"One more time! I'm not losing again!"
Carmine bit her lower lip and tapped at her phone, unwilling to accept defeat.
Beep~
A soft chime sounded.
A gleaming Tera Orb appeared in the center of the Porygon Phone's screen.
Penny had designed the software in less than half an hour. Apparently, she had already joined the Paldea League as an engineer.
Baimu smiled. "Give me a little time. Once I've finished my Terastallization Training, I'll battle you again."
"In that case—Kiki!"
Carmine turned to look for her younger brother. Kieran panicked when she suddenly called on him.
He waved his hands frantically. "I-I can't!"
"Not right now," Baimu said. "The Tera Orb needs recharging, and Meowth needs a rest. But I'm looking forward to battling you. Let's set one up!"
"Oh..."
The first part made the light fade from Kieran's eyes. After hearing the rest, he said shyly, "O-okay."
This kid's a little complicated.
Nothing like the brave and resourceful Cha Biao.
Baimu felt a little helpless. Kieran's ancestor, after all, had dared to warn an outsider about a thief in the village.
It had been the right thing to do, but the thief's family might have held a grudge, and the other villagers might have shunned him... Of course, Baimu hadn't told anyone Cha Biao had warned him.
He wasn't stupid.
Baimu exchanged contact details with Carmine, then waved goodbye with a smile.
"The Champion... He's so cool..."
Kieran's eyes shone. If only he had a phone.
Ever since he was little, he had admired people who were both powerful and unlike anyone else. Baimu's background, manner, and bearing fit everything he had imagined.
Sometimes, when no one was around, he even practiced a gesture in his room—
The one Baimu had used to silence the audience at a