Chapter 668: Self-Destructing in a Dream

Medical ninja...

This ending was completely beyond Baimu's expectations.

He had assumed that when the flashback and narration popped up, things would take a turn for the better — for instance, the ninja kid's grandfather actually waking up in the end, or the Hoenn League, seeing that he was so young and so exceptionally gifted, letting him off without punishment.

Who could have guessed the ninja kid was still sentenced to the Shaonianguan Sect for the serious crime of forging records as a minor.

His tournament championship results were revoked, and he couldn't even see his own Pokémon in ordinary circumstances — he stayed inside for a full three years before getting out.

Even those three years might have been the result of a reduced sentence.

What was even more astonishing was that the Rustboro Gym Leader, in order to help the ninja kid develop a special medicine to cure his grandfather, actually chose to close down the gym!

That selfless resolve alone was enough to move Baimu deeply.

How close must the ninja kid's relationship with him have been?

The Aroma Lady too...

The Pokémon world isn't only about the deep bonds between people and Pokémon — the unrewarded devotion between people is also one of the driving forces that makes Baimu willing to add bricks and tiles to Oreburgh's development and dedicate himself.

He hoped the ninja kid would get what he wished for.

Baimu decided to search for related news in a moment. By all rights, an eight-year-old whose tournament championship was revoked and who was sent to a reformatory should be recorded in the annals of the Hoenn region.

If the ninja kid chose to study medicine and give up the path of being a Trainer, it would make sense that he had no real fame at present.

"Let's look at the rewards."

He couldn't wait to look at the window that had popped up.

【Fixed Reward: TM ×5 (attribute can be specified)】

【Fixed Reward: The Ninja Kid's Ninjutsu Memory — Concealment Chapter (can be reviewed repeatedly)】

【Fixed Reward: Voltorb's Self-Destruct Memory — Explosion Chapter (can be reviewed repeatedly)】

【Choice Reward One: Any Pokémon raised by five levels (below Lv70)】

【Choice Reward Two: A clue to a Pokémon with specified base stats (excluding Legendary Pokémon, Mythical Pokémon, and Ultra Beasts)】

【Choice Reward Three: Move — Shadow Clone (a Pokémon to learn it can be chosen)】

【Choice Reward Four: Carry over the 【Elite System】 talent to the next simulation】

Baimu: "Huh?"

The reward of the Concealment Ninjutsu was within expectations, but what the heck was this Voltorb Self-Destruct Memory? Shouldn't it have been Kecleon's ambush memory?

He felt the simulator was messing with him.

But honestly, his curiosity really had been hooked by this reward. Ever since Steelix learned Self-Destruct, he'd only used it once or twice — he'd long been curious about what it felt like after using Self-Destruct.

If it was very, very painful, then he'd ban the move Self-Destruct from then on.

Baimu closed the book and was about to grab his phone to search for news about the ninja kid, when out of the corner of his eye he noticed a shiny Gengar standing beside him, clutching two game consoles in its paws and looking at him longingly.

From the moment he'd agreed to play games with it until now, at least half an hour had passed.

Fine then.

"... A little more won't hurt. Come! Today I'll show you what a Trainer's dignity is!"

He swiftly snatched the game console from Gengar's claws, delivering his usual opening trash talk.

"Hmph!"

The expression on Gengar's face visibly morphed into excitement, its mouth splitting to its ears to reveal a dazzling row of big white teeth: "Hehehehe—"

Game console, activate!

The scene of one person and one ghost making a ruckus quickly drew the attention of a few others.

Hydreigon and Mawile squeezed in on Baimu's left and right behind him, the Dreepy siblings Mesprit and Barud— wait, the Dreepy siblings took over the top of Gengar's head, and in the darkness little Barud's little golden eyes flickered.

"Happy~"

Blissey, who was carefully grinding aromatherapy raw materials, beamed as she watched the Trainer and her companions, then accidentally sneezed, blowing the small half-bowl of powder flying everywhere.

She stared wide-eyed in a daze for a moment, then carefully glanced at the Trainer, saw they were all seriously playing games and hadn't noticed what happened over here, and only then secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Happy..."

Such a waste.

Blissey gloomily continued grinding, completely failing to notice the Galarian Corsola in the hammock who had been woken by the noise and choked by the powder.

Corsola: "..."

Trainer and companions are all annoying jerks — what do I do if I want to wipe them out?

Late at night.

Game time over.

The Ragequit stopped beside an uninhabited island on Water Route 129.

Baimu lay in the hammock, his left arm held by Mawile, two little Dreepy on his head, Corsola lying motionless on his chest, and beneath the bed Blissey, Hydreigon, and Gengar snuggled together.

Barud was, as usual, nowhere to be found.

The rising and falling snores and the splashing of the tide outside soothed the heart.

"Really didn't expect that."

Baimu put down his phone, recalling everything he had just seen.

The ninja kid's real name was 【Kachi】, and in his youth he was sentenced to five years in a reformatory for two serious crimes — sneaking into the police station's records room and arbitrarily forging records — later reduced to three years for good behavior.

He became famous for winning the tournament championship at eight, and countless people in Hoenn looked forward to his future.

But after getting out, he didn't choose to continue studying Pokémon battling; instead he chose to go to school, and within just two years finished both middle and high school.

He was later sent by the founder of the Aroma House to Celadon University in the Kanto region to study medicine, pharmacology, and the like.

At seventeen he graduated with two doctoral degrees and participated in the second-generation improvement project of the currently available Pokémon Potion series.

Later, he founded the Rare Disease Research Institute and the Hachiman Ninja Dojo, developing specialized human medications and training a new generation of ninjas.

Over the next twenty years, the drugs developed by the institute cured many previously untreatable rare diseases, while the dojo trained countless outstanding Hachiman ninjas.

Shi Yuan Zhi was awarded the Pokémon Medical Prize for the former and honored as a Ninja Master for the latter.

To this day, the ninja pharmaceutical conglomerate he founded ranks among the top fifty in the Hoenn region and the top five hundred worldwide, and recently announced public medical aid for the Orre region.

The Hachiman Ninja Dojo is equally renowned throughout the ninja world.

"He is respectfully known as Hoenn's 'Medical Ninja.'"

Baimu grinned—he had simulated a giant of the medical field, and the ninja kid… no, Mr. Shi had completely abandoned Pokémon battles.

Ninja techniques, however, had been thoroughly revitalized and gained immense fame in the industry.

He had previously known nothing about ninjas or ninja techniques, so even when he saw related information, he skipped over it outright; now, recalling it, he realized the Pokémon Blog had indeed contained many brief mentions of ninjas.

I wonder if, after returning to Orre, I'll have a chance to meet the ninja kid in person.

He memorized the face slightly younger than Bydon, opened the simulator, hesitated briefly, then selected the Self-Destruct memory of Weezing.

Hope it's not too extreme…

——

The next day.

Before dawn.

Shi Yuan Zhi walked onto the pitch-black deck and suddenly spotted a human-shaped shadow crouched halfway along the rail, gazing downward.

Faint waves mingled with a light, ethereal song.

Slightly eerie.

Shi Yuan Zhi walked forward calmly and asked, "Not used to the hammock?"

"Captain Shi! Good morning!"

The shadow turned, and in the dim light, Baimu's face was clearly revealed—though his expression was weary, as if he had expended great mental energy.

He waved a hand. "Just had a nightmare."

Shi Yuan Zhi nodded slightly, glanced at the sea below, and saw a beautiful Pokémon with golden scales shimmering faintly, singing softly.

Around it hovered many Water-type Pokémon—Lanturn, Golduck, Corsola, Whiscash, and more—all present.

They guarded the Shiny Milotic like loyal sentinels.

"Wait a moment."

Shi Yuan Zhi turned his gaze away and headed toward the cabin.

Baimu knew the old Celestial would be boiling milk with sugar—his habit, one cup each morning and night, unshaken for decades.

"Ha…"

He continued watching Milotic sing, seeking inner peace.

Weezing's Self-Destruct memory had profoundly shaken him in every way—why would a massive explosion bring spiritual pleasure?

Absurd!

In the memory, Weezing's body experienced a brief, searing pain during the explosion, but then euphoria surged like a flooded pool, overwhelming him with uncontrollable laughter.

Twisted. Too twisted.

Worse, Weezing's memory wasn't a single Self-Destruct—it was a mixture of multiple explosions.

One explosion, then another. One explosion, then another.

Baimu awoke from the memory at one a. m., having slept at nine p. m. but been bombarded by Weezing's explosions for four hours in his dream.

He felt too drained to watch more simulations, dozed off again fitfully, yet his mind remained filled with images of explosions, so he got up to breathe the sea air.

Coincidentally, Milotic was also awake, nudging its Poké Ball to come out.

He thought it was hungry at night, but it merely wanted to see the moon and sing again—the habit formed in the Glass Gym's ecological garden still lingered.

The wild Water-type Pokémon had naturally been drawn by its song.

"Want a cup?"

Shi Yuan Zhi's voice sounded, and a steaming cup of milk appeared before him.

Baimu took it and thanked him, sipping slowly.

After drinking it, warmth spread through his body, and his mood relaxed considerably.

Shi Yuan Zhi said nothing—he was never one for idle chatter—but seeing the young man's weary expression, he couldn't help murmuring:

"Don't pressure yourself too much. You're still young; your path ahead is long. Keep your mindset balanced."

Baimu paused, then nodded. "... Alright."

The old man seemed to have misunderstood something, but Baimu couldn't find a suitable excuse to explain.

He couldn't say he'd had too many self-explosions in his dream and was too euphoric to sleep, could he?

It would make him sound like a serious mental case to Shi Yuan Zhi.

"Rest well."

Shi Yuan Zhi patted his shoulder. Sailors and Pokémon began yawning and emerging from the cabin one by one, and a streak of Jin Guang glowed on the horizon.

"Miiro?"

Milotic's song ceased.

Dawn was breaking; its singing time was over.

The wild Water-type Pokémon watched it with reluctance; Milotic itself showed no awareness of its popularity, smiled at them, then leapt back onto the deck.

"Miiro~"

Milotic affectionately rubbed its cheek against Baimu's, leaving a large wet mark.

The wild Pokémon on the sea stared with envious eyes, but ultimately did not attack the ship, diving away one by one.

"Pah! Pah!"

On the mast, the Gull transformed into a crowing rooster; several Hoppip and Boldore carried wooden tables and stools, followed by the chef and several sailors holding stacked metal trays.

Breakfast time.

The Pokémon in Baimu's room rushed out, calmed only upon seeing the trainers on deck; the affectionate Dragonite tackled him directly, drawing good-natured laughter from the surrounding sailors.

"Dummy Dragon."

He helplessly patted Dragonite's head.

Half an hour later.

Jin Guang burst forth as the sun slowly rose from the other side of the horizon.

Accompanied by loud chants.

The Frenzy sailed away, continuing toward Saffron City, just two hours away.

Baimu stood at the bow, thinking he had never intended to join the Champion League, yet here he was, returning to Saffron City—where the media that knew him would no doubt spin some wild story about him.

But to witness the Elite Four and the Champion of Hoenn battle in person? Let them spin whatever they wanted.

Champion Dawu!

You've got to prove yourself properly!

He recalled Dawu's performance against Ash in the anime's Eight Masters battle, mourning this mighty Champion who had fallen victim to insufficient funding and malicious screenwriters.

He remembered hearing somewhere that the original screenwriter, Tomioka, had planned to focus solely on Dan Di's final match against Ash, treating the rest as static sketches—but the producers had rejected it, forcing him to write the Eight Masters battle afterward.

Judging by the final product, the budget issues were obvious.

The script…

Pikachu, enduring both Comet Punch and Psychic in full force, then blocking a Cannon Shot with one-seventh of a million volts.

And Metagross, knocked out after being hit by three-sevenths of a million volts, unable to counter, then finished off by a single Iron Tail—each scene brimmed with endless flaws.

Baimu shook his head, clearing the nonsense from his mind.

A moment later.

At the edge of his vision, an island bearing a bustling city grew larger, coming into view.

——

"Chief Mate Ryoko, aren't you coming with us?"

Baimu asked Ryoko, who watched Shi Yuan Zhi depart alone—after all, he was the chief disciple, and had been chauffeured around before.

Why was he showing no reaction now?

Ryoko chuckled, "The captain dislikes us tagging along—he's used to going solo on land, and the League has a car waiting for him. But why aren't you going? He wouldn't mind walking with you."

He replied, "My friends I mentioned earlier have arrived—I need to pick them up."

Shi Yuan Zhi had already informed Ryoko about sending him, Daizhu, and Chenghong to Oure.

Upon hearing this, the chief mate nodded, "Alright, once you pick them up, just bring them straight here—we'll handle the arrangements."

"I'm deeply grateful."

Baimu smiled.

Ryoko gave him a hard slap on the back, "Don't be so formal! You were almost our captain's man!"

That remark…

Sounded utterly strange.

Baimu rubbed his back as he walked toward the city, the agreed meeting spot being the café owned by Manjō's cousin.

Halfway there, a cry of surprise rang out.

"Baimu? What are you doing here?"

He turned toward the voice and saw a bustling ramen shop, where Queen Boni, dressed as a noblewoman, lifted a bowl larger than her face to her mouth and slurped noisily, leaving everyone around her stunned.

Beside her, Fuyō gripped a glass of iced water, tongue sticking out as if burned by spice.