Chapter 346: The Legend

【You tamed the Qingmian Bird; the band has gained a new member】

Fourth member acquired.

The musician did not rush toward Fanba City, but retreated to Road No. 5, found a suitable spot to set up camp, and began training the Qingmian Bird's vocal abilities.

Singing is not simple, nor is ensemble playing.

Even with great talent, without training, the melodies produced still cannot enter the professional realm.

【You begin cultivating the Qingmian Bird's voice, striving to raise its level and combat prowess to achieve evolution】

It was clear the musician knew the Qingmian Bird's vocal peak lay in its evolution into the Seven-Seven Bird, a categorized Humming Pokémon, so he started by teaching the Qingmian Bird how to sustain breath steadily and how to precisely adjust its throat.

He also did not neglect carefully nurturing the Fonglingling and Sandbell Cactus; though they did not participate in singing, their accompaniment was equally vital, especially since they bore the crucial responsibility of standing beside him on the League Conference stage.

Through the newly launched Sound Card feature in the simulator, Baimu also gained a rudimentary understanding of the musical theory displayed on screen.

Gradually, time passed.

Even with just pixelated visuals, under the simulator's new Sound Card, Baimu could feel the three new members rapidly growing in harmony with the musician.

The latter built a spiritual bond with the Pokémon through music, accurately transmitting all his emotions to the three Pokémon, pouring his dreams and pursuits into them.

At this moment.

【Heart-to-Heart】talent was most directly illustrated.

The Qingmian Bird evolved into the Seven-Seven Bird as expected; Fonglingling and Sandbell Cactus, while improving in combat, also grasped more musical theory and became increasingly adept at accompaniment.

One man and four Pokémon, playing together, truly sounded like a small band.

【You are extremely satisfied with the Pokémon's performance and deeply grateful for their relentless effort; you decide to continue forward】

Seeing this, Baimu grew curious about the musician's next Pokémon.

In the blink of an eye.

He arrived in Fanba City.

As a port city, it was extremely prosperous, teeming with people, and boasted the bustling Fanba Market; the musician swept away the gloom from Feiyun City and Lei Wen City, rushing to the square before the Fanba Market and beginning his performance under the eyes of the crowd.

This time, he used a saxophone, a uniquely interesting and romantic instrument.

As the melody began, Puding and the Seven-Seven Bird sang in harmony.

The exquisite voices quickly drew a large crowd of passersby; some even danced along with the Pokémon to the cheerful tune—the musician had, with just one song, fully energized the entire square.

Baimu felt a strong urge to dance, but he forcibly held back, afraid the Pokémon would look at him with "Trainer's having another episode" eyes.

The musician's ability to evoke empathy through music has grown stronger.

He might as well have unblocked his Ren and Du meridians.

He remembered that when he first heard the musician's music, he was merely startled by the sudden sound, feeling nothing at all; it was only after the journey began that the musician's skill grew increasingly refined.

Do people in the Pokémon world have travel carved into their genes?

Baimu couldn't help but doubt it.

After searching, he was surprised again.

Pop music!

He had assumed the musician only indirectly performed classical music from ancient times; he never expected the man had this talent too—apparently, his skill pool ran deep.

Unfortunately, this song was likely not the musician's original composition, since the creator was a woman.

On screen.

Finally, after not continuing amid the crowd's encore calls, the musician rested for the night, then arrived at the Fanba Gym with his revitalized Pokémon.

The Fanba Gym Leader, Boss Ju, dressed like a cowboy, inspired the musician with his appearance.

Immediately.

In this Gym Battle, the musician once again used the saxophone to perform a lively jazz piece, coordinating with the Sandbell Cactus's rhythmic needle arms, leaving Boss Ju's Ground-type Pokémon struggling desperately.

Ultimately.

The Gym Battle ended smoothly.

Even Boss Ju's Dragonite was felled before the Sandbell Cactus's Petal Dance; though this was the fourth Gym, the battle was smoother than the previous Lei Wen Gym, allowing Baimu to perceive the significant growth in the musician's Pokémon's combat strength.

【You defeated Fanba Gym Leader Boss Ju and received the Shock Badge; he expressed great admiration for your novel battle style and requested you perform a song for his workers】

【You agreed】

Boss Ju was the owner of a mining development company; Ross Mountain, home to Lei Ji Qiqi in the game, belonged to him, and he likely employed thousands of workers.

The musician clearly did not know this, so he agreed without hesitation.

Only when Boss Ju arranged a massive stage, making it look like a concert, did he realize he would be performing before thousands of eyes.

【You gaze at the dense crowd below, as if transported back to the gilded concert halls of your past, seated at the piano, ready to display your mastery of musical art. But your thoughts were quickly interrupted—the workers below shouted noisily, urging you to begin】

【You realize the audience before you is no longer the suited elite of high society】

The musician quickly adjusted his state and released his four Pokémon.

Classic jazz drifted out.

The crowd's atmosphere was swiftly ignited by his deeply empathetic music—perhaps not as electrifying as rock, but it gave the workers the feeling that perhaps a drink would make listening even more pleasant.

After several songs, the musician and his Pokémon band members had won the hearts of the workers below.

Baimu listened with great delight.

Once, he would never have imagined attending a concert, dismissing it as pure waste of time—like a wild boar unable to digest fine rice.

But now, listening to the cheerful jazz and recalling the classical music that had previously moved him deeply, he found himself thinking that if he ever got the chance, listening wouldn't be so bad.

As he daydreamed,

the musician's style in the simulator suddenly shifted.

From jazz, it transformed into a grander classical piece; Puding and the Seven-Seven Bird's vocals rose higher, Fonglingling's tone became vast and sweeping—utterly unlike the sound one would expect from its small frame—and the Sandbell Cactus's sand-bells delivered a rhythmic pulse like drumbeats.

Of course.

All of this was assembled by a violin that appeared in the musician's hands at some unknown moment.

Baimu was just about to memorize the melody when he realized the performance had already ended; this grand "symphony" seemed short, yet left a deep resonance within him.

The workers below the stage also continuously had large ellipses appear above their heads, clearly equally stunned.

A narration suddenly appeared.

【You looked at the expressions of everyone below, proud yet melancholic; though you had told yourself countless times what your goal was, you once again warned yourself: you must realize your musical dream, only then…】

The scene gradually dimmed.

Only what?

Come on, finish saying it already!

Baimu nearly overturned the coffee table; the narration had never before created such a cryptic scene, leaving him physically uncomfortable.

Fortunately, the simulator seemed to know he was angry, and soon had the musician play him a soothing piece to calm him down.

Under the music's influence, his mood gradually settled.

Though he had been annoyed, from this refusal to let him hear more and its cryptic behavior,

this piece must be the musician's original composition.

But as a fan of the pop star Homica, creating classical music himself… wouldn't that be strange? And it sounded unfinished.

Why?

Did something happen before it was completed?

Baimu looked into the screen,

At this moment, the musician had arrived in Shuizhi City and challenged its fifth badge.

And the genre of music he used this time—

was rock.

Rock music, the specialty of the musician's idol Homica.

Powerful and frenzied, the intense rhythm like an electric current made Pachirisu's entire body surrounded by Lei Ting, inflicting terrifying damage on Fenglu's bird Pokémon.

Especially Fenglu's final Pokémon, the quadruple-weak-to-electricity Swanna, even using its magical Water Ring to shield against electricity, could not withstand Pachirisu's attack frequency, comparable to a Chicago typewriter, under the frenzied rock music.

It was knocked out by Thunderbolt.

【You defeated Shuizhi Gym Leader Fenglu and received the Jet Badge】

With the fifth badge in hand, the musician drew closer to the stage of the Huiyan Conference.

Unfortunately, Huaxue City's Huaxue Gym Leader Hachiku was now wholly focused on acting, preventing the musician from obtaining the sixth badge here.

However,

when he reached Route 8 and passed the Cylinder Bridge, he encountered the fifth Pokémon he had long desired—

Lapras.

As a high-intelligence Pokémon capable of projecting its voice over thousands of miles and universally regarded as possessing a beautiful voice, it was perfectly suited to join the Pokémon band.

So the musician immediately rode on Qixi Qingniao to chase after Lapras.

He eventually succeeded in capturing it.

In recent years, due to excessive human protection, Lapras was no longer as rare or scarce as before; at this rate, it would soon become an ordinary aquatic Pokémon.

【You captured Lapras; the band gained a new member】

New member added.

The musician began his usual intensive training for Lapras; thanks to Lapras's ability to produce extremely low-frequency, ethereal tones, it could not only serve as harmony but also combine with Fenglingling to form a majestic and wondrous melody like an organ.

As an observer, Baimu could not imagine such a melodious sound could come from a Pokémon.

Soon after, the increasingly polished Pokémon band traveled to Shuanglong City after training ended.

【You arrived in Shuanglong City; the atmosphere blending new and old, technology and history stirred memories of grand epic music, and stirred within you, you sought out a square and began performing with your Pokémon】

The music began.

Baimu once again sank into the scenes and emotions the musician showed him, as if truly witnessing the majestic history of the Unova region within those melodies.

Undoubtedly, this was symphonic music; when the musician played this piece, he tore off his own disguise, revealing his true attitude: "I'm done pretending—I'm a classical musician."

Okay.

Just kidding.

The musician was merely moved by emotion; in daily life, the instrument he touched most was still Homica's old guitar, and he vowed to rearrange every classical piece into a guitar version and play them all.

When the performance ended and the crowd applauded, Xia Ka, the Shuanglong Gym Leader, was among them—he immediately recognized the musician as the "eccentric genius" rumored to command Pokémon through music.

Clearly, the secret network among Gym Leaders was active again, and judging from the narration, it must have been Ju Lao's promotion.

This man who built an entire stage just so his workers could hear music he deemed beautiful—promoting the musician's existence wasn't surprising at all.

Boss, impressive.

The scene shifted.

The musician followed Xia Ka to the Shuanglong Gym and began the Gym Challenge.

He was indeed strong; even his aura revealed that.

Thus, to counter a Gym Leader like Xia Ka, the musician chose cold, solemn, ethereal music, using a single oboe to conjure a frigid tundra, greatly enhancing Lapras and Pachirisu's Ice-type moves and causing Xia Ka considerable trouble.

He successfully obtained the sixth badge.

【You defeated Shuanglong Gym Leader Xia Ka and received the Legend Badge. He greatly admired your battle style and pointed out its shortcomings】

【You humbly accepted his advice】

In the anime, Xia Ka was a teacher at the Trainer Academy and also mayor of Shuanglong City; seeing such a talented young trainer, he naturally took an interest.

He guided the musician toward the nearby forest, where there might be a Pokémon the musician would find interesting—

Loudred.

And upon hearing Xia Ka say this, the musician immediately set off for the forest near Shuanglong City.

From a game perspective, Soundu is practically useless, but to people in the Pokémon anime world, Soundu is the best companion for many musicians.

Impatience aside.

The musician did not forget the best way to find Soundu—playing the violin.

Carrying Pachirisu, he searched while playing, and sure enough, Soundu was drawn in by the music and was successfully captured by the musician.

【You captured Soundu; your band now has a new member. Looking at your already-formed band members, you feel immense satisfaction】

【What you didn't notice was a blurred figure quietly following in your footsteps】

Hm?

Baimu noticed this narration and successfully spotted a blurred figure at the very bottom of the screen.

It's really Meloetta!

He never expected his guess to become reality—and if things continued this way, perhaps the musician could make Meloetta his partner.

Would that greatly increase the chance of winning the championship?

Actually, not necessarily.

Baimu knew from the anime that most Legendary Pokémon displayed little combat power; most were easy targets for poachers chasing after them.

Yet they often possessed extraordinary magical abilities.

But the musician on screen clearly didn't know he was being watched by a Legendary Pokémon; as he headed toward Qinhaibo City, the penultimate Gym location, he tried to integrate Soundu into his team.

Soundu is a Pokémon whose individual differences cause variations in melody; the tones they produce resemble string instruments—whether cello, viola, or violin.

Research suggests that most bowed string instruments in the Pokémon world were designed based on different Soundu, just as cement comes from ancient builders.

Baimu thought it very likely to be true.

Time in the scene accelerated.

The scenes shown mostly depicted the musician using his instruments to conduct a group of Pokémon playing music, as well as battling to boost combat power and training to increase move variety.

From this, it was clear the musician was extremely diligent—he wasn't someone who relied purely on talent and never trained.

Unfortunately.

Throughout this time, Meloetta never appeared; perhaps it had stopped following after a while.

A while later.

The musician passed through Longmu Town and Lianyi Town, reaching his destination via an underwater tunnel.

【You arrived in Qinhaibo City. The calm sea inspired you to pick up your violin and play a beautiful melody with Lapras】

After routinely earning applause through street performances, the musician began challenging the Qinhaibo Gym.

The Gym Leader, Xi Zi Yin, specialized in Water-type Pokémon and was obsessed with swimming in the ocean.

The musician performed a violin piece with a main theme of resisting storms and the sea, enabling Sandshrew and Lapras to break through Xi Zi Yin's defenses of numerous Water-type Pokémon.

Even when the opponent used massive Pokémon like Whiscash.

Even Xi Zi Yin himself was affected by the musician's music.

【You defeated Qinhaibo Gym Leader Xi Zi Yin and earned the Wave Badge. He praised your battle method, saying it reminded him of his own journey breaking through waves, enduring storms, and finally seeing the sun after rain】

Wow.

Has it come to the point of hallucinations?

Baimu silently whistled, but he too—upon hearing the musician's music—felt hypnotized, conjuring up countless images.

To be honest, though he'd never heard Homiga's underground concert, he felt the musician's musical skill was no worse than Homiga's.

If forced to say where he fell short, perhaps it was in original composition…

Baimu had watched so much simulation footage and searched through over a dozen melodies; aside from the one performed on the Fanba stage, he could conclude all others were covers.

Could it be the musician wasn't a composing pianist, and thus was rejected by the classical music world?

…Unlikely.

While composing talent makes pianists famous easily, it shouldn't be an absolute requirement—after all, timeless masterpieces aren't easy to create.

He couldn't be sure. Watching the musician board the ship back to Liyong City, he silently offered his blessings.

【You returned to Liyong City. First, you cleaned your instruments at home, then began intensive training in preparation for challenging the Liyong Gym】

The musician once again demonstrated his diligence.

He could also be counted among the rare hard workers in Baimu's long history of simulations—his training sessions were terrifyingly frequent; to ensure his performances were precise and flawless, he made his Pokémon band practice over and over again.

Day after day, month after month.

Finally.

Satisfied with his growth, the musician arrived at the Liyong Gym's entrance.

But he was stopped.

The man blocking him was none other than the one who had once captured him.

【You heard him refuse you entry, claiming underground music venues prohibit minors. You quickly explained you were a challenger and showed him your Badge Box. He verified all your badges were genuine and was inevitably surprised】

【You told him you would fulfill your musical dream, then strode boldly inside】

The musician entered the Gym.

Homiga was right there—as if waiting for him—and enthusiastically accepted his challenge.

And facing his idol,

the musician thought carefully, then decided to play the one song from Homiga's repertoire he loved most, offering it on his old guitar to Homiga.

When Baimu saw the old guitar appear, a thought bubble appeared above Homiga's head.

【You were about to explain the guitar's origin, but heard Homiga exclaim, "So it's you!" After some conversation, you learned Homiga's father had already informed him of your existence. Yet Homiga never imagined the trainer rumored to control Pokémon through music was his own fan】

【You told Homiga you would reach the Huiyuan Conference and realize your dream; he gave you his support】

After the narration ended.

A fierce battle thus began.

Homa Ka and the Musician clashed with punk rock against punk rock, causing many spectators who came to watch and listen to scream in excitement; though the former lacked the latter's ability to command Pokémon solely through music, she possessed her own formidable strengths.

She was accustomed to defeating all challengers with only three Pokémon, regardless of how many badges their opponents held.

And each of those three Pokémon was exceptionally powerful.

The Musician challenged his opponent with the rhythm they knew best—honestly, not a wise choice—but the former clearly enjoyed it, feeling he was drawing closer to his idol and realizing his dream.

And.

His Pokémon were more than capable; the prior training had not been in vain, and the accumulated strength gave him the leverage to break through his limits.

【Boundary Break】 activated for the first time.

It allowed Pudin to unleash a roar far exceeding its normal power, scattering the dust cloud's cleansing smoke and blowing it away, securing the match's outcome.

【You defeated Gym Leader Homa Ka and received the Poison Badge.】

【You earned Homa Ka's admiration; she invited you to join her band—"Gas Bomb Paradise." You longed to accept, yet had to refuse. You had your own musical dream and goal. Homa Ka felt regretful but still offered you her blessings.】

The Musician bid farewell to Homa Ka.

It was clear he was deeply tempted, but due to certain factors, he had no choice but to refuse.

He returned home.

The Musician continued training his Pokémon to enhance their combat abilities. On the other hand, he finally began perfecting the earlier symphony.

【You compiled your journey's experiences and all you had seen in Unova into a composition. Attempting to merge it with your parents' legacy, you gave the symphony titled "Heart of Unova" a complete melody, fulfilling the musical dream you shared with your family.】

Parents' legacy! So the Musician's parents had already passed away!

Baimu suddenly understood—no wonder they had never appeared, and the piece was indeed incomplete… it needed the Musician to complete it.

With this realization, he understood why the Musician never performed in Fly Cloud City or Thunder Cloud City—those places must have held memories of the Musician and his family; he feared being overwhelmed by emotion.

Soon after, the narration delivered another piece of information.

Namely, his parents' final wish was for him to spread this symphony far and wide, bringing it to the grandest stage so all of Unova could hear it.

Unfortunately, the Musician had little compositional talent. He originally intended to entrust the piece to someone else to complete, but after his parents' death, he had been isolated for a long time and lost his former connections; moreover, he felt that if he gave the piece to another, his parents, even in the afterlife, would be heartbroken.

This caused his progress to remain sluggish.

When he saw Homa Ka perform in Fly Cloud City, he was immediately drawn to her; though those around him looked down on pop music singers, he deeply admired Homa Ka—a woman barely older than him, possessing such terrifying talent.

Later, on a whim, he brought his instrument and followed her to her base in Homa City.

This move directly severed all his previous relationships; by the time he realized it, there was no place for him in Unova's classical music scene, let alone anyone to help him fulfill his parents' wish.

So.

After realizing he had no other path, the Musician—who had originally intended to become a Trainer—began considering alternative methods.

Through his parents' diary, he discovered that traveling while performing music could sharpen his memory, broaden his horizons, and spark inspiration for composition.

If he could challenge all eight Gyms, he could reach the grandest stage mentioned in his parents' wish—the Huiyuan Conference.

After careful consideration.

The Musician resolutely embarked on his journey.

What followed was the story up to now.

After reading the narration, Baimu felt the Musician might have misunderstood something—the Huiyuan Conference, connected to the Champion League, was indeed the grandest stage… but his parents clearly meant the grandest stage of music itself.

Of course.

If the Musician performed at the Huiyuan Conference, all of Unova would surely hear it—even those who didn't watch would be exposed to it through online dissemination.

From this perspective, the Musician's choice was very correct, and his efforts had not been in vain.

Baimu silently watched him struggle through his composition, while also doing his utmost to enhance his Pokémon's combat strength—even seeking out Homa Ka to train him, and frequently battling Trainers in Homa City.

He was curious how far the Musician would go.

And then, one day.

The Musician rose from the piano and threw countless sheet music scores into the sky.

The narration answered Baimu's question.

【You succeeded.】

【You realized this piece would likely be your greatest masterpiece in life; no matter what, you could never create another work so "perfect."】

【You resolved to fulfill your parents' wish—together with your Pokémon band, ascend to the pinnacle of the Huiyuan Conference. And your will had been precisely transmitted into the hearts of your Pokémon.】

Baimu blinked, suddenly noticing a blurred shadow approaching the Musician from the lower right corner of the screen.

The scene then abruptly dimmed.

"Huh? What's going on? What happened?"

He froze for a moment, but when the screen reappeared.

It was the opening day of the Huiyuan Conference.

Whether Pudin evolved was not mentioned; what happened after the blurred shadow rushed forward was also not explained.

"What the heck."

Baimu couldn't help scratching his head.

Preliminaries.

The Musician's attire looked odd; among Trainers dressed for maximum mobility, he alone carried a guitar case and a small bag, standing out conspicuously.

The guitar case undoubtedly held a guitar—what was in the other bag?

Baimu soon got the answer.

When the Musician took his seat among the Trainers, pulled out his guitar, and opened the other bag, a black speaker and microphone were suddenly exposed before him and the audience.

Earlier, Xia Ka had told him that the League Conference was noisy, and his music might not reach his Pokémon's ears—he needed to amplify the volume at the right moment.

So the musician chose to get a microphone and speakers.

Baimu wondered if this violated the rules—say, by affecting the opponent—but in fact it did not; the narrator told him the League and all eight Gym Leaders had confirmed the musician truly used music to command his Pokémon, not to deliberately disrupt his opponents, and thus permitted it.

Only the decibel level was restricted.

Thanks to the musician, the audience had for the first time ever witnessed a contestant turn a Pokémon battle into a concert.

The musician achieved something unprecedented, truly groundbreaking.

He might even make history.

Even more astonishing to the audience was his combat strength.

【You demolished your opponent with overwhelming force; the audience was utterly stunned by your power.】

【You successfully advanced past the preliminaries and entered the preliminary round.】

The preliminary round began at the top 64; Baimu took a deep breath and watched eagerly.

But during the match.

The musician's greatest tactic was constantly switching songs—from classical to jazz, rock, blues… everything except rap was covered.

His instruments ranged from single horns, trumpets, tubas to guitars, keyboards, and even basses.

It was dizzying to watch.

By the later stages, when he performed, the entire arena fell silent; everyone wanted to hear his music, and once they did, they couldn't stop.

【You noticed that whenever you stepped onto the stage, all spectators fell completely silent, which made you very happy.】

When the musician appeared, ten thousand fell silent.

This was an exceedingly rare sight in any competition.

His ranking rose steadily, and soon he advanced past the preliminary round into the championship finals.

Yet for some reason, the musician never let his Snorlax evolve—perhaps he feared that after evolution, it would lose its original, exaggerated vocal range.

With the climax of a battle song sung by Togekiss, the musician reached the crucial semifinals.

"Sun and Moon Splendor"

To be honest.

The musician had advanced with absurd ease; Baimu didn't know whether his Pokémon were simply too strong or whether the other trainers at the Kiihan Conference were too weak.

But as if Baimu had planted a flag for the musician, the semifinal began smoothly for him.

Then it suddenly grew difficult.

His opponent not only disrupted his rhythm but also used Sonic Boom and Metal Sound to interfere with the Pokémon's hearing, preventing the musician's music from reaching them properly.

The musician barely held off the assault, but in the end, he had to send out two Pokémon already injured to face his opponent's fresh, full-energy ace.

It looked like two against one.

But the tide of victory had already turned against him.

Watching Togekiss fall back step by step, Baimu's heart began to drum wildly.

Could he really lose?

Dual Sky Talent!

Top four? That would be unacceptable!

Fortunately, the musician did not disappoint Baimu or his Pokémon—he dropped the trumpet from his arms, picked up the microphone, and replaced his music with his voice.

【You knew you could definitely reach Togekiss's heart with your voice—because "a Trainer's voice always carries greater penetration than any instrument, and can better instill courage in Pokémon."】

【You always remembered the teachings Xia Ka gave you.】

At the very moment Togekiss was about to collapse, it suddenly sang the Song of Death, announcing the countdown to the fainting of its opponent's final Pokémon.

【Boundary Breakthrough.】

It had never learned this move—but hearing the Trainer's inner voice, it successfully sang this "divine song."

The musician's final Pokémon stepped forward and stubbornly held on until the Song of Death took down the opponent's ace, turning the tide and advancing to the finals!

"... Can pixels really be this热血?"

Baimu swallowed hard, eagerly awaiting the finals.

And then.

An unforeseen crisis occurred: Togekiss, too injured to continue the finals the next day, left the musician—who owned only six Pokémon—in a dead end.

Assuming he truly had only six.

On the day of the finals.

The musician and his opponent clashed fiercely; he began with Homyga's old guitar and prepared to end with it too—until his ace Snorlax lost, and he sent out his sixth—

Meloetta.

The moment the Legendary Pokémon appeared, the entire arena erupted in chaos; everyone was stunned that the musician had held such a hidden card.

【You looked at Meloetta, and memories involuntarily returned to the afternoon when the song was completed. Meloetta appeared because it recognized your talent and wished to aid you in realizing your musical dream, joining your Pokémon band to perform "Heart of Unova" at the Kiihan Conference.】

【With Meloetta's aid, you trained your Pokémon even harder, and successfully integrated Meloetta into your Pokémon band.】

The narrator cut off.

The screen continued to show Meloetta's battle: it sang the Ancient Song, shifting from vocal form to dance form, merging seamlessly with the musician's guitar and vocals, and defeating his opponent through perfect synergy.

The musician won the championship!

Baimu raised both arms in excitement; another conference champion after the Calligrapher—he couldn't possibly stay calm.

On the day of victory.

With the conference organizers' tacit approval, the musician moved a piano near the podium, stood with his seven Pokémon, and before all the audience and the world watching the Kiihan Conference, played "Heart of Unova."

The grand music turned the League Conference into the musician's personal concert, yet no one complained—everyone could hear in the melody the intense emotion shared between him and his Pokémon band.

The duet of Snorlax and Meloetta, Togekiss's backing vocals, the pipe-organ tones from Fletchinder and Lapras, the shaker sounds from Cacturne's dancing form, the left-right drumming of Soundwhistle, the alternating sonatas of cello and violin.

The vast and magnificent Hoenn region unfolded before everyone like a rolling scroll.

The unique characteristics and local customs of each city seemed laid out right before their eyes.

The audience was utterly stunned.

When the song ended, countless voices shouted for an encore, begging the musician to perform another song and not leave the stage.

The event organizers chose to accept the default.

Thus.

Perhaps the most absurd in history, but certainly the most beloved by audiences, the Alliance Conference quietly came to an end.

As for the Champion Alliance side.

Since the musician's Pokémon had already given their all to secure victory, even with Meloetta, they could not defeat the first Gym Leader—Psychic-type Gardevoir.

【You lost to Gardevoir. Your Alliance challenge has ended.】

【You have fulfilled your parents' wish and taken a powerful step toward realizing your musical dream, but you know this is only the beginning—more challenges await you and your Pokémon band. Unfortunately, Meloetta cannot walk beside you further; it came only to help you win, and merely wished to sing the Heart of Hoenn.】

【You felt a pang of regret, yet still bid farewell to this friend who had been with you for months.】

The scene froze on the musician holding his guitar, saying goodbye to Meloetta against the setting sun.

【Simulation ended.】

Baimu saw this line, swiftly picked up his phone, searched for "Heart of Hoenn," and successfully obtained the musician's profile.

Tobert Wise, renowned Hoenn pianist and pop singer. Known as a musical genius, winner of the XXth Kecleon Conference, famous worldwide for "Heart of Hoenn," with an extraordinarily legendary background—currently participating in Pokémon Hollywood soundtrack work, under intense public attention…

Ah… so he ended up in Pokémon Hollywood?

I never expected it. Truly never expected it.

He looked at Tobert's photo—the man looked far older than expected. Though listed as eighteen, he wore a suit and tie, appearing every bit like a man in his early twenties.

He shared the same mature aura far beyond his years as the calligrapher Nanyun.

Perhaps this was why they differed from ordinary people?

Baimu pondered, then turned his gaze to the simulator's reward screen.

【Fixed Reward: TM ×5 (selectable type)】

【Fixed Reward: Musician's Guitar Playing Memory—Empathy Chapter (replayable)】

【Fixed Reward: Dunsparce's Singing Memory—High Note Chapter (replayable)】

…

【Choice Reward One: Any Pokémon gains five levels (below lv70)】

【Choice Reward Two: Clue to a Pokémon with specified base stats (excluding Legendary, Mythical, and Ultra Beasts)】

【Choice Reward Three: Move—Switcheroo (can be taught to any Pokémon)】

【Choice Reward Four: Retain 【Physical Health】 Talent for next simulation round】

The Champion may choose three out of four.

But he was more focused on the fixed rewards.

Setting aside the Guitar Playing Memory, Dunsparce's Singing Memory… what use was this to him?

He certainly wasn't going to start singing.

Baimu thought perhaps he could teach it to a Pokémon—say, Dunsparce or Dunsparce… since among female Pokémon, only it could learn Hyper Voice.

Then.

His gaze shifted to Switcheroo—a notoriously annoying move in the game; once an opponent knew you had it, they'd be trapped in endless doubt: "Will he switch or won't he?"

It could only be used in Double Battles, not Singles.

Fortunately, Hoenn still had many Double Battle scenarios—even though he hadn't encountered any yet, the Alliance Conference would inevitably include them.

Without hesitation, he chose One, Two, and Three.

Baimu exhaled deeply.

"That was awesome!"

He shouted toward the ceiling, drawing shocked or bewildered glances from the surrounding Pokémon.

Organize the gains.

Baimu currently had the following moves: 【String Shot】, 【Perish Song】, 【Low Kick】, 【Endure】, 【Weather Ball】, 【Magic Powder】, and thirteen Skill Mystery Boxes.

Magic Powder had recently been given to Dunsparce.

The key was the thirteen Skill Mystery Boxes!

Seeing this number, his hand trembled slightly—if he could specify moves, he could lift a Pokémon from weakness to strength.

In addition, he had three clues: two for Pokémon with specified base stats, one for a Pokémon of specified type.

The latter didn't matter; just the first two already guaranteed two pseudo-legendary-level Pokémon.

So satisfying!

Finally, the level reward… this one rarely accumulates; you usually use it when needed. But now he wanted to save it, hoping to accelerate the evolution of Dragonite.

Didn't Dragonite evolve at…?

Without the pre-evolution step, even with these five levels, it still had a long way to go—so no rush. Wait until Dragonite reaches level fifty-nine.

This guy was still far from level fifty-nine.

Baimu gripped Dragonite's head and glanced at the date on the wall.

He had planned to stay in Verdant Town for a while; over ten days had passed, and the Pokémon had all grown. He'd set off in another ten days.

With his intention to compete in both the Super Contests and the Alliance Conference, time was tight.

——

Days passed uneventfully, like flowing water.

The ten days that followed brought All Baimu nothing stimulating.

Only the usual routine of training, battles, and playing with them — work and rest in balance — and the Pokémon slowly gained levels.

Finally.

The moment to leave had arrived.

Mitsumane, who had long since learned the exact date from All Baimu, had also packed his bags. After countless bouts of indecision, he ultimately chose to set out for the next region, to keep challenging Gyms and the League Conference.

Rather than stay in Greenfield Town, stay in the Hoenn region.

Only by continuing to travel could a trainer's growth be spurred on.

All Baimu quite agreed with his thinking — even Ash, the anime's male lead, had to grow step by step under the writers' torment; no one was spared.

The two parted ways in front of the Greenfield Town monorail station.

Mitsumane was taking the monorail to Lilycove City, then a ship to the Johto region, to challenge the Silver Conference there.

"Have a safe trip!"

He waved his hand.

Mitsumane, his body sticking out of the window, waved back. "Have a safe trip! You have to do your best! I'll be watching your matches!"

"Same here!"

All Baimu said loudly, watching the monorail speed off and Mitsumane shrink to a tiny shrimp.

In the days spent with the latter, he had truly learned a great deal, and the Pokémon had also seen a marked rise in battle power. For this friend who looked frail but was in fact very strong-willed, he felt a good deal of admiration.

He looked away.

All Baimu hitched up his backpack, turned his head, and exchanged a look with Porygon. "Let's go! Head toward the direction of Sootopolis Town!"

"Pory!"

Porygon responded by waving its leg structures.

But before leaving for good…

He went into the large fields at the town entrance, found the familiar watermelon patch, and said to a little watermelon-headed kid wearing a leaf mask:

"Hey! Remember me?"

"Huh? Ah! It's you!"

The watermelon-headed kid hadn't recognized him at first, but the sight of Porygon brought instant understanding. "You didn't leave — I thought you'd forgotten our promise and gone already."

"No way, I've been staying in Greenfield Town all this time."

All Baimu said with a smile: "Come on, let me see your second ace!"

When he first came, the two had agreed to have one more Pokémon battle when he left, and the watermelon-headed kid would show him his second ace.

"Okay! Wait here! My second ace isn't with me right now — I'll go fetch it!"

The watermelon-headed kid turned and ran off without the slightest hesitation, abandoning the melon patch.

All Baimu simply sat down by the roadside and flipped through his Pokédex.

Twenty days of effort.

The results: Aggron — level 71, Steelix — level 67, Mawile — level 64, Blissey — level 58, Zweilous — level 56, Galarian Corsola — level 45, Porygon — level 43.

And finally, the shiny Feebas — level 36.

The overall level had clearly risen by a huge margin.

Not bad, not bad.

He nodded approvingly, and the watermelon-headed kid came back panting, a Poké Ball in his hand.

"Come on! Let's battle!"

"Alright."

All Baimu looked at Porygon beside him. "It began with you, and it ends with you — go! Show your opponent how much you've grown again!"

"Pory!"

Porygon charged forward, bristling with fighting spirit.