Electric sparks flew from the rosy cheeks of the latter, quickly bouncing back and forth in hopes of touching the former.
However, although the altered-color Milotic was large, it was agile enough to dodge Pichu's continuous pounces.
"Go, Pichu!"
Pichu's Trainer, a little girl in a floral dress, kept cheering it on, believing that as long as the Rubbing Cheeks move could hit the altered-color Milotic, it would lay a solid foundation for subsequent attacks.
Her Coordinator Trainer mentor had taught her as much.
But clearly, this child hadn't listened carefully in class, especially to the advice not to waste too much energy on attacks that wouldn't hit.
"Pi...pi..."
Sure enough, Pichu soon couldn't run anymore, panting heavily and looking as if it might pass out from running too much.
Baimu smiled slightly, "Water Flow Ring."
"Migo~"
The altered-color Milotic stopped its evasive movements, and three azure water rings emerged from its body, quickly intertwining and transforming into a thick water ring that suddenly expanded to strike Pichu.
The little girl screamed, "Pichu, dodge quickly!"
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Pichu was hit by the expanding water ring, flung like a thrown doll, rolling to the feet of her Trainer, its eyes rolling back as it fainted.
The water ring, at the moment of expansion, burst into countless tiny, crystalline droplets, reflecting dazzling light under the sun, faintly forming a brilliant rainbow, eliciting gasps of admiration from the onlookers.
Hopefully, the Mikoli Club event would have such good weather too.
"Migo~"
"Well done."
Baimu gently stroked the neck of the altered-color Milotic; they had been practicing the Water Mist Technique to create rainbows for a long time.
After all, this trick, like Milotic, is akin to a hidden secret in the Gorgeous Competition. As long as there's a natural miracle like a rainbow, scores would definitely not be low.
In the animation, Musashi almost got a perfect score using a machine-created rainbow, only to be disqualified once it was exposed.
"Mr. Baimu, thank you for your guidance..."
The little girl opposite, holding the Pichu that had recovered from its faint, said dejectedly.
Baimu smiled and said, "It's not really guidance. Your Pichu has great perseverance. As long as you nurture it well, it will definitely become stronger in the future!"
"Really?" The little girl abruptly looked up, her eyes full of little stars.
"Of course!"
Baimu extended his hand to her, "Let's battle again next time."
"Okay!" The little girl shook his hand excitedly, her eyes filled with admiration.
The surrounding onlookers mostly showed approval; Coordinator Trainers generally disliked head-to-head confrontations and eagerly sought friendly exchanges.
There are indeed aggressive ones, like Harry and Wula La in the original plot, but they are extremely rare. Not to mention, Wula La reached enlightenment, and Harry in the original story no longer envied Xiaoyao.
Therefore, more Coordinator Trainers are courteous individuals like Xiaowang and Shangzhi, and the personalities of Xiaoyao and Xiaoguang also exemplify the Coordinator Trainer community.
Although Baimu's reputation is large, few know his true character. Now seeing how he could communicate so amicably with a novice Coordinator Trainer, people gained more respect for him, no longer considering him unworthy of his reputation.
In contrast, the proportion of annoying Trainers is higher, with an exaggerated gap between the upper and lower limits.
Why say this?
Because someone was about to embody it.
"Laughable, is this called a battle? The power of a Water Flow Ring is so weak yet still defeats you? Coordinator Trainer? More like playing house! Hahaha!"
A group of Bosozoku dressed in biker styles pushed aside the crowd, approaching Baimu and the little girl.
Leather jackets, studded boots, with Mohawk hair and a few tattoos, after the Magma Team and Ocean Team had washed their hands of bad deeds, these low-end guys became rampant again.
Of course, most of them would do no major evil, at most scaring people and using Pokémon battles to bully others.
There was still a long way to go compared to the riff-raff of Pyrite Town.
Baimu stepped forward, pulling the somewhat fearful little girl behind him, then looked down on these troublemakers from above. His nearly 1.9-meter height was sufficient to look down on these guys who barely reached 1.7 meters.
"Anything you need?"
His physique cast a large shadow over these unfriendly visitors.
The group of rebels was somewhat intimidated by his height and cold expression, but the Mohawk leader, keeping in mind that his subordinates were watching, couldn't back down, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Dare to Pokémon battle?"
"...Should have said so earlier."
Baimu stepped back and cheerfully patted the Mohawk's shoulder, "If you want to battle, just say so. No need to talk in ways that might cause misunderstanding, right?"
"Tch!"
The Mohawk tried to slap Baimu's hand away, but he easily dodged it, making the situation more awkward, "Beat me first, then say anything else!"
The other rebels immediately ignored the stares of onlookers and started cheering loudly.
"Ohoho! Boss, knock him out!"
"Show him the might of our Huangchuan Rampage Team!"
"Hey, that guy's kinda handsome..."
"Yu, Yu Meizi? You can't be fooled by that face! Pokémon strength is what really matters!"
Setting aside the discord among the rebels...
"It's okay."
Baimu reassured the little girl and encouraged her to watch the show from the side, then he and the Mohawk each found a position, looking at each other from afar.