Chapter 433: The Power of Secret

Kiri, super secret base specialist.

All Baimu had a vague impression of this person, but couldn't quite remember the specifics—probably something to do with secret base-related game content.

"Which kind of secret base are you talking about?"

He asked.

Seeing him take the bait, Kiri couldn't help but snicker and invited him to crawl into the low tree hollow together. "Why don't you go in and see for yourself? You won't be disappointed!"

... This guy is clearly pretty handsome, so why does he look so sleazy when he smiles?

If it weren't for Pokémon like Blissey being right beside him, plus having an impression of Kiri and the gym not being far away, All Baimu would never dare casually crawl into such a suspicious tree hollow.

The most carefree one, the little Dragapult brother, was the first to crawl in, excitedly calling out from inside.

The big Dragapult sister chased after it, also letting out an amazed cry.

Under Kiri's smiling "please," All Baimu bent down and tentatively poked his head into the tree hollow. He'd expected the inside to be dim, but instead it was hung all over with lamps of various sizes, looking very bright.

The décor was also quite cozy—every kind of toy and small furniture was provided. A Vibrava with its wings folded was lying in the corner, presumably Kiri's partner.

The problem was the floor area...

He silently backed out, circled the big tree under Kiri's expected expression, and upon returning to his starting point asked: "Why is the interior space so much bigger than the outside?"

If his sense of space wasn't off, the secret base inside the tree hollow was at least several dozen square meters, but this tree was only as thick as four or five people linking arms. Even if the inside were completely hollowed out leaving only bark, it still wouldn't be that big.

"This is the amazing part of a super secret base! I don't tell just anyone!"

Kiri proudly put his hands on his hips, then urged, "Hurry up and get inside. It's so damp out here—let's chat by the fire inside!"

There's even a fire?!

"Fine."

After a brief moment of thought, All Baimu nodded and bent down to enter the secret base.

Blissey followed behind him, but because its body was rather round, it got stuck at the entrance. Its expression visibly turned awkward and embarrassed. "Ha—happy!"

Its face flushed red. Two little hands pressed against the inside wall of the tree, and it raised its head, swaying left and right as it frantically squeezed into the hole, even its chin seeming to tense up with effort.

But unfortunately, at most only a small portion of it could fit through.

"Sorry to put you through this."

All Baimu quickly recalled it into its Poké Ball and released it again. Only when Blissey landed back on the ground did it finally heave a sigh of relief.

Not far away, the Dragapult siblings Messiah were happily playing with two big bouncy balls, looking very pleased with the secret base.

Kiri was the last to enter, and also pulled the green curtain at the entrance shut.

"Sit! Sit! Sit anywhere!"

He asked cheerfully, "Buddy, interested in learning a trick from me? It's incredibly useful when traveling!"

"I'm definitely interested, but you're planning to charge for the lesson."

All Baimu found a spot to sit down and asked, "Or is it free?"

"Hahaha! Did I give it away?"

Kiri laughed it off, not looking particularly embarrassed on his face, and said: "But don't you think charging a fee is normal? After all, the move Secret Power is so magnificent!"

He spread his arms wide, looking all heroic and high-spirited.

"I'm also working part-time as a world traveler. You know traveling burns through money pretty fast. Is it really unreasonable to earn a reward by teaching Secret Power?"

"That's reasonable, but I have another question. There were so many people on the street and you didn't pick them—why me? Do you think I'm easier to take the bait?" All Baimu asked curiously, looking at him.

Kiri shook his head. "Not really. I mainly just happened to see you on TV. You're quite the celebrity too, aren't you? Coordinator Trainer All Baimu, right?"

All Baimu: "... Mm."

TV again!

The TV industry seemed to still be thriving these days. He recalled that Queen Boni had seen him on TV earlier.

But he really was interested in Secret Power. This thing could improve the comfort of his travels, though of course it was also a lot more troublesome than simply pitching a tent.

The main thing was it could shield from wind and rain. A big problem with camping was the hassle on rainy days.

He did have a large rain shelter prepared, but it was ultimately not very convenient.

Seeing him waver, Kiri pressed on: "Rest assured! I never overcharge! Whatever the Move Tutors charge, that's what I charge!"

Move Tutors—people who held the methods for learning various powerful moves. They would take Pokémon from other trainers to train them, and return them once the moves were learned.

Many of Ash's Pokémon had learned moves from these kinds of people, such as Swellow's Aerial Ace and Gabite's Meteor Mash.

"Then I'll trouble you."

All Baimu stood up, glanced at the sky outside through a small opening that had been specially made, and said, "But it's too late today. How about we talk again tomorrow morning?"

Kiri said quite eagerly, "Of course!"

At parting, All Baimu could practically feel this guy's longing gaze on his back—probably his pockets really were a bit tight.

But then again, decorating this super secret base and giving it all kinds of interesting furnishings must have cost a pretty penny too.

Back at the Treehouse Hotel.

All Baimu first went to look for Dragapult Barudo, confirmed the guy was curled up in a corner and hadn't run off, and felt slightly relieved. Then he began deciding which Pokémon to send out for tomorrow's gym battle.

For a gym battle, on one hand you consider type matchups, and on the other you consider how recently each Pokémon has battled.

Meeting the expectant gazes of the Pokémon before him, he secretly nodded. "I've already decided."

The next day.

Having looked up information on Kiri online, All Baimu paid another visit.

The probability of a game's heroic character becoming a villain in the anime wasn't that high. Villain characters becoming comedians was possible, but he had to keep his guard up.

From the data Porygon2 had searched, it wasn't hard to see that this Kiri was also a minor celebrity—had been on TV interview programs, had published a personal autobiography, and was still updating a personal blog on PokéBlog.

Last night he had even posted one—【Guess who I ran into】.

Then there was a picture: Blissey was in the shot, along with one of All Baimu's legs and one of his hands.

It really has that Internet-age feel of wanting to post everything online.

"You're here?"

Seeing the person, Kiri was especially happy; from the look of it, he had considered the possibility that the former would go back, think it over carefully, and not come.

"There's no time to lose, let's get started as soon as possible."

All Baimu greeted him, sent out Porygon2 to learn Secret Power. The fellow had already appeared in the last Gym battle, so bringing it out again wouldn't be good for team unity.

Then the heavy task of learning Secret Power naturally fell on it. With All Baimu's introduction, Kiri also gained a basic understanding of Porygon2.

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"Do I need to step aside?"

"Step aside? No, no, no need!"

Kiri waved his hand with a smile, led them to a big tree not far from his secret base, "If you want to build a secret base, then you have to first learn the move Secret Power.

"And Secret Power is a move that changes depending on the environment you're in. Its first key point is to first let the Pokémon understand the environment."

"Understand the environment."

All Baimu looked at Porygon2.

Porygon2 then cast its gaze at its surroundings, such as the grass beneath it and the big tree in front of it.

"The second key point is to memorize it in your mind, and when channeling energy, recall it repeatedly, and the move will naturally be used successfully."

Kiri said so.

All Baimu was stunned for a moment, "That's all?"

"That's all!" He nodded, then asked in puzzled confusion, "Isn't it enough?"

Of course it's not enough!

This teaching method—how is it any different from stuffing an elephant into a fridge in three steps? Saying it has no detail isn't quite right, saying it has detail isn't right either.

No wonder Kiri, holding a "treasure mountain" of fame, is still so lukewarm; besides his own lack of active promotion, it's probably also largely related to his teaching ability.

Truly terrible.

Honestly, this teaching quality doesn't quite match the price!

"Mm! Let me have Flygon demonstrate!" Kiri pulled a Poké Ball from his pocket and opened it.

A large-bodied Flygon landed, stretching its wings.

"Please, demonstrate Secret Power for them!"

"Reo!"

Flygon nodded, its head lifting slightly; a surge of energy flowed into the ground and quickly fed back up, then its arms were wrapped in a green light, and countless energy spikes extended outward.

Needle Arm?

Ah!

Looks like this is the effect Secret Power takes on a grassy field.

But while the appearance is Needle Arm, in actuality it's still a Normal-type energy move; only the changed appearance brings additional effects, such as Needle Arm being able to poison.

So the current Secret Power is a Normal-type move that can poison.

"How about it?"

Kiri looked at All Baimu eagerly.

The latter helplessly gave Porygon2 a look, "Can you do it?"

"Pali..."

Porygon2 indicated it wanted to try.

Unfortunately, it couldn't replicate that kind of situation like with Aggron where it learned after one look; the learning process was stuck right at this very first step.

Kiri rubbed his chin, completely without any self-awareness as a poor teacher, "Looks like you need to practice diligently!"

"I only hope now that the other part will be worth the money."

All Baimu replied.

He had no hope for learning Secret Power, but building a secret base and even setting one up were Kiri's strong suits—otherwise Kiri wouldn't have been able to publish a book, would he.

"Let's call it a day here, I still have to challenge a Gym this afternoon." He stopped Porygon2's actions, "I'll come find you after I finish the Gym battle."

"Ah? Oh, oh, oh!"

Kiri, having caught on, shook his fist, "Then I wish you a triumphant start!"

All Baimu: "Thanks for the good words."

—

Fortree Gym.

Compared to yesterday afternoon, the area around the massive trapezoidal building had become quite a bit livelier.

All Baimu asked a passerby, and only then learned that a TV station had come again, and was currently up there doing an interview and hadn't come down yet.

This made him a little worried, but he quickly let it go.

Given Naoki's professionalism, it shouldn't delay the Gym challenge.

He went up the outer stairs step by step, and soon reached the entrance at the halfway point, where he suddenly spotted Shota holding a broom and dozing by the door.

"Why are you sleeping here?"

All Baimu patted the kid's shoulder.

Shota was startled awake, looked around blankly and wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth; only then did his gaze fall on the person in front of him, "Ah! All Baimu! You finally came!"

"You were waiting for me?"

"Mm-hmm!"

"What's there to wait for."

"No, Young Lady Naqi has been waiting for you for ages! And the TV station!"

"TV station?"

All Baimu's brow furrowed slightly. "Are they going to record the Gym challenge?"

Shouta nodded frantically. "That's right, that's right! Uh, we're about to be on TV, you know? You don't look too happy about it?"

"No, you're imagining it."

He denied it reflexively.

The two of them walked around the main entrance, heading toward the top of the building. Looking up, they saw Naqi — who usually wore her flight suit — standing on a higher step, her slender purple ponytail swaying in the wind.

When she spotted All Baimu, she hurried down, a smile on her face.

"You're this afternoon's challenger, right?"

"Yes."

"Because it's going to rain the day after tomorrow, the weather is miraculously clear today, so the TV station moved the originally scheduled filming time up to today. So the upcoming Gym challenge may be recorded and edited for broadcast on TV. If you mind, please let me arrange another challenge time for you."

Naqi fully explained the lack of prior notice, then said apologetically, "I'm really sorry…"

"It's fine, just film it."

All Baimu said it very magnanimously.

He didn't much like being in the spotlight, but when he took part in the Grand Contest he had no idea how many times he'd been on camera. Besides, the star of this shoot was Naqi — God knew how much screen time he'd get; after editing, probably only one or two shots would remain.

No problem at all.

"Thank you!"

Naqi said joyfully, then looked at Shouta beside her. "Shouta, watching is fine, but you have to stay quiet, okay? No yelling like last time."

"Ehehehe, I know."

Shouta replied, looking rather embarrassed under All Baimu's startled gaze.

The three of them arrived at the battle arena at the top.

They could see that the TV station crew had already set up cameras at multiple angles, hoping to film Naqi's heroic figure facing the challenger in a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree shot.

And unlike other Gyms, the trainer's seat at Fortree Gym was located on a high platform for commanding.

Without a doubt.

This was because all of Naqi's Pokémon were Flying-type; she wanted to stay on the same horizontal level as her own Pokémon when commanding them.

As for whether the challenger and his Pokémon could stay on the same level — that was none of her concern.

Essentially, this was also a small test.

All Baimu stepped onto the lifting platform. Once Naqi opposite him was in position, the machine began operating, lifting the two of them up high.

The TV station director in charge of filming looked at the former with a few hints of curiosity in his gaze.

"Why does this person feel a bit familiar…"

At this moment.

As an assistant, Master Chian loudly read out the rules.

"The Gym battle between Fortree Gym Leader Naqi and challenger All Baimu now begins. Each side may use four Pokémon; the match ends when all of one side's Pokémon are unable to battle. In addition, only the challenger may switch Pokémon freely!"

All Baimu!

So it was him!

The director suddenly realized. A hubbub of discussion erupted in his ears, and when he turned his head, he saw that the other staff members were clearly also chatting among themselves.