After watching the recent Gym battle, he couldn't help but wonder if he would become as strong if he chose to travel instead of staying in the Gym as an apprentice.
Faced with this question, Baimu didn't hesitate much and shook his head, saying frankly, "I don't know."
"...Huh?"
Shouta was momentarily stunned.
He had imagined many possible responses from the other party, whether it be mockery or encouragement, but... not knowing?
"Everyone's experiences are different, and I'm not a prophet, so I can't predict your future achievements," Baimu paused for a moment, then asked, "Do you want to travel?"
"...Yes."
Shouta hesitantly nodded.
He hadn't just thought of this today; he was just reluctant to leave his work at the Gym, as it was hard-earned.
Besides, having never left Verdanturf City, he was somewhat confused about traveling, so he kept it inside his heart.
Baimu was a bit surprised.
He initially thought Shouta was like Ash Ketchum, a carefree and passionate teenager, but hadn't expected such complex inner turmoil.
If it were Ash Ketchum, he might have chosen to travel with his eyes closed, right?
"Just do what you think is right."
He patted the other's shoulder, "No need to overthink."
"Doing what's right..."
Shouta muttered to himself, and by the time he came to his senses, the latter had already disappeared with Mawile.
——
Leaving the Pokémon Center.
Baimu headed straight for Kili's secret base.
Honestly, the Gym Battle with Naqi was much easier than he imagined, and Blissey and the others barely took any damage—
They weren't even hit a few times.
However, through this battle, he also found several areas that needed improvement.
For example, Milotic's technique pool wasn't deep enough, and Mawile's output was quite limited even with its brute force and Machamp, while Blissey was nearly in complete form.
"Earth's Surface" compensates for its close-combat shortcomings...
But there are still many techniques it can learn.
"Step by step, a debt-ridden body doesn't crush," Baimu recalled the resisting Dragapult, and his heart settled down.
The tasks were piling up like a small hill.
No need to rush.
Soon, he arrived at Kili's secret base, only to find that the guy seemed to have found two more "students," and was clumsily teaching them the methods of secret power.
"All done with the battle?"
Kili's eyes lit up slightly upon seeing him.
"Yeah... If you're busy, I'll come back tomorrow," Baimu glanced at the two distressed scapegoats and Pokémon, realizing that he wasn't the only one aware of the guy's unreliable teaching skills.
"Join us! It won't interfere!"
Kili waved generously, "You can just review along!"
Review, my foot!
He simply explained his purpose—to inquire about setting up the secret base, as given Porygon II's special nature, learning secret power wouldn't take more than a few days.
Knowing the content in advance would help save time.
Kili hesitated a little and glanced at the other two. Despite his clumsy teaching ability, he was still responsible, and it was undoubtedly time for the latter two's guidance.
The two quickly said, "We'll just self-study! Self-study is fine!"
"...Alright."
The blond youth from Unova had no choice but to agree.
The two returned to a large tree.
"Not every environment can be used with secret power to create a secret base."
Kili discussed as he talked, "Usually, there are three places suitable for creating a secret base—cliff faces in the mountains: stone caves; tree trunks or branches: treehouses; and sufficiently vigorous shrubs: gardens."
He patted the large tree in front of them, "Treehouses are divided into two types, one that uses secret power to hollow out the trunk, and the other that is built in the treetops. Large-diameter trees like this one are very suitable for the former. You can try... um, it seems your Pokémon hasn't learned secret power."
Baimu nodded.
"Well, then let me demonstrate again," Kili released Flygon and ordered, "Use secret power on the tree! Create a secret base!"
"Raaah!"
Flygon raised its claws, bent down, and gently pressed on the trunk, a white light shone, the trunk quickly sunk in, and a dark hole appeared.
A few seconds later, it raised its body.
"Raaah!"
"It's done." Kili motioned and took out a flashlight from his pocket to illuminate inside the tree hole, "Come and see inside, isn't it already constructed?"
Baimu leaned in and looked around for a couple of times; indeed, as he said, there was now an area of about thirty square meters inside.
"Just by learning secret power and using it on the trunk, you can automatically create such a space? No other crucial points?"
"Other crucial points? There aren't any."
Kili shook his head.
"..."
He was inclined to believe it, and then said, "If not creating a secret base in these three places, what happens if you use it in a hotel room's living room?"
Zeroth Machine had once created an alternate space enveloping the living room. He initially guessed it was made with secret power and hoped to confirm this through Kili.
The latter replied upon hearing this, "In the living room? The secret base made in such a way would be unstable and could collapse at any time—why bother creating a secret base in the room? Isn't it redundant!"
"I once encountered a wild Pokémon, it broke into my hotel room and isolated me and my Pokémon with an alternate space, is this possible?"
"Ah~ If that's the case, it is indeed possible; you don't have to worry next time, that kind of space won't last more than a few minutes and will disassemble itself. Like I said, it's unstable." Kili assured him.
Baimu nodded knowingly.
After that, Kili also showed him how other types of secret bases were constructed.
The stone cave secret base on the cliff face was fairly normal; the secret base in the shrub garden and the one in the treetops were similar to the alternate spaces Zeroth Machine had created before.
Just more stable, not prone to collapse at will.
Baimu asked for the reason, and Kili told him that these two places met the criteria of being hidden enough—the essence of secret bases lies in the word 'secret.'
Honestly, it was a little abstract, but relatively understandable.
Soon it was evening.
Baimu, satisfied with all the information about secret bases, left.
With this knowledge, creating secret bases in the wilderness wouldn't be a concern anymore.
Returning to the hotel.
To celebrate successfully obtaining the White Feather Badge, Baimu made an exceptionally sumptuous dinner to reward the heroes of today's battle.
Hydreigon was not very happy.
Because, in the original plan, it was supposed to be part of the Gym battle, not with the same priority as the first three, but it was supposed to participate too!
Why were you guys so strong? Wouldn't it be better to struggle a little?
It glared angrily at Blissey and the other three Pokémon, receiving a Big Battle from Mawile.
Slap!
"Chomp!"
You've got some nerve lately, huh?
Don't think I'll stop hitting you just because you've evolved!
Mawile glared at Hydreigon, having beaten it into shape since it was young, even though only a few months had passed, it left an indelible scar on the latter's young mind.
So even though the latter dared to challenge Aggron's flagship status, being glared at by Mawile still made it scared.
"Whisper..."
Hydreigon, feeling wronged, squeezed and rubbed over to the Trainer, like a bullied big dog.
"Alright, alright."
Baimu soothed it a bit, casting his gaze on Dragapult, who was eating quietly on the periphery.
As if sensing the attention, Dragapult quietly vanished, leaving only the continual disappearance of food in the bowl proving it was still there.