『Do you know the Announcement Stone Chamber?』
If this person is truly researching the legendary Giants, then they must know about the Announcement Stone Chamber, and then we can naturally continue our exploration.
"Let's hope it goes smoothly."
Baimu nodded quietly to himself.
Any Pokémon enthusiast harbors special feelings for Pokémon like Divine Beasts or Phantom Beasts. Perhaps they're not their preference, but encountering one always leads to an attempt to capture it.
He was no exception.
If he hadn't seen the Ancient Tomb, it wouldn't matter, but since he did, he had to go in and have a look. Whether he could capture Registeel was another issue.
Just mentioning Lugia...
Has Ash Ketchum traveled to Desert City yet?
Baimu and Porygon II have been keeping up with the news in Carlos, even though they really wanted to be part of the storyline in the movie. But if they weren't constantly by Ash's side, it seemed difficult to join in.
After all, the movie didn't have a clear timeline.
Anyway, the tower in Desert City is gone, which will definitely make the news, and for a long time, Hoopa will stay in Desert City to repair the tower.
Then they can fly over directly and ask Hoopa to help them find Lugia.
With Hoopa at that time, appealing to emotions and reason would likely lead it to agree to lend a helping hand.
Baimu felt at ease, leaned back slightly to check other posts, unaware that his head seemed to rest on something soft and cushy.
He instinctively looked back and met the small triangular eyes of Dragapult, which seemed a bit flustered.
"Ha."
He chuckled and turned around again, leaning back without saying anything.
Not needing to explain the situation allowed Dragapult to breathe a sigh of relief slightly as it looked at the back of Baimu's head, recalling that gentle smile that bore warmth, and felt more at ease.
Hence, it no longer moved around as much, not even using invisibility, allowing Baimu's head to rest on it, and then quietly moved closer to look at the completely incomprehensible phone screen with its triangular eyes.
The screen was colorful and even made sounds, which it found quite interesting, having secretly peeked for quite some time.
Meanwhile, Baimu, scrolling through his phone, was utterly absent-minded.
He never expected the relationship with Dragapult to progress so quickly in just a day, from close proximity to using its tail as a headrest.
He couldn't have imagined this yesterday.
Thinking back now, those three Pokémon Hunters truly rescued him from distress, seeing his delayed attempts to establish a friendly relationship with Dragapult and taking the initiative to intervene.
Baimu felt immensely grateful and hoped these individuals would stay locked up for a long time.
The next day.
The rain stopped.
The sky was washed clean and bright.
Baimu had not yet received a reply from that person.
So he returned to Route 120 with Absol, whose leg injury had healed, heading back to the buried site of the Ancient Tomb.
"Suu?"
Absol was perplexed as to why he constantly sought danger.
"Because there are things I'm concerned about."
He sent out Steelix to dig away the soil in front of the door, confirming that the Braille on it was intact and that there were no signs of being blown up around it, exhaling slightly.
Fortunately, no one was lurking behind to take the fruit of their labor.
Yesterday, encountering those three unexpectedly left him little time to come up with other ways to enter. Reality wasn't a game, and it might not allow him to drill a hole into the walls of the Ancient Tomb.
"Use Dig! Start digging from the side!"
Baimu spoke, inexplicably feeling like a tomb raider.
The Ancient Tomb should count as a historical relic, right? Digging a huge hole beside it might not be a good idea...
While pondering this, Steelix already raised its drill-like tail and poked it into the wall, appearing as if it would directly penetrate it.
The sound was extraordinarily loud.
Thud!
The ground trembled slightly, the still-damp sand had a tendency to flow downward, startling Absol.
And then—
The dig didn't work.
Despite being an ordinary stone wall, Steelix's tail couldn't drill through it, and this guy could dig thousands of meters down with its tail, even through the hardest rock layers.
No one expected a wall built from a few stones to resist being dug through; Baimu couldn't believe the wall was fine.
"Guess I can't be a tomb raider."
He muttered to himself.
He also thought that he might need to find the Announcement Stone Chamber, and according to the game's process, only then could the Ancient Tomb and other sealed Divine Pillar locations be opened.
Well, that complicates things.
Forget it.
We'll talk about it later.
Baimu glanced at the impenetrable wall and decided to postpone the ancient tomb exploration until after the Ever Grande Conference—
The Announcement Stone Chamber is something for after the league second round anyway.
He instructed Steelix to bury the ancient tomb, then patted the head of the big white-haired cat beside him, "Can you do me a favor?"
"Sowuu!"
Absol nodded without hesitation.
"Keep an eye on this hillside, if heavy rain exposes this mound, help bury it again. If anyone comes, don't stop them. Observe their situation and tell me when I come back."
Baimu pulled out a handful of Poké Blocks from his pocket.
Absol glanced at the Poké Blocks, then looked up at the human in front of him, opened its mouth wide, and swallowed them all, nodding afterward.
Consider it a promise.
"Thanks!"
He smiled and patted Absol's head.
——
Parting ways with Absol.
Baimu continued his journey to Shuijing City, and soon arrived at Route 121.
Compared to Route 120, the direct path to Shuijing City on Route 121 isn't as long, but what's important is that there are significant special places both to the north and south.
To the north, the legendary Hunting Zone—
Also known as the "Trainer's Paradise."
By paying a set fee, one can receive thirty Hunting Balls and capture various Pokémon in the Hunting Zone without any constraints, as long as it's direct ball throws.
Pokémon battles are definitely not allowed.
Ash Ketchum once caught thirty Tauros in Kanto's Hunting Zone, and his Tauros later appeared in battles, even managing a tie with the Frontier Brain's ace Metagross.
Thinking back to the trio of Kingler, one can only marvel at how well Dr. Da Mu cultivates Pokémon.
Baimu initially had some interest in Hoenn's Hunting Zone, but after reading online that it was filled with common Pokémon like Oddish and Gloom, the only rare ones being Psychic-type Pokémon like Natu and Xatu, he lost interest instantly.
At least Kanto's Hunting Zone hides a Dratini.
To the south of Route 121 is the famous God-sending Mountain, where many Trainers choose to bury their deceased Pokémon.
Furong once invited Baimu to visit God-sending Mountain, claiming he could see the Spirit Realm there...
Although curious, he decided to discuss it after the Ever Grande Conference.
He headed straight for Shuijing City.
Upon reaching the city outskirts, the number of pedestrians and vehicles increased noticeably.
The Trainer aura radiating from Baimu naturally led a passing wild Trainer to stop him and request a Pokémon battle.
He gladly accepted.
But when the opponent released a Ghost Attribute mummy-like one-eyed Pokémon, Dusclops, Baimu stood still, calling out:
"Over to you!"
The wild Trainer clenched their fist in anticipation, then scratched their head after a few seconds.
"...Where's your Pokémon?"
"It's already here, just keeping invisible." Baimu said sincerely.
"Invisibility!"
The wild Trainer instantly became vigilant, scanning the environment with Dusclops, but both saw nothing after a lengthy look.
The trainer became a bit frustrated.
"Are you fooling—"
Before finishing, a three-headed salamander with black and dark green hues suddenly appeared behind Dusclops, ready to unleash a terrifying blue breath.
"Dragapult! Use Misfortune Never Comes Alone!"
Baimu's voice echoed in Dragapult's ears, which hesitated for a moment, but couldn't stop its mouth from spraying!
Bang!
The massive blue fireball smashed into Dusclops's back, sending it flying high.
As it hit the ground, its single scarlet eye was already covered by cross eyes.
The wild Trainer was utterly shocked.
Dragapult looked down in deep conflict, a bit reluctant to meet Baimu's gaze, worrying he'd be angry.
Actually, it wasn't anger that mattered, but that after he got angry, Dragapult wouldn't know what to do. Should it console Baimu? Apologize? It didn't even know how to start!