"Xiaoguang——"
As a fellow girl, Liuqia was especially enthusiastic about Xiaoguang's arrival.
"Churu~~"
Altaria spread its wings and showed a friendly expression to Piplup, but Piplup felt it was too big and looked a bit arrogant, so it puffed out its chest stiffly, trying to make itself look very strong.
"Pochah!"
A question mark flew over Altaria's forehead. "Churu?"
Baimu and Xiaogang let their gazes pass over the two chattering girls and greeted Mikoli, who was strolling over from not far away.
"Mr Mikoli!"
"Thank you very much for letting us stay here, Gym Leader Mikoli."
Mikoli smiled gently and replied, "It's a small thing, no need to be so polite. Besides, this isn't the first time we've met, Xiaogang."
He then looked at Xiaoguang, who hurriedly bowed beside them. "Xiaoguang, both your performance and your gorgeous battle at the festival were excellent. Handing the Mikoli Club over to you back then really was the right decision."
"Thank you."
She was a little flattered.
After all, he was the only master among Coordinator Trainers, publicly acknowledged as number one in the Gorgeous Competition.
Liuqia listened to their conversation from the side, and while the few of them weren't paying attention, she secretly stuck out her tongue and made a face at Baimu.
Because she was quite displeased that a certain someone had taken almost a week to come back to the Gym.
"Ha..."
Baimu was helpless.
Honestly, once he went back to Ore, he probably wouldn't be able to come to the Glazed Gym again for a long time. This time he'd come precisely to properly explain the situation to everyone at the Glazed Gym.
Their long-standing and meticulous care for him and Aggron and the others truly filled him with gratitude.
Of course, he'd definitely drop by to visit whenever he had free time—that went without saying.
Mikoli, who had been talking to Xiaoguang, looked up at the calm-faced Baimu. His water-blue phoenix eyes narrowed slightly as he smiled. "Let's head inside first, no need to keep standing out here."
Everyone went in through the door.
From the old butler who had been waiting a long time, Baimu learned that Adam usually practiced his giant water-ball performance in the open space behind the Gym.
Why not indoors?
Simply because Adam wanted to pair it with natural sunlight to produce different lighting effects on the water ball.
"Teacher Adam."
He felt his way to the backyard and didn't approach recklessly, greeting from a distance.
Adam, like a conductor, lowered his hands and revealed a gentle smile. "You're back?"
"Mm. I lived up to your teachings."
Baimu nodded and snapped his fingers.
From the shadow behind him, Altered-color Gengar poked its head out, stuck a claw into its lower-belly area and rummaged around for a bit, then carefully presented a gilded trophy.
"Geng~" It let out a smug chuckle.
"Thanks."
He took the trophy and, as if to show it off, was about to say something more.
He didn't expect Adam to walk straight over. Looking at the trophy, which reflected a metallic halo under the sunlight, a trace of reminiscence flashed through his eyes.
"I once thought the next person to bring back the championship trophy would be Liuqia, but ever since I met you, I've been thinking Liuqia might have to wait another year."
"Uh."
Baimu glanced behind him. If Liuqia heard that, who knew what kind of fuss she'd kick up.
Adam laughed. "No need to be nervous. Liuqia also understands the gap between her and you, so she's always seen you as her biggest Fierce Rival. The fact that you can share the same stage and push each other forward is something that makes me very pleased."
"..."
"Work hard for the sake of your future dreams. Remember to come back and visit when you have time."
Adam seemed to see right through the thoughts Baimu was hiding. He lightly patted Baimu on the shoulder. "Mikoli and I will always be watching you. Move forward boldly."
Baimu was silent for a while, then asked, "Can I leave the trophy here?"
"Of course you can."
Mikoli's voice came from the other side.
At some point, the current Gym Leader had also arrived in the backyard and said, "We've already set up your display case in the main hall's exhibition area. You can put it in any time."
The display cases in the Glazed Gym's main hall held all the honors Adam, Mikoli, and Liuqia had earned in the past, for visiting challengers to see.
Adding a special case like that made Mikoli's attitude very clear.
Baimu even suspected that once this tournament was over, he could step in and take the position at any time.
He really didn't know what to say to that.
"Da Wu said that if you're willing, he can come back from Carlos at any time to convene the Hoenn Champion Alliance." Mikoli put one hand on his hip, his face full of a broad smile.
After transporting the Legendary Giant Stone back to Hoenn, Da Wu hadn't returned with it. Instead, following the lead Ailan had given him, he went to the Ice Cave to search for a Super Stone Mine vein.
The guy wouldn't be able to get away for a while, so he'd entrusted the investigation to Mikoli.
Baimu figured that with Da Wu, a professional miner, he'd probably dig up a whole bunch of Key Stones and Super Stones. By then, at the Gym Leader level, that stuff would be "as common as dirt."
He picked up Mikoli's line. "A match with Mr. Da Wu is better saved for an even grander tournament."
An even grander tournament?
Hearing that, Mikoli and Adam exchanged a look. There really weren't many tournaments in the world that could rival the Champion Alliance.
The Pokémon World Championship in Driftveil City was one of them.
That bit of conversation between them was originally Mikoli's roundabout way of asking whether Baimu had confidence in winning the tournament. Although Baimu had boasted during his acceptance speech, Mikoli could tell he was just reading off a prepared statement.
And if he didn't have much confidence, Baimu's reply would most likely have leaned towards something like "I'll think about it after I win the tournament."
As it turned out, he was absolutely determined to take the tournament championship.
Mikoli was very satisfied.
After chatting a bit more, Baimu went to put the trophy away.