Chapter 599: The Silver Victor

Endless drizzle.

A song-like, long cry drifted near and far.

Not only around the harbor, more and more people in Saffron City too looked up at the sky; upon discovering the spectacular sight of the two Lugia tumbling through the rain clouds, they excitedly called friends over or eagerly recorded it on their phones.

"Holy shit! Holy shit!"

"Lugia — in ancient times revered by people as the god of the sea and the god of wind — a mysterious being… so beautiful…"

"As a Trainer, you really should catch a Pokémon like that!"

"You? Hahahaha — how exactly do you plan to catch them? They're at least several thousand meters up! How are you going to get up there?"

The city was in an uproar.

With the League Conference about to begin, the number of Trainers gathered in Saffron City was already large.

Now that legendary Pokémon had appeared, some people could not contain themselves, yet were helpless against the altitude at which the Lugia — big and small — hovered.

Of course.

More people either stopped where they stood and gladly looked up, or sought out a quiet eave where they could shelter from the rain, listening carefully to the humming that resembled the rhythm of the sea.

And the concerto of wind and rain.

Within just a few minutes.

The incident of legendary Pokémon appearing over Saffron Island, along with an increasing number of short videos, climbed to the top of the trending searches, and through the developed internet spread to every corner of the world, attracting more and more Trainers.

How many chances does an ordinary person get in a lifetime to see a legendary Pokémon?

The lucky ones, perhaps once or twice.

The unlucky ones might never see one even once.

And for those who especially longed for legendary Pokémon, chasing their silhouettes was an interesting and meaningful thing to do.

Beneath the outdoor awning of a café.

Sitting across from Gardevoir, Volkner took a sip of black coffee; his delicate face scrunched up at the bitterness, and he sighed, "Worth the trip. I wonder if Baimu saw it."

He glanced at his dim phone screen, his heart quietly looking forward to a reunion.

The Saffron Conference venue outside the city.

League Executive Committee Chairman Damaranchi laughed heartily, his brows and eyes curving with an utterly genial look. "Even legendary Pokémon have come to celebrate the League Conference? Hohohoh~ I can't stand it~"

"This is an auspicious omen, Chairman Damaranchi!"

His assistant adjusted his glasses and said excitedly, "This conference will be an unprecedented success!"

A Officer Jenny from Saffron City jogged over from a distance, saluting as she reported, "The Sacred Fire has been safely preserved, and half of the runners participating in the Sacred Fire Relay have already arrived in Saffron City!"

"Good work, Officer Jenny."

Damaranchi nodded, stroking his fluffy great beard, and said, "The Sacred Fire Relay will proceed as scheduled. The Sacred Fire of Moltres won't be extinguished so easily — no need to worry."

Officer Jenny saluted again and barked crisply, "Yes, sir!"

She turned and walked toward the vehicle holding the Sacred Fire; along the way she clearly felt the rain landing on her shoulders growing lighter, and could not help tilting her head back to look at the sky.

"Is the rain stopping?"

As if confirming her words, the white expanse of rain clouds slowly broke apart from their unbroken whole; sunlight pierced through the cloud layer and spilled down onto the earth, casting a moving golden glow.

A brilliant rainbow bridge was etched against the distant horizon, dazzling and enchanting.

And then.

"Kyaooo—!!"

"Woooo~~"

Amidst rising and falling ethereal cries, two silver-glinting figures plunged down from the heavens under the sun, vanishing beyond the other end of the horizon like stars descending upon the world.

Officer Jenny's gaze trembled; after several seconds she came to her senses. "That's the direction of the harbor!"

She hurriedly took out her walkie-talkie to alert headquarters to dispatch officers to the harbor — legendary Pokémon would inevitably cause a commotion, and Trainers obsessed with them would send out their Pokémon to battle regardless of the occasion.

The power possessed by legendary Pokémon was nothing ordinary Trainers could match, and it would be easy to accidentally injure the general public at the harbor.

Harbor location.

As Officer Jenny had imagined, it was in total chaos.

Many people released Water-type Pokémon out to sea, ordering them to dive into the water and search for the position of the Lugia — big and small.

It had all been far too sudden — the two Lugia, one after the other, had plunged down at top speed and crashed into the sea; by the time anyone reacted, both had already vanished.

And in a place far from the noisy crowd.

Baimu said to the group, who were still savoring the scene they had just witnessed, "Let's go. If we don't leave now, there'll only be more and more people."

"Baimu's right."

Brock nodded in agreement. "The Lugia's song must have reached even the city center. Ordinary Trainers who saw the Lugia plunge toward the harbor will definitely come running to take a look."

Dawn said regretfully, "It's a shame I couldn't say goodbye to them in person. I hope their journey from here on is safe and smooth… no, wait, I got that wrong — they'll definitely be fine!"

She clenched her fist, overturning her own worry from a moment ago.

Piplup raised its little wings to affirm its Trainer's words: "Pip-pip!"

"I feel like I've got inspiration for a new song!"

Miss Liuqi, who had never forgotten her actual job, pushed Dawn's shoulders and said happily, "Let's hurry and find a place to stay! I can't wait to write it down!"

After their excited chatter.

The group expressed their thanks to the captain who had brought them here.

"No, no, I should be the one thanking you. I'll probably never forget this experience for the rest of my life… hahahaha, but don't worry, young Baimu — I won't say a word!"

The captain gave him a thumbs-up, his big white teeth — a stark contrast to his dark skin — glinting in the sunlight.

Baimu: "…"

Since it was already afternoon, the other party would stay one night on the ship and return to Lilycove City the next morning to avoid sailing at night.

As expected, large crowds of people poured out from the city — almost all of them Trainers holding Poké Balls.

Plenty of hotheaded youngsters were cracking their knuckles, clearly prepared to battle Lugia.

Too bad.

A battle between an ordinary Trainer and Lugia would probably have to wait until the first few episodes of the journey — the mother-and-child Lugia pair had no such leisure on their minds.

All Baimu and the others walked against the crowd toward the main road outside the harbor.

Lugia's attraction was so overwhelming that even without wearing a mask, no one paid him any attention.

And just as they were about to step into the city.

He turned around, gazing at the golden sea, and in his mind flashed the image of the big and small Lugia — that frozen-in-time backward glance just before they plunged beneath the waves.

"A farewell, then… We'll meet again, Lugia, Silver."

Baimu thought.

A crisp, cool breeze blew in from the sea, lifting his hair and the hem of his clothes.

Strictly speaking, his interactions with the mother-and-child Lugia had only happened twice, and there was no deep bond between them built up over time.

But the 【Heart of the Gods】 had given him the chance to entrust his "true heart."

Kindness, friendliness, warmth, admiration…

All those positive emotions had constructed that golden mental space — grand and magnificent, with not a single false thing in it, just like the golden sea before his eyes.

It let Lugia deeply understand exactly what sort of person — what sort of being — "Baimu" was.

Trust and friendship were established in that single instant.

To repay his wholehearted sincerity, Lugia ignored the risk of being pursued by Pokémon Hunters, summoned a delightful gentle wind and fine rain, and sang to bless him on a safe journey.

Without a doubt.

Pokémon are Pokémon.

Whether they're legendary or not hardly matters — sincerity is the only sure-fire technique for getting along with them.

——

Saiyu Grand Hotel.

The designated lodging for tournament participants — present your Pokédex or Trainer ID card, confirm that you hold eight Hoenn-region Badges, and you can stay free of charge.

The facilities were fully equipped and offered shuttle service within the city or directly to the tournament grounds.

No need whatsoever to worry about getting lost, or about the venue being outside the city and missing the match time.

【"Your peace of mind is our peace of mind."】

The slogan playing on a loop in front of the hotel caught the eye.

The last time Miss Liuqi had come to Saiyu City, she was still filming a TV drama — her schedule was so tight she couldn't go out and look around, which she rather regretted.

This time she had the chance, so after packing her bags she took Xiaoguang by the hand and knocked on All Baimu's door.

"Let's go, let's go! Shopping together!"

She eagerly reached out and grabbed the latter's wrist.

All Baimu raised a hand to refuse. "Not going. I'm going to meet a friend."

"Then we'll come with you?"

"Next time. I'll introduce you when the tournament starts."

"Huh?"

Miss Liuqi's tone shot up rapidly. She looked him up and down suspiciously and whispered, "Going to see a fan? Lov— ahem, Baimu-kun, I understand that puberty has arrived, but the tournament is right around the corner—"

"Save it, it's a guy. Instead of mocking me, why not pay attention to Mi Ke Li-san and Teacher Adam — one of them has been of marriageable age for years now, and the other, excuse the rudeness, is an old-age single just about past his expiration date. They need your loving concern far more than I do."

All Baimu poked the smooth forehead of the girl before him and walked off on his own.

Miss Liuqi shouted, "Where's Xiaogang?"

He waved a hand. "At the front desk, doing awkward small talk with the big sister he likes."

"Pfft!"

The latter stuck out her tongue at his retreating back in displeasure.

But just as All Baimu had said, the Lilycove Gym was a three-generation "hereditary" Singles-type — whether Adam and Mi Ke Li even had so much as an ambiguous lady friend was unclear, and their background wasn't a special chapter either.

It wasn't their turn to worry about him first.

"Ahahaha…"

Xiaoguang couldn't get a word in and could only laugh foolishly.

She was practically clueless about anything romance-related. Back when Kotone had teasingly asked her whether Satoshi was her future groom, poor Xiaoguang had nearly dug herself a three-bedroom apartment out of embarrassment with her toes, and only escaped after hurriedly denying it.

"Hmph, if you won't go then we won't, we'll go by ourselves!"

Miss Liuqi snorted. Naturally, she had only been teasing.

Others might not know, but she knew exactly what momentous mission All Baimu carried on his shoulders — before fulfilling his own dream and mission, he most likely wouldn't consider anything romantic—

Exactly the same as Adam and Mi Ke Li — extremely focused on their own careers, top-tier Pokémon fanatics.

Well then.

She was pretty much the same herself — before her career as a Contest idol reached its grand completion, romance and the like had long been set entirely aside by her.

You could see the Lilycove Gym only produced hardworking types; no wonder everyone got along so affectionately.

Piplup stared in the direction All Baimu had left, disappointment beyond words in its eyes — how it had longed to go out shopping with Mawile.

But there was simply no chance.

"Pip…"

First-floor lobby.

All Baimu put on his mask, a Dreepy perched on each shoulder.

The two curiously looked around, occasionally letting out hoarse cries that seemed to mean wonder.

"Hiyah~"

"Hiyah!"

The noise gave him an earache, but he had no choice—those two's real ride was hidden away with social anxiety and couldn't be called out no matter what.

He also didn't want those two perched on his head, turning him into a walking spectacle, so he could only endure it a little.

Xiaogang, who should have been at the front desk, was nowhere to be seen.

All Baimu looked around and spotted Xiaogang lying flat on his stomach with his butt sticking up in a corner, along with the delinquent Croagunk behind him puffing out its poison sac like blowing bubblegum.

The two locked eyes.

'Xiaogang is in your hands.'

'Leave it to Croagunk, gura~'

It was as if silent streams of information were exchanged between their gazes.

All Baimu boarded the driverless smart car at the door, holding the car door so it wouldn't close right away, and only after confirming Doduo Barudo had gotten in did he say, "To Volbeat Street."

Beep!

The car started moving.

Arriving in a private space with no outsiders, Doduo Barudo finally revealed its form.

"Lusui…"

It felt a little embarrassed—if the trainer hadn't held the car door, it might have face-planted right into it.

"Take a good look at this city."

All Baimu pinched its somewhat flat cheeks, gesturing for it to look out the window.

The Hoenn League had put great care into building Mauville City—large clusters of flowers and plants could be seen everywhere, making the city colorful and exceptionally full of the vitality of life.

Just like Mauville City in the games.

The interesting thing was that although the Victory Road was gone, the road-blocking Wattson was still around.

The other had gone to Johto more than a month later than All Baimu, yet ended up finishing the conference challenge even earlier, and even won the Silver Conference as promised.

How much had Wattson grown from that journey?

All Baimu was looking forward to it a little.

So.

The destination, Volbeat Street, had arrived.

The neighborhood here generally bred Volbeat, this firefly Pokémon, hence the name.

Next door was also an Illumise Street, the two places complementing each other.

Every mating season for these two Pokémon, the two streets would be hung with lanterns shaped like Volbeat and Illumise tails.

Looking around, the whole street was full of brilliant light, utterly enchanting.

Too bad that was in summer.

All Baimu regretted his lack of luck at not seeing it, and after getting off, he walked with the once-again-hidden Doduo Barudo and the Doduo siblings to a café on the street corner.

A familiar green-haired boy was painfully eating cake, with many young women in aprons and maid caps cheering him on beside him.

"One more! One more!"

"I really can't anymore, please have mercy on me."

Wattson grimaced, then noticed the café staff staring blankly at something behind him.

The Gardevoir in front of him showed a similar expression.

He turned his head, and what came into view was none other than All Baimu, who had been waiting a long time.

"Long time no see, shut-in boy."

The other smiled warmly and casually waved.

Wattson stood up in pleasant surprise, but found he had to look up at the other, and couldn't help being stunned. "A-All Baimu-san, you've gotten taller again?"

"Just a centimeter or two."

All Baimu gave him a warm bear hug, lightly patting the thin back twice with his palm, drawing急促 coughing sounds.

He asked in confusion, "Why are you still this thin?"

Among his few friends, Wattson was the one most likely to have his strength misjudged by his appearance—looking like a bean sprout, yet the Pokémon he raised were exceptionally strong.

"My constitution won't allow it…"

What Wattson especially envied about All Baimu was his body—having the latter's physique was his ideal.

At the same time.

Suppressed screams of pleasant surprise rang out around them.

Wattson was first puzzled, then saw the staff asking All Baimu for photos and autographs before he understood. "I see, All Baimu, you're already a big celebrity."

"You're not bad yourself with that conference win—want to stay here and play the feeding game with them?"

"No, the shop owner here is my cousin."

"…You sure have a lot of cousins."