Back to the preparation room.
Before Baimu could check if anyone else had returned, a shadow suddenly dashed in front of him.
—It was Hoopa.
He stopped his retreating action.
"Xiaobai—you're amazing! The performance was super exciting!"
Hoopa shouted excitedly, grabbing his head like a Facehugger, "Milotic is really incredible!"
"Mee loo~"
The altered-color Milotic joyfully wagged its tail in response, agreeing that it was indeed impressive.
"Hoopa! Come down! So many people are watching!"
Mei Yali's voice was full of urgency, and soon after, Baimu felt a strong tugging on his face as she seemed to be pulling Hoopa away.
These two...
Don't just grab someone's face for tug-of-war!
Although he didn't feel any pain, considering that further fuss would attract the staff, and there were too many people around him watching, Baimu quickly pinched Hoopa's little tail.
"Ah!"
Hoopa exclaimed and let go.
Mei Yali almost stumbled but regained her balance, still quite angry, "Hoopa! You troublemaker just causing problems for people! Now big brother surely will scold us!"
"Heeheehee, Mei Yali is making a fuss~ Xiaobai, were you scared?"
Thick-skinned Hoopa simply ignored her, still having the nerve to ask if he was startled.
"Startled, startled."
Baimu's response was somewhat perfunctory, and he pinched Hoopa's cheek twice as punishment.
This guy probably learned the bad habit from the Dragapult Siblings, as the only two Facehuggers around him just lose themselves once they're happy...
Pokémon can pick up bad habits easily, but correcting them is tough.
He looked around, not seeing others return, feeling a bit puzzled but not thinking much about it, asked, "Did you guys come to the preparation room via the rings?"
Under normal circumstances, the preparation room where the contestants stay wouldn't allow the audience to enter and exit freely.
Mei Yali nodded embarrassedly, gripping the wandering Hoopa tightly, "Hoopa kept yammering about wanting water…"
Using water as an excuse to dodge Balza and find a chance to open the door, right?
Baimu looked at the giggling Hoopa, thinking that it was fortunate this mischievous troublemaker wasn't his Pokémon, sparing him from taking care of it.
Otherwise, he'd be too busy cleaning up after it every day.
For a moment.
He gazed at Mei Yali with sympathy, thinking that only Balza siblings who grew up together could tolerate this guy's itchy nature when not causing trouble every three minutes.
"We, we'll leave you be for now."
Mei Yali didn't notice Baimu's gaze, her focus was on the eyes cast around them, feeling a bit uneasy, "Hoopa! Let's go! Big brother will be worried!"
She took Hoopa away without further ado.
The troublemaker was unwilling to leave, though Mei Yali held too tightly, its Punished Form couldn't break free, only staring at Baimu and the altered-color Milotic, hoping they'd speak up for it.
However.
Currently, the other two were more focused on the match's progress, lacking the desire to play with it.
"Uwu, Xiaobai and Milotic are so heartless." Hoopa sobbed, opening a ring in the blind spot of others' sight, returning to a less watched part of the venue with Mei Yali.
But to be honest, their actions had already attracted quite some attention.
Baimu shook his head, thankful that Hoopa and Balza had some strength, otherwise, their conspicuous behavior would likely attract unwanted attention from bad folk, like the Bosozoku and Rocket Team he'd seen not long ago.
"Mee loo!"
The altered-color Milotic's cry drew back his attention.
Baimu turned his gaze to the TV following its sight, suddenly seeing the camera focused on the scoreboard, revealing an astonishing total score of 39.1!
Tied with Wula La, ranking third with the current standings!
He squinted, pondering the male face on the TV, likely a Coordinator Trainer from another region, as for those reputable in the Hoenn Region, he's already scouted them with Porygon II.
"Should we check it out?"
Baimu pulled out his phone, turning on the camera toward the screen, and on the phone screen, Porygon II with some quirky taste showed a thumbs-up icon indicating OK.
Ten seconds later.
A page from some encyclopedia site opened, recording the opponent's relevant information and approximate intelligence, confirming the guess that this person was a well-known Coordinator Trainer from Kanto.
"Want more detailed information?"
Porygon II appeared in the lower-right corner of the screen, a line of text above its head.
"No... wait."
Baimu flipped through the encyclopedia twice, suddenly thinking of something, looking at the altered-color Milotic in shock, "You can understand numbers?"
If not for its reminder earlier, he hadn't noticed such a strong Coordinator Trainer.
"Mee loo?"
The altered-color Milotic tilted its head, seemingly puzzled with a look of confusion.
Porygon II suddenly interjected, "Milotic probably saw the shirtless pervert yelling again, right? That guy always has a loud voice when meeting fierce people."
Goddamn shirtless pervert, this is called being passionate!
Mr. Liu Lai's reputation really suffered.
He resisted the urge to retort, confirming carefully with the altered-color Milotic, which indeed nodded to Porygon II's explanation.
Baimu: "..."
Shouldn't have expected anything from you, you fool!
While continuing to review relevant data, Xiaoguang and others returned, chattering and laughing among themselves, either excited or calm.
"Really wish to watch a few more rounds."
"Yeah, if only we hadn't been recognized, it's a pity."
"You all return, but why do I have to come back too! Let go of me! Let me go back!"