Chapter 542: The Eternal Flower

"Dragon Arrow!"

"Hiyah—"

The Dragon Mescias shrieked as they pierced through the smoke, like high-speed fighters roaring through the clouds.

Where the gunpowder smoke cleared.

The giant catfish, destruction-light held in its mouth, swung its whiskers. The instant its gaze locked onto the two little Dragapults, a terrifying pillar of energy—black mingled with deep purple—erupted forth!

Boom—!

The air trembled visibly at a frantic frequency, as if the entire arena were rocked by this slowly sweeping beam of light.

However.

It failed to hit the little Dragapults.

The two circled the outermost edge of the light pillar, streaking toward the Catfish King like swimming dragons, their agility enough to put their selves of mere weeks ago to shame.

"Heavy!?"

The Catfish King gaped in astonishment, instinctively wanting to dive to the bottom of the pool.

But the little Dragapults were simply too fast. It had no time to react and could only watch helplessly as they drew ever closer, then—slowed as if time itself had stretched—slammed brutally into its pair of round, dead-fish eyes!

Peng Peng!

The explosion was deafening, sparks bursting apart!

Two tiny figures spiraled out of the smoke, their excited expressions faintly visible.

Using the air blast from the move's explosion to speed their retreat, preventing a repeat of last time when they failed to pull back in time and were counter-attacked by their opponent.

Since their injuries healed, the Dragapult siblings had been practicing almost daily—dodging and retreating.

Although they were only responsible for serving as the launchers for 【Dragon Arrow】, from the battle with the Walrein they had also learned that even tool-dragons needed a certain level of strength.

"Rulu!"

Dragapult Barudo swam forward, and the two little Dragapults quickly returned to the launch ports.

Three pairs of eyes stared intently down at the churning gunpowder smoke, until it dispersed…

In the pool.

The Catfish King, combat ability lost, eyes spiraling, floated on the water's surface with its cream-yellow belly facing the sky.

The surroundings instantly fell silent.

Dragapult Barudo stared blankly at the unconscious Catfish King, its face full of disbelief.

They won?

They really won?

For nearly three weeks, sixteen battles without a single victory—and now, for the first time, it had defeated a powerful Pokémon sent out by Mi Ke Li.

"Hiyah!"

"Miyah!"

The Dragapult Mescia siblings cheered loudly overhead, leaping back and forth, yet it still felt like a dream to Barudo.

Dragapult Barudo turned its head, its gaze meeting All Baimu's from behind.

He said nothing, simply smiled silently and gave a thumbs-up to this utterly bewildered fellow.

Ah.

They really won.

Dragapult Barudo suddenly felt itself return to reality. An unprecedented swirl of complex emotions welled up inside, making its tail tip flick unconsciously, its mind a little giddy.

So this was what winning tasted like?

Why had it never felt this way after defeating so many opponents before?

Obviously.

Dragapult Barudo was unaware that something existed in this world called—

【A Sense of Accomplishment】.

No matter how many battles lost before, no matter how much dejection and loneliness accumulated, all of it would be swept away in the instant of victory.

"Nicely done!"

All Baimu applauded for the overjoyed Dragapult Barudo.

The fellow tilted its head back and squinted with a solemn expression, as if what shone down on it were not the ceiling's lights, but a radiant, warm sun.

As the saying goes, the more "shut-in" a child is, the richer their inner world.

He didn't disturb Dragapult Barudo, immersed in its own world, but turned his gaze toward Mi Ke Li across the way, who was recalling the Catfish King, and said: "Did you plan this? Deliberately letting Dragapult Barudo win a cloud-clearing victory on the very last day."

"Plan? How could I."

Mi Ke Li shook his head, smiling lightly: "Don't make it sound like I threw the match. From start to finish I only set one standard. Crossing that standard was down to you and Dragapult Barudo's effort—it doesn't have much to do with me."

At most, at very most, he had merely estimated Dragapult Barudo's growth rate.

"By the way, that unapologetic momentum just now was great! You've finally seen the light! Baimu-kun!"

Mi Ke Li praised: "Boys really are cooler when they're a little tougher!"

All Baimu was instantly rendered speechless.

Days of相处 had completely exposed both sides' true natures.

Who would have thought that the Mi Ke Li who was elegant, noble, and impeccably polite on TV and in public actually had a strong aversion to "politeness."

It was hard to imagine how he had ever struck up a friendship with Champion Dawu.

Anyone would give a thumbs-up for Dawu-san's manners.

However.

Mi Ke Li's explanation for this was—

Dawu appears polite on the surface, but in truth is "impolite" — every word and action of his betrays his dominance, confidence, and pride.

That much is true…

"Regardless, thank you so much for your guidance these past days! I'm truly grateful! Teacher Mi Ke Li!"

Baimu lowered his head and bowed slightly.

Dragonite too seemed to wake from a dream, bowing its head toward Mi Ke Li.

It generally didn't dare face strangers head-on, but after losing to Mi Ke Li and his Pokémon again and again, it gradually came to accept the other's presence.

On top of its head, Dragonair forcibly pressed Dragonite's head down.

Having lived with Baimu for a long time, they too had gradually come to understand certain human etiquette — that a paw-shake means friendliness, that bowing low means gratitude and respect, and so on.

"Baimu-kun, honestly, saying things like that makes me so sentimental, my nose is already starting to sting…"

Mi Ke Li spoke while raising a hand to cover his nose in a sniffling pose.

Setting aside the affected gesture, he genuinely felt a strong sense of a homeroom teacher sending off graduating students — similar to when he discovered Liu Liu Qiya had entered her rebellious teenage phase.

"Uh…"

Baimu could only laugh awkwardly.

Liu Liu Qiya rushed in from outside the door, panting as she asked: "How did it go? Did the battle start?"

"It actually already finished, Miss Liuqi."

The old butler's figure appeared beside her like a ghost, speaking softly.

"Ah — it's over —"

Liu Liu Qiya's entire face instantly collapsed; she had hurried and rushed yet still failed to arrive in time, and her heart was nearly in despair.

She hadn't been at the Gym these past several days.

Because she still had to collect the remaining Ribbons, cooperate with publicity for the grand and gorgeous celebration, and also attend to some of her own scheduled appearances.

After all that running back and forth, there simply weren't many chances to watch the battle between Mi Ke Li and Baimu.

She had even missed the important final day.

"If you don't mind, there's a video recording…"

"How can a video recording compare to watching in person."

Liu Liu Qiya said dejectedly to the old butler who had made the suggestion; upon seeing Baimu's gaze drift over, she drifted toward him like a ghost and muttered resentfully: "Why didn't you wait for me… you ungrateful disciple…"

"Teacher Liu! Get a grip! Do you think I'd have the nerve to make your uncle wait?"

Baimu likewise lowered his voice, then asked in surprise: "In the end, are you this interested in battles because you're planning to enter the battling scene?"

"I'm only interested in interesting battles!"

Liu Liu Qiya raised her index finger. "An interesting battle, just like a gorgeous battle, can resonate with me and spark inspiration for new songs!"

She added proudly: "Just you wait! The song I got inspiration for last time from borrowing Mega Aggron is about to become reality!"

Aggron… inspiration?

Baimu recalled that nine out of ten of Liu Liu Qiya's songs were about youthful romance.

Did she fall for Aggron?

Impossible!

He found himself inexplicably looking forward to Liu Liu Qiya's work, even though most of her songs weren't in his strike zone — the kind he wouldn't add to a playlist.

"Then I'll look forward to it."

Baimu smiled at Liu Liu Qiya.

This afternoon.

The month-long course of instruction came to a complete close.

Though the many expressions on Adam and Mi Ke Li's faces today proved they very much wished they could open their mouths and say something about extending it another month.

But Baimu, who still had other things to do, could only pretend he hadn't noticed their gazes.

He was reluctant too.

Putting aside how much he had gained, life with everyone at the Glittering Gym was especially relaxed and pleasant; though the time was short, it didn't prevent him from already feeling a small sense of belonging toward the Glittering Gym.

However.

Fledglings must leave the nest, and time waits for no one.

Over the past week.

Yamu had repeatedly sent back more detailed intelligence, the contents of which showed that Team Flare's research on the legendary giant stone and the Z2 Core had already entered its final stage, and the members scattered across the Kalos region were being summoned back one after another.

It presented a picture of an arrow already nocked, ready to be loosed at any moment.

Only the decisive piece of evidence had not been obtained —

Lysandre's document detailing Kalos's destruction.

When a large organization plans an operation, it can't rely solely on verbal orders to communicate; Team Flare must have a detailed plan somewhere.

Perhaps the rank-and-file members didn't know much, only receiving the small portion relevant to their own actions.

But the elites and the executive level must have seen it.

Once that document was in hand, convicting Lysandre and the many members of Team Flare would likely be no great problem.

Presumably Champion Dawu was also searching for that secret document?

The fact that he hadn't succeeded for so long seemed to indirectly prove that Lysandre was highly vigilant, and that having Porygon2 violently hack into their systems to obtain the document might not be a simple matter.

Just as Baimu had previously learned from Professor Akihabara, Porygon2 could indeed run rampant in the network world — provided it didn't run into a computer expert.

In the realm of networks, neither Porygon nor Rotom would be a match for them.

Strange?

Not strange at all.

The Pokémon world has far too many dazzling talents.

Geniuses don't belong to any one faction — otherwise, how would the Pokémon world's evil organizations always make it to the final step before being stopped by the "heroes"?

"The target is the document, then…"

Baimu figured that Champion Dawu's group obtaining the document didn't conflict with his own act of using Z1 to liberate Z2 — it was even a solid safety net.

After all, they had no idea how powerful the rampaging giant was, and the only thing that could stop it was Z1 and Z2 merged into the Zygarde Gundam… ahem, Complete Forme.

First, find a way to meet with Dawu.

Baimu hadn't been able to get Miss Xijiana to tell him what Dawu was currently thinking. To avoid a friendly-fire situation in later operations, he needed to have a quiet talk with him.

With Hu Pa's help, finding that chance shouldn't be hard.

——

A bright, sunny morning.

Baimu stood at the waterway entrance in front of the Lilycove Gym; the yacht that would take him to the docks was already ready.

The reason he'd given was—

Before the Grand Festival began, there were still matters that had to be dealt with; once they were resolved, he'd come back.

So Adam hadn't come to see him off — only Mei Ya Li and Miss Liuqi had.

"Don't miss the Grand Festival's timing — if you do, I'll be very troubled. I'm still planning to take my revenge on that stage!"

Miss Liuqi said.

"Have a safe trip, and remember to call home~"

Mei Ya Li waved with a smile. "Don't be too reckless when you run into danger!"

He seemed to have seen through that Baimu was about to do something dangerous, and made a point of reminding him.

"I will."

Baimu nodded, waved goodbye to the two of them, then waved again at a hazy figure standing before the floor-to-ceiling window of the Gym's main building in the distance, and boarded the yacht.

Twenty days remained until the Grand Festival.

In other words—

If the Team Flare matter couldn't be resolved within twenty days, he'd either have to give up this year's Grand Festival, or entrust the whole thing to someone else.

In Baimu's plan, there was plenty of time — he just worried that things wouldn't go as planned.

Acting early meant many situations he didn't know about would crop up later; the original plot was now only a rough reference.

He just hoped the butterfly's wings wouldn't flap too absurdly and bring about things that were never supposed to exist.

He rested his chin on his hand and gazed through the yacht's window at the blazing sun above the sea.

Hoenn time—

6:15

In Kalos, it should still be the middle of the night right now.

In theory, perfect for getting in touch with Dawu — assuming he wasn't asleep and wasn't under Team Flare's surveillance.

Pull back his blanket?

If it were safe, it was unexpectedly a pretty good idea — he was curious what kind of expression that serious face of Dawu's would make.

Baimu tugged at the corner of his mouth, then felt like maybe he was being a little too mischievous.

Too bad he could only think about it.

No way around it.

Hu Pa was asleep at this hour.

Even if it weren't, Balza and Mei Mei Yali were probably asleep too — any message sent would vanish without a trace.

Baimu didn't call to disturb their dreams; he'd simply wait a while. In the meantime, he wasn't exactly idle.

"I've been in Lilycove City so long and never visited the Mt. Pyre."

He gazed at the great temple located in the northern part of the city.

Unlike in the games, where it served as the place to catch Kyogre or Groudon, the Mt. Pyre in the anime's setting was a ruin that recorded the ancient past of the Lilycove people.

It counted as a famous historical building and tourist spot.

What caught Baimu's attention more was the great tree in front of Mt. Pyre — in the games, one could find an 【Eternal Flower】 beneath it.

Not 【Florges-Eternal Flower】, but simply the flower held in its hands — a special blossom praised as impossible to find anywhere, incomparably precious and rare.

Similar to the Gracidea flower that lets Shaymin change form.

"Nope."

He searched around beneath the tree, and sure enough, there wasn't a single flower to be seen.

He headed toward Mt. Pyre.

It was called a temple, but in reality its main body lay inside the mountain; what showed on the outside was only a constructed gate, with Kyogre and Groudon's patterns carved into the walls on either side.

The interior was lit, and every mural was properly maintained.

What was recorded up there wasn't any secret — merely the history of the Lilycove people and Pokémon living together in this place.

From the battles of Kyogre and Groudon that swept across Hoenn, to the step-by-step founding of the cities, and so on.

"Oh, the Draconid people are painted up here too."

Baimu spotted at a glance, on the mural wall, a group of Cloyster standing before the Draconid people.

So wearing a cloak is an ancient tradition for Dragon Tamers, huh?