Xiaoyun walked over to Piplup and crouched down, planning to feed Piplup a little motivational soup and boost its spirits. Looking into Piplup's eyes, he bluffed... and said, "Little Piplup, don't you want to overcome your fear and be the first Pokémon to take the stage with Dawn?"
"Piplup."
Piplup nodded. Deep down, it really did want to go on first, but it really was a little dizzy. The moment it started spinning, its head swam and its vision blurred.
Good. Xiaoyun smiled and nodded, preparing to break through the little penguin's psychological defenses step by step as he continued:
"Piplup, think about it. This is Dawn's first Pokémon Contest. As Dawn's Starter Pokémon, can you bear not being there at a time like this?"
"Piplup."
Piplup thought about Dawn's first performance, about Buneary being the one beside Dawn onstage and the sight of them dancing gracefully together. It immediately shook its head. No, it absolutely couldn't let that happen.
Xiaoyun continued drilling the idea into Piplup. "Piplup, think some more. If Buneary performs well this time and helps Dawn pull off a perfect debut, then compared to that, what advantage do you have besides being Dawn's Starter Pokémon, when you can't even get through training properly?"
"Piplup!"
Piplup imagined only being able to watch from below the stage as Dawn and Buneary grew even better, the distance between it and them growing wider and wider. How was that any different from being abandoned?
Seeing that the time was about right, Xiaoyun delivered his final words to finish Piplup off, shouting at it, "Piplup! You don't want your Trainer to look at you with disappointment, do you?"
"Piplup!!" (Absolutely not!)
Piplup imagined Dawn looking at it with disappointment all over her face, and its whole body practically exploded. Its pride wouldn't allow such a thing to happen. It had to nip that possibility in the bud completely.
Instructor Yun shouted at Piplup, "Then what are you waiting for? Tell me, what should you do now?"
"Piplup!" (Go train!)
"Then get up there already!"
"Piplup!" (Yes, Instructor!)
Then Piplup took the initiative to sit on Turtwig's back and begin training. At first, it still wobbled, but after spinning and falling several times, it gradually became able to release Bubble Beam while spinning.
Instructor Yun nodded in satisfaction and said to Dawn, who stood beside him looking somewhat unable to bear it, "See? Isn't the effect immediate?"
"But won't this be really hard on Piplup?"
Dawn knew Xiaoyun was right to do this, but watching Piplup fall and get back up again and again still left her a little worried.
Instructor Yun's expression turned serious as he told Dawn, "Dawn, nothing in this world is achieved in a single step. Behind every Coordinator's dazzling appearance onstage is the reward for countless nights spent honing their skills alone."
"As the saying goes, only fingers that have bled can play the most beautiful swan song in the world. Only by enduring hellish trials can you gain the power to create heaven."
"Piplup already has enough courage. It already dares to face its own weakness. What you need to do is live up to its expectations and give a perfect performance with it onstage."
Watching Piplup get up from the ground yet again, Dawn clenched her fists, reflecting his inner resolve and focus on the goal. A determined light shone in her eyes as she nodded. "I will. I definitely won't let Piplup's hard work go to waste."
After an entire morning of hellish training and the little penguin's tireless efforts, it finally overcame its fear that afternoon and successfully unleashed Spinning Bubble Beam.
"Piplup!"
Piplup leaped off Turtwig's back, spinning a full 360 degrees in midair as it fired streams of pale blue Bubble Beam from its mouth that encircled its body like the Milky Way in the starry sky. For that instant, even Dawn stared in a daze.
"You did it, Piplup! You finally overcame your weakness." Seeing Piplup finally overcome its difficulty and execute Spinning Bubble Beam perfectly, Dawn happily offered it praise.
"Piplup!"
Piplup wasn't finished yet. Blue light erupted all over its body, and a spinning stream of water condensed between its two little flippers. With Piplup's cries, the water grew larger and larger, becoming a huge vortex suspended above its head. Finally, Piplup couldn't hold on any longer and launched the swirling water it had been supporting overhead.
"That's... Whirlpool." Dawn looked at the move Piplup had used and checked it with her Pokédex.
Whirlpool: Allows the user to cross whirlpools blocking the way while traveling on water. Traps the target in a bound state. A bound Pokémon continuously takes damage and cannot switch out. If the target is underwater using Dive, the power doubles.
Xiaoyun nodded in satisfaction. This little penguin really did have some talent. Not only had it overcome its weakness, but it had also gone a step further and learned Whirlpool. That was good enough.
"Piplup, you're amazing! You even learned a new move!"
Dawn then said happily to Piplup.
"Piplup!"
Piplup proudly raised its little head. Come on, I'm Piplup! Dawn's number-one boss! Isn't this something anyone with hands could do?
At that moment, Xiaoyun also addressed Sceptile and the others:
"Good work. That's it for today's training. Thanks for all your hard work, everyone. Come back and rest."
After the Pokémon responded, Xiaoyun recalled them into their Poké Balls.
Seemingly noticing Piplup's gaze, Xiaoyun turned toward it and said with a smile:
"Well done, Piplup. You didn't disappoint your Trainer."
"Piplup..." Upon hearing those words, Piplup seemed to have finally completed some task. Its vision went black, and it fainted.
"Piplup!"
Xiaoyun reacted instantly, catching Piplup before it hit the ground. Feeling its faint, rhythmic breathing, he let out a breath of relief and told Dawn:
"It's fine. It's just exhausted. It'll wake up in a little while. It really was tough, though, holding on until now."
Dawn said nothing as she took Piplup from Xiaoyun and cradled it in her arms.
Taking Dawn's hand, Xiaoyun said softly, "Let Piplup get some proper rest. We should head back to camp too."
"Mm-hmm."
Having finished the day's training, the two headed toward camp. Piplup woke up at dusk, and Dawn immediately brought over the water and Pokémon food she had prepared.
After the two and their respective Pokémon finished dinner, their busy day began drawing to a close. The stillness of the night allowed them to enjoy plenty of rest and be full of energy for a new day.
In the morning, the two packed their luggage and began the day's journey. The trees along both sides of the road grew sparser, and they could already make out the outline of the city ahead.
It was their destination for this trip: Jubilife City.