Recalling the past, his mind was a blur.
At the same time.
The person that made him stay in place finally arrived.
"Mr. Baimu, I apologize for the intrusion. Although it seems you know me, please allow me to introduce myself." Fladari politely bent over, giving a gentleman's bow, "I am the representative of the Lysandre Labs in the Carlos Region, Fladari."
This lion-like man was taller than him by an entire head, and when he straightened up, he inexplicably carried a sense of intimidation.
"I've long admired your name, Mr. Fladari. The holographic technology you developed has benefited all of humanity. How could I not know you?"
Baimu smiled, maintaining a surface-level courtesy with the other party.
Lysandre Labs, this surface force of the Flashing Flame Team, doesn't normally do nothing. At the very least, they have developed reliable enough holographic imaging technology that will inevitably be used on Rotom phones in the future.
If it weren't for the lion-head's extreme personality, he would inevitably have a share in the future tech giants.
"Oh? That would be an honor."
Fladari, still wearing the facade of a gentleman, revealed a hint of kindness amidst his dignified appearance, and said: "Since you are somewhat informed, I won't hide it from you. In fact, our Lysandre Labs are very concerned about Pokémon during Super Evolution..."
He said a bunch of stuff, pretending they wanted to acquire the Legendary Giant Stone for the betterment of humanity, world peace, and to prevent it from being taken by bad people.
Please! You're the biggest bad guy here!
Baimu secretly cursed, but he couldn't deny that Fladari was a charming person. Even though he clearly decided to distance himself from Fladari, after a brief conversation, he still felt a slight affection for him.
Unfortunately, Fladari's radical thoughts were not something he could change. In other words, someone whose thoughts could be swayed in a few words wouldn't be one of the few villainous individuals with charisma.
Being enemies was inevitable.
Furthermore, Fladari's intention in talking to him was clear—to seek permission to take the Legendary Giant Stone for research.
--Before tearing faces, seeking permission was standard operation.
Baimu responded with a few polite but perfunctory words, indicating that they should discuss it after finding the Giant Stone, clearly using delaying tactics.
In reality, he hadn't fully considered whether he should let Fladari take the Legendary Giant Stone.
On one hand, following the storyline, as long as effort was put in, they would certainly be able to catch everything in one go; on the other hand, deviating from the storyline might lead to mishaps and possibly letting them get away...
"Then we shall take our leave."
Fladari didn't expect to persuade Baimu with just a few words. After a polite farewell, he left with the Flashing Flame Team.
In the vast ruins, only many unfinished airships and device remnants remained, along with Baimu and Hydreigon, waiting for the return of Alternate-colored Rayquaza.
As he watched the new airship carrying Fladari away, he wondered if blowing up the airship now would save him from thinking too much.
Not really.
Why was he becoming extreme too?
Baimu thought ruefully and decided to wait for the right opportunity to inform Da Wu of his thoughts, bringing him in to help with Flashing Flame Team.
"Such a turbulent time..."
He sighed, and, feeling bored, began exploring the peculiar ruin atop the giant rock.
In ancient times, the Hoenn Continent wasn't only inhabited by the Meteor People; there must have been other mysterious predecessors who mastered wondrous black technology. After acquiring the Legendary Giant Stone, they sealed it up for various reasons.
Click—
Click click.
Baimu took many photos and sent them to Xijana, telling her about his experiences.
Initially, he wanted to inquire which group built this ruin. As an inheritor, Xijana might know, but, unsurprisingly, she was more concerned with the fighting between Alternate-colored Rayquaza and Hoenn Rayquaza.
Xijana: "Where are they!?"
Baimu: "I feel like they've flown into outer space. I can't see anything here, neither the Aftermath of battle nor anything else..."
Xijana: "How could you let the two of them meet!"
Baimu: "Sis! Is that something I could have prevented? Do you think I'm a fool, enjoying watching Super Ancient Pokémon put on a fireworks show?"
He sent an emoji of Plusle and Minun hugging and crying together.
Xijana: "..."
Xijana: "Sorry, I didn't mean to take it out on you."
Did she apologize so straightforwardly? She's rather cute.
He sent another smiling Blissey emoji, which contained text resembling "patching a plaster."
Baimu: "I'm waiting for Alternate-colored Rayquaza to return. I believe Hoenn Rayquaza doesn't really want to fight it, the main goal being to contest for the Legendary Giant Stone... Why does it want the Legendary Giant Stone? Didn't it take it in ancient times?"
Xijana: "…Actually, our contact with Dragon God Rayquaza was not frequent. I can't be certain of its motivations. Personally, I don't think Rayquaza covets the Legendary Giant Stone."
Actually, Baimu thought the same.
But what exactly is going on, and why is Rayquaza pursuing the Legendary Giant Stone it didn't want thousands of years ago? This still requires a chance for direct communication.
Alternate-colored Rayquaza was slow to return.
He scoured the whole ruin without any discoveries, so he simply found a place to train Altered-color Milotic.
"Sorry, due to my personal reasons, your practice time has decreased, but I believe in your strength. You'll definitely shine at the Mikoli Club!"
"Milo!"
Altered-color Milotic nodded; it thought so too, and reminded itself to achieve victory at the Mikoli Club, offering the ribbon it wins to Aggron, the good big brother who helped it so much.
Why not dedicate it to the Trainer?
Next time, next time, it'll all happen!
Milotic believed its life wouldn't be limited to just one ribbon.
"Keep practicing."
Baimu accompanied Milotic in practicing the pre-decided performance.
This fellow's talent in move alteration wasn't even as good as Blissey, let alone the most outstanding Mawile. Regarding characteristics related to the Gorgeous Competition, aside from being beautiful, it could be said to be "useless."
Thankfully, its Trainer was experienced, and the knowledge accumulated from Mawile and Blissey was enough to gradually guide Milotic to complete everything it needed to do.
All that remained were ordinary cycle practices.
Being dumb isn't the problem; the problem is being dumb and not diligent enough.
Milotic was somewhat less smart than Mawile, but it was dedicated and never casually complained about hardship or fatigue. Combined with its beauty, it was enough to elevate it to the pinnacle of the Gorgeous Competition world.
No choice.
In a competition showcasing the beauty of Pokémon, appearance weighs too heavily.
Otherwise, why would Milotic always be so popular with Coordinator Trainers? Some even said that training a Milotic well would secure a baseline score of 28 points in the first review.
Though many judges disliked this statement, they had to admit that a well-trained Milotic was indeed worth a baseline score of 28 points.
"Milo~"
They watched as Altered-color Milotic glimmered with a radiant multicolored aura, gracefully spiraling in midair like Rayquaza, sprinkling a mist filled with fragrant scents.
Baimu looked contentedly at this scene. To be honest, he didn't expect the Mystical Waterdrop to not only enhance Milotic's Water Attribute Techniques' power but also significantly improve its control over water attributes.
He almost wanted to get more wondrous items to equip all his Pokémon with.
Speaking of which.
It seemed like only Blissey and Dragapult didn't have any items, while others either had Evolutionary Wondrous Stone, Attribute Enhancement Items, or Super Stone.
What would be a good item to give to Blissey and Dragapult?
Many items in the game don't exist in the animation world view, such as "Leftovers," "Elegant Glasses," "Momentum Scarf," and so on.
Only naturally occurring items truly exist.