Chapter 147: Divine Brush Paints a Dog

【Your Murkrow evolved into Mr. Mime】

The birth of Mr. Mime seemed to herald that the calligrapher had achieved some small success, so after gifting "Winter" to the pleasantly surprised Xiao Song, she hurried back to Hometown City.

At this moment.

The calligraphy competition had already ended.

The calligrapher had barely arrived when someone told her the result — second place.

Her Praise of Amity poem had lost to a former rival, who, much like her past self, possessed a hand of beautiful, moving script as if copied from a model.

Just as the curator had said, when it came to winning prizes, model-style writing was indeed more advantageous.

【While you are certainly disappointed at not winning first place, you also understand that this is the result of your calligraphy path having only just begun】

Yes.

The calligrapher did not collapse from this setback; on the contrary, her drive to move forward only grew stronger.

Because she knew this achievement belonged solely to herself — the accumulated result of what she had seen and heard during her travels with her Pokémon.

What surprised the calligrapher even more, however, was the curator's evaluation.

【You heard the curator say, "I never expected that in such a short time you could already write such interesting characters — truly impressive. The strokes are admittedly immature, yet one can see a strong heart of gratitude within them. In my view, the emotion you have interpreted is worthy of an award"】

Not winning was naturally because the judges were not limited to the curator alone; the latter's personal taste alone could not sway the outcome.

But for the calligrapher, there was no better evaluation than this — especially coming from the curator who had once told her that her characters were quite boring.

After the praise, however, the curator did not stint on criticism, mainly targeting the calligrapher's temper.

In the calligraphy world, great masters with overbearing arrogance were not uncommon, but then again, publicly tearing up one's own work and hurting a highly respected elder of the circle was, in the end, going too far, and would invite a joint boycott from many renowned figures.

Had it not been for the calligrapher's father mediating behind the scenes, and the curator herself taking the initiative to show understanding before making it public, this matter would hardly have passed over so lightly.

In Sinnoh and indeed the whole world, a person's character was also a hurdle in judging their work.

That the calligrapher failed to win first place in this calligraphy competition might have been partly due to this.

Humility is a human virtue, and the curator hoped the calligrapher would keep it firmly in mind.

The calligrapher could not help but once again sincerely offer thanks and apologies — it was clearly her own responsibility, yet she had made the elderly victim worry so much and run back and forth to relay messages; she truly had no face to show.

"Reincarnation Paradise"

【You once again received the curator's understanding; the latter said she would look forward even more to your future works, and reminded you that the Winter Calligraphy Academy Exhibition was approaching】

【You understand this is an event not to be missed, and begin to consider a theme】

The calligrapher returned to Hometown City not only to hear the competition result with her own ears, but also to challenge the Hometown Gym.

Speaking of which.

The calligrapher and Hometown Gym Leader Mi Ke Li had met several times, mainly at upper-class social gatherings — one was a rising calligraphy star renowned throughout Sinnoh, the other an expert in Pokémon Contests.

Of course, that was the extent of it; the trajectories of their lives had basically little overlap.

But due to the calligraphy craze that had suddenly swept through the gym trainers, when Mi Ke Li met the calligrapher, she used the pretext of performing Contest techniques to seize the chance to obtain her calligraphy copybook.

The calligrapher was happy to oblige — at this stage she only wanted to see more things she had never seen before, and certainly would not refuse.

Thus.

After Smeargle, Mr. Mime, and Luxray took down Mi Ke Li's Pokémon, and accompanied by Mi Ke Li's performance, the calligrapher left behind a calligraphy copybook of extremely unique style.

Why say the style was unique? Because the copybook contained not only traditional Sinnoh ancient script, but also ancient scripts from other regions, added at Mi Ke Li's request.

Fortunately the calligrapher was widely knowledgeable and well-versed in many scripts; otherwise she really would not have been able to satisfy Mi Ke Li's demands.

But the most outrageous part was that Mi Ke Li dared to request specific content for the calligraphy, and the calligrapher actually agreed!

Baimu couldn't help feeling that the calligrapher truly did not fuss over trifles.

——

Leaving Hometown City.

Not long after.

The calligrapher arrived at Veilstone City, situated atop steep rocky mountains. Though it had once been cut off from other towns due to its terrain, lacking exchange.

But with the development of the times, after trains connecting every city across Sinnoh were opened and highways built, outside interaction had been greatly enhanced.

【You have arrived at Veilstone City; the Chongshanjunling have given you a different kind of feeling】

Amid her joy, the calligrapher could not resist finding a spot with a wide view to write.

Only after satisfying her creative urge did she hurry off to the Veilstone Gym to issue her challenge.

Not long after.

【You defeated Veilstone Gym Leader Aily and obtained the Cobble Badge】

Unlike the previous gym leaders, Aily — perhaps because she was younger — was too embarrassed to ask the calligrapher for calligraphy.

The calligrapher figured one Mareep driven was driven, two Mareep driven was driven too, so she left Aily the word "Will." It represented both her vision of heading to Lake Valor to glimpse the third Great Lake, and symbolized Aily's will as a fighting girl to forge ahead.

This delighted Aily immensely — her dojo happened to be missing exactly such a piece of calligraphy to hang on the wall.

Online she often saw those fighting dojos with famous masters' inscriptions — "Heart," "Ultimate," "Peak of the Martial Way" — and it had made her terribly envious.

She never expected that one day she would receive such treatment.

Aily, who was often looked down upon for being young, naturally held no prejudice against the young calligrapher; all the more so since she had long heard from other gym trainers of the existence of this rising calligraphy star.

The scene shifted.

After bidding farewell to Aily, the calligrapher soon arrived at Lake Valor.

Unfortunately, this place differed greatly from the other two lakes — it had failed to preserve its original natural appearance, and had instead become a famous scenic area.

Not only did its shores boast a grand hotel and the finest restaurant in the Sinnoh region, it was also the legendary venue of the Mi Ke Li Cup and the Sinnoh Grand Festival.

As a result, the calligrapher had to wander around the shores of Lake Valor, taking a long time to find a quiet, deserted spot.

【You have arrived at Lake Valor; the beautiful scenery made you linger, unwilling to leave】

Regrettably, just as at Lake Acuity, the Will Pokémon representing the original will did not appear from Lake Valor.

The calligrapher could only rely on biographies and the natural scenery to feel the mystery and unfathomability of the Lake's Pokémon, as well as the emotions of the recorder documented in the ancient inscriptions.

She stayed at the grand hotel by Lake Violet for a full week before heading to Wildcastel City to challenge the seventh gym.

And as the Smeargle grew more proficient in its painting skills, the rhythm of its move's release became increasingly fluid, the wind-up shorter and shorter; a swift bolt of lightning might be sketched out in a single stroke.

Not only that, it could paint on the surface of water, and as long as its speed was fast enough, it could even leave its artwork in the air.

For the Smeargle, this enhancement to its strength was undoubtedly terrifying.

All Baimu even felt its ability was a bit excessively exaggerated—could it be that every Smeargle possessed this kind of power?

Naturally impossible.

It was simply that the calligrapher's Smeargle was rather special.

He watched this humanoid little dog, calm and composed as it lifted its brush, and with one smooth motion completing the stroke the moment the brush came down, and suddenly felt as though the other's path of painting had already reached the realm of perfection.