Chapter 392: Heart of the Dragon Horde

After saying this.

Iris noticed All Baimu's brow furrow slightly and quickly explained, "I'm just guessing. It's because you prepared food specifically for Dragon-type Pokémon, and there's still a Dragon-type Pokémon scent on you…"

Scent?

Impressive.

But as the earliest character to show a fanatical love for Dragon-type Pokémon in the anime, Iris can not only empathize with Dragon Pokémon—fearing the cold—she even chased Rayquaza flying across the sky all the way to the Hoenn region.

Having this little skill is pretty normal, and besides, the skills she has aren't limited to just these.

"No matter."

All Baimu had no intention of hiding it; the frown was merely an unconscious habit when he was thinking. He raised his hand and released a Poké Ball.

"Sshaa!"

Hydreigon appeared. Its massive pitch-black body carried an almost oppressive low pressure, immediately drawing the attention of a certain irritable Dragonite, whose face quickly scrunched up.

Only its trainer reacted faster.

"Eek! Hydreigon! What a cute child!"

Iris put down her spoon and bowl, and threw herself onto Hydreigon with unrestrained excitement, rubbing her cheeks repeatedly against its fluffy neck and chest. "So fluffy! So soft! And it smells so nice! So the source of that scent really was you!"

"Sshaa?"

Hydreigon, usually the one doing the nuzzling, was completely thrown off on the spot. It looked at her at a loss, then turned its head to look at the trainer beside it.

"Ss-sshaa!"

H-Help!

All Baimu gave it a helpless look in return, watching from the sidelines without a word.

Suddenly.

This dragon-obsessed girl raised her head and stared blankly at Hydreigon. The latter, not understanding the situation, grew increasingly awkward and didn't dare meet her gaze.

After a long while, she suddenly broke into a smile. "What a gentle child~ Your heart keeps saying you like your trainer the most, the most. So cute~"

"Sshaa!?"

Hydreigon stared at her in utter shock, as if to say how did you know what I was thinking.

Iris chuckled sheepishly, then turned to All Baimu beside her with a rather embarrassed look. "Sorry, I got a little too worked up… You probably won't believe it if I tell you, but I can read Dragon-type Pokémon's feelings and convey my own thoughts to them.

"Occasionally I can also see their memories of the past. Ah, but please rest assured, I won't casually peek into other people's privacy!"

She anxiously raised both hands and waved them frantically.

Not to mention rashly exposing her own special ability—clearly she could have hidden part of it to avoid misunderstanding, yet she chose to lay everything out and then desperately tried to explain it away…

Is being honest and simple-minded a standard feature of the main cast?

Perhaps it also has something to do with being trusted by me.

"Of course I believe you. I know about your time in the Village of Dragons."

All Baimu beckoned to Hydreigon. The latter fled as if escaping and hid behind its trainer, poking its three heads out from behind the shoulder and atop the head, face full of vigilance.

"Did you hear it from Axew?" Iris asked curiously.

He replied, "More or less."

In reality, this girl's hands just now were practically glowing like light bulbs. Insisting she had no special ability would be what truly warranted suspicion.

On the other hand, All Baimu was actually quite curious about the ability Iris possessed.

The anime attributed it to her innate talent, but Iris didn't demonstrate this ability until the episode where she caught the powerful Dragonite. Perhaps it can also be learned?

He yearned for this kind of ability similar to telepathy.

Regarding memories of the past.

All Baimu wasn't worried his secrets would be exposed. Not only was Hydreigon blind for a long stretch of its past, but how things looked from its perspective was completely different from how they looked from his.

Memories aren't reality. They add various special filters based on emotion and perception, resulting in a series of subjective, strange images.

For example, in Hydreigon's eyes, if it had read shoujo manga, it would probably see itself glowing with flowers blooming all around; if it had read shounen manga, that Aggron from the earlier battle would likely look like a monstrous creature radiating black energy.

Memories can deceive.

"Looks like you don't know it also comes from the Village of Dragons." All Baimu raised his hand and patted Hydreigon on the head.

Iris was indeed very surprised. "Eh?"

After learning about Hydreigon's past experiences, she was indignant yet also relieved. "So something like that happened. Thank goodness everyone was rescued."

"Indeed."

He looked at the Dragon-type Pokémon and asked Iris for details about her special ability.

Since the anime team never gave it a name, All Baimu, following his own habit, slapped the label 【Dragon Heart】 on it.

After all, this special ability's effect was to read Dragon-type Pokémon's thoughts, emotions, and memories, and to transmit one's own thoughts to them—constantly linked heart to heart.

And when Iris learned that All Baimu longed to possess 【Dragon Heart】, she said at a loss, "Um, I actually don't know either…"

"It's fine. I know some things can't be forced. I just thought if there's a chance, I might as well try for it."

He waved his hand.

Logically speaking, they all belong to the Dragon People. Thousands or tens of thousands of years ago they might have been one family. There was no reason Iris could do it but he couldn't. But if he truly couldn't, then so be it.

He'll keep hoping the Simulator rolls him a blue-grade Aura User or Psychic talent.

Not long after.

Iris and her Pokémon finally finished lunch, and she even took the initiative to wash the dishes.

All Baimu stood up and said, "Let's go. We'll head to the Phantom Tower to get your bag back."

"Okay!"

Iris nodded, keeping only her Fraxure—which looked like it was wearing green armor—by her side, and returning the rest to their Poké Balls.

He'd previously helped her check on her Pokémon's condition. Basically they were all minor injuries; none of them had fractures like that Emolga. Clearly that one was a bit more unlucky.

However, just as he was about to set off.

Baimu looked at Elise, who was walking toward the back, in surprise. "Where are you going?"

"Uh, isn't the Phantom Tower in that direction?"

Elise stretched out her hand and pointed.

"Of course not. You picked the exact opposite direction." He helplessly picked up his phone. "See the red dot on the screen? This way is our destination."

It seems like everyone who's traveled with Ash has the trait of being directionally challenged — being directionally challenged is one thing, but they don't even bring a map or check the map on their phone.

Simply unbelievable.

Elise scratched her head sheepishly. "This…"

"Alright, hurry up. Unless you want to spend the night in the desert."

Baimu took the lead and walked forward, she and Axew following close behind.

——

In fact.

The two of them weren't far from the Phantom Tower — they arrived in less than two minutes of walking.

"I'm counting on you, Steelix."

Baimu patted Steelix's body, then quickly backed away to give it room to work.

"Roar!"

Steelix raised its head and let out a great roar. Under Elise's astonished expression, it spun its steel body horizontally, creating a terrifying sandstorm that quickly covered the entire area ahead.

Through the haze, the towering Phantom Tower appeared.

Baimu didn't rush over. Instead, he reached out to Elise. "Can I borrow your phone?"

"Huh? Oh!"

The latter didn't catch it at first; only after he repeated himself did she hand the phone over.

Who would have thought that once Baimu got it, he tossed it straight into Steelix's open mouth.

Elise and Axew widened their eyes.

"After we go in and get your luggage, I'll call Steelix to open the door. That way we won't have to worry about Steelix's strength running out."

He explained at the top of his lungs.

Elise suddenly understood. "Got it! Wait, you're going in too?"

"An experience like this might not come once in a lifetime — it'd be a shame not to go in and look around!" Baimu shouted with a smile, taking the lead and running toward the Phantom Tower.

Elise, who had always thought he was reliable, stood there dumbfounded.

Then she hurried after him, unable to help shouting:

"Honestly, my lord — so childish!"

"Axe!"

Axew responded in agreement.

In no time, the two of them were inside the Phantom Tower.

Sunlight filtering through the cracks in the stone illuminated the surroundings — ahead was a wall connecting to the ceiling, with long passages extending forward on both the left and right sides.

"Where's your luggage?"

Baimu turned to ask Elise, who had followed him in.

"The top floor."

"Huh? How did you end up leaving it on the top floor?" He wore an expression of disbelief.

Elise explained: "Because when Sandygast was fighting the Pokémon statue, it accidentally fell into a trap. When I chased after it, I accidentally fell in too, and then we just kept falling and falling from the top floor all the way down to the bottom floor."

After that, the two tried to go upstairs, only to find the Pokémon statue from the top floor chasing after them, while the door they'd never been able to find suddenly opened — a short story.

"A falling trap…"

Baimu looked up at the ceiling. Because the light couldn't reach it, things were somewhat dim and unclear; shining a flashlight on it revealed places covered in cobweb-like cracks.

But according to what Elise had said earlier, these falling traps would automatically repair themselves over time, just like those Pokémon statues.

Suddenly.

The door behind them vanished.

As if it had never existed.

Baimu turned and felt the thick earthen wall, asking: "Have you ever tried breaking the wall?"

"I did… but it just won't break."

Elise sighed and shook her head, and Axew beside her nodded along.

"Try it again now."

Baimu stepped aside a little.

Seeing this, Elise didn't refuse either, and directly said: "Axew! Use Dragon Claw!"

"Axe!"

Axew raised its claw wreathed in glowing green light and slashed fiercely at the earthen wall. The energy explosion kicked up a cloud of dust.

When the dust settled, it was clear to see that the wall had only been left with relatively small scratch marks.

Elise said: "See, it just won't break."

"…"

Baimu frowned slightly, took out a Poké Ball, and opened it.

Poof!

Bai Guang flickered.

The big-mouthed doll landed on the ground, "Chirido~"

"Big-mouthed doll? So cute! That red headband is gorgeous~" Elise was captivated by its looks at first glance, and tried to step forward to hug it.

Unfortunately, the big-mouthed doll nimbly sidestepped, firmly resisting the gesture.

A female star cannot be hugged by strangers!

Ever since learning how popular it was, it had cast aside "lady" and styled itself a "female star," though it still harbored considerable resistance toward literacy.

It seemed determined to remain illiterate to the end.

All Baimu paid no heed to Elise's disappointed gaze, knocked on the wall, and said, "Help me smash this down. Use Sword Dance and Iron Head."

"Chirido!"

The big-mouthed doll understood. It spun in place to raise its Attack, then abruptly swung the massive silver-glowing jaw on the back of its head, slamming into the wall like a heavy hammer!

Boom!

The ear-splitting blast sent Elise and Axew leaping backward in fright; the terrifying force made the ground itself tremble, and choking dust billowed out in all directions.

"What's going on, what's going on? Earthquake?"

She nervously repeated the words on her lips, utterly unable to believe that the adorable big-mouthed doll possessed such destructive power.

Axew also gaped in astonishment.

Shortly after.

A gentle breeze scattered the dust in every direction, revealing the figures of the big-mouthed doll and All Baimu.

The latter stood before the crack-riddled wall, picking at it.

After much picking, nothing came loose.

"Even the wall can self-heal…"

All Baimu watched the grains of sand slowly filling in the cracks as though alive, and for a moment found it rather unsettling. Many supernatural phenomena and ancient ruins in the anime were utterly bizarre, with no way of knowing what principles caused them.

If the grand backdrop weren't a picture-perfect false utopia, the anime world would surely be no saner than the special episodes.

Elise, meanwhile, was completely unafraid—she hadn't even felt fear when trapped inside earlier—and simply waved amicably at the big-mouthed doll. "Hello~"

"Chirido…"

The big-mouthed doll glanced at her and decided to keep some distance from this strange, strange human.

Realizing she had been spurned, Elise sighed in disappointment once more. Hearing the words about setting out and leading the way, she only responded listlessly.

"What's with her?"

All Baimu asked, puzzled.

Axew and the big-mouthed doll shook their heads in unison, both indicating they had no idea.

They pressed onward.

Soon they safely reached the stairway. The broken steps looked difficult to traverse, but were considerably sturdier than expected.

As Elise had said, the second floor would feature Pokémon statues and pitfall traps; the former were hidden entirely within the walls and would suddenly appear and attack without hesitation.

All Baimu said, "Sounds a bit like a gargoyle."

"A gargoyle?"

"A fictional creature from film and television. Not a Pokémon, and it doesn't actually exist."

"Film and television? You mean movies? I love watching movies!"

"You could put it that way."

The two chatted as they arrived at the second floor. Like the first, light seeped through cracks in the stone, faintly illuminating the entire corridor, but visibility was still poor.

All Baimu swept his flashlight ahead and could plainly see numerous cracks on the ground—pitfall traps, no doubt.

But honestly, these things posed no real threat; simply riding on Hydreigon and Dragonite's backs would get them through safely. The key was how the Pokémon statues would appear.

Any mechanism almost certainly had a trigger condition.

Temperature, sound, even light…

"Too much hassle. Let's just push straight through."

All Baimu gave up on solving the puzzle, feeling he could simply bulldoze his way through with Aggron and the others.