Morning.
Baimu awoke to the chirping and mumbling sounds.
"You're up so early?" He slightly opened his eyes and suddenly saw Mawile and Deino playing in the tent, one chasing the other, shoving and biting playfully.
Quite friendly.
When they noticed he was awake, Deino immediately bounded over and bit his hand, while Mawile looked relieved to finally see him.
"Chirp~"
"Mumble!"
"Good morning."
Baimu slipped out of his sleeping bag, unzipped the tent, and the slightly glaring sunlight made him cover his eyes for a moment. It took half a second before he could clearly see the outside situation—Chansey was preparing breakfast ingredients.
Aggron was carrying a wooden post, pondering back and forth, while Steelix was curled up in a ball, still asleep.
Because the two big guys slept outside the tent last night, even if some Pokémon were active at night, most of the camp's items remained intact, saving them the need for insect repellent spray.
"Good morning, everyone."
He yawned, drawing responses from a group of Pokémon.
After a simple wash-up and making breakfast together with Chansey, they quickly ate and rested for half an hour before starting their basic morning training.
However.
Considering they still had to set off afterward, they didn't waste much energy, ending as soon as they started sweating a little.
Steelix also returned to Pyrite Town as it wished, continuing its very promising land reclamation work.
"Today's goal is to reach Treecko Forest by noon and Rinshin Town before sunset, which isn't too burdensome; we can take it slow and still make it."
Baimu looked at the map on his phone, seeking the opinion of today's travel companion, Aggron.
The latter was completely indifferent.
Treecko Forest, a good place to obtain one of the Three Families as depicted in the animation, is located in a relatively hidden deep part of Petalburg Forest.
But because the old ancient tree withered, the Treeckos worked together to nurture a new towering tree, which attracted medicine gatherers who discovered the habitat and spread the news.
As a result, many poachers came to capture Treeckos destructively, disturbing their peaceful life, and the tall tree they painstakingly nurtured was nearly burned down. Fortunately, with the help of many trainers, the frequent arrival of poachers resulted in their capture, and the tree was preserved.
However, to better protect this environment and the wild Pokémon, the league connected that area with the northern Pokémon Reserved Area, directly prohibiting anyone from capturing Pokémon there.
Although Baimu wasn't particularly interested in Sceptile, he couldn't help but feel regret upon hearing the news.
Poachers are truly a scourge.
"Tone down your momentum a bit, act a bit dumb, understand?" He patted Aggron on the shoulder.
Although the main reason no wild Pokémon were seen after camping yesterday was Steelix, Aggron also played a part.
This guy's momentum was too fierce; just standing there made people feel it was not to be messed with. The weak wild Pokémon on the outskirts of Petalburg Forest dared not approach, even sneaking a glance from afar was already something.
Even insect repellent might not be as effective as it.
Baimu didn't want to become someone wild Pokémon avoid, even if they didn't play with wild Pokémon, simply seeing them live quietly from a distance was wonderful.
"Roar?"
Aggron tilted its head, puzzled. Act dumb? How?
"Just put on the expression you usually use for watering plants and planting trees." Baimu reminded gently, demonstrating a bit.
"..."
Aggron thought for a moment, faced the lush tree beside it, stretched out its claw, and gently stroked it. Its demeanor indeed changed.
If it was like a ferocious general fresh off the battlefield before, now it became an honest farmer, turning its back on the fields.
Seeing the forest was as joyous as seeing the harvest of one's crops.
"Very simple-minded, not bad, you've got a talent, young man!"
Baimu was surprised that Aggron had promptly grasped the concept; he hadn't expected it to comprehend right away.
"Roar~"
The big monster scratched its head sheepishly, with no trace of ferocity about it anymore,
——
One has to admit.
Tonning down one's momentum has pros and cons.
On one hand, it attracted many wild Pokémon around him; on the other hand, it made many of them very bold.
"Block it! Don't let it escape!"
"Chirp!"
"Roar!"
Amidst continuous shouts, a frantic figure dashed away, with a large, medium, and small team chasing after.
Do you think they were chasing a Pokémon they wanted to capture?
Wrong.
This was merely a straightforward act of revenge.
Baimu and Aggron, after much effort, deceived an unwise Weedle to obtain honey from Beedrill's hive, planning to mix it with fruits to make homemade honey following online guides.
However, a Nuzleaf suddenly appeared, ruining all of it.
Mawile, who had eagerly anticipated it, exploded on the spot, and Baimu and Aggron's anger couldn't be contained any longer.
The three began to encircle and detain it, and the big monster ceased its act, roaring loudly to clear the area, scaring the wild Pokémon onlookers to flee.
"Great chance! Rock Lock!"
Seeing the opponent running toward a hollow under a bent tree trunk, Aggron picked up a mossy boulder from the roadside and hurled it.
Thud!
The mossy boulder landed in front of the bent tree trunk, directly blocking Nuzleaf's escape route.
The latter bumped into it, saw stars, and tried to find another way out, but Mawile had already arrived, and its chillingly cold gaze rapidly enlarged before it, as a fist wrapped in frosty air came crashing down.
Bang!
Dust was kicked up.
"Knaw!"
Nuzleaf let out a shrill scream.
When the dust cleared, it was seen lying on the ground, twitching twice, and otherwise unmoving.
Seeing this, Baimu directly picked up a dead branch and threw it over, "Playing dead! Did I hit you?"
Snap!
The dead branch broke, and Nuzleaf sprang up in shock, sprinting up the tree to escape, not forgetting to glance back and see Aggron and Mawile not following; it ran even faster.
"Chirp!"
Mawile looked angrily at the ground full of ice debris, somewhat regretting why that punch didn't land.
"Alright, alright, it's enough of a lesson."
Baimu comforted it; Mawile has extreme obsession with sweets. If its sweets were destroyed, it would transform like Xiaoyao when her food is stolen, becoming a Fierce Ghost.
"Besides, it wasn't a wasted effort." He picked up an orange-red leaf from the ground and sniffed it gently. It had fallen off of Nuzleaf, "Powerful Vanilla, this might be worth some money."
In games, many of these consumables are collectibles in animations, coveted for their special effects, with better quality fetching a higher price.
"Chirp?" Mawile curiously leaned over, asking how much it could sell for.
"Maybe... ten thousand?"
Baimu casually said. The exact price needed appraising to be known; he noticed Aggron seemed to be examining the moss-covered rock.