In Mountain Spring Town, Liu Qing had entered the Water-type Pokémon Catching Contest held there and caught three Pokémon: Mantine, Masquerain, and Bibarel. Though they had spent only a short time together, he had formed a deep friendship with them. Working together, they had swept through the ensuing battles, winning round after round, until his mistake in the championship match had led to Bibarel's narrow defeat against Xun Chaoze's Poliwag with its hidden ability.
Perhaps sensing Liu Qing's arrival, Mantine, Masquerain, and Bibarel gathered around him one after another, giving soft cries as though telling him how much they had missed him since their parting and how happy their lives here had been.
When Liu Qing arrived in Sunyshore Town, he had barely entered the Pokémon Center before Nurse Joy, who had been "waiting so long," caught him red-handed. Only then did he remember that the Hot Air Balloon Race he had entered here had not merely been his own competition-Nurse Joy had been the real star behind the scenes!
Listening to Nurse Joy's complaints, Liu Qing could only smile ruefully and apologize over and over. But when she demanded that he stay and win this year's Hot Air Balloon Race, he did not know whether to laugh or cry. He only managed to escape by claiming he needed the bathroom.
At Mt. Coronet, Liu Qing returned to the place where he had first clashed with Hunter J. Fresh snow had buried every trace of the old battle. Amid the fierce, biting wind came a scent that felt deeply familiar to Absol-the scent of its former home!
Absol recalled how, after witnessing the formidable strength of Liu Qing, Salamence, and his many other Pokémon, it had decided to challenge them relentlessly. After repeated defeats, it had resolved to leave its