"Woof! Woof!"
Mabosstiff barked twice, then bounded over and picked up the Poké Ball in his mouth.
A short distance behind him, Arven crouched with a broad smile, clapping and beckoning. "Come on, Mabosstiff! Run faster!"
By then,
dinner was over.
The Salty Herba Mystica had supplied the last flavor Baimu lacked.
Garganacl no longer had to endure the "punishment" of having salt scraped from his body. He had completely healed the weakened Mabosstiff and granted Miraidon another new ability—
[High Jump].
Miraidon had finally gone from leaping a few feet to soaring dozens, making him a match for the land-bound fighter jet that was Dodrio.
Even so, his will to fight remained weak. He could return to his battle form, but not for long.
Like Ultraman, he could only keep it up for three minutes at most.
Arven figured some kind of psychological trauma was probably holding him back.
Psychological trauma?
Baimu knew all about that!
Plenty of his own Pokémon had gone through something similar.
Blissey had been the worst, but she had mostly recovered after evolving.
He guessed Miraidon would have to return to Area Zero and challenge the Pokémon that had defeated him before he could overcome his fear of battle.
And Baimu wanted to visit Area Zero himself. What perfect timing!
"Don't worry. We'll get you through this."
Baimu smiled as he stroked Miraidon's head. The Cowardly Lizard sat there unhappily, anxious about the impending trip into Area Zero.
Do I really have to go?
Yes.
The human beside him had already made up his mind, for one thing.
More importantly, Miraidon still could not stay in his original form for long or use his full strength. He had to find the courage to return to Area Zero.
He had to face the one who