Chapter 841: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Acerola officially announced the end of the Grand Trial.

"Bzzzzzz—"

Regirock stepped out from the pit, buzzing as if still unsatisfied, occasionally accompanied by strange, modulated sounds like "Le-ji-ro."

"Good work. That was truly exaggerated."

Nanu recalled his Alolan Persian, which had fainted in the pit, feeling deeply moved.

Winning one-versus-five wasn't the point.

The point was that Regirock looked as if it hadn't even fought; if it were a more fragile Trainer, they might have been utterly disheartened.

Battling this kid was simply a disaster.

Fortunately, he was just a plain, retired old man with no thoughts of being unable to eat if he lost a battle.

Nanu shuffled over to All Baimu in his slippers, congratulated him on successfully passing the Ula'ula Island Grand Trial, and reached into his pocket.

"As proof of passing, Darkium Z—do you already have one?"

The retired veteran detective keenly caught the change in All Baimu's expression.

He nodded and said, "Yes, I got a Darkium Z from a Totem Raticate. Could you give me an Electrium Z or Steelium Z?"

These two types of Z-Crystals likely weren't guarded by Totem Pokémon, and they were difficult to find, so it was easier to just ask the Island Kahuna directly.

"I see. Sure, I happen to have a Steelium Z in my pocket."

Nanu casually pulled out a deep silver Z-Crystal with a strange cube pattern inside.

The people least lacking in Z-Crystals in the world were perhaps the Island Kahunas.

Hapu on the neighboring Poni Island could even produce a box filled with all eighteen types of Z-Crystals for Ash to choose from; if All Baimu had the 【Villain】 talent, stealing them directly from them would be more efficient.

Nanu had also specifically prepared a Lycanium Z for Ash.

"Thank you."

All Baimu smiled as he took it, then suddenly noticed Nanu and Acerola looking at the sky behind him in surprise.

No.

Not the sky.

He turned around and, on the top of the rocky mountain where the Ruins of Abundance were located, saw Tapu Bulu lying on its side in a concubine-like pose, looking down at them.

The Island Guardian's gaze was naturally directed at Regirock, its tail's cowbell swinging back and forth.

"Clang~ Clang~"

"Bzzzzzz—"

"Stop buzzing, behave yourself on someone else's turf." All Baimu hurriedly recalled Regirock into its ball; the Island Guardians were too sensitive to foreign deities.

Tapu Koko had appeared and demonstrated against the three Legendary Giants, and Tapu Lele was fierce and would start a battle directly; Tapu Bulu looked lazy, but was likely hot-tempered and could explode at any moment to hit Regirock with a Wood Hammer.

That would be an unnecessary conflict.

He had long since lost interest in fighting Island Guardians and couldn't be bothered to create extra trouble.

Even if he won, he couldn't catch them.

Seeing Regirock recalled into its ball, Tapu Bulu lazily got up and left, and Nanu inexplicably felt it was quite interesting.

"Hehe, truly an incredible Pokémon..."

As an Island Kahuna, he knew the nature of his island's guardian deity very well: it wouldn't move unless it was a major event, and even if he begged repeatedly, it wouldn't show up to bless the crops during spring plowing or autumn harvest.

Grand Trial?

What did that have to do with it!

The fact that it actively showed up to observe Regirock proved that Tapu Bulu felt a sense of crisis and was by no means as calm as it appeared.

Thinking of this, the slight negative emotions Nanu had felt from self-mockery were swept away.

So Tapu Bulu also felt uncomfortable with Regirock; that made him feel very comfortable!

Negative emotions wouldn't disappear.

They would only transfer.

——

Afternoon.

All Baimu returned to Melemele Island.

He saw Team Rocket's Meowth looking dejected on the steps of his own door.

Upon getting closer, he could hear it talking to itself.

"To think they'd cast aside Meowth, who shared weal and woe, just to obey that guy, meow!"

"Anyway, Meowth just can't use Dark-type Z-Moves, meow!"

"Too much, meow!"

Hmm?

Having a falling out?

A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth; Team Rocket having internal conflicts and breaking up was a very common plot, happening once or twice every season to pad the episode count.

He couldn't quite remember the situation with their falling out in Alola, so he'd ask first.

However, the fact that Meowth came to find him instead of going to the forest tavern to borrow drinks from Oranguru to drown its sorrows after leaving the Team Rocket base showed that the contact during these days had truly made the Team Rocket trio overlook what he had done in the past.

Tsk tsk tsk.

All Baimu was full of amusement and said, "What's wrong, Meowth?"

"All Baimu! All Baimu, you're finally back, meow!"

Hearing his voice, Meowth ran over as if grabbing a life-saving straw, its tone mixed with excitement and resentment, its paws waving up and down: "Listen to me, meow! Jessie, James, they! They—waa!"

It actually burst into loud sobs, tears streaming down, as aggrieved as could be.

All Baimu and the Rotom Phone were both shocked.

He hurriedly said, "Stop, stop, stop, let's go inside and talk slowly. How long have you been sitting here? Are you hungry? Shall I make you something to eat?"

"Meowth is hungry."

Meowth responded with sobs.

They went inside together.

All Baimu let Meowth wait on the sofa, released his own Pokémon, thought for a moment, took some emergency rations, and poured a glass of Moomoo Milk.

"Please."

"I'm digging in, meow!"

The other party soon buried its head and wolfed down the food; it really was hungry.

Interestingly, Meowth didn't forget to complain to All Baimu while eating, accusing Jessie of eating its ice cream without permission one moment, and blaming James for throwing things around after using them the next.

Then the topic extended to a guy it hated to the extreme—

Alolan Meowth.

This guy appeared out of nowhere, returned to the base with Jessie and James out of nowhere, and became one of them out of nowhere, wanting to replace its position!

Although it acted very smart, it was certain that guy was useless!

When saying this.

Meowth's eyes widened, its pupils shrank, and its expression was particularly distorted.

"I see..."

All Baimu remembered this plot.

In short, that Alolan Meowth that took the initiative to show up was indeed very smart, and the plan it set up caught Pikachu very smoothly.

Unfortunately, Jessie and James were unreliable as usual; the Mimikyu and Mareanie they sent out—one directly turned around and smashed the container catching Pikachu, and the other poisoned its Trainer before it would even move.

Alolan Meowth probably also felt these people were unreliable, secretly stole Meowth's private stash of money, and ran away to Kanto to work for Giovanni's secretary, Matori.

It also had a goal of grabbing Giovanni's knee.

After eating.

Meowth felt much more comfortable all over, and said coyly: "All Baimu~ Thank you, meow~"

"It's nothing, do you want more? I have more here. If you're full, just play around. I'll accompany you back to the base later, and we can have dinner with Bewear and the others," All Baimu waved his hand.

He had missed that pink hugging bear for a few days.

Meowth said in surprise, "Really, meow?"

It hadn't expected All Baimu to help it speak up or anything; it just wanted to find someone to confide in and vent.

Who would have thought All Baimu would be so gentle!

It's really great!

Meowth licked the corner of its mouth, savoring the delicious food, and said out of the blue: "All Baimu! Do you still need Pokémon, meow?"

It quickly showed a fawning expression.

As soon as the words fell.

Before All Baimu could say anything, three pairs of blood-red eyes swept over from behind him, the terrifying murderous aura hidden in the condescending gaze making one's blood run cold.

Meowth lowered its head instantly, cowering: "Meowth didn't say anything, meow."

"Hmph~"

Hydreigon snorted disdainfully.

All Baimu turned his head and patted Hydreigon's big brain, then turned back and smiled: "I don't want to break up your 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' combination. Don't worry, Jessie and James will understand that you are their companion."

"All Baimu~ You're such a good person, meow~"

Meowth was moved to tears, "By the way, what is 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', meow?"

All Baimu gave a thumbs up and laughed heartily: "Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon are a pair of top-tier strategists and tacticians."

"Meow!?"

Meowth was shocked.

So All Baimu appreciated them that much?

After eating several more bowls, the full Meowth wandered around idly.

It first came to the beach outside, found All Baimu practicing Z-Moves with that fierce Hydreigon, and then trained Gengar, so it retreated into the house out of boredom.

"Meowth remembers there's a Milotic-chan with different colored scales~"

Meowth, who was essentially a pervert, looked everywhere for the Shiny Milotic, but couldn't find it after turning around a few times.

And the more it turned, the more panicked it felt.

It always felt like it was being watched by something, but when it turned to look, there was nothing.

Haunted?

Meowth suddenly thought of a possibility, but quickly denied it.

How could All Baimu's house be haunted!

There were such powerful Pokémon guarding inside and out!

So Meowth settled for second best and ran to the bedroom to fawn over Mawile; actually, Mawile fit its aesthetic a bit more than Milotic.

But as a cat spirit, Meowth sensed that Mawile's personality was not easy to get along with, and the battle with Bewear at that time left too deep an impression on it...

Even so.

It still had to go for it!

Meowth not only coveted Mawile's "beauty," but also felt that if it could gain Mawile's favor, All Baimu would also be at its beck and call.

One effort, double the results, wouldn't that be wonderful?

If All Baimu could really become an amazing figure like a World Champion in the future, then his embrace would be comparable to Giovanni's embrace!

Meowth had unrealistic fantasies, and with a blushing face, it came to Mawile, who was watching TV.

"Mawile-chan!"

It suddenly knelt on one knee, took out flowers from who knows where amidst Mawile's confused frown, and shouted loudly: "Please accept Meowth's feelings, meow!"

The bedroom instantly went quiet.

The invisible Dragapult widened its eyes, the Galarian Corsola sleeping on the bed was particularly irritable, and even the Porygon2 clone in the phone was shocked.

Only Mawile's eyes were extremely cold.

"Mawile (Get lost)."

The cold style in the warm room was particularly biting, blowing away the petals and freezing Meowth's heart.

At this moment.

The cold it felt even exceeded being abandoned twice by its first love, Madonna, and despair drew a clown pattern on its face.

The huge blow prompted it to come to the kitchen, wanting to find something to drink to relieve the bitterness in its heart.

Unexpectedly, Meowth met a chubby pink angel here.

The "angel" asked what happened in an incomparably gentle voice, and comforted it with great consideration, making Meowth feel the warmth of home.

"Meow~ Meowth is so bitter, meow~"

Meowth burst into loud sobs again.

When All Baimu and Hydreigon returned from outside, they happened to see Blissey comforting Meowth in an extremely maternal way, and Meowth was sucking on its cat paw like a human baby.

"This is?"

"Confessed to Mawile and failed."

Porygon2 answered the reason very dutifully.

All Baimu's mouth twitched.

This stinky cat!

Although he treated Meowth more generously than Jessie and James, it was also out of childhood filters and because it was a Pokémon.

Confess to Mawile?

Heh!

All Baimu gave Gengar a look, and the latter understood, flew up, and forcibly dragged Meowth to play games, not giving Meowth a chance to harass the girls in the house.

After a simple shower.

He left the beach house with Meowth, intending to send this bad thing away early.

——

Bewear's nest.

Bewear and Stufful were not there, and Wobbuffet sat withered in the pile of fallen leaves, jumping up immediately upon seeing Meowth.

"Wobbuffet!"

"They are still discussing Meowth, meow?"

Meowth was extremely unhappy, and after looking at All Baimu beside it, it immediately had enough confidence.

It walked boldly up the ladder to the tree base.

"Meowth is back, meow!"

However, Jessie and James didn't notice that Meowth had gone out at all; they were busy designing tomorrow's Pikachu capture plan with Alolan Meowth.

When All Baimu reached the second floor, what he saw was Meowth standing by the side, feeling aggrieved.

【That afternoon. Standing like a minion.】

Its expression interpreted everything.

Jessie and James were discussing enthusiastically, and Alolan Meowth, who had seen a group of them in the morning, was lazily pillowing its paws behind its head, crossing its legs, only meowing once in a while, chewing on a berry.

Even so, the two of them still received guidance as if enlightened.

These two were completely eaten up.

"Cough—"

All Baimu was about to cough softly to remind them, but that Alolan Meowth noticed first and tilted its head slightly to look over.

Just one glance.

A bone-chilling cold instantly crawled from Alolan Meowth's spine to the top of its head.

"Meow, meow!"

Huh?

Very keen reaction!

He showed a smile, and Alolan Meowth jumped off the seat instantly.

Unlike the slow-reacting Meowth, it was smart and clever and knew very well what could be provoked and what couldn't; it didn't even dare to approach Bewear's nest originally.

It was thanks to these idiots from Team Rocket, and Bewear went out, that it dared to come in.

Didn't expect that while not seeing Bewear, another equally terrifying one came!

Are they in the same group?

Impossible!

Alolan Meowth's little brain ran wildly, and it raised its paws very naturally on the surface, saying hello: "Meow-ow~"

"It's it! It's this guy, meow! The guy who bullied Meowth, meow!" Meowth pointed at Alolan Meowth with grief and indignation.

Sweat flowed down Alolan Meowth's forehead, but it still maintained its composure and raised its paws, looking like "listen to my sophistry."

Jessie and James also came back to their senses, discovered All Baimu behind, and gave a violent start.

"Bai, All Baimu!"

"Why are you here?"

Fawning smiles appeared on their faces, and they didn't dare to mention what they were doing just now.

All Baimu also acted as if he hadn't heard the plan in their mouths, pointed at Alolan Meowth and said: "Just came back from Ula'ula Island, new member?"

Team Rocket trio chasing Ash to catch Pikachu was the basic logic of the animation world.

Unless they were killed, it was difficult to change their determination.

Anyway, it was impossible to succeed in this life, so let them be clowns if they liked.

"Yes, yes! New member who just joined our Team Rocket! Alolan Meowth!"

James explained hurriedly, and Jessie nodded along. ===== CHAPTER 842 =====