out a low call.

All Baimu turned to look at it in utter astonishment. After all, normally Galarian Corsola wouldn't even bother to wake up, so what was going on now?

The latter paid no heed to its trainer's gaze and observed Verdanturf Town very seriously.

At first, when it heard its trainer say it would have to "work overtime," it had been quite unwilling, but if the overtime was in a place like this… it could bear it.

For Galarian Corsola, how to slack off comfortably was more important than simply slacking off.

This was also the main reason it had agreed to exchange labor for delicious food—enjoying life couldn't rely on sleep alone; a comfortable, undisturbed environment and plenty of food were both important.

Its trainer barely covered all of those.

If it weren't for that idiot Dragapult, it would have been completely satisfied.

"Looks like you're pretty pleased with Verdanturf Town too… that's for the best. Will-O-Wisp, Dark Pulse, and Protect—work hard on learning those! I'm counting on you!" All Baimu's voice cut off Galarian Corsola's pleasant musings about the future.

Learning moves, huh…

The fact that things hadn't been going smoothly in that area had always been a sore point for it.

Maybe it should put in a little more effort.

Otherwise its trainer would be so annoying.

Perched on Baimu's shoulder, the Carracosta Sun Coral thought as much — when it had first learned Shadow Ball, its trainer had been delighted for a few days, but only a few.

He hurried down the mountain.

Passing a watermelon field, Baimu was stopped by a watermelon-headed brat who suddenly popped out.

"Halt! I am the Masked Messenger Taro! Accept my challenge!"

"Masked Messenger… Taro?"

He froze for a beat, staring at the little brat whose face was hidden behind two watermelon leaves, his brain failing to catch up.

In the anime, Greenfield Town did seem to have a Masked Messenger who had brutally beaten May's rival Drew, forcing the latter to miss the Contest, only to lose to May in the end.

He hadn't expected that after a few years, the Masked Messenger had become so famous that little kids would imitate him.

"I accept!"

Baimu agreed without the slightest hesitation, not a trace of embarrassment at beating a little brat on his face.

Hearing this, the watermelon-headed brat couldn't help striking a half-crouching fist-clenching pose as if about to take a dump right there, and started hollering, "Ohhh — I'm fired up!"

A Poké Ball flew high into the air.

"Come out! My first great general! Victreebel!"

Poof!

White light flickered.

A man-sized giant pitcher plant appeared in the field.

"Eee-zhee—"

Victreebel let out a shrill cry.

Good lord, hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the countryside, huh?

Baimu had expected the other side to send out a Wurmple or Shroomish or some such Pokémon, but instead the brat opened with a fully evolved Victreebel.

Its level was surely no joke.

He thought for a moment, then sent out the Porygon he'd planned on.

Poof!

"Pory!"

Porygon landed and floated again, and upon spotting the Victreebel nearby immediately understood what it had come out to do — its Download Ability triggered, lighting up its body with a glow as its stats shifted, and a gleam of eagerness flashed in its beady eyes.

Finally my turn to step onto the field and battle someone!

The watermelon-headed brat, on seeing Porygon, froze on the spot. "What is that?"

"It's a Pokémon, of course. Want me to give you time to look up what it's called?"

Baimu asked with a smile.

His intentions were good, but who would have thought the watermelon-headed brat would shout as if personally mocked:

"—No need! Whatever messy thing you are! I'll beat it all the same! I move first! Razor Leaf!"

"Eee-zhee!"

Victreebel whipped the large leaves on either side of its body, and countless sharp, shuttle-shaped leaves shot forward!

Swish swish swish!

A fearsome sound of slicing wind rose.

But the instant Razor Leaf struck Porygon, the light patterns on its body suddenly shifted — the blue parts rapidly turned emerald green, and the leaves crumbled away bit by bit like dead foliage.

Porygon: "Pory! (╬￣皿￣)!"

What a load of rubbish… I'll smash you today! Bastard!

"It had no effect!?" Both the watermelon-headed brat and Victreebel were shocked.

"Trace."

The smile on Baimu's face didn't waver — this move let Porygon change its type to one that resists the type of move its opponent uses.

Simply put, the instant Victreebel used Razor Leaf, Porygon had already become a Grass type resisting Grass, and the type change didn't even require the opponent's move to land.

And although in the games the type Trace changes to is completely random, from his own testing, in the anime setting the type Trace changes to can be controlled — as long as Professor Akihabara had loaded every type's system into it.

By the same logic, Trace can also use its own will to pick which type of move it knows to change into.

In a sense, this was a huge buff for Porygon.

Moves that in the games would never be chosen due to randomness and wasted turns would now shine brilliantly!

"Impossible! Stun Spore!"

The watermelon-headed brat gritted his teeth and shouted. Victreebel spread the leaves atop its head, spewing out a great cloud of golden powder.

Baimu covered his mouth and nose, waving a hand dismissively.

"Psybeam!"

Bathed in the golden powder, Porygon suddenly raised its tail, gathering a multicolored laser that shot forth!

Boom!

Psybeam struck Victreebel squarely; the latter had no time to dodge and was sent flying backward by the violent explosion, crashing down in the field.

"Stun Spore didn't work either?"

The watermelon-headed brat was dumbfounded.

He belatedly realized this unfamiliar Pokémon might be a Grass type.

Little did he know that Porygon had currently changed into a Grass type, and powder moves have no effect on Grass types.

Seeing that Victreebel hadn't been taken down in one hit, Baimu immediately understood the thing's level was far higher than he'd imagined — a non-STAB Psybeam wouldn't finish it. "Psybeam again!"

"Dodge it quick!"

The watermelon-headed brat shouted anxiously.

"Squeee—"

The Victreebel let out a piercing shriek and tried to dodge, but having just been struck by a super-effective beam, its reactions were far from swift. A multicoloured beam shot toward its head like a bolt of Lei Ting!

Tomato Novel

Boom!

Thick smoke billowed out in all directions.

After taking two consecutive hits, the Victreebel could hold on no longer and collapsed with a wail.

"Victreebel!"

The watermelon-head kid rushed anxiously into the field.

Fortunately, Porygon's move wasn't especially powerful, and after basking in the sun for a while, the Victreebel revived. This let him breathe a sigh of relief.

"Pory!"

The victorious Porygon excitedly wiggled its blocky legs.

"Nicely done. You fought a good battle by exploiting the information gap." Baimu smiled and patted its head.

——

By a gently babbling brook.

Thanks to the watermelon-head kid's generous hospitality, Baimu and his Pokémon were able to enjoy some refreshing watermelon.

"Eat as much as you like! Don't hold back! There's nothing much here, but watermelons we have plenty of! Big and sweet, a perfect hundred out of ten! Hahaha!" He plucked the leaf off his face, stood with hands on hips, and laughed heartily.

The Victreebel swayed its vines nearby.

"Thank you."

Baimu hadn't expected the other to be so warm-hearted.

Just a second ago he'd been fuming, looking utterly unwilling to accept losing the battle; the next second he was clamouring to treat Baimu and his Pokémon to watermelon.

"Hiyah! What's there to thank us for a little watermelon? But Porygon really is amazing—Mirror Coat, Mirror Coat 2… I've never even heard of those moves!"

The watermelon-head kid rubbed his nose, his gaze lingering on Porygon.

The latter was starting to feel a little self-conscious under the stare.

"If you're interested in Porygon, you could go to Akihabara Professor in Saffron City in Kanto." Baimu offered the information.

"Kanto!"

The watermelon-head kid was startled, sweat beading on his forehead, and said dejectedly, "That's way too far! My grandpa would never agree to it!"

"Hahaha, then wait until you're a bit older and set out on a journey before talking about it."

Baimu merrily munched on watermelon, but the moment his peripheral vision caught a sneaky figure, he immediately dashed over, grabbed the two huge heads in a hug, and said, "Overeating prohibited!"

"Hyah!" "Hyah!"

The Doduo, each head clamping a melon, struggled and cried out. The creature had buried both heads into the fruit, munching away so happily it could barely stop, throwing a tantrum and acting cute at the same time.

The watermelon-head kid hurriedly said, "It's fine! Eat as much as—"

"No, eating too much will upset your stomach, and it'll ruin your appetite for dinner tonight—bad for your health." Baimu gave him a smile, then gave the two heads a firm smack each. "Drop it! Let go!"

Smack, smack.

Two watermelons hit the ground and shattered.

"Hyah!" "Hyah!"

Seeing the broken watermelons, the Doduo's eyes lit up. It knew trainers hated wasting food, so surely these two melons would be given to it, right? Surely—

Two vines suddenly shot out, pierced into the melons, and sucked out every drop of juice and pulp.

The Doduo stared at the suddenly vanished melons, and the whole creature instantly fell into a state of grey despair.

The me—melons are gone…

"Squee~"

The Victreebel hopped joyfully on the ground twice, its two triangular eyes brimming with happiness.

The watermelon-head kid laughed, "You love the melons from home the most, right?"

"Dummy."

Baimu, caught between laughter and tears, dragged the Doduo to the brook to wash its face. The thing had gotten watermelon seeds and juice all over its face—sticky and utterly disgusting.

Not far away.

A Galarian Corsola slowly edged away from the third melon. It really wanted to keep eating, but being dragged around like that wouldn't be good.

It also found it embarrassing.

"Oh right!"

The watermelon-head kid seemed to think of something and suddenly said, "Since your Pokémon are so strong, how about challenging the Battle Tent?"

"Battle Tent?"

Baimu looked puzzled.

"Yes! The trainer picks three Pokémon to compete, and can't give them any commands or hints. They can only watch the battle inside through the big screen outside. As long as the Pokémon can defeat five opponents, there's a chance to win a Pokémon Egg!"

The watermelon-head kid said excitedly.

Hmm?

Sounds a bit like the Battle Palace from the games?

He glanced at his Pokémon, and genuinely felt a spark of interest—not in the Pokémon Egg, but in how autonomously his Pokémon could fight.

Without him scheming and calling out reminders at crucial moments, would they become stronger? Or weaker?

"How does a place like Greenfield Town have such an interesting competition?"

Baimu asked, puzzled.

The watermelon-head kid grinned, "Because a lot of the trainers and Pokémon who come here are injured, you see. They came up with this method to keep their partners in fighting shape at all times."

Ah……

It's like this.

He nodded thoughtfully.

After parting with the melon-head kid who still had to keep tending the fields, the two agreed to have another match before All Baimu left.

"When the time comes, I'll bring out my second ace to face you!"

"You have a second ace?"

"Of course!"

The matter-of-fact expression made Baimu sigh, reflecting that country folks really were different.

City kids his age, if they hadn't gone to Trainer School, might never have come into contact with Pokémon at all — like the brother and sister in the movie "Everyone's Story" who just kept attending an ordinary high school.

Verdant Town.

Although it was called the town with the best environment, modern facilities and high-rises were hardly scarce.

It's just that you basically never saw cars on the streets — mostly mopeds — and the vegetation coverage was terrifyingly high. Most residential areas were blanketed in shade, and the walls of many small buildings were covered in ivy.

Pokémon Center—

As expected, the single rooms were gone.

All Baimu had no choice but to look for lodging elsewhere, but the hotels here were far more packed than expected. Though you barely saw many people moving about on the streets, he ran to three or four hotels in a row and they were all full.

Hotels are out……

A guesthouse?

Why not just buy a house in Verdant Town! His wallet was quite plump right now anyway. Houses in Verdant Town were certainly expensive, but you got what you paid for, and they weren't pigeonholes. If he were to be based in Hoenn long-term, having a house here might be a good choice.

Thinking this far, he really did start looking for a real estate agent.

He hadn't expected that after turning left and right, instead of finding a real estate agent, he spotted a figure that looked somewhat familiar, yet also a little strange.

"Messy green hair, sickly good-boy aura, a Gardevoir by his side……"

All Baimu called out tentatively.

"Wallace?"

"Eh?"

The green-haired boy and his Gardevoir curiously turned their heads, only to find not a single person there. They couldn't help but glance around in confusion. "W-which one of you is calling me?"

He asked in a trembling voice.

After getting no response for a long while, he and his Gardevoir quickly left.

All Baimu, hiding behind a coffee shop signboard, wore a thoroughly strange expression.

After the purple-haired Captain Huoyan and the voluptuous Hokutan, one of the game protagonist's rivals — the sickly boy Wallace — had also shown up, had he?

Doesn't that mean Yuu (Takeshi) also exists?

Although Yuu had appeared at the opening of several movies, the fact that he hadn't shown up in the main feature like Kenta did still made it hard to believe.

He tugged at the corner of his mouth and searched Wallace's name on his phone — and he actually found an entry for the latter. It showed that Wallace was the runner-up of the Sootopolis Conference two years ago.

And the champion—

Yuu, without a doubt.

The signature white hood and ace Swampert both proved this.

In other words, Yuu set out a year later than Ash and May, yet won the Hoenn region's Sootopolis Conference championship, with Wallace as his rival taking runner-up.

All Baimu's heart was suddenly filled with all sorts of complicated feelings.

Reasonably speaking, not being able to compete on the same stage with these "game protagonists" was somewhat disappointing — after all, a rival could also be considered a driving force for growth.

He was about to turn off his phone when he saw a video of Wallace's older cousin Anemone cheering him on and advertising her own guesthouse.

The video was posted about three years ago, with pitifully few views.

……What a coincidence?

Probably the Lucky Scale working its magic again.

He was looking for a place to stay anyway — let's go take a look.

All Baimu thought, and following the address in the video, found Anemone's guesthouse. The brown door was wrapped in a riot of flowers, with an "Open" wooden sign hanging outside.

He pushed the door and went in.

"Welcome!"

A voice that sounded somewhat timid and androgynous rang out.

All Baimu looked over — it was none other than the Wallace he'd just run into.

This guy's voice wasn't much different from in the Pokémon games, full of a delicate, boyish quality. Right now he was holding a broom, sweeping up.

But don't let that "one punch and he'll cry for a long time" appearance fool you — in reality, he was a powerful Trainer who debuted straight into a conference runner-up……

"Hello."

All Baimu nodded. "I'd like to stay — do you have any rooms?"

"Yes, yes!"

Wallace scurried over to the counter. "What kind of room would you like?"

Just like in the setting — a very polite young man.

All Baimu said: "I'd like a large suite with its own kitchen — do you have one?"

"I'm sorry! We don't have any rooms with their own kitchen!"

Wallace bowed sharply, nearly giving him a fright. "But, there is a communal kitchen……"

"……A communal kitchen is fine too. What's the ceiling height of the room?" he continued asking. If the ceiling height wasn't enough, Blaziken's pull-up training might be very uncomfortable.

After some back and forth.

All Baimu finally got the room key from the other party, and the price was fair enough.

But what he hadn't expected was that the room actually used a neon style — paper screens and tatami, plus a corridor that, when slid open, looked out onto a courtyard.

"A-are you satisfied?"

The one who had led the way, Manchu, asked cautiously.

All Baimu's expression was rather odd; he pointed at his own nose. "Do I look that fierce?"

"Of course not!"

Manchu shook his head in a fluster.

"Then why do you talk as if I'm about to take a swing at you any second — so short of breath." From his initial dealings with Manchu, he felt the kid was a bit green and unexposed to the world.

"I'm just worried I haven't served the guest well enough."

The latter's shy face broke into a smile, then he abruptly bowed to ninety degrees. "I'm very sorry!"

All Baimu: "..."

While he was speechless, a young woman in a dress came over at a light run, an apologetic smile quickly appearing on her face. "I'm really sorry — this is my cousin. He only recently started helping me mind the shop. Please be understanding if anything's been lacking."

"No, the service was quite thorough. He just should pluck up more courage and speak a little louder."

All Baimu looked at her. "Are you the owner here, Aman?"

"Yes!"

"I hope you'll look after me well in the days ahead." He nodded to the two of them. "Then the two of you can leave it here."

Click.

The door was shut.

Aman and Manchu exchanged a glance, and both let out a breath of relief.

The former said with a smile: "Looks like you can already entertain guests on your own! That's impressive! Manchu!"

"Hehehe..."

Manchu scratched his head sheepishly.