Larvitar Hated Baths

Time flew by. A month later.

Almia, Fengrao Town, the mountain behind Ranger Academy.

"Dian, are your Pokémon all right?"

A lively brown-haired young man with goggles on his head asked worriedly, "That Larvitar? And that Zubat? Are they really okay?"

Xia Ye watched nervously as a tiny Zubat struggled to lift five rocks, each half its size, with a rope, beating its wings as hard as it could.

He was worried about what would happen if the rocks fell.

And then there was that terrifying Larvitar. Looking across the mountain, Xia Ye could have sworn it was shorter than when he first arrived.

The ground was riddled with dark holes. Xia Ye couldn't help worrying that the mountain might collapse.

"It's fine, Xia Ye. Doesn't your family have a saying? Better to get over it than get upset about it. Relax. Let's keep practicing with the Capture Styler."

Dian waved a hand dismissively. Before he came, Teacher Anli had said—no, begged him—to bring Larvitar back only after it had eaten its fill.

But that probably wasn't going to happen. When people said Larvitar needed to eat a mountain to evolve, they didn't mean just any mountain. They meant one rich in minerals and special nutrients.

An ordinary mountain? One would never be enough.

"Zii!"

Zubat gave it everything it had and finally managed to steady its swaying body. It wailed inwardly.

What kind of life was this for a Zubat? Rocks that big would be too much even for a Pidgeotto, and there were five of them!

But the moment it adjusted, the stern Beedrill instructor's eyes sharpened. Streaks of white light shot toward it: the Bug-type move Pin Missile, which Beedrill had spent half a month honing.

"Zii!"

Zubat darted left and right. Beedrill wasn't using its full