Chapter 644: Super Double

This!

This, this, this!

Baimu stared at the two columns—Level and Talent—full of anticipation.

Whatever I needed, that's what showed up!

He rose and told Guruthis he had to step away for a moment; once he reached the restroom, he could no longer wait and tapped into the Level Exchange, where three options appeared before his eyes.

【Option One: Raise any Pokémon by one level (below Lv. 50)】

【Exchange Requirement: Raise any Pokémon by three levels (below Lv. 30)】

——

【Option Two: Raise any Pokémon by one level (below Lv. 70)】

【Exchange Requirement: Raise any Pokémon by three levels (below Lv. 50)】

——

【Option Three: Raise any Pokémon by one level (below Lv. 85)】

【Exchange Requirement: Raise any Pokémon by three levels (below Lv. 70)】

Hm?

Baimu blinked, confirming that the level cap on the third option was Lv. 85.

Wasn't it supposed to be level ninety?!

He hurriedly pulled up the rewards he'd obtained earlier, confirmed they were level ninety, and looked at this option with a complicated expression.

How come the exchange function is giving a discount? Don't tell me I have to win the Regional Championship before it becomes capped at ninety or a hundred?

Baimu twitched the corners of his mouth, but with this Level Exchange, the level rewards from ordinary simulations in the future wouldn't go to waste either.

The Dracovish siblings were already past level forty now; soon, even the level-fifty-capped rewards would be useless to them.

And once everyone was past level seventy, Option Three would really come into its own.

He silently opened the Talent Exchange beside it and found only one selectable entry.

【Option One: Set the next simulation's fixed talent to a Rare Talent (if the fixed talent is already a Rare Talent, the use fails)】

【Exchange Requirement: Three simulation chances】

Three-for-one again…

Wait!

He stared blankly at this exchange entry, read it over carefully several times, then clenched his fist in excitement.

A simulated subject's talents are divided into fixed talents and selectable talents; under normal circumstances, the spot where a Rare—blue—talent appears is random.

Which means if the blue talent shows up in the selectable talents next time, he could use this exchange to forcibly swap it into a double-blue talent!

A double-blue talent is a hundred percent a tournament victory!

Huge profit!

And even if he couldn't exchange his way into a double-blue simulation, looking at the long term, it was still a bargain.

Baimu did some quick math: the top-tier level reward from an ordinary simulation was the Top Sixteen finish giving a four-level boost below level fifty; the worst was the eight-badge completion giving a one-level boost below level thirty.

The worst level reward from a blue-talent simulation was the Top Eight finish giving a one-level boost below level seventy.

The best was the runner-up giving a three-level boost.

If every ordinary simulation gave the top-tier reward, then through exchange he could get a four-level boost capped at seventy—more profitable than the top-tier reward from a single blue-talent simulation.

But based on the level rewards ordinary simulations had produced so far, the exchange value in the end wasn't really all that different…

However.

There was one crucial factor that couldn't be ignored.

He guessed that the appearance of blue-talent, double-blue-talent, and even orange-talent simulations followed a pattern.

After two blue talents, one double-blue talent appears; after two double-blue talents, an orange talent might appear. If he swapped an ordinary-talent simulation for a blue-talent simulation, and a blue-talent simulation for a double-blue-talent simulation, could that affect the pattern?

Very possibly!

It just so happened that after the last Magician's double-blue-talent simulation, he'd held off on simulating again to focus on the tournament, and he'd already accumulated two ordinary simulations.

It wouldn't take long to verify.

If it really could affect things…

Everyone above level eighty within a year?

Not impossible to imagine!

He might even go further—trash a regular Champion, then after a bit more growth, beat down Champion Dan Di, and see firsthand the power that lets Pikachu defeat the Island Guardian Tapu Koko—no big deal!

Stat monsters, huh?

Bring it on!

Regarding this simulator update, Baimu felt immense delight while also forming a certain association.

Why did Arceus want the simulator to update once, accelerating the growth of his team?

Was it because a powerful enemy he had to face existed in the future?

Or perhaps…

Simply wanting him to have time to raise more Pokémon?

Pokémon leveling up quickly did indeed let him free up time to catch new ones.

Logically speaking, trainers in the anime—no matter whether the final team members were the original Pokémon or not—all caught a great many Pokémon.

Champions and Elite Four were no exception.

Ash needed no mention—alone he had dozens of Tauros.

Baimu mulled it over as he exited the Talent Exchange screen and tapped open the Move Exchange, which was listed at the very front.

Inside, there was only one option.

【Option One: Designated Move】

【Exchange Requirement: Three Move Tutors (attribute may be specified)】

Oh! This one's great!

Especially friendly to the unlucky!

He hadn't forgotten the scene from back then—opening over a dozen Move Tutors in a row, only to fail to get the moves he wanted while ending up with a pile of flashy, useless ones.

"Hoo…"

Baimu washed his face, his eyes bright and spirited, a glimmer of anticipation flickering within them.

At that moment.

A clamor came from outside.

He walked out the door.

The Gulis who had been gently stroking the Aromatic Essence was nowhere to be seen; in his place was Mei Mei Yali and her group, who had returned from buying donuts.

"Little White! Have a donut!"

Hu Pa flew over happily, clutching a freshly made donut and stuffing it into his mouth.

Baimu had no desire to end up like Balza, face smeared all over with chocolate sauce, so he bit down on it in one bite, thanked her, and asked: "Did Mr. Gulis leave?"

"Great-grandfather went to look after the sick Wooloo."

Mei Mei Yali spoke up: "There's no Pokémon Center in town, so injured Pokémon are usually treated by Great-grandfather and the others."

I see.

Baimu nodded, finding nothing strange about it—settlements of long-standing minority clans like the People of the Meteor and the Valley of Creation not having a Pokémon Center was perfectly normal.

They themselves possessed the means to treat wounds and illnesses.

"Is there a battle field nearby?"

He asked Balza, then looked at the now-excited Kop and Pete and smiled: "If you don't mind, let's have a battle right now!"

The more battles he fought, the faster the simulator cooled. Baimu wasn't some battle maniac, but he wanted to increase his battle opportunities as much as possible.

Then.

The group arrived at an open field in town, where a relatively crude Poké Ball center circle and dividing line had been drawn in chalk on the ground.

Balza whispered: "The tournament only ended yesterday. Is it really okay not to let them rest?"

"Don't worry, I'll use Pokémon that haven't seen much action."

Baimu smiled and pulled out a Poké Ball.

Seeing this, Balza couldn't help getting ideas of his own, and said eagerly: "Then I'll also…"

Before he could finish.

The two on the opposite side began shouting indignantly.

"Balza, get in line!"

"Don't jump the gun! Get over here and be the referee like a good boy!"

"Fine! I get it!"

Balza shouted back at his two buddies, then walked helplessly to the edge of the half-court and, under the teasing gazes of Mei Mei Yali and Luca, took up the role of temporary referee.

Hu Pa volunteered to help.

The rules were one-on-one.

Kop and Pete knew full well that a three-on-three was absolutely unwinnable against Baimu, but in a one-on-one they might be able to seize the upper hand by exploiting type matchups.

"I'll go first!"

The thin, tall Kop stepped forward, claiming the first move.

Without hesitation, he hurled his Poké Ball onto the field. "Go! Trevenant!"

Bang!

A ball of white light landed and transformed into a fearsome one-eyed tree demon, its six curved roots beneath it resembling a spider's pedipalps.

"Ooh—"

Its cry was hoarse and shrill.

On Baimu's side.

A perfectly round, lustrous, milky-white rolling stone entered the field; pale, smoke-like tentacles poked out from the holes, and a pair of blood-red eyes filled with grievance opened along with them.

"Sahn."

"Galarian Corsola! It's really Baimu! Hu Pa brought him to the Valley of Creation!"

Children who had hurried over to watch shouted out excitedly one after another.

Are there really this many people surfing the web in the Valley of Creation?

He was rather surprised, but his attention quickly returned to the field, meeting the peculiar sidelong glance Corsola cast his way.

Baimu silently held up two fingers, glanced at Balza, then held up three.

"…"

The grievance in Corsola's eyes instantly deepened.

At the same moment.

Balza raised both hands and called out loudly:

"Battle begin!"

"Forest's Curse!"

Kop, who had long been unable to wait, shouted the command.

The Decaying Wood Pokémon's eyes lit up with red light, and purple light waves inexplicably surfaced across the ground in patches. Immediately after, countless ghostly-purple vines burst from the earth, tightly binding the Sun Coral!

【Forest's Curse】, which has the effect of adding the Grass type to the opponent.

The animation added vine-whip-like binding and hard-CC visual effects, making it an exclusive move for Pokémon like Bonsly and the Decaying Wood Pokémon.

"Nicely done!"

Seeing Sun Coral get caught so easily, Kep couldn't contain his excitement and ordered again, "Charge in and use Shadow Claw!"

"Roar!"

The Decaying Wood Pokémon let out a hoarse growl, swaggered forward on its six roots in a fierce charge, and quickly arrived before the bound Sun Coral.

Its two claws were coated in a layer of ghostly-purple eerie light, transforming into jagged, terrifying energy ghost-claws that slashed down viciously!

The watching children couldn't help but cry out in alarm.

"Ah!"

"It's about to be hit!"

Balza and the others, however, showed no change in expression. If All Baimu's Pokémon were that easy to defeat, the latter could never have won the tournament by such an absolute margin.

The Decaying Wood Pokémon's ghost-claws swung down.

"Roar!!"

Boom!

Dust billowed!

But before Kep could feel happy about the hit, All Baimu suddenly raised his hand.

"Will-O-Wisp."

In an instant.

Clusters of ghostly-purple flames suddenly illuminated the gray fog from the explosion, like nine bright treasure lamps.

Whoosh—

The ghostly flames swirled into a ring of light that dispersed the mist, revealing Sun Coral wrapped in purple vines yet completely unscathed in appearance.

The ring of ghostly-purple flames shot toward the Decaying Wood Pokémon's face while it stood dazed.

Fwoosh!

The flames exploded!

"Roar…"

The Decaying Wood Pokémon wailed and staggered back several steps. The flames clung to its body as if glued and refused to fade for a long time, and the vines that had bound Sun Coral vanished.

The watching onlookers were struck dumb and silent.

Kep shouted urgently:

"Decaying Wood Pokémon, hold on! Use Shadow Ball!"

"…When it rains, it pours."

All Baimu waited in vain for Kep to use his special ability, and could only regretfully deliver the final blow to the Decaying Wood Pokémon.

"Roar."

Sun Coral's entire body was shrouded in purple-red mist, which then transformed into visible streams of energy that surged forward like vengeful spirits!

The flame-entangled Decaying Wood Pokémon had no way to dodge; the purple-red energy streams pierced straight through its body, causing violent convulsions.

Then.

Its roots collapsed limply, and its single eye was replaced by the swirly pattern of fainting.

Balza raised his hand, "The Decaying Wood Pokémon is unable to battle! Sun Coral wins!"

Wah!

"So amazing!"

"Is the tournament champion really this strong?"

"Kep bro isn't even a match!"

The little brats gathered at the field's edge chattered away, making Kep's face turn black as coal. But his Pokémon truly couldn't even fight back, so no matter how unwilling he was, he had to admit it.

He sighed and recalled the Decaying Wood Pokémon.

All Baimu was about to say a couple of words to Kep when the chubby Pete could no longer wait and stepped forward.

"My turn, my turn!"

A Poké Ball was thrown.

A massive Hippowdon appeared. Its pitch-black hide and bright crimson eyes proved this one was female.

"Thump!"

Vast amounts of yellow sand spewed from the round holes all over its body, quickly covering most of the crude field and making many of the onlookers cover their eyes and step back.

【Sand Stream】 ability!

Sun Coral floated in midair, using this to resist the fierce wind of the sandstorm.

As a Pokémon weighing less than one kilogram with a hollow body, if it didn't possess the Ghost type, a single gust would probably turn it into a soccer ball rolling all over the ground.

Pete punched the air and shouted: "Fire Fang!"

Although the binding effect of Forest's Curse was gone, its Grass-type addition effect remained, so Hippowdon's Fire Fang would be super effective.

"Thump!"

Hippowdon let out a muffled roar, its mouth—taking up a third of its body—opened wide, and scorching flames ignited between the gaps of its massive teeth!

Roar!

It charged at Sun Coral at a speed completely at odds with its size!

"Calm Mind."

"Throat…"

Sun Coral still did not dodge.

Or rather, at its speed it was already very difficult to dodge within the sandstorm; blue light lit up in its eyes, an orange-red glow rising from beneath its body, and it gazed impassively at the charging Hippowdon as the beast's flame-wreathed jaws snapped shut!

Boom!

Amid the explosion, Xiong Xiongliehuo suddenly erupted, waves of heat rolling outward!

It hit!

But Pete did not rush to celebrate—Kupo's lesson had taught him that Sun Coral would not fall so easily; he had to use continuous, unrelenting attacks so it could not catch its breath.

"Ice Fang!"

"Absorb."

The two trainers issued commands at the same time.

The Hippowdon biting down on Sun Coral moved quickly; freezing mist churned between its lips and teeth as it opened its jaws wide once more, faintly forming sharp, massive ice fangs.

"Thud!"

"Go!!"

In Pete's view, alternating between cold and heat in quick succession would help reduce the hardness of the opponent's shell and raise the chance of a critical hit!

Evidently so.

Suddenly, countless shimmering green lights flew up from the Hippowdon's body, madly streaming into Sun Coral.

The scale of the cold shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye; the weakened ability's blue light circled around the former, standing out distinctly even with the whirling sand.

Ice fangs clashed!

Crack!

Amid a string of sharp snaps, the massive ice fangs shattered into fragments in an instant, scattering into the dust.

"What!?"

Pete stared at the scene in disbelief—a type-superior move couldn't deal with Sun Coral?

"Giga Drain."

All Baimu gave the order.

Sun Coral, still inside the Hippowdon's mouth, lit up with flickering green light across its body; the Hippowdon sensed things going badly and tried to spit it out, but Sun Coral had already made its move.

An even greater quantity of green light flew out from within it; a terrifying sense of weakness swiftly welled up, leaving it gradually without any room to resist.

"Thud…"

All Baimu stared intently at Pete; when he saw that Pete was "unmoved" by this, doubt rose in his heart.

"Is it that he can't… or that he doesn't know how?"

The people of the Valley of Genesis had never seemed to think of applying the power they themselves possessed to Pokémon battles—though the strength they gained through resonance with nature was, when it came down to it, simply the elemental energy that Pokémon possessed.