Nosepass's counterattack

Splash!

Dian calmly glanced at the puddle beneath his feet, a shadow flickering through his eyes.

Something's wrong. First, all the Pokémon in the cave mysteriously hid themselves, and now there are these puddles.

There hasn't been any heavy rain lately. There shouldn't be this much water in the cave, unless someone got here first!

"Whew..."

Dian steadied his breathing. This sort of thing happened often enough. After all, that Pokémon was extremely rare in Johto, and any Trainer who came across one would never let it slip away.

But if he backed off every time something like this happened, what was the point of being a Trainer? He might as well go home and retire.

"Zubat! Hurry!"

Dian gave the order in a low voice. "Misdreavus, take me over there."

"Zzt!"

Zubat flapped her wings, ready to protest indignantly. She wasn't someone he could order around however he pleased. At the very least—at the very least—he ought to be gentler and more polite.

But then she thought of the meals she'd eaten earlier and let it go. For the sake of the food, she wouldn't hold it against him this time.

Misdreavus rubbed her eyes, yawned, and stretched.

By now, Lady Misdreavus no longer cared whether it was day or night. She simply slept when she was tired—her bed was always available, after all—played when she woke up, and asked for food when she was hungry. Life couldn't have been more comfortable.

Black shadows enveloped Dian and Skiploom, then swiftly followed behind Zubat.

"Hana..."

Skiploom slowly opened its eyes, looked around, then closed them again to rest. It had been adjusting to its evolved body lately, and some mysterious energy seemed to still be reshaping it.

The most direct indication was the panel in front of Dian's right eye.