Old acquaintances? Professionals?
Baimu was slightly taken aback. The first person who came to mind was that man with narrow eyes like Abra and burgundy hair, his former boss Liu Ge, and the crew-cut, green-skinned Flop who seemed every bit a thug but was actually an undercover international police.
If it really was them.
He thought he might have something to look forward to. These two were definitely reliable.
——
It was nearly noon.
The alternate-colored Rayquaza still hadn't returned.
Having just finished lunch, Baimu looked at the glowing food he had left for it, thinking it was impossible that the alternate-colored Rayquaza had been knocked unconscious by the Dragon God Rayquaza and hadn't come back because of that.
Or perhaps it was tired of him?
Even more impossible!
Before coming, it was still fondly engaged in Divine Heart communication, and when the Legendary Giant Stone was at stake, it chose to protect him first, giving up the stone.
Maybe it went straight to Kanaz City?
… It kind of made sense. This guy had a spat with the Hoenn Rayquaza, fought till the end, and then chased after the Giant Stone's wave, intending to come back later after grabbing it.
To figure out if that was the case, Baimu called Mr. Da Wu to get the current information and asked if he could help find it.
The memories of visiting the Mossdeep Cosmic Center told him that the Hoenn Region had frequently launched satellites into outer space, with rarely any taken down by Hoenn Rayquaza.
It seemed that it didn't care much about things escaping from the ground.
And with satellites, many things became much easier to find.
Unfortunately, despite Da Wu agreeing, none of the satellites owned by the De Wen Company could locate the two Rayquazas, as if they had vanished into thin air.
But both of them clearly knew Rayquaza wouldn't vanish.
It must be a problem with the satellites.
"Speaking of which, has no reaction from the Giant Stone been found yet?" Baimu was quite curious about how much time passed from the moment the Giant Stone disappeared until it reappeared off the coast of Kanaz City, attracting the two Super Ancient Pokémon.
He initially thought the Legendary Giant Stone would appear soon, and that Primordial Groudon would quickly emerge onto the surface, creating new continents with magma.
Who would have thought that after so many hours, Primordial Groudon still hadn't shown up, let alone Primordial Kyogre deep in the ocean trenches.
"I... I'll head to Kanaz City first."
Baimu couldn't wait any longer.
He once thought the alternate-colored Rayquaza would seize the Giant Stone and then come back for him, which would align with its combative and hyperactive nature.
"Hoopa!"
He made his third call of the day.
——
Kanaz City.
On the rooftop of the De Wen Company building.
The expansive view allowed one to easily overlook the entire cityscape.
"Here again."
Baimu felt quite sentimental, recalling that he earned his first Gorgeous Competition ribbon here when both he and Mawile were still inexperienced.
It was only with extraordinary talent, a great deal of effort, and guidance from little teacher Liuqia that he passed the first review, gaining a bit of fame due to his unexpectedly dazzling performance.
This made him feel somewhat nostalgic.
"Thank you, take this." Baimu handed the trade token—[homemade donuts] to the stern Hoopa.
Hoopa nodded quickly, "Mm-hmm!"
Then closed the ring, preparing to secretly enjoy them.
Recently, Mei Yali had been keeping a close watch, firmly forbidding Hoopa from overeating donuts. Small bribes like those from Baimu were also within her crackdown scope.
Hoopa found it unbearable, fearing that one day it would rebel against Mei Yali's tyranny.
With Balza acting as the mediator who pleases neither side.
"Hmm? Mr. Baimu?"
Manon's voice came from not far behind.
Baimu turned to see Ailan and Manon together, but there was no helicopter in sight that the plot mentioned bringing them here.
What's going on?
"You've come to Kanaz City too?"
Manon and Chespin happily approached him, and Ailan, with one hand tucked in his pocket, slightly bowed.
Baimu nodded at them, thinking that while the humans were fully in place, the Super Ancient Pokémon were nowhere to be seen.
Where is Primordial Groudon?
Such a gigantic Primordial Groudon!?
He realized that perhaps his and the alternate-colored Rayquaza's interference had caused some anomaly in the plot, likely unable to resolve the issue before this afternoon.
The three arrived at the floor where Da Wu was located, where the handsome young man with silver-blue hair silently gazed at the numerous small pop-ups on the large screen.
"Mr. Da Wu!"
Baimu greeted.
Da Wu slowly turned his head and said, "You're here? Unfortunately, so far, the energy wavelength of the stone remains elusive. We aren't sure of its exact location..."
"Besides the wavelength, are there any other anomalies?" He wanted to know if Primordial Groudon had appeared.
The answer disappointed him.
Nothing happened.
"..."
Baimu had a vague feeling that Primordial Groudon sensed the presence of two Rayquazas and didn't dare to come out.
The power gap between the Third God of the Hoenn Region and the previous two gods was significant, as shown in the original storyline, where Rayquaza's absence meant Primordial Kyogre and Primordial Groudon reversed the situation two-on-one.
Super Mega Rayquaza was briefly suppressed, knocked down from the sky, only to be blasted with a combo of Destructive Death Beam and Finishing Touch in the blink of an eye.
Even the Primordial Return was obliterated!
It was evident that a certain dominance relationship existed between them.
With even one Rayquaza being hard to handle, backing down upon sensing two was quite normal.
Hmm...
Does that mean there won't be a clash of the Four Gods?
Baimu felt an inexplicable sense of regret, while beside him, Ailan seemed to have made a decision and suddenly said, "Mr. Baimu! If possible, please have a Super Evolution battle with me and Charizard!"
With those words, everyone present looked at him.
Baimu raised an eyebrow and said, "I remember your Charizard seemed injured? Dodging Meteor Shower?"
"It has fully recovered!"
Without special reasons, Ailan would never let his Charizard enter a match injured. Besides, his Charizard was notable for its resilience and ability to take hits.
"...Alright then."
Baimu exchanged a look with Da Wu, who had a look of eager anticipation, "As long as it doesn't interfere with the upcoming actions, I agree."
Ailan nodded firmly, "Absolutely!"
"A Pokémon battle? Is it starting again?"
Manon was excited.
Although she didn't want Ailan to weather the storm, treading the line between success and failure, she didn't oppose Pokémon battles and even liked them a lot.
Initially, she pursued Ailan not out of love at first sight, but because she also wanted to obtain the power of Super Evolution.
The group moved to a field inside the De Wen Company.
Da Wu mentioned that it was typically used for testing Pokémon after Super Evolution, so they could fight with their utmost efforts without worry about causing any damage.
Hearing this, Ailan's spirits lifted.
Baimu, however, clicked his tongue lightly.
This Mr. Da Wu was unbelievable.
But in reality, Ailan's current strength was still a bit behind the Ailan who fought Ash Ketchum in the Alliance Tournament. His power mainly surged later due to being intensely trained by Fladari, and experiencing a large number of Super Evolution battles.
For now, he could only bully ordinary Elite Trainers who possessed Super Evolution.
He couldn't even defeat Zhi Mi.
And if Baimu were to battle Zhi Mi—
It's hard to say; Pokémon battles between equally matched Pokémon have immense variability, and Zhi Mi, with Super Evolution, was far from an average Celestial King of the many in the league, not easy to defeat.
"... Since you're so tough, able to withstand the Golden Water Shuriken, I'll go tough too."
He pulled out a Pokeball, looking at Ailan ready in the distance, deciding to send out the seemingly "restrained" Aggron.
Mawile may have the upper hand in terms of attributes and possess extraordinary strength, but a battle that's like an Ultraman fight with a countdown—when time's up, it's a loss without a fight.
Baimu didn't want his Pokémon to lose under such circumstances either.