This old brother, for the convenience of collecting stones, kept swapping the championship title with his good friend Mikoli, who likes hosting the Mikoli Club. Although I don't know why he took back the championship again...
Anyway, it's clear that even though he's only in his twenties, he already has the idea of cultivating successors.
And he's passionate about finding successors for other retiring Four Heavenly Kings.
Upon hearing the explanation.
Da Wu, perhaps pretending or truly with a bit of regret, quietly sighed.
"Well, Mr. Da Wu, is that rock really the sleeping Jirachi?" Baimu shifted the topic again.
When talking about topics of interest, Da Wu, who was a bit disappointed earlier, became excited again, a smile appearing on his face, "I feel it's necessary to start by talking about its surface patterns..."
Afterwards.
Da Wu talked endlessly for what seemed like ten minutes.
He eventually reached a conclusion.
This thing is indeed the sleeping Jirachi, but why Jirachi sleeps for a thousand years, echoing with the comet from outer space, is another problem that needs research.
"It might be a bit presumptuous to say this, but I hope you can allow us to study the Wishing Star."
Da Wu persuaded, "With the technological strength of De Wen Company, we might figure out the secret of Jirachi's slumber, allowing it to awaken without waiting a thousand years, or even uncover the power enabling it to fulfill wishes...
"Of course, I'm not forcing you, nor do I intend to take the Wishing Stone for myself. We only need half a year."
Hearing this, Baimu couldn't help but glance at the Wishing Stone.
If the sleeping Jirachi could react to his words, he would most likely ask for Jirachi's wish...
But given the situation now, Jirachi is sleeping soundly, completely isolated from the outside world. In just half a year, can he create a miracle like making an unbreakable stone break through?
Not very realistic.
"Of course. Why would you say otherwise?" Baimu agreed.
After all, even if Jirachi were awake, whether it would accept him is still a problem, as most Mythical Pokémon possess strong subjective initiative and choose humans as partners of their own accord.
The Wishing Star's requirement is pure-hearted children.
Am I pure-hearted?
It's worth questioning.
Seeing the permission granted, Da Wu's smile widened.
"Thank you. It's getting late; I hear you're currently challenging the Gorgeous Competition? If that's the case, I won't disturb you... and Lei Gong." He glanced at Lei Gong, who was waving its tail on the carpet in the distance, and his smile suddenly became a bit odd.
Though Baimu repeatedly emphasized that the two of them weren't in the typical Trainer-Pokémon relationship, based on their actual behavior...
He wasn't sure what to say.
Lei Gong seemed to sense Da Wu's teasing demeanor and felt a bit annoyed inside, its tail swinging more vigorously, expressing its current mood.
This Little Ghost has been getting more and more presumptuous recently, and my continuous tolerance has only resulted in even greater audacity!
Just wait.
The Hoenn Champion will fix you later.
Suddenly, it rose and headed toward the bedroom, and before leaving, it gave Baimu a look as if saying, "You deal with this."
For some reason, Baimu felt a chill on his skin and couldn't help but rub his arms. He tried to persuade Da Wu to stay, "It's so late, where are you planning to stay? The train has surely stopped running, so just crash at my place for the night—"
"No need, a helicopter will come to pick me up."
Da Wu smiled and shook his head, cutting off Baimu's half-spoken words.
He's young.
Not only is he a Champion, but he's also Brother Fu, one of Hoenn's top figures, having both money and status at the pinnacle. Forget about the early hours; having a helicopter ready 24/7 is just standard procedure.
"Take care..."
Baimu weakly watched as Da Wu packed up the Wishing Star, Fire Stone, and the Flaming gem, and jumped onto Metagross's head.
"You have four badges already, right? Since Mikoli is currently the Gym Leader of the Glazed Gym, you should wait until collecting seven badges before going. This would help assess your strength before the tournament. I'll look forward to your performance in the Battle of the Glazed Gym."
Da Wu remarked with a smile, then left with Metagross.
Shortly after.
The Altered-color Metagross burst into a silver-glimmering meteor, disappearing at the edge of the night.
Baimu stood on the lawn, watching it depart until Aggron stepped beside him, put a paw on his shoulder, and growled deeply, snapping him out of his daze.
"Yo! Big warm dude, thanks for your hard work!"
He reached out and petted the silver-glimmering side of Aggron's face, feeling the uneven pits and various scratches, and oddly felt a calmness inside.
With more members joining the team, the most noticeable change was the decreased attention towards the latter.
But this is inevitable; he has to distribute his energy to other Pokémon since he doesn't know Shadow Clone.
Luckily, Aggron has a gentle and tolerant personality, not only never blaming him but also taking the initiative to look after the Pokémon he might have otherwise neglected.
Just like the Shiny Feebas.
Every time Baimu intended to change its water, he found it already changed, and through conversing with the Shiny Feebas, he found out that Aggron woke up every morning to help change the water.
Unavoidably, there was a little sense of emotion.
Although Aggron helped quite a bit before, this time there's an inexplicable feeling that quietly, the child has grown up.
"Roar~"
Aggron's light blue eyes curved into crescent moons, its enormous figure shimmering under the moonlight.