Chapter 359: The People of the Meteorite

Have to say.

For feline-type Pokémon, the chin is a fatal "weak spot."

Even Lei Gong, after being scratched a couple of times, was startled and angry at first but quickly lost his strength, his body going slightly limp, a low rumbling sound coming from his throat.

A cat's purr?

It feels like one, yet not quite.

Baimu continued his relentless assault, striving to get Lei Gong to produce the most authentic cat purr.

Although the gloves greatly reduced the tactile sensation, being able to safely touch the chin could be called a landmark achievement, and it was worth his deliberately buying these flesh-colored insulating gloves.

Not long after.

Lei Gong's body twisted slightly, just like any big cat enjoying a pet, rolling onto his side as if about to expose his belly.

Baimu's eyes lit up. Seeing that Lei Gong's eyes hadn't opened at all and it seemed to be an unconscious action, he quietly removed the insulating glove from his right hand.

Insulated against electricity or not, not directly touching the fur always felt like something was missing.

He hadn't expected that the moment his right hand touched Lei Gong's chin, the latter's eyes suddenly narrowed, as if a flash of light had passed, and a current flickered through the fur on the chin.

"Ah!"

Baimu let out a scream, suddenly standing up and stumbling backward, only stopping when he crashed into the Hydreigon behind him.

Sourness, numbness, pain, itchiness—all sorts of sensations surged up his arm to his heart. He clutched his right hand, rubbing it constantly trying to ease the feeling, and grimacing as he looked at Lei Gong, who was still lying on his side with just one eyelid slightly raised as if mocking him. How could he not realize he'd been tricked by this guy?

The latter had deliberately pretended to be unguarded, but in reality was making him unguarded.

That expressionless face seemed to say: "Too young, kid."

"You're really ruthless! Aren't you afraid you'll ruin my flashlight hand!"

He lodged a complaint against Lei Gong.

The latter acted as if he hadn't heard. If he couldn't even manage to inflict the maximum pain without harming the other party, his years of wandering the world would have been for nothing.

"Ah~"

It habitually let out a big yawn.

But attack or not, having its chin petted really was quite comfortable—it had been petted to the point of drowsiness.

"Fine, I'll count that as my carelessness."

Baimu swallowed this setback.

In truth, if Lei Gong really wanted to shock him, he wouldn't need to go through so much trouble—it's not like he can only release current through touch. He was just copying what Baimu did, turning it around to tease him.

—Tried to pet the cat but got teased by the cat instead. This "grudge" he noted down!

Baimu's determination to touch Lei Gong's belly grew even firmer. He glanced at the wall clock, and indignantly led his group of Pokémon out the door for training.

Being a rare hot spring tourist town.

Whether locals from Kuchiba Town or visiting trainers, neither was uncommon, and people coming out for a stroll after dinner were everywhere.

Especially the park.

Crowded together.

Each with their Pokémon wandering about, tempting others to challenge them.

But before Baimu could go find them, they found him first.

He took the opportunity to vent the anger he'd accumulated from Lei Gong onto these unfamiliar trainers, fiercely letting off steam for himself.

Seeing the pitiful wild trainers go up smiling and come down crying, his whole person became much more relaxed.

"Comfortable!"

Baimu looked at the Scyther that had fallen not far away and let out a long breath.

Porygon2, who hadn't been able to battle during the day, was equally spirited. Although it had been cut down two or three times, thanks to the divine move Recover, the damage it actually took wasn't much.

It couldn't even outweigh the joy brought by victory.

"Pory!"

Porygon2 couldn't wait for another match, believing that if it kept going like this, it should be able to evolve too.

Trust level six hearts…

How can it reach six hearts?

Although it's a system within its body, clearly Porygon2 can't autonomously control this kind of thing either. It can only follow what the trainer said and slowly raise it through battles.

It silently pondered how much longer it would take.

Meanwhile.

Baimu was about to look for his next opponent when he saw someone wearing a mask at night squeeze out from the surrounding crowd. Their attire was somewhat strange, and from their figure they seemed to be a woman.

"May I have a try."

The masked person said so: "But I'd prefer you bring out the Hydreigon from just now. How about it?"

Ordering off the menu, is this!

Baimu twitched the corner of his mouth, took a careful second look at the person, comforted the somewhat unsatisfied Porygon2, and told it to rest in its Poké Ball.

Another Poké Ball opened.

"Sshaa—"

Under the streetlight's glow, Hydreigon let out a hoarse low hiss, its ferocious appearance and considerable size radiating an indescribable sense of terror in the night.

Passers-by cast attentive glances one after another.

And after a short period of adjustment, Hydreigon no longer couldn't adapt to going from two heads back to one like at the start. He believed that street battles would accelerate its mastery of the new body.

Victory or defeat was secondary.

Moreover…

The masked person in the distance, seeing Hydreigon, revealed a hint of satisfaction on their hidden face, and raised a hand to throw out a Poké Ball.

Bang!

Light flickered.

"Roar!

"

A sturdy and even larger dark-red Tyrantrum dropped into the field, its entire body wreathed in an extremely ferocious aura. Its Bai Yu–like eyes stared fixedly at the not-so-distant Hydreigon, and its low growl was like rapid, low-frequency drumbeats pounding against every person's heart.

The watching bystanders kept murmuring among themselves.

"What Pokémon is that?"

"It's huge!"

"I know! It's Tyrantrum, the fossil Pokémon from the Kalos region! I never thought I'd see one in the Hoenn region…"

The chatter of the crowd did not affect the two Dragon-type Pokémon in the field.

They watched each other, and even without their trainers' guidance, instinctively struck provocative poses toward one another.

There is no hatred between dragon and dragon.

There is only the biological instinct to compare strength, so that the strong may conquer the weak.

All Baimu saw Tyrantrum and couldn't help but inwardly curse.

It wasn't that this Pokémon was all that powerful, but rather that it confirmed the masked person's identity — to be honest, if he hadn't seen the two crescent-moon reds on her chest and that tattered cloak, he really wouldn't have guessed who this person was.

Seeing that he hadn't issued a command first, the masked person laughed: "Since you're not taking the offensive first, then I won't hold back! Dragon Claw!"

"Roar!"

Tyrantrum swung its thick legs and charged at Hydreigon with extreme swiftness, its tail swaying like a steel cable. The surface of its rather short forelimbs lit up with a faint green glow, which then swelled and transformed into a pair of energy claws that made the air tremble!

All Baimu's gaze hardened: "Dragon Pulse!"

"Sha-sang!"

Hydreigon snarled without the slightest fear, as indigo, orange-red, and sky-blue energy surged from the mouths of its three heads and collided violently in midair.

In an instant, a ferocious and enormous multicolored energy dragon head roared as it rushed toward Tyrantrum!

Boom!

The violently fluctuating Dragon-type energy exploded instantly, firelight mingled with thick smoke and abruptly swelled to engulf Tyrantrum — but the next moment the latter smashed through the smoke with extreme ferocity.

It looked as though it had successfully shattered the Dragon Pulse with Dragon Claw!

"Roar!"

Tyrantrum, wreathed in white smoke all over, closed in on the startled Hydreigon that was trying to dodge, and its glowing-green Dragon Claw viciously slashed down at the middle head!

Peng!

"Sha-sang—"

Hydreigon, shrouded in billowing dust, groaned and retreated backward, the sudden heavy blow leaving its head somewhat dizzy.

Fortunately.

It could still take it.

Its opponent had even withstood a direct hit from Dragon Pulse — it wouldn't do for it not to be able to take it… even if it couldn't take it, it had to tough it out!

Hydreigon shook its head, struggling to clear its mind.

"Dodge upward!"

The trainer's shout made it instinctively flap its wings hard to gain altitude, and immediately a wave of heat and a gust of wind swept past beneath it — looking closely, it was actually a thick tail flashing with emerald-green light.

"Dragon Breath!"

Hydreigon's three heads inhaled sharply, rapidly firing a layered ring of indigo energy at Tyrantrum.

The latter, having just finished its move, was retreating, but carelessly failed to dodge completely — its tail was struck!

Peng!

As smoke billowed, Tyrantrum's body uncontrollably staggered backward again and again.

"Roar—"

Dragon Breath admittedly had less power, but correspondingly its startup speed was a bit faster than Dragon Pulse, and it also had a chance of leaving the opponent paralyzed.

However…

All Baimu looked at the opposing Tyrantrum and saw that its center of gravity was slightly forward as it panted heavily, realizing that the earlier Dragon Pulse and the just-now Dragon Breath hadn't fully landed, but the damage dealt was still considerable.

It was just that this fellow had forcibly endured the pain in order to land its attacks.

What terrifying willpower!

"Fly up and use Meteor Beam!"

Seeing that Hydreigon had already recovered, All Baimu unhesitatingly raised his right hand high, deciding to deliver a big one to this iron-willed fellow across the way.

"Sha-sang!"

Hydreigon violently flapped its wings to reach a high point, raised its middle head, concentrated, and rapidly gathered orange-red light at its chest and belly.

Although it had used Meteor Beam at double power many times before, that didn't mean the normal method of using it had been forgotten.

In an instant, terrifying Dragon-type energy brewed madly, the brilliant light like a small sun, making the streetlamps along the road and the full moon in the sky seem somewhat dimmed by comparison.

This strike will take it down!

The watching crowd raised their hands one after another to shield themselves from the dazzling light, yet their gazes refused to look away.

And at this moment.

Tyrantrum had finally recovered from the pain brought on by Dragon Pulse.

"Outrage!"

Facing its trainer's command, its body surface instantly rose with terrifying red mist, as if invisible flames surged back and forth. With its eyes shrouded in red light, its already fearsome aura became even more terrifying, and it leaped into the air to pounce on Hydreigon!

"Roar!

」

It let out a thunderous roar, and with its massive frame leaping several chi into the air, the three-headed dragon that had been charging its meteor swarm had no time to dodge—getting bitten on the tail and slammed hard into the ground!

Boom!

The latter never imagined the opponent could jump that high.

Fortunately, at the last possible instant, the three-headed dragon managed to blast out the meteor swarm it had been building up for so long.

Whoosh—

The orange-red energy orb shrieked as it shot high into the sky!

Boom!

The orb exploded, and countless huge points of light came crashing down like meteors, their long flaming tails as brilliant as lost light, heading straight for the Gabite that had fallen and collided with the three-headed dragon.

"Screee—"

The former struggled desperately to duck beneath the latter, successfully using it as a meat shield exposed to the blazing meteors.

Thud thud thud—!

Meteors fall!

Like meteors striking the Earth, numerous meteors slammed into every part of the field. Craters large and small appeared, and flying debris along with smoke shot out in all directions, causing the watching crowd to scatter.

As the primary target, the Gabite was struck three or four times in a row by the meteors, ring after ring of terrifying fire bursting across its back!

"Roar!"

The Gabite let out a pained, muffled roar. Even with its toughness, a meteor swarm of such terrifying power was hard to endure for the moment—every part of its body felt a tearing, rending pain.

But in its Outrage state, the fury in its heart outweighed the burden the pain placed on its body. Looking at the three-headed dragon beneath it, its mind was filled with the fierce will to take the other down even if it meant suffering grave wounds itself!

"—That's enough!"

"Stop!"

Two voices suddenly rang out.

The Gabite's fangs poised at the three-headed dragon's neck halted abruptly, and the Dragon Pulse the three-headed dragon had been attempting to build up slowly dissipated along with it.

The ones issuing the commands were, unmistakably, two trainers.

Some Pokémon, when struck by attacks beyond their physical limits, will quickly faint, while others will stubbornly hold on for various reasons.

In official matches or life-and-death battles, fighting this hard can still earn the resilient ones sufficient reward. But a street-corner friendly battle… there's really no need to push it to the point of needing days of rest. Frequent heavy injuries also affect a Pokémon's health.

The Gabite hadn't fallen, but it was teetering on the brink of serious injury.

Sure enough.

The instant the three-headed dragon quietly slipped away, the mountain-like creature couldn't help dropping to its knees on the ground, panting in agony.

He couldn't see the ending.

The watching crowd couldn't hide their disappointment on their faces. The two Dragon-type Pokémon had clashed for only a handful of rounds, but the power they displayed was enough to thrill them immensely.

The masked man stepped forward quickly, stuffing potions to restore stamina and cure status conditions into its mouth. Once its breathing gradually steadied, he gently stroked near its wounds.

"You've done very well to make it this far. Rest easy—I'll take you to be treated soon."

"Roar~"

The Gabite responded with a low growl and was recalled into its Poké Ball.

Not far away.

"Good work. Nicely done."

Baimu stroked the three-headed dragon's neck. For one that had only just begun adapting to its new body, achieving this much was already no easy feat.

But the Gabite's toughness was truly exaggerated. By all rights, after taking that many hits from the meteor swarm, it should have gone down by now…

Is it related to Outrage?

Suddenly.

He turned his head to the side and found the masked man had already come up beside him.

The other spoke: "You're as outstanding as the rumors say—you haven't disgraced the bloodline you carry."

"…Who are you?"

"Answer my question first. How many Badges do you have now?"

"Four."

"Once you've obtained six Badges, come find me at Meteor Falls." Miss Xijiana removed her mask, revealing a lovely face and a smile without a trace of hostility. "My name is Xijiana. Like you, I'm a descendant of the Star People dragon tamers."

It really is her!

Baimu's emotions churned within as he continued asking: "Why six Badges?"

"If you think that's too few, waiting until you have eight Badges is fine too." Miss Xijiana said with a beaming smile: "In any case, when the time comes, I'll give you a trial worthy of you."

Ignoring the curious gazes around her, she raised her hand and opened a Poké Ball.

Poof!

Under the moonlight.

A blue-green giant dragon with blood-red wings appeared, its quiet bearing exuding an air of mystery.

Baimu hurriedly called after her: "Wait—what kind of trial?"

"You'll know when the time comes. Keep on growing! Outstanding dragon tamer!" Miss Xijiana leapt onto the blue-green dragon's back and waved goodbye with a smile.

The next instant.

The Salamence's wings beat sharply, carrying her away into the distance.

Its extreme speed instantly killed any thought Baimu had of pursuing his questions. "…Was there really a need to run off that fast?"

And seeing this Salamence, he couldn't help but recall the "Team Rocket member" who had been chased by Lei Gong earlier.

Could that have been Xijiana too?

Probably that.

No wonder Yasha said the Team Rocket members in the secret base were all knocked out — and it wasn't from electric current. So Miss Xijiana disguised herself as a Team Rocket member and did it?

This one seems to especially like dressing up as a villainous organization…

"The trial… six badges."

All Baimu clicked his tongue, guessing that the trial Miss Xijiana mentioned was probably related to Mega Evolution. She had specifically chosen to battle Hydreigon earlier — perhaps to verify her own strength in raising Dragon-type Pokémon?

Still not satisfied?

But the difference of two badges shouldn't make him that much stronger.

"Once Porygon and Feebas evolve, maybe it's time to catch a new Dragon-type Pokémon." He recalled he still had two clues for designated base stats he hadn't used.

If he chose 600 base stats, the probability of drawing a Dragon-type pseudo-legendary was still quite high.

"Forget it, let's go first."

He turned to Hydreigon and said: "I'll take you to the Pokémon Center to get your head checked — that Garchomp's Dragon Claw must have hurt a lot."

"Saaa…"

Hydreigon responded with a sound.

——

Back at the hotel.

All Baimu was about to call out to Lei Gong, but unexpectedly the latter seemed to sense something, suddenly raised his head, and hopped over.

【A book-friend I've known for ten years recommended this reading app, Wild Fruit Reading! It's freaking awesome — I use it to pass the time while driving or before bed, listening to audiobooks. You can download it here. yeguoyuedu】

Circling around him, sniffing him every now and then.

Without a doubt Lei Gong was sniffing Miss Xijiana's scent. He had been tracking this "slippery fish" all day, and never expected to catch the scent on this kid.

Good news?

Absolutely not.

The first thought that flashed through his mind wasn't to ask All Baimu whether he'd encountered any suspicious person — just a sense of regret and helplessness.

He had guarded against it in every way, not wanting the latter to get mixed up in this matter, but in the end he still hadn't guarded well enough. All Baimu had run into that person, and had been in contact for quite a while — otherwise the scent couldn't be this "strong."

Thinking of this, Lei Gong's gaze at All Baimu carried a bit of resentment.

Why bother?

Seeing its strange expression, All Baimu asked blankly: "What's up? What are you sniffing?"

"Rrr…"

Lei Gong growled lowly and turned away, but unfortunately the former couldn't understand the meaning of the roar.

"Speaking of which, didn't you chase a Team Rocket member riding a Salamence during the day? I might have run into her on my way back — you'd never guess her real identity."

All Baimu caught up with its steps and proactively brought up the matter concerning Miss Xijiana.

"…"

Hearing this, Lei Gong was even less inclined to deal with this dimwit kid with a hole in his head.

Why's he so happy about running into Team Rocket?

Who could have expected that what All Baimu said next would make it pause mid-step.

"She's actually not from Team Rocket — she's a People of the Stars! Do you know the People of the Stars?"

"Rrr?"

Lei Gong slightly tilted his head, his pupils widening a little — clearly starting to pay attention to what he was saying.

All Baimu took advantage of the momentum and told Lei Gong about some of the things that had just happened, as well as his so-called People of the Stars dragon-tamer descendant bloodline.

Although he didn't have much sense of belonging toward this identity, once the people around him had slapped this label on him, they tightly linked him with the People of the Stars.

As long as it didn't cause him any trouble, he didn't really care about this stuff either.

Anyway, he had enough identities already.

After hearing the whole story, Lei Gong's gaze at All Baimu inevitably carried a strange tint — to be honest, he really hadn't expected this kid to have such a complicated identity.

He had thought he was just a pure Trainer.

And the Team Rocket member he had been chasing was actually a People of the Stars impersonator… no wonder she was so good at hiding.

Not that Lei Gong looked down on Team Rocket — facts proved that while Team Rocket grasped core cutting-edge tech, there really were a lot of small fries in it, with relatively few elite members.

Now that the identity of that Team Rocket member had been verified, he didn't need to keep chasing.

He lay back by the bed, resting his head on his crossed front paws, and dozed off with half-closed eyes.

All Baimu looked at this lazy big cat, a hint of hesitation crossing his face.

Now, at this point.

The Team Rocket base in Panpour Town had been dealt with, and Lei Gong's external injuries were basically healed. Under these circumstances, the moment of parting seemed to be approaching.

But he was a little reluctant.

He'd only just touched its chin — he hadn't even gotten to rub its belly yet.

All Baimu looked at this big cat he was quite fond of, and the thought of parting soon inevitably left a knot in his heart.

Of course.

He was well aware that the Lei Gong before him, as a member of Ho-Oh's escort, constantly giving Team Rocket trouble for world peace, possessed exactly what kind of will and conviction — so he wouldn't dream of asking it to fight only for him.

But…

It was too short.

It hadn't even been a week!

Seeming to sense All Baimu's rather downcast gaze, Lei Gong slightly tilted his head and lifted an eyelid to glance at the former.

How could he not know it himself.

After figuring out the true identity of that Team Rocket member, one more reason to stay by this kid's side was gone, and its gradually healing wounds seemed to urge it to leave quickly.

But recalling everything that had happened over these past days, Lei Gong realized it would be hard to take that step.

During the day as well.

Some unnamed thing drove it back here.

Yet Lei Gong's heart actually understood the reason for doing so very well — the reason it had been reducing contact with humans for all these years was precisely this—

Attachment.

Although it was not Baimu's Pokémon, and Baimu was certainly not its trainer. Yet the bond gradually born through being together did not require a Poké Ball to be built.

Lei Gong certainly always felt this guy was a stinky brat who only knew how to grope randomly, but in truth, through being together it had come to recognize Baimu's talent as a trainer, and realized he needed a stable environment to grow.

So afterward it felt a bit of regret at nearly getting him dragged into it.

Fortunately, Baimu had not yet been implicated.

Lei Gong was also especially clear that, for whatever reason, it was time for it to choose to leave, but... but ah...

Let it stay just a little while longer.

Even if only the last night.

"Roar..."

Lei Gong's eyes slightly closed, listening to Baimu's voice that came from time to time by its ear, its heart at peace, and quiet.