"Woo~"
Waking from its slumber, Mesprit stared intently at Dawn. Then, hearing Xiaoyun call its name, it looked him over curiously.
Xiaoyun felt a little uncomfortable under Mesprit's stare, so he asked, "Mesprit, God of Emotion, did we disturb your slumber?"
"Or is there something you need our help with?"
"Woo~"
Mesprit said nothing, quietly watching them.
Then a pink orb of light condensed at the ruby on its forehead and split into two.
Both shot toward Xiaoyun and Dawn at once!
"Sceptile!!"
"Piplup, pip!"
At the same time, seeing this unknown Pokémon dare to attack Xiaoyun and Dawn, Sceptile and Piplup immediately used their respective moves.
Bang, bang, bang!
Bullet Seed and Bubble Beam shot out together, attempting to intercept the two orbs.
"..."
However, Bullet Seed and Bubble Beam failed to stop the orbs. The orbs suddenly turned into phantasmal images, and their attacks passed straight through.
The orbs continued onward, then entered Dawn's and Xiaoyun's minds respectively.
Bang! Hiss!
As the orb entered his mind, Xiaoyun initially felt a burst of pain, but then a particularly warm sensation filled his entire mind, making his consciousness involuntarily sink into it.
Outside, Sceptile saw Xiaoyun close his eyes after being struck by the orb, neither moving nor speaking.
So Sceptile panicked!
"Sceptile!" (How dare you hurt Xiaoyun!)
Then Sceptile's eyes turned icy, its gaze locked firmly on Mesprit as killing intent slowly seeped from its eyes.
After a long while, Xiaoyun still showed no response. The killing intent in Sceptile's eyes seemed almost tangible as it stared straight at Mesprit.
"Scep!"
The next moment, Sceptile plunged both hands into the earth. Vast amounts of Grass-type Energy began gathering around it, and the ground began to split.
Bang, bang, bang!
Then thorny vines as thick as enormous trees burst from the ground, forming a forest of thorns that converged on Mesprit.
The powerful Grass-type move-Frenzy Plant!
"Woo~"
Mesprit frowned deeply. It had just been about to explain, but the hotheaded Sceptile gave it no chance to speak.
In an instant, countless thorny vines surrounded it, as though intent on taking it down in one go.
"Woo!"
Suddenly, blue light appeared in Mesprit's eyes.
Teleport!
A ripple passed through space, and Mesprit abruptly appeared on the other side of the lake, successfully avoiding the thorn forest's deadly encirclement!
"Scep!"
By now, Sceptile's heart was completely filled with fury. As a Pokémon, it had failed to protect its own Trainer.
This mushroom head had actually attacked right in front of it.
What a freaking disgrace!
So, after its first strike missed, Sceptile controlled the thorn forest again, encircling Mesprit in another deadly assault.
"Woo!"
This time, Mesprit did not keep dodging. Blue light instantly filled its eyes, and its psychic power erupted!
Extrasensory!
Suddenly, something like an enormous invisible hand appeared in front of Mesprit, gripping the thorn forest tightly and preventing it from advancing even an inch.
Mesprit was a second-tier god, after all, and a Psychic-type at that. However unskilled it was at fighting, it could still easily stop Sceptile with its immense psychic power.
But Sceptile was a core Pokémon Xiaoyun had painstakingly raised. Having sparred with Hanyu Qing'an, it also had considerable practical combat experience.
"Sceptile."
Below, Sceptile's body suddenly tensed. The blades on its arms already gleamed coldly, and its eyes remained fixed on Mesprit in the air.
Just as it was about to rush up and attack with Leaf Blade, a familiar voice suddenly rang out.
"Sceptile, stop!"
"Stop it, don't fight anymore..."
The voice belonged to Xiaoyun, who had woken up.
When he awoke, he happened to see Sceptile preparing to rush up and launch a surprise attack on Mesprit, frightening him into hastily stopping it.
"Sceptile?" (Xiaoyun...?)
Hearing his voice, Sceptile's murderous eyes gradually cleared.
Then it withdrew Leaf Blade and leaped to Xiaoyun's side, concern in its eyes.
"Don't worry, Sceptile. I'm fine!"
"Mesprit wasn't attacking me just now. It only left something in my mind. I'll explain it to you later..."
Seeing Sceptile's concerned gaze, Xiaoyun felt warmth in his heart and indicated that he would explain the situation later.
"Sceptile."
After confirming that Xiaoyun was fine, Sceptile breathed a sigh of relief and said no more, quietly remaining beside him to await instructions.
But while waiting, Sceptile still kept its eyes on Mesprit in case anything unexpected happened.
"I'm sorry, Mesprit. You nearly got hurt. This was my mistake. I'm very sorry!"
Below, Xiaoyun stepped forward and bowed slightly to Mesprit in the air.
"Woo~"
Then Mesprit floated down from the air and waved its little hands, indicating that it did not mind what had just happened.
As the God of Emotion, Mesprit could naturally sense the sincerity in the boy's heart.
And the battle just now had only happened because Sceptile thought its Trainer had been harmed.
So this could be forgiven.
Because Mesprit had seen many Pokémon Trainers abandon their Pokémon over minor difficulties, putting their Pokémon in danger, some even on the verge of death.
So this further demonstrated the deep bond between this boy and his Pokémon, something truly rare.
"Mesprit, by the way, what did you put into our minds? Can you tell me directly?"
Although the orb had cleared Xiaoyun's mind, and there seemed to be something further he could uncover,
he still wanted to ask exactly what the orb did. Otherwise, he kept feeling uneasy.
"Woo~" (You'll find out naturally.)
That was what Mesprit thought in response to Xiaoyun's confusion, but it did not say it aloud.
Whoosh!
Teleport!
As a ripple passed through space, Mesprit returned to the center of Lake Verity.
Finally, its figure gradually faded, disappearing completely in mere moments.
"Mesprit..."
Watching Mesprit's figure, Xiaoyun looked slightly helpless.
Leave if you want, but at least tell me before you go! It's not like I'm going to eat you!
At that moment, the lake was as clear and bright as a mirror, distinctly reflecting the blue sky. A gentle breeze brushed past, sending layers of ripples across its surface-a picture of peaceful days.
Xiaoyun felt that, if not for the aftermath of the battle on the ground constantly reminding him, he probably would have thought Mesprit had never appeared at all.
"Xiaoyun, what just happened?"
"Also, how did this place end up looking like this?"
"And where did that pretty Pokémon go?"
Meanwhile, Dawn had also woken up. She stared blankly at the grass, which the battle had changed beyond recognition, with a dazed expression.
Because the grass was now covered in pits and holes, and the Pokémon above the lake had vanished too.
She felt as though she had missed something.
"Nothing. Sceptile was just a little bored and dug a few holes for fun, to see if it could learn Dig."
With a few words, Xiaoyun shifted the blame straight onto Sceptile. The general idea was close enough.
Because what he said was indeed not wrong. Sceptile had done it all anyway. As long as the result was correct, who cared about the process?
"Huh? Can Sceptile learn Dig? I don't think they mentioned that in class."
Hearing Xiaoyun's words, Dawn suspected nothing and instead began considering whether Sceptile could actually use Dig.
"Well, even Meowth can talk these days! My Sceptile is one of those exceptionally gifted Pokémon. Ever since he was little, I could tell he had the makings of a Great Emperor. He's bound for greatness. A mere Dig? Isn't that something anyone with hands can do?" Xiaoyun waved a hand, looking composed.
"Okay..."
Dawn nodded instinctively, pretending she understood.
What she actually thought was, Hey, hey, what is Xiaoyun even talking about? Great Emperors, talking Meowth-what does any of that have to do with anything?
"Dawn, I'm not finished yet. Let me tell you... mmph, mmph, mmph!!"
Just as Xiaoyun wanted to keep talking,
Sceptile behind him could no longer stand it. It turned around, swinging its large green tail along with it.
Bang!
The chattering Xiaoyun was instantly swept into the ground.
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! Sceptile, what are you doing~?"
Having been smashed into the ground, Xiaoyun hastily spat out the dirt in his mouth and could not help complaining to Sceptile.
"Scep?"
(Oh my, Xiaoyun, how did you fall into the ground? Are you practicing Dig too? (ಡωಡ))
Sceptile did its best to suppress the upward curl of its mouth, then turned its head to put on a thoroughly puzzled expression.
Yes, its expression was utterly innocent, as though it had done nothing at all.
In reality, it thought, That's what you get for running your mouth! Dig, huh? You can practice it too!!