The key is its good eyesight, having the trait of [Sharp Gaze], making it handy to go to the pier for some fries.
It's now being used by Mura to look for his granddaughter who often goes to the mountains to train.
Baimu looked up at the Wingull circling in the sky, "..."
Training in the mountains?
Without communication devices?
...These Gym Leaders are all so unique.
It seems that obtaining the Flame Badge will inevitably come with challenges.
"Thank you."
He bowed slightly to Mura and proceeded in the direction indicated by the Wingull in mid-air.
Meanwhile, as Baimu pursued his human mobile badge.
Jagged Pass.
"Jet Flame!"
"Magu!"
A jet of flames spewed from the Slugma-like Pokémon's mouth, fiercely blasting the large rock nearby.
Boom!
The surface of the rock blackened and cracked visibly before suddenly shattering explosively with a "boom," scattering countless fragments all over.
"Meige! Well done!"
A young woman with ponytails resembling spider lilies beamed as she approached the Slugma, rubbing its head back and forth.
Even though those two fiery brows licked at the back of her hand repeatedly, it seemed as if she didn't notice.
No doubt about it.
This was none other than Yasha, the Lavaridge Gym Leader who went up the mountains without a phone for meditation, along with her Slugma nicknamed "Meige".
She aspired to gain her grandfather Mura's approval, aiming to achieve results comparable to or beyond his accomplishments, frequently coming to Chimney Mountain for training and battling other Trainers.
Unfortunately, she was still far from her grandfather's level.
The Pokémon's growth rate wasn't as fast as it once was.
It seemed to have hit a bottleneck.
"Should I capture new Pokémon?" Yasha mused, touching her face and bowing her head in thought.
Suddenly.
In the very far distance, a yellow figure flashed by.
She raised her head, then rubbed her eyes, "Am I seeing things? Was that Lei Gong? Meige! Did you see it? Wasn't that Lei Gong just now passing by?"
"Magu..."
Slugma sounded a bit uncertain; it didn't know what Lei Gong was, but indeed a yellowish thing sped past at the end of the vision, undoubtedly a Pokémon.
"—Chase!"
After a brief hesitation, Yasha decided to pursue Lei Gong who disappeared from sight.
Though she specialized as a Fire Attribute Gym Leader, capturing Electric Attribute Pokémon wasn't conflicting; even her grandfather had a Water plus Flying Attribute Wingull.
Slugma squirmed like magma chasing the footsteps of its Trainer.
The two swiftly traced Lei Gong's tracks.
Chimney Mountain, the tallest active volcano in the Hoenn Region, sprawls 24 kilometers north to south and 18 kilometers east to west, making its circumference roughly 120 kilometers, with surrounding areas spanning 250 square kilometers.
The summit perpetually enveloped in mist consistently provides geothermal resources to Lavaridge Town and beyond, while Fallarbor Town on the backside thrives on fertile volcanic ash for agriculture.
Yasha was exceedingly familiar with this mountain, having grown up here where she first encountered her Pokémon Torkoal; thus, even if Lei Gong went ahead, she shouldn't lose track—
In theory.
"Lost track?"
Yasha gazed at the bare, red mountain path, a mix of bewilderment and disbelief; Lei Gong's footprints inexplicably vanished on the ground, as if soaring into the sky.
A Chimney Mountain girl losing track of Pokémon from another region on her own territory...
Is this even plausible?
"Ah... lost track!"
Yasha scratched her hair continuously, somewhat frustrated.
If she hadn't spotted Lei Gong, she wouldn't feel this way, but having seen the Legendary Pokémon here and losing track of it halfway... it's utterly distressing.
Slugma glanced at its Trainer, turning into a uniformly spread puddle on the ground to sense carefully.
"Magu!"
It let out a soft sound, as if having discovered something, flowed like magma towards a certain direction.
Yasha's gaze followed Slugma's movement, watching it as it "collided" with a rock wall, yet instead of splattering like mud, it disappeared.
In the next moment, Slugma emerged back from within the "rock wall."
"Ah! A fake wall!"
Yasha suddenly realized, conjecturing the reason Slugma could identify the fake wall, "Is there magma inside here?"
"Magu!"
Slugma nodded.
Customarily slumbering near magma, it wasn't skilled at searching for other things; locating magma was a fundamental instinct.
But come to think of it.
Who would construct a fake wall here that even led Lei Gong inside?
Yasha hesitated briefly, yet still decided to go inside.
Partly due to her yearning for Lei Gong, partly due to curiosity regarding whatever might be inside; Gym Leaders also have the duty to safeguard town peace. A regular person might choose to ignore, but she had to set an example.
Just as she prepared to enter, a massive figure mixed with cyan and blood-red charged out from within.
Fortunately, she had quick reflexes, rolling aside just in time to avoid collision.
Upon lifting her head, Yasha found a rather robust Salamence had burst from the cave, with a short-haired girl in a black uniform, perched on Salamence's back with a Whismur, laughing heartily.
"I'm not the one you want to chase! Give it up!"
With those words.
"Roar!!"
Lei Gong leapt from the cave, roaring with lightning sparking across its body, a thick Thunder bolted forward, puncturing the air with a deafening blast!