Chapter 348: The Legend of Lei

"Sapō——"

The Spiny Iguanam screamed and toppled backward.

Its arms and body were coated in frost, then plopped into the field, unconscious.

"Ah!"

The watermelon-headed brat scratched his head in frustration, staring at Poliwhirl, whose legs had reverted from gear-like form to normal, disbelief in his voice: "How can it still change shape?!"

"This is the value of artificial Pokémon—civilization's light born from human imagination."

All All Baimu chuckled.

"... Again with stuff I don't understand."

The watermelon-headed brat scowled, checked Spiny Iguanam's condition, confirmed it wasn't badly hurt, then grabbed two watermelons the size of human heads and shouted: "Come eat watermelon! After a battle, watermelon's a must!"

Poliwhirl's dead fish eyes lit up like searchlights.

Watermelon!

It still remembered its first victory over Bellossom—how the opponent had invited them to eat watermelon, and how it, as the hero, had been praised by all its companions, making it ecstatic.

Will it happen again this time?

"Pari!"

Poliwhirl looked expectantly at its Trainer.

Having joined the team only recently and feeling it had contributed nothing, it always longed for its companions' approval.

"Thanks a lot—your watermelons are truly big and sweet."

All All Baimu couldn't ignore his Pokémon's earnest gaze; he patted its head reassuringly and released his other Pokémon.

"Of course!"

The watermelon-headed brat proudly handed the watermelon to Bellossom, which sliced it evenly into eight pieces with Leaf Blade.

The lively fruit tasting party began again.

"Heyu!" "Heyu!"

Dragonite was overjoyed at the sight of watermelon—it especially loved things you could both drink and eat, and since watermelon filled the stomach at first but digested quickly with exercise, it could still eat two big bowls at night.

"Hey! Take it easy—Happy Egg, keep an eye on it!"

Seeing he might not be able to hold back this runaway Husky, All All Baimu decisively handed it over to Happy Egg, who possessed Psychic Strength.

"Happy~"

Happy Egg agreed; the instant it released its Psychic power, it immobilized Dragonite.

The latter thrashed wildly in midair, then helplessly turned its head to protest—it had only meant to eat a watermelon!

"Heyu!" "Heyu!"

"Evolved?"

The watermelon-headed brat stared at Happy Egg, unsure whether it had arrived as an Eevee or in its current form.

But then he noticed All All Baimu heading toward the irrigation ditch by the field; he hurried over and saw All All Baimu placing a purplish Gyarados into clear flowing water, then crouching to feed it watermelon.

Gyarados poked its head above the surface, sucked once at the bright red flesh, then dove back under, surfaced again to suck once more, then dived again—its tail wagged happily as it savored the sweet taste.

"Why is this Gyarados a different color?"

The watermelon-headed brat crouched beside it, curious.

All All Baimu replied: "It's a special individual—born this color. You've never seen a Shiny Pokémon before?"

"No."

He shook his head, then excitedly asked: "Do differently colored Pokémon get stronger?"

"Not necessarily..."

"Aww—I thought they'd be stronger than normal ones! So they're just for looks!"

The moment he said it, All All Baimu realized his mistake; glancing at Gyarados, he saw it freeze, then slump into a dejected, crushed expression—its entire body dimmed, and it stopped eating the watermelon.

Gyarados, already insecure, was sensitive to others' judgments.

The watermelon-headed brat noticed too, frantically explaining: "Wait! I didn't mean that! I mean—I didn't mean it like that! Oh no, I didn't mean it at all!"

Seeing he couldn't explain himself, he just stood up and ran off, shouting as he fled: "I didn't mean it that way—!"

All All Baimu gave a helpless smile and turned to comfort Gyarados: "Don't take it to heart—that guy's just a battle-obsessed idiot who can't see your shine. Eat more watermelon—let him feel guilty!"

His tone was light, almost joking.

"Bo~"

Gyarados blew a bubble, slightly comforted, and began greedily sucking at the watermelon in the Trainer's hand.

But in truth, Gyarados's battle power wasn't strong at all.

All All Baimu clearly remembered this thing's Attack and Defense stats were on par with Magikarp—it just learned more moves and had Egg Moves.

Magikarp, despite its massive population, didn't even have Egg Moves.

Finished eating.

All All Baimu washed his hands, forcibly grabbed Dragonite, wiped the watermelon juice off its two mouths, brushed off the dust from his clothes, recalled all his Pokémon except Poliwhirl.

"Thanks for the feast! The watermelon was as delicious as ever."

He called to the watermelon-headed brat, who hesitated, reluctant to approach; All All Baimu laughed: "Don't worry—my Pokémon don't hold grudges."

"Really?"

"Of course!"

"That's great!" The watermelon-headed brat finally smiled, waving goodbye with his two Pokémon: "Safe travels!"

All All Baimu didn't reply, only waved, and walked toward Kainyan Town with Poliwhirl.

——

Normally, reaching Kainyan Town required passing through Route 112.

But since their starting point differed,

All All Baimu couldn't follow the Alliance's planned route—he had to cross endless primeval forest and towering mountains.

"Unplanned routes are definitely harder to traverse."

He dodged a tree root jutting from the ground and checked his phone's map.

He was already far from Green Meadow Town.

For miles around, everything was undeveloped land—no human trails, no footpaths; the Xiang Xiang Fengyuan Alliance had designated it entirely for wild Pokémon, perfect for daring Trainers seeking rare species.

And sure enough,

All All Baimu spotted several shadowy figures flying above the tree canopy—their balloon-like, purplish bodies unmistakable.

"Baltoy... So even Xiang Xiang Fengyuan now has Sinnoh's wild Pokémon? Migrating?"

He sighed in wonder, then noticed the Baltoy had spotted him—they exchanged glances, then slowly descended.

"Huh?"

All All Baimu froze.

Are wild Pokémon this fearless now? Not fleeing—coming closer? Hungry, hoping for food?

——Half right.

The Baltoy were indeed hungry, but instead of begging, they preferred to hunt.

For instance, snatching human children, swinging them through the air, and feeding on their fear. But clearly, they'd misjudged this big kid's age—too hungry to notice his size, weight... or combat power.

When the Baltoy, grinning, extended their thin threads to wrap around All All Baimu's arms and pull him skyward,

Their expressions instantly changed.

"Fur!"

How the hell is he so heavy!

"Heavy? Seventy-seven kilograms—this heavy. If you don't pull, I'll pull."

All All Baimu smiled back, seized the heart-shaped hands of the Baltoy as they tried to recoil, and began slamming them left and right against trees and ground.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

His monstrous strength, like a human Pokémon, made several Oakenshells in the distant shade tremble.

Poliwhirl wanted to help multiple times, but seeing its Trainer's ferocious demeanor, feared being "collateral damage," and simply hid aside, watching quietly.

Is the Trainer angry?

Absolutely! One hundred percent angry!

Poliwhirl silently mourned the poor Baltoy—kind Trainers rarely got angry, but when they did, they didn't stop easily.

A moment later,

All All Baimu released the four unconscious Baltoy, tossed them into the air: "That's all you've got? Trying to scare people? Save your strength—get as far away as you can!"

"Fur..."

The Baltoy collapsed limply to the ground, their tiny mouths opening and closing, purple smoke drifting out.

Were their spirit essences leaking out?

All All Baimu's heart skipped—he wondered if he'd gone too far—but quickly realized these Baltoy were merely starving.

He casually pulled a Poké Block from his bag.

Smelling the food, the Baltoy, moments ago near death, instantly flew up, scrambling to snatch the Poké Blocks from his hand and cram them into their gaping mouths.

"Huh, you've eaten this before?"

All All Baimu was surprised by their proficiency.

Like wild horses never having their hooves trimmed by humans, Baltoy shouldn't have encountered this artificial product—so how were they so skilled at shoving it into their mouths?

I'm not a dog; I don't go around tasting everything.

Did they somehow learn to eat out of sheer hunger? Or were they fed before?

Given how skillfully they previously came down to kidnap "children," they've definitely lived among humans—whether they've been beaten is unclear.

"Fur!" "Fur!" "Fur!"

After eating the few pieces Pika had pulled out, the Puffpuffs clung to him, hoping he'd produce more—this little bit wasn't enough for anyone.

Give us another pile!

One pile per Puffpuff!

"You attacked me for no reason, and now you expect me to be charitable?" All All Baimu glared at them—but still pulled out a few more Poké Cubes.

The Puffpuffs dove in like tigers pouncing on prey.

"So hungry?"

He stared at them, wondering if migratory Pokémon simply lack hunting habits, only starting to forage once they reach a new habitat.

Pokémon ecology really is strange.

At that moment, as if sensing his confusion, Polywhirl slipped into his phone to search the Pokédex entry for Puffpuff.

The familiar voice announcement startled All All Baimu—and made the Puffpuffs suddenly turn their heads.

"Oh, thanks."

He poked the Polywhirl's head on the screen; the Puffpuffs, seeing no danger, immediately turned back and kept eating—still unsatisfied after finishing the second portion.

Unfortunately, All All Baimu refused to give them any more.

The Puffpuffs were deeply disappointed; just as they were about to pester him again, a motorcycle engine roared to life in the silent forest—growing louder, drawing nearer.

The engine noise was more explosive than any Pokémon move.

As soon as the engine roared—

The entire forest seemed to spring to life: countless wild Pokémon burst from their hiding spots, scrambling in all directions like headless flies trying to escape something.

All All Baimu watched the wild Pokémon sprint past him and frowned. Though no law forbade riding motorcycles in uninhabited forests, the sheer chaos felt like invaders storming a village—or like reckless teens blasting through town at midnight.

But he had no right to interfere with what they did.

What truly concerned All All Baimu was how suddenly panicked the Puffpuffs had become—they began tugging at his arms again, trying to pull him into the sky, but this time not to scare him, but to get him away from here.

Their expressions reminded him of something unpleasant.

Far off, deep in the thick forest, a group of men on mountain bikes cackled as they rode toward them, flanked by numerous Golbat and Crobat, their eyes occasionally flashing dark beams that locked onto fleeing wild Pokémon.

They laughed as they hurled thin, dense nets at the Pokémon, trapping them in place and leaving them there.

Using nets instead of Poké Balls—those were definitely the Pokémon poachers.

The captured Pokémon were likely meant to be collected later.

"Pokémon poachers…"

All All Baimu clicked his tongue. He felt like he kept running into villains lately… well, not constantly—it had been many days since the last time.

Pokémon poachers avoid using Poké Balls for two reasons.

One: Poké Balls have a chance of failure and require a moment of shaking and flashing to confirm capture.

Two: The Poké Ball's latch contains a black-tech registration system that automatically logs the Pokémon's data; if the user has a Pokédex, any Pokémon beyond the sixth are automatically transferred to the Pokédex issuer.

All in all, nets are far more convenient—just add a bit of electric current and nine out of ten Pokémon can't withstand it.

Of course.

In All All Baimu's view, their terrible aim with Poké Balls also played a part.

As the saying goes, two fists can't fight four hands—he considered taking them out on the spot, but had no intention of confronting them head-on; he wasn't some idiot like Ash.

The reason for the Puffpuffs' hunger was now clear.

They'd escaped from the poachers—and he hadn't expected them to have such skills.

"Hide."

He told Polywhirl not to emerge from the phone and dragged the Puffpuffs behind a large tree, whose gnarled roots formed a three-sided barrier around him and them.

If the poachers weren't paying close attention, they'd almost certainly miss them.

If they did see them…

All All Baimu pulled out two Poké Balls, wondering what his odds were of winning against four people and four Pokémon—if he could disarm them, the chances weren't bad.

Most Pokémon poachers own many Pokémon, sometimes even quasi-legendaries.

But their battle prowess is pitiful; otherwise, they wouldn't be poachers—becoming a proper Trainer would be far more promising.

As he thought this, the engine noise was now extremely close—and with a shrill scream right beside his ear, the bikes roared past in a blur, impossibly fast, not even worrying about crashing.

All All Baimu clung tightly to the Puffpuffs, keeping his phone's camera pointed straight ahead, his gaze locked on the Crobat most likely to spot them.

Fortunately.

None of them noticed him and the Puffpuffs hidden in the tree's shadow.

Once the poachers had ridden off arrogantly, All All Baimu led the Puffpuffs out from behind the tree and immediately called the police.

After hanging up, he stared at the direction the poachers had vanished, hesitating.

In this remote, uninhabited wilderness, Officer Junsa and her team might not arrive promptly—and police cars are loud. Given the poachers' vigilance, they'd likely flee at the first hint of trouble.

He didn't call the police so the poachers could escape.

Better to alert the forest ranger here—let him decide. He'd surely have more experience handling this.

All All Baimu checked his digital map: the ranger's cabin was marked nearby—but unfortunately, the poachers had come from that same direction.

"No way?"

He released the Puffpuffs' silk threads and told them: "Get out of here—fly high. That way, the Crobat and those men won't see you."

Saying this,

he walked toward the ranger's cabin.

"Fur…"

The Puffpuffs left behind exchanged glances—and instead of fleeing as he'd ordered, they followed his steps. They knew how dangerous the poachers were, and they worried about this human who'd fed them.

All All Baimu noticed but said nothing, leading them to untie the captured wild Pokémon.

He confirmed the capture nets indeed had electric emitters—forcing them open without the proper key would trigger them.

Even if damaged, the poachers' side would be alerted.

Slightly more advanced than Team Rocket's nets.

But against Polywhirl's little tricks, they were nothing—easily bypassed without alerting the poachers. Before All All Baimu could even speak, Polywhirl had already slipped inside and disabled the device.

—After all, this thing was networked.

Anything connected to a network, Polywhirl could slip into—much like Rotom.

The only difference: Rotom only needs electricity; Polywhirl needs a network signal.

"Hide. Don't make a sound."

All All Baimu calmed the panicked wild Pokémon and continued moving toward the ranger's cabin, instructing the Puffpuffs to lower their altitude to avoid detection.

He moved forward, freeing Pokémon as he went.

Soon,

he reached the edge of the ranger's cabin and heard the noise from inside—his steps halted.

"Shhh~"

All All Baimu signaled the Puffpuffs to be silent, parted the bushes, and peered out: around the ranger's cabin near the stream, cages of all sizes held wild Pokémon—some quiet, some shrieking.

Two mountain bikes sat near the cages.

Two poachers sat at the door, laughing and smoking; beside them, two Houndoom kept sneezing, clearly irritated by the smoke.

"They've got canine Pokémon… lucky they smoke."

He smirked.

Under normal conditions, his complex scent might've been easily detected by those Houndoom—he'd had good luck.

He scanned the cabin's surroundings and spotted a route around the back via the stream, out of sight from the two men.

"... Stay here. Don't move. Wait for me to call you out—understood?"

All All Baimu gestured and spoke to the Puffpuffs.

He trusted these clever creatures would understand.

Indeed,

as he moved a few steps aside, the Puffpuffs didn't follow—instead, they stayed put, watching him.

Such obedient Ghost-type Pokémon.

All All Baimu relaxed slightly, moved silently, and circled to the back of the cabin, gripping a Poké Ball as he crept forward.

There was a window at the rear of the cabin.

He climbed up silently and peered inside—there, bound in the corner, was the ranger, still conscious—alive, at least.

Some poachers are weak; others are ruthless. The poacher J from Sinnoh was especially cruel—she ultimately drowned in Link Lake Valor, one of the few characters confirmed dead in the anime.

Confirming no other poachers were present besides the two at the front, he climbed higher onto the roof, looking down at the two men.

I have to say.

The Houndoom's senses were sharp—even with their noses half-blinded by secondhand smoke, they instinctively lifted their heads, locking eyes with All All Baimu.

"Awooo—"

The bark had barely escaped their throats when All All Baimu leapt from the roof, Poké Balls flashing and snapping open beside him.

Thud!

Jynx and Poliwhirl, one on each side, blasted them all away with Power-Up Punch and Thunderbolt, leaving two stunned Pokémon hunters frozen in shock.

They finally turned their heads in panic, belatedly realizing what had happened.

"Who the—ah!"

Both let out a shriek as their heads, too close together, slid neatly into All All Baimu's palms and slammed hard into the ground with a thud, their eyes rolling back as they fainted.

"Phew…"

All All Baimu stood up, exhaled a long breath, and looked at the Houndoom that had been defeated by Jynx and Poliwhirl. He called out to the Baltoy hidden in the distant bushes: "It's done. Come out now."

"Fuu~"

Four Baltoy drifted out slowly, bobbing in the air.

"Take care of them. Don't let them run away." All All Baimu searched the two Pokémon hunters thoroughly, confirmed they had no weapons, and handed them over to the Baltoy.

He walked into the ranger's cabin.

Amid the ranger's wide-eyed stare, he untied him and removed the cloth gag from his mouth.

"I've taken care of the two outside. Four others went out to capture Pokémon and haven't returned. I've already called the police. What do we do now?"

All All Baimu quickly explained the situation.

The ranger froze for a moment, then cried anxiously: "When did you call the police? Did they head southwest? You have to stop them! They can't catch Raikou!"

"—Huh?"

"Raikou! The legendary Thunder Pokémon! Raikou!"

The ranger's voice boomed like thunder, shaking All All Baimu's heart.