Chapter 372: The Explosive Genius

Another day passed.

Nothing happened.

The Rocket Team had still not arrived, so Baimu dared not leave Meteor Village—he had blown his own whistle, and they had taken it seriously, patrolling and standing guard.

Yet when no one came after half a day, he simply packed up and left; frankly, that was hard to justify.

So he had no choice but to stay in Meteor Village.

The Dragon Elder seemed quite pleased with this turn of events, urging him to settle in without any burden; the people of Meteor Village always helped one another, and staying a few days was nothing.

"The rent for the apartment was wasted."

Baimu remembered the house in Autumn Leaf Town—he had paid nearly a week's rent… He could only be glad he hadn't left anything behind, "Never mind, let's begin the simulation."

He, curled up on the sofa, gazed at the simulator.

Now, he had shortened the original seven-day cooldown to five days, and since the last dual-blue simulation with the musician from Green Meadow Town, the blue talent's cooldown had come round again.

【Honestly, I've been using Wild Fruit Reading to follow updates, switching sources and reading voices—works on both Android and iOS. yeguoyuedu】

During this period, three ordinary simulations granted him seven level-ups restricted to below level 50, because one participant remarkably reached the top sixteen, while the other two performed poorly—one failed to advance past the preliminaries, the other made it only to the sixty-fourth round.

In terms of moves, the three simulations granted 【Flamethrower】, 【Charm】, and 【Taunt】.

【Flamethrower】 was promptly given to Bisharp, since compared to the better-talented Dreepy, it learned new moves far too slowly. The latter, however, could learn Flamethrower—and even Overheat—by observing Bisharp.

【Taunt】 was held for now, undecided between Bisharp and Dreepy, but likely the latter.

After consulting with Gulpin, they unanimously decided to give 【Charm】 to the Shiny Skrelp.

Best used as a small gift for breaking through Dragon's Waterfall.

Gulpin itself didn't need it much; as a Pokémon that won through dance, it had no need for such external aids, and in battle, it was already acting more like a support booster.

But once Baimu obtained the Key Stone, it would become a pure, unrelenting offensive powerhouse.

Using Charm would waste time and energy—it's better to switch it out early.

"Come on, new simulation."

Having organized his gains, he lightly tapped the void.

【Choose your starting region▽】

The regions from the first six generations had all been cycled through; next was an exceptionally unique region—Alola.

Why was it unique?

Because in the anime, its first Pokémon League would be organized by Professor Kukui only after Ash arrived in Alola—meaning, unless the simulator foresaw the future, there would be no League Conference.

Without a League Conference, how would rewards be calculated?

Baimu was curious.

He opened the gender selection.

Since the musician had been male, this time it naturally fell to female—but what female NPCs were there in Alola? Bikini sisters?

Could it be an Island Queen?

With no League Conference to constrain things, everything felt possible… Hopefully not a Team Skull female grunt or an Aether Foundation female employee.

He opened the Pokémon section.

"Huh? Rowlet?"

Baimu looked at the Pokémon with surprise; starter Pokémon were rare in the simulator. Though not indicative of the final outcome, it at least proved the simulation subject was a "serious person."

Good omen!

He silently opened the talent section.

Fixed talent:

【☆Three Words of Truth: (Stand up, hold on, quickly dodge)】

Optional talents:

【Hot-Blooded Youth (Always optimistic)】

【Face Reflects Heart (More attractive to Pokémon)】

【Fragile Health (Health status far from optimistic)】

【Kind-Hearted (Willing to help others)】

Rowlet starts with the Three Words of Truth?

Too bad he'd chosen female—Baimu couldn't help suspecting this simulation was Ash arriving in Alola, and he desperately hoped it was Ash.

After all, Ash won the championship in Alola!

It couldn't suddenly give him a parallel-world version of Ash, could it?

What a pity.

Baimu sighed softly and selected Kind-Hearted and… Hot-Blooded Youth.

Face Reflects Heart was also excellent, but Hot-Blooded Youth went perfectly with the starter Pokémon and the Three Words of Truth, didn't it? So even though he'd been burned before, he was willing to give Hot-Blooded Youth another chance.

It wouldn't necessarily turn him into a mindless boy—the description clearly said "always optimistic."

This element was crucial.

He clicked to begin the simulation.

The familiar screen rapidly unfolded.

——

【Simulation Begins】

The still-plain pixel art remained unchanged, even in the seventh generation.

The background was a pitch-black night.

A massive structure, composed of countless cake-like houses, rested beside a towering tree, situated by the seashore.

Although its appearance is somewhat abstract, from the adjacent oval playground and other buildings, it's clear this must be the Trainer School on Mele Mele Island.

It's also the school Ash attended in the anime.

Zoom in.

Inside the school corridor, a girl in student uniform holds a flashlight and walks forward, trembling slightly.

【At age eleven, you bet with classmates to uncover the truth behind the campus ghost sightings—but you're deeply uneasy because your partner, Mukkoko, is missing again.】

Holy crap.

So this must be the simulated protagonist.

But where's the fiery girl they promised? More like a timid girl.

Baimu's gaze follows the girl, thinking that even if ghosts don't exist, just one random Ghost-type Pokémon appearing out of nowhere would scare her half to death.

But the simulator's camera suddenly pulls back.

The screen reveals the staircase entrance the girl is about to pass—two white figures crouch there, swaying like ghosts.

Huh?

Are there really ghosts?

Baimu's eyes widen, then a narration pops up.

【What you don't know is, your classmates have already disguised themselves as ghosts, waiting in the corner of the staircase.】

So it's just people after all.

On the other end, the girl continues stumbling forward, sweeping her flashlight back and forth across the corridor, plunging the surroundings into alternating flashes of light and darkness—making it hard to believe she can even see clearly.

And finally.

After a long, slow crawl, the girl reaches the staircase corner.

The two fake ghosts, long waiting, leap forward, wriggling grotesquely, two explosive white bubbles bursting from their foreheads.

The girl stands frozen, like a fool.

But just as Baimu thinks she might faint—or worse, wet herself—suddenly a bubble pops above her head, showing a cheerful yellow bean with hearts for eyes.

Baimu: "?"

The two ghosts: "!"

Instantly, the two white ghosts spin around and bolt away, while the girl chases after them frantically.

【You've successfully discovered the real ghost! Overjoyed, you chase after it, convinced your disguise fooled the ghost—and you're determined to capture it alive to prove to your classmates that ghosts truly exist.】

So all that was faked!

That granny's shuffle, that Gatling-gun flashlight sweep—all just to fool the "ghost"!

Baimu watches the fake ghosts and the girl sprinting up and down the oddly cake-shaped school building; in desperation, the two fake ghosts split up and flee in different directions.

【You see the ghost split up, hesitate briefly, then choose the larger one—it's slower, and you're not fast either.】

The girl keeps chasing, but the expression in her bubble shifts from excitement to discomfort—clearly her stamina is nearly gone.

Finally.

She stops, panting heavily in place.

The fake ghost nearby also halts, equally exhausted—its clothes are surely soaked with sweat, though it's too dark to see.

【You stare at the ghost so close, deeply regretting your poor stamina, and bitterly wish Mukkoko were here.】

The girl takes another step—startling the fake ghost, which suddenly finds a burst of energy and bolts away like a streak. She takes two symbolic steps, then stops.

【You watch the ghost vanish, filled with regret—you wish you'd brought a camera to capture it. This time, your preparations were inadequate. But the fact that you truly found a ghost still fills you with exhilaration.】

In the lower-right corner of the screen, the two fake ghosts flee the school in panic.

The girl rests for a while, still unwilling to give up, searching everywhere for the ghost that vanished—but no matter how she pretends or wanders, she finds no trace of it.

Baimu watches the girl wander the school without her flashlight, and a strange sense of dread rises in him.

And it's quickly confirmed.

The girl suddenly stops before a classroom door—then the camera shifts, revealing the interior to his eyes—

At a desk, a pale, hazy shadow sits, holding a tattered Pikachu plush.

Shit!

A real ghost!

Baimu jolts in alarm—the two fake ghosts already ran off!

In the scene, the girl sees the ghost and doesn't fear her—she's thrilled, rushing into the classroom with reckless courage.

【You see the ghost appear and eagerly approach—but it clearly dislikes you. Instead of fleeing, it screams and charges at you.】

The white shadow suddenly transforms into a massive white specter; even in pixel art, its twisted face is visible.

The girl halts, calmly pulls a ball from her pocket, and throws it.

Boom!

A burst of fire erupts between them, stunning both the specter and Baimu—especially the specter, terrified by the light, heat, and noise, then sees another ball flying toward it.

Boom!

Another burst of fire!

Now the specter is truly terrified—just like the two fake ghosts, it turns and bolts for the window, snatching the tattered Pikachu plush from the desk as it goes.

What the hell? A bomb-wielding genius!? Where are the security guards?! Someone's blowing up the school!

Baimu erupts in disbelief—not only does the girl have insane courage, she's got a terrifying weapon to back it up. Too bad the real ghost is nothing like the fakes.

One can't walk through walls—the other can not only walk through walls, but fly!

The girl reaches the window, watching the ghost about to take flight—suddenly, the bubble above her head bursts, revealing three words—

【Mukkoko!】

!】

【The big Farfetch'd right before your eyes is about to fly away, so you hurriedly call out to your good partner】

The instant his voice rang out, All Baimu saw a "shooting star" suddenly fly in from the corner and crash spectacularly into the ghost that was trying to escape.

Smack!

The ghost was actually sent plummeting by the "shooting star," and when its true form was revealed—who else could it be but Rowlet?

The female student by the window saw the ghost get hit and, without hesitation, was about to jump down from the second floor.

Fortunately, Rowlet noticed and hurriedly flew over, grabbing the female student's hand. With its plush-toy-sized body, it desperately flapped its wings and barely managed to reduce most of the force of her fall.

This caused the female student to tumble once before landing safely.

"Another… hothead…"

All Baimu clicked his tongue inwardly. After the miniskirt, another wildly bold female character had appeared—did disguising herself as a student come with some kind of buff?

【You hurriedly run toward the fallen ghost, but upon clearly seeing its true form, you're quite surprised】

In the frame, the female student came before the "ghost" and discovered that once the white gas outside dispersed, the figure revealed was Mimikyu.

It dragged a tattered Pikachu plush behind it, seeming quite fearful of the female student.

The bubble above its head kept displaying a shrinking, nervous bean expression.

"If it were me, I'd be scared too."

All Baimu felt a deep sense of kinship with Mimikyu.

But he hadn't expected this to be yet another fake ghost… even if, in a certain sense, it really was a ghost-type.