Chapter 847

No matter which region.

As long as there is water, their figures are never far behind.

——Magikarp!

All Baimu discovered that the vast majority of the Pokéblocks he had scattered were eaten by them, and a few Barboach were also joining in the fun.

"……"

The loaches I'm looking for aren't you guys!

It's the bigger, longer kind!

It's just a pity that the Magikarp and Barboach were far too attention-grabbing; their frantic scrambling for food kept the water churning, and the dense, dark mass made it so that the Dragonair and Dratini had no room to make an appearance even if they wanted to.

"A miscalculation."

All Baimu threw away the last handful and put the empty can away.

He never held any discriminatory attitude toward any Pokémon, so even though the Pokéblocks intended to lure the Dragonair and Dratini had all been fed to the Magikarp, he didn't feel it was a waste.

If one plan doesn't work, try another!

He waited for the lake to gradually calm down before releasing his Shiny Milotic into the pool.

Bang!

"Milo~"

Milotic swam into the lake, but seeing no opponents, only a group of wild Magikarp that still refused to leave and were jostling each other in hopes that food would fall from the sky again, it turned its head in confusion to look at its Trainer.

All Baimu said: "Help me check if the Dragonair and Dratini are under the water, and try to lure them out."

"Milo!"

Milotic received the order and slipped gracefully into the depths of the lake; its elegant movement, without splashing even a drop of water, made one want to give it a perfect score.

Its massive and beautiful form charged into the Magikarp school without any hesitation.

This group of red, giant carp with their vacant stares scattered in terror, and many that had reached their breeding season followed the cruising Milotic.

Look.

Even the dull-witted Magikarp couldn't resist Milotic's charm!

All Baimu watched this and sighed inwardly.

To be fair.

He actually didn't really want to bring out this ultimate weapon.

For one, Milotic's charm is ridiculously strong; once Dragonair and the others get hooked, they are easily pestered and followed. Previously, some wild Water-type Pokémon took a liking to it and swam around the beach every day; he couldn't drive them away no matter how hard he tried.

Secondly, if he has to rely on Milotic to call out the Dragonair, doesn't that mean he has no personal charisma as a Dragon Tamer?

It's too heartbreaking!

But right now, a whole can of Pokéblocks had been fed into the lake, and regardless of whether they were the ones who ate them, there was already a sunk cost.

He definitely wouldn't leave before he got to pet the dragons to his heart's content.

All Baimu sat with his hands in his pockets, waiting to pet the dragons.

Milotic certainly didn't let him down; its peerless divine beauty, which had been a hit with all ages and genders in the Dragon's Den, successfully attracted the Dragonair and Dratini.

Even when it swam toward the shore where All Baimu was, the Dratini didn't even turn their heads.

Only the Dragonair paused, not daring to follow rashly.

Splash!

"Milo~"

Milotic let out a soft cry as it surfaced, wiggling its enchanting figure as it swam ashore to behind its Trainer, while the Dratini, looking like big loaches, poked their upper bodies out one by one, blinking their watery eyes.

"Mi~"

"Mimi~"

No words needed for how cute they were!

All Baimu took out Pokéblocks like a creepy uncle to lure them closer.

The wild Dratini, having no sense of caution, looked at the kindly smiling Milotic, then at All Baimu, whose aura inexplicably made them feel close, and finally at the Pokéblocks in his hand, before happily chirping and surrounding him.

"Mi~"

The Dratini made munching sounds as they ate, accompanied by the faint sound of water.

Very much like little piglets.

After feeding a round, he started touching them and found only two words—slippery! soft!

Slippery is the kind where you can feel the scales; they aren't as delicate as Milotic's scales, and there's a feeling that you could rub them off if you tried.

Soft goes without saying, the feel of thick fat.

Their round, big noses are wet, and if you press them, they'll make "Mimi" sounds, which is truly interesting.

After petting them for a while.

All Baimu looked up to find his main target, the Dragonair, and found it exposing half its head from far away, looking at him with a hint of surprise in its eyes, so he hurriedly waved.

"Here, here, here——uh, come here~"

"Yoo-woo~"

The Dragonair approached slowly.

Earlier, it had discovered that Milotic was All Baimu's Pokémon, so it immediately stayed alert and didn't approach again.

It wanted to know what this extremely violent and terrifying human was luring them for, so it silently prepared to attack.

Fortunately, the other party had no ill intentions.

He only fed them food and showed a hint of intimacy through touch... Milotic maintained a bystander's posture from beginning to end, with no aggressive movements.

Even when its companions dived into the water, he didn't stop them; he was surprisingly friendly.

The familiar aura it had felt before was also becoming stronger.

This is a good person!

The Dragonair reached this conclusion.

Strangely, touching various parts of its companions' bodies seemed to make him very happy.

Why?

It thought of its own molting period; because it's hard to shed old skin easily with its own ability, and bumping into rocks is too painful, they always rely on bumping into their companions' bodies to assist with molting.

When the old skin is successfully shed, does the expression seem similar to this?

Do humans molt too?

"Yoo-woo~"

The Dragonair ate the Pokéblock All Baimu fed it, watching him pet them here and there with an amazed expression, his eyes lighting up when he touched their ear-fins, and it didn't find any signs of him molting.

If he doesn't molt, why is he so happy?

The Dragonair was very confused, but it also felt the Pokéblocks were quite delicious.

"Yoo-woo~"

One more!

Seeing the Dragonair lift its head to beg for food, All Baimu happily continued feeding it; he naturally didn't know the Dragonair's thoughts, nor did he care.

In short.

He had a great time petting them.

Before parting, the Dragonair and Dratini very kindly gave him a few pieces of shed skin; the Poryphone explained that when they saw humans picking this up by the lake before, they seemed very excited.

If you like it, take it!

"Woo, pretty good."

All Baimu nodded and accepted it.

You can't pick this stuff up in the Dragon's Den; even though there are Dratini and Dragonair in the Dragon's Den, the skin is taken away by the Meteor People as soon as it's shed and tanned into various products to be sold, and the price is extremely high.

It belongs to a source of income for Meteor Village.

And the riding gear for his Hydreigon is made primarily from this material.

If he went to ask for it, he could certainly get a piece or two, but there was really no need.

If the wild ones want to give it to him, he won't refuse.

What should he do with it?

All Baimu had no experience in tanning dragon skin, so he planned to search online; if he couldn't find it, he'd ask Zinnia, as she would definitely know who could do it.

In order not to ruin good things, he decided to make a glove or apron for his Blissey.

It's relatively simple.

——

The fifteenth Z-Crystal was successfully accounted for.

All Baimu entered the final mode of checking for gaps, because he could still get one Z-Crystal from the Poni Island Grand Trial later, so he only needed to find two more.

Alas.

The ideal is plump, but reality is skinny.

He spent several days wandering around the four islands with his detector.

He went to the old site of the Thrifty Megamart where the Ghostium Z was most likely to appear, and searched the Poni Plains where the Poisonium Z is located in the game, but only found two duplicate Z-Crystals.

A bit awkward.

If only the ones in Team Rocket's hands weren't the Darkinium Z and the Mimikyu-exclusive Z!

Feeling depressed, All Baimu found Nanu taking a nap and asked him if he could help swap them, thinking that since he had already troubled him, what did a few more times matter?

Debt doesn't weigh you down, right!

He was miserably rejected.

The middle-aged police officer waved his hand particularly ruthlessly: "Z-Crystals are treasures bestowed by nature; how can they be swapped at will? At least not with me, go away! Don't keep coming to disturb a retired old man!"

And Acerola, who always liked to go against him, agreed with Nanu's statement this time, stating that collecting Z-Crystals is part of the Island Challenge.

Since it's the Island Challenge, one must face it with a serious attitude.

There must be no thoughts of taking shortcuts!

——All Baimu, who had even used a Z-Crystal detector and gotten an Electrium Z from Ilima, felt particularly guilty.

Of course.

As a kind and enthusiastic girl, Acerola habitually helped him look for the missing Z-Crystals after finishing her lecture.

"Z-Crystals often appear in places where Pokémon of the corresponding type live; in other words, the Ghostium Z you're missing might appear in places with many Ghost-type Pokémon! For example——a cemetery!"

She said seriously.

All Baimu's mouth twitched, and he said: "Wouldn't that be the end of it in a cemetery? Z-Crystals are usually located underground or inside rocks; what if we dig into someone else's grave? And it could also be someone's burial object..."

"Hmm."

Acerola choked.

Actually, the logic is correct; the area where a Z-Crystal is located will nurture a Totem Pokémon of the corresponding type, and Ghost-type Pokémon love to wander around graveyards.

It's just that the Alola region has a tradition of burying old objects with the deceased, placing things that were extremely important to the departed during their lifetime inside the coffin.

A few days ago, he followed the detector's guidance to the Hau'oli Cemetery, and the reaction on the screen couldn't have been bigger.

Who would dare to touch it?

Things belonging to the dead aren't that easy to take!

He laughed it off to change the subject.

Actually.

All Baimu had an extra thought for coming to Ula'ula Island to find Nanu——

Little Mimikyu.

This true ghost might have a way to get him a Ghostium Z; after all, it was once a "Totem" Pokémon, the one that gave the Apothecary Girl a Mimikyu-exclusive Z, and later gave Team Rocket's Mimikyu a Z-Move.

It couldn't possibly give everyone a Mimikyu Z, right?

There must be a Ghostium Z!

Since it's not in the Thrifty Megamart ruins, it means it hid it somewhere, like inside its own body.

Therefore, even if Acerola wasn't prepared to help, All Baimu would find a way to get close.

"Little Mimikyu——"

He turned his head to speak, only to find that the Little Mimikyu that was just there had disappeared.

Uh!

All Baimu searched carefully twice and asked Acerola, who looked puzzled: "Where did Little Mimikyu go? It suddenly disappeared!"

"Maybe it went somewhere to play? Little Mimikyu is very free."

Acerola's expression was normal.

It seemed Little Mimikyu often played hide-and-seek.

But he inexplicably had the feeling that Little Mimikyu was deliberately avoiding him...

That couldn't be, right?

All Baimu scratched his head and followed Acerola to the Haina Desert, where there were many Ground-type Pokémon, to look for a possible Groundium Z.

Although he had already been there a few days ago, what if?

Unfortunately, the "what if" didn't succeed.

The two searched from day until dusk; not only did they get a mouthful of sand, but they also didn't know how many sand pits created by Trapinch and Krokorok they had stepped into, and they even found a Sun Stone, but just didn't find a Groundium Z.

"Let's keep up the good work tomorrow!"

Acerola was still full of energy.

All Baimu, however, had to stop; the seven-day deadline had arrived, and the more important Resolution Cave was waiting for him to go and open it.

He confessed the situation.

Acerola looked a bit disappointed, but still nodded with a smile.

She didn't have many playmates her own age.

Usually, besides the Pokémon Little Mimikyu, it was just taking care of the two children who often came to the library and telling them stories.

Being able to run around everywhere with All Baimu looking for Z-Crystals made Acerola feel very happy.

Just like adventuring with a partner.

Seeing the little girl's pitiful appearance, All Baimu suddenly said: "I have a friend named Ash, who is about your age, both passionate and kind. He is also participating in the Island Challenge and will probably be here in a few days; please take care of him when the time comes."

Acerola looked up upon hearing this and agreed very happily.

"Yeah!"

In fact.

Even without his words, Ash and Acerola would have become good friends, and later Acerola even went to the Pokémon School to play.

But Acerola's mood did indeed improve a lot because of this, and she started thinking about how to entertain Ash.

All Baimu smiled and rode on the back of his Hydreigon to say goodbye to her.

Not long after flying to a high altitude.

A Mimikyu suddenly appeared in front of him from out of nowhere, floating in mid-air with its lower body swaying in the wind.

"Little Mimikyu?"

All Baimu was stunned, and then Little Mimikyu suddenly rushed toward his palm.

He subconsciously pulled his hand back.

Little Mimikyu, which had missed: "......"

It angrily poked a pair of ghost claws out from its skirt and shook them; All Baimu then understood, and with a sheepish laugh, he reached out his hand to let it pass through.

A pale purple Ghostium Z appeared in his palm.

After placing the Ghostium Z, Little Mimikyu left very angrily, its trembling movements without looking back seeming like it was scolding someone.

All Baimu coughed awkwardly twice.

He couldn't help his fast reflexes.

"The sixteenth one! I knew asking Acerola would be useful!" He quickly became happy and put the Ghostium Z into the box.

Now only the Poisonium Z and Groundium Z were left; they were just around the corner!

The extra two...

Maybe he could give them to Mr. Steven?

During the journey, Steven actually didn't know any Z-Moves and hadn't come to the Alola region to participate in the Island Challenge; it was truly outrageous, and he was the famous stone expert!

As someone who shouldn't have existed, All Baimu decided to flap his own little wings.

Afraid he'd be too strong?

What's there to be afraid of!

There is no "fear" in a Trainer's dictionary! If he loses to Steven in the Masters Eight, it can only prove his skills aren't as good; if he fails the second time, he'll come back for the third.

That night.

All Baimu packed his luggage and at the same time mailed the extra Z-Crystals to Steven as a mysterious gift.

He bought a special Dragonite delivery, claiming to be the latest three-day delivery worldwide.

The mailing location was Steven's hometown, Mossdeep City.

He didn't mail it to the Devon Corporation headquarters, mainly worrying it would be snatched by his father.

Although he personally thought the probability of President Stone doing that was very small, considering he had been warned by Steven and Lisia before, he simply played it safe and mailed it to the hometown Steven said his father rarely returned to.

Having owed Steven so many favors, he finally had a chance to repay them.

All Baimu was very satisfied.

The next morning.

He boarded a flight to the Galar region, with a total flight time of about ten hours, and in terms of time difference, the Galar region is eleven hours ahead of the Alola region.

By the time he arrived, it would just happen to be daytime!