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Marill's experience stood in stark contrast to Kirlia's.
Back when Kirlia was still a Ralts, she had struggled with her lack of strength, unable to effectively participate in Luther's battles and often left as a bystander. She spent a long time lingering just outside the threshold of evolution, only stepping forward with a final push, thanks to Luther's persistent encouragement.
Marill, on the other hand, had a far smoother path. She was the first Pokémon in Luther's team to evolve. Even as an Azurill, she already displayed decent battle power, and the battle against Mismagius had triggered her evolution into Marill.
Ever since then, whether it was learning new moves or progressing through training, Marill had seen continuous improvement. Her confidence had been sky-high from the very beginning, so naturally, she believed that consuming so many of Luther's resources meant she needed to produce visible results in return.
But that smooth-sailing progress became its own problem. She had never encountered a real bottleneck before. This current struggle, her inability to master 'Ice Punch', was the first time she'd truly tasted failure.
"If the form Abomasnow taught you isn't working for 'Ice Punch', then try experimenting with your own release styles. Starting tomorrow, give that a shot," Luther said gently.
Marill perked up instantly, bouncing off with renewed energy and happily running back to camp.
Luther let out a sigh of relief as he thought to himself. 'That's better, keeping a calm, steady mindset is the way to go. Training hard is good, but rushing things will only backfire.'
After assigning the Pokémon on night patrol, Luther and Mai each crawled into their tents to rest.
When Luther woke up again, he felt unreasonably exhausted. Chansey nudged him and handed over his phone, reminding him to check the time.
6 a.m., the usual time to wake up during their journey.
Mai yawned as she peeked out of her tent. The two of them groggily prepared food for their Pokémon, then each lazily nibbled on a few bites of omelet. Still drowsy, they exchanged a glance and, at the exact same time, reached out to touch each other's foreheads.
"No fever..." They both sighed in relief.
"It's probably just the mental fatigue. Getting close to the city let us relax all of a sudden," Luther muttered. "We haven't really taken a proper break since leaving Featherfall Town, have we?"
Luther let out a huge yawn, and watching him yawn made Mai yawn too.
"Screw it. Since Snowpoint City is just up ahead, how about we just…"
"...Sleep a little more."
Without another word, both Luther and Mai crawled right back into their tents.
Mai suddenly popped her head out and called out to Eevee, who was rubbing noses affectionately with Espurr.
"Eevee, let Pachirisu and the others know we're going to rest a while longer. You guys are free to play, but don't wander too far, okay?"
Then she patted the head of the dazed-looking Slowpoke sitting outside the tent.
"Thanks for keeping watch. If anyone comes close, remember to alert me or Luther."
Meanwhile, Luther hugged Jumpluff, who was still slowly munching her breakfast beside him.
"Since we're resting today, feel free to go play nearby. But help me keep an eye on Chikorita, okay? She's a bit too energetic..."
Jumpluff wobbled her cottony head in acknowledgment, 'Don't worry, she understood'.
Luther crawled back into his tent, where Chansey sat curled up in a corner, gently cradling the Pokémon egg.
"You're not going out to play? The egg already passed its health check."
Chansey shook her head. She was perfectly content staying inside the tent.
"Alright then, I'll leave it to you. I really need a proper nap... haaah~"
Once Luther and Mai had gone back to sleep, Chikorita stared longingly at the other Pokémon who had already run off to play. She watched as Jumpluff slowly chewed her food, then sighed and began pacing in circles.
Luther and Mai had told Chikorita she could go out and play, but only if she was accompanied by another Pokémon. And for today, her assigned companion was Jumpluff.
With nothing better to do while she waited for Jumpluff to finish eating, Chikorita curiously began rummaging through Chansey's shoulder bag, which had been left just outside the tent.
Candy, biscuits, some berries… Chikorita sniffed through them all one by one until she stopped in front of a glass jar.
Sweet Pecha Jam!
Chikorita quickly peeked into Luther's tent and pointed at the jar, whispering to Chansey, asking if she could have just a little more.
"You just ate breakfast, didn't you? …Alright, fine. But only a little!"
With permission granted, Chikorita skillfully used her Vine Whip to unscrew the lid. After thinking for a moment, she grabbed a small pouch from the bag and scooped a dollop of Pecha jam into it with her vine.
Perfect, now that they were going out to play, Chikorita figured she wouldn't have to worry about snacks if she carried some with her.
Swinging the little pouch of jam with her Vine Whip, Chikorita trotted back to Jumpluff's side. Jumpluff had finally finished eating and, upon spotting the jam Chikorita had scooped out, immediately broke into a sweatdrop expression.
Urged by Chikorita's excited pushing, Jumpluff led her toward the area where the other Pokémon were playing.
As they passed Espurr and Eevee, Chikorita cheerfully invited the two, who were currently floating mid-air, to come eat jam with her. But Espurr and Eevee were a little too busy at the moment.
A short while ago, Eevee had climbed up a very tall tree. On a whim, she'd decided to jump off and have Espurr catch her in mid-air.
This incredibly dangerous idea had made Espurr break out in a nervous panic. After much coaxing and pleading, she finally convinced Eevee to slide down the trunk instead.
When Espurr asked her why she'd suddenly tried something like that, Eevee very simply replied, "I just wanted to see what it feels like to fly in the air like you do!"
Espurr corrected her misunderstanding, she didn't fly; she just used psychic power to float.
"Then let me try too!"
Espurr had no way to refuse. Eevee clung to her persistently, rubbing up against her affectionately until Espurr had no choice but to give in.
Focusing her psychic energy, Espurr gently lifted Eevee into the air above her head. Once Eevee realized she was actually floating, she immediately demanded, "Higher!"
Espurr glanced up at the sky, sensing the limit of her own range. She could only try her best and see how far she could go.
Though she'd practiced moving objects with psychic power before, she had never tried floating while carrying another Pokémon. Carefully, Espurr drew Eevee in close beside her and started swaying gently in the air, trying to follow after the departing Jumpluff and Chikorita.
Though it looked like Eevee could fall at any moment, she didn't seem to feel the danger at all, she happily kicked her paws in the air, as if she were swimming through the sky.
Espurr, meanwhile, was completely focused on maintaining the float, also finding the experience of wielding this kind of psychic power to be unexpectedly intriguing.
As Jumpluff and Chikorita followed the scent of moisture in the air, they arrived at a large lake near the edge of the camp. Marill was floating serenely on the surface, lying on her back and gazing at the sky, completely at peace.
The lake was wide, and signs of other Pokémon Trainers camping along the shoreline were visible in the distance.
Chikorita and Jumpluff chose a quiet, empty spot to stop. They crouched by the water, letting the cold surface splash gently against them.
Chikorita glanced at her constantly-swaying Vine Whip, then set the jam pouch she'd been carrying aside. Stretching her Vine Whip into the water, she playfully stirred the surface and sent a splash flying toward Marill.
Marill peeked at her, rolled over, and lazily said, "Quit it," before going right back to napping.
But Chikorita wasn't giving up so easily. She decided to stretch her Vine Whip deeper into the water to make a really big splash.
Down it went… deeper… and deeper…
Just when she reached the very limit of her Vine Whip's length, she yanked it back with all her strength, and it didn't budge.
"Huh?"
Chikorita tilted her head in confusion.
Her Vine Whip had suddenly gotten very heavy.
(End of Chapter)