Chapter 462

By the shore.

Baimu, Gyarados, and the two Dracovish were enjoying the sea breeze, munching on fries, but sadly could not find the Wingull who had gone to the pier for more fries—quite a disappointment.

As the main stage of the movie, the desert city modeled after Dubai was far more prosperous than he had imagined.

Not to mention the skyscrapers like steel forests, even the constant flow of vehicles and pedestrians proved this place rivaled any major metropolis.

The recent Legendary Pokémon battle had pushed this place to the top of blog trending lists, and days later, the buzz showed no sign of fading—who knew how many Trainers and Pokémon Hunters had rushed here upon hearing the news.

Sadly, those cover Legendaries had long departed; at best, Groudon was walking slowly underwater, barely catching up…

If he got caught up, he'd be utterly ruined.

After all, this movie caused two Legendary Pokémon to lose face: the first, Palkia, who represented space yet failed to prevent its own rupture; the second, Groudon, now forever branded as "the one that can't fly."

The first was bad enough, but the second was truly pitiful—every time a wingless Pokémon that could fly appeared, someone would bring up his name, and even new systems in the games would deliberately mention him.

Such as "Extreme Dive: Explosive Impact" Groudon, "Gigantamax Dive Rush" Groudon, and so on.

Whenever Baimu thought of that guy, he couldn't help but sigh.

Yet despite its prosperity, the desert city retained a rustic charm—for instance, the rows of warm yellow "simple" homes across the river, scattered stone houses adorned with sparse vegetation, exuding a distinctly Mediterranean character, contrasting sharply with the modern skyscrapers, as if a blue canal cleanly divided two worlds.

Creating a visually striking and bizarre scene.

If this were in Huang Tie Town, he'd be certain the other side was a slum—but here, in a major region…

It was probably deliberately preserved as an old scenic zone.

He remembered the desert city was hailed as the "Star of the Desert"; its gradual development to this day owed not only to the treasure brought by Hu Pa's Ring, but also to the locals' exceptional business acumen—merchants had once sold goods along the streets of the old district, building up bit by bit.

Nostalgia for the old site was natural.

Those single-story homes all symbolized the desert city's past culture and history.

"Hmm… maybe Huang Tie Town's old site doesn't need to be torn down and rebuilt?"

Baimu thought to himself; after all, the Oure Region now had nothing but land—so long as the environment improved, how hard could it be to build a replica of the desert city called Huang Tie City?

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Of course.

But that would be many years from now—building a city wasn't that simple.

His gaze returned to the other side of the river, where only the foundation remained of the "Desert Tower"; gray-white barriers blocked all external views, but during his flight in, he'd caught a glimpse of Hu Pa's massive silhouette.

Though fleeting, if his vision hadn't deteriorated, he hadn't been mistaken—once his helpers arrived—

"Mr. Baimu?"

The call made Baimu instinctively turn his head—and there stood a suited, glasses-wearing office worker.

"I am."

His reply put the man at ease.

"Finally found you—I'm Guan Gu, Master Shan Nian specifically sent me to assist you." Guan Gu smiled, adjusted his glasses, and gestured toward a luxury sedan nearby.

Baimu's expression turned slightly odd. "What did you just call Shan Nian?"

"Uh… Master? Is there a problem?"

Guan Gu, caught off guard, feared he'd said something inappropriate and replied stiffly.

"No problem." He shook his head and stated his intent directly: "I want to go to the other side—yes, that artificial island. Can you arrange it?"

The topic shifted too fast!

Guan Gu swallowed hard but dared not press further; he turned to look at the artificial island where the Desert Tower once stood. "Hmm… give me a moment."

With that, the office worker turned and made a phone call.

Baimu watched Guan Gu, thinking: Shan Nian's family actually had assets in the Kalos Region—absolute rich bastards! It was outrageous!

If he and his father hadn't been the first to raise the rebellion, their family fortune would've been seized… well, joke aside, countless corporate groups in the Oure Region had ties to Shadow Team, yet none were fully purged.

A short while later.

Guan Gu had already resolved the issue.

"We donated funds to the Desert City Construction Department—they agreed to let us participate in supervising the Desert Tower's reconstruction."

Damn! Just throw money at it?

Baimu inwardly whistled, but outwardly thanked Guan Gu—the man's efficiency was perfectly satisfying.

—

Half an hour later.

Baimu took Gyarados off the speedboat, accepted a white hard hat from Guan Gu, and put it on. "Thanks."

"Kee-doh?"

Gyarados stared at his Trainer's odd appearance, paused, then burst out laughing. "Kee-doh~"

What a ridiculous, ugly hat!

The Dracovish siblings also laughed uncontrollably.

"Is it really that strange?"

Baimu felt slightly annoyed, about to retort—when suddenly, a thunderous "Dong-dong-dong!" drew his attention.

Above the tall barriers, a tuft of purple-red spiky hair bounced wildly, accompanied by booming, hearty laughter.

"Hahahaha! Hu Pa is super strong! Super invincible strong!"

There it was—he'd been looking for exactly this one.

With the target right before him, Baimu forgot all about mockery; immediately, accompanied by Guan Gu and several construction supervisors, he entered the worksite.

Through the supervisors' introduction, he learned the current status of the reconstruction—

In the Desert Tower's reconstruction, Hu Pa and Barza and Mei Mei Yali from the Valley of Creation were acting as independent volunteers, acknowledging partial responsibility for the tower's destruction and seeking to participate in its rebuilding.

Under normal circumstances, following Baimu's past-life logic, the Desert City government would have sued Barza and the Pokémon for damages, then kicked them out and rebuilt slowly on their own.

Unfortunately, this is the Pokémon anime world.

The desert city's municipal government not only agreed to their request, but even provided some coordinating power.

And Hu Pa, having regained the sealed power of a hundred years, had endless energy and voluntarily took on the grueling labor of transportation and physical work, greatly accelerating the reconstruction efforts and propelling them forward at breakneck speed.

Inside the fence.

Baimu's first sight was of a towering "giant" with six arms, its entire body covered in purplish-red fur, and a pitch-black hole in its chest.

In truth, upon closer inspection, it was hardly human-like beyond standing upright.

Gulpin seemed startled by the creature's bizarre appearance, pausing in place for two full seconds before continuing forward; the Dragonite siblings, however, no longer cowered in fear as they had before.

Yet this only deepened his confusion.

Is the alternate Latios really that terrifying? Its ability isn't pressure.

"Those two are Balza and Mei Mei Yali," Guangu pointed in a direction—but even without pointing, Baimu could tell: two young men and women, their heads wrapped, no helmets, dressed entirely in Middle Eastern style.

Who else could it be?

After observing for a while and confirming they were doing absolutely nothing—no brick-carrying, no cement-mixing, no rebar work, no excavator operation—he strode forward quickly.

If they were working, he wouldn't intrude; but if they were slacking off, he had to step in.

He adjusted his phrasing, then walked briskly toward the two.

The siblings, sensing someone approaching, turned their heads together; Balza looked puzzled, while Mei Mei Yali first looked puzzled, then fell into thought.

As Baimu reached Balza and Mei Mei Yali and opened his mouth to speak, "Excuse me for the intrusion, my name is—"

"Baimu!"

Mei Mei Yali suddenly interrupted him, her face lighting up with delight, then turned to Hu Pa, who was diligently hauling bricks nearby, and shouted: "Hu Pa! Look who's here!"

These two sentences left Baimu stunned.

He turned his head to look at Gulpin; both their eyes flashed the same realization.

No way…

"Who? Hu Pa doesn't know!" The burly Hu Pa turned his head, deliberately acting cute—but when he saw the unfamiliar person and Pokémon beside Mei Mei Yali, he suddenly remembered: "Hu Pa remembers! The coordinator that Mei Mei Yali adores!"

That voice was far too deep—it didn't match the childish content at all!

Baimu mentally grumbled, yet smiled and waved at Hu Pa, thinking how absurdly famous he'd become—even in the Kalos region, he had fans, and was a key participant in the movie.

Mei Mei Yali blushed furiously at Hu Pa's blunt words; he spoke too directly, lacking human subtlety. She snapped: "Hu Pa! Talking without restraint will get your tongue pulled out!"

"Ee! Hu Pa doesn't want his tongue pulled out!" Hu Pa held two hands to his mouth in mock fright, while the other four kept hauling bricks.

Balza glanced at his embarrassed sister, then at Baimu, who clearly had something to discuss, then at the distant site supervisors, and finally at Hu Pa, who had moved an enormous number of bricks today: "Hu Pa! That's enough for today!"

He raised a strange bottle with a hollow center.

"Huh?"

Hu Pa didn't quite understand, but the energy inside its body obediently surged out and flowed into the Punishment Vessel.

Its form rapidly shrank from the ten-meter-tall horned demon shadow into a floating, mischievous Imp-like doll; after reverting, it zipped swiftly to the stunned Gulpin and Dragonite siblings, laughing nonstop.

"Eeheehee, were you scared?"

"Mm-hmm."

Baimu nodded for Gulpin and the others; hearing that high-pitched, childish voice—like a voice actor's signature tone—he finally felt it was right.

Yes.

This was the real deal!

Balza, accustomed to this, closed the bottle and turned to him: "I'm Balza, this is my sister Mei Mei Yali, and our partner Hu Pa."

"Hu Pa is here!"

The cheerful Hu Pa raised a tiny hand, its grin never fading.

"I'm Baimu, from the Orre region. I'm truly sorry to trouble you, but I need your help—could we speak privately?" Baimu didn't hide his intent; he believed that if his reason was sufficient and just, the brother and sister from the Valley of Creation would not withhold their aid.

As expected.

Balza and Mei Mei Yali exchanged a glance and nodded: "Of course. Let's find a place to sit and talk. Hu Pa! We're counting on you!"

"Leave it to Hu Pa! Open! Passage!"

Hu Pa grinned and raised its tiny hand; the golden ring around its waist detached and rapidly expanded into a massive circular ring glowing with a blue membrane.

Baimu turned to look at Guangu far away, made a phone-call gesture, confirmed he saw it, then stepped through with Balza and Mei Mei Yali.

He hadn't expected their chosen meeting place to be a Pokémon Center.

The moment they emerged, they drew the attention of many Trainers.

Fortunately, most lacked sufficient information and didn't realize those legendary Pokémon were summoned by the purple little thing beside them; they glanced at Hu Pa, assumed it was some rare Pokémon they'd never seen, and looked away.

The three sat down in a quiet corner.

"Ahem…"

Baimu was about to speak when Hu Pa suddenly sniffed the air, lunged into his arms, and cried: "Donuts! I smell donuts!"

"Hu Pa!"

Mei Mei Yali, seeing its reckless behavior, wore an expression of exasperated anger, grabbed its hand, and pulled it back: "It's wrong to rummage through someone else's things!"

"Donuts? If you want donuts, we have some."

Baimu smiled and pulled out a pack of donuts from his bag—they'd been bought specifically for Hu Pa, and he'd already shared them with Gulpin and the Dragonite siblings when he first bought them.

They'd all said they were too sweet and unpleasant.

Croissants made by Trainers were better.

"Ah! Donuts~" Hu Pa acted as if it had seen its soul's desire, snatched one, and devoured it quickly, while Mei Mei Yali sighed.

Seeing this, Balza took the initiative to open the conversation: "What can we help you with?"

"It's like this."

With All Baimu having opened the conversation, he quickly picked up the thread, calmly laying out the current situation in the Orei region, the story of Lokia who had been harmed by the experiments and thus stayed far away from Orei, and his own request.

Balza and Mei Mei Yali had started out merely surprised, but later simply clenched their fists and said nothing.

Hu Pa was the same — at first happily munching on a doughnut, but as he listened he froze on the spot, and even the doughnut no longer seemed tasty.

After all.

They had never imagined that in some corner of the world, the people there had only just emerged from unimaginable suffering and were actively struggling against a treacherous natural world.

"The Orei region…"

Balza licked his lips.

From the fact that his grandfather Gulis had dared to borrow the power of Alzeus to seal Hu Pa's power, it was not hard to see that his grandfather possessed a strong sense of justice.

Although Balza's attainments in ability were certainly inferior to his grandfather's, that did not mean his sense of justice was much weaker.

"I think—"

"Hu Pa agrees! Hu Pa wants to help the people of Orei!"

Hu Pa's impassioned shout cut off his words; the little fellow wore a thoroughly serious expression, his emerald-green eyes narrowed into slits.