The Ever-Confident Dian

But!!

The smaller Wailmer weren't too much trouble. Sometimes wild Pokémon would help them back into the sea.

But Wailmer that were close to evolving were too big for ordinary Pokémon to carry or push. Even some Trainers couldn't manage it.

"Rumi, could you let me take some time off next time..."

Dian immediately turned toward the beach, grumbling as he went. "It's not like I want a promotion."

"Dian, no. You may not want a promotion, but I do. That's settled. Contact me when the job's done."

Rumi waved the thick stack of documents in her hand to show how busy she was, then hung up.

Just as Rumi ended the call, Misdreavus and Beedrill flew back. They'd had plenty of practice sending people in for a chat.

"Mis."

Misdreavus sprawled lazily on Dian's head and resumed puzzling over how to link Life Energy.

What she needed to master now was Pain Split, a skill that relied on a deep Perception of Life Energy to link two beings' Life Energy through emotions such as Spite and Fear.

That temporary link would make the user's and target's Life Energy a single whole. The energy would then be divided equally, splitting their stamina between them.

It was a skill that was hard to explain and harder to pull off.

By feeding on Life Energy and Fear Energy, Misdreavus had already developed a thorough feel for both. Practicing Spite had also given her a foundation in that emotion. All she lacked now was the link.

Besides, once Pain Split established that link, it merely took advantage of Life Energy's spontaneous, unordered movement.

If Misdreavus could master and use Life Energy as fully as Skiploom, she might go a step further. At the moment of connection, instead of dividing the Life Energy equally,