"Pat, pat, pat..."
"Honestly, what am I supposed to do with you? Sometimes you're so mature and steady, and other times you're as childish as a little kid!"
Dawn now realized Xiaoyun was teasing her. Although she felt a little helpless, she still went over to pat the dirt off him and wipe the mud from his face.
"What do you mean, childish? Sceptile really might be able to learn Dig! Just keep digging. If his hands move fast enough, wouldn't that do it?"
Xiaoyun intended to prove his point with theoretical knowledge, and it did sound fairly reasonable.
In reality, though, Sceptile's move list really didn't include Dig. Who knew why?
But even Infernape could do it, so why not find a chance to practice sometime?
It felt like it might actually work (ಡωಡ)!
"Scep?" (What's this guy planning now?)
Based on years of experience, Sceptile felt that his Trainer was thinking about something strange again.
He kept feeling it was aimed at him, but without any evidence, he could only give Xiaoyun a suspicious look.
"Nothing, nothing. Oh, right, Dawn, we've found all the lab's Pokémon. Shouldn't we head back?"
Xiaoyun waved a hand at Sceptile to indicate that he wasn't thinking about anything strange at all, nor was he imagining Sceptile sticking his rear in the air and scrabbling in the dirt.
What he actually thought was: I've only ever been thinking about serious things. It's all to help you get stronger, my partner!
"Oh, right. Speaking of which, where are Piplup and Chimchar? Why aren't they anywhere in sight?" Ignoring Sceptile's questioning gaze, Xiaoyun hurriedly changed the subject.
"You're right. They were just here." Dawn realized it too and quickly began looking for the two Pokémon.
"Piplup..." Piplup, who had been blown away by the shock wave because he was too close, weakly stretched a wing out of the bushes.
"Chim." Meanwhile, the quick-witted Chimchar emerged from behind a tree, cautiously walked over, and raised a little hand to show that he was here.
"All right, since we're all here, let's get ready to head home!" Dawn picked up the limp little blue chubster and spoke to Xiaoyun beside her.
"Wait, there's one more thing!" Xiaoyun told Dawn, then turned to Sceptile.
"Sceptile, use Grassy Terrain to restore the ground."
Xiaoyun saw that the surrounding grass had been torn up and the ground was a little uneven, so he instructed Sceptile to use Grassy Terrain to repair it.
Grassy Terrain was an Egg Move Sceptile had come with. Besides Grassy Terrain, he had two others: Leech Seed and Synthesis.
Xiaoyun figured one of Sceptile's parents was probably a Venusaur or Tropius or something.
"Scep!" (Leave it to me.)
Sceptile then began gathering Grass-type energy in his tail. Once he had gathered enough, he struck the ground with his energy-charged tail.
The moment his tail struck, the vegetation on the grassy ground began spreading rapidly. In just a short while, the grass on the lake's surface returned to how it had looked before the battle.
"All done! Let's go." Seeing the restored ground radiating lush greenery, full of life and vigor everywhere, Xiaoyun nodded in satisfaction.
This was Lake Verity, one of Sinnoh's three great lakes, after all. They couldn't leave it looking too awful.
"Wow, I didn't know Sceptile could do that too!"
"He usually looks so cool and aloof. I thought Sceptile only knew how to fight..."
Dawn's lips parted slightly, as though she had seen something unbelievable.
"Scep!" (Of course!)
Hearing the praise, Sceptile proudly raised his head.
Didn't expect that, did you? I'm a Pokémon developed in every respect-morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor. A proper hexagonal warrior. I'm nothing like those Pokémon that only know how to fight.
On the way back to the lab.
"Oh, right, Xiaoyun, what was that mysterious Pokémon just now? Why have I never seen it before..."
"And, and, that ball of light flew straight into my head, but apart from feeling a little warm inside my head, I didn't feel anything else. What was that?"
Holding the recovered Piplup in both arms, Dawn looked at Xiaoyun in confusion.
"I do know, but it's a long story..." Just as he was about to tell the girl about Sinnoh's history, he saw Sceptile turn his gaze toward him too. Judging by his expression, he was probably also rather curious about that Pokémon.
So Xiaoyun cleared his throat and said,
"Ahem. That Pokémon just now was named Mesprit. It's one of the Lake Guardians, a Legendary Pokémon!"
"Wow! That Pokémon was actually a Legendary Pokémon!" Dawn's mouth fell slightly open. No wonder she had thought that Pokémon looked so mysterious.
"Ahem. Student Dawn, please maintain classroom discipline."
Only after seeing Dawn stick out her little tongue in embarrassment did Xiaoyun continue.
"The Lake Guardians, also known as the gods of the lakes, is the collective name for the Legendary Pokémon Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf. They live in the Sinnoh Region's three great lakes: Lake Acuity, Lake Verity, and Lake Valor."
"Legend says they were created by the creator deity Arceus and represent the connection between humans and Pokémon in the Pokémon world. Uxie brought humans 'knowledge,' Mesprit taught humans 'emotion,' and Azelf bestowed 'willpower' upon humans."
"The one we just met was Mesprit, known as the 'God of Emotion,' and that lake earlier was Mesprit's home: Lake Verity."
"Normally, though, the Lake Guardians are all asleep and never interact with people, so very few people get to see them. According to legend, they have an exceptional aptitude for the move Future Sight and can use it to foresee some of the things that happen in the world."
"I think she might have seen something in the future. Perhaps we were part of it too, so she's making some preparations in advance."
After giving Dawn a little lesson on Legendary Pokémon, Xiaoyun decided to take a break. After all, suddenly saying so much had left his throat a little dry.
"Um... well, what do we need to do, then?" Dawn had taken in so much new information at once that she couldn't quite process it. Only after a long while did she ask.
"Nothing."
"Huh?!!"
"Right, we don't need to do anything. We can deal with the future when it comes. We don't know exactly what we're supposed to do, and even if we did, we couldn't change anything with our current abilities. We might as well stop thinking about it and just act like nothing happened." Xiaoyun spoke with an utterly unconcerned expression.
"Ah! Fine. And here I'd just started feeling a little sense of mission, like we were going to save the world or something." Dawn slumped after hearing that. Clearly, Xiaoyun's words had left her a little disappointed.
"Smack!"
"Ow, why did you suddenly smack my head? You'll stunt my growth." Dawn instinctively covered her head and looked at Xiaoyun with a pout.
"Hey, young lady, that's a dangerous way of thinking."
"Don't keep filling your head with strange ideas, and don't think about saving the world. Let's focus on what's right in front of us first, like choosing Pokémon, earning Ribbon Badges, and so on..." Xiaoyun earnestly admonished the girl before him.
What has society come to these days? Wouldn't normal young people run for the hills at the mention of saving the world? Why is she eagerly rushing toward it instead?
So Cherry Blossom Country's strongest fighters really are high schoolers, huh.
"Okay, okay, I'll stop thinking about it. Just stop smacking my head!"
A little embarrassed by Xiaoyun's words, Dawn indicated that she had already given up on the idea of saving the world.