Chapter 744

Silicon Beryllium Arena.

When Baimu arrived with his group, Zheng Yi wore an expression of finality.

He couldn't help asking: "Have the participants been selected?"

"Selected."

"Wasn't it said there was still arguing over who would join and who wouldn't?"

"I kicked out all the troublemakers!"

Zheng Yi waved his hand dismissively, complaining: "All this nonsense—taking three days just to pick people. I thought they'd already finished. Then you show up and tell me they haven't, and come whining to my face."

In short, Zheng Yi, like last time, delegated the selection task to the junior instructors and staff, ordering them to pick several outstanding trainers to welcome the Iron Yellow Arena.

But everyone tried to stuff their own people into the team and cut out others'.

He found this utterly incomprehensible.

Let the capable rise, the weak fall—why not just hold a battle?

Yet those instructors believed that, when both sides were evenly matched, selecting based on battle results was unfairly biased.

This made Zheng Yi laugh bitterly—

All of you get the hell out!

"You'll be called autocratic like this," Baimu said, deeply worried Zheng Yi might be fired.

Times had changed; though Silicon Beryllium Arena was nominally handed to him, Zheng Yi was merely a manager—firing a large number of people without proper justification was never this easy.

Under the Shadow Team's rule, they fired anyone at will.

"Fine, I'll get fired too!"

Zheng Yi waved it off carelessly. After the training center and arena grew larger, he'd gradually felt the weight on his shoulders.

If this chance let him shed the title of arena manager, it might even be a good thing for him.

Baimu had no reply.

He could only be grateful he had Shan Ren as a towering shield, and so many friends and relatives helping him—Silicon Beryllium City's environment was good, but its internal affairs were far too complex, nothing like the simple, blunt ways of Iron Yellow Town.

No wonder Shan Ren had long set his sights on Iron Yellow Town instead of pursuing ambitions in the more prosperous Silicon Beryllium City.

The official exchange battles began.

The Iron Yellow Town trainers, believing Baimu had been angry earlier, now pushed themselves with all their might, terrified of upsetting him again. Sensing their fierce will, their Pokémon erupted with power beyond the ordinary.

It nearly stunned the Silicon Beryllium City trainers, especially those who had participated last time.

They could hardly believe their eyes.

Only half a month had passed.

How had they grown so much stronger?

Are you riding rockets? Boom—boom—and you're already soaring higher than us!

This isn't reasonable!

The Silicon Beryllium City trainers envied them so much they wept blood, convinced it was all due to Baimu's teaching—if only they'd trained in Iron Yellow Arena, their growth wouldn't be worse than these people's!

They completely ignored the inherent foundation of the Iron Yellow Town trainers, as if those trainers had only begun raising Pokémon after Baimu arrived.

They underestimated even more the subtle influence of knowledge, battle experience, and will on a trainer's growth…

And the inevitable limit.

In arena battles, trainer and Pokémon must grow in sync—neither can be missing. Seeing the performances of Did Yin Ma and others, Baimu realized he had little left to teach.

He was never a professional teacher; he scoured his mind for a few suitable lessons to pass on, only to exhaust them all within a month.

How unlike Adam or Mihili, who could still find fresh, excellent material to teach after months—each lesson felt like opening a treasure chest and pulling out a golden legendary.

"Hmm…"

Baimu thought this inwardly, yet his face remained expressionless, making the Iron Yellow Town trainers even more uneasy.

Had their performance been good or bad?

Just give them a clear answer—let them die in peace!

Yet no one dared approach Baimu to ask how he felt—Did Yin Ma didn't dare, Ken Dar didn't dare, and Da Zhuang flatly refused this suicidal act.

Even though their boss didn't look angry.

What if?

The morning session passed smoothly.

During this time, Baimu had expected the several instructors forcibly removed by Zheng Yi to cause some trouble.

None appeared.

The exchange battles proceeded without incident.

Only a few familiar faces were missing.

"Jin Ge, who participated last time, Ma Lin, whom I battled—and that guy who clashed with him, Fu De—why haven't I seen any of them?" He asked Zheng Yi about their whereabouts.

Zheng Yi said they had left on a journey after the last exchange, all heading to the Hoenn region, and as he spoke, he raised an eyebrow.

Baimu had no reply.

That expression seemed to say: going to Hoenn was to learn from him?

Surely not…?

He had heard from Shan Ren that Silicon Beryllium City's young masters and young ladies typically studied abroad in only three fixed places: Mesmer City in the Kalos region, Orange Academy in the Paldea region, and Blueberry Academy overseas in Unova.

None of the first four generations' regions were their first choice; they might go there after spending one or two years elsewhere, but according to Shan Ren, no one had gone directly.

Thus, Zheng Yi's implication was not without reason.

"A journey."

Baimu clicked his tongue. After returning, he'd been so busy.

Although some matters have not been fully resolved, it is not due to his lack of effort, but because more time is needed for them to develop further.

He has done everything he could; what he cannot do is none of his concern.

Perhaps it is time to set out again?

Zhengyi failed to grasp the implication in his tone, and said with a hint of envy: "It's great to be able to travel. I'd love to go out and see the world too. But the Training Center and the Arena both need me."

"There will always be an opportunity."

Baimu patted Zhengyi on the shoulder; having long been a hands-off manager, he could not comprehend the weight resting on Zhengyi's shoulders.

But he knew that a trainer like Zhengyi, who repeatedly challenged Bartlas, lost badly yet never gave up, always thinking how to win back, could never abandon responsibilities that mattered more than many cherished things.

Telling Zhengyi to abandon everything and travel was the act of someone speaking from comfort, without feeling the burden.

"I hope so."

Zhengyi forced a smile, filled with melancholy.

In an instant.

The morning after the second battle exchange ended.

Zhengyi joyfully knocked on Baimu's door, and upon seeing him, burst into laughter and hugged him: "Baimu! I'm free!"

"Huh?"

Baimu, packing to return to Huang Tie Town, stared blankly.

"Master Bartlas agreed to take care of the Training Center and the Arena for me! Hahaha! Now I can finally honor my master's wishes and travel without guilt!"

Zhengyi winked and squinted, so excited he couldn't help bouncing in place, just like his Sunflora.

This guy has become a hands-off manager too.

Baimu didn't know how to respond, and asked: "So where are you planning to travel?"

"Kanto!"

Zhengyi said without hesitation: "My master is from Kanto. He came to the Orre region with his family when he was young, and never returned. I want to go back for him."

After saying this, his eyes suddenly lit up: "And maybe I'll meet the Elite Four and the Champion! Five people who hold both Elite Four and Champion titles across two regions must be incredibly strong!"

Baimu added: "Don't forget the Gym Leaders."

"Oh right! The Gym Leaders too!"

"Don't forget to visit the Viridian Gym—it still hasn't found a suitable Gym Leader. Right now, it's being temporarily filled by former Elite Four member Granny Jus."

"Perfect! Since you know so much about it, why don't we go to Kanto together?" Zhengyi issued a team-up invitation.

He immediately refused: "No, I have my own plans."

Why would I go to Kanto for no reason? Look up Professor Oak?

Zhengyi was deeply disappointed—he had hoped that traveling with Baimu would mean daily battles.

That would be awesome!

Unfortunately, the plan fell through.

——

After the second battle exchange ended.

Baimu endured several more days of the strange life where people came knocking, begging to study under him.

Some parents, for reasons unknown, had traveled to Platinum Mountain to find him—and wandered into uncultivated fields, only to be surrounded by wild Pokémon.

Fortunately, Bastiodon noticed in time, preventing their vehicles from being torn apart.

Interestingly,

Although they damaged no crops, they ended up voluntarily compensating with three crates of fresh berries and dozens of saplings.

Baimu certainly didn't want to accept them, but by the time he learned of it, the berries had already been shared by Bastiodon with the wild Pokémon, and all the seeds and saplings had been planted.

Too many similar incidents had occurred recently; Bastiodon now had a conditioned response.

Since the deed was done, he told Bastiodon that from now on, if anyone brought gifts—anything at all—they were to be refused outright.

"Grrrr!"

Bastiodon realized it might have done something wrong, and obediently agreed.

Lately, it had been riding high.

The once barren Dashan was turning green at a visible pace, day by day—no longer the desolate, patchy wasteland of a few scattered shrubs.

Its territory had become so vibrant that it forgot the growing number of wild Pokémon both on and below the mountain.

"Have all the third batch of wild Pokémon been guided here?"

"Yes, thank you, Baimu."

"The one who worked hard isn't me—it's you and these self-reliant wild Pokémon, the ones willing to labor for survival. No one in this world has the right to point fingers!"

"I understand. I'll come find you again once the final batch arrives."

"Alright."

The trainer's conversation with the green-haired man didn't register with Bastiodon—it had previously accompanied the trainer to a place called Pokémon Paradise.

The trainer loved that place; Bastiodon did not.

Too many Pokémon. Everywhere you looked, mountains and fields teemed with them, each louder than the last—nowhere near as quiet and beautiful as its own territory.

Bastiodon had great confidence in Platinum Mountain.

The trainer went there to discuss with the green-haired man the placement of stray wild Pokémon, saying they planned to guide them toward Platinum Mountain.

Another group of neighbors?

Bastiodon knew the trainer wouldn't let those Pokémon stay permanently on Platinum Mountain—only gradually relocate them to nearby mountains.

Fortunately, the lake there provided ample water, and the surrounding mountains were no longer utterly barren.

Lugia's storm changed too much.

Much greater and more incredible changes will surely occur in the future.

Bonsly is very eager to see what the Platinum Mountain will become on its next return.

Yes.

As Baimu's closest companion, it knows its trainer is barely holding back the urge to leave the Ore Region and continue its journey.

While a peaceful life is certainly wonderful, the days it spent traveling through Hoenn are equally cherished in its memory.

Over these past two days, whenever it looks up at the moon, it recalls how the moon seen in Hoenn differs from the one seen in Ore.

Occasionally, it dreams of itself on the balcony, chatting with Swampert, listening to Shiny Milotic sing.

Why?

Is it dissatisfied with its current life? These are the very lands and plants it once longed for.

Bonsly knows it's not that at all—life doesn't offer so many simple multiple-choice questions; Platinum Mountain is indeed its dream home.

But Baimu's side is also its home.

It wants both.

——

The Yellow Arsenic Tower's ranking is stuck at eighth place.

The reason is that the opponents it faced were all ranked too low; winning them granted invisible points insufficient to push it forward quickly.

Those ranked higher seem to have left the Yellow Arsenic Tower; the most active trainers lately are no higher than thirty-first.

He always avoids competing against Baimu, probably fearing too many losses.

In that case,

the only way to climb further is to accumulate matches over time.

Baimu grew unwilling.

Especially after discovering the simulator would soon finish cooling, he abandoned his original plan to challenge Eltis within a month and decided to wait until he returned later.

Eltis, upon hearing this news, let out a huge sigh of relief.

He had intended to use Baimu's strength to attract more trainers to the Yellow Arsenic Tower for ranking battles—but guess what happened?

Everyone got scared away!

Baimu's promotion speed was simply too fierce; others took months to reach the ranks he surged into within days, and he nearly always won 3-0, shattering the morale of countless trainers.

Some among the top ten left voluntarily to seek adventures elsewhere; others were scared off.

Those below them also vanished somewhere.

This is probably what they call "trying to be clever and ending up making a mess"?

As a result, every time Baimu brought trainers from Huang Tie Town to feast and drink, Eltis felt intense pain—even though this money was nothing to him.

But whenever he thought of the "damage" Baimu had done to the Yellow Arsenic Tower's ranking, Eltis felt pain even seeing him take a sip of the tower's water.

He truly wished he could send this plague away quickly.

Of course, he considered stepping in himself to fight Baimu and end this miserable situation—but that would violate the ranking rules.

How could a boss break his own established rules?

Besides, this guy doesn't look like someone who'd disappear from the Yellow Arsenic Tower after one fight.

It's infuriating!

Fortunately, after the higher-ranked trainers fled, Baimu—who could no longer advance—seemed to give up on the Yellow Arsenic Tower; for a moment, Eltis didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Thus,

Baimu's somewhat hasty journey through the Yellow Arsenic Tower came to a temporary close.

Full of anticipation, he opened the simulator and began preparing for the possible Orange Talent simulation.

"Come on! Give me something good this time!"