"We won! My lo—cough! Baimu!"
"Chirp! Chirrrp!"
Up in the stands, Lisia cheered at the top of her lungs. Her excited Altaria fluttered about, singing its heart out.
Her reaction was so intense that Juan, beside her, and Wallace, down below, exchanged helpless, wry smiles—one covering his forehead, the other with a twitching mouth.
Neither had expected Lisia, now in her rebellious phase, to cheer for her beloved uncle and mentor...
But did she have to make her preference so obvious?!
Did her uncle mean nothing to her?
Baimu heard her too. He exchanged a glance with Aggron, who had returned to its normal form, then turned and gave her a smiling thumbs-up.
"Hahaha!"
"Grrroar!"
He and Lisia might call each other master and apprentice in private.
But both knew that beneath it lay a deep, untainted friendship.
For Lisia, whose position and circumstances had left her with almost no friends her own age, Baimu's presence was precious beyond measure.
Even after meeting Dawn, May, and others, she still considered him one of her closest friends.
And as the person who had introduced Baimu to Pokémon Contests, she felt proud whenever she saw him shine.
Was this how Great-Uncle Juan and Uncle Wallace felt when they watched me compete in Pokémon Contests?
Lately, Lisia had come to understand her two mentors more and more.
Down on the field.
"Phew..."
Baimu let out a long breath. He glanced at the wrecked field and the dark clouds gradually dispersing overhead, then recalled Aggron to its ball.
The Big Monster could fight no longer. Its long-planned final blow had drained almost all its strength.
Honestly.
Mega Swampert and Aggron were terrible matchups for each other. Mega Swampert found Aggron absurdly tough, while Aggron found Mega Swampert too fast to even touch.
If Metal