Route 119.
A dense forest with a river running through from north to south.
As the eastern area of Hoenn Region, it receives a lot of rainfall, making the vegetation cover and lushness far superior to the west.
Large trees over a hundred meters tall even grow here, and the tree houses in Verdanturf City are built atop these great trees.
When Baimu arrived, the sky happened to be drizzling lightly, many water-loving Pokémon were darting between the trees, and quite a few fish Pokémon surfaced on the water.
Among them, there were Feebas, Luvdisc, and other Pokémon that are rarely seen in the west.
The altered-color Milotic was very fond of this environment, swimming joyfully against the river, displaying its charm under the admiring gaze of surrounding water-type Pokémon.
Even on rainy days, its scales exuded a captivating brilliance.
By the shore.
"Do you think it might be due to Kyogre and Groudon's influence that the Hoenn Region experiences such subtle climatic differences between the east and the west?" With Sister Dragapult atop his head, he quietly asked Porygon II on the phone.
The speaker immediately responded.
"Hmm, you mean Groudon and Kyogre reside in the western and eastern parts of the Hoenn Region respectively, thus influencing the natural environment based on their traits?" "Pali Pali?"
Two synchronized voices sounded left and right, accompanied by the sound of waves crashing and joyous cries.
"Ah, it's really difficult." "Pali."
"Take it slow, I'm here to help you practice. Besides, what you just said is indeed what I was thinking."
Baimu turned his head slightly, looking at the altered-color Milotic swimming upstream in the river, and the Porygon II and Brother Dragapult giggling and clinging to its body.
The three Pokémon seemed to be having a lot of fun.
But one of them appeared slightly distracted, as if focusing on something else.
The special version of "Substitute", although successfully released through Porygon II's efforts, somehow found the clone and the main body in a state of mental synchronization.
Put simply, if you call out to it, ideally only one is supposed to respond, but both the body and the clone will respond—
There aren't two "me"s; rather, both "me"s are one.
[Multi-tasking].
Upon discovering this, Baimu couldn't help feeling regretful, but also somewhat relieved.
He had considered what to do if the Substitute became an independent entity and expressed not wanting to disappear when its attribute energy and stamina depleted, and wished to continue living, what would he do as the Trainer?
Surely he would make efforts to keep another Porygon II?
But if that were the case, could the Substitute Porygon II still enter the field smoothly and join a one-on-two with the main body?
Definitely not.
A Substitute that doesn't disappear, the Alliance would naturally amend this unique rule for the Porygon family, just like Dragapult.
"Aren't you going to play together?"
Baimu looked up and asked the Sister Dragapult atop his head.
"Haha!"
Sister Dragapult shook her head resolutely, although she wanted to join in the fun, surfing seemed enjoyable, but she had to maintain a serious, reliable image in front of her brother.
"...Alright then, you can go anytime if you want, don't feel too shy."
He said softly.
Sister Dragapult shook her head again, definitely not shy!
Baimu withdrew his gaze, finding it tiring to always strain his eyes to look up, making it feel as if his eyeballs were about to flip over after a long time.
Might as well carry a small mirror with him.
He thought to himself.
The Pokémon accompanying him on the routine today was Milotic, and conveniently Route 119 has a river running from north to south, which seemed perfect.
Releasing the Dreepy siblings was also for the reason that he believed winning the affection of Dragapult meant first winning over the Dreepy siblings.
As long as the Dreepy siblings listen to him, Dragapult, who is hoped to be his future partner, will definitely obediently listen to him.
Having laid the groundwork, then he would try using Dragon's Heart to communicate heart-to-heart with Dragapult.
Of course.
He must first master Dragon's Heart himself, and the relatively gentle and friendly Dreepy siblings were undoubtedly better practice subjects, since they were still unfamiliar.
With something like the Hydreigon, which you could tell what it poops by how it raises its butt, it's really hard to interact through the mind when a glance is all it takes.
"Such passion for Dragon-type Pokémon..."
Baimu pondered, believing he really liked Dragon-type Pokémon, but it seemed he needed to go further.
Suddenly.
The drizzle started to intensify.
Landing on his raincoat with a crackling sound, the clouds in the sky faintly flashed with thunder.
"Hold on! Let's find a place to shelter!" Baimu immediately called out to Milotic in the river, although not fully satisfied with its play, it obediently returned to the shore, twisting like a snake to slide onto land.
Brother Dragapult shot in like a bullet, soaking wet, impulsively wanting to slip into his raincoat.
"Don't!"
Baimu, not wanting a dripping wet creature atop his head, quickly returned it to the Pokeball, intending to wipe it dry after finding shelter.
Unfortunately, he found no cave, only a large enough tree hole.
And it was an occupied tree hole.
"...Hello? I just want to shelter from the rain! Please help me translate quickly."
Baimu waved to the four wild Zangoose who lay down but lifted their heads inside the hole, as Porygon II immediately rang out with its "Pali Pali" cry.