Morning came to Lumiose City.
Baimu returned to Prism Tower alone.
He had been the first to find An Xin'er, but she was no Wild Pokémon. Naturally, she had chosen to stay with her distant aunt.
After talking it over, though, the two gave up on going out, even when Diantha suggested it.
An Xin'er said she was happy just being with her.
The little girl understood how busy Diantha usually was. She didn't want to take up her hard-earned time off, much less make Diantha expend energy worrying about her.
What a thoughtful little girl!
Diantha was moved and delighted. Maternal affection nearly overwhelmed her, and she almost began imagining An Xin'er really was her daughter.
Baimu stayed with them until nearly dawn. Once Diantha had taken the sleepy An Xin'er to bed, he arranged to see her at the arena and quietly returned to Prism Tower.
Clemont had only recently woken up and was about to make breakfast for everyone. He jumped when he saw Baimu come in from outside. "Were you out for a morning workout?"
"...No."
After a moment's hesitation, Baimu told Clemont what had happened during the night.
They were bound to meet sooner or later. There was no need to hide it.
Clemont stared at him in disbelief.
"Wait."
He held his head as he tried to sort it out. "The daughter of Champion Diantha from a Parallel World appeared above Prism Tower last night, and now she's with Champion Diantha?"
Baimu nodded. "Exactly. You caught on fast."
Clemont grew excited. "So that rift connects to a Parallel World! That's incredible!"
He abandoned the Frying Pan, though something was still cooking in it, and hurried to his laboratory.
When Clemont had said yesterday that science would create the future, he'd meant it. He had