The scene welcomes the morning.
The awakened calligrapher called home and once again solemnly apologized to the curator for both tearing the artwork and knocking it over.
[You have received the curator's forgiveness. The Gym Leader tells you that the next calligraphy competition is coming up and hopes to see a refreshing new work from you.]
[You agree and look forward to future travels even more.]
With the help of a family of girls, the calligrapher successfully arrived at Oreburgh City.
Tasting the strength the environment brought, she did not immediately challenge the Gym but wandered around Oreburgh City instead, even finding an opportunity to descend into the mine.
Only when she had a certain draft in her heart did the calligrapher set off to challenge the Gym and obtain her first badge.
Unfortunately.
Even for the first time, Oreburgh Gym requires participants to have at least three Pokémon to challenge, but the calligrapher, with only a Smeargle and Mime Jr., could not meet the requirements.
At this time, the usual approach for Trainers would be to go into the wild to capture one.
But the calligrapher headed to the suburbs.
The narration appears.
[You come to your home villa located in Oreburgh City, and with the butler's help, welcome your third Pokémon back.]
[You received a Luxray, your childhood playmate—the journey gains a new partner.]
This...
Childhood playmate Luxray?
Female version of James?
Baimu looked at the lion-like Pokémon that appeared at the bottom and thought to himself that [a wealthy family] truly has an extraordinary talent—not only owning a villa in Oreburgh City but also obtaining such a powerful Pokémon from inside.
Is this how rich people play?
The scene changes.
The calligrapher returns to Oreburgh Gym.
Coincidentally, Gym Leader Piaotai had just returned from the mine and accepted the challenge from the calligrapher without much hesitation.
As the Gym Leader of the Rock Attribute Gym, Piaotai's first Pokémon was the immensely imposing Onix, while the calligrapher undoubtedly chose Smeargle.
The Smeargle, "Divine Brush Ma Liang," once again displayed its extraordinary drawing skills.
Faced with the aggressively charging Onix, Smeargle sketched out a tsunami-like wave in just a few strokes. The wave, seemingly conjured from thin air, rose from the ground and surged towards Onix.
The quadruple water-weak Onix couldn't withstand this and fainted immediately.
This magical battle method surprised Gym Leader Piaotai, who quickly released his second Pokémon, Geodude.
Smeargle, doing likewise, painted another wave to defeat Geodude.
The third one was Cranidos.
Though slightly stronger than the first two, it also couldn't withstand Smeargle's two surfs.
[You defeated Oreburgh Gym Leader Piaotai and obtained the Coal Badge.]
[You experienced for the first time the thrill and excitement of a Gym challenge, which, along with previous encounters, inspired a desire to write. You borrowed a workbench from Piaotai and left behind a new character "Coal."]
After completing the character, a heart suddenly appeared on Piaotai's forehead as he watched.
[You weren't particularly satisfied with this character, but hearing that Piaotai liked it very much, you gave it to him out of friendliness.]
A chef cooks dishes, a calligrapher gives characters?
Baimu watched the two of them chatting happily and felt that being a Gym Trainer was truly beneficial, providing ample opportunities for networking.
Though the calligrapher was criticized by the curator, she was well-renowned in the calligraphy world, with genuine skills—not merely relying on family wealth.
Otherwise, she'd never have caught the curator's eye for criticism.
Honestly, it's not impressive; saying more would just be excessive.
Moreover, the calligrapher has already found her direction forward. Her natural talent assures she will make a name for herself in the calligraphy world.
By then, this character will surely be worth its weight in gold!
——
After defeating Oreburgh Gym.
The calligrapher prepared to head to the next Gym location, Hundred Generations City.
But just as she was about to leave, she heard part of the Sinnoh Region's legends—the tales of the Lake Trio—coming from someone at the Pokémon Center.
This piqued the calligrapher's interest.
The characters she wrote were passed down since ancient times, left behind by ancient people who wrote myths.
To derive her true intent from them and feel the perspectives of ancient people might be a worthwhile endeavor. Especially when she noticed on the map that she could stop by Pastoria City on the way, saving an extra trip later, she readily made up her mind.
Passing through Oreburgh Gate, she arrived at Route 203.
The beautiful natural landscape filled the calligrapher with joy. Spur of the moment, she decided to camp temporarily and started writing a copybook with a brush.
Baimu couldn't understand what she wrote, but when he checked on his phone, it seemed to be some type of ancient script from the Pokémon World.
Soon.
While immersed in writing a copybook, the calligrapher suddenly noticed Mime Jr. seemingly imitating her writing, sparking her interest.
[You wanted Mime Jr. to join in, but when you discovered it was very nervous and afraid, refusing, you realized your expression after getting lost yesterday scared it. You apologized and invited it again.]
[You saw Mime Jr. smiling and agreeing, making you relax too, writing while waiting for Mime Jr. to mimic.]
The scene shows one person and one Pokémon writing vigorously on the xuan paper, their actions displaying perfect synchronization, even the pressure of their strokes feeling synchronized.
This intrigued Baimu.
Could Mime Jr. perfectly replicate the calligrapher's characters? If it could, wouldn't it be able to replicate famous paintings too?
The scene shows the calligrapher clearly having the same thought process as him, eagerly going to see Mime Jr.'s work.
——A complete mess.
Seeing the chaotic black lines above the calligrapher's head, Baimu realized he had been overthinking.
[You realize Mime Jr. can only imitate your movements and expressions, but can't successfully imitate your work. You reflect on the worthlessness of such imitation—]
Seeing the narration's words, Baimu raised an eyebrow.
Looking back at the calligrapher, she seemed to have entered a state of realization.
After a brief moment.
The calligrapher slowly returned to her station.
[You realize that while your work may look more beautiful than Mime Jr.'s, in essence, there is no difference; both are just clumsy imitations, showing only form without essence.]
[You once again appreciate the Gym Leader's well-intentioned advice.]
[You search the Illustrated Guide and find that only by learning the "Mimic" move can Mime Jr. evolve into Mr. Mime. This makes you realize that Mime Jr., like you, can only mimic appearance but not essence.]
[You understand that at the moment of learning "Mimic," Mime Jr. will go from a clumsy imitator to a truly excellent Silent Master.]
Realization again?
This is just the first Gym!
Baimu gained a new understanding of the calligrapher's level of genius; it was somewhat inhuman.
In the scene.
The calligrapher took Mime Jr.'s hand, agreeing together to break free from the shackles of imitation and truly grow into an excellent calligrapher and Silent Master.
Such a beautiful scene, yet Baimu noticed the narration delivered this line.
[You and Mime Jr. made a promise, but failed to notice the envious gaze from beside you.]
Envious gaze? Whose?
Luxray or Smeargle?
Baimu's gaze flitted between the other two Pokémon but couldn't find an answer from their pixels.