Chapter 505: The Gentleman

Dawn.

Baimu awoke naturally and turned his head to look at the Snorlax, hugging a ragdoll, sleeping peacefully.

"Sleeping so soundly…"

Last night, the group chatted until past ten before breaking up, even using the Pokémon Center's restaurant for a late-night snack, and the Snorlax got its wish—watching the evening TV show with Riko.

Thus, they forged a strange friendship.

As for the Pachirisu's affection, the Snorlax, following Baimu's secret instruction, consistently expressed clear resistance despite frequent overtures.

The matter should have ended completely—

But according to the undercover reporter Multicor's gathered intel, the innocent Togepi had not given up at all; it had merely shifted from overt admiration to silent longing.

It seemed that unless a lover for the Snorlax suddenly appeared, as in the anime, the Pachirisu would not easily let go.

But at this point, Baimu had no intention of paying further attention.

After all, his interactions with Hikari were actually limited, and after the Milotic Cup and the Hoenn Grand Festival, opportunities to meet again would be even fewer.

The Pachirisu's love was destined to end like Koffing's for Pikachu—fading into nothing.

"Hmm—"

Baimu stretched, finished a quick wash, and prepared to head out to borrow the kitchen, only to find that the butler Sebastian had already arranged everything.

"Good morning, Mr. Baimu. The master has been waiting for you in the dining room for some time."

The same butler had opened the door when he returned last night; having an elderly man stay awake all night waiting for him to come back felt somewhat embarrassing.

The butler, however, was understanding, saying the Milotic Cup was a rare grand event in Liuli City, and for a young man like him to return late was perfectly normal.

Under the butler's guidance, he arrived before a long table laden with abundant food and elegant tableware, where Adam sat at the head, calmly enjoying his meal.

"Good morning, Mr. Adam."

Baimu greeted first; today he would begin learning Adam's methods for raising Milotic and the techniques of the Grand Festival, and he hoped to make a good impression to ensure he could learn more useful things.

"Good morning."

Adam nodded and gestured for him to sit to his right. "Please sit, and help yourself freely—no need for formalities. The gym's breakfast is quite plentiful; I hope it suits your taste."

Baimu sat down obediently and said, "Then I won't be polite."

He had never learned the Western dining etiquette favored by middle-aged gentlemen, but the latter clearly did not demand strict adherence; noticing Baimu's satisfaction with breakfast, Adam naturally smiled.

Strict with himself, lenient with others; considerate of others' feelings.

Just from these few traits, Baimu knew he had chosen the right teacher—Adam truly deserved to be called the Master Coordinator who had trained Milotic, a genius of two worlds.

"Has Miss Liuqi returned yet?"

He suddenly asked the butler standing nearby.

The butler bowed slightly and replied, "Miss Liuqi always wakes at nine."

Nine…

Baimu glanced at the wall clock—it was barely past six, just after dawn.

Children in the Pokémon world are too fortunate.

In his past life, at this age, he had already been woken up to catch the bus to school, sometimes so sleepy he missed his stop. Speaking of which, since his reincarnation, he had barely ever slept in.

No choice.

Back in Huang Tie Village, the environment made it impossible to sleep longer; after setting out on his journey, more Pokémon joined his team, and to keep them healthy, he had to feed so many mouths on strict schedules—he couldn't sleep late even if he wanted to.

Actually, this was his own fault—if he really wanted to sleep in, couldn't he just prepare the food the night before?

Or better yet, leave it entirely to the Happiny.

Some of his Pokémon were indeed low in intelligence, with barely any self-care skills—almost needing to hang their biscuits around their necks to eat them—but many were reliable.

"Take your time. I'll wait for you at the practice ground."

Adam rose quickly and departed, his signature purple pants highly conspicuous.

Baimu swiftly averted his impolite gaze and focused on eating.

Come to think of it—

Whether Adam or Milotic, both subtly displayed certain androgynous traits, especially Milotic's outfit in the remakes: exposing the waist was one thing, but adding a side slit down to the hips was truly overwhelming.

Of course, his sexual orientation was certainly normal.

In the Pokémon Navigator, Adam's title read—【Charming Flower Young Master】—and his self-introduction: 【The praise of beautiful ladies fills me with strength.】

Milotic was also paired with Natsuki, the Gym Leader of Ingyu Gym, in the Special Episodes.

No need to worry about any issues.

"Thank you very much."

Baimu finished his last bite of bread, wiped his mouth, and went to fetch his Pokémon—they were in the gym's dedicated feeding room.

He wasn't there; the Salamence and Dragonair probably couldn't eat quietly, but the Happiny, Dragonite, and the noisy Snorlax would surely step in to suppress them.

Indeed.

When Baimu arrived at the small room, his Salamence was eating with two heads while the third kept watch—mainly watching the Snorlax—but as soon as the Snorlax looked over, it shifted its gaze as if nothing had happened.

The Dragonair… this little one was already lying on its belly in the food bowl, its forehead slightly swollen—clearly hit by the 【Sister's Love Strike】.

"Sarrr!"

Sensing his trainer's approach, the Salamence immediately lifted its head, abandoned its breakfast, and happily dashed over.

"Huh?"

Baimu glared, his voice rising an octave—immediately freezing the Salamence in place. "Don't waste food!"

Hearing this, the Salamence hung its head dejectedly and flew back.

"Sarrr…"

He turned away—Dragonite, as expected, was nowhere to be seen, for around them were all the gym's Pokémon; the socially anxious Dragonite was not only shy around people, but even more so around other Pokémon.

Even though most of the gym's Pokémon were gazing at the shiny Milotic with obvious adoration, paying no attention to him at all.

"Miii, mii-ko…"

The shiny Milotic, surrounded on all sides, looked a little troubled — it couldn't eat another bite, yet these enthusiastic Pokémon kept shoving food at it.

Baimu, however, felt a touch of surprise at this.

After all, the Liuli Gym's Pokémon normally lived alongside Adam's and Mi Ke Li's two Milotics, so why couldn't they resist the shiny Milotic's looks?

Could the shiny Milotic actually be a dual-ability Pokémon? With a hidden ability of Cute Charm?

Or was it like how pretty girls of other races had some kind of special bonus?

Possible.

Baimu gazed at the Milotic, lost in thought.

He waited a little while.

Until even the slowest eater, Blissey, had finished, then he recalled them and headed for the field.

Along the way he did ask the Pokémon not included in the lesson whether they wanted to go off and play on their own, like the other gym Pokémon.

Only the liveliest, most adventure-loving Dreepy responded eagerly at first, but once it noticed none of the other Pokémon were going, it gave up too.

Its idea of adventure wasn't the solo-clear mode.

—

At the field.

Adam was standing by the pool, watching his own Pokémon swim and frolic within.

"Mr. Adam."

Baimu approached at a measured pace, still respectful.

"Since I've chosen to teach you about Pokémon, then here on this field, there is only the relationship of teacher and student."

The middle-aged gentleman turned his head and said: "My teaching may be rather strict, and I'll need you to obey my guidance unconditionally to the best of your ability. Even if you occasionally feel it's excessive, I won't stop. Can you accept that?"

"Understood… Teacher!"

Baimu nodded firmly without hesitation and switched his form of address.

Adam's face showed a hint of approval, and he spoke again: "Very well. Then the first thing — let me see all your Pokémon."

"…All right."

He had wanted to say that not all his Pokémon took part in Pokémon Contests, but Adam had just told him to obey guidance unconditionally a moment ago, so he could only comply.

Numerous Poké Balls were tossed out.

Bang bang bang—

After the fierce white light faded, a total of eleven Pokémon — including the Steelix that routinely came over to play on his side — were all neatly lined up in a group, each showing off a different air.

"Mm~"

Adam clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over all the Pokémon, a certain indescribable glint in his eyes.

Baimu glared at a few restless ones until they stood properly, then fixed his stare on the invisible Dragapult, forcing the latter to lower its head unwillingly and reveal itself.

An atmosphere like a military review arose of its own accord.

Influenced by the giant Steelix, the Pokémon playing in the pool also drifted over, curiously watching Aggron and the others.

Dragapult, head buried low, was clearly even more uncomfortable; its body trembled slightly, restless and ill at ease, yet it stubbornly refused to turn invisible.

The Aggron beside it noticed, and without a word shifted its tail slightly, trying to cover Dragapult's body as best it could.

Though it didn't seem to mean much.

But with a tail blocking its front, Dragapult was seized by an inexplicable sense of psychological comfort, as if it were hiding behind a shield.

Snap!

The familiar sound of a finger-snap made it raise its head; not far away, the relief and affection on Baimu's face came into view, and the other's slight nod told it that it could turn invisible now.

But Dragapult thought it over for a few seconds and chose to keep going.

Moved?

Maybe a little.

More than that, it figured that since it had already revealed itself, wouldn't disappearing suddenly make it even more conspicuous? Then it would draw too much attention, and if all those Pokémon came over to stare at it, it really couldn't handle that.

Not even the slightest chance of it!

And after taking in the demeanor of every Pokémon at a glance—

Adam smiled and said: "What a group of Pokémon, each with its own character — very interesting, very good."

Naturally.

His place was a notorious shelter for problem children — every personality of Pokémon could be found here.

Baimu grumbled inwardly, then heard Adam speak again.

"So far, it seems you've only had Blissey and Mawile perform in Contests. Since Milotic is the theme of this Mi Ke Li Cup, what about your other Pokémon? Do you have a performance plan developed for them?"

"No."

He shook his head and, meeting the other's gaze, said: "Aggron and the others aren't very interested in Pokémon Contests, so I haven't added them to the performance system."

"I see — you respect the Pokémon themselves' wishes."

Adam gave a slight nod, a hint of appreciation in his eyes.

The relationship between trainer and Pokémon is complicated, and it differs for every person.

Some treat them as partners, some as their own children, some consider themselves the master and the Pokémon the servants, and there are no few who treat Pokémon as battle tools either.

He had seen plenty of trainers who shouted that Pokémon were partners and friendship forever, yet in reality didn't respect their Pokémon at all.

And the Pokémon of those people, when they looked at their trainers, always had eyes full of numbness, evasion, and timidity — he was sure that if their Poké Balls were smashed, they'd run off without a second thought.

Is that what a partner is?

Adam, who had served as Gym Leader for over twenty years, had long since trained himself a pair of sharp eyes — the relationship between a Trainer and his Pokémon was clear at a glance from the Pokémon's demeanor.

Without a doubt.

The look in the eyes of Bouldustos and the other Pokémon left him very satisfied.

Adam could tell that All Baimu had poured his love and care into every single one of his Pokémon to the utmost, which was why his Pokémon always looked at him with attachment, trust, and eagerness.

Even that Galarian Sunflora that seemed quite unhappy kept its eyes fixed on All Baimu at all times — no fear, no timidity. This sort of behavior, like a silent protest, simply couldn't appear between a Trainer and Pokémon with a poor relationship.

When he had seen the shiny Milotic yesterday.

Adam had already had a rough premonition in his heart, and now seeing the whole team, he confirmed that All Baimu absolutely did not treat his own Pokémon differently — he was even more satisfied with this bargain student of his.

No wonder Mawile and Blissey put on such astonishing performances at the Contest.

Then now the only remaining question was—

How on earth should he sweet-talk… no, persuade All Baimu to center his training around Milotic going forward?

Although Mi Ke Li was still young.

But who wouldn't want their own house's reputation to flourish and grow? Besides, with Mi Ke Li the kind of Champion who hands off the position just like that, a wild child running all over the world just like Champion Dawu.

Handing the Sootopolis Gym over to him is just too unreliable!

All Baimu is so much better!

Handsome, with a great figure, extremely good to his own Pokémon, and he's even bred a shiny Milotic… a talent both inside and out, nothing more needs to be said — perfectly suited to be a Gym Leader.

Adam looked at All Baimu, who had grown a little nervous under the staring, and thought to himself that his time was running out.

One month.

He had to find a way to make this kid understand the beauty of the Sootopolis Gym!

He regretted not having asked for more time back then — caution? Indeed, caution was important… but such a talent had almost been let slip!

That's not right.

This kid seems quite familiar with Champion Dawu? And he's challenging the Hoenn League too?

Maybe Champion Dawu already planned to have All Baimu take over from him! Ha! This guy, so young yet already so cunning! First he tossed the Champion position to his own disciple Mi Ke Li, got Mi Ke Li's heart running wild, and now he's going to make a move on his next pre-booked disciple!

Outrageous!

Adam's breathing quickened for a moment, but he quickly forced it back down.

Stay elegant, stay elegant.

He thought to himself that Mi Ke Li's account was half-ruined from leveling — serving as Gym Leader these two years could be considered dutiful, but he still didn't know if there was a chance to train back that remaining half… All Baimu's brand-new account absolutely must not be stolen away again.

Mm!

Absolutely!

Adam's brows knit and his expression turned serious, and All Baimu, who had been stared at for so long, began to tremble.

Several kilometers away.

Mi Ke Li, who was in the middle of arranging the specific matters of the Mi Ke Li Cup, suddenly sneezed.

"Achoo! Who's thinking of me? Champion Dawu?"

He muttered in a low voice, and a string of people beside him were terrified.

The Mi Ke Li Cup was about to begin, and goodness knows how much had been spent on promotion — if this ancestor caught a cold, everything would be ruined.