Chapter 697: Loquacious Offers Aid

Baimu was pleasantly surprised.

He didn't know whether Loquacious and her offspring had come specifically to find him, or had merely passed by and noticed the Silver Feather before approaching.

Anyway, this rain was perfect!

A timely rain!

He smiled warmly at the group of Lycanroc, now utterly drenched and helpless, each one turned into a soaked dog.

Moments ago proud and defiant, the dogs now had their fur plastered wetly against their skin, looking listless, their bewildered gazes fixed upward—pitiful indeed.

"Thank you, but no—go help Young Lady Helenna."

Baimu told the thoughtful Haunter to assist Helenna with the umbrella.

Oure's weather was hot; daily attire consisted only of thin gauze dresses, which, if soaked, might easily lead to exposure.

Upon hearing this, Haunter flew toward Helenna.

Helenna didn't have the audacity to let Haunter hold the umbrella for her; she merely smiled, took it, and thanked both Haunter and Baimu.

"Roar!"

"Sssss—"

Many wild Pokémon scattered in all directions, especially Rock-, Fire-, and Ground-type ones.

Most were naturally afraid of rain.

Especially large Pokémon like Gyarados, who utterly despised water and couldn't tolerate even a single drop, had long since dug burrows and fled, leaving behind pits of varying sizes in the mountainside.

"..."

Bastiodon's expression twisted as it saw those holes.

It hated such unauthorized alterations to its territory's environment. But what could it do? They were just seeking shelter from the rain—could it really let them get soaked?

It hadn't gone mad enough to defend its territory to that extreme.

The annoyance wouldn't go away.

"I'll have them fill those holes in later, don't worry," Baimu noticed his star's mood and lightly tapped its rain-soaked metallic shell.

Seeing his trainer care for him instead of focusing entirely on Loquacious and her offspring, Bastiodon instantly felt better.

In fact,

it always felt that its trainer treated those known as Legendary Pokémon differently from ordinary Pokémon.

From Lei Gong, to Latios, to Kyogre, then Loquacious and Dark Loquacious, and so on.

Every time it encountered a Legendary Pokémon, the trainer showed great enthusiasm.

Though not to the point of groveling, Bastiodon could clearly sense the difference in attitude—it had enough familiarity with its trainer to judge reliably.

Thus, Bastiodon felt a sense of crisis.

Not because it feared its trainer would abandon it for a Legendary Pokémon, but because it worried: if any Legendary Pokémon joined the team, would its own position still be secure?

The Big Monster cared deeply about its top spot.

Every time it fought Gulpin or Salamence, it appeared calm on the surface, but secretly gave its all, terrified of being overtaken by those two fierce beasts.

It had to admit each Legendary Pokémon was incredibly strong—strong enough to make even the most defiant wild Pokémon submit.

No.

It needed to become stronger.

At the very least, it had to fix the flaw of being unable to retaliate when facing fast, same-level opponents that only struck back.

Bastiodon remembered the special attack moves its trainer had taught it, and decided to focus on refining them in the coming days, truly enhancing its ranged output.

"Grrr!"

It roared at its companions, intending to make use of the abandoned burrows dug by Gyarados to shelter fleeing Pokémon.

This idea made Baimu's eyes gleam. "Brilliant! Do it! Everyone, help out!"

He called to his Pokémon; Salamence and Poliwhirl were the first to react, then Gulpin and the others.

Happiny had already begun using Psychic to carry injured Pokémon.

It was always a doer, not a talker, so Baimu often overlooked it while paying attention to other Pokémon.

Only when Poliwhirl's video recorder played back footage at night did he realize how much this big egg had quietly accomplished.

In contrast, Steelix—the one who should've been more familiar with wild Pokémon—gave off an air of detached indifference.

Or rather, it had never cared about this group of wild Pokémon occupying the mountains.

It hadn't spoken a single word on their behalf.

And ultimately,

when Steelix originally allowed them to stay, it had mainly seen them as tools for planting trees and grass.

It remembered how N's Zorua had quietly told it that keeping these Pokémon here would accelerate the mountain's revival, earning praise from the trainer and companions.

And indeed, it had worked.

Steelix received praise from Bastiodon and the trainer; as for those Pokémon being driven away? Let them go, then.

Persuade them to stay?

Then stay.

Whatever the trainer said, that's what happened.

Steelix cared about very little; it didn't have Baimu's complex considerations.

"Follow me!"

Helenna, snapping out of her stunned gaze toward Loquacious, began guiding the wild Pokémon.

Soon after,

all wild Pokémon needing shelter had successfully taken refuge.

A few wild Pokémon delighted by the rain hopped about in the muddy ground.

"Chiruu—"

The long cry drew nearer.

Baimu, standing in the mud, looked up as two Lugia—one large, one small—descended from the clouds; the smaller one moved with such speed it seemed to be in freefall.

"Let me reach out to catch it?"

His hairs stood on end—he knew the little Lugia weighed at least a hundred kilograms; no matter how superhuman he was, he couldn't catch such a massive weight falling from the sky.

Only a Super True Newcomer or a Super Sinnoh Trainer could handle that.

Fortunately, the little Lugia had no intention of doing so; just five meters above the ground, it suddenly spread its wings like giant hands, and its pony-sized body froze midair.

Yes.

It neither rose on the wind nor continued falling by inertia—it simply hung suspended, as if time had paused.

Psychic-type abilities are truly cheating.

Baimu met the little Lugia's gaze and saw longing gleam in its pure eyes; after a moment's thought, he opened his arms.

"Oooh~!"

The little Lugia chirped happily, diving into his arms like a swallow returning to its nest, nuzzling affectionately.

The love of a Legendary Pokémon is incredibly heavy.

Baimu barely steadied his trembling thighs, skillfully handling the little Lugia's head rubbing against him and its wings flapping back and forth.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm happy too."

Huh!

A light breeze mixed with rain drizzled down the mountain slopes.

The wild Pokémon present watched the slowly descending large Lugia with reverence; Helene, holding her umbrella, remained silent.

Legendary Pokémon were not distant words to her.

Not to mention the Black and White Dragons—over the years traveling with N across the world, she had encountered Legendary Pokémon that appeared only in myths, up close.

But she had never seen a Legendary Pokémon as affectionate toward humans as Lugia and its offspring.

"Chiruu~"

The large Lugia landed, its gaze fixed on Baimu and the little Lugia, filled with tender affection.

Compared to the mischievous, ordinary bird-like Pokémon child, this one embodied both divinity and motherhood.

Though its power was not as great as that of the Sea God Lugia of the Orange Islands, it was not far behind.

Controlling weather, summoning wind and rain, was still effortless.

Baimu barely pulled one hand free from beneath the little Lugia's wings and waved: "Long time no see, Lugia."

The large Lugia gave a slight nod, then turned its gaze toward the approaching Bidoof and other Pokémon, scanning the surroundings.

It sensed something unusual in the atmosphere.

"It's like this…" Baimu had no intention of hiding anything; he briefly recounted the situation.

After listening, the large Lugia's expression showed a human-like flicker of surprise.

It knew the wild Pokémon here struggled to survive, but it had not imagined some were forced to steal others' nests just to find a suitable home.

And it did not fully understand the intent behind Baimu's proposed solution.

But it trusted this human who had guided them—they would never do anything cruel.

The Orre region was indeed an excellent place.

Though barren, the cruel humans chasing them dared not approach here; the only group of Pokémon hunters who caught up to them were themselves captured by another group of humans before they could act.

Those who captured the hunters were even more skilled than the hunters themselves.

Soon after, the hunters appeared in the south, diligently planting grass and trees.

From start to finish,

no humans disturbed them.

This discovery led the large Lugia to no longer conceal its presence; it often brought the little Lugia across Orre to summon clouds and rain, calling forth the Revival Wind and Newborn Rain that restored life to the land.

Today was another rain-summoning journey, headed toward the Pokémon Valley where N resided.

It never expected to find Baimu here.

"Oooh!"

After playing, the little Lugia ran off to frolic with its familiar Bagon; Bidoof, curious about the Legendary Pokémon, joined them.

Free once more, Baimu rubbed his hands and asked the large Lugia: "Mind sharing your recent experiences?"

"Chiruu."

The large Lugia paused for a moment, then remembered the special power Baimu had shown during their last meeting.

Without hesitation, it lowered its head.

Baimu was delighted by the large Lugia's trust; he raised his right hand and placed it on its forehead, golden light spilling from his palm.

In an instant,

he and the large Lugia entered a mental realm like a golden hall.

Helene watched the light from Baimu's palm, her bright eyes widening—he seemed to possess a miraculous power to connect with Pokémon.

Did N know about this?

She was about to contact N when she saw Baimu withdraw his hand, his expression one of inexplicable regret as he said:

"No solution… What a pity. But now, at least, it can focus fully on Dr. Duskshade's treatment. Tragedies caused by humans must be mended by humans."

Lugia and its offspring could not help the Dark Lugia—they could not even slow its corruption.

Purification was not a power they possessed.

"Chirp-mew."

Lugia's gaze was clear; it found Baimu's plan highly interesting.

Not the part about training Oure trainers.

But a plan to use the mountain range as a pilot site, summoning the inhabitants of the Genesis Valley to plant abundant food, and gathering scattered wild Pokémon so they could achieve basic self-sufficiency.

It felt it might be able to lend a little help.

At the very least, it wanted to ensure this mountain range would never again lack rain.

And also…

"Muu—"

Lugia let out a long cry toward the surrounding wild Pokémon, attempting to persuade them to stay here.

The wild Pokémon exchanged glances, then all simultaneously turned toward a cave dug by a Geodude.

Pairs of blood-red or pale blue eyes glimmered within.

It was clearly the Sandile group taking shelter from the rain.

Baimu was not surprised that these wild Pokémon regarded them as their core; after all, during the earlier battle, the Sandile group had stood at the very front, their leadership unmistakable.

"..."

A Night-Sandile stepped out of the cave, ignoring the pouring rain, and stood before Lugia and Baimu.

"Awooo!"

It pointed toward Bidoof, who was locked in a stare-down with Little Lugia.

Hélène whispered: "It says the Sandile will obey Bidoof because Bidoof won in battle."

Baimu asked: "So I, as a human, can't?"

Hélène looked anxious: "Baimu, I think they—"

"No need to explain. I never expected Lugia to change their view of me. Just agree, that's enough." He waved his hand.

The main goal of gathering this group of wild Pokémon was to keep them contributing to the mountain range, and by doing so to draw in other scattered wild Pokémon streams, preventing them from wandering aimlessly.

Driving them away outright would risk leaving thousands of wild Pokémon homeless—first, N would have no way to explain it, and second, it might cause unintended consequences in Huang Tie Town.

It was also because the mountain's countless shrubs had always been planted by wild Pokémon that they decided to let them stay.

Bidoof's own idea of slowly planting trees is good, but first planting drought-resistant plants to improve the soil is also necessary.

As for how the wild Pokémon felt about him, it didn't really matter.

The Night-Sandile's wariness toward humans was actually good; there are many good people in the world, but also many bad ones—maintaining caution is responsible for themselves and their kind.

"... I understand." Hélène nodded.

She was used to explaining that wild Pokémon meant no harm; suddenly encountering someone who cared for Pokémon just as deeply, she didn't know whether to feel moved or relieved.

Above the sky.

The lead-gray rain clouds gradually drifted away, and sunlight returned to illuminate the land.

Lugia spread its wings and rose, casting a gentle glance at Baimu, then let out a soft cry toward Little Lugia nearby: "Chirp-mew!"

"Muu!"

Little Lugia, hearing the call, hurriedly flew over.

Their time together was brief, but there was no choice—they still had to hurry to other places to deliver rain, watering the entire Oure land, with special attention to several key locations.

Such as N's Pokémon Valley, Huang Tie Town, and Silica-Beir City.

Though no one had requested this of them, seeing this barren, dry land, they couldn't help but wish to do what they could.

"Muu!"

Little Lugia cried out to Baimu and the group of Pokémon, saying it would come back to play with him.

The presence of the Silver Feather allowed it to easily sense his location.

"Goodbye, goodbye."

Baimu waved, soaked through by the rain, now wanting only to quickly change into some dry clothes.

Suddenly.

His phone in his pocket vibrated—it was Shan Ren's message.

'My father wants to invite you to Silica-Beir City. If you have time these two days, come take a look.'

Shan Ren's father?

Baimu's mind flashed with the face of a middle-aged man who bore a three-part resemblance to him.