Chapter 742: The Unova Mine Owner

"A newcomer?"

A slightly hoarse voice rang out, and All Baimu and the Hydreigon turned their heads to look together.

A middle-aged man wearing a cowboy hat, with a wheat complexion and a lean, wiry build, stood not far away. Behind him followed a skinny red-eyed, red-furred Watchog that looked as if it were wearing a fluorescent vest.

Watchog, the Sentinel Pokémon — a species that had already become unsearchable on the NS.

Plenty of gamers jokingly called it a Pokédex-filler, but in the Pokémon world there was no shortage of people who liked it. After all, whether it was scouting tunnels, glowing sentry duty, or tilling farmland, it was an excellent helper.

The middle-aged man broke into a frank smile: "I saw you from over there looking kind of lost — got separated from your friend?"

Lost?

All Baimu and the Hydreigon exchanged a glance. Had he really seemed that lost just now?

He shook his head and answered: "No, I came alone."

"Alone? Are you a tourist?" The middle-aged man glanced in surprise at the massive, intimidating Hydreigon. Anyone with a Pokémon like that accompanying them was most likely a Trainer.

All Baimu shook his head again: "No, I have a membership card for the competition, but this is my first time here. If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to ask — are there any special requirements to get on that ranking board?"

Seeing that the man seemed both familiar with the place and very enthusiastic, he simply laid out his situation and his question outright.

The middle-aged man's smile immediately grew warmer. "Of course there are requirements. Anyone can enter the ranking matches, but to make it onto the leaderboard you have to win at least ten."

"Win ten… got it, thanks for clearing that up." All Baimu nodded his thanks, then politely extended a hand. "May I ask your name?"

"Zack, from the Unova region's Panbaxia City. I've got a small mine over there. Came to Orre to see if I could buy some mining and quarrying rights."

Zack shook his hand, and before All Baimu could introduce himself, he laughed and said: "Speaking of which, little brother, you look a little familiar!"

"Familiar?" All Baimu was startled for a moment and studied the man's face carefully, confirming he didn't know him.

He'd never seen him before.

Zack went on: "That's right, you look a bit like that Baimu guy who was pretty famous last week. I saw a little bit of his battle video from someone else — his Mawile is seriously something!

"Too bad I heard he's teaching over in Iron Town and doesn't accept battle challenges. Probably doesn't have time to come to the Realgam Tower either — what a shame. Hahaha!"

Zack rattled the whole thing off at top speed and burst out laughing.

All Baimu pulled the corners of his mouth into a grin and let out two awkward laughs along with him: "Haha…"

"Oh right, where are you from, little brother?"

"I'm a local here in Orre."

"A local? Can't tell at all!"

"Just got back from Hoenn less than a month ago. The natural environment there is nice — it's good for the complexion."

"Ooh~ Hoenn! It really is a great place!"

"Mm, my name is Baimu. Pleased to be in your care."

"…"

"…"

The two stared at each other, neither speaking for a long moment.

The Hydreigon and the Watchog's gazes met, then both looked back at their respective Trainers. Tilting their heads, a question mark popped up on each of their foreheads.

"Sha-sao?"

"Mi-lu?"

After a moment Zack gathered his scattered expression and gave a wry smile: "Little brother, are you messing with me?"

"Genuine goods, no fakes — only one of me under heaven. Please forgive the offense." All Baimu hadn't expected the man to talk so fast, rattling on and on before All Baimu even got to introduce himself.

Of course.

He had had a chance to interrupt midway — so why hadn't he?

All Baimu figured it was very likely that Hu Pa had led his Gengar astray, and Gengar in turn had led him astray — the saying that Pokémon and Trainers with a special bond grow more and more alike wasn't groundless.

"No worries, no worries — made a fool of myself in front of you." Zack sighed with feeling: "Never thought I'd run into the legendary Trainer everyone's talking about. They all say the only place to see you is Iron Town."

The slap in the face came awfully fast. Just the other day, during the stretch of endless rainstorms, he'd been drinking at a bar with a few Trainers he knew, chatting about Baimu.

He'd heard someone say that if Baimu came to Realgam Tower, even if he followed the rules here, he might not necessarily climb to the top of the leaderboard.

"Came over to take care of some business."

All Baimu didn't elaborate. Figuring he'd finally made the trip and still had plenty of time, he might as well get on the leaderboard before leaving.

Seeing how little All Baimu knew about the Realgam Colosseum, Zack enthusiastically began explaining what Trainers needed to watch out for here.

Just like the Battle Tower in the games where you earn BP points, after getting on the leaderboard at Realgam Tower, every battle you won earned you corresponding points. Those points could be exchanged for many of the items sold inside Realgam Tower, and some people privately bought points with money.

In other words.

This was a place where you could earn money through battling.

Compared to the League Conference, which had a long cycle and complicated conditions, Realgam Tower made money fast and had no extra strings attached, so it was especially popular.

"I see — spend money to make some noise."

All Baimu saw behind it a hint of Realgam Tower's desire to attract outside Trainers and make them stay of their own accord.

Was turning Realgam Tower into a Battle Tower really Elites' plan?

He thanked the enthusiastic Zack, went to the front desk to register for the competition, and aimed to finish ten battles and get on the leaderboard by the end of the day.

"Heh-heh! I've gotta share this with those guys and show off!" Zack watched All Baimu's back, muttering to himself as he pulled out his phone to contact his familiar friends and tell them he'd run into the legendary Baimu.

However.

The news spread far faster than Zack had expected.

Not long after All Baimu finished registering and was still waiting for his first battle assignment, Zack's phone was already drowning in incoming calls and message vibrations.

At the same time, Trainers kept streaming into the hall, and within minutes it was no longer the spacious, peaceful place it had been.

"It suddenly got a lot more crowded, Mr. Zack — does Realgam Tower have a peak period?"

He asked Zack.

Zack was drenched in sweat as he tugged his hat brim down, quietly powering off his phone, and said with an awkward chuckle, "M-more or less like this. If you don't like crowds, shall we go to another hall? The corridors are all connected anyway."

All Baimu glanced at Zack, then looked at the newcomers craning their necks as if searching for someone, and nodded. "…Sure."

The two quietly moved to the hall next door.

Meanwhile.

The notification that an opponent had been matched arrived on All Baimu's phone, its speed catching him quite by surprise.

"Excuse me, Mr. Zack, my opponent is waiting for me." He said that to Zack, then headed toward the arena from the northernmost entrance of the hall.

Only after Zack could no longer see All Baimu's back did he quietly let out a breath, angrily pulling out his phone to berate those loose-lipped friends of his.

It's only been a few minutes!

He clearly told them not to go telling people!

Oblivious Zack gave those people a thorough scolding, flatly refusing to reveal their actual whereabouts. Seeing that this hall too was gradually flooding with trainers, he gave a wry smile and pressed down on his cowboy hat: "How embarrassing."

"Miiilu…" Watchog looked at its trainer in confusion.

A moment later.

Zack, who had been quietly waiting for All Baimu to take the field, was met instead by a few friends scouring every hall in a dragnet search.

"Found him, found him!"

"Where's the guy? Where is he?"

They looked around frantically.

"Stop looking, he's already left! How do you lot have zero manners!" Zack indignantly denounced these shameless scumbags.

One of them sheepishly explained that he'd been too surprised at the time and accidentally shouted it out, and with so many people around it got overheard.

The rest wore faces full of regret.

Although All Baimu wasn't a regional Champion, in terms of fame there was no difference from one. Apart from those who lived in seclusion, which trainer in the Ore Region today didn't know of him?

Zack snorted, looked up at the central display screen in the hall, and All Baimu's figure suddenly appeared on it.

The loudmouth of the bunch keenly caught the change in Zack's gaze, followed his line of sight, and nearly shouted out again—luckily he swallowed it just in time.

He nudged the person beside him with his elbow.

"What… holy crap!" That person also saw All Baimu taking the field on the screen, and whispered, "He didn't leave!"

Zack didn't answer.

The remaining few soon learned of All Baimu's whereabouts and couldn't help offering their sharp takes.

"For him it shouldn't be much of a challenge, right?"

"That's a given—getting on the rankings isn't hard. The question is what comes after. Inside Realgam Tower, extra items including berries are banned, and Mega Evolution isn't allowed either."

"That's too far off—let's bet instead. Bet on how soon he makes the rankings!"

"How soon? At least two days, right? Any trainer who got a membership card, at the very worst—"

Beep!

Before that person could finish, All Baimu on the screen had already taken down his opponent. Hydreigon spread its broad six wings and roared skyward.

That was fast!

Everyone was dumbstruck. From start to finish, had it even been two minutes? This was a three-on-three!

Zack was no less astonished than the rest, but what followed was excitement. He said, "I bet half a day! Yeah, before one in the afternoon!"

"One in the afternoon!?"

The others' eyes were drawn to him. Zack was that close to All Baimu? Where did that kind of confidence come from?

Judging by that performance just now, a full day wasn't impossible—half a day? If the arena couldn't line up opponents for All Baimu in time, no matter how strong he was, he couldn't possibly hit the rankings in half a day!

"Hey hey, I'm betting points here!" the one who'd suggested the bet earlier reminded them.

"Of course I know that! So I'm planning to take your points and apologize to All Baimu on your behalf!" Zack declared, brimming with confidence.

It was called a bet, but really it was just a little joke between friends.

Neither Zack nor his friends were short on money; the points earned from battles mostly sat in their accounts untouched, so they used them as chips for wagers.

"Fine, I'll take that bet. If I win, I'll take your points and apologize to All Baimu myself."

"Count me in, count me in."

The few of them noisily piled in agreement.

And those who noticed All Baimu competing on the screen were after all few. Wandering back and forth through several halls without catching a glimpse, many trainers who'd rushed over at the news gradually dispersed.

When All Baimu came out and found the hall still empty, but a few unfamiliar men in their thirties or so had appeared beside Zack, he couldn't help but step forward curiously.

"Mr. Zack, are these your friends?"

"Yes."

Zack had just been about to introduce them when those men beat him to it, even deliberately tacking their ranking onto the end of their names.

Generally between the top hundred and top fifty.

And Zack, who moved in the same circle as these people, was ranked no low either—in fact, the highest among them—at thirty-second.

They hadn't chatted long before the next-round opponent was already lined up.

All Baimu excused himself and left, and Zack's friends couldn't help sighing: "Truly, heroes come from the young. That bearing, that presence—absolutely not something an ordinary person can match. Unstoppable."

"I was too hasty before. I think even without Mega Evolution, All Baimu can reach the top of Realgam Tower."

"Obviously! The Elite Four are all his defeated foes! I said so long ago!"

Zack broke into a cold sweat: "You guys… how did you suddenly start buttering him up? Did you all turn into Gengar or something?"

He still remembered how this lot had been badmouthing All Baimu at the bar not long ago—now that they'd met the man in person, their tune changed that fast?

Arrogant before, fawning after—it's laughable!

Those friends, for their part, argued righteously that they hadn't seen him in person, so a little misunderstanding was perfectly normal.

When All Baimu appeared on the screen, the few people quickly composed their expressions and began watching seriously.

The situation had been chaotic earlier, so they hadn't really looked closely. Now that they took a proper look, it was utterly absurd — once the Three-Headed Dragon entered the field, it took one bite per opponent, and none of the rival's three Pokémon could last to a second move.

Is this a Pokémon battle or a house-playing game?

Even comparing raw stats, it shouldn't be that fast!

"Hiss, at this pace, forget half a day — two hours would be more than enough." The person who'd said at least two days earlier bared his teeth.

Under normal circumstances, factoring in the Pokémon's stamina and mental strain, plus any possible injuries, if one has trained relatively few Pokémon, ten matches in two days really would be fast.

Who would have thought that in a pond full of Magikarp, a Sharpedo suddenly charged in… no, a Kyogre. It probably wouldn't be long before this Kyogre's turn came to face opponents like those Sharpedo.

Zack slowly came back to himself and laughed heartily: "Looks like I've got this one in the bag."

——

Noon.

All Baimu smoothly took down his last opponent, and his name appeared at the bottom of the rankings.

"Good work, Gengar."

"Genga!"

Gengar grinned and waved his plump paw, when suddenly a gurgling sound came rumbling from his belly.

He scratched his head a little sheepishly.

"Perfect timing, let's go! We're going to eat!" All Baimu glanced at his watch, called the Three-Headed Dragon watching from behind, and left the battle arena.

Unlike the vast, open-air field in the game, the arena Realgar Tower provided for ordinary trainers' battles was indoors. Apparently, the large field was only activated for matches between trainers ranked in the top hundred.

The first-generation protagonist Leo had defeated the Shadow Team's strongest executive Xerval and its leader Eny on that circular arena — All Baimu hoped he'd get a chance to go up there and see it before leaving.

All Baimu had heard the ranking calculation was rather complicated; sometimes if you didn't battle, you'd automatically drop down and be overtaken by those rising behind you.

Back at the main hall.

Zack and the others enthusiastically crowded around, congratulating him one after another on making the rankings, and invited him to eat together at the most famous restaurant in the Realgar Arena.

"The head chef there studied under Lokomoko, the founder of glowing cuisine from the Kalos region. Although he hasn't reached the realm of making dishes glow, the food he makes with his own hands is sure to satisfy you!"

That remark made All Baimu swallow the refusal on his lips.

"Senior brother's" restaurant? Then he definitely had to go and show his support.

Although his status as a "junior brother" had been earned entirely through sneaking a peek at the craft, when he had visited the main branch and met Master Lokomoko in person, the dish he made with his own hands had earned the master's approval.