As expected.
Baimu was not surprised by the location of the trial. In fact, he would have been surprised if it had been elsewhere.
But what intrigued him more was the content of the trial.
The "Inheritor" is akin to a reserve elder of the Meteor People, and it's certainly not a simple difficulty, maybe with a small probability of life-threatening danger.
At that time, it would be fine to retreat bravely, no big deal.
He didn't intend to compete with Xijana for the title of Inheritor, so there was no need to invest too much. He was willing to take the trial mainly to fulfill an agreement; after all, he had taken the Key Stone and Super Stone from the Meteor People, so he had to follow their arrangements.
Secondly, it was to satisfy his curiosity.
What did the Pillar of the Sky look like in the animation? Every Pokémon enthusiast surely wouldn't miss the chance to adventure inside it. You might not get another chance to visit if you don't go now!
"Where is the Pillar of the Sky? How do we get there?"
He inquired.
For some reason, whether it hasn't been discovered by outsiders yet or is secretly protected by the Pokémon Alliance, he couldn't find detailed information about the island where the Pillar of the Sky is located on the internet, and it wasn't on any maps available for purchase either.
If there were, Baimu would have planned to go there directly.
"Just follow me, you still have half an hour to make your final preparations." Xijana generously gave him time to adjust.
"Thanks for the offer, but let's head straight out. I've already done what needs to be prepared."
He shook his head and refused, smiling at the shy Whismur hiding behind her waist.
It's a pity that the little creature named "Xijiana" seemed to have forgotten about the young man who often fed it tasty Poké Blocks in Meteor Village and was trying to hide as if teased by a strange passerby.
Truly heartbreaking.
Speaking of which, over the past couple of days, he kept recalling the various versions of the Pillar of the Sky and bought a lot of equipment to deal with the various situations inside, almost filling up his backpack.
It couldn't be more comprehensive already.
Xijana caught the Whismur desperately trying to squeeze back behind her waist, stood up, and said, "In that case, let's set out!"
Her words were full of momentum, and coupled with the quiet café, they immediately drew the attention of others, but ultimately those people turned their eyes to Baimu.
He silently thought, "This is not good."
"Baimu? It's Baimu!"
"The new star of the Gorgeous Competition, Baimu, has come to Pacifidlog Town?"
When these words echoed in the café, cold sweat almost dripped down his face, and he quickly stood up, nodded to the other guests around, and quietly urged Xijana and Whismur out the door.
"You're quite famous, aren't you?"
Xijana was delighted, as she only had a basic understanding of the Gorgeous Competition and only knew that Baimu was quite impressive there.
"Just empty fame, that's all."
Baimu quickly glanced at the café's front door, breathed a slight sigh of relief when he didn't see anyone chasing after them.
In towns bustling with the Gorgeous Competition, he was likely to be recognized. It seemed he would have to find a chance to get a pair of Clark's glasses someday; disguise techniques in the animated world are quite effective, as Rocket Team often uses their either exquisite or rough skills to play tricks on Ash Ketchum and his friends.
The two came to the coast.
He initially thought they would fly to the Pillar of the Sky, but to his surprise, Xijana jumped directly into a small boat with pure white paint at the shore, "Get on!"
"So, we're going by boat..."
"I wouldn't mind if you wanted to fly over with a Pokémon, you know."
"I didn't say anything."
Baimu obediently jumped into the cabin.
Flying against the wind and waves is not pleasant, especially when there's a deep blue ocean below, causing Baimu to lack a sense of security.
Boating isn't much better, but it feels a bit safer than riding a Pokémon.
Perhaps it's because there's relatively more room to move around.
"Hold on tight! You'll have to climb up yourself if you fall!"
Xijana skillfully started the small boat, heading out into the open sea. As she drove, she half-turned her head and chatted leisurely.
Her expert demeanor was impressive.
And in her narrative, Baimu learned about Alice successfully reaching Meteor Village and the intense battles with Zheng Fang and others, with a very significant "character" in the story being Alice's Dragonite.
Xijana rated it as very courageous, as it taunted almost every Dragon-type Pokémon in each household.
In the harsh natural world of the previous life, that Dragonite would have likely been torn apart by a horde of giant dragons. But in the Pokémon World, as long as it doesn't develop a submissive will, it would have the chance to grow with each defeat in battle.
Especially with Alice being around!
Baimu believed there wasn't a Dragon-type Pokémon in the world that could generate bad feelings towards her. Those Pokémon that were taunted would surely not beat Dragonite too badly, respecting either the person or the environment.
Being able to recover quickly and continue challenging, Dragonite couldn't help but grow stronger!
Hmm?
Why does this storyline feel so similar to Ash Ketchum's Charizard in the Charizard Valley?
Baimu suspected that Alice's potential to become a champion in the future might owe a lot to the Dragon-type Pokémon in Meteor Village constantly feeding it experience points… In that case, maybe preparing for the conference in Meteor Village is a good idea.
Pressure is motivation, after all!
Life in Verdanturf Town is too comfortable, unlike Meteor Village which has a Dragon Nest, a place suitable for Pokémon to get stronger through beatings.
He pondered quietly, planning to seek everyone's opinion in a couple of days, even if the result would mostly be them agreeing to go wherever he goes.
"Gu!"
The shy Whismur finally seemed to have recognized who Baimu was and dared to come closer.