Chapter 538: Champion Sparring Partner

"I won! Love— ahem! Baimu!"

"Tweedle! Tweedle-deedle!"

In the stands, Miss Liuqi cheered loudly, while her excited Murkow fluttered and sang at the top of its voice.

Such an intense reaction made Adam next door and Mi Ke Li below simultaneously palm their foreheads or twitch at the corners of their mouths, breaking into helpless wry smiles in unison.

Although she had never expected Liuqi, who had entered her rebellious phase, to cheer on her beloved uncle and master…

Isn't your bias a little too obvious?!

Doesn't your uncle care about face?

Baimu, who had also heard the voices, exchanged a glance with his now-recovered Metagross, then turned his head and gave her a thumbs-up with a smile.

"Hahaha!"

"Gugho!"

He and Liuqi certainly addressed each other privately as master and disciple.

But both of them were well aware that beneath this lay a weighty friendship untainted by any ulterior motive.

For Liuqi, who—shaped by her status and environment—had almost no friends her own age, Baimu's presence was truly precious beyond measure.

Even after later meeting people like Lyra and Kris, she still regarded him as one of her closest friends.

Moreover, as Baimu's guide into the Contest scene, every time she saw him shine brilliantly, she felt a share in his glory.

Did her grandmaster and uncle also watch her take part in Contests with this same feeling?

Liuqi had recently come to understand these two elders more and more.

Below.

"Phew…"

Baimu exhaled a breath of stale air, glanced at the devastation before him and the dark clouds gradually dispersing overhead, and recalled Metagross into its ball.

The giant beast was no longer capable of fighting; the long-prepared final strike had drained its stamina nearly to the dregs.

To be honest.

His Swampert and it were each other's worst matchup—the former found it absurdly hard when hitting it, and it found the former far too fast to even touch.

Had the final Metal Burst not accumulated the full force of its Water Shuriken combo, and had its damage radius not been large enough, Swampert's mobility would have let it dodge most of the damage even while retreating on the back foot.

Having carelessly stirred up the hornet's nest.

Once Mi Ke Li discovered that Metagross's Metal Burst could detonate directly rather than the usual method of gathering energy in its mouth to fire as a beam, getting Swampert to take that kind of explosive combo again was essentially impossible.

This victory was steeped in Metagross's resolve and Baimu's trust in it—trust that it could hold on long enough to bring out Metal Burst.

"We've really had it rough too, the two of us."

He sighed with emotion.

Swampert's strength was unequivocally at the level of a Champion's main fighter, but the Gym Leader's inability to swap Pokémon amounted to a handicap that had to be factored in for Mi Ke Li.

This made Baimu realize he still had a long way to go before catching up to the Champions of the mainstream regions.

Precisely because of this.

Even after defeating Swampert, he dared not relax in the slightest.

The big one is coming!

"Mm…"

Baimu's fingers traced over the Poké Balls in his pocket one by one.

What a headache…

A perfectly good Gym battle is practically turning into a Champions League match.

But winning a battle like this is far more thrilling than winning a Gym battle; the sense of accomplishment between the two is hard to compare.

Besides, this little excitement and stirring in his heart both stemmed from Mi Ke Li's Champion-level strength, which inspired awe like gazing up at a mountain.

Battling the strong often spurs both trainer and Pokémon to take another step forward.

After today.

Whether or not he obtained the Glass Badge, he and Metagross—as well as his other Pokémon—would all gain new growth, until they hit the next bottleneck.

Of course.

To repay Metagross's will, he had to find a way to win.

He still had three Pokémon able to fight, and their conditions were fairly decent—what were his odds against Mi Ke Li's even stronger ace, Milotic?

Considering that his Galarian Corsola had moves like 【Destiny Bond】 and 【Curse】…

In any case, the probability wouldn't be zero!

As for how to make those two moves succeed.

Whether Mi Ke Li and Milotic would let his scheme succeed, that was another matter entirely.

Hope is all that matters!

Baimu had confidence in his Pokémon.

So what if it's a Champion's ace?

This is the anime world—even Ash's Pikachu can't avoid flipping over when fighting solo.

Besides, he remembered that during the Journeys series, when Mi Ke Li and Ash had a street battle, Mi Ke Li sent out his full team and still lost to Ash, who had mostly new members from the Paldea region on the field.

Meanwhile.

Across from him, Mi Ke Li had finished comforting Swampert and spoke up.

"Although you seem to be looking forward to it very much, I'm afraid things may not go the way you hope."

He threw the Poké Ball.

Poof!

White light flickered.

"Dodon!"

A muffled roar rang out, and the Pokémon that appeared was not the Milotic Baimu had anticipated, but a hefty, powerfully built Walrein.

Its massive tusks reflected a jewel-like gleam beneath the lights.

Mi Ke Li looked at the dazed Baimu across from him and said, "Don't get the wrong idea. I wasn't going easy on you—I simply didn't want the battle to become boring."

A battle can reveal a trainer's temperament.

For someone as skilled as him, it can even lay bare the trainer's fighting style and habits.

Milotic's offense may not match Mega Swampert's, but when it comes to versatility, defense, endurance, and strategy, its overall strength far surpasses the latter.

The battle will only grow harder.

Based on Mi Ke Li's current read of Baimu, he figured that once the latter noticed the sizable gap in raw strength between them and realized a normal battle wouldn't yield victory, he would inevitably build his winning plan around how to trigger 【Destiny Bond】.

He would then have Hydreigon and Dragapult fight with that as the core.

Not that there's anything wrong with that—it's just that this kind of "rock-paper-scissors, see who wins" battle holds zero appeal for the elegance-loving Mi Ke Li.

Besides.

He had already witnessed the bond between Baimu and Aggron, and seen what he wanted to see. There was no need to forcibly manufacture that deeply moving scene a few more times.

The ultimate purpose of this Gym battle was absolutely not to make the latter and his Pokémon struggle again and again to win against a powerful opponent.

Otherwise, Swampert and the others should have been sent out from the very start.

Why bother ramping up the intensity step by step.

Setting all that aside, Walrein was a Pokémon that had once accompanied him to the Champion's throne—how could it possibly fall to Baimu that easily?

There's still plenty of fight left!

Show me something more spectacular!

"Since I've already had a taste of your iron wall, it's time for you to try breaking through my glacier."

Mi Ke Li's words laid bare Walrein's strength in a single line.

This snapped Baimu back to his senses in an instant, and the Poké Ball in his hand swiftly transformed into another.

In the spectator stands.

Adam leaned back against his chair, the look of helplessness on his face deepening.

"Mi Ke Li, you really are as willful as ever…"

"Great-granduncle, what did you say?"

"No, nothing at all."

Facing Miss Liuqi's question, he shook his head in denial, but his gaze grew ever more profound, as if sinking into some memory.

He still remembered that afternoon—clouds pale, the breeze light, nothing at all happening—when Mi Ke Li suddenly told him:

I don't want to be Champion anymore.

He had suddenly dumped the Liuli Gym he was supposed to inherit on him, run off to become Champion, and then said something like that?

And yet he actually succeeded.

Champion Dawu reclaimed the Champion's throne.

From becoming Champion, a Contest Master, founding the Mi Ke Li Cup, to stepping down as Champion, and then becoming a Gym Leader once more—the man the world calls the "Water Prince," in Adam's eyes, was the very embodiment of "rebellion."

Wanting only to see what he wants to see often makes Mi Ke Li cast aside rules that have already been set.

It had given him plenty of headaches over that.

But there was nothing to be done.

Fortunately, once the third generation—Miss Liuqi—entered her rebellious phase, and Mi Ke Li began to taste his own suffering, he unexpectedly reined himself in quite a bit.

Presumably, he had gotten a taste of what Adam had felt back then.

Three generations of grandparents and grandchild tormenting one another had become tradition.

But at his core, this guy was still that "free spirit" born for elegance, and this battle was the stage Mi Ke Li had built for Baimu.

The climax has passed; what comes next is an elegant conclusion.

Building on this Gym battle.

Adam now had a clear idea of what he should teach Baimu in the days ahead.

——

On the field.

Baimu didn't really know what Mi Ke Li was thinking.

But from the moment the latter said he wouldn't follow the Gym strength rules, the situation was in the other party's hands.

Forget a Champion-tier Walrein—he might just as well send out a Magikarp.

There was only one thing he had to do—

Find a way to win!

Aggron had already given its all; as its trainer, he had to fulfill its promise.

"I'm counting on you!"

"Rururu!"

Dragapult appeared once more, the two Dreepy in its launch ports gazing at the opposing Walrein—one tense, one excited.

The offense has flipped!

Its durability admittedly can't compare to Mega Swampert's, but Dragapult is undeniably a high-attack, high-speed Pokémon. Compared to the likely high-defense, high-endurance Walrein, there's an uncanny sense of the heavens and earth swapping places.

"Huh? Isn't this just the reverse of the previous match?"

Miss Liuqi couldn't help but remark.

Adam shook his head and said: "That's only on the surface."

Just looking at types, Dragapult is countered by an Ice-type Walrein, but cannot counter the latter in return. That alone greatly lowers the former's margin for error.

Next, this guy's special ability…

"Hail!"

"Shadow Clone!"

Mi Ke Li and All Baimu's commands were issued.

Dragapult immediately conjured countless afterimage clones, swirling at extreme speed around Walrein to confuse its eyes.

Who would have thought Walrein would be completely unfazed, simply tilting its head back and roaring, its heavy and coarse voice echoing across the field.

Whoosh!

Rolling white mist surged from its body, in an instant sweeping across the entire field and converging overhead.

In a flash.

Countless tiny ice particles rained down, emitting light crackling sounds when touching the Dragapult afterimages, with thread-like pale-white currents of electricity darting across them.

The expressions on the many afterimages stiffened, and in an instant they popped like punctured balloons, vanishing into nothing.

"The real body is to your upper left!"

Mi Ke Li's voice guided Walrein's gaze, and one could clearly see in the half-air where the ice particles fell, tiny currents of electricity flickering from time to time, outlining a hazy figure.

Dragapult's invisibility ability had been seen through so easily!

Forced to reveal itself, it wore a slightly panicked expression.

"Don't panic! Dragon Dance!"

All Baimu spoke up to soothe it, simultaneously issuing the command.

Unlike Haxorus, a socially anxious Dragon-type needs frequent vocal feedback from its trainer to act according to his commands; otherwise, in a moment of urgency, Dragapult would inevitably act on its own.

This is also the helpless part of raising a fully mature Pokémon — it hasn't been colored by its trainer's "hue," leading to vastly different ways of thinking between the two.

Looking at all the battles over the long history, Mi Ke Li could be said to be the first trainer to frequently use weather-type moves, employing them three times or more in just one five-on-five fight.

Yet every single time the weather brought enormous benefit, putting him on the back foot.

All Baimu keenly realized that he might need to have the Pokémon at home learn a few weather-type moves too, to avoid encountering similar situations again.

"Icy Wind!" Mi Ke Li's command came remarkably swiftly.

"Dodon!"

Walrein roared furiously, a frigid current and gale bursting wildly from between its topaz tusks, transforming into icy-blue vapor that swirled through the air toward the airborne Dragapult!

"Dodge!"

The instant All Baimu's shout rang out.

Dragapult's figure in the cold wind suddenly became blurry, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

It turned invisible?

No!

It was a visual afterimage caused by Dragapult's high-speed movement under the lamplight shining on the flying snow!

Miss Liuqi's gaze could barely keep up with that arc of light, and she couldn't help exclaiming: "So fast!"

Faster than the Mega Swampert in the rain!

"Dragon Arrow!"

All Baimu's breath came out as white mist.

The surrounding temperature had already gradually dropped to a level that made him feel cold, but he had no time to go back for the clothes he'd left behind.

"Ruo tuo!"

Dragapult appeared behind Walrein, fire bursting from the launch ports on both sides of its head!

Bang bang!

"Hii ya—"

The two Dreepy, shrouded in azure light, shrieked as they shot toward Walrein like missiles, trailing gray-white vapor behind them.

The latter didn't even have time to turn its head before the two small Dreepy missiles each struck the back of its head and its spine!

Boom! Boom!

Two bright bursts of fire exploded like fireworks.

A large cloud of smoke completely engulfed Walrein's massive body.

Suddenly.

The Dreepy's shrieks rang out from within the smoke.

All Baimu's expression changed, and he barked: "Use Quick Attack and fly backward, fast!"

Dragapult, not having waited for the Dreepy to return, didn't understand why, but still shot backward at speed just as he'd instructed. The priority move that could be released quickly let it fly four or five meters back in an instant—

Boom!

A startling frigid current suddenly erupted, and everywhere it passed was covered in ice and snow; even the dry ground was coated in white frost.

Dragapult retreated in time, with only a few frost marks clinging to its tail, but that didn't stop it from looking with lingering fear toward where Walrein was.

Without a doubt.

This terrifying frigid current came from Walrein, and beside it one could also see the two Dreepy that had already frozen into popsicles.

"Absolute Zero."

Mi Ke Li's face broke into an impeccable smile, his right arm slightly raised as if chanting, "Frozen ice is equally brilliant and elegant~"

All Baimu's mood was as cold as this icy battlefield.

'Fight fire with fire.'

That guy just now was like a Bastiodon, releasing moves directly from its body surface — the wide-range freezing air caught people off guard, and it was only thanks to the Dreepy's screeching warning.

And as a relatively rare one-hit KO move in the game.

In the anime it certainly wouldn't make a Pokémon collapse from a single touch, but if hit directly, Dragapult would lose its ability to battle one hundred percent of the time.

What weighed on his heart even more was not just the loss of battle capability of the Dragapult siblings.

But also the green light ripples that kept spreading without pause when the snowflakes landed on Walrein's body.

【Frozen Body】.

Continuously recovering stamina during snow — no problem there.

But this effect…

Isn't it a little too good?

His gaze fell on the back of Walrein's head and spine — the impact marks left by the Dragapult Mescyas grew shallower each time the green light spread.

He estimated it wouldn't be long before they healed completely.

Is this 【Frozen Body】!?

All Baimu sucked in a cold breath — as expected, not a single one of the Champion's main fighters was easy to deal with; years of accumulated combat had given them all something extraordinary.

Walrein's specialty most likely lay in the fact that its Frozen Body recovery speed far surpassed that of other Pokémon.

He pulled out Poké Balls and recalled the two Dragapult Mescyas.

According to the rules set by the League, when Dragapult Mescyas are sent out as dedicated users of Dragon Darts for Dragapult, they should be withdrawn regardless of the reason for losing their ability to battle.

And after losing its important long-range physical striking means, the increasingly cold environment and the pain from hail striking its body caused Dragapult to become somewhat flustered.

"Stay calm!"

All Baimu shouted loudly.

Dragapult is faster than a rainy-weather Primal Kyogre, but Walrein may not have Bastiodon's reaction speed and endurance — victory or defeat is still uncertain!

"Phantom Force!"

"Luu tuo…"

Dragapult paused for a moment, a stream of black smoke surged from its chest and spread across its entire body; when the black smoke dissipated, it had vanished without a trace.

Mi Ke Li saw this but said without a care:

"Stockpile!"

"Duo dong!"

Walrein's flippers slapped the ground, and a gleaming white light enveloped it from head to tail; the orange-red upward light stream indicated that both its defenses had been raised.

The next instant.

Black smoke materialized in the air behind it; Dragapult emerged from within, its slender tail wreathed in dark light smacking heavily against its head.

Peng!

A muffled thud.

Walrein pitched forward uncontrollably, and Dragapult took the opportunity to swiftly retreat, pulling away at a speed that left the opponent no chance at all.

"Swallow!" Mi Ke Li's command left All Baimu in silence.

Walrein raised its head and opened its mouth wide; the white light on its body surface flowed into it as if drawn in, and it gulped it down as its mouth closed!

Gululu~

A bright emerald-green light wave flowed ceaselessly, and the damage dealt by Phantom Force was rapidly recovered.

Far too great a gap!

Walrein's level and effort values in all stats far surpassed Dragapult's; relying solely on Dragon Dance couldn't deal it enough damage, and it could recover from it very easily.

On the other hand, the hail here continued to inflict damage, and these small amounts accumulating together were enough to have a certain effect on it.

The key issue was that after launching attacks time and again without seeing results, and having lost the Dragapult Mescyas, Dragapult's panting frequency increased greatly.

Excessive nervousness caused its condition to drop sharply.

Failing to achieve results in its first-ever Gym battle, and instead encountering an opponent like Walrein whose strength far exceeded its own, the homebody Dragon's ability to handle pressure was clearly nearing its limit too.

Just how did its level get raised like that?

Just by living a long time?

"Come back!"

All Baimu couldn't bear to let such a Dragapult stay on the field any longer; he decisively recalled it with a Poké Ball, even giving up the boosts from Dragon Dance.

He quietly ordered it to calm down properly, then sent out Hydreigon with a backhand toss.

"Sha sang!"

Hydreigon's high-pitched cry was filled with excitement, but the cold wind rushing toward it quickly sobered it up as it surveyed the situation.

Everywhere its gaze reached was ice and snow.

The ice particles falling from the sky still pricked painfully when they landed on its body.

"Pff!"

Its middle head sneezed.

Fear of cold was a common trait among most Dragon-type Pokémon; only a small number of individuals with another type that resists Ice or are themselves Ice-type could treat it with indifference.

Fortunately, the fur from its neck to its back was quite thick, so its endurance would be much stronger.

"Nasty Plot!"

"Sha sang!"

Hydreigon growled softly as it scrutinized every part of Walrein's body, a startling momentum gradually building up.

Compared to the introverted, socially anxious Dragapult, this one's personality was far more wild and arrogant; therefore, even though their energy levels weren't much different, its offensive capability was far stronger than the former's.

So use Nasty Plot to raise Special Attack to the extreme it could bear, then deal Walrein damage it couldn't recover from in one fell swoop!

All Baimu's plan was simple and direct.

Mi Ke Li wasn't a fool—how could he sit by and watch it strengthen unimpeded?

"Water Ring! Powder Snow!"

"Dodong!"

A water ripple spontaneously stirred around Walrein's body, and in the blink of an eye formed three glistening blue water columns that continuously revolved around it.

Immediately after, it opened its huge mouth, and countless tiny snow particles flew out from within, freezing part of the flowing water inside the water rings into ice fragments of varying sizes—

A beautiful yet terrifying ring of ice fragments was thus born!

"Dodong!"

Walrein let out a low, muffled roar, and the three rings of ice fragments suddenly swelled and expanded, hurtling toward the Three-Headed Dragon!

All Baimu hurriedly shouted, "Dodge them! Keep using tricks!"

"Sha-sang!"

The Three-Headed Dragon's six wings beat as it dodged back and forth, while the three rings of ice fragments continuously swayed up and down and spun rapidly, sometimes expanding and sometimes contracting, forcing the former to keep dodging, thereby preventing it from strengthening.

But ever since Huskidog had been forced off the field earlier, a surge of pent-up anger had been building in its heart.

It knew it truly couldn't defeat a Mega Swampert.

It accepted that!

But that was a Mega Swampert!

What does that have to do with you?

When did any random thing become able to come out and suppress it?

The Three-Headed Dragon stared at the distant Walrein, which seemed to be handling things with plenty of room to spare, its body surface continuously emanating green light, its upper body raised as it manipulated the ice rings. Its three faces gradually grew ferocious, and the vicious aura in its heart was nearly impossible to suppress.

Dodge, dodge, dodge—

Dodging and dodging endlessly—

Suddenly.

It stopped dodging. Its three heads lowered slightly, allowing the rings of ice fragments to constantly smash against various parts of its body, leaving wet marks and ice fragments.

All Baimu was slightly stunned. Looking at the Three-Headed Dragon's silent back, he immediately understood its thoughts.

"Since that's the case… then I won't hold back."

The instant the words finished.

"Sha-sang—!"

A fierce, vicious roar thundered through the entire arena like thunder!

The Three-Headed Dragon was like a suddenly erupting super volcano, its three ferocious, blood-red mouths continuously emitting terrifying howls!

Visible pale-white sound waves violently shook the air!

Around its body, orange-red currents of air continuously rose as if they were free, making its momentum surge endlessly higher and higher, until even Adam couldn't help but be moved.

No matter how strengthening moves are used, a single Pokémon's individual ability still has its limits.

Why can the Three-Headed Dragon keep rising higher and higher!?

Mi Ke Li was likewise stunned for a moment. After coming back to his senses, his waving right hand unconsciously clenched into a fist, and he shouted loudly:

"Charge up—"

"Dragon Pulse!"

Roooar—!

A deafening dragon roar drowned out everything.

A clawing, fanged energy dragon was seen bursting forth from the Three-Headed Dragon's three huge mouths. Its multicolored, brilliant radiance made it as majestic as a legendary divine dragon, while also carrying an astonishingly terrifying aura of destruction!

The instant it appeared.

The three rings of ice fragments shattered into debris.

And when the energy dragon roared and charged forward, everything in its path—whether ice and snow or rubble—was reduced to a skyful of dust and smoke.

"Rooar!

The ferocious maw of Dragon Pulse completely engulfed Walrein!

Rumble rumble rumble—

The earth shook violently, proclaiming the terrifying destructive power of Dragon Pulse.

What was even more astonishing was that after swallowing Walrein, it charged straight toward the arena's dome, freely spreading its massive energy wings, and the instant it collided, it exploded with a bang!

Boom—!

The firelight and thunderous blast of the explosion turned into a pillar of thick fog that completely covered the sky above.

Snow particles no longer fell—the explosion had completely dispersed the snow clouds, giving them no chance to gather again.

Hazy and indistinct.

A massive creature descended from the sky.

In the stands, Miss Liuqi covered her ears, about to take a careful look at the changes below, when she heard All Baimu's shout once more.

"It's not over yet! Meteor Mash!"

"Absolute Zero!"

Mi Ke Li's voice rang out immediately after.

A dazzling purple-red light was seen appearing first, then bursting into countless small individual orbs of light.

Whoosh!

A sudden gust of wind swept across the entire field, completely dispersing the thick fog.

Miss Liuqi widened her eyes and clearly saw the Three-Headed Dragon, its entire body radiating a blue-purple light, ferociously charging forward in an explosive rush, surrounded by numerous flickering purple-red light projectiles, like a dance of stars!

"Hoarse voice—!

Not far away.

The Walrein, its body covered in black scorch marks, raised its head and suddenly spewed an almost endless stream of snow-white cold air at the ground!

Wherever the cold air swept, everything froze into ice.

Even the purplish-red projectiles at the very front of the Hydreigon were no exception.

But just as Miss Liuqi was worrying for it, those frozen purplish-red projectiles suddenly exploded like grenades with their pins pulled!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

She had to cover her ears again, and the firelight from the exploding purplish-red projectiles kept clashing with the snow-white cold air, once more forming a pale-white smoke that completely swallowed the two Pokémon.

By now.

Miss Liuqi could no longer tell which side had the upper hand.

All Baimu? Mi Ke Li?

Perhaps once this smoke cleared, she would get the answer she wanted.

Miss Liuqi nervously crossed her fingers in front of her, silently praying for All Baimu and the Hydreigon — she could tell that the latter's outburst just now had most likely been its final one.

If it still didn't work…

Would this Gym battle end in defeat?

It couldn't!

Aggron and the others had all fought so hard right up to the very last moment!

She stared fixedly at the smoke gradually dissipating below; the first thing to emerge was an ice sculpture — an ice sculpture that had completely frozen the furious Hydreigon solid.

"Ah…"

Miss Liuqi let out a groan, but the next second she covered her mouth.

Because the ice sculpture had another half—

It was the Walrein, its body covered in scorch marks and head hanging low, half its body likewise frozen, its flippers held in the Hydreigon's smaller head's bite.

"—Walrein and Hydreigon are unable to battle! The Gym Leader's side has no usable Pokémon!"

The old butler Sebastian raised his flag high, his slightly aged voice ringing in everyone's ears.

"I declare! Challenger All Baimu is victorious!"

"Yay!

Miss Liuqi jumped up in high spirits, grabbed the wing of the Altaria beside her, and danced a joyful two-person dance with it.

And in the field.

All Baimu, soaked through, slowly half-knelt and grabbed the clothes he had tossed on the ground.

"Ah…"

He clenched his fist as if in a dream.

Finally, finally he had won!

This was absolutely the toughest battle he had experienced since the one against Gardenia at the Ironworks Arena; most of his Pokémon had been pushed to the point of utter exhaustion.

It had been far too difficult.

But he had won!

All of this was thanks to the Hydreigon's final outburst born of fury — its surging emotions forced it to put out a level of strength beyond what it normally should have had.

For the first time ever, All Baimu got to enjoy a Pokémon "limit break" of his own.

It was on this foundation that the still-experimental Meteor Assault was successfully unleashed — it had to be said, a very nice close-range technique.

Dangerous as it was.

In the end, it also let the Hydreigon drag the Walrein down with it, giving it no chance to recover.

All Baimu put on his jacket, recalled the frozen Hydreigon into its ball, and took out the Poké Balls of every Pokémon that had participated in this battle.

"Good work, all of you! We won! Won completely!"

He got no response.

Normal.

Aggron had no energy left, Lanturn rarely responded to him, and Dragapult normally wouldn't respond either — but this time it was probably sulking, having been pushed into a helpless and shameful position by the Walrein.

The remaining four hadn't woken up yet.

All Baimu was thinking about how he should comfort Dragapult tonight; this fellow was always so quiet, and it wouldn't be good if it ended up with some kind of mental issue.

To run into this kind of situation in his first official battle — was that a failure to think things through on his part?

No way around it.

This was the only Gym battle he had left.

Rebuilding its confidence could perhaps wait until the Sinnoh League, as long as there wasn't some fellow like Ash who had traveled through many regions and whose strength fluctuated wildly between Gym Leader and Champion.

"Did something happen?"

Mi Ke Li's voice sounded beside his ear.

All Baimu turned his head and suddenly realized that, compared to his own slightly disheveled state, Mi Ke Li was practically spotless, as if he hadn't been the one fighting just now.

"No, I was just thinking about how to review this battle."

"Review, huh… You really are exactly the kind of very serious person I imagined."

The smile on Mi Ke Li's face was a little odd — it wasn't the first time he had met this kind of trainer… one who won the match but still wanted to review it afterward.

But All Baimu was definitely the strongest one of them.

He pulled a badge formed of three drops of water from his pocket and said, "This is the Fen Badge you've earned. Honestly, this battle has greatly refreshed my understanding of you."

"Uh… thank you."

All Baimu took the badge, not quite sure how to respond to the other's words.

"In any case, I've given Champion Dawu a proper account on my end. As a descendant of the people of Ecruteak, I acknowledge your strength, and as a Grand Master of the Contest, I simply can't help looking forward to your future…"

Mi Ke Li rattled off a long string in one breath, finally smiling as he patted All Baimu on the shoulder. "I hope you won't feel regret that I didn't choose Milotic."

Hearing him say that—

All Baimu suddenly asked, as if inspired:

"Then will I still have a chance to battle you later?"

"Of course—"

"There's a chance!"

Before Mi Ke Li could finish, Miss Liuqi's shout rang out. She rushed over in a flurry with her Altaria, followed by Adam.

"Uncle's going to be staying at the Gym for the next few months, so it'll definitely be fine!"

She gave All Baimu a thumbs-up, then looked at the dumbfounded Mi Ke Li. "Right? Uncle?"

"B-but my annual leave is coming up next…"

The man the jianghu calls the Water Prince had a twitch at the corner of his eye. His gaze swept from the somewhat expectant Miss Liuqi to All Baimu, then to the smiling Adam, and he could only laugh bitterly.

"An occasional intense battle is indeed an elegant thing~"

Mi Ke Li seemed to be trying to convince himself.

All Baimu said happily, "I'm deeply grateful!"

Where Adam and Mi Ke Li couldn't see, he quietly gave Miss Liuqi a thumbs-up.

You're the best!

Teacher Liu!

You're my god!