Chapter 382: Farewell to Lei Mao

In fact.

When Xijiana received the news, she was in Green Meadow Town; even if she rushed back at top speed, she arrived only as the sun set.

So she wasn't deliberately waiting for Baimu to finish everything before appearing.

Besides, someone she'd only met once wasn't worth her investing so much trust—her grandmother, her clan, and everything familiar were all in Meteor Village; how could she entrust it to others?

Baimu understood this too; his earlier words were merely a grumble about her and Lei Gong's tardiness.

Lei Gong, with his back turned to them but somehow feeling his spine being poked, rolled his eyes and irritably flicked his lightning-like tail.

Sometimes he truly wished he couldn't understand human speech.

This brat is annoying enough.

Does he really enjoy poking at himself?

"Regardless, thank you for saving everyone in Meteor Village."

Xijiana still wore a full smile.

She wasn't so easily offended by a little teasing, especially since she'd already learned from others what had happened after the Rocket invasion; all she felt now was gratitude.

When she first met Baimu, Xijiana never imagined he would one day save her grandmother.

Now, looking back, had she seemed too haughty back then? After all, she had stood in the position of the Heir.

I hope he sees me as somewhat approachable.

Xijiana thought to herself.

"It was merely my duty."

Baimu did not take credit; after replying, he coughed again, "Sorry, do you have anything else? I'd like to change clothes before heading to the Dragon Shrine."

"Ah, no, I just came to thank you."

Xijiana raised her hands in an innocent gesture, then, under his bewildered gaze, hurried into the house and opened the inner door, "... I need to change too—shall we go together?"

"... Fine."

"Give me five minutes."

Xijiana gently closed the door after receiving his affirmative reply.

Oh right! This is her house!

Baimu, snapping back to awareness, withdrew his gaze, took off his clothes as he walked over to Lei Gong, "You coming?"

Snap!

His lightning-blue tail flicked nimbly.

"Fine, don't come—why hit me?"

He rubbed his calf with a grumble; the big cat gave him a look that said, "I didn't mean to."

All these big beasts' tails hurt when they swung—never mind others, the Three-Headed Dragon's tail sometimes accidentally smacked him in the face and left him blind to the sun that day.

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Xijiana quickly changed clothes and promptly came to knock on the door.

"Baimu?"

"Coming."

Baimu soothed the many Pokémon, opened the door, and immediately saw Xijiana dressed in a traditional Meteor Villager woman's long gown—a striking aura of a lively young girl washed over him.

Very different from her earlier T-shirt and denim shorts.

"How is it? Pretty?"

Xijiana lifted her skirt and spun around with a beaming smile.

"Fine."

Baimu nodded casually, "Don't keep the elder waiting—let's go."

He shut the door and led the way to the Dragon Shrine.

Xijiana watched his back, her expression slightly odd, but said nothing and hurried to catch up beside him, "Honestly, Grandmother's decision has thrown my plans into disarray."

"I originally wanted your Super Evolution trial and Heir trial to happen together, but now they'll inevitably be separated."

"The Heir trial..."

"Yes, every Meteor Villager must undergo it—it's our birthright," Xijiana explained, thinking he might not want to participate, "Of course, your situation is special; if you don't wish to, that's fine too—everyone will understand."

"No, I'm quite willing."

Baimu shook his head, "But I'd prefer it happen when I have time—I have a lot to do."

As they talked, they soon arrived at the Dragon Shrine.

At this moment,

In the tatami hall they'd visited before, many Meteor Villagers sat in four neat rows, whispering softly; at the front, the Dragon Elder held a wooden box, lost in thought with his head bowed.

Upon seeing his arrival, everyone immediately sat upright, and the Dragon Elder slowly rose.

A solemn atmosphere instantly settled.

Baimu blinked slightly; suddenly, Xijiana gave him a light push from behind.

"Go on—the elder is waiting for you."

She switched her address, smiling at him as he turned, "This is the ceremony to bestow upon you the Key Stone and the Mega Stone, in gratitude for your contributions to the Meteor Villagers."

Baimu understood, stepped forward, and swept his gaze across all the Meteor Villagers seated on either side—each one nodded to him with a smiling face.

Silent gratitude flowed from those eyes.

No matter what had come before, after this sudden event, every Meteor Villager now recognized Baimu's identity; his title was no longer "the exiled descendant of a Dragon Tamer," but truly and properly "a Meteor Villager."

Surrounded by blessings and gratitude, Baimu arrived before the Dragon Elder.

"Child, kneel on one knee."

The elder placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke softly.

The latter dropped to one knee, then heard the Dragon Elder utter a string of unintelligible, tongue-twisting words, his hands gently patting his head and both shoulders.

A short while later.

As a round of applause sounded from behind, he was signaled to stand up.

The elder said in a low voice, "Your achievements have exceeded the trial that was required. In the name of the Elder of the People of the Shooting Star, I bestow upon you the heirloom of the People of the Shooting Star. May you use it to its fullest, and remain forever sincere and kind. May the Dragon God Rayquaza watch over you."

"May the Dragon God Rayquaza watch over you."

The People of the Shooting Star responded in unison.

Immediately after, the elder opened the wooden box, revealing two compartments separated by a divider inside. On the left was a Key Stone slightly larger than a fingertip, set in a bronze-colored spiral bracelet; on the right were numerous Mega Stones.

"Come, child, take the Key Stone that belongs to you, and choose the Mega Stones you want."

"The Mega Stones I want… excuse me, do you have a Mawile's Mega Stone?"

"'Rusty Inscription' — this is it." The elder pointed at a Mega Stone that was pink overall, with lead-gray and pale-yellow floccules inside.

Rusty Inscription?

They actually gave the Mega Stone a name.

Baimu suppressed his excitement and tucked the Key Stone and Mawilite into his bag.

He had thought it would take some time before he could obtain the Key Stone from Miss Xijiana, but he hadn't expected such an unexpected turn of events along the way… thinking about it, perhaps he should even be grateful for Team Rocket's arrival?

No, no, no.

That would be too sinful.

His rather tangled emotions were seen by the elder, who said softly, "Go back and rest, child. You've had a long day today."

"Okay."

Baimu took a deep breath. Although the meeting didn't seem to be over yet, he seemed to have been allowed to leave early.

With a wave of fatigue washing over him, he didn't refuse, bowed, then turned and left.

Miss Xijiana, sitting among the crowd, stared at his back, only looking away once he had disappeared.

—

The next day.

Baimu opened his eyes; yesterday's fatigue had vanished without a trace.

Youth meant powerful recovery, both physical and mental.

He turned over to look at Lei Gong, who lay beside the bed like a small mountain, and asked, "Speaking of which, now that Team Rocket at Meteor Falls has been captured, where are you headed next?"

Because the latter had been going out early and coming back late these days, he hadn't had much chance to extend his cat-cuddling plan to the next step.

Now that Team Rocket had been captured, the big cat no longer needed to go out — it was time to restart the plan!

Baimu grinned and reached out, placing his hand on the metal plate on Lei Gong's forehead.

He had expected to be warned off by static electricity and had already prepared to quickly pull his hand back, but to his surprise, the latter showed no reaction, letting him touch its head as it pleased.

Was Lei Gong still asleep?

No.

It was already awake, and had even turned its head to look at Baimu.

The meaning in its eyes and its unresisting attitude slowly froze the smile on his face.

"—Are you going back to Huicheng?"

"Roar~"

Lei Gong lowered its eyes and gently nodded.

The Ho-Oh Guard were legendary Pokémon burdened with a great mission; they followed Ho-Oh, taking it as their duty to protect the weak and to observe humans.

So the moment of parting would come sooner or later.

But Baimu hadn't expected it so soon. Perhaps he shouldn't have gone to sleep so early last night; perhaps he should have tried to talk it out of it; perhaps…

"Is there no longer any Team Rocket presence in the Hoenn region for now?" he asked in a low voice.

"Roar~"

Lei Gong nodded again.

"Then when are you planning to leave?"

"Roar~"

It slowly stood up.

"Today? That's too sudden! Staying a couple more days wouldn't be out of the question." Baimu stood up as well, and a group of Pokémon woke from their sleep, looking at the two of them with confusion or surprise.

Lei Gong's gaze swept over all the Pokémon, finally settling on that human whelp who, despite finding it utterly distasteful, it also found a little cute.

It was silent, gazing into the other's eyes, then lowered its head and slowly drew close, gently nuzzling its cheek against the other's face — which wore an expression of disbelief — and then nuzzled the somewhat reluctant Blissey beside him.

Carefully.

Yet the small movements betrayed an immense sense of regret and tender affection.

This was the first time Lei Gong had behaved so affectionately — nothing like the big cat of old that rejected touch, ignored every word, and would only roll its eyes at you to express disdain.

But if it was for a farewell, Baimu would gladly take the shocks, gladly endure the eye-rolls.

He reached out his hand.

"At least eat breakfast first…"

"Roar~"

Lei Gong shook its head and nimbly backed away, retreating all the way to the courtyard outside the veranda, then crouched down like an obedient big cat. Looking at the Pokémon in the room all gazing its way, a hint of a smile suddenly rose in its eyes, and it closed its eyes and bowed its head with great solemnity.

"Roar…"

Thank you all for your long care, and… goodbye.

"Friend."

Having done all this, it resolutely charged toward the forest outside Meteor Village.

All Baimu flipped out of bed in a flash and hurried outside, but all that remained for him was a nimble figure gradually fading away. He opened his mouth, only to realize he had absolutely no idea what to say.

A farewell? He didn't want to part just like this at all.

To ask it to stay? Lei Gong's mind was already made up.

"... Ah."

He covered his face, rubbing his slightly stinging eyes, as the Pokémon behind him surged forward and leaned against him, offering comfort.

Everything had come too suddenly, leaving no time for any mental preparation at all.

But perhaps.

Lei Gong had chosen to leave this morning precisely because it considered this abruptness, hadn't it? If a departure date had been set in advance, he would most likely have been subtly persuaded by All Baimu with all sorts of reasons, forced to stay a little longer.

In any case, he would definitely have put in the effort for that.

And in reality, it was just as All Baimu had thought.

Lei Gong, threading through the forest, did not look back, nor dared to look back, as if afraid of hearing that boy's voice—it had to run farther and farther away.

Otherwise.

It knew it truly could not take this step.

Scenes of time spent with All Baimu kept flashing through Lei Gong's mind. Even as it warned itself to go faster, its footsteps slowed down of their own accord.

In the end, it stopped on a hillside, staring blankly in the direction it had run from, its gaze seeming to pierce through the dense jungle.

What would breakfast be?

It must be delicious, right?

Hydreigon had probably started acting cute again, but would surely be dragged off by Blissey to brush its teeth, right? Luvdisc was most likely still as lazy as ever, having flown onto Porygon's back to beg for peace and quiet. Mawile was definitely still curled up on the sofa hugging its doll, and Aggron might well be changing the water for Feebas...

Just like what played out every day.

How wonderful.

But this warmth did not belong to it. It still had an unfulfilled mission and could not indulge in those things for the sake of shameful selfish desire.

You must achieve your goal!

All Baimu!

"Roar—!

"

Lei Gong raised its head and howled, wave after wave of sound spreading through the mountains and forest, startling the Swablu and Taillow on the treetops, which all took flight together and fled into the distance.

Back in Meteor Village, All Baimu, who had been about to head back to his room, pricked up his ears and looked in the direction Lei Gong had left.

Immediately after.

As if sensing something, a smile gradually spread across his wistful face.

Miss Xijiana poked her head out from the windowsill on the second floor.

"It's still early morning—what happened?"

"Nothing, I just saw a friend off and I'm a bit reluctant to part."

"Lei Gong?"

"Mm."

"We should be able to meet again, right?"

"Of course. We'll meet again sooner or later—this is definitely not the last time." All Baimu replied with a smile.