Professor Oak's Laboratory's backyard.
Ash was undergoing pre-match intensive training with Paul.
In the original story, he had respectively sent out Lance's signature Pokémon, Gyarados; Cynthia's signature Pokémon, Garchomp; and Steven's signature Pokémon, Metagross.
But now, there seemed to be one more—
Aggron.
Ash sent out Dragonite to face it. The two battled fiercely for a long while, rocks and howling winds sweeping across the riverbank.
"Wouldn't betting on Aggron alone be too simple?"
Baimu spoke with a smile.
The two trainees were immediately drawn to him. Paul froze for a moment, while Ash shouted in delighted surprise, "Baimu! Long time no see!"
"Pika!"
Pikachu dashed straight toward Baimu, intending to leap into his arms, only to notice the Hisuian Zorua.
The electric mouse tilted its head. "Pikachu?"
Why did this guy look a little familiar?
"Aw."
Hisuian Zorua lazily refused to move. It had not been this idle in a long time. For the past half month, it had trained every day, and it was rare to have a day to slack off.
Baimu's embrace was solid and warm. Had it not been awakened by the sound of moves exploding earlier, it would most likely still have been asleep.
The others noticed Hisuian Zorua as well. Professor Oak curiously moved closer and exclaimed, "This is... a Zorua from the Hisui era!"
"The Hisui era? Ah!"
Ash had nearly forgotten. Even though he had attended the Sinnoh Festival just over a month ago, he asked, "But weren't Pokémon from the Hisui era supposed to have vanished without a trace?"
"Yes!"
Professor Oak sighed emotionally and looked at Baimu. "If I'm not mistaken, it should have come from the Hisui Ecology Research Institute, correct?"
Baimu smiled and nodded. "You are absolutely right."
The Hisui Ecology Research Institute was by no means