Chapter 1227: Dream of the Underdogs (Part 2)

Eager to find clues to leverage from the narrative of a lost soul.

Baimu preferred finding answers directly over guessing, so he found a relatively clean shack nearby to rest for a few hours and recharge.

Of course.

He didn’t forget to get Hoopa to bring back Aggron and the others from the mountains.

These past couple of days, Aggron had been happily planting shrubs, with Altered-color Milotic and Blissey helping with watering and transporting the seedlings.

Hydreigon was eyeing the position of Lycanroc Leader, wanting to become the boss of the wild Pokémon.

In his spare time, Mawile put aside various TV shows and movies and became fascinated with social media, taking selfies frequently.

Recently, it seemed to be planning to shoot a personal vlog and sought advice on themes from Porygon II and Baimu.

Porygon II suggested that it could consider filming some exquisite dance videos, as dances by Pokémon like Bellossom and Maractus were common online.

Baimu recommended that Mawile team up with Blissey to shoot some rural life videos, aiming to create a Pokémon version of Li Ziqi.

Mawile didn’t know Li Ziqi and wasn’t interested in rural life videos.

It leaned more towards shooting beautifully crafted afternoon tea videos, so it’s been encouraging Porygon II to learn some filmmaking skills.

Undoubtedly.

Mawile was no longer content with watching TV shows; it kind of wanted to become a leading actress in one.

Dragapult was daily introverted, preferring to hide nearby rather than Gengar, observing his every move; Galarian Corsola seemed to have an endless sleep as long as no one disturbed it.

Gengar and the Dragapult Siblings… these guys played crazily with Hoopa, and after coming back, they didn’t need Baimu’s prompting, they found places to rest on their own.

Conversely, Hoopa didn’t seem to have had enough, pulling Baimu to continue playing.

“There’s still business to attend to in a while, really can’t.” He pressed Hoopa’s head down and snuggled into his sleeping bag, closing his eyes.

“Guh-huh~”

“Zhaa-saa!”

Aggron and other Pokémon called out to each other a few times, each finding a clean place to rest, while Altered-color Milotic directly returned to its Pokeball; the space inside the ball was much more comfortable than the dry outdoors.

Hoopa was disappointed and squeezed into the sleeping bag for a while but couldn’t sleep, so it simply opened the Valley of Light Reincarnation and Creation.

The sun hadn’t set over there yet, the weather was still perfectly sunny.

——

“Wake up, wake up quickly.”

His body was being manipulated, and Baimu suddenly jolted awake.

And as he woke, the giant-like man in front of him revealed a smile, his overlooking demeanor filled with gentleness: “Did you have a nightmare? Don’t fear the Banette, we’ll be able to leave here soon.”

Banette?

Is he calling me?

Baimu’s mind felt rusty and slow until a young man appeared nearby and spoke to the man.

“Big brother! Everyone is ready!”

“You’ve done well, Lidi, make sure to reassure everyone not to be nervous, to wait for my signal, the dawn of victory is near!”

“Yes!”

The young man exclaimed excitedly and ran off.

Lidi.

Lidi…

The name felt so familiar.

Baimu had just started to recall the scene where he heard this name when he noticed his body moving involuntarily, stretching out a black claw to grab the man’s pant leg.

“Chuu-pye…”

What a shrill voice.

Baimu instinctively thought, and then saw the man turn around squatting down, holding his paw, gently saying: “I must go, Banette. Only in this way can everyone have a chance to leave here.”

Through the man’s light brown eyes, he could see his appearance clearly.

Banette!

He’s turned into a Pokémon!

Amid the panic, his brain seemed to finally start working, and he recalled everything.

This is a dream!

A memory dream from the simulator?

No.

He never acquired the dream of Banette, so where did this dream come from? Why would he dream of becoming a Banette?

——Gatekeeper Pokémon!

Baimu quickly thought of this possibility, and at the same time, a wave of sadness surged in his heart, as if something important was about to drift away from him.

His gaze followed the man as he stood up, as if trying to engrave the person into his heart.

What is this man planning to do?

In the end, what is this place?

Baimu desperately wanted to look around, but this dream, like all the simulated memories before, was entirely beyond his control.

He could only passively collect everything he could see as Banette caught up.

“Chuu-pye——”

A bright glare filled his view.

Then a rush of frenzied shouts came flooding in.

At first glance, he saw the huge ventilation fan located at the dome, then a vast yet somber metallic platform, scattered spectator seats spread everywhere, and thick pipes twisting and turning.

This was a place where staying too long would make it hard to breathe.

Typical Pyrite Town style.

But in Baimu’s memory, Pyrite Town didn’t have such a place.

The past?

Had the Gatekeeper Pokémon once lived in Pyrite Town?

Baimu didn’t know why he dreamed of all this; the only current possibility is that the Gatekeeper Pokémon that knows him wanted to convey some message through the dream.

His attention returned to the man who seemed to have a plan.

The man headed straight to the metallic platform.

Rhydon, whose horn resembled a drill and boasted severely rocky colored armored skin that was thick and heavy, had been waiting for a long time, while farther behind stood a bald giant with a cold smile.

The two said something but the distance was too great and the shouting too loud to hear a thing.