The gates of the Mossdeep Gym.
Xiaofeng and Konan watched as Baimu walked away, letting out a long sigh of relief, feeling a bit desolate.
"It seems that as Gym Leaders, there are still many areas where we're immature."
"Yes, I'm actually afraid of challengers. Even if a bit stronger, it's an insult to my grand ideal of facing the deep cosmos!"
"...What does that have to do with anything?"
"Of course, it does! Can't you hear the analogy? No wonder you never passed your Chinese class."
"And you're not much better than me..."
After the Gym Battle, the two underage twin Gym Leaders started bickering, faces flushed, drawing a sigh from Rey nearby. She wondered when her troublesome kids would ever mature a bit?
It's making her, despite being the head of the Cosmic Center, act like a live-in nanny for these two lively treasures.
No way!
She must have a word with that Keen guy!
Rey made up her mind.
On the other side.
At the Pokémon Center.
After handing over three Pokémon that participated in the battle to Miss Joy, Baimu silently reflected on the recent match.
Apart from the Gorgeous Competition's double performance, the Mossdeep Gym Battle was his first genuine double battle. Balancing two perspectives and setting up both sides was mentally taxing, with difficulty rising exponentially.
But since doubles aren't the mainstream competition format in the animation world, at most there might be a three-round match in the Ever Grande Conference preliminaries, so it's not a big deal.
The Mega Mawile was a delightful surprise.
Despite having already estimated its attack power very highly, its outstanding performance during the Gym Battle was enough to earn Baimu's applause.
Perhaps this is the true value of the "Strongman" trait. Mawile already had some talent in terms of strength, with slightly greater attacking power than its peers. After Mega Evolving and pairing with the trait, the destructive force nearly doubled.
Congratulations are in order.
He was always troubled by the team's overabundance of defense and lack of aggression, unable to keep up with the explosive battle methods of top-tier Trainers from the animation. Unexpectedly, the appearance of Mega Mawile compensated for much of it.
Moreover, this Pokémon's attack can be further explored.
He recalled the final "Playful" move, when Mega Mawile couldn't contain its energy, causing it to burst from its double jaws like some engine-revved Gundam...
Perhaps something can be made of this.
"Ahem."
Baimu gave a light cough, looking up to see a Nurse Blissey in the distance wheeling away a Camerupt continuously emitting smoke from its back on a stretcher. The Camerupt looked quite pitiable, being all wet.
The Trainer… oh, it was a little chubby kid hidden behind Blissey, probably around ten years old.
He diverted his gaze and took a sip of tea. Over the past year, he transformed from frail to strong. Although there was no major change in appearance, various physical qualities had improved drastically, seemingly without limit.
Even his senses were becoming increasingly acute, but it should be a good thing.
"In two weeks, the Mikoli Club, the Battle of the Glazed Gym... then preparing for the Gorgeous Grand Festival, the League Conference, returning to the Ore Region after joining the Champion Alliance..." Baimu mumbled to himself, suddenly taking out his phone to check his memo.
— [Inheritor's Test]!
How could he forget this!
He recalled Xijana asking him to contact her after obtaining six badges, and now he was about to secure the tournament qualification...
Although he didn't initially pay much attention since he didn't want to compete with Xijana for the so-called "Inheritor" title, breaking a promise wasn't a good feeling.
Baimu opened Poké Line and sent Xijana a message.
Upon retrieving his three fully treated Pokémon and boarding the car back to the Da Wu Family's home, her call came through.
"Moshi moshi?"
Xijana's voice was full of vitality.
He replied, "It's me, Baimu."
"Heehee, that's impressive, Lord Baimu! Managed to get six badges so quickly?"
"Uh… thanks for the compliment." Actually, it's seven.
"Where are you now? Verdanturf City?"
"...Mossdeep City."
"Oh? You're eager to get your seventh badge? There's still some time until the League Conference, right?"
Xijana spoke casually, seemingly unconcerned with his location, mostly leading up to her next question, "Is there a chance you can reach Pacifidlog Town within two days?"
Pacifidlog Town?
Are we going to the Pillar of the Sky?
Baimu's expression turned peculiar, replying naturally, "Yes."
"Then we'll meet at the Pokémon Center in Pacifidlog Town. Don't be late~" Xijana hung up without giving him a chance to refuse, a no-nonsense attitude.
But she didn't even specify the meeting time.
This girl... reliable?
Baimu couldn't gauge someone's capability, especially when he'd only met her twice. However, judging by her successful capture of a Rocket Team base, even if rough around the edges, she had an underlying finesse.
After sending her a message asking for the specific time, Baimu made his way to the back mountain of the Da Wu Family.
Today's Gym Battle didn't involve Aggron, so he left the Big Monster here and planned to sneak over and see what this guy was up to besides learning moves, gaining battle experience, and managing the mountain with two other Aggrons.
Hence.
Climbing over a hill, he witnessed an idyllic scene from the opposite side of a mountain spring, in a wide, pitted terrain—a peaceful scene of tree planting and watering.
The tree planter was obvious, and the waterer was the Altered-color Milotic, beloved by countless young girls. It didn't participate in the Gym Battle and instead stayed supportive from inside its ball, as it loved following Aggron's every move.