"Big brother, you're so awesome! You must have a lot of badges, right?"
The kid in shorts squatted on the ground, asking curiously.
"No, I don't have any badges yet. I'm currently planning to get my first badge in Petalburg City."
Baimu shook his head, squeezing Poochyena's paw and shaking it before rubbing its head and then flipping it over to tickle its belly.
The kid in shorts was somewhat surprised, then enviously said, "With your strength, big brother, you'll definitely defeat the Gym Leader with ease."
He laughed, "That's not necessarily true."
"It must be like that!"
The envious kid in shorts completely ignored Poochyena's pleading look, lost in his intense admiration.
"M-m-m..."
Poochyena whimpered pitifully, wanting to bite back in rebellion but immediately dared not when it caught sight of Chansey from the corner of its eye. All it could do was stick its tongue out and act pitiful.
Baimu found its trembling little tongue quite amusing and reached out to pinch it—
"Lucky!"
"Cough, cough, cough, Poochyena is such a cute Pokémon."
At Chansey's reminder, he pulled back his hand in time, knowing that he shouldn't overdo it, as a dog could indeed jump over a wall when pushed too far.
The kid in shorts took a look and then realized Poochyena's situation belatedly. Quickly, he picked up the limp Poochyena, "Of course, if you're interested, in that direction there's—
"Ah! Speaking of it, if it's you, big brother, you could surely catch that Pokémon!"
"What?"
Baimu saw his excited expression and was somewhat puzzled.
"There's a particularly big Azumarill in the nearby forest. It usually lives in the pond and occasionally comes out to eat Tree Fruit. It's powerful! A ton of trainers have been driven away by it!"
The kid in shorts put down Poochyena and gestured back and forth, conjuring up an Azumarill as tall as himself, about 1.5 meters.
A boss Pokémon, maybe?
Baimu exchanged glances with Chansey.
"Nah, I'm not interested in Azumarill."
He shook his head decisively.
The Azumarill was cute enough, but unfortunately, it was also a slow Pokémon that needed Preemptive Skills to speed up. At this stage, he just wanted to catch a naturally fast one.
He really wasn't interested in chasing an Azumarill around the forest all day.
"Oh... alright then."
The kid in shorts looked disappointed; he really enjoyed watching others catch Pokémon.
"Rather than having me catch it, why don't you try catching it yourself someday? Using an Electric Attribute Pokémon would make it a lot easier," Baimu suggested.
To his surprise, the kid replied decisively, "I'm not interested in Azumarill either; I prefer Evil Attribute Pokémon."
Then why were you urging me?
Baimu glanced at him speechlessly.
---
They parted ways with the kid in shorts.
Baimu and his Pokémon collected a lot of fresh Tree Fruit in the forest and had lunch together.
He had wanted to feed some Wild Pokémon in return for the Tree Fruit, but unfortunately, Aggron and the others looked too fierce. The timid ones ran far away, and the bolder ones didn't dare approach, leaving Baimu holding a handful of Poké Blocks with no chance to distribute them.
At two in the afternoon,
he arrived in Petalburg City, standing high up and overlooking the entire city, noticing how its astonishing greenery made it seem as if it was built right within a lush forest.
"The city of communication between humans and nature..."
He felt the gentle sea breeze, calming the restless energy of facing the first Gym.
Most of the cities in Hoenn are by the sea, and Petalburg City is no exception. A river cuts through its west side, leading to a vast, endless sea, yet it doesn't carry much of a salty scent, offering instead an indescribable warmth.
"Are you ready?"
Baimu asked, but no response came.
He reached out with his right hand and patted the Galarian Corsola on his left shoulder, forcibly waking it up.
The Galarian Corsola, roused from its nap, opened its eyes glowing red, its mouth set in a displeased pout.
Baimu said, "The Gym Battle later will include you, so be prepared."
Galarian Corsola: "..."
Too lazy to reply, it clammed up.
Seeing his message got through, Baimu didn't bother the little guy anymore. The Galarian Corsola was actually much more reliable than expected, diligently practicing moves for two hours each day, not a minute more, not a minute less.
And as long as it was informed in advance, it would definitely wake up and get ready for battle. But if not, and the enemy's attacks weren't too ferocious, it might just laze around until the end.
Pokémon Center.
Baimu did a pre-battle checkup to ensure all his Pokémon were in peak condition.
Sadly, when he approached Petalburg Gym with confidence, he was greeted by an intelligent voice guide notifying him that all appointments for the day were full.
"It's just too popular, huh?"
He had to use his Illustrated Guide to secure an appointment for the following afternoon, looking regretfully at the Petalburg Gym, which was five or six times bigger than in the animations.
With his rising fame, Qianli had expanded it repeatedly, making Petalburg Gym the top of the line in both scale and reputation in Hoenn.
Stuck for one day...
How about heading to Kanaz City to challenge the Rock Attribute Gym first?
He could take the high-speed light rail back later; after all, Hoenn's light rail is extensive and fast. Walking the journey might take a long time due to detours, but the light rail usually takes just a few hours.
While contemplating, his eyes suddenly caught sight of a flyer on the ground.
Picking it up, he saw it was a promotional brochure for a newly established Gym in North Petalburg City, emphasizing a new Gym also recognized by the Alliance, set up by an admirer of Qianli.
Baimu glanced at it but wasn't interested, so he crumpled it into a ball.
Though he could challenge these smaller Alliance-recognized Gyms, he preferred the original Gyms from the game, hoping to meet the familiar Gym Leaders.
"Hey! What did you do?"
A sudden query startled him.
He turned his head and found a kid about 1.6 meters tall glaring at him angrily.
Seeing no one else around, Baimu was puzzled, "…What did I do?"
"How can you crumple our flyer up like garbage!"
The kid babbled angrily, as if personally insulted, pointing at the paper ball in his hand, "What gives you the right to look down on North Petalburg Gym!"
The noise immediately drew the attention of passersby.
"..."
Baimu's lips twitched, and he said straightforwardly, "If you're causing trouble, I'll call Miss Jun Sha over to sort it out."
The calm response left the angry kid frozen in shock.
What!?
This guy isn't following the script!?
Wasn't it supposed to lead to a debate and a subsequent challenge to North Petalburg Gym in a fit of anger?
"No, I think you're a fraud. I must call Miss Jun Sha."
Seeing the kid freeze, Baimu moved towards him, grabbing his arm and announcing to the onlookers, "Can someone kindly report this?"
"I will!"
One spectator immediately took on the responsibility.
The kid wanted to run as soon as he heard the word "police," but alas, Baimu's grip was like a steel clamp, impossible to break free from, filling him with panic, "I'm not a fraud, I'm a Trainer from North Petalburg Gym! Big brother, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to cause trouble!"
"You can explain that to Miss Jun Sha."
Hearing the police sirens in the distance, Baimu grinned broadly.
"I..."
The kid gaped incredulously, seeing Officer Jenny approaching, and lowered his head as if in mourning.