Chapter 929: Ah! Team Rocket!

Time flies, days and months pass like shuttle looms.

Before we knew it, autumn had arrived.

This autumn was unlike any before—the regional temperature plummeted sharply, triggering outbreaks of influenza across the land.

Pokémon were not spared.

Fortunately, Platinum Mountain remained peaceful and serene, its life calm and happy—Nurse Hat had no chance to wear her cap.

But there were many cases over at Pokémon Park.

After being properly cared for by N, they recovered fully.

Now,

a small number of wild Pokémon groups have begun migrating toward the vast eastern regions.

Perhaps in a few more years, their tracks will spread across all of Oure.

The gradual improvement of the ecosystem has drawn increasing numbers of foreign tourists to the region, eager to witness this magical land.

Even on Platinum Mountain's territory, unfamiliar faces have appeared more than once lately.

All All Baimu noticed, and knew Shanren must be delighted.

With this opportunity,

he didn't know how many Trainers he could trick into signing up for the tournament to challenge the Four Trials.

He hoped to lure out some "big fish" from the potential depths of the Battle Arena.

To make the competition more tense and thrilling.

Late at night,

All All Baimu, after finishing his simulation, made a wish upon a meteor streaking across the night sky.

"Just one more Orange, please!"

After the double-Orange simulations,

the simulator suddenly became uncooperative, delivering two single-Blue simulations with unchangeable fixed traits.

The stories were still interesting, but the final results were underwhelming—both ended in the semifinals.

The lv. 70 limit granted four levels.

Combined with his previous stock, it was enough to exchange for a lv. 85 limit at level three, instantly raising his Bagon to level ninety.

Matching his Bisharp!

But there was no doubt All All Baimu wouldn't do it.

One Outlier with a Giant Monster was enough; his next goal was to lift the entire team's level, requiring more efficient use of level rewards.

Want to reach level ninety?

First, work hard to reach level eighty-five!

Want to reach level eighty-five?

First, work hard yourself, then wait for him to run a few more double-Blue simulations.

"Sigh."

All All Baimu lowered his clasped hands, gazed up at the star-strewn sky, and let out a soft sigh.

Only fifteen to sixteen months remained until the World Championship final.

His chances were running thin.

Then again,

lately, meteors had appeared inexplicably often—sometimes one would streak across the sky, occasionally seventeen or eighteen would form a meteor shower.

Such a thing had never happened in Oure before.

Could it be…

that geological changes could alter celestial phenomena?

All All Baimu decided to ask someone who studied astronomy another day—in the Pokémon anime world, major events always came with omens.

Oure had undergone such drastic changes in a short time; he feared it might trigger serious consequences.

Eternal fame was good—but if it turned out to be a criminal charge, that would be far worse.

All All Baimu returned to his tent, opened his newly acquired simulation memory, and quickly fell asleep.

"Good night~"

Low replies from the Pokémon rose and fell around him.

The next day,

as if confirming his suspicions, trouble indeed came knocking.

"The Wish Star has been stolen!"

Shanren appeared, his expression grim.

The Wish Star?

Does Oure even have one of those?

All All Baimu, mid-Vampiric Bite into fresh hay, froze for a moment, then realized Shanren wasn't referring to the Wish Star from Galar.

He meant the Seven Nights' Wish Star!

The massive rock discovered by Raikou's acute intuition.

All All Baimu: "Cough! You mean the Wish Star I handed over to the Research Institute?"

After retrieving it from Team Devon, he found it just sat unused, so he gave it to Shanren to have someone study it.

Maybe they'd uncover something useful.

Months passed—Super Evolution research on the other side had yielded results, yet now the Wish Star had been stolen!?

"Correct. Recently, the Institute opened its doors to outside visitors—I suspect that's when someone took notice."

Shanren looked annoyed.

Everything had been going smoothly lately, so he'd focused only on the profits from the influx of tourists and ignored security concerns.

Fortunately, Hu Pa was around—recovering the Wish Star should be no problem.

"Minor issue!"

All All Baimu thought the same, offering his friend some reassurance and sending Multihydra II to notify Hu Pa.

The thing had already gorged on breakfast with Shiny Gengar and the others and run off to play—finding it by foot would take ages.

Shanren sat down in an empty seat nearby and greeted the Barza siblings.

Then, under Ji Ji Meiya's curious questioning, he revealed more details.

According to reports,

the Wish Star's research had made no progress, so the Institute locked it in the Important Items Cabinet. But one day, during the Institute's public exhibition of research findings, it suddenly glowed brightly, then dimmed just as quickly.

This led the Institute to believe it had undergone some change, so they removed it for further study.

Yet for the past two weeks, nothing had happened.

This morning, when they checked, the Wish Star had vanished without a trace!

Researchers reviewed surveillance footage and found it had been mysteriously corrupted; they checked vehicle logs and unfamiliar faces nearby, but found nothing unusual.

By the time Shanren was notified,

Officer Junsa had already classified it as a mysterious theft case and was preparing to deploy unconventional methods.

All All Baimu asked curiously: "Unconventional methods? Psychic powers?"

Shanren shook his head: "Detectives."

Ji Ji Meiya gasped in delight: "Are they Detective Lem and Pikachu? Oh! I'm their fan!"

All All Baimu: "..."

Barza silently chewed grass.

Did Pokémon inherit the police reliance on detectives from Detective Conan?

Probably not—I think his name is Handsome.

Shanren paused to recall, then denied it.

Ji Ji Meiya's bright smile instantly faded.

Now it was All All Baimu's turn to speak.

Oh no!

Is Handsome coming?

Though he didn't know whether the famous Handsome being called a detective had anything to do with his detective agency in Lumiose City,

hearing a familiar name was still cause for cheer.

Too bad,

with Hu Pa around, there'd be little room for him to shine.

Unless Hu Pa couldn't find it.

All All Baimu added a bit of mayonnaise to his hay salad, kept stuffing his mouth, and began pondering another matter—

The Wish Star had glowed.

Was the meteor shower caused by its glow—or did its glow attract the meteors?

Was Kyurem about to emerge?

He had long been unable to determine whether the Wish Star in his possession was the same as the one from the movie.

Now it seemed the two might not be the same.

Another Pokémon that exists in multiple forms?

Recalling that a sleeping Jirachi also slept on the Jackrola Islands, All All Baimu couldn't help but think of the advantages of a vast and resource-rich land.

It erased the uniqueness of so many Legendary and Mythical Pokémon.

"Hu Pa is here!"

From afar, a loud howl rang out.

Hu Pa, Gengar, and the Dratini siblings raced back—without using the Light Wheel. It seemed their subconscious had already let go of their dependence on it.

Gulis's disciplinary training was remarkably successful.

"What happened? Something stolen? Leave it to Hu Pa!"

Hu Pa, nicknamed the Righteous Vanguard, confidently patted his chest and grinned at Shan Ren: "Little Three! You tell me!"

Shan Ren sighed. "I've told you dozens of times—don't call me that."

"Then call you Little Man?"

"... Whatever. All All Baimu! Are you going to act?"

Shan Ren immediately gave up on further conversation with Hu Pa's big tongue and turned to ask.

All All Baimu nodded. "My belongings? I'd rather retrieve them myself. Besides, I'd like to see who's bold enough to do this."

Steal from my territory.

Let you witness the methods of the former Desert Gang's top enforcers!

Please ask Hu Pa to open the Light Wheel.

The two arrived at the research institute.

Mei Mei Mei Mei Yali, having learned the detective wasn't her idol, naturally gave up on following along for the spectacle.

Barza was in seclusion preparing for the League Conference and wouldn't meddle in this.

—

Silibei City Research Institute.

The two's simultaneous appearance left the white-haired director drenched in sweat, frantically wiping his forehead with a silk handkerchief.

He told All All Baimu: "I—I'm terribly sorry, Mr. All All Baimu. We've let down your trust..."

"The item was stolen—it's not your fault. Just be more careful next time."

All All Baimu didn't believe the institute bore significant responsibility in this matter.

Although displaying the Wishing Star without permission was indeed offensive.

But since he was willing to give Da Zhuang a chance to reform, he wouldn't be overly harsh on the institute.

Hearing this, the director breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Under Shan Ren's inquiry, he learned that Officer Junsa had gone to contact the handsome man, leaving several officers behind to gather clues and fingerprint samples.

The familiar scene made All All Baimu's expression twist oddly.

Shan Ren: "What's wrong?"

"I saw this exact scene just a few months ago. Thieves are really bold these days!"

He recalled where those brothers were serving time...

Forgot!

Back then, his attention was entirely on the Crowned King; he hadn't cared where exactly the brothers ended up.

Let's send this thief to sit at the same table as them!

All All Baimu curled his index finger. Hu Pa immediately flew forward.

"Little White, give the order!"

"Show me a safe path to the location of this item." He displayed the Wishing Star's photo taken earlier on his Multicell.

One photo from each side.

"Stone?"

Hu Pa sucked his fingers.

"Not a stone—it's the Wishing Star. It looks like a stone, but it isn't one. WISHING STAR! Got it?"

All All Baimu said seriously: "It must be exactly the same. I believe you can do it!"

Hu Pa must shed the concept of "stone" entirely—otherwise, he'd never find the Wishing Star.

There are countless stones in the world that look nearly identical!

Hu Pa stared intently for a moment, then declared confidently:

"Hu Pa understands! Watch Hu Pa!"

He raised his small hand, and the golden wheel beside his ear shot out.

Shan Ren turned in shock: "Aren't we waiting for Officer Junsa and the others?"

"Do it first, worry later!"

All All Baimu grinned wildly. His two months on the mountain had been fulfilling, but he'd felt something missing.

And here it comes!

Hu Pa shouted: "Ode ma xi! Zhima kaimen!"

The golden wheel instantly expanded to half a person's height, its glowing blue light rippling like a calm surface.

The Multicell split into duplicates, silently peering inside.

"Inside the aircraft's rear cargo bay. No one around," the original device said.

The aircraft's rear cargo bay?

The thief's got some nerve—managed to transport an aircraft all the way to Oule!

All All Baimu turned to Shan Ren, who frowned slightly.

As he pondered—

One sentence from the Multicell stunned them both: "Uh! It's Team Rocket! I see the R logo!"

Team Rocket has invaded Oule!

And they've already pulled off a heist!

The seriousness of this rivals the resurgence of the Shadow Gang—after all, this is a decades-old, enduring evil force.

"So they've come..."

All All Baimu grunted. He'd anticipated this last year.

Team Rocket would inevitably target Oule; he'd made a deal with the trio.

Looking back now—

He shouldn't have been so passive.

At the very least, when Team Rocket reached out, he should've slashed down hard—make them afraid to stir up trouble!

With this thought—

All All Baimu turned and said: "I'm going. I'll try to net all of them."

"... Alright. Be careful."

Shan Ren gave a slight nod.

Logically, during such a critical time, he shouldn't let All All Baimu risk confronting Team Rocket—Officer Junsa should handle it.

But that expression of unshakable confidence, combined with All All Baimu's achievements this year...

No need to persuade.

Consider it early training for the Champion role.

—Cooperating with local police to repel evil forces' incursions is precisely the Champion's duty.

All All Baimu gave Shan Ren an OK sign, then bent down and stepped into the Light Wheel.

The next moment—

The scene shifted. Around him grew pitch-dark.

"'Little White, what do we do?'" Hu Pa followed, lowering his voice.

All All Baimu observed his surroundings, whispering: "Wait. Wait until the aircraft lands—they must have a base."

In the shadows—

Gengar suddenly emerged, stuffing most of his body into his own belly, leaving only his head exposed.

At first glance, he looked like a flying head demon—quite comical.

Hu Pa nearly laughed out loud, barely holding back—but soon, Gengar shoved him inside too, leaving only his head sticking out.

"No better concealment method available. Make do."

"Got it."

The two whispered in near-silence.

As the Multicell had said, the Wishing Star was in the aircraft's rear cargo bay.

It was locked inside an iron box—seemingly impossible to break open.

All All Baimu strained his ears to listen outside the hatch, but the cabin was too sealed—he heard nothing.

Fortunately, the aircraft soon reached its destination and began descending.

Through a small window, he saw beneath an unknown cliff: many people operating construction machinery and transport vehicles, building a structure resembling a base.

Huh?

Even the Rescue Organization didn't notice this much activity?

Is there a traitor inside?

All All Baimu frowned; the construction of Team Rocket's base had been far from subtle, and logically, it should have been easily spotted.

Who cares? We'll settle accounts later.

First, capture them!

He ordered Gengar to hide in the corner, avoiding exposure to the sunlight that would flood in when the rear hatch opened.

Even if we could scare Team Rocket to death, we'd risk being exposed on the spot.

Hum!

The aircraft landed on a certain hangar pad.

Immediately, the internal hatch opened, and two Team Rocket members stepped out, oblivious to the head hidden in the shadow, boldly swinging open the rear hatch.

"With this in our hands, Team Rocket will achieve dominion!"

"Exactly! The Aurore Alliance actually used it to plant trees—how ridiculous!"

Hm?

Do they think Aurore's transformation was caused by the Wishing Star?

That's impossible! A bunch of fools!

The Wishing Star only awakens for seven days every thousand years—Aurore's greening happened months ago!

Haven't you seen all those videos circulating online of Reincarnator's appearances?

Still…

It's not surprising they don't know.

Not every secret about Legendary and Mythical Pokémon is public knowledge.

All All Baimu remained expressionless.

The two Team Rocket members carried the large crate containing the Wishing Star away from the aircraft.