Chapter 444: Dragon Sister's Fury

A tiny head, a great big tangle of thoughts.

If this had been two days ago, the Dragapult facing this situation would surely have chosen to turn invisible and pretend nothing had happened.

Running away is shameful, but it works.

But right now… Dragapult wasn't sure how Baimu saw it, but at the very least it had grown a little closer to him — otherwise, when its tail had been used as a cushion for his head yesterday, it would have dodged long ago.

So it was generally unwilling to start a conflict.

And the days of watching invisibly from the side had also taught it that the trainer held absolute authority in commanding.

Don't be fooled by the occasional silence — in truth, the combo strategy had been worked out last night, or even earlier.

For instance, what move the opponent used, what move it should respond with, whether to retreat when the opponent threw a kick or stand its ground and clash.

Every angle of every side had been carefully studied based on existing intelligence before the corresponding decision was made.

No matter how many times Dragapult watched from the sidelines, it still found it amazing, always wondering how this person could guess the opponent's thoughts, as if he knew every key point by heart.

But the word "obedient" was, for it, honestly a bit hard to manage.

Its body reacted faster than its brain — what could it do about that?

Outwardly calm but inwardly restless, Dragapult's mind was nearly turning to mush; in the end it simply followed Lileep's example and gave up, silently flying back without a word.

Whatever happens, happens!

Smashing the broken jar — that was its last stubborn stand.

Yet as it neared Baimu, Dragapult couldn't help feeling uneasy again; seeing him raise his hand, it instinctively shut its eyes and tucked its head down, like a little dog bracing for a beating.

"Good work. You did great."

A warm, gentle feeling came from atop its head. It cracked open a thin slit of an eye and found that the face it had imagined to be gloomy or angry wore only a peaceful smile, along with genuine, heartfelt gratitude.

"Luu suu…"

Dragapult's drooping triangular head lifted; seeing Baimu walk past it to chat with the stranger, it couldn't help blinking.

The trainer… was as easygoing as ever.

Right.

It had watched from the sidelines so long it had almost never seen the person before it get angry at any other Pokémon — at most, he would just pat their heads with a helpless laugh, or pretend to scold them a couple of times in mock disgust—

And among them, the Hydreigon had been the most often "disfavored."

It was overthinking.

For a moment, Dragapult felt utterly ashamed of what it had just been thinking, wishing it could return to its Poké Ball on the spot; only after fading from sight did it finally breathe a small sigh of relief, feeling a sudden peace within.

But seeing Baimu turn around, its heart couldn't help skipping a beat; its gaze drifted, and even while invisible it didn't dare meet his eyes, putting on a "don't mind me, don't mind me" look.

It had even forgotten it was invisible.

The fellow's expression was as usual — or rather, he was long used to it — and he asked softly, "Are you there?"

Dragapult hesitated a moment, then gave a low reply.

"…Luu suu~"

"Let's go. We'll find a place to stay at the Pokémon Center."

——

Sootopolis City.

As the largest tourist city in eastern Hoenn, it bore the beautiful nickname of "the place where the land rests and the sea begins."

For Baimu, however, Sootopolis City was not only the place where he had obtained his fourth Contest Badge, but also an important starting point for his journey to Ever Grande City and Pacifidlog Town.

He stood atop Gao Po, gazing into the distance, and could see the bustling harbor with countless ships large and small coming and going, carrying people from all over the world; the towering lighthouse, cast as if from Bai Yu, reflected a soft glow in the sunlight.

"What a prosperous port city…"

Baimu suddenly thought of Qinggang in the Ohra region. Lately, focused on collecting Gym Badges and entering Contests, he hadn't kept in touch with Yamatsuki and the others, yet his mind kept drifting back to Ohra.

When he had first come to Hoenn, he hadn't had such thoughts; but now, several months later, the longing had only grown stronger.

Of course.

What he missed wasn't the days of working himself to the bone in Iron Town, nor those monsters who didn't treat them as human — what he missed was the land, that vast wilderness he and many others needed to transform.

A part of him was there.

He'd heard that recently the Aggron had often been chatting with the Steelix about its mountain range, asking how the transformation was going.

"Ohra, huh…"

Baimu squinted his eyes slightly, while the Dragapult beside him found it a little strange that he would show such an expression.

Ohra?

What was Ohra?

It slowly drifted its body, and the stirred-up breeze caught the attention of a nearby Bruxish.

"Bruu?"

The Bruxish, which looked just like a pink bulldog, twitched its nose and looked around curiously; upon discovering its trainer had walked off, it immediately went clip-clop clip-clop chasing after him.

"Luu suu…"

Dragapult hid at Baimu's side and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

It really didn't like canine Pokémon, because every time it passed by them they'd bark and holler at it like lunatics and scare the dragon. This one looked pretty fierce too — probably the same sort.

While pondering, Dragapult noticed Baimu walking on ahead, so it immediately scampered after him, no different from that Bruxish just now.

Not long after.

Baimu, having come out of the Pokémon Center, settled down at the famous Sootopolis Inn.

Its greatest feature was being close to the sea yet far from the docks, allowing one to watch at close range the surging blue ocean and those islands whose outer outlines faintly showed through.

In the eastern sea of Hoenn, apart from the few important towns that existed in the game, scattered small islands were likewise too many to count.

【A novel app that has run stably for many years, comparable to the old version of the source-switching app used by bug-readers alike, huanyuanapp.】

In the anime, there existed an island that specifically trained battle referees.

Ash and the others ran into someone up there who was terrible at battling but had absurdly lucky luck—an ultra-lucky player who could pick up a second-stage Kanto starter just by eating lunch, catch a golden Magikarp—that is, a shiny Pokémon—by accidentally falling into a river—and then trade another second-stage Kanto starter off some passerby.

Combined with that person's own second-stage starter, they had a full set.

Truly hard to keep a straight face.

"Want to come along to go shopping?"

All Baimu called on the shopping ace Chansey, then asked around one by one, only getting responses from two Dreepy and a Hydreigon; Milotic also looked like it had thoughts about it, but helplessly realizing it was a sea snake not suited for traveling on land, it gave up in disappointment.

Short trips on land were fine, but long-term travel was rough on its belly's short fur and fine scales—when the time came, it wouldn't be pretty.

Milotic knew full well that it would most likely be participating in a Contest in a day or two, so it had to make sure every single one of its scales was in perfect condition.

On the other hand.

The one All Baimu had been looking forward to most, Dragapult, chose to avoid his gaze, refusing eye contact.

Why?

He couldn't understand it, thinking there was no way it was afraid of going out, right? Social anxiety?

Never expecting his own words to become prophecy, All Baimu shook his head and righteously refused Hydreigon's company. "I told you before about cultivating independent consciousness and you agreed—no take-backs!"

Who agreed?!

Hydreigon widened its eyes, feeling utterly wronged—it had never agreed to any cultivating independent consciousness, all right! It was all the trainer unilaterally forcing it!

This is too much!

It watched helplessly as All Baimu left with the Dreepy siblings and Chansey, a tidal wave of grievance welling up inside. It charged into the bedroom intending to bite a pillow to vent, but in its fury it missed the pillow and bit the Lileep sleeping beside it.

"Saaaand..."

Hydreigon's cold sweat came pouring down in an instant.

Lileep would definitely tattle! Done for, going to get scolded again!

It spat it out, watching nervously the Lileep that had been polished to an impossibly smooth finish by its trainer, when suddenly another thought struck it—

After so many days without gnawing on it, why does it feel like the texture improved quite a bit?

No no no!

It had to negotiate with Lileep, get it to not tattle!

Hydreigon raised its two small heads, nibbled its own cheeks a couple of times—copying what its trainer did when pulling all-nighters to perk itself up—and put on three ridiculous, sycophantic expressions.

"Saaaand~"

No reaction.

Exactly the same as always.

Hydreigon drooped its heads dejectedly, looked around, and decided to go find Bastiodon, hoping this one with some authority could put in a word for it when Lileep tattled.

And after it left, Lileep tremblingly extended its smoky tentacles and crimson eyes.

This guy really couldn't hold back!

Not even a month!

Beast!

But why did its heart suddenly feel a little lighter? Hm? Very strange.

Lileep's already depressed mood, along with these bizarre thoughts of its own, became even more depressed.

And the Dragapult hidden in the shadows watched it all, finding it genuinely amusing.

Wonder what it'd be like if it got involved?

The socially anxious Dragapult slowly slipped into fantasy, just like a teenager in puberty sitting in class not paying attention, imagining itself a hidden talent destined for greatness, then going on to dominate everything.

Elsewhere.

The old man All Baimu was picking out various fresh berries at the market—not only to prepare dinner, but also to make a new batch of Pokéblocks.

The day before yesterday on Route 120, trying to pacify those wild Pokémon, god knew how many Pokéblocks he'd given out, even emptying out the old stock he'd been hoarding at the bottom of his bag.

He had to restock quickly, so that when he ventured into some ruin where cooking wasn't convenient, he could use Pokéblocks in place of meals.

However.

He hadn't expected his fame in the Contest scene to be exaggerated to such an absurd degree—even wearing a big mask, he could still be recognized.

A sudden "All Baimu" from the crowd made him instinctively turn his head, directly causing a wave of screams to erupt around him.

"All Baimu? Where's All Baimu?"

"All Baimu came to Petalburg City?"

"Eek—!!"

That last one was the scream of someone who'd spotted him.

And then All Baimu was forcibly trapped in the surging crowd, unable to move an inch.

"Happy..."

Chansey, with a strained little face, held high the large and small bags of berries it had bought, barely managing to stay upright while blocked by the crowd; the Dreepy siblings were also startled—one turned invisible, the other burrowed into his arms.

All Baimu shielded Chansey, looked at those frenzied expressions, and helplessly realized it was probably partly because of the latter.

Chansey was already an extremely rare sight outside of Pokémon Centers, and a male trainer of his height with a Chansey was even rarer.

Let alone wearing a mask, looking for all the world like "this place has no silver three hundred taels."

Of course, this also had something to do with Petalburg City's Contest scene being extremely well-developed—as one of the earliest pilot cities for Contests, the Petalburg Contest's prestige wasn't something those small-town-level Contests could compare to.

In the game Emerald version, numerous Contest venues were even merged into Petalburg City.

Fortunately, Officer Jenny wasn't just drawing a salary—patrolling nearby and seeing the crowd congestion, she came over and helped him out, but just like her cousin in Akala Town, she was also one of his fangirls, so she asked for an autograph.

Does this count as abusing one's authority for personal gain?

All Baimu muttered to himself.

He got off Officer Jenny's Young Lady's sidecar motorcycle at a secluded park, and reached into the sidecar to pat the Growlithe squeezed in next to Blissey. "Good boy~"

Poor thing, having to squeeze into such a tiny space with the wide-bodied Blissey.

"Awoo!"

The Growlithe barked happily twice, tongue lolling out as it panted, showing that it felt very comfortable being petted.

Blissey clumsily climbed down from inside the sidecar. With its short little legs, it always found this kind of high step particularly awkward—it either had to hop, or, like an old man stepping off a platform, turn its back and tentatively extend one little foot to dangle and search for the ground.

"Happy……"

"For safety's sake from here on out, I'll have to put you through some hardship." All Baimu patted Blissey's delicate face and explained his idea.

Still, calling it out only to recall it halfway was a bit immoral.

The latter, as always, was very considerate and agreed, only worrying whether the trainer could carry so many things.

It looked at the Dragonite siblings, carefully observed their builds, and gave up.

They just didn't look like the type that could pick things up.

Seeing how thoughtful it was, All Baimu couldn't help but feel even more ashamed.

But there was no other way.

Maybe he could buy a wig to wear?

All Baimu silently mulled it over. The Dragonite siblings on his head, meanwhile, looked quite cheerful—the sensation of the motorcycle speeding along had triggered their genes for fast movement.

For Dragonite, feeling the howling gale while charging forward was as irresistible as a guy rewarding himself.

Especially Dragonite-sister. Unlike Dragonite-brother, who could occasionally go have a blast at Dragonite-Balto's place, she had basically rarely felt this kind of rushing sensation since the day she was born.

Suddenly getting to experience it once was like unlocking a genetic lock—the feeling just wasn't right anymore.

"Hiyah……"

Dragonite-sister quietly considered whether she should, like her brother, get launched from Dragonite-Balto's launch hole—after all, the latter often egged her on to try it.

But that Dragonite-Balto was the bad guy who ran off with her brother!

She crawled onto All Baimu's head, mulling it over in utter turmoil. The more she thought, the more agitated she got. Seeing her brother's carefree, cheerful look, an inexplicable towering fury welled up inside her for some reason.

"Hiyah!"

*Smack! *

Like a bolt of lightning, she suddenly smacked Dragonite-brother on the head.

Quiet down~!

"Hiyah……"

Dragonite-brother clutched his head and cried out in pain, glancing timidly at Dragonite-sister, and quickly shut his little mouth.

All Baimu sighed at the sight, took Dragonite-brother into his arms, and said to his sister: "Don't be so violent, look—this kid's almost been beaten silly by you, let's all talk things out properly…"

Even if the elder sister is like a mother, she can't just use her brother as a punching bag!

"Hiyah."

Dragonite-sister looked at the trainer, the fury in her heart gradually dissipating. She shifted her gaze and nodded guiltily, indicating it wouldn't happen again.

As for whether it actually wouldn't—that was another matter.

After all, people are people, and Pokémon are Pokémon.