Chapter 104

As if destined by fate.

The Gulpin could indeed learn the 【Pass】 move, fulfilling Baimu's vision of balanced distribution.

When he infused the new moves into the three Pokémon, they naturally reacted—their bodies' subconscious instincts activated the moves on their own.

"Roar—"

The Machamp was enveloped in swirling brown-red steam, as if radiating intense heat from its surface, and as it charged forward, it rolled onward like a steamroller, rumbling heavily.

Choking dust soared into the sky.

When it cleared, a long, deep groove was plainly visible on the ground.

On the other side, the Jigglypuff's eyes glowed blue as a tremendous pressure radiated from its body, imposing terrifying weight upon the air.

The Gulpin, caught off guard, crashed heavily to the ground.

As it tried to rise, its body was suddenly wrapped in a white halo, then transformed into a beam of white light that shot back into the Poké Ball Baimu had already raised.

"Brute Force, Gravity, and Pass—that's about it."

He released the Gulpin again and said to the three Pokémon: "With diligent practice, speed, range, and other aspects will improve."

The Machamp and the others responded softly, showing they understood.

Mastering new moves was exciting for both Trainer and Pokémon; though the Gulpin felt slight regret for failing to learn an offensive move, it still believed it was better than nothing.

Moreover, 【Pass】 could transfer the 【Electro Float】 status to teammates.

The Machamp would need it badly.

After all, the Trainer had assigned it a course to learn 【Electro Float】, since large, heavy Pokémon desperately needed to compensate for their lack of mobility—perhaps by mastering numerous high-power, long-range moves.

Compared to that, learning moves from companions was far simpler, and experiencing them in advance via 【Pass】 could drastically reduce learning time.

What Baimu hadn't expected was that during subsequent training, the Machamp learned another new move—

【Stomp】.

A Ground-type move, its activation was literal: simply lift the foot and stomp down to trigger it, directly striking with impact rather than relying on vibrations or shockwaves.

Its power was also tied, to some degree, to negative emotions: if the previous attack missed, using Stomp would greatly increase its power—harnessing the force of regret.

"You really are a late bloomer."

Baimu patted the Machamp's large head.

Since evolving, it had already learned four new moves—【Self-Destruct】, 【Cannon Shot】, 【Brute Force】, and 【Stomp】.

Each one was a useful move.

不得不说 this big brute's potential was truly extraordinary.

"Roar."

The Machamp beamed, feeling its fortune had turned since evolving.

The other two Pokémon exchanged glances—driven by competitive spirit or unwillingness to drag the team down—and began training harder than ever to learn new moves.

——

After the Battle Tournament ended.

Baimu entered another stretch of peaceful days.

No one came to bother him, and his boss didn't send him to bother others.

The yakuza lifestyle was far duller than he'd expected.

He attended literacy classes, trained his Pokémon, occasionally returned to Qingyi Street to visit neighbors and offer warmth, or went to the bar in his territory for tea.

That's right.

It really was tea.

The bar owner was a tea enthusiast who deliberately bought Galar black tea and often invited Baimu to share it—

Since realizing Baimu wasn't like the old vampires who greedily drained more and more without ever being satisfied, the shop owners on Tongxian Street quickly mended their relationship with him.

Of course, no one dared underestimate this seemingly gentle young man—after all, the man who had once clashed with him was now mining in the underground city.

Another factor that improved their relationship was the private kitchen restaurant Baimu opened.

He initially said he wanted to find something to do and increase his income.

The shop owners assumed he intended to use the restaurant as a front to extract more bribes; whether willing or not, they all showed up to support him, bringing gifts in hand.

But Baimu's cooking was no joke—even the owners of restaurants from District One and Two couldn't help but swallow their tongues when they ate his dishes.

"This reminds me of the Kalos chef I met in my youth—I was lucky enough to taste his food, and I still remember it vividly."

"Kalos? Isn't that a paradise of cuisine?"

"Yes, I wish I could go there someday. I've heard the Johto cuisine is delicious too."

The elderly restaurant owners spoke with deep longing.

But as designated targets of the Sand Team, the bosses wouldn't squeeze these people dry, yet they certainly wouldn't let them leave Huang Tie Town with large sums of money.

So money alone wasn't enough.

Hearing their conversation, Baimu once again understood how many people this cage of Huang Tie Town had trapped, how many lives were deprived of freedom.

"Aren't you going to Kalos too?"

As he daydreamed, Dazhuang whispered beside him.

"Go wash your vegetables!"

He kicked the guy, "Stop yakking and get to work."

Dazhuang's injuries had nearly healed not long ago; upon hearing his boss opened a private kitchen, he came specifically to help out.

Baimu didn't mind extra hands—even if the restaurant only opened a few hours a day. His sister alone, serving as receptionist and helping the Jigglypuff in the kitchen, couldn't handle everything during busy times.

Her inexperience was one reason.

But the main reason was that he had refused help from Chenghong and others.

These guys are way too weak — even among ordinary team members, they're the bottom of the bottom. Raising my strength is the top priority right now.

As for Otsuka, his strength is passable. Even though he lost to Ken once, he's not far from elite team member level. More importantly, I need to keep this guy busy so he doesn't have time to go make trouble for others.

Don't be fooled by how meek he acts in front of me — when he's around other people, he's plenty fierce.

Incidentally, Otsuka has also started attending the literacy class. Unfortunately, he's too old — he never built up proper study habits as a kid — so his progress is worlds apart from All Baimu's, and he often gets frustrated.

"Yo! I'm back again!"

The front door slid open.

Frobo walked in laughing and joking with a few squad leaders from his group, casually found a seat, and said, "The usual, plus an extra order to go for big bro."

"Got it."

All Baimu nodded. "Perfect timing — once I finish your batch, I'm clocking out."

Running a restaurant is naturally a way to earn clean money through legitimate means. It's not as fast as straight-up robbery, but he charges high prices. Plus, ingredient purchasing, prep, and even the restaurant's sanitation are all handled by Otsuka's older sister.

On top of that, he only opens for a fixed three hours every day and takes two days off a week, so overall it's not particularly grueling.

Ever since squad leader Cang Zhi Lang came to patronize the place, the customer base has stabilized, making things even easier.

The income problem was solved.

All Baimu could be much freer and bolder with his Pokémon training, no longer having to count every coin just to get by.

"You really are a genius, kid — just by watching videos, you picked up culinary skills most people can't master in a lifetime." Frobo marveled again.

All Baimu shrugged. "Practice makes perfect."

He doesn't mind at all that his cooking skills are out in the open. After all, he's never cooked for anyone else before — no one could possibly know that his culinary ability skyrocketed overnight.

For people who've never read transmigration or system web novels, they'd never think to associate it with some kind of cheat power.

Talent is talent.

There are always people born who just defy common sense.

Take Frobo, for example. All Baimu had specifically consulted him about whether the cooking skills he'd picked up online could make serious money, and Frobo was the one who helped get the shop set up.

And although Frobo was amazed at how freakishly fast All Baimu picks things up — his talent for languages, Pokémon training, fighting, even cooking all outstanding — he'd also seen people even more absurd.

Compared to them, All Baimu's talent only made people lament how such a good kid couldn't have been born in an ordinary region.