Chapter 388: The Day of the Box Opening

He returned to his quarters.

Baimu hastily set up an inflatable pool and placed the Metang inside.

Boom!

Water splashed everywhere.

The massive body pressed against the pool's edge, clear water gushing out with a rush, golden scales shimmering with rainbow halos under the sun—beautiful beyond words—but this couldn't hide the fact that it had to curl up just to fit in the inflatable pool.

"Miglo?"

Metang glanced left and right; seeing the water level drop, it simply wriggled out of the pool—it no longer struggled to breathe without water like before.

After all, it was a Pokémon descended from amphibians.

Baimu looked up at Metang, now standing over two meters tall; its head was only slightly slimmer than the heavily armored Bisharp, its pale blue, alluring eyes the size of fists, and up close, they carried a faint aura of intimidation.

Strictly speaking, Metang's eight-meter length was "overstated"—its tail tip, crowned with overlapping golden scales like a fan, accounted for nearly a full meter.

The remaining seven-plus meters, given its body size or thickness, didn't look particularly exaggerated.

At least not compared to the eighteen-meter Gyarados.

It still fit within the range of what a house could accommodate.

"Miglo~"

Metang lowered its head and nuzzled Baimu's face, then curled its pale blue, hair-like fins around his waist.

"Huh! So you can control your 'hair' too?"

The latter was surprised.

But in truth, Metang could only bend its hair-like fins—lifting them or making fine movements was nearly impossible.

As he leaned closer, Baimu noticed something he hadn't seen during the award ceremony—

The once faint fishy odor from Metang's protective skin mucus and secretions had been replaced by a unique fragrance; after prolonged exposure, it no longer repelled but instead invigorated the mind, still originating from the same secretions and mucus.

The difference was like comparing thick, murky, disgusting snot to a smooth, clear, delicate liquid essence.

He dabbed a bit and examined it; under sunlight, it glimmered with iridescent speckles.

Damn.

This thing was practically a Mary Sue heroine from old novels—transforming from an ugly duckling into a swan, flipping from one extreme to the other.

"Miglo?"

Metang, utterly clueless about what its trainer was doing, wore an expression of curiosity.

"Nothing… I just feel how much you've changed."

Baimu shook his head, patted its blue hair-like fins, and told it to step back, "Let me take a good look."

"Miglo~"

Metang slowly twisted backward several times, completing the retreat without even turning its head—its posture showed no discomfort or stiffness, proving it had adapted far better to this new body than expected.

He was quite satisfied, but upon seeing the pitiful inflatable pool, he couldn't help thinking:

"Should I buy a new pool?"

There was little space left in his bag; larger items could only be stored by sacrificing stored food and clean water—ultimately, was buying a bigger inflatable pool even worth it?

The old fish tank was definitely out of the question—time to retire it.

If he wanted to buy one, he'd have to clear out some of the Stufful items he'd bought but never used—its personal belongings filled the most space, even the dolls took up a significant portion—

This was even after many dolls had been sent back to Huang Tie Town.

Thinking of Stufful, Baimu couldn't help feeling troubled; finding common ground with that thing was truly hard. Maybe he should just let things take their course and wait for fate to decide.

First, he needed to let Bisharp fully master the power of Mega Evolution.

"All out! Meet the 'new' teammate!"

He opened each Poké Ball one by one.

Seeing this, Metang slightly lowered its head, restrained—now it didn't care about strangers' gazes or opinions, but it deeply cared about how its teammates perceived it.

Especially Stufful and Bisharp—one it considered one of its closest girlfriends, the other its ever-caring older brother.

The Pokémon landed.

Their eyes were instantly stolen by Metang's elegant, beautiful appearance.

"Kichido~"

Stufful gasped in awe and stepped forward, boldly reaching out to stroke Metang's golden scales as if touching a rare treasure.

"Miglo~"

Metang nuzzled Stufful, then rubbed against the Happy Egg beside it—the three sisters of the Glitter Contest had always been closest.

"Happy~"

The Happy Egg beamed with delight.

A short distance behind, Dragonite poked its head out, sniffing Metang's body scent; as a Pokémon that recognized teammates by smell, Metang's drastic change in odor left it baffled.

Is this… the Gyarados?

It turned its head toward its trainer for confirmation, but its peripheral vision caught Metang's fan-like tail fin—and instantly recognized it.

Other Dragonite might have forgotten, but the frequency and amplitude of Gyarados's tail fin movements it would never forget—the way it had practiced waterfall climbing with Bisharp had left a deep impression.

"Sashou!"

Amazing!

It sniffed Metang's scent again, committing it to memory.

"Parili~"

Poliwhirl's eyes brimmed with envy and admiration; now, it was the only one in the team still longing to evolve but hadn't yet—its heart carried a quiet urgency.

Yet it had no clue how to finally boost that last bit of trust.

Maybe tell the trainer to just evolve it with five hearts already.

On the back of the Poliwhirl, the Galarian Sunflora occupying the Wang Zuo offered no comment.

Unless Baimu strongly demands it to speak, it only admires the beauty of Milotic with its gaze—occasionally pleasing the eyes also helps with slacking off.

Come to think of it, since the trainer warned the Dreepy, it hasn't been bothered again—strangely, it feels a bit uneasy; probably its brain's gone bad?

Wait, ghosts don't even have skulls, do they?

It amused itself with a dark joke. In the past, it never had so many emotional fluctuations, but since starting "work," its body had begun rumbling like a restarted giant machine, impossible to shut off.

"Roar…"

The Steelix lowered its mountain-sized head, utterly astonished that the skinny, small, ugly little fish had transformed into something resembling its own shape—and even looked quite beautiful.

Too bad, it's not as tough, strong, and gleaming as my magnificent body!

Bigger is better! Harder is stronger!

Steelix had never been dissatisfied with its body; on the contrary, its towering, imposing physique was its pride.

Every time it flew into the air and saw the envious (or fearful) glances of others or Pokémon, it would gleefully want to throw its head back and roar—and often, after roaring, those people and Pokémon would become even more envious.

Perfect!

"Miiro~"

Milotic surveyed its familiar companions, relieved that their attitudes hadn't changed at all.

Although it was utterly satisfied with its new body, it didn't want its companions to treat it differently—best to stay just as before.

Then finally.

Milotic cautiously watched the Boldore standing at the outermost edge, who had never come forward, and nervously approached it, "Miiro?"

The latter remained silent for a long time; it felt uneasy.

The next moment.

Boldore slowly raised its claw, gently placing it on Milotic's head, stroking it with deep affection and softly growling, "Gurro."

Congratulations. You've worked so hard all this time.

In that instant.

Milotic's eyes filled with tears; it leapt onto Boldore and rubbed all over it, "Miiro~~"

Yes, this was exactly what it most wanted to hear.

Aside from the trainer, only Boldore truly understood how much effort Milotic had poured into climbing the Dragon's Waterfall, how many times it had wanted to give up, and how many times it chose to grit its teeth and keep going.

Because they had walked this path together!

Every step forward, every scar, every despairing night, every battle fueled with determination.

Without these experiences, Milotic didn't believe it could have held on until today. Though the trainer's encouragement mattered greatly, only chasing that distant, awe-inspiring figure had been its reason for refusing to let go.

So when it heard Boldore's congratulations and comfort, the emotions surging inside Milotic instantly burst forth, spilling uncontrollably from its eyes.

"Miiro!"

I really tried hard!

For evolution, to not disappoint everyone's phase, I worked incredibly hard! I never gave up until the very end!

It was so hard, so incredibly hard!

Praise me more!

"Gurro…"

Boldore awkwardly hugged Milotic, seeing Baimu smiling and nodding from afar, its expression turned helpless yet touched, "Gurro~"

Yes, you're amazing. You've done brilliantly.

You've always been my pride.

It comforted Milotic, who cried and nuzzled against it; as a witness who had actively shared in its growth, Boldore had long regarded Milotic as an important junior.

And now, Boldore roughly understood how the trainer felt watching it grow from weak to strong, gradually becoming what it is today.

That deep sense of pride was simply impossible to calm.

"Feels like I'm the redundant trainer," Baimu leaned against the Snorlax's head, gently scratching the Dreepy's chin, joking to the other Pokémon.

Everyone looked at Milotic, not looking down on or rejecting it for its nearly broken emotional display—only a little envy, gentle teasing, and warmth.

Even in animations, Pokémon crying after evolution seems nonexistent—he could only say that only those who raised them personally knew the diversity of Pokémon, and how many of them possessed intelligence rivaling humans.

After all, intense emotion is a hallmark of advanced lifeforms.

And as if hearing his words.

Milotic, tearful, turned its head and swept Baimu over with its tail fin, pinning him between itself and Boldore, "Miiro~"

You're not redundant at all!

"Ugh! Okay, I take it back—but I'm about to be crushed to death…"

He muttered.

To make matters worse, Dreepy, seeing the trainer held in someone's arms, howled and charged forward to block his escape route.

"Sashou!"

"Happy~"

Snorlax, for some reason, joined in too—then Poliwhirl and the reluctant Galarian Sunflora, while Steelix curled its massive body into the outermost ring.

Gulpin wrapped its arms around itself, pretending to disdain approaching, yet naturally floated up to sit on Boldore's other shoulder, mischievously grabbing Baimu's hair from the gap, "Kichido~"

"You guys are truly my blessing."

Baimu, nearly flattened into a sandwich, said helplessly.

The Pokémon all burst into laughter at the trainer's predicament; even Milotic, who had just been crying, couldn't hold back—and even the Galarian Sunflora's lips curled slightly.

A while later.

Baimu, who had nearly suffocated, finally regained his freedom.

He took the mysterious droplet from his pocket and tied it to the inner upper side of Minas's left fin-like appendage with a thin pale-blue string; the fin gradually thickened from top to bottom, making it hard for the droplet to fall off during normal movement.

"Here, this is your evolution gift."

"Milo?"

Minas caught sight of the crystal-clear droplet with the corner of his eye and rejoiced, "Milo~"

The Dreepy beside him immediately bit onto the trainer's sleeve, "Sarng?"

Where's my evolution gift?

Why don't I have one?

"Where don't you have one? Did Yuxi forget?"

Baimu yanked the sleeve from its mouth and glared at it, "If you say that again, I'll recall Yuxi!"

"Sarng…"

Dreepy sulkily turned its head away.

But this guy reminded Baimu—he should draw some move blind boxes now; hoarding them longer would only turn them into family heirlooms, and it was the perfect time to boost Minas's combat power.

The other Pokémon could benefit too.

He acted immediately.

Baimu returned to the room, sat on the sofa, and browsed his inventory while the Pokémon played outside in the water.

The simulator had accumulated the following moves: 【Silk Bind】, 【Takedown】, 【Endure】, 【Weather Ball】, 【Magic Shine】, 【Brave Bird】, and sixteen move blind boxes.

Among them, 【Weather Ball】 could go to Minas—he remembered it could learn it; the rest were either unsuitable or unlearnable.

Let's open the blind boxes!

But which type should I pick… Ice? Water? Dragon? Psychic? Normal?

Let's open an Ice-type first.

Minas already had hot water—it was more than enough; he might learn Hydro Pump, Muddy Water, or Surf later anyway, but those aren't essential. Better to learn an Ice-type move to broaden his offensive coverage.

Baimu took a deep breath, gently tapped the Ice-type icon, then clicked to open.

The text began to tremble.

First—【Blizzard】.

"Whoa! Starting with something this big?" He sucked in a sharp breath and immediately felt he should stop.

Teaching 【Blizzard】 to Minas was great—even though its accuracy was extremely low in the game, in reality, as long as the timing was right, such a wide-area move was nearly impossible to miss.

But human nature is greedy.

Baimu couldn't help thinking about giving one to Bonsly too; this guy had a hard time learning special attack moves.

With that thought, he opened another.

Second—【Avalanche】.

"Ah…"

Baimu covered his face. Greed truly was wrong—what the hell was 【Avalanche】? Who could even learn this move?

He stood up, went outside, and patted every Pokémon one by one. Once he confirmed both Minas and Bonsly could learn them, he exhaled in relief and gave 【Blizzard】 to the former and 【Avalanche】 to the latter.

"Milo?"

Minas, suddenly feeling a surge of power, lost control and sprayed countless white snowflakes at the Dreepy, who was drenched, chewing on a hose, and splashing wildly.

Dreepy's expression froze like ice, then instantly transformed into a massive Dreepy-Snow Dragon, falling from the sky.

Pachi!

"Milo!?"

Minas hurried over, realizing he had messed up.

Fortunately, the Chansey remained calm enough to cast Egg and Heal Bell simultaneously, and Bonsly quietly spat fire from its mouth to raise Dreepy's body temperature—soon, Dreepy "came back to life."

It slumped on the ground, its three heads trembling slightly like a rooster that had fallen into water, panting heavily, while Minas stood beside it, filled with guilt.

"… "

Dreepy trembled as it pointed its left head at Minas, growling through gritted teeth, "Sar… ng!"

Since you're pretty… I'll forgive you!

"Milo~"

Minas finally exhaled in relief.

Meanwhile, the culprit Baimu sat on the sofa, opening more boxes.

Now he was preparing to open a Psychic-type one, aiming for 【Reflect】, 【Light Screen】, 【Magic Coat】, or 【Mirror Move】.

But Psychic-type moves were numerous and easy to yield strange ones, like Spoon Bend or something.

"Come on!"

He clicked to open, his expression tense.

Third—【Teleport】.

Fourth—【Hypnosis】.

Fifth—【Trick Room】.

"What the hell?"

Baimu didn't dare press the sixth—the three moves that came out were stranger and stranger; 【Teleport】 and 【Hypnosis】 were fine, but 【Trick Room】? Even Porygon had learned it—who else could use it?

My head hurts.

He ran outside again, patting each Pokémon one by one, leaving the whole group confused—but the result delighted him: "Hahahaha! Lucky Scale didn't lie!"

Porygon could learn 【Teleport】, and Minas could learn 【Hypnosis】!

"It's just you two!"

Baimu taught the moves to the two Pokémon.

The other Pokémon, seeing this, all retreated backward, watching Poliwhirl and Milotic warily, afraid they'd meet the same fate as Dragonite.

The sun coral on Poliwhirl's back: "..."

Who can take it along?

Fortunately, compared to last time, Milotic's control had improved greatly—she merely released a streak of mottled pink-purple light into the air.

The Pokémon glanced once and dared not look a second time.

Poliwhirl vanished instantly from its spot, leaving only the sun coral plopping onto the ground.

Sun coral: "?"

What the hell is going on?

The Pokémon searched in astonishment, finally spotting the "missing" Poliwhirl on the head of Steelix—the latter looked just as bewildered.

"Hypnosis: puts humans or Pokémon to sleep; Teleport: instantly transports to another location."

Baimu stepped out of the room and explained—only then did they understand the reason.

But after this disruption, Bonsly and the others had no more interest in playing; they exchanged glances and sneaked peeks into the room, where they saw their Trainer's face shifting like on TV—now sunny, now rainy.

"Kee-doh."

Psyduck sat bored atop Steelix's head.

Jigglypuff rubbed its tiny hands, gazing longingly at the Trainer, wondering if it would get a turn this time.

Bonsly crouched quietly in the corner, poking the dirt with its claws—then suddenly understood upon seeing the ice crystals on the ground.

They were already used to this state of the Trainer; Dragonite was much the same—but unlike the others, Dragonite didn't just watch; it wanted to join in. The rest of the Pokémon watched silently, keeping it all tucked away as a quiet secret.

Everyone has flaws.

They do. The Trainer does too.

You should be more forgiving toward others, especially since he's your Trainer.

Baimu inside the room had no idea what his Pokémon were thinking—he'd just used many Normal-type moves and was now caught between joy and worry.

Sixth—【Protect】.

Seventh—【Explosion】.

Eighth—【Finger Poke】.

Ninth—【Sweet Scent】.

Tenth—【Whirlwind】.

He was glad he got Protect, a crucial move—but what the hell were these others?

Normal-type is truly hell!

Baimu stared at the remaining six move boxes, hesitant to open them—he'd impulsively opened five Normal-type ones in a row, and his already terrible luck had plunged straight into Africa.

I should've opened Psychic-type ones instead. Random draws are truly the worst way to win anything!

So black! So damn black!

He stood up and stepped outside, where the Pokémon turned to look at him—first stunned, then slowly approached again.

He discovered that all the moves except Whirlwind could be learned by at least one Pokémon.

Steelix: Explosion; Jigglypuff: Finger Poke; Psyduck: Sweet Scent; Dragonite: Protect... Wait, does that mean Sun Coral got nothing?

Baimu froze for a moment, sensing something was wrong.

As the saying goes, it's not scarcity you fear, but inequality. Sun Coral was used to slacking off and treated daily training and battles like a job with perfect attendance—but he couldn't truly think of Sun Coral as his employee.

What should he teach it?

Force it to learn? But it couldn't learn Tackle or Magical Shine.

Damn it, are you scamming me?! You're forcing me to open the rest!

Baimu had thought his luck was good enough to give every Pokémon a move—but now he felt his luck had hit rock bottom. Why else would it be one short?

He gritted his teeth, ran up to the wobbling Sun Coral, and pummeled it hard, "Can't you just leave it to fate?!"

Sun coral: "..."

Why do I feel like I'm being persecuted more today?

Baimu selected Psychic-type and activated it—the new move slowly appeared.

Eleventh—【Sleep】.

"... What the hell!"

He stared in shock at the move, then quickly scanned all directions—up, down, left, right, front, back—as if he were being watched by a pair of eyes.

Otherwise, how could it be this coincidental?!

It was exactly the move Sun Coral could learn—and the one it had spent years sleeping underwater without ever mastering: 【Sleep】!

But the good news was he still had five left.

After opening all eleven boxes, though everyone got a move, he wasn't satisfied at all—look at what garbage came out of the Normal-type boxes.

Explosion? Maybe occasionally useful with Solid Rock. Finger Poke? Useless in daily life—only if you're desperate and all other moves fail would you gamble on it.

Sweet Scent? Maybe useful in Contests—but Psyduck fights aggressively; it has no need for Sweet Scent.

Fortunately, the Psychic-type box results were barely acceptable.

Teleport had great utility outside battle; Milotic's Hypnosis was decent; Trick Room could be saved for a new Pokémon; Sleep...

It felt worse than Absorb, but maybe occasionally useful against special attackers.

"That's fine. It's already good enough."

Baimu rubbed his face and began preparing tonight's dinner.

Tomorrow we set out for New Zi Jin City; once we obtain the fifth badge, we can head east toward Fuyuan, where there are fewer cities and we can travel faster.