After resting in Saffron City for a day, Liu Qing drove back to Saffron City once all his Pokémon had recovered. During his battle with Anabel, he had caught a faint glimpse of the path to becoming Champion above the Elite Four. What he needed now was time to put his insight into breaking through that bottleneck into practice. The method was very similar to the realm described by the inexplicable phrase "Unity of Heaven and Man" that had surfaced in his mind: during battle, Trainer and Pokémon had to become completely united while still remaining separate individuals!
After returning home, Liu Qing neither battled nor watched battles. He simply spent every day mingling with the Pokémon in the Day Care. Bofeng Yu considered this neglecting his duties and letting himself go, and he was deeply displeased. He lectured Liu Qing several times, and Liu Qing readily agreed with everything he said, only to carry on exactly as before. Eventually, Bofeng Yu stopped saying anything, but the looks he gave Liu Qing each day held both anger and disappointment. Mili, on the other hand, was delighted. Ever since Liu Qing and Liu Yuan had left on their journeys, she had only been able to spend proper time with them after the League conferences ended. Now that Liu Qing was finally spending his days at home, her maternal affection overflowed, and she tended to his every need.
Before they knew it, Liu Qing had been home for over a month. That day, Bofeng Yu was holding a board meeting at the company when, halfway through, the conference room door opened and someone barged in. Bofeng Yu had been so angry with Liu Qing lately that he wore a stern expression every day. Everyone at headquarters lived in fearful silence, terrified of