Chapter 362: Champion Dawu's Fervor

Lei Gong is speechless now.

And it doesn't want to answer Baimu's stupid question—whether it had ever seen Kyogre before.

If it had ever seen one, it wouldn't have spent half a day guessing what this thing was.

In the end, it merely sensed an abnormal energy fluctuation and wanted Baimu to go take a look. The series of events that followed were beyond its expectations.

Even rocks containing Fire Stone and Fire Gem were picked up on a whim—since they were already there, might as well take them all.

Who knew one of them would contain a Legendary Pokémon?

"I understand."

Seeing Lei Gong turn its head away and swish its tail in obvious irritation, Baimu realized he'd probably unconsciously touched a sore spot.

But he asked for a reason.

As one of the Legendary Pokémon revived a hundred and fifty years ago by the Tower Master Ho-Oh at the Burned Tower, he was curious whether Lei Gong was already Lei Gong before its revival—or, as others speculated, one of Yin Bu's.

Baimu had searched online for legends of the Ho-Oh Guard and found the oldest recorded event was Ho-Oh's descent at the Burned Tower.

Yet on the other hand.

The movie "Phantom Lord" clearly showed Shiny versions of the Three Legendary Beasts; even if no online records exist of differently colored Ho-Oh Guard members, the city of Wang Guan and the infamous criminal Koutai from the movie's setting are undeniably real.

"Have you ever been to Wang Guan?"

He asked.

Lei Gong stayed silent, as if in a bad mood.

Seeing this, Baimu's suspicions vanished. He casually set down the Wishing Star, pulled out a comb, and began soothing this somewhat vain big cat.

At first, Lei Gong twisted away, refusing to be brushed—but as Baimu kept brushing, waves of tingling warmth rose into its head, and it reluctantly accepted.

Listen closely, and you can hear its breathing is slightly heavy and coarse, as if it's barely holding on—no idea when it'll start purring like a cat.

Maybe the same day it lets you bury your face in its fur?

"Heh."

Baimu couldn't help but chuckle quietly.

This big cat is the classic type that needs petting when angry—but once calmed, even rough rubbing against the fur won't bother it. It looks dignified on the outside, but inside is sensitive, easily irritated, and never hides its emotions.

He wondered what the other two were like.

Entei, fabricated by the Unknown Totem, radiated dignity and strength—it was infused with elements of his father, fulfilling Xiao Mei's idealized image of him.

Suicune… hard to say.

As he combed its fur, he chatted with Lisha on his phone, agreeing to her request to hand over the Wishing Star along with the Fire Stone and Fire Gem for her to study.

Of course, if the Wishing Star reacted to him, Baimu might ask Kyogre's permission.

And regarding transportation:

Lisha: Absolutely no mailing! This is the Wishing Star! What if it gets attacked by a Pokémon during transit and lost?

Baimu: That's unlikely… I heard the package loss rate is less than one in a thousand.

Lisha: One in a thousand is already way too high! Wait! I'm sending Champion Dawu to you!

Baimu: Huh?

Lisha: Where are you going next?

Baimu: No need to bother Champion Dawu… Fine, fine, I'll head to Akiba Town. Give me one and a half days at most—I'll get there.

Lisha: Got it! I'll have Champion Dawu contact you when you arrive!

Baimu: …

How does this sister talk like she can casually command the Champion? But given Dawu's fanatic obsession with stones, hearing about a stone containing a Legendary Pokémon, no matter how far away, he'd 100% come running.

——

Northern Cable Car Station.

Baimu pushed his massive cart down, sprinting through the curious gazes of staff and travelers.

The wind stirred a corner of the black cloth, revealing jagged rocks.

That made them look away.

Many people come to Chimney Mountain to collect stones; while those who take away huge quantities like Baimu are rare, they're not unheard of.

Baimu continued down the mountain path, stopped the cart before a grove of trees, lifted the black cloth to let Lei Gong roam free, and tossed the unwanted stones aside.

"... Still can't fit it all. What now?"

After putting the Fire Stone into his bag, he realized the remaining Fire Gems and Wishing Star wouldn't fit—his bag was already stuffed full. He looked helplessly at Lei Gong.

"..."

Lei Gong silently looked away.

What could it do? It wasn't a Tauros pulling the cart.

"Guess I'll have to keep pushing this cart." Baimu sighed, placed his bag and the stones back on the cart, covered them with the black cloth, and tied them down with rope to prevent them from falling off.

Since he needed to reach Akiba Town or nearby by tomorrow, there was no point stopping at the Blaziken Farm.

He led Lei Gong and Galarian Sunflora to the nearest Fiery Path.

This tunnel.

In the game, it connects both ends of Route 112, letting players bypass the desert before obtaining goggles.

But in the anime, it lies at the very bottom of Chimney Mountain, with multiple exits and entrances, serving as a major transit route for travelers to quickly reach Route 113.

However, be warned: there are many temperamental Lava Lizards here.

When they move in groups, they're called the Lava Tide—their extremely high body temperature leaves everything they pass through charred black, comparable to a natural disaster.

Trainers often provoke them, only to be relentlessly chased.

And without doubt, in the anime, its skin—like the fire on Gyarados with the Rough Skin ability and Magmar—is a recognized Pokémon whose touch won't harm you if stroked properly.

So seeing someone stroke a lava snail said to have a body temperature of ten thousand degrees isn't surprising.

Just basic animation stuff.

"Actually, there's no need to scare them—you can see they won't come near."

Baimu pushed the cart, gazing distantly at the lava insects glowing brightly not far off, and said to Lei Gong beside him.

The Phoenix Guard is like a hero to weak wild Pokémon, making them unconsciously draw closer seeking protection. But lava insects, a wild species accustomed to ferocity, see Lei Gong in an entirely different light.

Especially when Lei Gong releases his aura.

【Pressure】 keeps him perpetually exuding a fiercely menacing presence; though it no longer affects Baimu, who knows him well, it remains highly effective at intimidating wild Pokémon.

"... Roar."

Lei Gong glanced at him.

If only he could command those lava insects, he'd definitely make them charge over and scare the brat.

Like being surrounded? I'll let you be surrounded till you're sick of it!

Too bad.

Seeing Lei Gong's expression, Baimu knew the guy was probably scheming something nasty, so he hurriedly pushed the cart rumbling forward.

To be honest, the cart worked pretty well—just the wheels were too small for rough terrain; a pebble getting stuck would easily break them, so he avoided paths littered with rubble.

Fortunately, most of the Lava Path's ground was either trodden flat or burned flat, making it fairly friendly to the cart.

Thanks to their excellent foot speed.

Before long, they passed through the exit of Route 113.

Sunlight fell upon them again, and Baimu and Lei Gong, both tired of the tunnel's dusty smell, instinctively took a deep breath; the Galarian Sunflora on their shoulders also relaxed instantly.

But since volcanic ash often blew this way, the air quality on Route 113 was equally terrible—each breath was thick with the scent of nature.

All three expressions grew slightly stiff.

Then.

"... Come on! Autumn Leaf Town is right ahead!"

Baimu broke the silence first, speaking enthusiastically to the large and small Pokémon.

Unfortunately, today he was facing neither Dragonite nor Jigglypuff, but two complete dead ends—the kind you could scream at till you were hoarse and still get no reply—and so, predictably, the moment died.

"Keep moving!"

Baimu pretended he heard a response in his mind and pushed the cart along the path.

Then...

The cart's wheel broke.

"We've only used it for a little over half a day." He stared at the cart slumping sideways, holding the detached wheel.

It had split clean through the middle, and there were no replacement parts.

It made him feel like he'd split too.

Seeing this, Lei Gong silently slipped into the forest dusted with volcanic ash, avoiding the risk of being forced into becoming a pack animal by someone's pleading.

"In that case... I'm counting on you, Polygon!"

After much thought, Baimu decided to entrust the grueling task of hauling rocks to Polygon, who possessed shape-shifting abilities.

Indeed.

Polygon, its edges transformed into a floating cargo bed, perfectly carried all the rocks, using its electromagnetic levitation system to make the load look effortless.

The only problem was how long it could last.

Normally, altering one's body structure imposes mental strain on a Pokémon—like Water Yin Bu using dissolution, or Jigglypuff using miniaturization. But there are always a few special cases.

For instance, the naturally shape-shifting Ditto, and the Polygon specifically engineered with shape-shifting power.

"If all else fails, I'll just have to call in Steelix." Baimu thought, then reconsidered—maybe hanging the net on Dragonite's back could work too?

It truly proved the saying: as long as your mind doesn't give up, solutions always outnumber difficulties.

"Good job."

Baimu patted the one remaining head part of Polygon; gaining six hearts' trust was undeniably difficult, but he believed it wouldn't take long.

"Papli~"

Polygon responded with a smile.

It was glad to help its trainer, and besides, this was good practice for its shape-shifting ability.

Baimu turned his gaze to the bushes and called out helplessly, "You can come out now! You don't need to work anymore!"

No response.

It seemed too embarrassed to show itself.

This big cat really...

Baimu shook his head, knowing it would leave once he was gone, and continued onward.

Seconds later, the forest rustled—that was clearly Lei Gong moving.

——

And through Baimu's group's relentless effort,

as dusk fell after sunset, night gradually descended.

They finally saw the outer silhouette of Autumn Leaf Town—the town's lights shimmered under the night sky, brilliant beams shooting into the heavens, casting a special glow over the heavens.

"Phew..."

Baimu exhaled a long breath, looked at the Dragonite pulling rocks with a rope, and patted its middle head. "Good work! Just hold on a little longer!"

Polygon ultimately couldn't hold out till the end, even after resorting to wheels and self-regeneration.

Its low level meant insufficient stamina and other limitations, forcing this "grueling" task to be handed over to its teammates at last.

"Sandy voice—"

The three-headed dragon rubbed its snout against his palm; even if it were truly exhausted, gasping for breath and too tired to speak, hearing its trainer's voice would instantly revive its spirit.

Lei Gong stepped to the other side, gazing at the distant Leaf Town, then suddenly let out a low growl.

"Roar~"

"What? You want to go to Meteor Falls right now?"

Although Baimu couldn't understand what the creature was saying, he could guess well enough—especially since its eyes were fixed firmly on the direction of Meteor Falls.

"We haven't even eaten dinner yet! And I want to go with you—hey!"

The words weren't even finished.

Lei Gong had already sprinted off into the distance.

"Will you come back tonight? Will you even find me?" Baimu shouted after its retreating back; the creature responded with another low growl, easing his worries slightly.

If it could respond to questions, it wasn't too bad.

He realized Lei Gong's senses were extraordinarily sharp—not just for scent and breath, but it could also perceive objects through the ever-present charged particles in the air, allowing it to effortlessly locate what it sought, such as Jirachi, Fire Stone, and Fire Gem.

The same applied to other things; the Team Rocket base was most likely detected by it through abnormal electrical currents.

From this perspective, finding him was relatively easy.

"Cats don't stay long—they just walk off without telling you where they're going," Baimu sighed endlessly; the greatest obstacle between them, perhaps, was that the creature never told him anything.

Even when something was plainly right in front of him, it would still respond with silence.

So why had Lei Gong gone to Meteor Falls? Even now, Baimu remained completely in the dark.

"Forget it."

He stopped worrying about it, found a rented single-room hotel with a courtyard, a type specifically for trainers who disliked keeping their Pokémon always inside Poké Balls—expensive, but worth it.

Still, Baimu now had money in his pocket, so a little extra cost didn't matter.

Not long after putting down his backpack.

He was about to take his Pokémon to the Pokémon Center for a checkup when he received a call from Champion Dawu.

"Champion Dawu?"

"Long time no see, Baimu! I heard you got a rock that might be a sleeping Jirachi?" Dawu's cheerful laugh came through the phone.

In the background, a peculiar whooshing sound could be heard.

"Yes, I bought it by chance from a con artist near Mount Chimney."

"... Con artist?"

"Yeah, he picked up a bunch of weird rocks and sold them as 'gambling stones.' I found it among them," Baimu briefly explained the process.

"I see. No wonder Lisha said you're a lucky guy."

Dawu on the other end sounded deeply moved. "By the way, you've reached Leaf Town, right? Give me your location."

Baimu was about to reply when he caught a flash of brilliant silver light in the sky. "I'm… ah, I think I see you—Happy Egg's Magical Shine!"

"Happy~"

Happy Egg emitted an incredibly dazzling array of multicolored light, like countless sharp needles stabbing outward in all directions.

The three-headed dragon beside it turned all three faces pale with terror, fleeing instantly from places that were never in danger anyway, hiding behind a corner—it had already experienced firsthand how terrifying a four-times weakness to Fairy-type moves could be, back when it was a Dratini.

You couldn't pretend you didn't see something like this.

"I see it."

Dawu's gentle voice came through the phone, then the call ended; the silver light in the sky grew brighter and expanded rapidly.

Finally.

Champion Dawu appeared, crouched lightly atop the head of the Shiny Metagross, his coat flapping in the wind; perhaps due to the cold at high altitude, his face was slightly flushed.

"It's been a while, Baimu!"

Dawu leapt down; his hair was slightly messy but quickly returned to its original shape. "I never expected to see you again so soon after our last parting."

"Me neither."

Baimu knew exactly why the Champion had come. He didn't drag it out—he turned and signaled Gyarados to bring out the Wishing Star. "Lisha said this is a sleeping Wishing Star, but I can't confirm it—could you take a look?"

"Alright, then I'll take a look?"

Dawu's tone sounded uncertain, but he had already stepped up to the Wishing Star, pulled out a pair of white gloves from his pocket, and began gently tracing its surface.

The excited flush on his face didn't fade at all—in fact, it deepened further as he examined the Wishing Star.

Behind him, Baimu silently whistled.

He'd known Dawu loved rocks, but this "ready-to-marry-a-rock" look still exceeded his expectations.

Come to think of it.

To travel thousands of miles all the way to Leaf Town, Dawu must have been filled with intense anticipation; under such fervent passion, this behavior wasn't surprising.

Since you're touching my rock…

Then I'll just touch your Pokémon.

Baimu turned to face the Shiny Metagross, which stood like a four-legged crab—its gleaming silver exterior, golden X-shaped face, and massive frame.

Every detail radiated sheer coolness.

"Hey there, do you remember me?"

He waved at the Shiny Metagross, expecting it to be aloof—but after sizing him up, the creature immediately raised its right foreleg.

"Nope!"

The Shiny Metagross's crimson eyes curved into crescents—it clearly remembered back in Huang Tie Town, when Baimu had fed it.

That young man who cooked delicious food!

Baimu smiled in return. "I'm glad you remember me. Hungry? Want me to make you something to eat?"

"Nope!"

The shiny Metagross glanced at its Trainer, saw that Champion Dawu was still engrossed in the Wishing Star, and nodded firmly.

If the Trainer wouldn't bother, couldn't it find something to eat on its own?

Then—

A steaming bowl of Pokémon food was set down before the shiny Metagross. It pinched up a bit with a claw and stuffed it into its mouth, and instantly its eyes lit up.

So good!

As the Champion's Pokémon and the partner trusted by Dawu, the shiny Metagross had actually eaten quite a few good things in its life.

But no matter how much it had eaten, food that was truly delicious enough would still move it.

It would never become less tasty just because it had eaten too many good things.

And Dawu, who was studying the Wishing Star, suddenly heard his stomach start to growl. He instinctively turned his head toward Metagross and saw it looking perfectly content, grabbing food with its front claws and stuffing it into its mouth like a crab. His expression turned a little awkward.

"Uh… um…"

"If you don't mind, Dawu-san, I still have plenty of food here. You can have a few bites to tide you over." Baimu, ever considerate, offered up the rest of the dinner.

Dawu glanced at him, then at the dinner, and his thoughts drifted back to the time in Iron Town.

"Then I'll… accept gratefully rather than stand on ceremony."

The Wishing Star was wonderful, but it could be studied while eating too.