In the passageway.
Baimu came face-to-face with Jin Ge, whose face and bangs were damp.
Jin Ge had relied on luck more than once, but he had performed well in the second half. Plenty of trainers his age outside Pyrite Town might not have reached that level.
Baimu was considering offering some praise and a few pointers when Jin Ge nodded respectfully, stopped, and stepped aside to let him pass.
"Thank you for your effort!" Jin Ge said in a muffled voice.
All that deference to rank... Was Silicon Beryllium City like that? Maybe he came from high society.
Forget it.
Young people had their pride, Baimu included. What he considered helpful advice might sound like condescending criticism to Jin Ge.
"You fought well just now," Baimu said with a smile.
But before he had taken more than a few steps, Jin Ge spoke again behind him.
"Lord Baimu, may I ask if you personally trained my opponent?"
Huh?
Baimu turned to the polite young man. "What would you consider training him?"
Jin Ge froze, unsure how to answer.
"I only taught them the basics of Pokémon." Baimu did not leave him guessing. With that, he walked straight into the restroom.
Whatever Jin Ge's reason for asking, there was no need to hide the answer.
In a trainer's world, strength was everything.
Jin Ge left in silence.
He regretted the question as soon as it was out of his mouth. The answer did not matter. He had won, and Silver Horse had lost to him.
So why was he so hung up on it?
Was I... afraid of losing to him?
Afraid that he, whom everyone hailed as a battling genius, might lose to an unknown nobody, he had rushed to find some unavoidable reason for his opponent's strength.
Jin