"Want some water?"
Heiduo held a bottle of water beneath Higan's eyes.
Higan gently shook her head, but Chingling on her shoulder swayed instead.
Hoenn's air was unusually humid and hot, completely different from Sinnoh's dry, cool climate. Chingling was somewhat unaccustomed to it.
It needed icy cold water to moisten its body, cool itself down, and then wipe away the lingering dampness on its surface.
Though it was not a Steel-type Pokémon, most of the little fellow's body tissue was also made of metal.
Being afraid of heat was in its nature.
"Wait." Hearing the chime, Higan reflexively reached out and grasped the lower half of the bottled water.
Heiduo paused, then released his hand.
"...Thank you." Higan lowered her head in thanks, slipped her intact hand into her pocket, pulled out a handkerchief, and said to the driver focused on driving ahead, "Sorry, could you please pull over for a moment?"
The driver glanced at Higan through the rearview mirror and temporarily pulled over to the roadside.
He had excellent professional ethics, not even asking why.
The car came to a stop.
Higan swiftly opened the door and leaned out. Chingling on her shoulder let out a cheerful jingling sound, flew out, and waited for Higan to pour the water over it.
Heiduo silently watched from the side and did not get out to help her.
He could tell that Higan was more wary of him than the largest tree at the very center of the Gym's ecological park. If he went to help, she would absolutely refuse him.
Still, that was not hard to understand.
Putting himself in her shoes, even Heiduo could not easily trust a stranger, no matter how enormously famous that person was.
Strength, status, and character were neither directly nor inversely proportional.
He