N left.
Baimu ate his breakfast without tasting anything.
Back when they fought side by side, everyone got along well; a common enemy drove everyone to huddle together.
Yet once the enemy was gone, contradictions inexplicably surfaced. Even if everyone was kind-hearted and had no bad intentions, in the end, clashing stances would still lead to disputes.
After all.
Some good deeds are relative; there isn't that much win–win to fight for in this world, and things usually end with one side compromising, or both sides compromising.
In principle, for the harmonious development of the Ore Region, Baimu ought to persuade N to agree to the Rescue Organization's plan.
But could he guarantee that all Ore People who obtained Pokémon would treat them well?
Would everyone be willing to spend the time and effort to heal the Pokémon whose hearts had been deeply wounded?
Even Trainers in the mainstream regions can't manage that; the tough and rough Ore People are even less likely to, and at that point they'd inevitably have to pay far more manpower and resources to handle all sorts of conflicts between humans and Pokémon.
The main issue right now actually lies in the burden that hundreds of thousands of Pokémon place on the Ore Region.
Pokémon that can't be self-sufficient need N and the Rescue Organization to provide supplies. Otherwise, they're already unsuited to the Ore environment, and if they can't even fill their stomachs, a riot is inevitable.
Back in the era when Pokémon were called Demon Beasts, riots were synonymous with catastrophe.
The Rescue Organization is trying to share the cost with ordinary Ore citizens. The overall living standard of Ore People may not yet rival that of the mainstream regions.
But for some wealthy families, raising one or two Pokémon is still very easy.
N is unwilling to do that; he wants Pokémon to remain free, and to do that he needs bargaining chips in negotiations with the Rescue Organization.
It's just that without the channels provided by the Rescue Organization, even with money there's no way to transport that much food into Ore from the outside world.
The simplest solution would be to somehow create a huge forest that can at least support the survival of most Pokémon.
If their survival no longer depended on the Rescue Organization, N wouldn't be as repulsed when weighing certain matters.
With no bargaining chips in hand.
No matter how much goodwill the Rescue Organization showed, it would only make N more wary.
"There's really a lot to sort out."
Baimu downed the last mouthful of MooMoo Milk and suddenly realized that it was precisely because he had walked away back then that everything had piled up into a mountain of tedious issues by the time he came back.
But he did not regret it.
It was only by going to Hoenn that he could grow to where he was today; staying in Ore would have left him like Ying Yuan, knowing nothing about the various tactics and breeding techniques used outside.
He stood up and found Dragapult, who was hiding among the other Pokémon, and asked, "Let's go look for the Spirit Realm entrance, yeah?"
"Waddles..."
Dragapult shrank back, hesitantly glancing at Porygon II.
Sharp as ever, Porygon II cooperatively dove into the phone and took on the role of interpreter.
Only after its relay did Baimu realize that this matter was indeed not as simple as he'd imagined. Just like he'd told Shanren earlier, the Spirit Realm entrance is not a tangible door.
It can be the nonexistent Room 1608 of Mauville Hotel, or a mysteriously appearing deep-sea whirlpool off Glazed City, or even a tattered glass bottle drifting over from the far side of the sea.
Ordinary people can't see it, because it doesn't exist in the real-world dimension; only under extremely special circumstances can it be observed.
For example, the ancient text Baimu obtained earlier.
That was the "password" for Mauville Hotel's Spirit Realm entrance.
Spirit Mediums, on the other hand, can force the Spirit Realm entrance to reveal itself through other means.
Dragapult cannot know its exact position, only the general direction, and it's also sensed innumerable lost Souls clogging the Spirit Realm entrance completely.
Even if they reach the "reality" where the Spirit Realm entrance lies, without a way to break through those lost Souls, they still won't be able to get close to the entrance.
"Then..."
Baimu had just opened his mouth when Dragapult shook its head frantically, cutting him off with a preemptive refusal. To it, the dead and the living made no difference.
What's more, the Souls here are all more terrifying than the last to a dragon.
Seeing its head about to shake itself into an electric fan, Baimu had no choice but to look at the Gengar beside him and ask, "Gengar, do you have any way?"
Gengar looked utterly confused.
It seemed to know nothing about the Spirit Realm entrance.
Porygon II thoughtfully checked in with the Dragapult Brand shaking machine, then explained—not every Ghost Attribute Pokémon can sense the existence of the Spirit Realm.
Ghost-type Pokémon belong to a special form of life that exists between life and death; only those individuals that skew toward death are more sensitive to the Spirit Realm.
What does "skew" mean?
According to Dragapult, those that have lived for long periods in graveyards, lightless groves, or are in intimate contact with Souls lean toward death. Conversely, Ghost-type Pokémon that interact too much with the living and spend long stretches in places brimming with life lean toward life.
In the past, it had always lived near the cemetery, heavily steeped in deathly aura, so it was extremely sensitive to Spirit Realm entrances.
Now that it had been in touch with Baimu more and more, staying among crowds day in and day out, its sense for Spirit Realm entrances had slowly begun to dull.
Knowing the general location was already its limit.
"Ghost-type Pokémon even have that kind of quirk."
Baimu frowned, thinking that this really ought to be handled by a professional.
He sent what Dragapult had said over to Shanren, along with the rough coordinates, and didn't mind when there was no reply.
The first thing on today's to-do list—
Clock in at the company!
——
After the new planning of Pyrite Town.
The original town center where Pyrite Arena was located was zoned as the commercial district.
Major aid companies set up branches here, renting one distinctive office building after another, and the influx of large numbers of outsiders made the commercial district quite prosperous.