Chapter 678: Return to Orre

The closing ceremony of the Champion League was solemn and grand.

Beneath the sacred torch.

Thousands of spectators rose to applaud.

Champion Dawu stood at the highest point of the arena, draped in a spotless white champion's cloak, holding high a golden championship trophy, his handsome face glowing with a warm, gentle smile.

Every single movement drew a unified roar of cheers from the Hoenn crowd.

His representative Pokémon, the Shiny Metagross, rested beside him, its massive frame radiating power; under the sunlight, its silver lacquer and gold-veined steel bars shimmered brilliantly, perfectly complementing Dawu's silver-blue hair.

"Now I've seen the full process of the Champion League."

Baimu gave a barely perceptible nod; though taking Shi Yuan Zhi's boat back to Orre had been an impromptu decision, since he'd come, he certainly intended to absorb some of Hoenn's experience in hosting the Champion League.

He also intended to use the battles of the Four Guardians and Champion Dawu to truly identify his own shortcomings.

Fortunately, he gained insights on both fronts.

But.

Shan Ren seemed to prefer the Galar region's Gym Challenge and Champion Cup league system, showing little interest in the traditional League Conference and the hierarchical Champion League structure.

In short, he didn't want to establish the position of Four Guardians; instead, he planned to have each Gym Leader serve as the primary challenger to the Regional Champion.

Compared to the Champion League held year-round, the Champion Cup—occurring at most twice a year—would impose far less pressure on Baimu.

At that time, Baimu could travel the world without needing to return frequently to compete in regional tournaments.

Relatively speaking, it was far more free.

Champion Dan Di already operated this way: beyond the two Champion Cups and necessary media appearances, his free time was no less than other Champions', yet his fame surpassed theirs.

Of course, this was inseparable from Gigantamax, but the success of Roz still filled Shan Ren with envy, making him aspire to emulate him.

Unfortunately, the Orre region, aside from its rich mineral deposits, was barren everywhere.

It lacked miraculous regional specialties like Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Gigantamax, or Terastallization.

The Mega Stone deposit in the Ice Cave was about to be mined; soon, every Gym Leader would possess a Mega Stone, diminishing the significance of the Mega Wave Baimu had specially obtained.

Developing a region was truly fraught with difficulties.

Fortunately, Shan Ren was not someone who chased unrealistic dreams; he didn't expect to leap overnight to the level of mainstream regions, only hoping Orre could develop steadily.

"Baimu!"

A voice from beside interrupted Baimu's thoughts.

He turned his head toward Fu Rong and asked softly, "What is it?"

Fu Rong, dressed in southern coastal attire, clapped with a cheerful grin, "When are you coming to deliver Shenshan?"

"..."

Baimu tugged at his lip; he'd never met someone urging a guest to visit, but after considering his schedule, he replied, "In a few months—I'll definitely come in a few months!"

This return to Orre, he didn't plan to stay long; after setting up the base for Bagon's mountain, he intended to use the Legendary Pokémon clues first, then head to Alola to seek opportunities to obtain the Z-Ring and Z-Crystal.

Unlike Gigantamax and Terastallization, which are restricted to Galar and Paldea, Z-Moves have no regional limitations.

So even if it seemed childish, he absolutely had to acquire them.

One more system meant one more option.

Fu Rong rolled her eyes, "Last time you said the same thing."

"Then—by the first half of this year! Is that acceptable?" Baimu gave a relatively fixed timeframe.

Fu Rong finally beamed and nodded.

Medium...

Since visiting that strange Spirit World, Baimu had developed a slight curiosity about the Medium profession.

According to the consistent logic of films and TV, those who long interact with spirits often carry an aura that warns others to keep their distance, even adopting a ghostly demeanor.

Fu Rong had none of that.

She radiated only the youthful vitality of a girl; her attire evoked a white sandy beach lined with coconut trees, and even when she pulled out a coconut and drank from it immediately, it felt utterly natural, not the slightest bit forced.

What exactly is a Medium?

Will there ever be a chance to simulate one?

Baimu silently fantasized.

Suddenly.

He remembered the ancient tomb he'd discovered on Route 120, suspected to be the resting place of Registeel.

He'd abandoned entering it then due to his inability to decipher the surface braille, later leaving a message on a mysterious website dedicated to Legendary Pokémon research.

Unfortunately, he received no reply.

Speaking of which, Le Sa had promised to help him decode the braille; last time he visited her, she'd shown no reaction—probably forgotten.

I'll check again next time.

Compared to Hoenn's Pillars, Baimu actually preferred the two Pillars of Galar—one Electric, one Dragon—their abilities being more useful than the first three.

If he remembered correctly, these two would eventually be captured by Gary and Hao...

Should he go ahead and capture them early?

If they could be defeated so easily by those two, they were likely just ordinary Legendary Pokémon, nowhere near the exaggerated scale of the Three Sacred Birds from the movies or the Three Cloud Deities from Super Wish...

Better to first see which Pokémon the clues point to.

Baimu shook off his distractions, watching Dawu descend the steps into the player tunnel, realizing this Champion League had truly ended.

That evening.

At the invitation of the Hoenn League, the Champion and the Four Guardians attended the banquet.

For these five, the positions of Regional Champion and Four Guardians were not only former dreams, but also vital current responsibilities.

Baimu had also been invited by the Hoenn League; since he had nothing else to do that night and had already dined with Da Zhuang and the others two days prior, he changed into a suit and headed to the banquet.

He hadn't expected that no one paid attention to him during the match, yet at the banquet, people kept casting complex glances his way.

He pulled out his phone and checked.

It turned out photos of him watching the match had been posted online and sparked discussion.

Many believed he had time to watch the match but not time to compete—essentially, like the rumors said, he was afraid of losing to the Four Kings and the Champion.

As a result, his reputation from the dual victories had dropped significantly.

In fact,

it was perfectly normal for a general tournament winner to decline entering the Champion League due to self-perceived insufficient strength; Mochi hadn't planned to enter in the first place, and no information had leaked.

The main issue was simply that Baimu's fame had risen too fast—everything happening now was merely backlash from past glory.

Fortunately, no fool had come up to cause trouble.

Those who attended the banquet were essentially the top figures across all sectors of the Hoenn region; they barely had time to exchange and foster cooperation.

How could they waste time?

As for the younger juniors who accompanied them, they generally clustered around Champion Dawu, gazing at him with extreme admiration, speaking in hushed tones, and often emitting muffled, ecstatic squeals.

Occasionally, one or two young girls showed interest in the slow, tiny bites of sweets Baimu was feeding to his Gulpin—but the moment they spotted Shi Yuan Zhi nearby, they turned pale and left immediately.

Shi Yuan Zhi: "..."

Baimu keenly noticed a flicker of irritation on the old King's face, and he was delighted—but said nothing to comfort him; he knew saying anything would only make Shi Yuan Zhi more annoyed.

"Eat less. Even indulgence days have limits."

He grabbed Gulpin's hand as it reached for a cream puff, "If you get fat, your movements will slow down."

"Kichido..."

Gulpin froze, gazing mournfully at the delicacies trainers rarely gave it.

Even though it had already eaten six layer cakes, three black forest cakes, two tiramisus, a small plate of cookies, and a small plate of pancakes, its stomach could still hold more!

Getting fat...

How wonderful it would be if one could eat freely without gaining weight.

Gulpin sighed and put down the cream puff.

Fuyou, who sat next to it and didn't know its record, couldn't bear to watch anymore and complained, "Just let it eat! A little bit won't—"

Her voice cut off abruptly.

Because Baimu silently revealed the towering stack of empty plates hidden behind Gulpin's head.

Fuyou stared at Gulpin in astonishment, "How can you eat so much!?"

"Kichido!"

Gulpin shouted angrily at her—how dare she comment on a lady's appetite! It was incredibly rude!

Whatever.

Considering she'd just spoken up for it, it would let it slide!

Gulpin picked up its cup of black tea and began sipping slowly.

On ordinary days with nothing to do, it could sip one pot of black tea for half a day—even the most idle, most lethargic Galarian Sunflora would bow to its patience.

The banquet ended without incident.

But in the middle of the night, with the release of a battle video, Pokémon Blog erupted into a silent yet furious storm.

——

Bang bang bang!

A rapid knocking came from outside the cabin.

Baimu put down his phone and glanced outside at the bustling harbor—it should still be some time before departure.

"Enter!"

Creak!

The wooden door swung open, and Otsuka and the others rushed in, jostling each other, each holding up their phones and babbling excitedly:

"Baimu! You beat the captain? You beat the leader of Hoenn's Four Kings?"

"I knew you wouldn't lose to someone from Hoenn!"

"Boss is boss!"

"Everyone online who said you were weak has vanished! Now it's all praise for you!"

Baimu covered his ears. The Pokémon in the room watched the noisy group with curiosity or annoyance, wondering what had happened.

First Mate Ryoko leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, smiling, "These brats heard the news from our crew and immediately dropped everything to run over here! One after another, they're more hyper than a Hyper Monkey!"

"Then you'd better give them a good scolding—how can they just run off during duty?"

Baimu stood up, feigning impatience as he shoved them aside, shouting, "What's all the fuss about? Come yell when I become the world's strongest trainer! Winning once against the captain is nothing to boast about! Get back to work, all of you!"

"Yes!"

"Yes, Boss!"

Otsuka and the others chuckled as they left the room, each pair of eyes gleaming as if divine light had settled within them.

Through the sailors' accounts on the Bōnō, they learned Shi Yuan Zhi's strength ranked among the absolute top of all trainers in the world.

And Baimu, who had defeated Shi Yuan Zhi, now clearly possessed the qualification to reach the pinnacle!

How could they not be thrilled?

Having come from a land of survival of the fittest, their minds had not fully shifted—they still believed only the strong deserved to be followed.

Moreover, they had all struggled together from humble beginnings to where they were today!

Even though Baimu's achievements had little direct connection to them, his success still stirred in them a strange sense of pride.

After they left, Ryoko sighed, "You've finally vindicated yourself. After the Champion League ended yesterday, you probably didn't realize how loud the arguments were on the blog."

"You're not mad that I used the Captain to become famous, that's all that matters." Baimu replied softly.

Deliberately releasing the battle video at a specific time gave off the unmistakable vibe of stepping on Shi Yuan Zhi to rise.

Ryoko shook his head. "The fact that the Captain lost to you is true, and it has nothing to do with the battle video. No one on this ship cares about such empty fame. Besides, posting a defeat video isn't shameful—losing to a young man isn't shameful. What's shameful is refusing to admit defeat afterward!"

"Well said."

Shi Yuan Zhi's voice came from the corridor.

Ryoko's face froze; his lazy demeanor vanished instantly. He forced a nervous smile. "Captain!"

"Ryoko… no, First Mate—you truly haven't disappointed me. Even when I was young, I doubt I had your level of insight. Given time, you will surely have a brighter future than mine!"

On Shi Yuan Zhi's usually hard face, a rare softness appeared as he looked at Ryoko, who seemed stunned. "It's time for you to inherit this ship."

"Captain!"

Ryoko hadn't yet recovered from being praised, and hearing this, his face twisted in panic. "Teacher! You—you—"

He couldn't speak.

Baimu also rose in surprise. Was the Captain preparing to retire?

That couldn't be right—he was still one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Hoenn!

Shi Yuan Zhi, failing to elicit the reaction he'd hoped for, glanced between Ryoko and Baimu. "You seem to have misunderstood something. I meant to appoint First Mate Ryoko as Captain of the Furious."

"And what about you?"

"I'll take another ship. First Mate Ryoko is already capable of standing on his own!"

Hearing this,

Ryoko relaxed, scratching his head awkwardly, blushing. "So that's it—you're handing over the Furious to me, Teacher."

Shi Yuan Zhi nodded. "But only after our journey through the Orre region. I plan to sail alone on a fishing vessel to explore the seabed of Hoenn. If you don't mind, Baimu, you may join me afterward."

"If the chance arises, I'll definitely come!" Baimu agreed eagerly.

He'd already forgotten how many people he'd promised to join. But he was still young—saying yes to everyone was always the right choice.

Not long after,

the Furious set sail toward the Orre region.

According to Shi Yuan Zhi's estimate, following the normal route without detours would take about fifteen days—barely different from his own journey here.

Two weeks of training—neither long nor short.

In just two days, Otsuka's walking posture improved; after another week, he carried himself with a lean, capable air.

One truly must admit the power of proximity to excellence.

Life aboard the ship was dull.

Aside from Pokémon battles, there were few entertainment options—arm-wrestling tournaments counted as one. Every sailor on the Furious had arms as thick as a Machamp's.

And even Captain Shi Yuan Zhi entered the contests. Don't let his slender frame fool you—he had extraordinary explosive power.

Yet no one could budge Baimu.

Baimu himself found it strange. He trained alongside his Pokémon, but he didn't consider himself particularly diligent.

Genetic issue? Was the Meteor Tribe's bloodline simply that powerful?

In any case,

once Baimu had clearly outclassed everyone on the Furious in both arm-wrestling and battles, the ship gradually sailed into the waters near the Orre region.

Home was near.