Chapter 650: Orre Phantom Beasts

The deck of a large ferry.

Many passengers had stopped here, watching the two combatants with surprise or curiosity.

One was a young man, wearing a baseball cap, tall and slender with handsome features, his movements calm and confident, radiating a serene aura.

The other was merely a boy, still youthful and unrefined, his eyes filled with urgency.

Between the two.

A gray Gengar cackled shrilly, darting wildly through the air, effortlessly dodging the green leaf blades slashed by the Sceptile, its round, plump body displaying astonishing agility.

"Sceptile! Use Grass Whirlwind!"

The boy shouted with all his might, hoping his voice would empower his Pokémon.

Unfortunately, just as Sceptile whipped up a miniature storm of energy leaves, the Gengar suddenly dropped down, brushing past the storm and vanishing into the shadow cast by the ferry's bow ornament.

Like a drop of ink falling into an inkstone.

"It's gone—"

He frantically scanned the ground; influenced by his panic, Sceptile also grew agitated, glancing left and right.

Baimu silently shook his head. "Sludge Bomb!"

"Geng!"

The Gengar cackled as it flew out from behind Sceptile's shadow, its plump claws glowing with murky light—just as Sceptile turned its head to the right, its shadow cast by the sunlight lying to the left.

In an instant.

A fist-sized clump of mud shot out like a mortar shell!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thick black smoke rolled upward.

The explosion's shockwave unbalanced Sceptile, sending it stumbling backward with a muffled grunt until its forehead was struck by the final mud pellet, causing its entire body to roll over and crash with a thud against the railing revealed by spectators who had stepped aside.

Had there not been a thin board running down the center of the railing, it would have fallen into the sea.

The boy rushed forward anxiously. "Sceptile!"

"Geng~"

The Gengar landed, grinning with its wide, snow-white fangs, mimicking a human gentleman by bowing in a comical gesture.

The onlookers clapped sporadically.

Baimu walked over to the boy, who was asking after Sceptile's condition, and nodded in greeting. "Your Pokémon is well-trained. I'm glad to have battled you. I look forward to meeting again."

"Thank you, thank you! I'll keep working hard!"

The boy's face flushed crimson; he dared not meet Baimu's gaze, bowed sharply, then swiftly recalled his Pokémon into its ball, shoved through the crowd, and turned to run off.

This personality is so…

When Manchong first set out on his journey, he was probably much the same.

Baimu suddenly remembered a frail boy from the Hoenn region preparing for the Pokémon League Championship—he'd sent the boy a message, but still received no reply; likely holed up in intensive training.

"Baimu! Battle me!"

A cheerful voice rang out from behind.

He turned and saw a boy with hair and coloring like a giant green onion, holding a Poké Ball, excitedly facing him.

Baimu glanced at the simulation timer in the lower-right corner of his vision and nodded. "Alright."

At this moment,

The ferry was heading toward Canaaz City.

He'd originally wanted to keep a low profile, but that timid boy who wouldn't meet his eyes had recognized him, shuffled over hesitantly, and mustered the courage to challenge him—he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

Then, while searching for an open space, other passengers recognized him too.

One cry of "Baimu-kun!" drew a crowd.

He simply took off his sunglasses.

Fortunately,

There weren't many people on the ferry.

In the Pokémon world, land was vast and population sparse; a ferry carrying one or two hundred was already good, and during off-season, the ferry departing from Liuli City carried even fewer.

Baimu only needed to handle trainers who came forward to challenge him.

And once he reached Canaaz City and headed north, the final stop was Meteor Village.

He also planned to ask Champion Dawu for the return of the Wish Star he'd lent him.

Even if Kyogre's awakening before his death remained uncertain, they needed their own wild Legendary Pokémon.

He refused to be held back by Legendary or Mythical Pokémon.

As for whether the one he'd found might be the same one Ash encountered…

The probability was low.

From Farnes to Mount Chimney, the distance on the Hoenn map seemed short, but in reality, it was still considerable.

Besides, the man who sold him the stone had collected it from Mount Chimney—how could he possibly have traveled to Farnes and picked up the Wish Star right in front of Butler and Diane?

Multiple Mythical Pokémon existing is normal.

Even the Johto Islands have Kyogre; the anime has shown different Deoxys more than once—these Pokémon in the anime are not unique.

—

Canaaz City.

After Baimu battled six opponents, the ferry finally reached its destination.

"I'll become a trainer as strong as you!"

The green-onion-haired boy's shout drew curious glances from the dock crowd, but they quickly looked away.

Training the most loudmouthed rookies at home was nothing new; passersby by the gym's entrance always heard challengers shouting about becoming a Pokémon Master or Champion.

Baimu put on his sunglasses, waved goodbye to the green-haired boy over his shoulder.

Of the six he had battled.

This guy was the most enthusiastic and most forward, and even after losing, he kept pestering Baimu with questions about Pokémon training—comparable to Ash from the anime.

But he lacked common sense entirely.

He couldn't even name the types of moves he'd seen in battle; his Pokédex was basically a decoration, used only to glance at Pokémon he'd never encountered.

For trainers like this—who passively gained experience through adventure but rejected active learning—Baimu had no words.

All he could say was: it was only right he couldn't even collect all the badges!

Through this guy, Baimu once again deepened his vision of becoming a battle instructor.

If all trainers in the Orre region turned out like this, he might begin to doubt whether he'd ever been a good role model as Regional Champion.

A short while later.

Baimu arrived in front of the Devon Corporation building.

The receptionist was his old acquaintance Lisha; the first thing she said was a complaint: "It's only been a few months—how stingy of you! You've got no future Champion's grace!"

"What nonsense! I assumed your abilities would've uncovered the secrets in a few months, and since I was passing by anyway, I came to ask—forget I ever came."

He scoffed and turned to leave.

Lisha quickly blocked him, her fair face breaking into a smile. "You young people are so easy to tease—I was just joking. I'll take your last remark as a compliment. Have you found any strange stones?"

"You're pretending you didn't notice how obvious that compliment was…"

Baimu shook his head, saying that over the past few months he'd competed in numerous tournaments and eradicated an evil organization—no time to search for strange stones.

As they talked, they walked into the building.

The Wishing Star had yielded no results; Lisha had taken some rock fragments from its outer layer and found them to be ordinary calcium carbonate, with no special properties.

After scanning it with multiple instruments, they could only detect the dormant silhouette of Kyogre.

She sighed: "I regret not going to Kalos with Champion Dawu. Do you know what they found in the Ice Cave?"

"A Mega Stone deposit?"

"How did you know!?"

Lisha stared, stunned, at Baimu's calm expression.

He replied: "When Aran gave Dawu the tip, I was standing right there listening. They actually found it? No wonder Dawu hasn't returned yet."

The Hoenn League wouldn't delay its championship just because he wasn't participating; the Four Guardians still eyed the Champion title hungrily.

Even if things were busy at the Ice Cave, Dawu had to return to Hoenn to attend the Champion League.

Lisha exhaled in relief.

The Kalos League had sealed the news, strictly forbidding any leaks from the cave to prevent unnecessary conflict; if Dawu hadn't invited her to the Ice Cave, she wouldn't have known at all.

When she'd just heard it from Baimu, she'd nearly thought the news had leaked and was already going viral online.

"I'm telling you, don't spread this—the Mega Stone deposit in the Ice Cave isn't that large, and mining it is extremely difficult. You know how Key Stones and Mega Stones are both spherical…"

Lisha whispered.

Her main job was researching Mega Evolution; the Wishing Star was merely a side project, so having to abandon the chance to witness the Mega Stone deposit firsthand left her bitterly resentful.

The worst part was she'd gotten nothing out of it.

As Baimu listened to her ramble, he was thinking about where to get a new Mega Stone for Haunter.

Meteor Village?

He felt embarrassed.

He'd taken the Key Stone and the Gyarados Mega Stone without making any contribution.

Mega Island?

That place required Coobool's approval.

The Mega Stone deposit in the Ice Cave?

From what he could tell, this was the most likely source.

Even if he didn't know how large the deposit was, if—as Baimu suspected—it was to be distributed by all Leagues among Gym Leaders, Four Guardians, and Champions…

Then wouldn't it be fair for the Orre League to join in and claim a share?

Just assign one to a Gym Leader.

Mega Evolution wave…

Who knew when such a thing could be researched? Besides, Haunter probably had psychological trauma over it.

Baimu entered the research room with Lisha.

The Wishing Star, stored in a box, was placed before Baimu.

"You found it. Perhaps only near you will it undergo some change. Now it's yours again," Lisha tapped the edge of the box.

"..."

Baimu reached out and touched the rough, jet-black crystal—but nothing unusual happened.

The Thousand-Aeon Wrist showed no reaction; no childlike voice echoed in his ear.

Instead, he couldn't help recalling a striped tiger-cat that loved to discharge static electricity—only thanks to her had he stumbled upon the Wishing Star.

He wondered where she was now.

Lisha waved her small hand. "Problem?"

"No problem. Just remembered how I got it." Baimu shook his head and summoned Haunter, who swallowed the box.

He walked out of the research room.

Though Lisha always contacted him and came to meet him, she was extremely busy—the Devon Corporation's plan to use Mega Evolution energy as clean power had yet to succeed.

The two agreed that if Baimu ever encountered a rare stone in the future, he must share it with them, then parted ways.

Since the day was still early, he planned to visit the local Pokémon Trainer School and draw inspiration from their teaching methods.

This school in Canaaz City was well-known; its graduate Du Juan had been appointed Gym Leader due to her outstanding academic performance.

It was said she also allowed some students to intern at the Gym.

Last time I challenged the Canaaz Gym, I barely spoke with her—this time, I have a chance—

"On break?"

Baimu exchanged a few words with the security personnel, staring blankly at the quiet campus, as if dark crows cawed overhead.

I've been out of school too long—I forgot about breaks!

He sighed, unwilling to give up, and rushed toward the Canaaz Gym, only to find its gates tightly shut, with a notice posted outside stating that Gym Leader Du Juan had gone to the Paldea Orange Academy for further study.

Paldea Region!

Orange Academy!

Baimu suddenly remembered that in the Pokémon world, there was another, far larger and more specialized Trainer school.

After a brief moment of thought, he decided that if he ever had more free time in the future, he would definitely go there to learn how to properly run a Trainer school.

—

North of Canaaz City lay Route 115.

It was no more than half a day's journey from Meteor Falls.

If he flew, it would be even faster.

Whoosh—

Baimu heard the low hum of wind rushing past his ears, patted the head of his Salamence, and shouted, "Slow down! We're not in that much of a hurry!"

"Shasang!"

Salamence roared back and gradually slowed its speed.

It was too excited.

Over the past few months, the Trainer no longer needed it for travel, so the number of times it carried the Trainer on flights had dwindled.

Now, with this rare opportunity, it charged forward like a husky let off its leash.

Had there been obstacles in the sky, or if ordinary flying Pokémon hadn't avoided them, it would have crashed into countless things by now.

Baimu stroked its massive head and realized that using Hu Pa's golden ring for travel robbed him of the joy of journeying alongside his Pokémon.

Compared to spending an entire day inside a Poké Ball, Pokémon clearly preferred to run wild with their Trainer.

No wonder Gulis said every gain comes with a loss.

He reflected on himself.

Soon.

Meteor Falls arrived.

The familiar gray-white mountains were pockmarked with countless meteor craters of all sizes, stirring deep nostalgia in him, who had often traveled to Meteor Village.

Milotic should still remember the Dragon's Gate Waterfall that guided its evolution—let's go see it soon.

Baimu leaned down and patted Salamence's right neck.

"Shasang!!"

Salamence roared with excitement, increased its speed, and raced toward the remembered Meteor Village—it missed the village and the dragon's nest at Meteor Falls.

After all, both places had an unusually high concentration of Dragon-type Pokémon, giving it a strange sense of belonging.

As it accelerated,

A cluster of moving "white clouds" appeared on the horizon.

As they drew near, the "white clouds" revealed themselves as flocks of Cresselia, startled by the speeding Salamence, flapping their wings frantically to flee.

After Salamence passed them, these Cresselia hurriedly chased after it, emitting sharp, prolonged chirps.

Intruder!

Unknown intruder!

In Meteor Village, an old man, bare-chested, wearing a navy cap and a high-collared coat, looked up and squinted slightly.

"Who's come here?"

"A Salamence this big… it's Baimu!"

Old Qingliu, standing beside him, carefully examined it, then burst into laughter, "This brat finally remembered to come back! Shi Yuan Zhi, wait—I'll go call the others!"

Baimu?

Hearing that name, the navy-cap old man flashed a memory of a cold, calm face.