Buneary's Bestie

Could Ice Punch, used at full power, meet the requirement of launching its energy outward?

Mawile thought it over, then decided to give it a try.

"Maw!"

A snowy glow lit up her right fist, as brilliant as a comet's tail streaking across the sky. Energy gathered in an instant, and she swung hard at the empty air!

Boom!

A cloud of white mist burst from where Mawile's fist struck. Freezing air spread in every direction, then slowly dissipated.

That was all.

"Maw..." Mawile looked at her fist in disappointment.

As expected, the technique wasn't so easy to master.

Seeing the object of his secret crush so dejected, Piplup felt his heart break. His little eyes brimmed with sympathetic tears. "Pip..."

"Don't be too discouraged. Remember what Professor Kukui said? Changing a move takes imagination from both the Pokémon and its trainer, along with plenty of practice. There's no shortcut."

Baimu took it in stride and smiled as he comforted them.

Dawn quickly added, "Exactly! Keep practicing and you'll definitely get it! It's normal to run into trouble at first!"

She knew a thing or two about far-fetched ideas. Combining Mamoswine's Ice Shard with Cyndaquil's Flame Wheel to create Flame Ice had seemed ridiculous to everyone else, but she had pulled it off in the end.

"Oh, right!"

As if something had occurred to her, she pulled a Poké Ball from her pocket. "Come on out, Buneary!"

Pop!

White light flashed.

A small, brown-furred rabbit landed on the ground. "Bun?"

"She's the Ice-type move expert on my team. I'm sure she can help Mawile!" Dawn said with a smile.

"An Ice-type expert?"

Baimu paused, then realized which Buneary she meant. Despite being a Normal-type, this was the little Pikachu fangirl who could freeze an entire lake and wield Ice Beam