The next morning.
Baimu leaned against the pillow, stroking Deino's head while flipping through Poké Blogger.
But he wasn't interested in the Gorgeous Competition; he was focused on Lugia's whereabouts.
The diver who previously glimpsed Lugia swimming in the ocean depths claimed to live near Martial Arts Town. Many Trainers intrigued by Legendary Pokémon rushed there but couldn't even explore similar waters.
The diver seemed to realize the trouble his actions caused and deleted the video. His blog hasn't been updated for some time; the latest video shows him playing with Swampert.
By watching the diver's videos, Baimu noticed the lush background, but occasionally saw rusty decks.
From this, he almost figured out the location—
The abandoned ship near Waterway No. 108.
Ash Ketchum and his party had been here before, meeting a young man who accidentally lost his Pokémon during an escape. Coincidentally, the lost Pokémon was Swampert.
The Pokémon shown in the past videos, such as Marill, String Ball, and Wooper, confirmed the man's "identity."
Of course, this was purely speculation.
Whether it's true needs to be verified on site. The Pokémon count was so small that there's a chance it was mere coincidence.
"If I truly find it... What's the probability of successfully communicating with Lugia? How likely is it really that Lugia? What are the odds it won't attack me when hearing I come from Ore?"
Baimu felt Ore must be a place of deep sorrow for Lugia; otherwise, it wouldn't have left.
In any case, it's certain he must go and see, regardless of whether he can talk to Lugia; first, he must confirm that Lugia is near Waterway No. 108.
But before setting off.
He plans first to make an essence based on the memories acquired in his dreams.
Essence, like glowing cuisine and other aids to Pokémon, may not have immediate effects, but with persistent use, results will gradually accumulate.
For example, if he had a bottle of Reviving Essence from his memory before entering the Gorgeous Competition, he definitely wouldn't be that nervous before going on stage.
For Deino, it's also an extremely good item. As a Dragon Attribute Pokémon, it may still be calm now, but when it evolves, it will surely become relatively grumpy due to the burden of its great strength.
Reviving Essence helps keep it calm.
He had to admit that this item arrived very timely for Baimu, and once Deino evolves, it will be just the right time to use it.
"Wake up!"
He suddenly flung the blanket aside.
Next to him, Deino raised its head, looking slightly puzzled, with clear drool still at the corner of its mouth, appearing dazedly asleep.
But seeing the Trainer awake, its raised head immediately dropped, hitting the pillow heavily twice.
——
Before leaving the hotel.
Baimu, wearing a duckbill cap, carefully looked around to ensure no one was watching him before striding purposefully elsewhere.
It's not that he's imagining things; many people are indeed looking for him.
Yesterday's Gorgeous Competition only intensified overnight, thanks to a recommendation from the organizers, showing no signs of quieting down.
Honestly, Baimu and Mawile's performance was outstanding, but not enough to warrant such attention.
Once again, the Lucky Scale displayed its effectiveness, bringing him remarkable fame, forcing him to avoid drawing attention when stepping out.
At least until he leaves Kanaz City.
Though Kanaz serves as Hoenn's top metropolis, one major advantage is its convenience in purchasing various items – very few normal products are unavailable if you're willing to look.
Baimu spent two rounds shopping at the mall before finding a store specializing in various essence raw materials. It even provided convenient tools and equipment for crafting handmade essence.
The Essence Shop was crowded, mostly with women, but upon his entry, no one found it peculiar—just a casual glance before returning to browsing.
Baimu relaxed internally and began selecting various raw materials.
Maybe due to cost, the quality seemed poor; he picked up a sample and sniffed, expressing disappointment.
In his dream's memory fragments, his sense of smell was astonishingly acute, distinguishing good from bad immediately. Yet, back in reality, even though visually selecting excellent products, his nose still couldn't respond as clearly as in the dream.
There was quite a discrepancy within his heart.
"Hello, is there anything I can assist with?" A cheerful staff member approached.
Upon hearing this, Baimu took several low-quality raw materials from the shelves, asking if fresher stock was available.
The staff seemed puzzled, ready to claim these were good products when suddenly a voice interrupted.
"I'll take care of this customer myself."
He turned to see that the speaker was a graceful, beautifully fragrant woman, whose presence filled the air with a charming scent. The staff immediately bowed and stepped back upon recognizing her.
From nearby customers' murmurs, Baimu learned the woman was the store owner.
"May I see the materials you're holding?" The female store owner smiled and extended her hand and, after close scrutiny and a sniff, said, "You have quite an eye; these truly aren't fresh goods."
Hmm?
Baimu felt odd hearing this. You offer stale goods and then admit it before customers. What's happening? Is the store closing down?
Indeed, as the shopkeeper spoke, surrounding customers' expressions turned somewhat strange.
"But for most people, this level is sufficient; even fresher can't improve the essence quality. May I ask what kind of essence you intend to create, requiring such high-quality materials?" The shopkeeper spoke unhurriedly.
This calmed the customers' expressions.
Baimu, hearing this, gained insight into the essence field's development—past essence required assurance of raw material freshness to maintain quality.
Now, even without extremely fresh inputs, high-quality essence can still be crafted?
It must be due to using those devices, right?
He glanced at Sister Xiangfen's memory, which lacked devices, saying, "Just regular Reviving Essence... There's no particularly fresh kind?"
"Yes, there is," the shopkeeper signaled a staff member who immediately headed for the warehouse.
The shopkeeper continued, "To my knowledge, Reviving Essence doesn't need such fresh materials... Are you plan crafting it by hand, using traditional methods?"
"Traditional Essence?"
Baimu looked at her, saying, "I'm indeed planning on crafting handwritten essence."
The shopkeeper smiled, "Seems you've just ventured into the handmade essence realm – honestly, no offense intended, but traditionally handcrafted essence and machine-made essence have no difference.
"You don't need to be overly attached to handcrafting; it's like various multi-purpose special Pokeballs, initially manually made by Mr. Steel, but now machine mass-produced indistinguishably, even with more stable quality."
"Yes, indeed."
Baimu nodded, fully agreeing, before adding, "However, I still require fresher materials; I'm fine with paying extra."
He simply couldn't operate those devices, relying solely on handmade skills, worried Sister Xiangfen's product might differ from modern ones; he had to take high-quality raw materials home and research them himself.
The shopkeeper, seeing he couldn't be persuaded, didn't push further, "No need to pay more... I happen to have a ready-made Reviving Essence here. Perhaps you'd buy one to compare with your own, and you'll find no difference."
"Alright, thank you."
Baimu nodded.
As he left with materials and the product, a faint sigh seemed to follow him.
"Sigh... Another kid deceived by misleading online articles, hopefully, he'll soon realize and stop wasting time on such meaningless endeavors."
"Yes, indeed."
"He's quite handsome. Youngsters are getting more and more good-looking."
"Why do I find him somewhat familiar?"
Baimu hastened his pace.