Chapter 1008

No change?

Really no change?

Baimu looked lying down, looked prone, looked standing up, even looked jumping up — the level reward was still Level 7.

"This—"

Wasted my anticipation!

He grabbed the three-headed Hydreigon beside him by the ruff of petal-like neck fur and yanked it back and forth.

"Aaah!"

"Shred? Shred?"

The three-headed Hydreigon looked innocent and panicked, causing the shiny Gengar that wanted to step forward to quietly halt.

It turned its head and whistled, pretending it hadn't seen, to avoid bringing trouble on itself.

The tugging lasted a full half minute.

Only then did Baimu recover from the reward not having increased.

Although the current one is already a huge gain, what if later I'm just short by this one or two levels?

Simulator! You're too despicable!

He casually shook the dragon fur from his fingers, ignored the three-headed Hydreigon's pitiful expression, and sat back on the recliner to look up info on his phone.

The nurse's story always felt not quite fabricated, but the epilogue felt too general, with a kind of glossed-over feeling.

Following the list of Unova Icirrus Conference winners down the line...

Found it!

"Yukie. That name sounds pretty nice? Founder of the famous Unova private Nace Hospital, Chairwoman of the Pokémon Nurse Private Education Group, Director of the famous chain breeding base Lessage... ah~"

Baimu more or less understood.

The simulated person is real, the simulated story is real, the fictional part is only in the last little segment.

Simply put, the nurse didn't inherit the Elite Four position, and might not have even participated in the Champion League.

She just opened a hospital with her family's help, and took in many abandoned Pokémon.

In a certain sense, this is actually the choice more in line with the nurse's original aspiration.

Baimu searched some more.

Sure enough, he found the nurse's interview program and the nurse's autobiography; many celebrities like writing autobiographies, Rokomoko wrote one too.

In the program.

The nurse in her forties had a gentle smile, wearing a proper suit.

He watched it silently to the end, then went to check related autobiographies, obtaining several important pieces of information.

One, the nurse actually obtained a nursing license.

Her family initially wanted her to inherit the school, and secretly hid it away, never expecting she'd later cause such a huge commotion.

Two, she indeed didn't inherit the Elite Four position.

But during the Alliance's battle against Team Plasma, she found ways to provide a series of assistance, so that Alder didn't leave the Alliance like in the game.

Yes.

In the anime, Alder stayed in the Alliance from start to finish, and never had the situation of a partner being seriously injured.

"Fictional... fictional..."

Baimu's fingers tapped on the armrest.

Actually it might not be fictional; perhaps it's a parallel world?

Pokémon has many parallel worlds; even in the games they're divided into the Mega Evolution universe and the ordinary universe without Mega Evolution.

In the Omega Ruby Alpha Sapphire plot.

Devon Corporation attempted to warp the giant meteor to another world; that other world is the ordinary universe where the original Ruby and Sapphire take place.

Forget it, don't think so much!

Baimu shook his head, turning his attention to the two memory rewards.

Last time the reward was Dragon Pokémon breeding; this time it's exclusive Blissey breeding.

And this nursing experience.

Big Egg would definitely be very happy if she knew.

Too bad, simulated memories can't be transferred to Pokémon like moves and levels...

On a whim, Baimu found the Blissey in the living room watching TV with a pile of Pokémon, and patted its head.

Huh?

Seems it works!

He looked at the confirmation popup in the void, and under the Blissey's bewildered expression and the other Pokémon's astonished and envious gazes, he pressed No.

It was still early before night.

Making the Blissey fall asleep directly wouldn't be too good.

After Baimu left.

The Pokémon who had a concept of "Immortal's Crown Blessing" surrounded the Blissey, asking about its feeling.

"Happy?"

The Blissey rubbed its face in confusion, and didn't perceive any change in its body.

Didn't give it?

Although this thought is a bit despicable, but great!

Gengar and Porygon2 exchanged a relieved look, then deliberately avoided looking at the three-headed Hydreigon with its stern expression.

"How about it?"

"Everyone's competing fair and square!"

"Slurp..."

The Hydreigon watched Gengar and Porygon2, those two scheming fellows, and knew full well its prey had been targeted.

Make a move openly?

Given the Trainer's temper, that would only let a third party profit from his rage.

The Hydreigon put its wise brain to work, thinking it absolutely had to find an ally as well.

Against those two crafty old foxes, Gengar and Porygon2, going it alone would be far too disadvantageous.

But who to look for...

Munchlax?

No, its odds of winning were much greater than its own.

Find Druddigon?

No good either, this guy's only fierce to strangers, fundamentally a total coward.

Find Steelix!

The Hydreigon realized the Steelix it had once battled was actually a suitable candidate to win over.

"Slurp!"

It hurriedly flew off down the mountain to find Steelix.

Blissey blinked, understanding what its companions were up to.

But it didn't care.

For one, there was no need; for two, it trusted the Trainer.

The Trainer definitely had his own arrangements, absolutely no need for everyone to worry blindly.

Outside the house.

The Hydreigon screamed as it charged down the mountain to find Steelix.

"What's gotten into it?"

Baimu turned his head doubtfully to ask Porygon2 and Gengar, the latter two shaking their heads in unison to indicate they didn't know.

Galarian Corsola yawned rather boredly.

"Yawn~"

Drawn by the yawn, Baimu reached out and patted it.

"Tsk, can't learn Yawn."

Another stuck move; earlier Yamano had helped him unload a batch, but some skills are just truly tricky.

Like String Shot.

This move, the very first one obtained, remains in storage to this day, tougher than taffy; who knows which Pokemon will be so lucky in the future.

Baimu pulled out his phone and scrolled through his blog, suddenly feeling a wave of warmth beside him.

"Ghehe~"

Gengar grinned a huge face, cradling the warm little sun.

"No need, go play, I'm fine sunbathing." He patted Gengar's head.

The latter went wild with joy, but the corners of its mouth soon drooped again.

Just an ordinary pat.

Gengar's eyeballs rolled, swapping the little sun for a game console; when the console didn't work it swapped again, and again, and again.

Baimu: "..."

What on earth does this gray fatty want to do?

He pressed down on Gengar's head and said sternly: "If you have business, present it; if not, withdraw. Understand?"

Gengar didn't speak; Porygon2 spoke up first.

"It wants to, um, well, um, we both want to improve too badly."

Porygon2, which can even fabricate Pokemon Speak, couldn't string together a complete sentence right now.

So nervous its voice grew quieter and quieter.

Gengar's head also sank lower and lower along with Porygon2's voice.

The reason was none other than this.

This is the Trainer's biggest secret.

Other Pokemon aren't clear on it, but those two absolutely don't count as idiots.

Some things the Trainer never tells anyone, always doing quietly without a sound — definitely doesn't want people to know.

However...

They want to improve too badly!

The limelight of the finals has pretty much all been hogged by the first few; clearly everyone's the Trainer's Pokemon, why can't they become the protagonists!

Especially Gengar; it had barely re-mastered Mega Evolution, yet at such an important occasion as the quarter-finals, it couldn't take the field because Entei came out.

The gray fatty was unwilling to accept it.

"Ghe, ghega!"

It can negotiate too, it can be the ace too!

Baimu looked at Gengar, then at Porygon2 in his phone, understanding what those two were up to.

Although most of the time he uses this book to put on a show, mainly to guard against ears or eyes through the wall, he wasn't prepared to guard against his own Pokemon.

It was unexpected that the level rewards would attract attention, genuinely surprising him.

"Hiss—"

A roar came from afar.

The three-headed evil dragon charged forward, kicking up dust and smoke behind it.

Undoubtedly, this was the commotion caused by the arrival of the giant steel snake; its normal swift movement produced such a sound.

Since the activity territory expanded, the steel snake rarely flies; as a ground-type Pokémon, staying close to the ground feels more natural.

The three-headed evil dragon originally intended to bump into the trainer, but suddenly sensed something was off.

"Hmm—"

The Ha Long Dragon lowered its volume.

You provoked him?

The three-headed evil dragon stared at the Gastly, who awkwardly turned his head.

I hadn't planned to reveal my hand now, but I was genuinely nervous—when nervous, I tend to overact, and overacting led to the self-destruction of the Dual Beast II.

Quite embarrassing.

"Huh?"

What's going on?

The steel snake didn't understand; upon hearing the three-headed evil dragon say the trainer wanted them to grow stronger, it came.

Baimu looked at the four Pokémon staring at each other, then lay back and said: "I've figured it out—you all have hidden motives."

Having been a trainer for two years, or perhaps if he had encountered a similar situation the previous year, he might have found it difficult to handle.

Now he won't.

What is a trainer?

A trainer is both the elder of the group and the core of the team.

If they were all on the same boat, he would be the one deciding the direction, commanding the sailors as the captain.

Gastly and Dual Beast II wanting to grow stronger makes him relieved.

But once a plan is set, it won't change arbitrarily—only then will their boat not get lost.

"Don't rush; what's yours will eventually be yours."

Baimu soothed Gastly and Dual Beast II.

He never paints false hopes.

Gastly felt slightly discouraged, but seeing the trainer's firm attitude, his mindset gradually stabilized.

Dual Beast II relaxed, as long as the trainer wasn't angry.

It was actually aiming for the next wave—who knew Gastly would charge ahead blindly, a complete hothead!

He nearly got killed.

The steel snake, clueless from start to finish, was driven off; the three-headed evil dragon...

"You brat, always pulling some stunt—why did you call the steel snake here? Want to start a brawl, huh?"

Facing Baimu's sneer, the three-headed evil dragon had no defense.

It only wanted to find an ally to avoid being isolated and weak!

"Originally, I planned to pair you with Big Mouth Baby, but now just wait a bit."

Baimu issued a cold judgment: "I want you to serve as Big Mouth Baby's punching bag until it masters its new power."

The three-headed evil dragon trembled.

Sun Coral showed no concern.

Gastly, the culprit, remained uninvolved; Dual Beast II dared not speak; the steel snake, even after descending the mountain, remained dazed.

Fortunately, it had nothing else—just many underlings; a group of stone-headed ones gave it a random analysis.

The steel snake understood.

"Hiss!!"

Used as a pawn again!

Three-headed evil dragon! I'll never coexist with you!

The furious roar echoed across half of Platinum Mountain; the three-headed evil dragon, dragged to the training field, sneezed repeatedly.

"Tsk! Tsk! Woo~ Hiss-hmm~"

"Stop pretending to have a cold to look pitiful!"

Baimu sternly said: "Today I must correct your habit of liking internal conflict!"

Not demanding the Pokémon unite in friendship—at least stop fighting each other.

In animations, Ash's Pokémon often quarrel, triggering a series of story plots.

Even Pokémon run away from home.

When he was young, watching this made him anxious.

Now, having officially become a trainer, he realizes some situations truly cannot be avoided.

Not to mention different Pokémon species—even the same type will argue and fight; the Dragon Sisters often quarrel, though they reconcile after one night.

"Tsk-doo."

Big Mouth Baby radiated energy.

It had actually been looking forward to this day for quite a while; the three-headed evil dragon's intentions were clear to the smart ones.

Simply because they trusted the trainer, they didn't compete.

The recent minor upgrade once excited Big Mouth Baby, but unfortunately fell short of its expectations.

Should be fine today, right?

It looked up at Baimu.

Baimu placed his hand on Big-Mouthed Baby's head, and amid the envious gazes of the Pokemon, selected the level to raise it to.

Straight to Level 90!

Come on!

The level-up process was silent and soundless, but Big-Mouthed Baby could clearly feel the earth-shaking changes inside its body.

A dozen or so levels' increase — in the games it might just be a few dozen stat points.

But in the anime.

It symbolized a Pokemon reaching the eve of its life's limit.

After all, even the top-tier Legendary Pokemon generally only stay around Level 90.

"Chi dong!!"

Big-Mouthed Baby's eyes were exceptionally bright; its gaze swept over the Pokemon, finally landing on Bastiodon.

This sandbag Hydreigon couldn't satisfy it.

If we're fighting, fight the strongest!

The hardest!

"Gu hou."

Bastiodon met Big-Mouthed Baby's gaze and nodded slightly in agreement.

The Ace never fears a challenge!

An unexpected Ace throne defense battle began between Baimu's Pokemon; since only one Pokemon could Mega Evolve, they both tacitly didn't do so.

Fair! Just! Open!

"Sa sa..."

Hydreigon drooled enviously.

This was originally its line, its performance stage.

Ruined.

Completely ruined.

Haxorus was utterly heartbroken.

Shiny Minun cheered lazily for Big-Mouthed Baby and Bastiodon; today it had too much ice water, head a bit dizzy.

Mega Steelix glared at Hydreigon, deciding to drag this guy up and beat it after Big-Mouthed Baby and Bastiodon finished.

Otherwise it couldn't swallow this anger.

Duraludon hid sneakily under a tree, crunching on a bag of potato chips.

Recently started getting used to Platinum Silver Mountain, invisibility frequency decreased.

"Miao ao~"

Alolan Meowth swaggered in with a bunch of underlings to watch; wearing a tiger's skin as the big boss, it couldn't help but show off its "strength" to the underlings.

Dragon Pillar arrived silently.

It wanted to get close to this group of Pokemon under Baimu, but could never fit in.

Had to show up at every group activity to increase its presence.

The Three Pillars were scattered around Platinum Silver Mountain; the wild Pokemon that Lei Gong migrated over weren't settling down, needed them to help suppress.

Electric Pillar...

It went to steal electricity.

This guy, relying on its speed, had gone to Yellow Iron Town to steal electricity before.

Caught by Baimu, scolded and beaten, understood it couldn't go to human settlements, couldn't touch human creations.

So it started chasing the rain clouds made by Lugia mother and child, obtaining lightning from them.

Actually Regieleki isn't that lacking in electricity.

It's just too bored, wants to exercise; after exercising its stomach's hungry, so naturally...

Anyway, on the road to becoming Ore-ki-observatory, Regieleki walks further and further.