"Spheal..."
Though Spheal was full of reluctance as Luo Geng shoved it forward, considering that Luo Geng was its Trainer, and that Heiduo and Swampert were both silently watching it hard enough to make its scalp tingle...
Spheal slowly turned its body around to face Swampert in the distance.
The large and small Pokémon looked at each other, their size difference like that between a grown man and a newborn baby.
There was a hint of curiosity in Swampert's calm gaze.
And Spheal...
Mother of mercy! No, no, this guy is terrifying!
Having accurately recognized the enormous gap between itself and Swampert, Spheal trembled inwardly. Its round body immediately rolled backward, and its little flippers fiercely wrapped around Luo Geng's thigh, its tiny heart pounding like a tractor.
"Huh?"
Luo Geng, who had just been delighted that Spheal was finally listening to him, stared in disbelief at the creature suddenly clinging to his leg and shivering.
"Go, Spheal!"
He tugged hard at Spheal's flippers, trying to pull it off, but although Spheal was young, the strength in its flippers far exceeded Luo Geng's at the moment.
For a while, Luo Geng simply could not pry Spheal's flippers loose.
"Spheal—"
Luo Geng's face turned red. He lowered his head, not daring to look at Heiduo, who had been waiting in the distance. His heartbeat was no slower than Spheal's.
He was both scared and embarrassed.
Children cared about their pride too. Or rather, humans were creatures who cared about their pride. With Spheal being so disobedient while Heiduo watched, Luo Geng felt that Spheal had made him lose all face.
Still, he was not about to take it out on Spheal, because he was just as afraid of Heiduo as Spheal was.
In the distance.
Heiduo had waited long enough to