Gible was easier to find than expected.
The wild little shark was hiding behind a rock, sneaking glances their way.
"Gible?"
Baimu looked over and met its eyes.
The plump shark, usually afraid of nothing, froze. It felt as if some terrifying predator had spotted it. It promptly dug into the ground and sped away like a fish darting into the sea.
It had no idea what it was afraid of, but its instincts told it to run as fast as possible.
Wait!
Was that Ash beside him?
Gible abruptly stopped. It poked its head out of the ground and spotted Ash and Pikachu beside Baimu.
"Gible..."
It might have been free-spirited and unruly, but it genuinely liked Ash.
Safe? Dangerous?
After a moment's hesitation, Gible forced down the unease in its heart. Its vacant expression turned resolute.
I can't leave my trainer beside that dangerous guy!
Rumble—
The ground trembled slightly.
Gible raced toward them at full speed, making enough noise to catch everyone's attention.
"Pika, pika?"
Pikachu raised a paw in greeting, but Gible shot straight past and lunged at Baimu!
Its sharp teeth gleamed white in the sunlight.
"Gible!"
Before it could bite Baimu's head, a thick black tail whipped through the air and sent it flying!
Thud!
Gible became a shooting star and vanished into the sky.
"Hydrei~"
Hydreigon gave a disdainful snort.
With Hydreigon guarding its trainer, who could so much as touch him?
Ash shaded his eyes with one hand and exclaimed, "Wow, that's a long way!"
Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Torkoal, and Infernape all nodded together.
"Pika~"
"Bulba~"
"Torkoal~"
"Ferno!"
Hey!
That's your friend!
Baimu's mouth twitched. Their indifference to seeing a teammate knocked into the sky left him speechless.
Of course, he knew they were taking it in stride. Besides...
They were probably used