Bang!
With a muffled sound, the Wind Pressure Shield in front of Mega Mawile instantly collapsed and dissipated like mist, its fist transformed into a blur and enlarged straight into Lugia's amused gaze—
Boom!!
The punch was as powerful as a cannon!
The visible air ring exploded on Lugia's cheek, the immense force causing it to abruptly leave the water, its entire body tilting to the other side.
But just before its feet faced the sky, Lugia suddenly spread its wings and soared into the sky.
At first glance.
It looked very much like a bird startled into flight by a surprise attack.
There was even a lingering look of shock on Lugia's face, incredulous at the fist that struck its cheek, surprised that its shield created by Wind Pressure was broken so easily?
"After all, it's a Strongman..."
Baimu covered his head, looking at Mega Mawile with its head suddenly bowed by the stream, feeling joyous yet slightly helpless.
When the latter launched its attack, Baimu's mind felt like it had been hit by a cement truck, disoriented for several seconds. By the time he regained his senses, Lugia was already in the sky.
And Mega Mawile had fallen into a state of withdrawal.
On one hand, it was suppressing the effect of the violent energy on it; on the other hand, it was deeply dissatisfied that it couldn't hold back, wondering why when both had undergone Super Evolution for the first time, others were so "tame"?
Doesn't this obviously mean it's inferior to Aggron!
Though Mawile had no interest in competing for the ace position, it didn't want to perform worse than that big oaf.
Too embarrassing.
Mega Mawile looked down at its new reflection in the water, even if its appearance satisfied it quite a bit, it couldn't suppress the depression in its heart.
Why?
In what way was it inferior to Aggron?
Meanwhile, Lugia in the sky, seeing that Mega Mawile wasn't pursuing, slowly landed on the other side.
It wasn't upset over just a punch; it had that level of tolerance, although it still remembered the matter of the Wind Pressure being pierced through, pondering how powerful Mega Mawile's attack really was…
Actually, it wasn't that fierce.
The highest Physical Attack ability value in the Pokémon game, just surpassing Mega Rayquaza and Mega Mewtwo X.
Baimu grumbled inwardly, realizing how familiar he'd become with Lugia, able to decipher its thoughts with just a frown.
He turned his gaze back to Mega Mawile.
Splash—
Water rippled.
It was forced back to its original form, a wave of exhaustion flooding over it, causing it to pant heavily.
It was even more exhausting than practicing Gorgeous Competition moves.
"Phew..."
Baimu was also quite fatigued, the pressure shared from Mawile exceeding even during Aggron's Super Evolution, initially thinking his mental training would enhance his stress resistance significantly.
Didn't expect it would still look so "feeble."
He took several deep breaths, the fatigue finally easing slightly, seeing Mawile showing no intention of leaving the creek, he understood and walked over casually to lift it out.
"Well done! We succeeded!"
He chose to act as if nothing had happened to prevent this somewhat sensitive fellow from dwelling on it.
Under his praise, Mawile's mood quickly recovered.
Half a minute later.
Completely dried off, Mawile went to play on its phone.
Lugia, watching from the sidelines, was amazed, having felt during mental interaction that Baimu was adept at comforting Pokémon, now witnessing firsthand he was indeed skilled!
Impressive!
As it quietly complimented him, Baimu's gaze turned over.
"Did the darkening happen today?"
Upon mentioning this.
Lugia's good mood as an observer dimmed slightly, but it gave a negative response.
——
Based on the results of remaining for three days after Baimu provided the Purification Spray.
Two conclusions could be drawn.
One, the Purification Spray is effective and reliable.
Two, Dr. Mu Yin hasn't been standing still over the years.
Knowing that once only the Purification Room could meet Lugia's purification needs, now even liquid-like Purification Spray could partially satisfy Lugia's requirements—how could that not be progress?
It looks like Lugia should soon be able to meet with its kin, though what will happen when it encounters that mother-child pair is unknown…
Could it be the script for [I'm here to join this family]?
But thinking closely, Lugia should have no gender concept, the so-called mother-child is purely a humanized notion by Baimu; why can't it reproduce asexually?
Even Solrock exists, able to inject energy into meteorites to create new kin; what's so remarkable about asexual reproduction?
Overall, things are heading in a positive direction.
Baimu didn't wish to linger further, continuing his journey through Hoenn.
Using Hoopa's rings, he skipped the steps of flying and taking ships, directly arriving at the location of the seventh Gym—
Mossdeep City.
"Thanks, Hoopa!"
His landing was by the seaside, and Hoopa thoughtfully avoided people's view.
"Hehehe~ Leave this little task to Hoopa~ Goodbye for now~"
This Pokémon, dubbed Little Demon God, waved goodbye, still calling him by the nickname it had repeated countless times and refused to change.
Balza simply bid farewell, while Mei Yali promised to attend the gorgeous grand celebration for him.
Baimu's corner of his mouth twitched, once more thanking her for the support.
The ring closed.
His gaze returned to the city on the island.
Compared to the tiny island in the game, the island in the animation where Mossdeep City is located is evidently much larger, even with only the seaside part developed into a city, with numerous green mountains at the island's center.
Being Da Wu's hometown, besides his interest in Mossdeep Cosmic Center, Baimu especially fancied the mountain in Da Wu's backyard where Aggron clusters reside.
…Better to book the Gym Battle first.
Baimu worried about not getting an appointment; previously checking relevant info revealed that due to Mossdeep Gym's unique twin gym setup, it attracted Trainers to challenge, often resulting in appointments scheduled a week or even two weeks later.
Especially now with the League Championship approaching, many Trainers temporarily seek shortcuts, challenging various Gyms.
Anyway, Gym Battles can be repeated without any cost.
He rushed to Mossdeep Gym, discovering a substantial number of queuers at the appointment machine by the entrance; he'd have to wait three or four days for his turn.
"Never mind, I'll take a walk in the Cosmic Center first."
Baimu didn't dwell on it, turning around to head towards the Cosmic Center, planning to explore the array of aerospace black technologies in the Pokémon animated world.
Remembering this institution launches things into the sky every other day, including human rockets, but never being attacked by Rayquaza, it's evident how lenient it is with things leaving the planet.
Unexpectedly.
He ran into Da Wu at the entrance of the Cosmic Center.
Da Wu, impeccably dressed, was lost in thought after completing a conversation with someone, raising his head when noticing someone approaching.
"Mr. Da Wu!"
Baimu initiated the greeting.
"Oh? You've traveled here already?" Da Wu looked quite surprised, smiling as he said, "Thanks for the fossil you sent me earlier, I like it very much."
The fossil being the Root Fossil from the Phantom Tower in the desert, a few months ago Baimu and Alice ventured within, extracting two fossils.
He picked the former, later finding an opportunity to gift it to Da Wu, specifically noting its origin.
Da Wu indeed liked such extraordinary origin fossils, most likely not reviving them into a Cradily, but possibly adding them to his collection room to enhance its value.
"I'm relieved you like it." Baimu replied as if relieved, though it was his first time gifting and uncertain about others' interest.
"Haha, you're really something..."
Da Wu chuckled and asked, "Do you have a place to stay? If not, come to my home; it's quite large."
Hmm...
Having heard the joke too many times, even normal phrases felt odd.
Baimu criticized himself for overthinking, but it's hard not to when a certain bald, spectacle-wearing guy named Brother Jie became famous, spawning numerous jokes from an educational short film.
"If it doesn't inconvenience you, I'd be happy to." He affirmed.
With the mountain hosting a cluster of Aggron, he had to agree.