Chapter 182

N's Pokémon army, reinforcements for the second line, plus the crucial support of Champion Dawu.

Despite the Shadow Team producing one Dark Pokémon after another, they were all successfully defeated—either returned to their original Poké Balls or captured using Capture Balls.

They had been manufacturing Capture Balls nonstop for days, almost without pause.

The number of Capture Balls produced was sufficient to capture all the Dark Pokémon.

When the last Dark Pokémon fell and the final Shadow Team member begged for mercy on his knees, the defensive battle—originally meant only as a delaying tactic—ended in total annihilation.

Bisharp and the other Pokémon collapsed almost immediately from exhaustion, and Baimu quickly recalled them into their Poké Balls.

"Did they send out a distress signal?"

He hurried over to Otsuka and asked; Otsuka nodded but added, "Master Liu Ge has already declared the operation underway."

"Operation underway? That's great!"

Baimu was overjoyed—he had been slightly anxious, since total annihilation wasn't part of the plan, and he worried it might disrupt the next steps—especially Dawu's reinforcement.

He couldn't possibly shout for Dawu to withdraw.

Moreover, N had somehow acquired so many Pokémon that they were forced, out of necessity, to evacuate the wounded while simultaneously capturing every Shadow Team member.

Now that the operation had begun, he no longer needed to bear the blame.

Baimu turned and walked toward Dawu.

"Phew, I haven't exerted myself this intensely in a long time."

Dawu was just stepping down from his Metagross, which had returned to its normal size; despite such intense exertion, he had only a light sheen of sweat on his forehead. "You must be Baimu, right?"

Baimu, surprised by the sudden address, paused, then nodded. "Yes, Champion."

"No need for such formality. Just call me Dawu."

Dawu smiled gently; the haughty demeanor he had shown earlier toward the Shadow Team members had vanished entirely, replaced by the warmth of a kind neighborly older brother. "I'd love to chat more with you, but there are still things I can do in this city. Let's talk once everything has settled."

"Yes, Dawu-san!"

Baimu returned the smile and watched as Dawu recalled his Pokémon before riding away on his Metagross.

Champion.

A title every Trainer aspires to and reveres—it represents the peak of human Trainer strength, the strongest among Trainers.

He hoped that one day, in the future, he too would ascend to that position.

Only then would his rebirth not have been in vain.

"There's still work to do."

Baimu slapped his own cheeks to pull his wandering thoughts back. With Master Liu Ge and the others gone, he was unquestionably the highest commander here—everyone had to obey his orders.

From tallying the wounded to distributing supplies and more.

"Baimu, I'm heading off elsewhere."

N approached on the back of an Empoleon and greeted him. "There are still many Pokémon waiting for me."

His two sisters flanked him on either side.

"Don't push yourself too hard!"

After offering this advice, Baimu let N and the two sisters depart with the multitude of Pokémon. These Pokémon were unquestionably the ones N had rescued from the underground Pokémon shops.

The Child of Pokémon had been watching that place for a long time; earlier, he had already paid to rescue a batch, and now he was urgently pulling out even more.

Suddenly.

"Baimu! A convoy is heading this way! Someone spotted Mr. Yamato on it!"

Otsuka rushed over to report.

"Yamato!"

Baimu's face lit up, and he hurried forward to greet the returning leader of the Rainbow Team. Dawu must have been brought by him—he hadn't even warned Baimu ahead of time.

They had not seen each other for only two days.

Yet they embraced warmly, slapping each other's backs vigorously.

"I've been waiting for you day and night—you've given me the biggest surprise of all!" Baimu beamed. "Tell me how you convinced the Hoenn Champion!"

"He came on his own. I didn't ask him to."

Yamato chuckled. "Not only that—I've brought Four Heavenly Kings Shi Yuan Zhi and many Dragon Tamer."

"Dragon Tamers?"

Wu, who had arrived upon hearing the news,'s eyes lit up. "Are they from Long Zhi Xiang? Did Grandmother instruct them?"

"They were contacted by Grandmother and brought here by Captain Shi Yuan Zhi—the Starfall People, not from Long Zhi Xiang," Yamato shook his head, leaving Wu slightly disappointed.

He had still hoped to fight alongside familiar companions on this foreign land.

But the Starfall People!

"Baimu! They might be your people!" Wu exclaimed excitedly.

Yamato nodded. "Exactly. They heard Grandmother's words and traveled thousands of miles to help you. The Starfall People mostly live in seclusion at the Starfall Waterfall and rarely involve themselves in outside conflicts."

"Uh… really?"

Baimu scratched his head.

Logically, while the current situation made it seem as if he truly had ties to the Dragon People, what if he didn't? Wouldn't that be extremely awkward?

siluke.

"Hey, don't worry—you're definitely one of them! I, Wu, swear it on my life!"

Wu seemed to know what he was hesitating about and thumped his chest firmly.

Yamato brushed it off. "Enough about ancestral ties—let's settle everything first. Baimu, come change your gear. The protective suits from Getten Corp are far superior to those from Elder Ejin's family."

"Getten Corp's protective suits?"

Baimu's eyes lit up, and he hurried with Yamato toward a vehicle.

The back door opened, and a chilling white mist rolled in, followed by what looked like a snug-fitting suit of protective gear.

"This is an inner-layer protective suit; don't be fooled by its thinness—it has tremendous resistance to impact, temperature, and a host of other hazards."

Shan Ren introduced it to him, "Most importantly, once you wear this, you can still put on an outer-layer suit on top—double defense."

Baimu stared in awe at the protective suit that looked exactly like underwear, and for a moment, he felt a strange sense of déjà vu—

Ah!

This is exactly the outfit Ash and his team wore when they formed the Ultra Defense Squad in Pokémon: Sun & Moon!

Except instead of those flashy colors, this one was only the purest black.

"Perfect!"

Baimu nodded in clear satisfaction.

"De Wen Company sent a large quantity of supplies—not just vehicles and protective suits, but also food and essential medical supplies."

Shan Ren opened up numerous crates as if displaying treasures, revealing their contents: "This is only the first batch; I believe the second batch will arrive along with the other regions' Young Ladies and Pokémon Nurses."

"Young Lady?"

Baimu turned his head abruptly.

"Yes, one of the most prominent families in the Alliance—the Johto family—they will come to Huang Tie Town and even Silicon Beryllium City to treat all the injured. This is a powerful medical aid that cannot be ignored!"

Shan Ren nodded with a smile.