The theft incident is over.
The Battle Tent has also come to a complete end.
Baimu began to focus on nurturing his Pokémon, making efforts to raise their levels while attempting to learn more techniques.
Thanks to Mann Chong and his skilled Pokémon, Baimu's progress in various areas was quite swift, exceeding the learning plan he set when he arrived in Verdanturf Town.
The Pokémon's step-by-step growth made him deeply grateful to the green-haired boy, often inviting the latter to taste his cooking.
Mann Chong was also happy to forge a deeper friendship with Baimu; he practically had no friends, and the ones he interacted with the most besides his Pokémon were his cousin Aman.
Friends like Baimu, with whom he could chat comfortably, were especially cherished, and he would always gather by his side to chat, seeking the other's presence around the guesthouse whenever he had free time.
However.
He often worried if his frequent disturbances might cause Baimu to become impatient and annoyed, even though the latter never showed such attitude and would even smile and say "You've come" when seeing him.
Mann Chong felt this was the happiest period since he returned from the Kanto.
Whenever Baimu's Pokémon learned new moves, and his Pokémon also gained new insights, the shared joy of growth left him delighted.
"Fierce rival" is wonderful!
Having someone to move forward with is such a delightful thing!
Sweeping away past gloom, Mann Chong's personality gradually brightened, and a goal that started a bit vague gradually crystallized in his heart.
When he realized what he was thinking, both excitement and anxiety surged, making him unsure how to convey his thoughts to Baimu, and worried that his set goal might displease the other.
Ultimately, Mann Chong didn't know how Baimu viewed him.
Yet, to better convey his intentions, after several hesitations, he laid it out to the latter.
"I... I think I've found my goal!"
"That's great, what is it?"
"I want to grow as resolutely as you, until one day in the future, I can compete with you for the Ore Region Champion!" After saying this, it felt like drums were beating in Mann Chong's heart, and the sound of his fast heartbeat rang clearly in his ears.
Especially seeing the slightly stunned look on the other's face, he couldn't help but clench his fists.
He cherished Baimu as a friend, yet still chose to lay things out totally, risking being disliked, because he didn't want to deceive himself nor the other.
He intended to gain Baimu's understanding through sincerity.
Mann Chong thought so, but was actually extremely uneasy.
At this moment.
Baimu also responded, very calmly nodding, "That's nice, congratulations."
"...You aren't mad?" Mann Chong cautiously asked.
"Why would I be mad? Being a Trainer means competing with countless people. I'm happy you want to compete with me, because it places me on equal footing with you."
"Huh? I've never underestimated—"
"I know."
Baimu patted Mann Chong's shoulder, saying amidst his flustered expression, "Having rivals is a good thing; it promotes mutual progress. Let's cheer each other on. The Ore Champion is mine for the taking, you'd better be prepared to be knocked down won't recover."
Feeling the warmth from the other's palm, Mann Chong's emotions gradually settled down.
"Indeed!"
He nodded vigorously, "I will definitely work hard!"
Ultimately, Mann Chong really just wanted to follow in Baimu's footsteps and move forward together. Seeing the latter's rapid progress, while igniting his fighting spirit, he worried that one day he wouldn't be able to see Baimu's shadow.
Perhaps the latter is not as good as him right now, but he knows that one day he will be surpassed, surpassed quickly.
[Fierce Rival].
Mann Chong deeply wished he could sit in this position equal to Baimu.
——
Time passed, day by day.
Baimu's Pokémon each gained new achievements.
Joyous.
Among them.
On the third day of learning Meteor Shower.
Zweilous demonstrated its talents as an outstanding kindergarten graduate from Dragon Land, making a breakthrough.
The Dragon Attribute Energy Bullet that pierced the sky blossomed.
With a bang.
Like fireworks, it exploded into dazzling meteors shooting in all directions, akin to tracer rounds, shimmering and crashing to the ground with a rumble, continuously raising dust, forming pits large and small.
Without a doubt, thus far Zweilous had grasped the use of Meteor Shower.
The next step was to improve the precision of Meteor Shower and the layer of ingenuity — releasing Meteor Shower with two heads, but what's the point of doing this?
Without Amplification Techniques or a strong emotional surge, the total amount of Attribute Energy consumed by the technique remains unchanged.
No matter how many Energy Bullets are fired, it won't increase the damage.
The real objective is to increase the number of tracer rounds, raising the chance of the opponent being hit with successive bombardments. Before that, they must overcome the crucial issue of splitting a single Energy Bullet from the chest and abdomen into two.
To avoid the collision and annulment of two Energy Bullets post-explosion is advanced content.
Seeing Zweilous's enthusiastic manner, Baimu didn't say much, seeing it just as enhancing Meteor Shower's experience, accelerating level-ups during spice ups.
With sparring against Pokémon like Garchomp, Zweilous's growth pace also sped up gradually.
Increasingly skilled combat techniques and enthused emotions made Baimu suspect whether this fellow might "evolve early" like Lance's Dragonite, perhaps evolving into Hydreigon even before reaching Level 60?