Secret formula

Otherwise, the villains here could simply raise a group of Pokémon that knew Swords Dance and stack it three times whenever they encountered anyone. Why bother going to all the trouble of capturing powerful, rare Pokémon?

Dian had once read a report about a Trainer who had become obsessed with the power of status moves. Disregarding his Pokémon's physical limits, he had repeatedly forced it to use highly potent status moves until its body broke down.

Although the Pokémon's life had ultimately been saved, it could never participate in intense battles again.

After suffering that blow, the Trainer had returned to his hometown to teach and never mentioned battling again.

Bzzz!

The Beedrill leader slowly flew out of the grass, but instead of approaching to attack, it silently glanced at Dian, nodded, then turned and flew away.

Bzzz, bzzz, bzzz.

The six Beedrill around them followed it into the depths of the forest.

Clack.

A small bucket made from a block of wood was tossed out from deep within the forest.

Beedrill darted forward, caught it between its white stingers, then handed it to Dian.

"Is this honey?"

As soon as Dian took it, his entire palm felt sticky. He looked at the thick, golden liquid inside the little wooden container and spoke in surprise.

"So sweet!"

He licked his finger and was immediately delighted. Living on nothing but sandwiches and dry rations lately had nearly put him off food altogether.

"Sweetness is life! Deliciousness is justice!!"

Dian carefully held the little wooden container as though it were a treasure, then smiled at Misdreavus and Beedrill. "Let's go. We'll have a proper celebration tonight."

"Dreavus!"

Misdreavus was curiosity personified, already sucking on her fingers.

Even Beedrill beside them stirred at the sweet scent of honey.

"Weedle!"

A Weedle reared up, glanced at the grass beside it, then scurried forward at remarkable speed.

Dian parted the greenery before him, and his surroundings suddenly opened up into bright, clear space.

"Dreavus!!"

Misdreavus swiftly swept past him from behind and flew in circles over an expansive lake. She had already tossed the large wooden block she had brought aside.

Bzzz.

Beedrill silently stood guard beside Dian, its two white stingers crossed before its chest as it intimidated the surrounding Pokémon.

"Raticate?!"

Three Rattata quickly got up and ran into the forest.

A Raticate, however, glared fiercely, its sharp front teeth clacking together. After that display of defiance, it began drinking from the lake while remaining on guard.

Farther away, a flock of Spearow perched in a tall, ancient tree, watching over their territory.

Bang, bang, bang!!

Several thin jets of water shot up from beneath the surface.

"Dreavus!"

Misdreavus suddenly let out an exceptionally piercing cry, then hurried back toward shore.

Meanwhile, the pale gray, single-horned fish Pokémon in the lake scattered in panic, clearly frightened into flinching.

"Astonish!"

Dian frowned slightly but did not cover his ears. This had to be Misdreavus's move, Astonish.

Sure enough, almost at the same moment, a bordered panel appeared before his right eye.

Astonish—Startles the target with a scream. Sometimes causes the target to flinch.

As for the Pokémon that had just used Water Gun, they had to be the Water-type Pokémon Remoraid.

"Dreavus!"

Misdreavus flew to Dian's side and glowered at the Remoraid swimming around the lake. Their surprise attack had clearly angered her, and getting revenge was only natural for a little lady like Misdreavus.

Dian sighed. Even he could do nothing with Misdreavus when she was like this.

Suddenly, he spotted the wooden block beside him and had a flash of inspiration.

Shadow Sneak did not have to be practiced on a wooden block. Moving Remoraid in the water would work just as well.

"Beedrill, go teach Misdreavus how to take advantage of the water."

Dian turned to the silent Beedrill beside him.

"Misdreavus, if you can do what Beedrill does, you can properly repay them for that Water Gun earlier."

He immediately turned to the sulking Misdreavus and encouraged her.

"Dreavus?"

Misdreavus's eyes instantly lit up, and she looked expectantly at Beedrill.

Beedrill silently nodded, then flew toward the lake.

Dian looked around, chose a suitable spot, and began setting up camp before continuing with his training plan.

Drip!

A drop of milky liquid squeezed from Coelacanth Grass fell straight into the honey, creating a special secret formula for Beedrill. Seven or eight little bottles of the same size stood beside it.

They were all filled with thick, golden honey that gave off a sweet fragrance.

Dian took out a black pen and labeled them.

Beedrill was currently taking regular doses of the honey in bottle number one, which contained the essence of one entire Coelacanth Grass plant.

The other bottles marked number two contained the concentrated liquid from two Coelacanth Grass plants. Beside them were numbers three and four, continuing all the way to number seven.

Dian had harvested all the Coelacanth Grass around the lake. He had even found five plants of its valuable companion herb, Void Thorn, and stored them away. Once he left the forest, he could sell them to a shop that bought medicinal herbs for some extra income.

Dian turned to check on Beedrill and saw it standing quietly before a row of burning wooden stakes.

These stakes were what Misdreavus had made earlier. Dian had put wax into the round hollows on top, turning them into simple wooden candles.

Beedrill's task now was to thrust repeatedly at the flames atop the wooden candles. The ultimate goal was to extinguish the flames without knocking the candles over.

Its earlier training in the water had concluded once it had taught Misdreavus.

Meanwhile, Misdreavus was having a wonderful time playing with a group of Remoraid—or so it looked to Dian.

To the two sides battling, this was undoubtedly a contest to decide who ruled the lake. Well, who ruled it in a shootout.

Misdreavus darted through the air, dodging as strands of black shadow stabbed fiercely toward the water. From a distance, she looked like a black peony in full bloom.

Brilliant rainbows flashed over the water from time to time as the Remoraid in the lake worked together, crisscrossing their Water Gun attacks at the airborne Misdreavus.

The two sides were locked in a fierce battle, but the Pokémon resting by the lake suffered for it, left agitated by the noise.

A Sentret with a large, fluffy gray tail sat beside the lake, glaring viciously at the two sides in its center through dark-ringed eyes. If it had been strong enough, it would probably have charged over and given them all a thorough beating already.

In the end, it could only helplessly cover its long ears and lie down on its own tail, pretending that shutting out the noise would make the problem disappear.