Same here.
Aggron had been eyeing the trees and land next door for a long time, often asking the Trainer if its trees were better cared for than those next door, whether the neighbor used some special fertilizer, and if the neighbor's sunlight conditions were superior.
Clearly, it was a symptom of territorial expansion desire.
For various reasons, Baimu had to thicken his skin and come to his elder brother's office, requesting him to lend the backyard battle area to him.
After thinking about it, he shamelessly included trees and flowers too.
In return, he received Liu Ge's surprised expression.
"Oh, you..."
As Baimu wore a nervous smile, his elder brother threw him the keys with a helpless look, "I thought there was something important, that house is yours now... I understand your thinking, you don't want to take without asking.
"But I must remind you, in the things we will do next, there will be more situations where you will take without asking, sometimes you don't need to be too fixated on it."
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
Baimu nodded.
Leaving with the keys to the neighbor's place.
He constantly passed through the bustling Sand Group Dungeon, crossed the crowded streets, and stood on a high slope overlooking the entirety of Pyrite Town.
Everywhere was filled with black smoke from explosions, sometimes at midnight, you could still hear the booming sounds outside.
If it weren't for the rare rain clouds passing over Pyrite Town, acid rain would have surely come by now.
Tomorrow.
Cang Zhilang and the others would be ready and prepared.
Like Liu Ge, he was excluded from the "King Reception Plan," for reasons that Baimu didn't know, but he was unsurprised.
Because the elder brother was the core of all plans, and only if most of the strength left him in the Quicksand Team can the subsequent plans proceed smoothly.
Flop had once told him that the current situation was just one of the original plans, and if Chester persuades Cang Zhilang and Yogo not to rescue the boss, there are other plans.
The original design intended for the three top officers to only take away half of the forces, ensuring that the Quicksand Team headquarters could operate normally and fend off external enemies. Unexpectedly, Cang Zhilang took two-thirds.
As such, while Liu Ge could more easily seize everything left in the Quicksand Team, more forces were also needed to fend off external invasions.
It would be very tough.
The organizations in Pyrite Town had gone mad, constantly attacking each other, dismantling and merging into new forces, how could they let go of the empty Quicksand Team.
Although the newly formed forces grew exponentially in size, their overall strength still wasn't as good as when they were scattered sand.
The old, injured leaders stepping down, newbies fighting with unfamiliar Pokémon, strictly speaking, they had little combat capability.
Those who luckily survived were called "elite," but in such a short time, their Pokémon wouldn't be able to grow dozens of levels, evolve multiple times continuously.
They hadn't been able to quickly integrate new, powerful Pokémon.
One could only say that they grew their initially poor Pokémon fighting style to what should be an average level.
This too was enough to be considered elite.
As Baimu watched the events unfolding in Pyrite Town, he couldn't help but realize once again something he had considered many times—those being tormented in Pyrite Town were not only humans.
Those Pokémon forced to leave their hometown, arriving in this strange town, were equally so.
Commanded by strangers, driven to do inexplicable things, to hurt others, to obtain things they didn't want.
Oppressed not only were the bottom-layer civilians but those Pokémon too.
Clearly thought of it, why did he keep ignoring this crucial issue?
Baimu was clear.
His love for Pokémon was limited to those few in his home, it hadn't surpassed personal desire, his love for Pokémon was limited to those visible in his sight.
Why ignore?
Because he hadn't placed other Pokémon on an equal footing with his own, Baimu could empathize with Pyrite Town's civilians because of memories of himself, while Pokémon were "strange" to him, a group he just started to contact.
This made him perceive them as still "silent," subconsciously treating Pokémon other than Aggron as tools, as programs under NPC hands.
In fact?
In fact, these Pokémon truly existed, could cry and laugh, get angry and feel joy soaring in the sky, possessing the right to survive on any land.
And in this world, between humans and Pokémon, there remains an unbreakable shackle, they co-exist as an inseparable whole on this planet.
"Shanren, I've discovered I'm actually a bit more selfish than I thought."
Baimu called Shanren, his tone filled with a hint of dejection.
After Shanren heard his reasoning, he burst into laughter, "Your speed of enlightenment really surprises me, being educated from a young age to see Pokémon as tools and now feeling guilty is really making me see you differently time and again.
"You know, when you develop such thoughts, it means you've already changed unless you're aware of these things yet still remain unmoved."
"..."
"Congratulations, you've discovered the key to overturning the old regime in Ore Region and establishing and promoting a new order."
The wealthy young man on the call said: "Remember, our core will always lie with humans and Pokémon; as long as we firmly grasp these two points, we will be invincible."
"So you've already devised plans to save the Pokémon too?"
"There's no need to devise."
"...What do you mean?"
"It means, those who love Pokémon in this world are far more numerous than you imagine!"
Shanren's words etched into Baimu's mind.
He roughly understood what this person meant, but was still curious about where this confidence came from.
——
The next day.
Baimu sent off two-thirds of Quicksand Team's core.
The opponent took away many combat forces, along with numerous peripheral members for logistical support, roughly estimated to be around five thousand people in total—more than two thousand one hundred combat personnel, and over two thousand five hundred peripheral members.
When the convoy gathered, it looked quite impressive.
"Now, the Quicksand Team is left with only a bunch of old, weak, sick and disabled, and a barely over a thousand-person garrison." Flop told Baimu they would start actions half a day after the team departed, striving to control the entire Quicksand Team in the shortest time.
"But this time, we don't need your help, we're going for peaceful evolution."
He smiled, with a sense of exhilaration from finally unveiling years of planning, "It won't be as violent as before."
"Hmm."
Baimu nodded.
He was actually quite clear about how the infiltration work by Liu Ge was progressing.
When he went to Cyan Iridium Street yesterday, almost all the familiar neighborhood folks had joined the Rescue Organization—
Yes.
Not the resistance, but the Rescue Organization.
So-called having a rightful cause, Liu Ge and his team publicized externally not as resisting old forces, but as rescuing Ore Region. Symbolizing their determination to make Ore Region better even after defeating Ergin's leading force.
Even recently, Cheng Hong and others were looking at him with unusual gazes, seemingly wanting to promote the Rescue Organization's ideas to him, yet hesitated.
Baimu couldn't help but smile seeing this, but on the other hand felt strange they didn't know he was part of it.
Was it not knowing who led the Rescue Organization, or simply Liu Ge hadn't exposed his identity?
It should be the former, since anyone could see there was a problem with him being so close to Liu Ge.
Baimu didn't pay too much attention.
Because something more important happened.
Wu returned.
And brought along a guest he never imagined.