Baimu, with nothing to do, decided to take a good walk around the ship.
The Milotic is large, and not experiencing its various internal facilities would waste the premium membership ticket Shanren bought for him.
Most facilities allowed Pokémon to walk along with you, although there were height and weight restrictions, and a few were completely prohibited due to structural or other issues to prevent unnecessary trouble.
Among Baimu's Pokémon, only Mawile showed a particular interest in this bustling world, always wanting to buy this or that while shopping, but upon closer inspection, they were things it had no use for.
Though he wasn't lacking money, he didn't want to carry around a bunch of junk, so he made an agreement with Mawile to only buy two items.
Eventually.
Mawile bought a small bottle of perfume, a red ribbon that could be tied with a Calming Bell, and a supposedly delicious piece of cream cake.
"Be careful not to get fat!"
Baimu warned it, and was promptly kicked by it with a puffed-up face.
"Tchedo!"
What are you saying to a lady!?
Seeing Mawile's anger, Baimu chuckled and tied the newly bought red ribbon on Mawile.
"Tchedo? Tchedo?"
Mawile touched the ribbon, looked at its reflection in the floor-to-ceiling window next to it, swung its head from side to side, and asked the Trainer if it looked good.
"Of course, it looks great."
Baimu rubbed its head and continued shopping with it.
They strolled around until noon.
Both were hungry, and there happened to be a high-end restaurant nearby that looked promising and only restricted entry to Pokémon that were too heavy or too tall. So, they decided to have a meal there.
Mawile was enthusiastic at first, having probably learned from somewhere to pull Baimu to take photos of the food with him, but after a couple of bites, it voluntarily returned to the Pokeball and had Chansey come out.
To be honest, the presentation might have looked good, but it really didn't taste that great.
Chansey might particularly like this—
Regrettably, Little Egg wasn't especially fond of it either, but upon hearing the dish was expensive and the cooking techniques intriguing, potentially usable in their recipes, it reluctantly ate it all.
Baimu wore a smile the entire time; he actually thought it was okay. The Pokémon found it unappetizing probably because of their taste preferences, just like how Aggron thought iron had a heavy sweet taste and copper was quite sour, while he couldn't eat metal at all.
The taste buds of humans and Pokémon are mostly similar, yet distinctly different in some subtle aspects.
He filled his stomach.
He quickly found a shop specializing in selling Pokémon food, bought plenty, and headed to the rest area on the ship to feed the eagerly awaiting Aggron and Deino.
Mawile and Chansey also weren't full, so they squeezed over to have some.
Baimu gathered around with them, glancing at the other Trainers and Pokémon nearby.
As the strategy guide stated, the rest area was intended as a place for Pokémon to eat, also facilitating exchanges among Trainers, Breeders, and others who love Pokémon.
It's a very popular non-entertainment area.
"In the afternoon, shall we explore the Battle Area? See how strong the outside Trainers really are." Baimu said softly, wiping the food crumbs from the corner of Deino's mouth.
Upon hearing this, Aggron and the other Pokémon responded with approving noises.
It seemed like their calls were heard, and nearby Trainers directed their gazes over, not without some awe upon seeing the imposing Aggron.
In the Pokémon World, bigger isn't always better; managing to cultivate an Aggron to such strength proved its extraordinary talent and Baimu's excellence as a Trainer.
Two Trainers proactively approached, complimenting it while asking Baimu about any intentions for trading Pokémon for breeding.
"Check out my Dodrio! It's lively! You'll definitely love it!"
"See mine! Scolipede! Look how beautiful its dual horns are, and it runs really fast!"
The two were enthusiastically introducing their own Pokémon.
In the realm of animated Trainers, exchanging Pokémon for breeding is quite common, with even exchange conventions held to provide more options.
However, Baimu showed little interest in these exchanges unless it was a newly captured Pokémon with no emotional bond... but if he didn't like it, why would he capture it in the first place?
Seeing his persistent refusal, the two sighed regretfully, added his Trainer ID, and took their leave.
Suddenly.
A commotion arose from afar.
Baimu stood up to look and saw a crowd gathered in the front left, amidst the noise, a voice clearly shouted.
"Give me back my Pokémon!"
Hmm? Was there really daylight Pokémon theft happening on the Milotic?
His curiosity was piqued.
From the crowd, a boy with a triangular eye-shape emerged, appearing quite street-savvy, followed by another boy with dark green hair and glasses.
The two seemed around ten years old, tugging at each other's clothes, resembling a schoolyard delinquent and a bullied bookish student.
"You're so annoying! Can't you handle losing?!"
The former turned and shouted.
The latter firmly argued, "I never agreed to exchange Pokémon if I lost the battle. It was you who forcibly took them away to trade!"
Goodness gracious.
Such a thing actually happens.
Baimu couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement, his peripheral vision catching some people dressed as police officers approaching.
The bystanders also noticed the arrival of the ship police and quickly dispersed. The squinty-eyed boy wanted to leave but was tightly held by the bespectacled boy, dragged forward until the ship police got closer.
And so.
After much arguing and explaining, the bespectacled boy successfully retrieved his Pokémon, while the squinty-eyed boy was scolded by the ship police and couldn't help but glare at the former in frustration.
The two boys were eventually separated by the ship police, ordered not to contact each other again.
It seems even in other regions, there are quite a few "strange creatures."
Baimu shook his head, aware that other regions indeed had better environments compared to the utterly corrupt Ore Region, but that didn't mean other regions were devoid of scum.
Otherwise, where would those evil organizations come from? Or the endless poachers?
Nauseating people are everywhere; it's just a matter of more or less.
Say no more, the guy who abandoned Charmander at the beginning of the Indigo series was disgusting enough. Not many people deserve a beating like that.
"The drama's over, and I just finished my meal too..."
He quietly packed up his lunch box and his Pokémon, including Aggron, before heading back to his room for a nap.
In the afternoon.
Baimu arrived at the Battle Area.
Pokémon battles, a globally popular form of competition, attracted widespread attention wherever they took place.
So even aboard the Milotic, countless people came to watch Pokémon battles, and even more participated in them.
He walked around a couple of times but didn't get a chance to join a fight.
There were indeed a lot of people.
Nevertheless, if you looked carefully, you could find opportunities, such as at some battlefields where bets were involved.
Baimu once again saw the squinty-eyed boy, seemingly with his companions, occupying a battle site and attracting others to challenge them.
Whenever someone stepped up to battle, they would add a bet right at the start, stating the loser had to trade Pokémon.
Not waiting for others' consent, they would begin the match and, after winning, forcibly seize the opponent's Pokeball to execute the trade using a prepared machine.
Absolutely disgusting.
No wonder the bespectacled boy was tricked earlier.
Baimu glanced around to find everyone angry but no one stepping forward to stop them.
He recorded the incident and posted it on Poké Blogger, tagging the Milotic cruise's official account and also contacted customer service.
After finishing the call and while observing the surroundings, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the bespectacled boy again.
In less than two minutes, the troublemakers were apprehended by the ship police.
Subsequently.
The ship police returned all the Pokémon to their rightful owners and announced on the spot that those troublemakers would be kicked off the ship and handed over to the Jinqing Port police station for processing.
The Milotic was set to depart at three in the afternoon, with about an hour to go. There was just enough time to bid them farewell before the ship sailed.
Dealing with these people after setting sail would be a bit troublesome, as the ship couldn't just toss them into the sea.
A short while later.
Customer service called back with feedback, making Baimu smile.
"Quick response, I hope the Rescue Organization teaches those bastards a lesson."
"Big brother! Was it you?"
A voice forcibly lowered yet full of excitement sounded in his ear.
"Hmm?"
Baimu furrowed his brows and looked to the side, spotting the bespectacled boy from earlier.
The latter had somehow come to stand beside him, his face full of admiration, "I just heard you making calls with someone on the ship... no, before that I saw you recording and reporting. Initially, I planned to go stop them from deceiving others.
"Then the ship police came! You must have been the one who figured out how to deal with them. You're really impressive!"
"The impressive ones are the ship police; I just helped report it."
He admitted openly and then patted the bespectacled boy on the shoulder, "Young man, be more cautious when you're out and about, and work on getting stronger. People might pick on you as you are."
"That's what my dad says too, hehe..."
The bespectacled boy laughed shyly, then added, "I'm Xiaosheng! May I know your name, big brother?"
"I am... wait."
Baimu looked at him incredulously, "What's your name again?"