Chapter 685

"Cheers—"

Ping!

The crisp clink of glass.

Baimu smiled as he set down his champagne flute, his gaze shifting from those before him to the surroundings.

The once-empty street was now lined with long banquet tables; on both sides, shopfronts glowed brightly, filled with food freely available to all.

Familiar faces and various Pokémon happily enjoyed the food, laughter breaking out intermittently.

Young children played wildly with Pokémon.

The Bidoof and others blended in; aside from Psyduck, who was focused on desserts, and Solrock and Drapion, who avoided crowds and hid in the villa waiting for Baimu to bring them food, they mostly played alongside the children.

The Shiny Haunter and Dragon Messia siblings, both lively types, led a group of rowdy kids racing everywhere.

The lively atmosphere resembled some kind of festival.

Not just this street—even distant, far-off avenues glowed brightly, constantly echoing with noise.

【Welcome Banquet】.

Shan Ren did not specially gather the heads of enterprises that aided Huang Tie Town to introduce him in a glittering banquet hall or invite them to his villa to build connections; instead, he simply gathered with friends and comrades from the Rainbow Team.

Shan Ren chose to celebrate with the people.

He let everyone who knew him share in the joy of his return.

The dragon slayer will eventually become a dragon…

This saying may not hold true in the Pokémon world.

"What? Unaccustomed?"

Shan Ren, seeing him lost in thought, took a sip of champagne and said calmly: "The idea was mine, but I originally planned it only for Iridium Street—after all, even with money, you can't waste it recklessly."

"But your good brothers secretly told people on other streets, and I got trapped in my office. They insisted on bringing their own drinks and food to join… blame Da Zong if you must."

Baimu turned to look at Da Zong and the others at the table behind; the group had been eavesdropping and immediately stood up and fled when they noticed the two looking their way.

As they ran off laughing, their faces beaming with triumph, they somehow made Baimu, who hadn't intended to hit anyone, feel a sudden urge to punch something.

But.

Seeing their youthful exuberance, Baimu suddenly remembered that his little brothers were actually about his own age.

In his past life, they'd barely be in high school.

Even in mainstream regions, teenagers this age either traveled freely doing what they wanted or attended school.

Looking back at Da Zong and the others' lives, recalling the "Charity Games" that threw over a hundred people into a confined space to kill each other, it was hard not to reflect on the world's disparities.

But the Rescue Organization gave the youth of Huang Tie Town the right to choose.

Baimu raised his glass: "I'm growing more and more admiring of you. Cheers."

"Thank you for the compliment. Cheers."

Shan Ren smiled and lightly clinked his glass against Baimu's.

Ping!

"What about Silver Ape?" Shan Ren nodded toward a nearby figure; the towering Silver Ape was awkwardly refusing food offered by others.

Did Did Yin Ma downed a whole stack of beer in one go; his drinking rival was Cheng Hong, the other leader of the younger generation on Iridium Street besides Baimu.

Unfortunately, he clearly couldn't hold his liquor—after a third of the beer went down, he was dizzy and disoriented, and people nearby rushed to restrain him.

Did Did Yin Ma, now completely empty, laughed heartily, threw his head back, and shouted:

"My boss can't beat your boss, but you can't beat me in drinking! I won! Hahaha—*burp*~"

He suddenly clapped a hand over his mouth, turned pale and purple, and ran out to a corner, vomiting loudly.

The onlookers burst into laughter.

Baimu turned his gaze away and shook his head slightly: "Only temporary. I didn't plan to stay long this time—maybe one or two months. Actually managing Huang Tie Arena would be too heavy a burden for me."

After the battle, Silver Ape claimed he had seen the light and wanted to travel with Did Did Yin Ma, so he could care for his younger brother while broadening his horizons and improving his strength.

Under these circumstances, the Rescue Organization's assignment of Huang Tie Arena to him could no longer be managed, so they decided to hand it over to Baimu.

The arena has always been governed by the strongest trainer in the region—that's been the rule since ancient times.

Baimu firmly refused to take it over, saying he'd only serve temporarily.

Why not just take over the Liuli Gym if he really wanted to inherit it?

"One or two months!"

Shan Ren was astonished; though he knew Baimu wouldn't stay in Oure permanently, he hadn't expected the time to be so short.

He replied softly: "If I were just aiming to be a regular regional champion, I'd stay in Oure. But I want to be the world's best."

His tone was calm, as if becoming world champion were merely a matter of will.

The Oure Champion title was already his for the taking.

Even Shan Ren, who had full confidence in him, couldn't help but remark: "You're really shameless. If you say that out loud, half of Oure will want to kill you."

"No problem. If they don't come find me, I'll go find them."

Baimu smiled faintly: "I'll use this time to tour every corner of the Oure region and challenge the arena masters and Battle Mountain masters whenever I get the chance."

"You…" Shan Ren didn't understand what he meant to do.

Baimu explained his assessment during his battle with Silver Ape—that Oure trainers were fundamentally weak in every aspect.

Shan Ren looked bewildered.

"Really?"

"Wait—you studied abroad and competed in several League tournaments, so you'd know about this—" He suddenly remembered Shan Ren had only ever won second place in tournaments, and afterward had devoted himself entirely to fighting the Shadow Team and rebuilding the region.

He'd never once considered the deficiencies of Oure trainers in competitive battles.

Even if he saw them, he'd just shrug and think: Oure trainers are just pathetic.

And not think about why the dish tastes that way.

Their sensitivity to battle is vastly different; Baimu has been trained by renowned mentors—former champion, current Elite Four member, and Gym Leader—his horizons are no longer comparable.

Of course, if it came to administrative duties, he'd be completely lost; each has their own strengths.

"In short, I want to assess the training standards across the regions."

Baimu gave a vague explanation.

Shan Ren, however, saw a hint of "pity" in his eyes, his temple veins bulging, desperate to grab him and beat him up.

But there were too many people nearby, so Shan Ren held back.

He planned to wait until after the meeting, in a secluded place, to take action; forcing himself to suppress his anger, he asked: "If your guess is correct, what will you do?"

"Of course, I'll defeat them until they submit, then urge them to go out and see the world—perhaps learn advanced battle tactics through the network. What else is there to do?"

Baimu didn't expect that a single call from him would make every trainer in the Orre region adopt his vision of learning from the outside world.

Without crushing them with strength, even if they later became Regional Champion, their mindset wouldn't change.

He even suspected that even if the Orre Championship were officially held, they still wouldn't participate, because they had no concept of what the title "Regional Champion" truly meant.

The reverence for Champions in mainstream regions was built over decades.

Baimu's hope of making every Orre trainer understand the meaning of Champion within half a year was clearly unrealistic.

Silver Monkey was a concrete example.

He knew Baimu had won the Hoenn Championship, and that Baimu had defeated Shi Yuan Zhi, the leader of the Elite Four—but just how strong was Shi Yuan Zhi? How great was the gap between them?

Through the god's-eye-view battle videos alone, he simply couldn't make a full judgment.

Only when he was truly crushed by Baimu did he realize there were always greater beings beyond, and his verbal address changed three times in succession.

Shan Ren had no good solution, saying: "Then where's your first stop?"

"Yellow Iron Arena."

"Huh? Didn't you already break Silver Monkey?"

"The other trainers there haven't submitted yet. Besides, I'm supposed to temporarily act as Gym Leader—I plan to thoroughly train them, then take them on a tour of other Arenas!"

Baimu chuckled.

Shan Ren shook his head in silence, though inwardly he was somewhat tempted, eager to join.

Unfortunately, he had resolved to focus on administration, using his strengths to contribute to Orre's rebuilding; Pokémon battles were deeply appealing, but ultimately unsuited to him.

"Count me in."

Across from them, Lady Ayana suddenly tapped the table and raised her cup in a toast.

He exclaimed in surprise: "Lady Ayana…"

"No, from today on, you're my elder brother. Just call me Ayana. I'm joining you—for Yellow Iron Arena and everything after."

Lady Ayana stared straight into Baimu's eyes, her moist gaze filled with longing and anticipation.

Why had she originally chosen to stand with Master Liu Ge?

Both from weariness of the Sandflow Team's lifestyle and a desire to simply end it all—the Sandflow Team had too many troubles.

Daily running around for the Sandflow Team's interests under Cang Zhi Lang's command was not what she wanted.

But she was powerless to escape.

Yet half a year ago, the Shadow Team collapsed, the Sandflow Team disintegrated completely; having finally gained her freedom, she fell into confusion.

What should she do now that the Sandflow Team was gone?

At that time, she hadn't considered her future; when Shan Ren and Baimu entrusted her with Rainbow Team affairs, she accepted without hesitation.

Only when Baimu set off on his journey did she begin to vaguely form some ideas.

Through the network, she learned of Baimu's various achievements, and gradually developed a longing for other regions—for the vibrant, thriving world of Pokémon battles beyond.

Had it not been for her duties to the Rainbow Team and the need to care for her family and former subordinates, she likely would have left long ago.

The long-suppressed Lady Ayana, upon Baimu's return and hearing his views and decisions regarding Orre trainers, could no longer contain her surging desire.

She wanted to move forward toward what she longed for.

The first step would begin by following Baimu.

"I'll delegate some of the Rainbow Team's minor affairs to Terry and others. Haven't the board members long wanted me to relinquish power? They just never dared to say it, right?"

Lady Ayana looked at Shan Ren.

Shan Ren felt awkward; Lady Ayana had been recruited by Master Liu Ge, showed no clear misconduct, and was morally mostly intact—she had merely committed minor moral lapses under past Sandflow Team orders.

But she had shown little interest in rebuilding Orre, so some former members of the rescue faction within the Rainbow Team had criticized her, secretly hoping Shan Ren would recall the real boss, Baimu, to retake control.

Baimu also felt awkward, silently drinking champagne.

Although it had originally been agreed he was merely the nominal head of the Rainbow Team, meant to draw Elder Ejin's attention, later the Rainbow Team was restructured into a corporation by Shan Ren, and he had received shares and salary.

Taking money without doing work was hard to justify.

The key was, while traveling, he was carefree and free-spirited, the very image of the Rainbow Team's boss in everyone's eyes—everyone welcomed him.

Lady Ayana, exhausted from managing the Rainbow Team, faced criticism from below, who wished for her to relinquish power.

"Alright, I'll arrange it, Elder Sister. Rest assured." Shan Ren gave Baimu a sidelong glance.

Baimu immediately nodded, smiling apologetically: "I definitely agree too, Elder Sister! Don't be formal—we're not about hierarchy. We're training partners growing together. Many people outside travel and grow together."

Lady Ayana had no interest in formalities; seeing him agree, she leaned her cup forward.

"Cheers."

"Cheers~"

Baimu and Shan Ren raised their champagne glasses, lightly clinked them, and exchanged a glance, both suppressing their guilty expressions.

The feast was over.

Approaching midnight.

Under Shan Ren's direction, everyone prepared to pack up and disperse, but Baimu ignored the objections of other neighbors and helped Dazhuang and others handle the trash.

The neighbors of Qinyi Street watched him rush about, their smiles growing even brighter.

Everyone had truly feared that after Baimu left and returned to his ancestral home, he would grow distant, even look down on them… but Baimu was still the same Baimu.

In the past, all the children of Qinyi Street had followed Baimu, listening to his commands.

The past seemed to replay before them.

Not long after.

The packing was nearly done.

Baimu carried a bag of food for Dracovish and Sunflora, hesitated briefly, then called out to Shan Ren, who looked weary and was preparing to return home.

He said: "I've thought about this a long time—I really should tell you. Maybe you already know."

"What is it? If it's not urgent, can we talk tomorrow?"

Shan Ren had been worn out from a full day's work.

"It's not urgent, but I'm afraid if I tell you tomorrow, you'll scold me." Baimu took a deep breath and spoke plainly: "There's a gateway to the Spirit World beneath Huang Tie Town, blocked off. Many spirits can't enter and wander freely through Huang Tie Town."

Shan Ren used his brain, dulled by alcohol, to think about it.

Then.

His brain snapped awake, his drowsiness vanished, the alcohol's haze cleared instantly, and he became fully alert.

Sweat began to bead on his back; his throat rolled as he said: "You… you're joking with me in the middle of the night?"

Baimu stared at him.

Shan Ren felt his heart pounding wildly, panic rising: "W-what are they going to do? Kill people?"

"No. Their presence can at most cause minor illnesses among Huang Tie Town's residents. And they want to enter the Spirit World—it's the true home of souls."

Baimu briefly explained the relationship between the Spirit World and souls.

He added, slightly puzzled: "You know nothing about this? There are plenty of Ghost-type Pokémon in Huang Tie Town. Even if you didn't know about N, you must have…"

"I didn't know."

N appeared in a dim corner of the street; half his face lay in shadow, his expression obscured. He said: "I've never heard those Ghost-type Pokémon mention this. Are you certain?"

Baimu turned to look at him and replied: "I trust my Pokémon."

"Fine. I'll ask them."

N nodded and turned away.

Fully awake, Shan Ren watched his back and whispered: "He lied."

"He probably knows part of it—like the fact that many souls wander Huang Tie Town." Baimu shook his head.

N was not a man who lied, so he hid half his face in darkness, preventing the two from seeing his expression.

In truth, with Baimu's keen eyesight, he could easily see the struggle on N's face.