**Chapter 97: I'll Be the Gym Leader?**
The meal was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone, whether it was Bai Feng, Lysandre, or the Pokémon.
After eating their fill, Bai Feng squeezed a glass of juice for Lysandre and himself, and then the two of them sat outside the courtyard gate, spacing out.
A gentle breeze blew, carrying the scent from the Fairy Flower field. In the distance, the layered Orchard swayed its branches and leaves in the wind. Everything looked so beautiful.
Bai Feng said with emotion, "Look, how beautiful this world is. While human nature certainly has its dark side, the world won't change because of it. It remains just as beautiful."
Lysandre fell silent upon hearing this. Bai Feng didn't look at him either, just spoke again, "Do you know what I admire most about you?"
Lysandre looked at Bai Feng with confusion.
Bai Feng continued speaking to himself, "It's your kindness and integrity.
There are many kind and upright people in this world, but few are as pure as you. It is precisely because of this that your heart is so precious and rare.
Perhaps I myself am not a kind person, which is why I particularly admire you. Maybe some people can't see this precious quality, but there will always be someone who can. Perhaps you haven't noticed, but please, you must firmly believe this."
After saying all this, Bai Feng stopped talking. At this moment, he was so embarrassed his toes were curling into the ground.
What nonsense am I spouting!
Lysandre stayed at Bai Feng's place for two days. After that, Bai Feng never brought up anything else with him. Every day, he just took him around to have fun and enjoy delicious food. They visited all the famous tourist spots in Biyi City and tried all the recommended local cuisine.
Bai Feng also took him to Uncle Radish and Aunt Balice's Ranch. There, they had a hearty Gogoat riding competition.
Lysandre's riding skills were quite poor. Not only could he not outrun the two veteran competitors, Uncle Radish and Aunt Balice, he couldn't even outrun Bai Feng. In the end, everyone gave him a round of merciless laughter.
Lysandre himself also burst into laughter. He had never expressed his emotions so freely in public before.
Two days later, Bai Feng saw Lysandre off at the Biyi City Airport. His personal aircraft was already waiting for him.
Before leaving, Lysandre said to Bai Feng with a relaxed expression, "Bai Feng, thank you. I'm very glad I came to visit you. I was very happy these past two days. May our friendship last forever."
Bai Feng nodded and waved at Lysandre, saying, "May our friendship last forever!"
After Lysandre left, Bai Feng returned to his previous routine: attending school, leaving school, tending to the fruit trees, and training Pokémon...
A few days later, the rumors about Lysandre online began to reverse. The reason lay with the young man who posted the video.
He posted another video, detailing his actions and the reason Lysandre withdrew his funding, confessing everything. He even spilled the beans completely about the dealings between him and Lysandre's rival, providing evidence as well.
Clearly, Lysandre had made a move. It was evident he had adjusted his mindset; he solved the problem instantly with one move. As expected of a seasoned business magnate who had spent years in the commercial world.
The appearance of this video caused public opinion online to reverse. In an instant, the young man who posted the video and Lysandre's rival were both cursed out mercilessly, and the target of product boycotts also shifted to the latter.
Finally, Bai Feng heard that the person who posted the video went to prison. As for the outcome for Lysandre's rival, Bai Feng didn't know, but they clearly didn't benefit from it.
By the way, the two days Bai Feng spent with Lysandre were taken as leave, so as soon as Lysandre left, he started frantically catching up on his assignments.
It was truly inhumane.
One day, Buneary suddenly returned from Mr. Bryan's place, carrying its small bundle. Bai Feng came home after school and saw it in the Kitchen making dinner with Hatterene, so he asked in confusion:
"Huh? Buneary, you're back!"
"Miroo~ Miroo~" Mhm, Mr. Bryan said I don't need to go anymore. I've already learned all the techniques I needed to learn. From now on, I just need to hone my skills at Home.
Buneary replied.
"You've already finished your apprenticeship so quickly?" Bai Feng looked surprised.
"Miroo~ Miroo~" Not really. I've only learned the techniques; my craft isn't perfect yet. I still need to practice, keep practicing...
Buneary said with a shy expression.
Bai Feng said with a smile, "It's okay, you can do it. I believe in you. Feel free to use the Berries at Home. Practice hard and strive to become a master soon!"
Buneary fidgeted, feeling shy again, and expressed that it would definitely work hard.
From this day on, Buneary began practicing making Pokéblocks at Home. Bai Feng even specially prepared a dedicated Room for it.
Basket after basket of Berries were sent to Buneary, and can after can of Pokéblocks came out from Buneary.
Buneary made a large quantity of Pokéblocks, but the quality didn't meet the standard for Bai Feng's Pokémon to eat.
Bai Feng could see that the standard of Pokéblocks Buneary made was constantly improving, but there was still a considerable distance to reach the standard edible by Bai Feng's Pokémon.
Bai Feng didn't waste the Pokéblocks Buneary made. He had Hatterene deliver all of them to the Pokémon Shelter for the Pokémon there to eat.
Although Bai Feng's Pokémon didn't eat those Pokéblocks, it was perfectly fine for ordinary Pokémon to eat them. They didn't need special training, didn't need to battle, and didn't engage in high-intensity physical activity. The Pokéblocks Buneary made were already sufficient for them.
Because of this, Hatterene was even more grateful to Bai Feng and took very thoughtful care of him every day.
To reward its diligence and capability, Bai Feng even specially arranged a "private car" for it: a Talonflame.
Whenever Hatterene wanted to go back to the Pokémon Shelter to visit its friends, it could ride the Talonflame back anytime.
As the Fletchinder in the patrol team continued to evolve, a few more Talonflame appeared on Fangxing Mountain.
Buneary also didn't just stay in its Room making Pokéblocks every day. It actually kept in contact with Siebold and would often discuss culinary skill with Siebold using its mobile phone.
Siebold couldn't understand Pokémon language, and Bai Feng didn't know how they communicated exactly. Anyway, he often saw Buneary holding the mobile phone, babbling away with Siebold, and even gesticulating wildly when it got excited.
After every communication session with Siebold, Buneary would go into the Kitchen to showcase its culinary skill. That's when Bai Feng and the others would be in for a treat.
Later, Bai Feng learned that Siebold hadn't been at Home for a while. Not long after Buneary returned Home, he packed his bags, took his Pokémon, and embarked on a traveling journey, honing his skills as a Pokémon Trainer while also practicing his culinary skill.
Even after embarking on his journey, Siebold surprisingly didn't forget to communicate with Buneary.
As time passed, Buneary's culinary skill got better and better. It could be said its progress was rapid; its improvement in making Pokéblocks wasn't even this significant.
Nowadays, the three daily meals at Bai Feng's Home were basically completed by Buneary and Hatterene working together, with Hatterene even just assisting Buneary.
One day, Hatterene once again rode the Talonflame to the Pokémon Shelter to deliver Pokéblocks to its friends. However, when it returned, Bai Feng was surprised to find two extra Pokémon Eggs in its arms.
It cautiously came before Bai Feng and asked Bai Feng if it could keep these two Eggs.
The two Eggs looked similar, both with white shells adorned with blue patterns. Only the density of the patterns was slightly different.
Bai Feng couldn't immediately recognize what Pokémon's Eggs these were.
"Where did you get these two Eggs?" Bai Feng asked in confusion.
"Hatterene~ Hatterene~"
So Hatterene began telling Bai Feng the origin of the two Eggs.
After delivering the Pokéblocks, it rode the Talonflame all the way back without delay. Just as it was about to reach Fangxing Mountain, it saw these two Eggs on the side of the road not far from Fangxing Mountain.
So it brought the two Eggs back.
"You have really good eyesight," Bai Feng said admiringly. "You could even notice two Eggs on the ground while flying in the air."
"Hatterene~ Hatterene~ Hatterene~" The Eggs are white, they were very noticeable lying in the green grass.
Saying this, Hatterene pointed at the Talonflame, indicating that the Talonflame had noticed them first.
Bai Feng wasn't surprised after hearing this. Talonflame's eyesight was indeed outstanding; it could easily see things on the ground even when flying high in the sky.
"You really want to keep these two Eggs?" Bai Feng asked.
"Hatterene~ Hatterene~"
Hatterene nodded repeatedly, its eyes full of pleading.
"But you picked up these two Eggs from the side of the road," Bai Feng asked. "They might belong to someone who lost them. What if their trainer is looking for them?"
Hatterene: ...
It really hadn't thought about this issue.
"Alright then, since you want to keep them, you can keep them for now. However, I'll have the Talonflame keep an eye on the situation by the road. If someone comes looking, you must return the Eggs to them. If no one looks for them, then you can keep them."
Bai Feng said with a helpless expression.
"Hatterene~ Hatterene~" boss, don't worry, I definitely won't neglect my work.
Hatterene was so happy it almost spun in circles.
Bai Feng was speechless: Was I worried you wouldn't work properly?
He didn't understand why it insisted on keeping the two Pokémon Eggs, but then he remembered that Hatterene seemed to be very fond of all young Pokémon, such as Buneary, Larvitar, and Chikorita.
Now, two Eggs had to be added to the list.
Did Hatterene naturally possess a motherly aura?
After that, Bai Feng instructed the Talonflame to keep an eye on the situation by the road.
Several days passed, and no person or Pokémon appeared by the road looking for the Pokémon Eggs. Instead, Hatterene doted on the two Eggs meticulously. It would even take the two Eggs to the Pokémon Center for check-ups when it went to the Pokémon Shelter for something.
Its meticulous care for the two Eggs was almost comparable to how it treated Bai Feng, its boss.
Time slowly moved into December. Bai Feng's school finally started its winter break. Although Biyi City didn't have a real winter and the weather was never cold.
But it was a holiday, so everyone was naturally happy.
After the break started, Bai Feng's available time gradually increased. So, he grabbed some Berries and planned to visit Grandpa Fu.
He hadn't visited Grandpa Fu's place for a while to see the old man. To avoid being told he only showed up when he needed something, Bai Feng couldn't delay any longer.
Just as Bai Feng arrived at the Coupling Gym, he saw Grandpa Fu walking out in a hurry. His eyes lit up when he saw Bai Feng, and he immediately pulled Bai Feng into the Gym, saying:
"You came at just the right time. I was just worrying about not having anyone to help."
Bai Feng was confused: "Huh? What's going on that's making you so anxious?"
Grandpa Fu explained, "A Sheng and I have something to do and need to go to Asakusa Town. There's no one to look after the Gym right now. You can be the temporary Gym Leader for two days."
Bai Feng pointed at himself in surprise, saying, "Me, be the temporary Gym Leader? But I don't have any experience!"
Grandpa Fu said impatiently, "Isn't this giving you a chance to experience it? Besides, this period is the off-season for gym challenges. It's not certain anyone will come to challenge. You can definitely handle it."
"I..." Bai Feng still wanted to say something, but Grandpa Fu directly interrupted him.
"Why are you being so wishy-washy? It's just guarding the Gym for two days. It's settled like this. A Sheng and I are in a hurry to get to the Airport!"
After speaking, Grandpa Fu stuffed the Gym's key into Bai Feng's hand.
"Grandpa Fu..."
In the blink of an eye, Grandpa Fu took A Sheng, carrying luggage, and rode the Tropius far away, leaving Bai Feng alone in the empty Gym, feeling utterly bewildered.
However, just as Grandpa Fu said, it was the off-season for gym challenges at this time. Bai Feng guarded the Gym for a day and didn't see a single challenger come over.
He even ate lunch at the Gym. Bai Ye rode a Talonflame specifically to deliver it to him.
The next day, Bai Feng lingered at Home for quite a while before riding the Talonflame Captain to the Coupling Gym.
However, as soon as he landed, he saw a young girl constantly looking around at the Gym entrance.
Seeing Bai Feng dismount from the Talonflame Captain's back, the girl quickly ran over and asked, "Excuse me... Do you know where the Coupling Gym's Gym Leader went? I want to take the gym challenge."
"Uh... uh... The Gym Leader is out on business. Right now, I'm the temporary Gym Leader. Do you really want to challenge?" Bai Feng asked hesitantly.
"Of course! As long as I can take the gym challenge, it doesn't matter who the Gym Leader is," the girl said as if it were obvious.
"Alright, if you insist."
Hearing this, Bai Feng could only agree and led her inside the Gym.
"Oh, by the way, I still don't know your name," Bai Feng asked as he led the girl towards the Battlefield.
"My name is Mairin, and I'm from the Johto Region," the girl replied.
Bai Feng looked at the girl in surprise upon hearing this. This girl was actually the future Gym Leader of Lumiose City in the Kalos Region.
However, this future Gym Leader was only about ten years old now, looking even younger than Bai Feng.
"Your Home is in the Johto Region, how did you end up coming all the way to the Kalos Region to take the gym challenge?" Bai Feng asked in confusion.
Mairin looked like just a rookie Pokémon Trainer. Normally, they would only travel within their Home region. It was rare for a Pokémon Trainer to cross regions to an unfamiliar place right after starting their journey.
"Ah~ no choice," Mairin said playfully. "My Home moved to the Kalos Region. From now on, I'm a person of the Kalos Region!"
(end of chapter)