"High-altitude dive! Double the power! Beak Drill!" The trainer Shouta first revealed its intention.
The Dodrio at the tree branch bent its legs like springs, suddenly detaching from the trunk and flipping its body upside down, with three heads pointing downwards. A milky white cyclone enveloped its slender beak, descending like three spiraled long nails, issuing a sharp whistle that pierced the air!
Elder Brother and Sister Dreepy were flustered by such a fierce scene.
But Baimu and Blissey remained calm.
"Defend."
At the moment Beak Drill was about to hit Blissey's head, a semi-transparent, honeycomb-like light shield separated the two Pokémon. It appeared to be a thin layer but felt like a 'Copper Wall and Iron Wall' that Dodrio couldn't penetrate no matter how hard it drilled.
Visible sparks flew between the light shield and Beak Drill, like a drill head facing steel.
"Nani!?"
Shouta was immensely shocked.
"Magic Brilliance." Baimu ordered again.
The moment he finished speaking, the light shield shattered, and Dodrio leaped back, trying to distance itself from Blissey with its agile movement. But the latter had already burst out a dazzling beam like a Flash Grenade.
The colorful light shot towards Dodrio like steel needles!
Bang!
A blast echoed!
"Dollie—"
Dodrio made three synchronized cries amidst the dust cloud, and when it cleared, one could see its swaying figure.
To think a single hit had gotten it to this state?
Shouta could hardly believe his eyes, realizing Baimu and Blissey were looking at him, he understood they were silently asking if he wanted to continue.
"...Feather Rest!"
"Charming Voice!"
Upon hearing the order, Baimu immediately issued his command, and Blissey's skill execution speed was far faster than Dodrio.
"happy—!!"
The high-pitched voice, accompanied by visible energy waves, sent Dodrio flying with a bang!
Thud!
Its back struck a big tree trunk, causing it to instantly collapse, showing spiraling eyes.
"Huh?"
Baimu paused for a moment.
That's not how Charming Voice usually shows.
Blissey was also surprised, covering its mouth, and after a few seconds, it happily turned to its trainer, "happy!"
"Indeed, you've learned 'Giant Sound!'" Baimu shifted his gaze from his phone's Illustrated Guide and nodded approvingly.
"happy!"
Blissey waved its small hands cheerfully, with the Dreepy siblings flying around it happily.
Just earlier, it had applied a high-pitched technique learned from Altaria, unexpectedly turning its Charming Voice into Giant Sound.
On the other side.
Shouta woefully recalled Dodrio, having believed that he had trained Dodrio so diligently for long, it could at least compete without losing to any wild trainer's Pokémon.
Especially since the opponent used Blissey, a Pokémon not seeming adept at battles.
Unexpectedly, Baimu was so formidable!
"You're so skilled, why didn't you join the competition three days ago at Wing Carnival?" Shouta approached and asked.
Baimu replied, "I needed to be in Verdanturf City three days ago for that."
"Ah! So you just arrived!" The short gray-haired jacket-wearing kid realized.
This kid seems not too bright.
He thought, shifting his attention back to Wing Carnival, almost every city in the Hoenn Region has its own festival, and Wing Carnival was Verdanturf City's festival.
The carnival would not only feature various playful facilities, food, accessories, toys, and even Pokémon vendors, but also Miss Naqi as Gym Leader performing a gorgeous aerial display riding her Flying Attribute Pokémon.
Overall, it was a very lively festival.
Sadly, Baimu wasn't quite lucky to make it in time.
However.
It's not especially unfortunate; similar festivals bloom all over the Hoenn Region. Just search online and hop on a train to join one.
"Thanks for the battle, I still need to register for the Gym challenge, I'll leave now, before it might close." Baimu thanked Shouta for the battle.
As he was about to leave, he heard Shouta call out:
"Registering for a Gym challenge? Let's do it together! I'm familiar with the Gym! I'm an apprentice there!"
"An apprentice? Are you the Gym Leader's student?"
"Uh...I'm the apprentice responsible for odd jobs at the Gym, hehe..."
Shouta awkwardly scratched his head but didn't pretend to be something he wasn't, honestly explaining his job.
Though at just over ten years old, having a job at the Gym is already quite impressive, and if he keeps working hard, he might become Naqi's assistant in a few years.
Baimu sincerely complimented, "That's pretty awesome."
Shouta was a bit surprised to hear the praise, and after seeing Baimu's serious expression, he became even more bashful, "Not at all, it's nothing special."
The two chatted and laughed as they walked toward the Gym.
During that time, Baimu gave a brief explanation of the Pokémon Dreepy, and Brother Dragapult seemed to take a liking to Shouta, playing joyfully with him.
Not long after.
They arrived at the Verdanturf Gym with its exterior made of pure white marble.
A long staircase ran through the building from bottom to top, roughly hundreds if not thousands of steps, enough to make one dizzy.
The Gym's entrance was halfway up, with an open-air battle arena at the very top.
When they arrived, there was already a group in front of them huffing down the stairs, but they didn't look like challengers because one person had a huge camera and another was holding a light reflector.
Seeing this, Shouta exclaimed with joy, "The TV people are here!"
"TV people?"
Baimu thought, the special attention a Gym Leader gets is certainly different, with TV stations coming specifically to interview.
"Yeah! Miss Naqi is quite the celebrity. The TV station is probably here for a special interview to make a feature that will be broadcast worldwide!"
Shouta said proudly.
"Well, then I'll be looking forward to it," Baimu said with a smile.
As the two groups met, nobody said anything, merely exchanged glances. Baimu and Sister Dragapult kept the bold Brother Dragapult in check, while Shouta, wanting to speak but too shy, made way for them with a face flushed red.
Eventually, Baimu and he watched as the TV crew descended the stairs and left.
"Whew~" Shouta exhaled, also entertaining a bit of hope, "I wonder if I might appear on camera..."
"If they're filming inside the Gym, as an apprentice you might show up, maybe for a second? Half a second?"
"Half a second... Half a second would be great too!"
Shouta imagined himself making it onto TV, out of the ordinary audience.
Baimu completely understood the kid's desire for attention. Very few people wouldn't want others' praise, admiration, and respect.
Fame and fortune, with fame first, it's clear how important such things are to some people.
They moved on.
Soon they entered the Gym from the halfway point and happened to meet Naqi's current assistant.
"Huh? Shouta? Is this your friend?"
The male with curly brown hair asked curiously.
Shouta quickly shook his head, "No, no, no! This is a challenger!"
"Hello, I'm Baimu, here to schedule a future Gym challenge," Baimu responded.
Hearing this, the man apologized immediately, "Ah! Sorry about that, I'm Lai He, the assistant at Verdanturf Gym. If you want to book a challenge, please follow me."
Lai He gestured for them to follow, with Shouta quickly going back to his chores.
Not long after.
Baimu came out of the Gym.
Naqi had just left after finishing the first day of interviews, since it had rained heavily most of the day and some place might have flooded, she had gone to check the situation.
The appointment was successfully made, with the battle scheduled for the next afternoon.
He pondered which Pokémon to showcase as he walked back, considering as Verdanturf Gym is the sixth Gym, its strength might have increased...
"Hey! Hey!"
The sudden call interrupted his thoughts.
Baimu looked to the side but saw no one, frowning, "Where are you?"
"I'm right here. Can't you see? Over here!"
The voice came from a large tree.
As he approached, he noticed the tree had many holes, and at its base, there was a small opening covered by shrubs, which was why he hadn't noticed it before.
A blonde man in red clothes and pants with a cowboy hat crawled out from inside.
"Hehehe, I'm Kili, a super secret base expert! Are you interested in secret bases?"