A Trainer's Responsibility and Resolve (Please bookmark)

"Chuu~"

After planting a kiss on him, Smoochum immediately hopped back down and began running around.

Suddenly, she lost her footing and fell flat on the ground.

"Smoo-chuu..."

Smoochum shook her head, then sprang back up, full of energy again.

The girl covered her mouth with a soft giggle, then set down the Hoppip in her arms and wiped Smoochum clean once more. "Honestly, why are you always so careless?"

Hoppip yawned, seemingly a little tired.

Hoppip slowly trotted over to Dian and was just about to sit down when—"Hop-hop!"

A razor-sharp gust swept straight toward the space behind a tree, but it was still a moment too late. Several Poison Stings shot out like lightning, aimed squarely at the girl wiping Smoochum clean.

Bam!

Smoochum instinctively used Pound to push the girl aside, then shielded her.

"Hoppip, keep Ekans busy!"

Dian started moving almost the instant he saw the Poison Stings. He rolled forward and scooped up Smoochum, whose face twisted in pain from the attack, then pulled the stunned girl to her feet and ducked behind a tree with her.

In a matter of moments, Dian had freed Hoppip from any need to worry about them, leaving Hoppip to focus on the relentless Ekans.

"Sss!"

Ekans hissed softly, the sound brimming with smug satisfaction.

As far as Ekans was concerned, the girl standing with Dian and her Smoochum were naturally on his side. Hurting Smoochum had been a fine way to vent that pent-up resentment.

That felt good!

Ekans flicked a forked tongue in delight, then fixed cold yellow eyes on Hoppip. Now only this little runt remained.

Once Hoppip was dealt with, those two humans would be helpless prey, theirs to do with as they pleased.

"Sss!"

The thought was so delightful that even the cold-blooded Ekans felt a surge of excitement, almost too much to contain.

Ekans immediately used Glare. Although they had yet to evolve into Arbok and lacked those intimidating markings, their full two-meter length was still frightening when reared up, especially combined with their natural Intimidate Ability.

Brilliant sunlight filtered through the mottled leaves, lending the clearing an almost sacred air.

Bathed in sunlight, Hoppip completely ignored Glare's paralyzing effect and unleashed a powerful Fairy Wind.

The invisible gust struck Ekans head-on. Unfortunately, Ekans merely winced and faltered for a moment. That was all.

Poison-types resisted Fairy-type moves, after all, limiting the damage.

But Hoppip did not lose heart, instead following Dian's wishes and holding Ekans off as best as possible.

Behind the tree, Dian and the girl huddled together in the shadows.

The girl gazed anxiously at the poisoned Smoochum.

Dian was in a bind, too. Hoppip had eaten all the Antidote Grass they had found earlier, and he only had Void Thorn on him now. It could help, but it only treated the symptoms, not the cause.

He took a deep breath. "Does Smoochum know Confusion?"

The girl froze, but quickly grasped what Dian meant. "Yes! Though she hasn't quite mastered it yet."

"That's fine. It'll be enough!"

Dian quietly took out all the Void Thorn tucked inside his clothes. "This herb has healing properties."

Then he picked up a pebble, tossed it in his hand, and nodded in satisfaction.

"I'll lure Ekans away. My Hoppip will take you to find Antidote Grass."

Keeping his explanation brief, he leaped back out and hurled the pebble hard at the menacing Ekans.

Thwack!

Ekans watched the pebble fall from their body. It barely hurt, but rage blazed up inside them.

Although Beedrill and Misdreavus had defeated and injured Ekans earlier, deep down, Ekans had accepted those losses because the opponents were stronger. But since when had a mere human dared to humiliate them like this?

Ekans's yellow eyes suddenly grew bloodshot.

Ekans immediately abandoned the original opponent, not even bothering to dodge Fairy Wind, and stared fixedly at the wretched human. If I don't teach this human a lesson, I don't deserve to call myself an Ekans!

Dian gave the red-eyed Ekans a cold smile. "Hoppip! Star Grass!"

With that, he darted away into the thick grass.

"Sss!!"

Ekans immediately slithered after him at full speed.

Upon hearing Dian's words, Hoppip's anxious expression immediately calmed. Hoppip had noticed it earlier, too: even Fairy Wind at full power had little effect on Ekans.

As much as Hoppip hated to admit it, winning against Ekans would probably be difficult. But there were still things Hoppip could do.

"Hop-hop!"

Hoppip closed both eyes, quietly sensing the surrounding movements and the rhythms unique to living things.

The entire patch of grass seemed to fall silent as the two green leaves on Hoppip's head swayed gently.

The girl stood quietly nearby in the shadows, holding the murmuring Smoochum, afraid to disturb Hoppip.

Suddenly, Hoppip's eyes snapped open, and Hoppip ran toward another patch of grass.

The girl cast a worried glance in the direction Dian had disappeared, but gritted her teeth and followed. Worrying would do no good now. Curing Smoochum's poisoning was the best way to turn things around.

Dian knew that simply running would never work. He could not shake Ekans's pursuit.

A cold glint shone in his eyes. He glanced to the side, then looked down at the Pure White Star Grass tucked inside his clothes.

If all else fails, I'll have to use this precious herb.

He refused to believe that an unevolved Ekans could withstand its potent poison.

It might benefit Ekans afterward, but that would take time.

At the very least, it would give the Ekans pursuing him relentlessly a nasty ordeal right now.

Just as Dian reluctantly made up his mind, Hoppip finally found a stalk of exceptionally high-quality Star Grass.

Hoppip quickly pulled it from the soil and handed it to the girl.

Without another word, the girl put the entire herb into her mouth, chewed it, then fed it directly to Smoochum.

Smoochum was too groggy to chew the herb herself and absorb its medicinal properties to purge the poison.

Just as the girl's anxiety mounted—

"Smoo-chuu?"

Smoochum opened her eyes and tilted her head in confusion, seemingly unable to remember what had happened.

"Hop-hop, hop-hop!"

Hoppip called out urgently twice, then ran ahead.

"Smoochum, here. Eat these."

The girl quickly stuffed the Void Thorn in her hand into Smoochum's mouth, then ran over, scooped up Hoppip, and raced through the forest.

"Hoppip, show me the way. I'll do the running."

"Hop-hop!"

The leaves on Hoppip's head gently pointed the way. Hoppip was sensing the location of the Pure White Star Grass.

After all, that Pure White Star Grass had been growing for who knew how long, and its presence was unmistakably strong.