"Piplup, jump up and use Bubble Beam."
Dawn was energetically putting Piplup through special training.
"Piplup!"
At her command, Piplup leaped high into the air and released a pale blue Bubble Beam from his mouth.
"Great, keep Bubble Beam going like that, then spin your body."
Dawn continued giving Piplup instructions, imagining him perfectly executing a spinning Bubble Beam in midair, as dazzling as a galaxy among the stars, like countless pearls set into the sky, radiating an enchanting glow.
What actually happened was...
Bubble Beam went flying everywhere. Never mind a galaxy-it looked more like shooting stars, with bubbles crashing all over the place.
"Pip... Piplup~"
Piplup felt utterly awful. The moment he spun in midair, his head started swimming, and then he lost control of his move and fell straight down. Now his legs felt unsteady even when he walked.
"It's okay, Piplup. We were just a tiny bit away from succeeding. Let's try again."
Dawn still hadn't given up and encouraged Piplup.
"Piplup!"
Hearing her encouragement, the defeated Piplup got back up, shook his head, and resumed training.
"One more time, Piplup. Use Bubble Beam."
"Piplup!"
The result...
"Ah, why does this keep happening? We've failed several times today already. How are we supposed to enter a Pokémon Contest like this?"
Watching Piplup fall to the ground like a drunkard, Dawn felt this performance wasn't going to work and wondered whether she should switch to a different routine.
"What's wrong, Dawn? Is your special training not going smoothly?"
Hearing the commotion, Xiaoyun came over to ask how Dawn's training was going.
"Sigh... I was planning to have Piplup spin in midair and use Bubble Beam to surround himself with bubbles, then use Peck to pop them all, and finally finish by landing with Aqua Jet."
Seeing Xiaoyun approach, Dawn told him her idea. She also happened to have some thoughts she wanted to discuss with someone.
"That's a great idea. A performance like that should definitely get you through the preliminary round of a Pokémon Contest."
Xiaoyun thought it over and felt it was quite a good idea. For a rookie Trainer making her debut, it was already pretty impressive. (May had still been spinning plates at her debut.)
"Right, that's what I thought too, but there's a problem now."
Seeing that Xiaoyun agreed with her idea, Dawn nodded happily. Then she remembered Piplup's current problem and spoke to Xiaoyun with some frustration.
"What problem?"
"Piplup can't overcome the dizziness. As soon as he jumps into the air, he starts getting all dizzy, and Bubble Beam hits everywhere. I'm wondering whether switching to another routine might be better."
Dawn glanced at Piplup and told Xiaoyun about their current difficulty. If they couldn't resolve this part, all the ideas that followed were just empty talk.
"Piplup~"
Even Piplup felt a little embarrassed at that moment, feeling that he had dragged Dawn down.
"Hmm... I think I understand. Simply put, as long as we overcome Piplup's dizziness, everything will be fine, right?"
After thinking for a moment, Xiaoyun had a rough idea and spoke to Dawn.
"That's right." Dawn nodded.
"Leave it to me. Give me some time, and I'll help you sort this out."
Xiaoyun smiled. He already had a solution, though the process might be a little intense. Still, it was all for Piplup's own good.
"Huh? How are you going to fix it?"
Dawn was very curious about the method Xiaoyun had in mind.
"You'll see in a moment. Everyone, pause your training for a bit. Piplup needs everyone's help with something."
"Xiaoyun, will this really work?"
Dawn looked worriedly at Piplup, who was sitting on Turtwig's shell in the training area, afraid it might be more than he could handle.
"How will we know without trying? A great man once said: the best way to overcome fear is to face it. This will help him adapt faster too."
"A strong, brave kid like Piplup definitely wouldn't be scared. Isn't that right, Piplup?"
Xiaoyun revealed a mischievous smile and began flattering Piplup. First, he would trick this fellow into getting on, and everything else would be easy.
"Piplup." (That's right.)
How could Piplup possibly admit he was scared? The apprehensive expression on his face instantly became fearless. He absolutely wasn't afraid.
"All right, then. Do your best, Piplup."
Seeing that neither the trainer nor the trainee objected, Dawn said nothing more and obediently stood to one side to cheer them both on.
Xiaoyun began assigning tasks to the Pokémon.
"Turtwig, when I count to three, get ready to use Withdraw."
^ω^ Turtwig obediently nodded to show he understood.
"Big Bear, hit Turtwig's shell hard to make him spin."
"Stop, stop, stop! Hold on!"
"Put that Brick Break away. I told you to hit hard, not beat him to death. This is training! No mixing personal grudges into this."
( ｰ̀εｰ́ ) Ursaring smacked his lips regretfully, then reluctantly lowered the Brick Break he had prepared in his paw.
"Sceptile, you're fast. You'll be responsible for keeping everyone safe."
Hearing this, Sceptile gave a slight nod with a twig in his mouth. As long as he was here, things wouldn't get out of hand.
"Does everyone understand?"
"Turt."
"Roar."
"Scep!"
"All right, one, two, three! Action!"
Bam!!
Turtwig withdrew into his shell, and Ursaring struck it fiercely with his paw. The shell then began spinning wildly, while Piplup screamed wildly on top of it. But it was spinning so fast that he didn't dare let go and could only cling tightly to it.
"Piplup!!!"
"Piplup, don't be scared! Remember to use Bubble Beam!"
Xiaoyun shouted to Piplup.
"Piplup~"
Piplup was already so dizzy that he couldn't hear what Xiaoyun was saying, but reason told him he couldn't let go, or he would be flung straight off.
"Pip... lup-lup-lup-lup~"
After the first round of spinning, Piplup staggered off the shell as though his feet no longer belonged to him. Looking up at the sky, he thought, How can I see stars in broad daylight?
"You're doing okay. Rest for five minutes, then we'll do it again."
Feeling that Piplup was in decent shape, Xiaoyun spoke to him with a "smile."
"Pip... Piplup!!" (ﾟДﾟ)
Hearing Xiaoyun's words, Piplup immediately looked as though he had been struck by lightning. He turned his head blankly and stared at Xiaoyun in disbelief, thinking, What about me looks okay to him?
In Piplup's eyes now, Xiaoyun was clearly smiling, yet he looked even more terrifying than a demon.
"Xiaoyun, why don't we let Piplup rest a little longer? I'm afraid he won't be able to take much more at this rate."
Seeing Piplup's pitiful state, Dawn also began trying to persuade Xiaoyun to lower the intensity of the training.
"Piplup~"
Piplup nodded frantically beside her. He was so tired. That bear had definitely done it on purpose, hitting so hard that he felt as though even his head no longer belonged to him.
Sigh, an indulgent mother really does spoil her child. How could she go soft at a time like this? Without me, this family would fall apart sooner or later. When it mattered, it still came down to me.
Then Xiaoyun said to Dawn, "Dawn, go wait over there for a moment. I'll have a heart-to-heart with Piplup. Leave this to me."