Chapter 702: Ore's Number One

What a coincidence.

The day before yesterday, on the road back to Iron Town, Lady Ayana had specifically mentioned that this Battle Mountain master was in Silicium-Beryllium City; what a stroke of luck that coming here let him run into him.

"Battle Mountain master, huh…"

Baimu watched the street battle with keen interest.

The current situation was that Feraligatr's Water Gun had shot into empty air, its left arm pinned tight by Kailos lunging forward with a Cross Chop.

"Owgh—"

The searing pain of jagged barbs sinking into flesh made Feraligatr howl without pause, trying to strike Kailos's head with its right arm to force it to let go.

However.

Don't be fooled by Kailos being a pure Bug-type Pokémon—its physical Attack stat is higher than that of over eighty percent of Pokémon.

And the source of that high Attack, besides that pair of vicious curved horns capable of snapping a tree several people could embrace around its waist, also includes its terrifying monstrous strength, able to lift opponents far heavier than itself and hurl them about.

"Hiss!"

At the sharp hiss, Kailos suddenly shifted sideways and exerted force; its massive curved horns glowed a reddish-brown, its claws gripping Feraligatr's body as it guided the hulking form through a certain grappling stance and slammed it hard into the ground!

Boom!

The heavy crash and the trembling of the ground made the heart pound.

After a brief wail, Feraligatr fainted outright and lost the ability to battle; the street battle thus came to an end.

What a superb Mountain Gale Throw!

Clap clap clap clap—

Baimu, mixed in with the crowd, led the applause.

The surrounding onlookers quickly caught on, raising both hands to join the sea of applause.

Mountain Gale Throw, as a Fighting-type physical attack move, can inflict on the enemy the terrifying power of a critical hit.

The key point is that Kailos used it without any hesitation—smooth and flowing in one breath, as if it had gained a Fighting type. From this alone he could tell that Bartras's level of Pokémon training far surpassed that of Silver Ape.

As for exactly what level Bartras had reached.

Hard to say.

The gap between the two Pokémon was too obvious; after Kailos beat Feraligatr, only its breathing became slightly quicker, and it would recover before long.

Is there a chance to battle him?

Baimu saw Bartras shaking hands with Feraligatr's trainer and was about to step forward and volunteer for a battle, but he hadn't expected that quite a few people in the watching crowd had similar ideas and had already crowded over, scrambling to get there first.

He was a step slower; by the time he got close, the area around Bartras was packed tight.

Is the Pokémon battling atmosphere in Silicium-Beryllium City really this lively?

Baimu was a bit surprised. Iron Town had changed a lot, but what hadn't changed was that Pokémon battles on the street were rare, even though Shannan had planned out some temporary battle grounds.

In over two days back, he'd seen it happen once.

But soon he noticed that these people were probably all visiting trainers—first, by appearance they were generally young, at most fourteen or fifteen; second, their skin was comparatively delicate.

Ore's climate was dry and hot; even people from Silicium-Beryllium City couldn't avoid getting tanned and rough-skinned from the sun.

Traveling here on their own? Or came with family?

Both were possible.

He turned and slipped out of the crowd; there would be a chance to battle Bartras someday. Judging by today's performance, the man certainly wouldn't disappoint him.

Inside the beauty salon.

Four Pokémon emerged looking brand-new, their bodies gleaming as if coated in a layer of wax.

"…"

Baimu looked down at the shiny Gengar; the latter shifted its gaze away in great discomfort, its two fat paws fidgeting in front of its body.

He turned his head and asked: "Which one of you put lipstick and blush on it, and tied a pink bow on it?"

In just ten minutes of not paying attention, Gengar's face had been made up to look like a Miltank.

What an eyesore!

If it weren't standing together with Mawile and the others, and its body color really was gray, Baimu would genuinely suspect his Pokémon had been swapped out.

Yikes!

He covered his face, not daring to look more; the shiny Gengar giggled foolishly to itself, while the other three Pokémon wore teasing looks.

"It applied it itself…"

The beautician smiled awkwardly and apologized repeatedly: "I'm sorry! I'll wipe it off right now!"

But in fact Gengar had only curiously put a little lipstick on itself; the rest was because the beauticians had gotten too excited and couldn't help themselves.

After all, "playing pranks" was one of the few joys in their professional lives.

"…Forget it, no need. Seeing as it seems to like it itself, leave it." Baimu shook his head.

Gengar itself was unwilling; no amount of coaxing from the beautician would work. Besides, it was their "effort"—let Bossaconda, Hydreigon, and the others have a look when they got back.

Everyone could have a good laugh together.

"Come back."

Baimu recalled the four Pokémon into their balls one by one, not daring to let Gengar slip into his shadow.

If it suddenly popped out in a crowd, he worried he'd be laughed to death by passersby—even if he really did die of laughter it wouldn't be embarrassing, but being recognized and posted online would be.

And judging by Gengar's reluctant look as it entered the ball, that was clearly what it had been planning to do!

That little ghost!

He settled the bill under the beautician's nervous hospitality; the other party seemed worried he'd get angry and refuse to pay on some pretext, since the price wasn't cheap.

Fortunately, nothing of the sort would happen.

"Please come again!"

The Pokémon beautician happily saw him off at the door.

Curious, Baimu walked again toward the crowded street-side battle arena, where Batrass, as expected, engaged in a fierce battle with a new opponent.

Yes.

The battle was intense.

Batrass's Pokémon was a Crobat with two pairs of fleshy wings, while the opponent's Pokémon was a Mini Dachaobei with a crimson round "hat" on its head and a black "tuft" beneath its nose, resembling an Easter Island statue.

Mini Dachaobei stood still, controlling three miniature versions of Little Chaobei that hovered like floating cannons, continuously crossing beams of light.

Crobat dodged nimbly, leaving afterimages of its flight everywhere above the battlefield.

Interestingly, Little Chaobei's attacks followed a strict rhythm—whenever Crobat tried to attack or close in on Mini Dachaobei, they fired one or more beams to intercept.

For a short time, Crobat could not overcome them.

Mini Dachaobei is amazing!

Baimu looked in surprise at its trainer; judging solely by skin tone and attire, the young man battling Batrass was likely a native of Oure.

Are they acquainted?

Regardless, Silicon Beryllium City is truly full of hidden talents.

He was glad to see two outstanding trainers in succession; it seemed he need not worry about the lack of top-tier local trainers for the inaugural League Championship.

Inside the arena.

The tense, thrilling chase took a new turn.

Batrass spotted an opening in the dense beam barrage of the three Little Chaobei; Crobat exploited it to close in on Mini Dachaobei and used Hypnosis.

At the same time, its reaction was lightning-fast—giving Mini Dachaobei no time to counter—it released a pink-purple glow and immediately flapped away.

Swish—the Crobat returned to the air.

The three Little Chaobei fell to the ground; Mini Dachaobei closed its eyes.

A well-known fact—in single Pokémon battles, the sleep status is far more dangerous than poison, burn, or paralysis, effectively granting the opponent multiple free turns.

Any prior advantage would vanish completely.

Trouble had come.

Baimu looked at the young man and saw no trace of despair on his face—he shouted loudly for Mini Dachaobei to wake up, wondering if trainers from Huang Tie Village were somehow special.

Silicon Beryllium City's trainers are pretty decent!

Of course, this man might also be a trainer from Battle Mountain or another arena.

As he pondered this, the Crobat in the sky used Dark Pulse—but instead of dealing much damage, it directly blasted Mini Dachaobei awake!

From the moment Hypnosis landed until Crobat struck again, barely ten seconds had passed—this could rightly be called instant awakening.

Batrass is unlucky!

Baimu found it amusing.

But honestly, while instant awakening in games relies entirely on luck, in anime it's clearly more complex—the trainer's voice can be heard by the sleeping Pokémon, and the Pokémon will struggle slightly in response.

Otherwise, why call it "sleep status" instead of "unconscious status"?

The three Little Chaobei flew up again, chasing Crobat through the sky like fighter jets.

As a Flying- and Poison-type Pokémon, Crobat's own-type moves had only a quarter effectiveness, and another was completely ineffective; unsurprisingly, it could only deal damage with non-own-type moves.

And Baimu remembered that Crobat did not know Fighting, Ground, or Water-type attack moves.

Mini Dachaobei had the advantage!

"Mr. Zhengyi is getting stronger! Batrass Master's Crobat can't do a thing against his Mini Dachaobei!" A bystander's conversation caught his attention.

Zhengyi?

Isn't that the gym leader who challenged him? The one who also runs the Silicon Beryllium Arena!

He looked in surprise at the speaker and asked: "Friend, is the man battling Batrass Master the gym leader of our Trainer Training Center?"

"Of course! Does Silicon Beryllium City have another Zhengyi?"

The man had spoken rudely at first, but instantly softened upon realizing he had to look up at Baimu: "Ahem, well, you're not from Silicon Beryllium City, are you? Batrass Master has been challenging out-of-town trainers on this street for months now."

"Mr. Zhengyi often comes to challenge him. Though he loses more than he wins, he never gives up—he grows fiercer with every defeat. I believe he'll surpass Batrass Master someday!"

"Exactly! Mr. Zhengyi is younger, with a brighter future!"

Another spectator agreed.

Baimu nodded: "I see. Thanks."

From their remarks, it was clear Batrass's reputation as a Battle Mountain Master was highly respected by locals, and Zhengyi's prestige was equally high, with citizens eagerly anticipating his rise.

At this moment.

The crowd gasped.

He snapped back to attention and saw Crobat repeat its trick—once again breaking through the beam blockade of the three Little Chaobei. Mini Dachaobei predicted its attack path and moved first to block with Rock Tomb, but Crobat dodged again!

Crobat performed astonishing aerial maneuvers in the blink of an eye—hovering, brief acceleration, rapid back-and-forth turns—and delivered Hypnosis a second time.

This time, Mini Dachaobei did not awaken immediately; it took three direct Dark Pulses and, unable to withstand the accumulated damage, lost its ability to battle.

Incredible reflexes!

Remarkable perception!

Baimu realized this was Batrass's true strength; intense excitement made him instinctively reach into his pocket for a Poké Ball.

He hadn't had a proper battle in days—he was itching to fight.

If Batrass won't give him a chance…

He watched Zhengyi, who had finished the match with a friendly handshake, retrieve Mini Dachaobei and step out of the crowd. He glanced regretfully at Batrass, now surrounded again, then pushed through the crowd and hurried after Zhengyi.

Most trainers only chase the victor, unaware that the loser is not necessarily the weaker.

Mini Dachaobei's precise control over Little Chaobei was enough to leave Baimu awestruck.

And when he finally found Zhengyi, this fellow was standing in front of a roadside drink stall, tipping back a glass of freshly squeezed peach juice and draining it in one go.

"Ah—damn it!"

Zhengyi furiously crushed the paper cup.

The stall owner laughed and said: "Mr. Zhengyi, I have to remind you, you've been drinking peach juice for three days in a row now."

"Cut the chatter! Get the orange juice ready! I'll definitely come drink it tomorrow!" Zhengyi said viciously, and the stall owner's smile instantly grew even more enthusiastic.

All Baimu stepped forward briskly and politely greeted him: "Hello, Gym Leader Zhengyi."

"What is it?"

Zhengyi frowned slightly, waved his hand and said: "If it's about joining some company, then forget it… Hm? Why do you look a little familiar?"

He smiled and said: "Have you forgotten, you once told Uncle Dinis you wanted to issue me a challenge — that should have happened recently, right?"

"Challenge… Dinis…"

Zhengyi lowered his head and muttered to himself, then, under the stall owner's curious gaze, shouted excitedly: "Ah! I know! You're All Baimu! The All Baimu who won the Hoenn double crown and beat the Four Heavenly Kings!"

The stall owner also got worked up on hearing this. "You're All Baimu?"

The reactions of the two of them, especially the stall owner's, took him by surprise — could he really be that famous in Silphium City? Even a roadside stall knew him.

"To be precise, it's a double runner-up. To save time, I'll get straight to the point. Gym Leader Zhengyi, let's have a battle?"

All Baimu issued the challenge directly.

Zhengyi's smile was especially brilliant. He reached out to grab All Baimu's arm, and when it was dodged he didn't mind, answering readily: "Sure! Of course! Let's go find a venue right now! Boss! Remember to save me a glass of orange juice!"

Having said that.

The two of them, decisive and efficient, went off to find a venue.

The stall owner watched their retreating backs and muttered: "I can't miss this one — the legendary All Baimu actually came to Silphium City! Wife! Watch the stall for me a bit! I'm going out!"

He refused to miss what was bound to be a wonderful Pokémon battle, turned his head and shouted toward the shop behind him, then hurried after them with quick steps.

Meanwhile.

The two found a new battle venue without the slightest effort — the length-to-width ratio was standard, and the inner and outer dividing lines were clear.

At the same time there were few passersby nearby, so there was no worry of being disturbed.

"I didn't expect that before I even had time to go find you, you came to me first! Ha ha!" Zhengyi laughed with hands on hips, looking at All Baimu standing opposite, "You're considered pretty strong out there, right?"

All Baimu nodded on hearing this and replied: "About that. There's still some distance from the strongest batch of people."

"Then did you watch my battle with Master Bartras earlier?"

"I did."

"How does it compare to the strongest batch of people?"

"…"

He looked at Zhengyi speechlessly and brushed him off: "You'll understand after we fight."

Zhengyi grinned: "Fair enough. Then let me see just what you're made of, you trainer who's been honored by the whole city and hailed as the number one trainer of the Ourei youth generation!"

Number one of the Ourei youth generation?

All Baimu was very surprised he had this title — how did he not know about it?

And this title doesn't suit him at all.

It should be number one of all Ourei!

"Three-on-three or one-on-one?" He took out a Poké Ball and called out the question from a distance.

Zhengyi said decisively: "Of course three-on-three! That's the rule everywhere! I'm not wrong, am I?"