Chapter 376: Flight Saddle

【Hot-Blooded Teen】Talent isn't worth keeping.

At least without a blue talent to complement it, Baimu knew the negative effects of this talent outweighed the positive.

Not everyone is as lucky and resourceful as the girl student.

Besides, the girl student is already reckless enough.

He closed his eyes and picked rewards one, two, and three.

"Brave Bird, a move no one can learn yet."

Baimu stretched, then called over the Big-Mouthed Kid, who sat on another sofa, watching cartoons on TV while sipping black tea and eating cookies.

"Kee-doh?"

The Big-Mouthed Kid frowned, impatiently shifting its butt—it still wanted to watch "Cat Boss and Little Rattata."

The latest episode featured Little Rattata's cousin Alola Rattata arriving to give Cat Boss a good beating—this was the climax of the plot!

"Here's a little gift, for all your hard work these days." He patted its head and sent all three levels into it.

The Big-Mouthed Kid, just as it was swatting his hand away, suddenly felt a new power surge through its body.

It couldn't help but beam with joy.

"Kee-doh!"

If it weren't too shy, it would've definitely kissed its trainer.

"Glad you're happy. Go on." Baimu waved him off, not wanting to ruin the Big-Mouthed Kid's good mood.

For various reasons, it had received the least level rewards among them—whether at level fifty or seventy, it had long relied almost entirely on its own talent to level up.

Now that its final evolution into Dragonite was complete, it deserved to eat more.

Right now.

Following the principle of balancing work and rest, after days of intense training—regardless of whether results appeared—he always let his Pokémon enjoy one or two full days of play, doing what they loved, while giving himself a break too.

Today was a rest day.

From his current viewpoint, the first thing he noticed was the colorful Gyarados occupying the fish tank, attempting to return to its former state of extreme laziness—the Galarian Sunflora.

Supposedly, being underwater kept it calm—whether true or not, he didn't know.

Before they had a fish tank, the Galarian Sunflora either stayed in the sink, or in a bucket or basin—it never minded.

That was fine.

Then came the Big-Mouthed Kid beside it, watching TV and snacking—despite the large plate of cookies in front of it, that was actually its weekly ration.

If not strictly monitored, this "sugar destroyer" would easily finish it all—and then eat two more big bowls at night.

Oh, and the black tea too.

Whenever Baimu brewed a pot, it drank a pot—its small body had a bottomless stomach, hence its second nickname: Black Tea Devourer.

Funny thing was, this cow-like way of drinking didn't stop it from tasting the quality of the tea.

In the kitchen, out of sight, a Happiny was happily cooking; Baimu could hear the rhythmic thudding of the knife on the cutting board even over the TV noise.

Perhaps before, Happiny learned cooking to ease its trainer's burden—but now there was another reason:

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Because it liked it.

Baimu was glad Happiny had turned cooking into a passion rather than a chore; when he tasted its food, he could clearly sense Happiny's emotions within.

Outside the veranda, on the lawn, bamboo grove, and flower beds, Bisharp was watering plants and trees with a bucket and hose, also trimming them as needed.

The colorful Gyarados was inside the bucket—though it couldn't help, watching was still fun.

Farther away, a Poliwhirl zipped back and forth like a remote-control car, chased by a pack of village-dog-like Dratini—no one knew whose they were, since no Meteor People were visible nearby.

So.

Here's the question.

Where was the most clingy one—the Dragonite?

【Dragon's Nest】.

Baimu had forcefully sent it there; as the only Dragon-type Pokémon in the team, it was a shame not to let it wander the Dragon's Nest a bit.

Of course, not to make it king of the nest like Ash's Charizard—just to meet other Dragons, laying groundwork for future encounters with suitable Dragon-type Pokémon.

If it learned something, great; if not, fine—the main goal was to cultivate its independence.

Being too clingy was bad.

Baimu had specifically asked the Zangoose Dragon's Nest if it welcomed outsiders; without hesitation, they let his Sharpedo lead the Dragonite over—surely it could fit in.

After all, Dragonite was quite strong, and stronger Dragon-types were always more welcome.

"I wonder how it's doing now…"

He'd been the one to kick it out, yet he couldn't help worrying, "Should I… sneak over and check? No, its nose is too sharp—it'd spot me. Wait until it's nearly dark."

Baimu checked the time, went to another sofa, picked up the Big-Mouthed Kid, watched TV with it for a while, then went to the kitchen to taste Happiny's dish.

Next, he took the pruning shears and guided Bisharp to sculpt a Pokémon shape, then joined Poliwhirl in cosplaying the Four Wheel Brothers, finally accompanying Bisharp and the colorful Gyarados—after they finished tending the plants—to swim in a nearby stream.

The rest day was still busy, yet joyful.

Interacting with Pokémon was like petting a cat—it always lifted the spirit, since the bond was mutual, with no one-sided effort.

Isn't it joyful to see a Pokémon whose eyes are entirely filled with you?

At least Baimu was happy.

At lunch, he called Steelix from Huang Tie Town, then after the meal helped it clean its gleaming steel body with sand and a brush, and immediately sat atop its head to fly into the air and cruise around.

It wasn't to show off before the Meteor People—the village had plenty of seasoned elders who'd seen everything; showing off meant nothing.

But Steelix was so huge—you couldn't hide it. Standing over ten meters tall in Meteor Village's flat terrain, where most houses were only one-and-a-half stories, it stood out like a kaiju descending in Showa-era Japan.

Better to just be casual and do what you want.

However.

Flying up in the sky was admittedly a bit flashy, so when Steelix took off it carried only the trainer, yet in less than half an hour it was carrying a whole group of young dragon tamers.

The kids who had just gotten out of school happened to spot the colossal Steelix dancing through the sky, and couldn't help but shout and chase after it the whole way.

Left with no choice, Baimu, after getting Steelix's nod, gave them a ride.

And in fact, carrying human children was something Steelix did extremely often in Rainbow Team. Setting aside the pressure from its fierce exterior and massive size, there was hardly a child in Rainbow Team who didn't like it.

Mountain-ripening also told Baimu that the members of Rainbow Team, especially those from Green-Dependence Street and the Quicksand Team background, regarded Steelix as the guardian deity specially left behind by the "leader."

Even though more than three months had passed since that day, many people had not forgotten the voice that led the Pokémon upstream against the current.

Perhaps that outsider Champion Mr. had contributed more, but for many people in Rainbow Team, the sense of belonging Baimu brought them was different.

So Steelix's existence was revered by many.

Some of his old companions, meanwhile, saw Steelix as proof that Baimu had not abandoned them.

Love me, love my dog?

Perhaps that was indeed the answer.

"Be careful!" Baimu shouted up to Steelix in the sky.

"Roar~"

The colossal Steelix rumbled back in response; today it had also played the part of a school bus, carrying these schoolchildren on a leisurely back-and-forth ride.

Around them flew many Altaria and Flygon, and a bit farther out on the perimeter were Swablu and Vibrava.

"What a massive flying squadron…"

Baimu looked up at the sky, shading the sun with one palm, when someone suddenly patted his arm.

He turned his head and found it was a smiling old man; the latter was holding a strange brownish item in his hand, and only after a second look did Baimu recognize it as a custom-made saddle in the Trihydrex style.

"Ah! Thank you, Grandpa!"

Baimu took it quite happily.

Yesterday, under Zhenya's guidance, he had come to find Master Qingshan, the most skilled craftsman in Meteor Village, to see if he could fit a saddle on Trihydrex so Baimu could ride it.

To be honest, he wasn't really holding out much hope.

Even though Trihydrex had been excited once it learned the reason, its size really wasn't well-suited for riding.

Unexpectedly, the old master took one look at his and Trihydrex's measurements, said nothing, shut himself in his workshop, and in less than a day had successfully made it.

After Baimu took it in hand and examined it, he confirmed the thing was a hundred percent usable.

"Hohoho…"

Master Qingshan still didn't say much, chuckling as he turned and walked away. Zhenya had said this was his natural disposition — accustomed to doing more and saying less, the same even when he was young.

And as expected, the saddle wasn't charged for, which made Baimu wonder how he should reciprocate.

He figured he'd better make some food and send it over.

He had discovered that the only thing he could give people without being refused was his cooking.

"Time to set off!"

Baimu shouted up to Steelix in the sky.

He still had to go pick up another little one who was about to get out of school.

Although it was only three in the afternoon, Steelix's flying speed really wasn't fast, and from Meteor Village to Dragon's Nest it would take quite a long stretch of time; better to go early so the child wouldn't get impatient waiting.

But even if he arrived late, wouldn't it just come back with the dragon flock?

Many Dragon-type Pokémon in Meteor Village headed over toward Dragon's Nest during the day, then leisurely flew back in groups at night, day after day in endless repetition.

"Roar!"

Steelix responded from midair and immediately dove, giving the young dragon tamers a near-bungee-jump weightless sensation; they shrieked and then burst into laughter.

Even the youngest little loli Yuzu wasn't scared, laughing heartily and shouting "Again! Again!" — anyone who didn't know would think she was at an amusement park.

Unfortunately, her wish wasn't granted.

Baimu shooed the disappointed little rascals down, declared today's game over, then squatted on Steelix's forehead and flew back to his lodging to pick up Aggron and the other Pokémon, before sending it flying toward Meteor Waterfall.

He hadn't forgotten about Team Rocket, so he could only heartlessly cut short their day off.

They'd pick it back up after returning.

Naturally the Pokémon had no objections — without the trainer by their side, how could they enjoy themselves with peace of mind? Better to come along and wait for Trihydrex to "get out of school."

A whole group of companions going to welcome it — Trihydrex could be considered quite the honor.