After four days of long learning sessions.
Aggron finally mastered the inherited move Dragon Dive, successfully building upon its own strength.
Thus.
The mission of the wild Aggron has come to an end.
When Baimu sent it back, the former showed obvious signs of reluctance. It wasn't hard to guess what it was unwilling to part with.
"I'll leave these with you; they're easy to store. Save them for eating; who knows when I'll come back next."
He handed jars of Poké Blocks to the wild Aggron.
The wild Aggron, its eyes brimming with tears, clutched the jars tightly without releasing them. If this fellow didn't eat metal, the glass jars might not have survived.
"Until we meet again, take care."
Baimu patted the wild Aggron's head and waved goodbye.
The latter also tried to wave a claw but accidentally dropped a jar to the ground, hurriedly lowering its head to retrieve it. By the time it lifted its head, there was no sign of him.
It glanced at the clear stream and the empty cave, recalling those days of living a life that inexplicably felt a bit desolate.
But this emotion came and went quickly, as its sense of territory returned to mind. It started cleaning its territory, and after days of absence, there were quite a few unfamiliar footprints on the ground.
Surely some wild Pokémon came to inspect.
The wild Aggron vowed to defend its territory to the end.
On the other side.
Baimu turned left and right, winding his way to Sableye's nest, just in time to bump into Sableye returning from afar.
"Yammi? Yammi!"
"Yes, it's me."
He happily caught the excited Sableye leaping toward him, and touched its strangely textured skin, saying, "I will be leaving here soon, so I came to see you one last time and brought you some things."
Baimu took out some special Poké Blocks he had prepared from his bag, and laughed at Sableye's puzzled look: "A farewell gift; who knows when we'll meet again, so I will give you as much as I can."
"Yammi..."
Sableye looked at the Poké Blocks on the ground, then up at the beaming Baimu, suddenly its eyes filled with tears and it leaped into his arms again.
"Yammi! Yammi!"
In its past life, Sableye had never seen someone so nice to it, nor had it imagined that the friend it accidentally made would care so much about it, emotions overflowed all at once.
"Calm down, calm down..."
Baimu gently comforted its forehead and softly consoled it.
Not long after.
Sableye's emotions gradually stabilized, darting into its nest again, and took out a heap of crystals, insisting he take them all.
"Alright, alright, I'll accept them all."
This persistent creature eventually got his agreement, and Baimu accepted those crystals.
Afterward, the two sat leisurely outside the nest, exchanging a few words, albeit not in sync, but Sableye seemed genuinely happy.
Ultimately, the moment of parting would still come.
"I have to go; take good care of yourself, I'll come to see you next time."
Baimu waved his hand.
From start to finish, he bore no ill feelings towards Sableye, though he had numerous reasons not to abduct it, such as its attachment to Stone Cave, and others.
Ultimately.
It stemmed from his understanding of the relationship between humans and Pokémon.
Must the relationship between humans and Pokémon be limited to that of a trainer and his partner?
No.
It is not.
Perhaps a trainer and his Pokémon can be more intimate, but it doesn't mean humans and Pokémon can only end up in this relationship. Forming friendships where joy sparks at meeting and sadness stirs at separation is also possible.
Throughout Ash Ketchum's journey, he often met wild Pokémon who shared significant bonds without capturing them.
Baimu hopes to have close Pokémon and wild Pokémon friends; life must be colorful to be beautiful.
"Yammi!"
Sableye watched as its human friend slowly departed, filled with reluctance yet blessings for his upcoming journey, imitating a human's wave with its claws, "Yammi! Yammi!"
Take care, my friend!
"I will."
It seemed as though Baimu understood what it was saying and smiled in response.
Sableye lowered its claws, its grin widened, as it watched its human friend go.
For a brief instant, it wanted to chase after him, follow his footsteps to see the sights only he could see, surely it wouldn't be boring, surely it would be cheerful.
Yet it was just for an instant.
Because Stone Cave holds countless things it cherishes, maybe there is only one human friend, but there are more Pokémon friends.
Ah~ what a wonderful day~
Sableye returned to its nest, looking at the carefully preserved jars, its smile growing wider.
——
Martial Arts Town dock.
Baimu purchased a ticket to Kaina City and successfully boarded the ship.
Compared to the last journey to Martial Arts Town.
There were far more people this time, probably because Kaina City is bigger; it can't be compared to the countryside like Martial Arts Town.
"Kaina City... it's time to participate in the Gorgeous Competition again; I wonder if I'll run into one or two challenging opponents this time."
He swiped through the phone screen.
Though the contest isn't mandatory, to ensure the move's fashion and freshness, most coordinator trainers change their performance theme every time they participate in the Gorgeous Competition.
To avoid criticism and being scolded for relying on old tricks, which could affect Ore Region's reputation elsewhere, he also decided to change.
What should I change to?
As he contemplated, a voice suddenly came from nearby.
"Big brother! Let's have a Pokémon battle!"
Baimu turned his head blankly to see a little ghost with bangs almost covering his eyes holding a Pokeball, nervously yet excitedly speaking to him.
"Are you talking to me?"
He pointed at himself before seeing the little ghost glance at the empty Pokeballs hanging from his waist, understanding instantly.
"Alright, though this place isn't suitable for battle, let's head to the deck."
"—Okay!"
The little ghost nodded eagerly.
Reaching the spacious deck, checking there were no signs prohibiting battles, both threw their Pokeballs.
Bang, bang!
The white light flashed.
"Luli!"
The spherical Azumarill, resembling an enlarged duck egg, with its prolonged rabbit ears and stubby limbs, appeared.
Its opponent was Deino.
The little ghost scanned Deino with the Illustrated Guide, eyes lighting up upon learning it's a Pokémon with the Dragon Attribute!
The heavens are with him!
"Azumarill! Use Frozen Beam!" he shouted first.
"Luli!"
Azumarill quickly opened its mouth, shooting a small bluish lightning bolt toward Deino!
"Dodge it!"
Baimu issued a command, and Deino immediately sprinted to the wall beside the cabin, suddenly accelerating, leveraging itself to run along the ship's side, causing the blue lightning bolt to miss continuously, forming a dazzling ice crystal as it passed the ship.
Soon.
Deino had positioned itself behind Azumarill.
"Thunder Fang!"
"Mo Nuo!"
It bared its teeth charged with blue electricity, biting hard onto Azumarill's back!
Bang!
Electrical currents danced like silver snakes before exploding into a cloud of smoke.
Baimu intended to shout more commands but seeing the flickering ice crystals amidst the smoke, suddenly a bright realization flashed through his mind.