Mr. Baimu watched as Miss Jun Sha left, then turned to Xiaoyao and Xiaosheng and said:
"It's too dark here, and the wind is a bit chilly. How about we find a place to sit down and have a good chat?"
"Sure, sure!"
Xiaosheng couldn't wait to chat with the first friend he made since he started traveling.
And Xiaoyao, having always heard about Baimu from her family and seen him on her phone screen, had been curious about him for a long time.
---
Yingbin Coffee.
This is a coffee shop that's become incredibly popular recently, opening branches all over the world.
It's a favorite among many young people and urban professionals.
Mr. Baimu doesn't often come here because the Pokémon at home prefer restaurants that cater to their tastes; even Mawile prefers places with a wide variety of desserts.
Coffee?
They wouldn't drink it even if they were paid!
At this moment, he was holding a glass of lemonade, in front of him Xiaoyao and Xiaosheng were fighting over a plate of spicy potatoes, neither willing to give in, their bickering revealing a certain closeness.
He asked in surprise, "Didn't you guys have dinner?"
"Yeah, Brother Baimu, we were just about to find a place to eat, but accidentally got lost..." Xiaosheng replied while chewing on potatoes, surreptitiously glancing at Xiaoyao.
It was obvious that getting lost was because of her; the female characters from the early seasons seemed to be as bad with directions as Ash Ketchum.
"Haha."
Xiaoyao laughed awkwardly, then curiously looked at Baimu.
At first, she thought he was a bit intimidating; how he cleanly and efficiently handled those troublemakers was indeed impressive, but he also exuded a certain fierce aura, like the dangerous Pokémon she encountered in the wild.
But as they interacted more, she discovered Baimu was actually quite friendly, always looking at her and Xiaosheng with a warm smile, as if seeing old friends he hadn't met in a long time, making her naturally feel comfortable and familiar.
What a complicated person.
She thought, and under her brother Xiaosheng's urging, she went to buy other things to eat, but unconsciously ended up ordering five cheese pies in a row from the self-service ordering machine. By the time she realized it, she already had five receipts and some change in her hand.
"Ah!"
She exclaimed, next to her Xiaosheng was both angry and helpless.
"Sister! Why are you still so clumsy!"
"Sorry!" Xiaoyao stuck her tongue out at her brother, not too concerned, thinking that five cheese pies were barely enough for Munchlax's dessert.
The three continued to chat, mainly sharing stories about their experiences.
When they heard that Baimu had already met Xiaogang and Xiaoguang, the siblings joked that if he met Ash Ketchum again, he would complete the whole circle of friends.
"I look forward to it,"
Baimu said with a smile.
Later, when he goes to the Carlos Region to deal with Fladari, he'll likely have a chance to meet the protagonist of the anime.
Yeah.
He definitely wants to give Pikachu a hard time when he does. He's wanted to do that for so long.
"Your cheese pies~"
A waiter approached with a huge tray overflowing with five large plates of triangular pies, stuffed so full of cheese it was oozing out, with slices of ham that looked deliciously red, and the aroma was mouthwatering.
Without a doubt, the ham in the anime world is made from soybean protein, flour, and various spices, completely vegetarian.
"Wow! I might not even need Munchlax's help!"
Xiaoyao exclaimed excitedly, putting her hands together with a smile, "I'm starting—eh?"
Her hand hadn't yet touched the cheese pie before it suddenly flew up.
Xiaosheng looked surprised, while Baimu's face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot, swiftly reaching to grab the pie thief, pinching it a little.
"Yikes!"
Brother Dragapult cried out, revealing itself.
Thinking the food was being snatched, Xiaoyao, who instinctively intended to transform into a Fierce Ghost, immediately reverted to her normal form and exclaimed in surprise, "A Pokémon?"
"Is this Mr. Baimu's Pokémon?"
Xiaosheng quickly took out his phone, snapped a photo of the struggling Brother Dragapult, and soon found its name, "Wailing Pokémon Dreepy?"
"That's right, Dragon and Ghost Attribute."
Baimu, along with the also-visible Sister Dragapult, tried to retrieve the cheese pie.
You're so young and already up to no good, daring to steal!
Totally beat it up!
Xiaosheng excitedly said, "There's another one!"
"Ah..."
Xiaoyao casually waved her hand and advised, "It's okay, let it eat it, after all, there's so much, right?"
"Thank you, but it still can't have it. Letting it eat stolen food would spoil it too much, plus this little guy eats too much and it'll get indigestion and won't sleep at night,"
Baimu explained.
Last time at the Da Wu Family, it ate too much and couldn't digest it. It snored like a pig at midnight, making him have to massage it for a long time to promote digestion.
But this little one never learns, its mischievous nature is quite a headache.
Smack! Smack!
Sister Dragapult, unable to hold back any longer, slapped Brother Dragapult so it would drop the pie, and another slap made it huddle in a defensive crouch.
The crisp sound of the slaps left Xiaosheng and Xiaoyao showing strange expressions of empathetic understanding.
"They're siblings; the sister has a bit of a temper,"
Baimu explained with a smile.
At the mention of sibling dynamics, Xiaosheng couldn't help but glance at Xiaoyao, who huffed, "Have I ever treated you like that?"
"Actually, worse..."
"What!?"
"Why are you yelling, I'm just telling the truth!"
"That's not true!"
The two of them began their usual bickering.
Siblings close in age seem to be like this, always bickering but having a great relationship, making him a bit envious.
After they settled down,
Xiaoyao looked at the always-smiling Baimu, her neck turning a shamefaced pink as she silently ate the pie.
Xiaosheng, also pouting, ate two large pieces, eventually unable to hold back and asked, "The Pokémon that defeated the Poochyena earlier, was it Dreepy?"
"No, it was another one,"
Baimu searched around, intending to call out Dragapult to meet them, but he couldn't find its whereabouts, "Dragapult?"
Seems like it's wandered off elsewhere.
"It's a bit shy," Baimu said to the regretful Xiaosheng.
In fact, from the moment the Dreepy siblings showed up, Dragapult had already hidden far away, knowing the trainer would definitely introduce it to those strangers.
But it had no interest in showing itself, so it quietly hid where the trainer couldn't "see" it.
Xiaoyao, eating her pie, asked, "Is Mr. Baimu a very strong trainer?"
"Just call me Baimu,"
Baimu replied, "I've been collecting badges to prepare for the conference, and the Glazed Gym is the eighth one I plan to challenge."
"That's amazing!"
Xiaoyao finally found something to admire about him, feeling bashful from all the praise.
Xiaosheng exclaimed in surprise, "So that means Brother Baimu has already collected seven badges? Plus four ribbons... Wow! You've done so many things in just a few months!"
"Not too bad, what about you?" he asked in return.
Upon hearing this, Xiaosheng scratched his head in embarrassment, "I-I only have four badges."
Four badges... Certainly a bit slow in progress, so it looks like he won't be able to participate in this year's Huiyuan Conference, which in simulation terms is the bare minimum reward.
But Xiaosheng is still young; there's really no need to rush.
Just like Ash Ketchum, when he first participated in the Quartz Conference, it felt like he hadn't even prepared his Pokémon properly; he just joined when he thought he was ready, and eventually lost due to Charizard's laziness, which was to be expected.
"Wanna battle?"
Seeing the eager look on Xiaosheng's face, Baimu proactively asked.
Xiaosheng responded excitedly, "Can we?"
"Of course, but you'll have to wait until your Pokémon have finished dinner and digested for a while first," he said with a smile, then looked at Xiaoyao beside him, "Would you like to join too, Xiaoyao?"
"Me? I... could I also join once?"
Xiaoyao didn't initially plan to expend too much of her Pokémon's energy before the Mikoli Club, but on second thought, not all her Pokémon would have the chance to appear, so she agreed.
"My pleasure,"
Baimu said with an expectant smile.