Chapter 1053: Battling the Top Champion

"... Chairwoman Geeta."

All Baimu's body paused slightly, and he turned to bow in greeting.

As one of the final boss suspects, Geeta leaning over suddenly made his scalp tingle.

But he knew very well that so far, there was no conflict of interest between the two sides; even if Geeta really had a problem, she couldn't possibly attack him in public.

It was purely his own persecution delusion acting up.

Geeta smiled: "The Champion has been in Paldea for almost a month, right? What is your impression of Paldea?"

"You can just call me by my name."

All Baimu responded politely: "Paldea's natural scenery is very beautiful, the wild Pokémon are both cute and full of vitality, and there are many species, everywhere, which fully shows the League's diligent maintenance of nature."

"Hearing your evaluation of Paldea is so high, I am relieved."

Geeta said softly: "Logically speaking, the Champion of Orre is visiting, and as the League Chairwoman, I should have done my duty as a host.

"But I think you would rather adventure on this land yourself than have polite exchanges? So I haven't bothered you."

"The Chairwoman's words are exactly right."

He was almost won over by these words.

Compared to formal meetings with upper-level League figures, he indeed preferred to walk around on the ground, feeding and touching wild Pokémon he hadn't seen before.

Geeta smiled slightly: "I won't bother you watching the exchange battle anymore. If there is a chance in the future, why don't we have a battle? After all, besides being the League Chairwoman, I am also the Top Champion of Paldea."

"Definitely!"

All Baimu was full of interest; no matter what Geeta's identity was, her strength as the Top Champion wouldn't change.

It had a higher gold content than a certain runner-up in Galar next door.

The exchange battle continued.

The remaining Elite Four appeared one after another, including the Flying-type Elite Four, Larry, who hadn't appeared last time.

Unlike the other four who were full of energy, he looked particularly sleepy, his shoulders drooping and eyelids drooping, as if he could fall asleep at any time.

However.

All Baimu always felt he was very much like the protagonist Goro in "The Solitary Gourmet" who looked for food everywhere.

From Nemona, he learned that Larry not only served as a Gym Leader but was also an administrative staff member of the Paldea League's business department.

In other words, this strong man with a heavy corporate slave style had three jobs!

"—Does he like working very much?"

All Baimu couldn't find any other reason.

It couldn't be that he was short of money!

The Paldea League was a sweatshop, and even the Elite Four and Gym Leaders couldn't get enough salary.

Nemona spread her hands: "I'm not very clear either."

She had no interest in these kinds of things.

Dragon-type Elite Four Hassel was a very emotional person, and All Baimu, who had taken art classes, wasn't unfamiliar with him.

The two had exchanges after class.

When he learned that All Baimu was a descendant of the Draconids of Hoenn, Hassel was very pleasantly surprised.

Because the history teacher of Naranja Academy, Raifort, had told him that the Draconids of various regions were one family eight hundred years ago, and had instigated him to ask the contemporary Dragon Tamer clan leader—the location of the Draconid ruins.

Why ask this?

Of course, it was for scientific adventure! It wasn't grave robbing, was it?

It was a pity that Hassel had a very bad relationship with his father, and the ruins and so on naturally came to nothing.

But after his knowledge expanded, Hassel was very kind to All Baimu, this distant relative, and often sent messages asking him to return to school for class.

Something like—'Treasure hunting is indeed interesting, but you must also pay attention to your studies!'

Quite awkward.

Ryme, that pit-maker, loved to make trouble.

Fortunately, the difficulty of the courses was very low, otherwise All Baimu would have to consider repeating a grade.

"I'm going!"

While chatting, Nemona went out to battle, teaming up with Grusha to face the young girl Elite Four, Poppy.

The little girl used big Pokémon—

Copperajah and Tinkaton.

Among them, the pink-toned Tinkaton holding a giant hammer was very cute, especially the twin-tail element, which reminded All Baimu of Mawile.

The two had the same attributes, and although there were differences in characteristics, being able to wield such a big hammer, the physical attack must be very high, right?

When Tinkaton used 【Gigaton Hammer】 to smash the flat ground, All Baimu increased his suspicion.

A substitute for Mega Mawile?

But soon this thought was dispelled.

Tinkaton, wielding a giant hammer, couldn't take down Grusha's Weavile in one move, and it used the Fairy-type 【Play Rough】.

"A bit far off."

He shook his head.

If Mega Mawile came, even if it wasn't the current level 90 boss panel, it could still punch through Weavile, this big crispy skin, with one punch.

The battle finally ended with the victory of Nemona and Grusha.

The reason lay in the Quaxwell's evolution on the spot.

After evolving, it gained the Fighting attribute, gave Copperajah a heavy blow through 【Low Sweep】, and while Weavile used 【Thief】 to steal the giant iron hammer, it entangled Tinkaton through 【Aqua Step】.

Sacrificing itself gave Weavile a chance, and after Tinkaton Terastallized into a Steel type, it defeated it with one 【Reversal】 at the last moment.

"Thanks to you!"

Nemona giggled and wanted to award the MVP to All Baimu, reasoning that it was only possible because they had battled and sharpened their skills every day.

Quaxwell would absolutely not have been able to evolve into Quaquaval so quickly.

What could All Baimu say?

What surprised him even more was that the opportunity to battle Geeta came immediately.

After the exchange battle ended, Nemona discussed with him privately, stating that due to the extraordinary danger of the Great Crater of Paldea, entering it normally required the League's permission.

Although they could choose to smuggle in, the gate was next to Cascarrafa, but she believed they could apply for it.

"But we were invited down by Professor Turo; is it necessary to get permission again?"

All Baimu instinctively didn't want Geeta to know their whereabouts.

Nemona insisted that it was best to explain to the League, so that if they encountered trouble they couldn't solve after entering Area Zero, they could ask the League for help.

"..."

He fell into thought.

Was what Nemona said reasonable?

It certainly was.

She, a Champion-level Trainer, belonged to the Paldea League, and thought it was normal to report.

Then how did the game protagonist go down?

... Smuggling?

All Baimu remembered the skills Miraidon mastered like gliding, high jump, and climbing, as if each one was prepared for it to climb over mountains.

He didn't hesitate too long and agreed: "Fine, let's do as you say, but who should we apply to?"

"Chairwoman Geeta!"

Nemona's answer was without hesitation.

All Baimu: "..."

After notifying the other two of this news, they all received replies of agreement.

As well as the strong declaration that if the League didn't agree, they would smuggle in, among which Arven's belief was the strongest.

Therefore.

After Nemona found Geeta and brought this up.

On the second day after the exchange battle ended, the four were invited to the League headquarters next to Mesagoza to meet with Geeta.

The headquarters was unexpectedly empty, and the person responsible for reception or "testing" at the front desk was Rika.

Wearing glasses, she wanted to act deep to fool a few people, but after being exposed by Nemona, she brought them in with a smile.

"Rika-Mao Jie is just joking with you~ little Nemona can't hold a grudge, Rika-Mao Jie can't stand your pestering."

Rika put on a lingering fear look.

Nemona sighed helplessly: "Don't be like this... my reputation was ruined by you guys."

She felt that she couldn't find any opponents other than All Baimu, which had a lot to do with the persecution by Rika and others.

Isn't it just challenging the League a few more times?

Top floor office.

Geeta and several other Elite Four were present, and she smiled: "I have already understood the specific situation. Is Professor Turo inviting you to enter the Great Crater of Paldea?"

"That's right."

Nemona looked at the three beside her and nodded without a doubt.

Geeta lowered her eyes: "Fine, I can allow you and All Baimu to enter the Great Crater of Paldea together."

Eh?

All Baimu frowned and said: "Chairwoman Geeta, Arven is Professor Turo's child, and Penny is an expert who can help us dismantle the computer system. The four of us are indispensable."

Geeta showed an apologetic expression: "All Baimu, I can understand your thoughts, but it's a pity that ordinary people really can't enter Area Zero."

Rika said: "The dangerous Pokémon inhabiting there haven't even had their ecosystem clarified yet, and if you aren't strong enough, it's easy to have an accident."

In fact, there had already been an accident.

Arven turned his head guiltily; Mabosstiff's encounter was the pain of his life.

"Even for researchers, there are quite a lot of restrictions that require permission. For example, this student Arven's parents, Professor Turo and Professor Sada."

Geeta's smile was peaceful, not making people anxious.

Penny was nervous but gathered her courage and said: "Geeta, Chairwoman, we can take care of ourselves!"

Arven nodded vigorously.

"With me here, they won't have any problems." All Baimu said firmly, and Nemona responded beside him.

Geeta lowered her eyes, her fingers tapping on the desktop: "Since you all say so, then... please prove it to me."

"Prove?"

"That's right, prove that you have the ability to protect yourselves."

Geeta smiled: "Continuing the rules of the exchange battle, one of you teams up with another, and has a double battle with me, the Top Champion. If you win all of them, it's fine."

Proving they could protect the other person through a double battle.

All Baimu and the others looked at each other, didn't hesitate much, and agreed, but didn't start the battle immediately.

Nemona wanted to agree directly.

But All Baimu thought that practicing coordination with a partner and designing tactics was also very important.

Geeta didn't refuse, full of the confidence of a Top Champion.

——

Back at school.

The four communicated about the combination problem.

To win both groups, it must be two Champions paired with two "bronzes".

Nemona wanted to pair men and women, but Arven insisted on being in a group with his best friend.

They had to split into two male and two female groups.

All Baimu didn't care; he was already prepared to take on two, but he was worried about Nemona.

"What was your win rate when you battled Chairwoman Geeta before?"

"Win rate? Four-six."

Nemona said the answer that made All Baimu rejoice.

It seemed Geeta was indeed stronger than Nemona, but not to the extent of opening up a huge gap.

However, Geeta had Pokémon of all attributes, so the selection of the two was hard to decide.

The four discussed based on the information Nemona knew.

Finally, after formulating tactics and practicing a few times, they set foot on the road to challenge the Top Champion of Paldea.

The battle field was on the roof of the headquarters, where you could see the gray-rock-colored peaks surrounding the crater, cold and stern like guards.

Geeta silently put on azure gloves and said to All Baimu and the others: "Before we start, I must apologize to you.

"For Pokémon battles, I cannot make any compromises."

She cast a scorching gaze.

At this instant.

All Baimu suddenly felt that Geeta couldn't be the final villain BOSS.

How could a Trainer who demanded strict self-discipline for competitive battles be an ambitious villain?

This was the resonance between Trainer and Trainer.

Looking at the villains of past generations created by GF, few were pure Trainers.

All Baimu and Arven stepped forward, the two responsible for leading the charge.

First, to wear down Geeta's energy, and second, to give confidence to the combination of Penny and Nemona.

"Are you ready?"

He turned to ask Arven.

Arven gripped the Poké Ball and nodded vigorously: "Ooh!"

As the words fell.

Both sides released their Pokémon.

Geeta chose Glimmora and Espathra, both Pokémon unique to Paldea.

All Baimu chose Blissey, and Arven chose Garganacl.

"Glimmora..."

He looked at the somewhat eerie Pokémon.

Geeta said: "Glimmora is a Pokémon from Area Zero; in the outside world, you can at most see its initial form—Glimmet."

"She... the Chairwoman is right, All Baimu."

Arven recognized it; although this type of Pokémon hadn't harmed Mabosstiff, it had scared Arven, who was helpless at the time, quite a bit.

The two sides didn't have much exchange.

They chose to start the battle at the first opportunity.

Geeta ordered: "Glimmora! Use Mortal Spin on Blissey! Espathra! Use Feather Dance on Garganacl!"

All Baimu: "Light Screen!"

"Garganacl, use Salt Cure!" Arven's voice was the most urgent.

Among the four Pokémon, Espathra started at the first opportunity.

It lunged at Garganacl like a galloping ostrich, its wide wings flapping continuously.

"Guli~ Guli~"

Pure white feathers fell.

Garganacl was dizzy from the noise, spinning in place but unable to catch up with the other side at all.

Blue light shone, and its physical attack was greatly reduced.

The ready-to-go Salt Cure missed, unable to hit the agile Espathra at all.

"Happy..."

Blissey didn't rush, its small hands shook to summon a translucent wall, and facing the flying Glimmora, it took the initiative to lean toward Garganacl's side.

"Furo~"

Glimmora's tail bloomed like a flower, rushing toward Blissey quickly, spraying a large amount of poison.

However.

At the moment the two sides made contact.

A glimmer of light appeared in Blissey's small hands, connecting it and Garganacl.

"Happy!"

Radiance flowed, and the rotating Glimmora crashed into Blissey.

【Mortal Spin】.

Poison-type physical attack.

It could allow Glimmora to break free from restraints while inflicting a poisoned state on the opponent.

But Blissey wasn't hit.

Nemona said excitedly: "It's Skill Swap!"

Arven's Garganacl's ability was 【Purifying Salt】, which wouldn't fall into an abnormal state, and at the same time, the Ghost-type attack received was halved.

All Baimu perceived this point, and had Blissey approach Garganacl in advance to complete the Skill Swap.

"Not bad, not bad."

Geeta was full of pleasure and continued to order: "Glimmora, Earth Power! Espathra, Lumina Crash! Focus fire on Garganacl!"

The so-called persimmon should be pinched from the soft one.

Garganacl, which clearly couldn't keep up with the other three Pokémon, became the breakthrough point of the match.

Arven gritted his teeth and shouted without showing weakness: "Protect!"

"Hum!"

Garganacl's eyes shone, and it propped up a fluorescent blue shield.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1054 =====