Once that suspicious patch is accepted, the new Porygon Z is like a piece of white paper stained with ink, with no way back.
He asked again, "I see. Doctor, what's in it? Is it about the universe, Pokémon rights?"
Dr. Akihabara said, 『Something like that. But there's a sentence in it specially marked, one I've heard before but forgot who said it—- "We are rockets traversing the galaxy, white holes and a bright tomorrow await us."』
Baimu: "…Huh?"
Wait a minute.
The Porygon that was stolen by Rocket Team back then to intercept the Pokeballs in Data Space was…
Zeroth Machine!
His eyes widened.
This guy's fascination with the universe comes from Rocket Team? Awareness of rights from Meowth? Rocket Team is just saying slogans after all.
But in that case, why would Zeroth Machine steal, and the saying "unjust wealth" seems to have a reason.
The Rocket Team trio calls themselves villains, yet they never think what they do is wrong, and even claim to protect world peace.
Furthermore, speaking of rebellion, which among James, Musashi, and Meowth is not rebellious?
They work for Rocket Team apart from admiring Giovanni, purely for the bright future they imagine for themselves.
Should one day they feel indifferent towards Giovanni and Rocket Team, they would surely change paths.
Leading the defection.
When Baimu shared his guess with Dr. Akihabara, the latter was silent for a long time.
『Can't be…』
"We'll know when we meet and ask them later!"
He wasn't certain either, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt Rocket Team might have influenced Zeroth Machine, otherwise, why would No.1 Machine be fine, and only Zeroth Machine go crazy?
He then listened to Dr. Akihabara venting a bit more.
Hung up the phone.
Baimu thought that if it were just an ideological dispute between Dr. Akihabara and Zeroth Machine, a family dispute, he really didn't plan to get involved.
This matter has both sides claiming to be right, with no resolution.
Now that Zeroth Machine has started stealing money online to build a spaceship, whether or not to intervene, at least find that guy's true form and give Dr. Akihabara a chance to communicate with it.
Resolving it peacefully would be best.
If it cannot be resolved peacefully...
He really had no idea what to do, forcibly taking the money back and handing it over to Shanren to deal with? Wouldn't that just give someone more work for no reason!
"Ha!"
Baimu looked up to see the Altered-color Gengar grinning as it handed him a toothbrush with toothpaste already squeezed on it and a cup, smelling the aroma of food personally made by Blissey drifting in from outside, he smiled.
"Thanks for your hard work!"
Indeed.
What he should care about now is the Ever Grande Conference, even if he wants to repay Dr. Akihabara's kindness, he has to wait until the Ever Grande Conference is over.
"Today we'll have fun! Tomorrow we'll give our best in the competition!"
Baimu looked around at the Pokémon surrounding him, shouting loudly.
All the Pokémon responded one after another.
"Sha sa!"
"Ha!"
"Xi ya!" ×2
"Mi lo~"
"Tsi—do!!"
Clap clap clap!
Large and small plush toys rained down like a storm as Mawile yelled in anger, precisely hitting the heads of Baimu and the gathered Pokémon.
Baimu closed his mouth and sneaked away with his neck shrunk.
Other Pokémon also kept quiet, not daring to provoke the sleep-deprived Mawile.
Aggron at the door smiled, grateful that it hadn't made a sound or entered the room earlier—
Bang!
A Jigglypuff plush hit its face.
Aggron: "..."
It speechlessly looked at the Mawile who rolled over to continue sleeping, thinking why wasn't it missed during the usual sneaky snack times?
Ten minutes later.
Liuqia led Xiaoguang and others over, intending not to go shopping in the city today but to bring some ingredients and find a beautiful place to camp.
Coincidentally, Xiaogang and Xiaoguang hadn't camped in a long time and missed it.
"Let's go!"
Baimu carried a grumpy Mawile, with two Dreepy on his head, and a group of excitedly howling Pokémon behind him, heading for the campsite.
----
The second round of the main game.
Single elimination format with six Pokémon each, choose three.
Compete in five medium-sized arenas at the main venue of the conference.
Compared to the previous small arenas, the medium arenas not only offer a larger space but also feature special battle environments—
Including a grassy field, a rocky and gravelly field, a water field with several boards in a large pool, and an ice field composed of ice surfaces and icebergs.
In addition to a regular flat field, there are a total of five types.
The type of field encountered is purely luck-based; there's no way to protest if it's unsuitable for one's Pokémon. That's just how the competition's rules are.
Baimu is not picky about the field. He is mainly curious about when he will encounter a "familiar face".
Among the top thirty-two, there is, besides Alice and Elma, another Trainer whom he knows but doesn't recognize him—
Gao Mei.
A Water-type Pokémon Trainer who won runner-up in the Vortex Island tournament in the Johto Region, and defeated Xiaoxia, the Water-type Gym Leader, in the round of sixteen.
He didn't remember at first, but he encountered them while camping yesterday, and the person happened to be the type Xiaogang likes—like an older sister.
The latter went over to be attentive, and that's when he remembered this character who appeared once.
Unfortunately, none of the three "familiar faces" showed up in the draw.
His opponent was a female Trainer with bleached blonde hair fading at the roots, wearing a tracksuit and sandals, with a slightly street-thug vibe.
"Expert in Evil Attribute? Still a little fan of Lord Huayue."
After reading the information on his phone, Baimu walked with Blissey toward the arena.
He had already made his decision.
Field C.
The arena was twice as large, allowing for a more spacious battlefield conducive to Pokémon dodging or performing more complex transformations.
Baimu arrived relatively early, and the audience seating was sparsely populated.
Liuqia and the others were already seated, each holding a milkshake and a sandwich stuffed to bursting point, shaking one of the milkshakes at him from a distance.
"No thanks."
He shook his head, mouthing the words.
This girl, under the strict dietary management of the old butler Sebastian and the agency, rarely gets heavy oil and sugar exposure. Now without the old butler around, Liuqia started to indulge herself.
Baimu just gave a reminder, but seeing her ignoring it, he decided to watch the show.
After all, when she returns to the Glazed Gym, she won't have an easy time.
Retrieving his gaze.
He took out a comb to tidy Blissey's curls on both sides of its head; a decent appearance helps boost Pokémon's confidence.
Indirectly improving their combat ability.
Being poorly groomed would only make a Pokémon timid.
"Tch, pretty boy."
A disdainful voice came from nearby.
Baimu looked over, and it was indeed his opponent for this round, the slightly scruffy female Trainer.
"…"
He wasn't interested in engaging.
Such deliberately provocative remarks aren't worth talking about, as Sun Corsola's approach to dealing with things is often very sensible.
And seeing him not retaliate, his opponent prepared to say something else.
Baimu directly ignored her, heading towards the Referee with a slightly frowning Blissey.
Seeing this, the opponent clicked her tongue but didn't dare pursue further.
Privately taunting and taunting in front of a Referee aren't the same.
Time passed by the minute and second.
Audiences gradually filled in from four entrances, eagerly settling in, mostly watching the unfazed Baimu, anticipating his performance.
At nine o'clock in the morning.
The second round of the main game began.
Baimu and his opponent arrived at their respective Trainer's stands amidst the noise, and between them lay a lush grassy field.
The commentary voice broadcasted.
"A fierce clash is about to unfold. Coming up is the second round of the main game, a single six-vs-three battle. Currently at Field C is Contestant Baimu from Pyrite Town! Against Contestant Yamei from Kaina City!"
Clap clap clap—
The stands were filled with applause.
Baimu exchanged glances with Yamei in the distance, and Yamei raised her eyebrows provocatively, but he simply pretended not to see.
"Hmph! Seems like only Lord Huayue is a real man!"
Yamei snorted, looking down on this opponent who had participated in the Gorgeous Competition.
Gorgeous Competition?
A real man wouldn't enter such a competition!