The roar of Steelix was high-pitched, without hostility and not overly enthusiastic.
Clearly, the visitors were strangers.
Mr. Baimu walked out from the main entrance, seeing two men, one tall and one short, standing outside the courtyard.
The tall one wore a baseball cap, his physique incredibly robust, akin to a bodybuilding champion, with long light brown hair hanging over his shoulders and a dense moustache under his nose.
The shorter one appeared to be around Mr. Baimu's age, with a fairly ordinary appearance but was full of energy.
"Ying Yuan? Ying Ma?"
He was surprised these brothers would come to find him.
The two sides had only met once or twice, during the initial meeting for the reconstruction of Pyrite Town hosted by Shanren, and had little communication.
He recalled that after Pyrite Town was liberated by the Rescue Organization, the Ying Yuan brothers voluntarily handed over the assets accumulated over the years from Pyrite Arena and the Underground City Arena, while also disbanding their subordinates.
As a token of gratitude for their exemplary behavior, the Rescue Organization still entrusted the management of Pyrite Arena to the brothers.
The Underground City Arena was closed for good.
"Mr. Baimu!"
Ying Ma immediately became exceptionally excited upon seeing him, vigorously waving his arms, and shouted, "Welcome back to Pyrite Town! We've been looking forward to it for a long time!"
"Sorry for disturbing you, Mr. Baimu."
Ying Yuan nodded steadily and presented a gift for coming uninvited.
Mr. Baimu promptly pushed away the clingy Hydreigon, smiling and welcoming the two inside, offering tea in the villa's living room.
Ying Ma's eyes lit up, enamored by the gorgeous tea set and aromatic black tea, and he couldn't help but say, "Is this the famous tea set and black tea from Carlos?"
"...It is."
Mr. Baimu was a bit confused about why he was so excited.
A hobby?
Ying Yuan sipped from a teacup that was terribly mismatched to his size, calmly saying, "My brother has longed for other regions for quite some time. I hope Mr. Baimu won't mind."
"You're kidding, but since you long for other regions, why not travel?"
As soon as Mr. Baimu spoke, he suddenly realized something.
Ying Yuan candidly began to explain in detail, "I have always restrained him, disagreeing with him leaving the Ore Region to travel elsewhere, thinking it's a very dangerous thing..."
This owner of Pyrite Arena had witnessed three major upheavals of the Shadow Team, harboring significant insecurity within.
After finally waiting for the complete liberation of the Ore Region and the safety of Pyrite Town, he certainly did not want Ying Ma to venture into unfamiliar places.
If, by chance, Ying Ma inadvertently stumbled into a place similar to Pyrite Town, he wouldn't have any way to rescue him.
Of course.
He wasn't the kind of old stubborn with outdated thoughts, agreeing that if Mr. Baimu could return safely and share his travel experiences, he would let Ying Ma go out.
Besides.
"Please fight my brother in battle! I beg you!"
Ying Ma suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to Mr. Baimu, startling the Mawile near the patio door and waking the peacefully sleeping Galarian Corsola.
A wave of resentment emanated from its body.
Mr. Baimu's mouth twitched as he looked at Ying Yuan and said, "Is this your second request?"
"Exactly, Ying Ma believes traveling can bring him great growth, claiming that staying in Pyrite Town, he would only ever be a Politoed in a well, using Mr. Baimu's achievements as an example..."
Ying Yuan responded, "That being the case, so long as you battle me once, I'd roughly know if letting Ying Ma go out is a boon or bane. Offer any compensation freely, anything I can bring out is all negotiable."
"Please, Mr. Baimu... no, Boss Baimu!"
Eager to leave, Ying Ma directly prostrated himself on the ground in a traditional gesture.
Mr. Baimu quickly helped him up, declaring repeatedly, "No need for that, it's just Pokémon battles, not that big a deal, no need for any formalities! There's a saying out there—'When a trainer's gaze meets, it's a signal for battle,' battling is the most commonplace thing."
"Thank you very much!"
Ying Ma rejoiced.
Ying Yuan didn't speak, merely gazing at the Pokémon in the living room in silence.
The three quickly moved to the battle field in the backyard.
The Aggron watering the trees noticed the expression on Mr. Baimu's face, knowing a battle was about to happen, carefully turning off the faucet and walking over.
The other Pokémon in the villa heard the commotion and gathered together in small groups.
Ying Ma looked at these Pokémon with both envy and anticipation.
"May I ask in advance, does Mr. Ying Yuan know about my experience outside?" Mr. Baimu asked from afar.
Ying Yuan nodded, "Champion of the Alliance Conference and Gorgeous Competition, and recently defeated Genji, the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings, my brother has already passed this on to me."
"Alright then."
He began to feel anticipation.
You should know Ying Yuan is someone even Ergin would not easily provoke, so his strength should not be lacking, and being so calm even after knowing his record, he might be more formidable than imagined.
The arena masters of the Ore Region are roughly equivalent to gym leaders outside, just influenced by the region, there might be significant fluctuations in strength.
The match was agreed to be a three-on-three single battle, which is one of the main formats at Pyrite Arena.
Mr. Baimu's gaze roved over the Pokémon behind him, about to choose, when out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a particular creature had already taken the stage.
"Corsola?"
He was very surprised to see the Galarian Corsola, enveloped in thick black smoke, with its aggressive smoke-like tentacles extended.
This creature had never taken the initiative to fight.
Ah~
Was it startled awake by Ying Ma's voice?
Mr. Baimu smiled silently, fully aware that while Corsola liked to laze around, it actually held grudges, paying them back immediately.