"Shabo——"
Cacnea screamed and fell backward.
Its arms and body were covered in frost, and it collapsed with a thud into the field.
"Ah!"
Little Ghost with the Watermelon Hair, frustrated, scratched his head and looked at the Porygon, which had just changed its shape from a gear-like form back to normal, and said in disbelief, "How can it change shapes!?'
"That's the brilliance of Artificial Pokémon, the light of civilization born from human imagination."
Baimu said with a cheerful smile.
"...Saying things I don't understand again."
Little Ghost with the Watermelon Hair pouted, checked Cacnea's condition to make sure it was okay, then picked up two watermelons as big as human heads and shouted, "Let's eat watermelon! Of course, after a battle, it's time to eat watermelon!"
Porygon's deadpan eyes lit up like searchlights.
Watermelon!
It still remembered the first time it defeated Victreebel; the other party invited them to eat watermelon, and as the hero, it received praise from all its companions, which made it very happy.
Will it be the same this time?
"Plop!"
Porygon looked at the Trainer with anticipation.
Having just joined the team, it felt it hadn't made any contributions yet and always hoped to get its companions' recognition.
"Thanks, your watermelon is indeed big and sweet."
Baimu couldn't ignore his Pokémon's earnest eyes, so he soothingly patted its head and sent out his own Pokémon.
"Of course!"
Little Ghost with the Watermelon Hair proudly passed the watermelon to Victreebel, letting it cut the melon into eight equal slices with Leaf Blade.
The lively fruit-tasting session began again.
"Hey woo!" "Hey woo!"
Zweilous was overjoyed at the sight of watermelon. It especially liked things that involved both drinking and eating, and since it fills the stomach initially, a bit of exercise clears it out, so it could still eat two big bowls at night.
"Hey! Take it easy—Blissey, you keep an eye on it!"
Baimu realized he couldn't handle the unleashed Husky, so he decisively left it to Blissey, who had Strong Mental Will.
"Happy~"
Blissey replied, and the moment Spiritual Power was released, Zweilous was restrained in mid-air.
The latter flailed its claws madly in mid-air, but ultimately could only spin its head in protest, as it just wanted to eat some watermelon.
"Hey woo!" "Hey woo!"
"Evolved?"
Little Ghost with the Watermelon Hair looked at Blissey, a bit unsure if it had been a Chansey or this form when it first arrived.
But soon, he noticed Baimu heading over to the water channel beside the field. Leaning over to look, he found that Baimu was putting a completely Violet Feebas into the clear water and crouching down to feed it some watermelon.
Feebas poked its head above the water, took a sip of the juicy red fruit, and then submerged again, only to resurface for another sip, swaying its tail joyfully upon feeling the wonderful sweet flavor.
"Why is this Feebas's color different?"
Little Ghost with the Watermelon Hair curiously crouched next to him and asked.
Baimu replied, "Because it's a special individual, it's naturally this color. Haven't you seen other Shiny Pokémon?"
"No."
He shook his head, then excitedly asked, "Are the differently colored Pokémon stronger?"
"Not necessarily..."
"Eh—I thought they'd be a bit stronger than normal, turns out it's just cosmetic!"
Upon hearing this, Baimu sensed trouble. When he looked at Feebas's expression, he noticed it first froze, then displayed a deeply hurt and dejected look, as its entire appearance became much dimmer and it stopped eating the watermelon.
A somewhat self-conscious Feebas was very sensitive to others' evaluations.
Little Ghost with the Watermelon Hair also noticed this, and hurriedly explained, "That! That's not what I meant! Anyway, I didn't mean that!"
Realizing he couldn't explain clearly, he promptly got up and ran away, shouting while he ran, "I didn't mean it—"
Baimu showed a helpless smile, then turned to console Feebas, "Don't take it too seriously; that guy's just a combat-focused idiot, how could he see your shining point? Eat two more mouthfuls of watermelon, let him regret it for a bit!"
His tone was as if making a joke.
"Bo~"
Feebas blew a bubble, feeling somewhat comforted, and started slurping the watermelon from the Trainer's hand.
In fact, Feebas's combat power wasn't considered strong.
Baimu clearly recalled that this guy's double attack and defense were on par with Magikarp. However, Feebas could learn more moves than Magikarp and even had Egg Moves.
Despite Magikarp's large numbers, they didn't have even one Egg Move.
After eating the watermelon.
Baimu washed his hands, forcibly grabbed Zweilous, wiped its watermelon juice-covered mouths clean, dusted off the dirt from its body, and recalled all the Pokémon, leaving only Porygon.
"Thanks for your hospitality! The watermelon was, as always, delicious."
He said to the not-distant Little Ghost with the Watermelon Hair, who hesitated to come closer. Baimu couldn't help but laugh and said, "Don't worry, my Pokémon don't hold grudges."
"Really?"
"Of course, it's true!"
"That's great!" Little Ghost with the Watermelon Hair finally smiled and, together with his two Pokémon, waved goodbye, "With the Wind!"
Baimu didn't reply, only waved his hand, and headed toward Lavaridge Town with Porygon.
——
Normally, reaching Lavaridge Town requires traveling via Route 112.
But due to different starting points.
Baimu couldn't follow the League's planned route; instead, he had to traverse the boundless primeval forest and towering mountains.