Chapter 919: The Mountain God

The rain fell continuously.

Mount Platinum Silver was wreathed in mist.

Silence reigned, broken only by the rustle of raindrops striking leaves.

Many wild Pokémon huddled in place, unpleased by the heavenly downpour.

More than cooling, they hoped to seize the time to gather food.

Would the fruits rot?

They worried anxiously.

The sudden drop in temperature turned Mount Platinum Silver into a fog-shrouded haze; under the overcast sky, visibility sank to terrifying levels, making it hard even for water-resistant Pokémon to walk steadily down the mountain.

The occasional thunderclaps from the sky and the sudden flashes of lightning that lit up the heavens filled the wild Pokémon with fear and trembling.

Fortunately,

as the clouds shifted, the heavy rain gradually ceased.

Soft sunlight returned to the vibrant land, prompting Pokémon like Pidgey to chirp joyfully among the mountains.

The rain had stopped.

They could now begin building new nests.

The severe lack of vegetation in the past had made life hard for wild Pokémon with nesting instincts.

Thus, in the hearts of bird Pokémon, nest-building ranked even higher than food-gathering.

The mountain-side camp.

All All Baimu ended the "Divine Heart."

"Thank goodness you were here."

He gently stroked Lugia's chin, the wet, slippery texture delightfully soothing.

Once a Legendary Pokémon truly loses its temper, no one can reason with it.

The Sinnoh trilogy proved clearly that even beings hailed as gods, when their territory is invaded, choose to fight fiercely.

Figure out the cause of the spatial convergence?

Fight first, talk later!

"Chiruu~"

Lugia closed its eyes contentedly.

It was a pacifist.

It had traveled countless miles to the Orre region solely to ensure its child could grow up in peace.

Thanks to the Rescue Organization's high vigilance against Pokémon poachers, they had lived in safety ever since.

How could it possibly start a fight with Regigigas over nothing?

"Chiruu!!"

A long howl echoed from above.

All All Baimu remained expressionless as he perked his ears; the instant the wind neared, he leapt backward.

Thud!

The massive form of Little Lugia plummeted from the sky, unable to land in someone's arms, letting out a disgruntled whine.

"Chir~"

Long-term peace had restored its naturally lively, energetic nature.

Or perhaps…

Its wildness.

In any case, All All Baimu couldn't handle Little Lugia, so he quickly called over Gengar, who had nothing else to do.

The two Pokémon were probably similar in age?

Gengar might be slightly younger.

"Hassan…"

Gengar was reluctant.

It found Little Lugia childish—this running-around game was something it had stopped playing last month… no, last year!

Well,

sometimes it still missed it (guilty).

"Go on!"

All All Baimu shoved its rear hard.

If Gengar wasn't given something to do, it would eventually come bother him.

"Shasou~"

Though deeply unwilling,

obedient Gengar eventually took Little Lugia away.

Lugia watched with a smile as its own offspring and All All Baimu's fled far into the sky; now they resided at the seabed of Nickel Dark Island.

This place had once been Team Rocket's stronghold, one of the oceanic volcanoes.

Dark Lugia, haunted by psychological trauma, had moved elsewhere.

Rumor said it was the village of Agate.

There, a massive waterfall plunged into a deep cave that opened directly into the ocean, offering scenery far better than the barren eastern Orre region.

All All Baimu wondered when he might visit.

Come to think of it,

as an Orre native aiming to become Orre Champion, hadn't he been too amateurish to never even tour the region's major towns?

"Agate Village…"

He suddenly remembered a sacred forest deep within the village.

The sacred ruins within the forest were the original version of the Purification Chamber, capable of restoring Pokémon altered by dark procedures to their original state.

Interestingly,

in the game, one could summon Time Raticate at the ruins using the Time Flute.

But this item appeared only in the Orre region; mainstream regions had no Time Flute.

Who had created it?

It was hard not to ponder deeply.

"Little White—"

Hu Pa's loud voice interrupted All All Baimu's thoughts.

It poked its head out of the golden ring, sounding slightly panicked: "They're fighting! Little White! They're fighting!"

As it spoke,

noisy roars came from within the ring.

"Guhhh?"

Bisharp, upon hearing this, charged without hesitation toward the enlarged ring.

The greatest difference between Mount Platinum Silver and Pokémon Paradise lay in the fact that the Big Monster boss actually used force to maintain order.

And when wild Pokémon had a boss above them,

they rarely caused trouble.

The Galarian Articuno of Great Tree Hill proved this point well.

When All All Baimu defeated it, the bird Pokémon coexisting on the tree immediately descended into chaos.

But once it returned, everything reverted as if nothing had happened.

However,

N had never intended to be a Pokémon master.

The purpose of the Paradise was to provide a safe haven for Pokémon with nowhere else to go.

Once the wild Pokémon of Orre were truly established, he would likely leave to seek out other Pokémon in need.

In other words,

the Paradise would inevitably fall into chaos.

All All Baimu arrived at the mountain's base via the golden ring; the wild Pokémon had all calmed down under Bisharp's furious roars.

"Guhhh—!!"

The Big Monster angrily pinned down a trembling Pachirisu.

It believed it had already demonstrated its authority during yesterday's mountain patrol.

Yet chaos broke out again the next day.

This made it lose face.

All All Baimu watched the Pachirisu cub desperately clawing at Bisharp's leg, crying out to save its mother, and said:

"Enough. Let it go."

Wild Pokémon often acted more on instinct than reason.

But sometimes, their reason surpassed instinct, giving rise to complex emotions—compassion, empathy, the sorrow of seeing one's own kind perish.

Bisharp had chosen the wrong target to assert dominance; if it continued like this, it would soon be labeled cruel.

The wild Pokémon planning to settle on Mount Platinum Silver would gradually drift away.

"Guhhh…"

The giant monster is very intelligent.

Or perhaps it understands All All Baimu well—seeing the Trainer's gaze fall on the Bear Cub at its feet, it instantly grasped everything.

The Carkol regained its freedom and the Bear Cub cried out, rushing into its arms.

"Gumaa~"

According to Barza, shortly after the rain stopped, wild Pokémon collectively came down to the mountain base to forage for food.

Because too many appeared in the fields, conflicts arose during the scramble for food.

This made All All Baimu realize a problem—

Wild Pokémon have become too reliant on a single food source, forming a habit.

Take Carkol as an example.

Since Pokémon in the anime world are generally herbivorous, it can consume fruits, seeds, and even grass and plant roots as one of its main foods.

But now it refuses to eat grass or leaves entirely, only coming down the mountain to steal fruits and vegetables.

One, the fruits taste good.

Two, it has grown accustomed to harvesting food here.

Just like the wild wolves in Kekexili that were fed egg tarts—they no longer seek food on their own.

All All Baimu felt it necessary to discuss this serious issue with Barza and his sister, his own Pokémon, and even N.

Otherwise, what difference is there between these wild Pokémon and domesticated ones, aside from not being inside Poké Balls?

They've even helped All All Baimu in battle training!

Leave Registeel as the gatekeeper.

He went to the berry grove.

The various high-quality berries he obtained from the Nibel Plateau had all been planted here and entrusted to Barza and his sister for care.

The blessing of Reuniclus had also visited this place, so the trees were heavy with fragrant golden berries.

Yet.

Not a single wild Pokémon had come here.

The berries showed no signs of pecking, and no animal footprints marred the ground.

Clearly, his guess was correct.

Wild Pokémon had indeed formed a rigid habit of obtaining food from the fields; banning them from the berry grove meant they simply never came.

"Tch, I might as well call Professor Professor Suda over to study this."

All All Baimu remembered Professor Professor Suda's primary research focus was Pokémon habitats.

Habitats are one branch of ecology.

Come to think of it, does Oure even have a professor?

Though this land is barren and literacy rates are extremely low, there are plenty of smart people.

He decided to ask Shanren when he had time.

—

Afternoon.

Shanren came to him voluntarily.

The dark clouds blown to Huang Tie Town by Lugia had caused many open-air projects to halt.

But he was not here to accuse him.

"Have you considered the issue of eligibility?"

"... Me?"

Facing Shanren's serious expression, All All Baimu pointed uncertainly at himself.

Eligibility clearly referred to the Oure League Conference, and under normal circumstances, participation had thresholds…

But most participants weren't first-timers.

For example, the Malno Conference in Alola allowed anyone who wished to join, eventually drawing over a hundred contestants.

Then came the preliminary chaos.

After brief thought, All All Baimu said: "I think we should first determine how many people actually want to participate before setting any thresholds."

Don't end up with fewer than a hundred people wanting to join.

"The participation interest form has been posted on the blog."

Shanren showed him his phone.

Thanks to his efforts, Oure League participation interest had risen to fifth place on the trending list.

First place was the miraculous sight of flowers blooming overnight across all of Oure.

Corners of this world had repeatedly appeared on blog trending lists within two years, catching the eyes of other regions.

While not all credit goes to All All Baimu, his contribution was certainly substantial.

Hence, Shanren hoped he would participate in every aspect of Oure's decision-making.

"In just one morning, over one hundred fifty have signed up. Excluding those who registered on a whim, I believe at least five hundred will ultimately wish to compete."

Shanren said seriously: "My main task now is to narrow these five hundred down to one hundred within six months."

Five hundred…

All All Baimu was slightly surprised.

Though this number pales beside the number of participants in the Galar World Championship, context matters.

For instance, can the Oure Champion be compared to the World Champion?

So five hundred is already a lot.

"You must have a plan, right?"

All All Baimu assumed Shanren had at least one or two contingency plans.

As he expected.

Shanren held up two fingers: "Two options: Gym Challenge and Invitation System."

The Gym Challenge method was obvious; the Invitation System was slightly absurd.

That is, issue invitations based on past battle records of those expressing interest—if someone has no record…

That's too absurd—it's unfair to the Ten-Li-Hill Warriors.

The Gym Challenge is better.

With only six months until the competition, everything must be simplified, and every aspect must be streamlined.

Reduce the eight Gyms to four, and use the four existing major arenas—

Huang Tie, Silber, Xionghuang, and Oure.

Then select four strong trainers as temporary Gym Leaders to screen contestants.

"Bartlas, Director Director Zhengyi, Eltis, and you."

Shanren's instant choice left All All Baimu stunned.

All All Baimu frowned: "Me? I… uh…"

Though he had no travel plans for the second half of the year except to check on Alola,

participation eligibility would still consume much of his time.

"Of course, that's the ideal lineup—but they all refused, saying they can't spare the time."

Shanren's timely addition eased All All Baimu's sigh of relief.

Whether Eltis had any interest was unclear, but Bartlas and Director Director Zhengyi both coveted the Oure Championship.

Serving as a Gym Leader might let them learn about potential rivals early, but it would also waste their time.

After all, not every opponent is strong.

Ninety percent of Trainers are weaklings.

Shanren said: "So I thought of eliminating the Gym Leader screening entirely and switching to another method—like tests."

"I've already notified the other three arenas. The last one…"

He blinked.

Of course.

Shanren had come with a tone of negotiation, intending to get him to do the work.

All All Baimu had no reply, but he understood—after all, who was the backbone of the Huang Tie Arena right now?

He had no choice but to ask for All All Baimu's help!

But speaking of tests…

A grand trial?

All All Baimu said: "Here's what I'll do—I'll lend you the Three Lei Jiaisi. Design a challenging test that requires real strength."

"The Three Lei Jiaisi? Oh, you mean Registeel and the others… fine!" Shanren thought this was a great publicity hook.

Originally he'd planned to promote All All Baimu's capture of the Three Lei Jiaisi; now, incorporating them into the eligibility test would attract even more outsiders.

Excellent, excellent.

He left happily.

Night.

Reuniclus returned from its wandering.

Shan Ren proposed the first plan for Huang Tie Arena.

"I plan to clear a mountain and place Regieais and the others inside as guardians of the three tokens. Whoever retrieves the tokens and descends the mountain passes. What do you think?"

"Too difficult. Just make one token, let one Trainer come at a time, and set a time limit—collect the token and you pass."

All All Baimu thought few Trainers in the world could be strong enough to evade the combined blockade of the Three Divine Pillars.

If this trial is conducted without mercy, the survival rate is lower than Elder Elder Ejin's charity Charity Gala.

Too hellish.

Clearly, Shan Ren, this idiot, underestimated the strength of Regieais and the others.

"Is it really that bad? It's just fetching a token—there are plenty of tricks."

He obviously didn't believe it.

All All Baimu replied with a cold smirk: "If you don't believe it, come try it tomorrow."

Fine, I'll try it.

The next morning, barely light.

Shan Ren arrived arrogantly with his three Psychic Pokémon.

He said: "Well?"

All All Baimu said bluntly: "I placed three silver feathers on the mountain across from here. Go get them back."

So Shan Ren climbed the mountain.

Fifteen minutes later.

Steel Pillar carried him back in a bridal carry, behind him came Ice Pillar holding one Pokémon and Rock Pillar holding two.

The man and all three Pokémon were "killed."

A man should know his limits.

Shan Ren did not.