Chapter 504: Koharu… Tsukishiro!

Pokémon Center.

In a plain-colored booth by the window, All Baimu and the May siblings sat with drinks in hand, chatting as they waited.

The topic mainly revolved around the giant Steelix.

A Pokémon whose volume so vastly exceeded that of its own kind — so much so it could be called an aberration — was one you might not find more than a handful of in the whole world. Through a quick online search, Brock had found that Brawly's Steelix still paled in length compared to the one at All Baimu's house.

"How on earth did it get so big?"

He was very curious. "Just from age?"

In the Pokémon world, aside from certain special individuals, the closer a Pokémon's body composition was to inorganic matter, the longer it could exist.

A Pokémon like Steelix, which lived deep underground year-round, could easily live to over a thousand years.

All Baimu shook his head. "No way."

Steelix isn't some dragon from a Western fantasy world where the older it gets, the bigger it grows.

Furthermore, judging from the pair of tusk-like incisors on its lower jaw, this fellow hadn't even met the 【one hundred years】 condition the Pokédex describes for an Onix to naturally evolve into a Steelix.

Of course.

Don't be fooled by the fact that this fellow might be older than his two lifetimes combined. Having spent years living among other Pokémon in the mountains and acting on instinct, with almost no contact with other beings, its life experience might not even match that of an elementary schooler.

Otherwise, how would it have been caught by Pokémon hunters?

"Something that big — if it were mine, I probably wouldn't even know how to take care of it." May imagined the giant Steelix as her own Pokémon, and her body couldn't help but tremble.

All Baimu laughed. "Just take care of it however you should. It's only a little bigger. Besides, your Venusaur isn't exactly small either, is it? You still take care of it just fine, don't you?"

"It's clearly much smaller…"

May muttered softly. She still felt that her Venusaur was the same cute Bulbasaur she once could hold in her arms.

As the saying goes.

Battle is the most effective language of communication between trainers.

Although the process and outcome of battling the giant Steelix hadn't been exactly pleasant, May had become considerably more familiar with All Baimu.

Especially after she discovered that the latter had no airs about him at all, and — unlike some peers she'd met before who put on airs because of their own strength — was especially humble.

"Counting the time, it should be about right."

All Baimu glanced down at his phone.

Brock idly chewed on his straw and asked curiously, "What's up, All Baimu? Got other things to do?"

"No, I just suddenly got in touch with someone I know."

He looked at May, who was equally curious, and said with a smile, "Someone you know."

The curiosity on May's face quickly turned to bewilderment. "Someone I know…"

Before she could speak up and guess who it was.

All Baimu had already turned his head and said:

"They're here."

May and Brock looked over at the sound, and suddenly saw a black-haired girl wearing a nurse's cap shouting "no problem, no problem" as she pushed a Chansey nurse's gurney over at a quick pace.

On the gurney, besides several Poké Balls, there was a spirited little blue-furred, round-headed penguin.

"Pochama!"

"Koharu! Piplup!"

Both stared at the newcomer in surprise, then their gazes shifted further back — to the man in a white coat with dark skin and slit-like eyes, a Chansey nurse at his side, his face full of helplessness.

Now their mouths were full of pleasant surprise, and they called out in unison: "Tsukishiro!"

"Arrived successfully~"

Koharu, dressed in a simple nurse's outfit, stopped the gurney in front of the three and put on a standard smile. "Three trainers, your Pokémon have been fully restored!"

"Pochama!" Piplup chimed in.

May sprang to her feet, eyes shining as she approached Koharu. Looking at her outfit, she sighed in admiration tinged with envy: "Koharu, that outfit of yours is way too cute!"

"Right? I told you the nurse outfit suits me just fine." Koharu giggled, pinched the hem of her clothes, and twirled around like a lively little bird.

"Mm-hmm!"

May nodded rapidly, her expression couldn't have agreed more.

Beside them.

Brock flung himself straight at Tsukishiro, so moved his eyes were misty. "Tsukishiro!

"

Only now that he had truly begun traveling alone did he realize how blissful it had been to have Tsukishiro there to take care of both their daily lives and the Pokémon's.

"Long time no see! Brock! All Baimu!"

Tsukishiro, in his white coat, opened his arms wide and caught him, then greeted All Baimu.

He and Brock had always gotten along well. Every time Tsukishiro hit on mature women like Joy without regard for the occasion, the latter would grab him by the ear and drag him away, so as not to get in the way of their work.

"Didn't expect you to come to Ecruteak City with Koharu."

All Baimu gathered up the Poké Balls from the gurney. "And those outfits you're wearing… are you helping Young Lady Joy here ease the medical pressure?"

"That's our guy — understands at a glance."

Tsukishiro confidently flicked his white coat. Although he was only a trainee, his professional skills were in no way lacking — assisting Young Lady Joy was more than a piece of cake for him.

And the Chansey nurse at his side was, without a doubt, the very Chansey from the plotline that possessed incomparably absurd strength — the one that had once lifted a glacier roughly the size of a small lake, even more outrageous than Mawile.

Interestingly, its main offensive手段 were also physical-attack moves; a single Mega Punch could trade blows with the Pokémon of the Galaxy Team's executives.

A base physical Attack stat of only ten could wield such mighty power — the giant Steelix was nothing in front of it.

"Tsk tsk tsk."

All Baimu shook his head. He, for one, couldn't understand why Young Lady Joy had taken on Tsukishiro in the first place — and on top of that, why she'd agreed to let Koharu help out…

But thinking of how Xiaozhi and his group were making waves at some hospital back in Unova, he figured this must be what outstanding young people in mainstream regions looked like — the standard well-rounded types.

Suddenly.

He felt something brush against his leg, and looking down, sure enough it was Pochama, its little round face showing shy and expectant expressions.

"Po-chan..."

He laughed and said, "You want to see Biguana?"

"Po-chan!"

Pochama's eyes lit up, its little head nodding furiously fast.

Since parting, it had met Biguana in dreams countless times, only to wake during the day feeling lost and empty, as if the two of them were Sweet Illumise and Volbeat forced to live apart.

"Then as you wish, come out and see your old friend."

Baimu took off the Poké Ball where Biguana resided and opened it.

He had no intention of playing matchmaker and pushing Biguana and Pochama together — he simply left the decision to the former, letting it think for itself how to handle Pochama's admiration.

If it couldn't handle it, he'd step in to help.

Pop!

A flash of Bai Guang.

Biguana landed on the booth seat, looked around, and was about to dig out the phone from its Trainer's pocket.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Baimu hurriedly covered his pocket, glaring at it as he said, "What did we agree before coming out? No more phone!"

Smartphones were undoubtedly somewhat addictive — especially after Biguana gradually mastered human writing and independently unlocked more phone functions.

"Chu-doh!"

Not getting what it wanted, Biguana was a bit annoyed.

It pretended to look away in disdain, putting on an expression that said "if you won't give it then don't get so worked up," and its gaze landed on Pochama beside it — face all twisted with shyness, eyes nearly turning into hearts.

"Chu-doh..."

Biguana looked at this very familiar creature, then glanced at its Trainer whispering with a dark-skinned human, and suddenly understood why it had been let out of the ball.

Old friend?

Its gaze at Pochama seemed less than friendly, and memories of the latter gradually resurfaced in its mind.

Having mastered thirty-six romance dramas, it was no longer the innocent Pokémon it once was — that old "love confession" had become its dark history.

The kind where if its Trainer dared bring it up, it'd throw a fit.

It likes me?

So what! Just because someone likes you, do you have to respond? It only liked watching romance dramas, and had a tiny little thought about starring in one.

Actually dating another Pokémon—

Absolutely not!

It would respond with its fists, to show this guy its own will!

Biguana's gaze at Pochama was full of fighting flames, but the latter was a love idiot — once it liked a Pokémon, looking at them was like seeing them through a filter.

So those eyes blazing with fury were instead mistaken for sparks of love.

A match made in heaven!

"Po-Po-chan..."

The little penguin felt it could barely breathe, its small wings clutching its chest as it gasped for air, even the breath it exhaled seeming to form the shape of a heart.

"Pochama? What are you doing?"

Xiaoguang, who had been discussing with May about going shopping for clothes tomorrow, finally deigned to shift some attention to her own Pokémon, but upon seeing this scene, her face took on a teasing expression. "Aha... so that's how it is..."

May glanced back and forth between the two Pokémon a few times, her demeanor quickly turning ambiguous as well. "There's even a story like this? It looks kind of beautiful!"

Gossip was human nature — especially for adolescent boys and girls, the stirring of first love was perfectly normal. Even if they themselves had no such thoughts, seeing Pokémon fall in love still excited them.

"Your Pochama's condition is getting worse again."

Baimu shook his head and sighed.

Xiaoguang, who had zero romantic experience, said righteously, "What do you mean condition! Even if it's a sickness, it's lovesickness!"

Xiaosheng nodded half-understandingly, "Mm-hmm."

Xiaogang, the mature-woman type, gave a serious assessment: "Pochama has a long road ahead — Biguana's response doesn't seem that strong..."

Not strong?

Biguana was practically about to catch fire and that's not strong? Well, the romantic response was indeed not strong.

The urge to punch a Pokémon was rising fast!

As Biguana's Trainer and the one who had Mega Evolved with it, how could Baimu not know what this troublesome girl was thinking right now? He sighed and reached out to press down on its head.

"Don't be so irritable, calm down a bit. I permit you to watch the evening drama on TV later."

"Chu-doh?"

Biguana whipped its head around at his words, the fury in its eyes transforming into sparkling little stars, as if asking if he really meant it.

Dealing with this drama-obsessed fanatic, ordinary methods no longer worked.

"Are you insulting your Trainer?"

Baimu pretended to be angry, the corner of his eye glancing at Pochama, still dazed and dumbfounded, its eyes filled with pink hearts. He thought: 'Buddy, this is all I can do for you.'

Judging by the current situation, rejection was certain.

But even rejection came in several varieties — he only hoped it would be the kind that wouldn't cause too much damage to Pochama's heart.

Otherwise, if this little penguin lost heart, completely gave up on love from then on, and never felt anything for any female again — then he and Biguana would be in serious trouble.

——

A short while later.

Everyone watched Bibi, Pochama, and a few other Pokémon head off together to play, each wearing a different smile.

Then they sat down, ready to catch up properly.

Miss Miss Qiao Yin's side truly didn't need Ash and Brock's help anymore, so the former finally had a chance to see the message Baimu had sent, and took the opportunity to rendezvous with them.

"You've all moved into the Pokémon Center, and you didn't run into each other the whole time?"

Baimu's expression turned odd.

The Pokémon Center was only so big after all, and Ash and Brock had been helping Miss Miss Qiao Yin the whole time — not running into each other was practically absurd.

Ash replied, "Because we've been in the treatment room the whole time, we barely came out, so we didn't bump into each other… Huh? By that logic, you're not staying at the Pokémon Center?"

"By the time I arrived, all the rooms had already been assigned." Baimu spread his hands helplessly.

Brock pressed a hand on his shoulder, flashed his gleaming white teeth, and said, "There's still a top bunk in my room. If you don't mind, you can stay with me. We can also discuss our experiences raising Pokémon together — especially Aggron's."

"Very tempting, but I already have somewhere else to stay."

Baimu refused without hesitation.

The main issue was still Adam's side — the other had agreed to teach him for a month. Brock definitely wouldn't leave Lumiose City that quickly anyway, and was likely to be entangled with Miss Miss Qiao Yin here for a while, so it wouldn't be too late to come by in his spare time to consult and discuss.

And upon hearing that he happened to be staying at the Lumiose Gym, and was also quite familiar with the Contest Idol Miss Liuqi, the four of them were certainly surprised, but didn't react too strongly.

May and Max had long grown accustomed to Baimu's extraordinary nature. Ash figured he had met Miss Liuqi while participating in some town's Pokémon Contest, which was a very common occurrence.

Brock, without a doubt, had no interest in young women or little girls — Miss Liuqi's famous name was something he had merely heard, with no desire to learn more.

"Miss Liuqi is participating too…"

Ash counted off on his fingers one by one, glanced at May and Baimu, and quickly ran out of hands on both. He couldn't help but slump onto the table. "So many strong opponents! The Mi Ke Li Cup really is as amazing as ever!"

In the Diamond & Pearl arc, Ash had won the Mi Ke Li Cup ribbon by defeating the returning May in the finals — looking back now, he was truly brimming with luck back then.

Not only was his strongest rival, Paul, taken down early by May, but several other powerful opponents didn't even pass the first examination.

Timing, terrain, and unity all stood on her side—

Of course.

That was the past tense.

To win again this time would undoubtedly require stronger ability and more outrageous luck — the two combined to defeat those opponents she felt she absolutely had to be wary of.

Especially this guy!

Ash glared at Baimu, whose expression was surprised across the table. She hadn't forgotten the moment Pochama lost to Bibi at the Lily of the Valley Conference — this time she absolutely had to avenge that defeat.

Restoring the glory of the Coordinator Trainer — it's our duty, and we cannot shirk it!

It'll definitely be fine!