Lu Ze looked up, a faintly bitter smile appearing on his face.
"Sorry, Snorlax, because I..."
Before Lu Ze could finish, he saw Snorlax shake his head.
"Bika bika."
Snorlax looked at Lu Ze with serious eyes and proudly patted his chest.
The meaning was obvious.
This defeat had happened because he was not strong enough.
If he had been strong enough, even if Aggron had done that, it would not have been a problem. He still could have defeated Aggron.
"A loss is a loss. Anything else is just an excuse."
"Only by becoming stronger yourself can you avoid defeat!"
Snorlax's voice appeared in Lu Ze's mind.
Watching Snorlax like this, Lu Ze's thoughts drifted away.
Where had he seen this familiar scene before?
Right, back when the tall figure before him had still been a Munchlax.
During that training session, in the battle against the Zubat it had been back then.
After Snorlax lost, it seemed Lu Ze had comforted him in much the same way.
After comforting Munchlax that day, beneath the starry night sky, Lu Ze had said this to him.
Munchlax had still been rather ignorant at the time.
But he had taken those words to heart.
In the battles that followed, whether as Munchlax or Snorlax, he had hardly lost at all.
Even if he lost his ability to battle during a fight, he still believed that his companions could claim the final victory.
"This should be our first loss, right?"
The light gradually returned to Lu Ze's eyes as he stood and looked at Snorlax.
Snorlax sat before Lu Ze, meeting the gaze of the seemingly recovered Lu Ze, and smiled happily.
"It's okay. Losing means there are still things we haven't done well enough. We'll keep working hard afterward!"
As Lu Ze