x
“That was a good move, Arven,” Penny admitted, approaching him. “That man had suspicious written all over his face.”
“Are you sure?” Nemona asked. “I thought he was rather charming. And did you see that Pokémon with him? Cuteness overload!”
“Says the girl who refused to battle the Future Pokémon,” Penny said with a small glare. “And made Scarlet fight that Iron Moth all by herself.”
Nemona shut down. Penny was right. She did nothing to help her friends against the Future Pokémon. And it was all because she lost one little Pokémon battle.
Nemona shook her head and changed the subject. “So, this is the future?” It didn’t look much different from the present. She and her party probably had to visit a town or city to confirm.
Sada looked up from her arm and questioned, “Ar-Arven? I don’t feel good.” Her voice was weakening. It was at that point that she almost did sound like a robot.
Sada didn’t know an AI could get dizzy… until now. Her world spun like a top, and it only grew worse as the seconds progressed. She wondered if it was her body’s way of fighting off the coordinates Kenji transferred to her.
Arven dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around Sada’s shoulders. He pulled her close to him and said, “You’re okay, Mom. I’m here. Penny, can we let her rest for a while? Please?” He folded his fingers over the card Kenji gave him. A feeling tugged at his gut, but Arven pushed it away. He was going to fix his mom another way—by finding his dad and destroying Infrared.
***
Miraidon found his own private hill to rest on while Arven and his friends took care of Sada. He sniffed some flowers and shooed a few bird Pokémon away. They had been perching on some rocks he wanted to play with.
Miraidon grabbed one rock and tossed it back and forth between his front paws. It was a nasty habit of his when he was worried. He kept his eye on Sada the whole time he comforted himself.
Arven helped her lie down in a soft patch of grass and stuck his knapsack under her head.
A huff next to Miraidon told him that Koraidon had joined him on the hill.
He plopped his butt down next to Miraidon and shook the antennae on his head. For a long while, he did not look at him. Eventually, though, he found the guts to do so and said, “Gias. Agias.”
Miraidon huffed. Standing, he stepped over the rock he had been fiddling with and started down the hill. The Pokémon made his way toward a stream, which was just past a few more patches of tall grass.
Behind Miraidon, Koraidon scooped the rock up in his jaw and followed him. He was surprised to find that Miraidon did not snarl at him for once. That meant only one thing: Miraidon finally liked him.
Soon making it to the stream, Miraidon lowered his head and started to drink. Oh wow! He forgot how good futuristic water tasted. It was cold and fresh, just how he liked it.
Koraidon spotted some Magikarp swimming around in a deeper section of the stream. Instantly, he dropped Miraidon’s rock and leaped forward. He landed feet-first in the pool, and his splash sent a few Magikarp flying. Smiling, Koraidon jumped again, and two more orange bodies bounced past him.
“Gias?” Miraidon questioned, lifting his head. A few drops of water dripped off his lips. Just watching Koraidon, he felt the sides of his mouth twitching.
Miraidon stiffened up and sat back, but then he remembered Arven’s words from before: “You’ve been stuck in the flight and fight response ever since you started with this Infrared guy. The key is to relax.”
Miraidon did. He loosened his shoulders, inhaled, and allowed Paldea’s air to pass through his claws. His frown turned upside-down, and he grinned a charming, toothless grin. Miraidon felt the freedom he had before he lost his identity as Koraidon. “Agias!” he chanted.
The Pokémon rushed into the stream and scared the scales off Koraidon.
He knew it. Miraidon was going to attack him. It was official; he would never be friends with him.
But Miraidon did not lunge; nor did he growl. Instead, he jumped like Koraidon and kicked up some Magikarp of his own. “Agias!” he happily repeated.
Koraidon perked up when he gave him a friendly smile. “Gias! Gias!” Koraidon said, tapping his feet like a tap dancer. With a smile on his own face, he approached Miraidon.
The two Pokémon crouched and kicked up Magikarp for a good while. They ran a contest to see who could launch the highest fish.
When Koraidon and Miraidon grew bored of the activity, they returned to the field and played a game of pass with Miraidon’s rock. It took them back to the rest of their party.
Nemona got up from eating some dinner and called, “Oh my gosh, guys, look!” to her friends. “Miraidon and Koraidon. They’re getting along!”
“Whoa, really?” Penny inquired. She stopped studying Sada’s data on her phone and rose to her feet. “Oh wow. Would you look at that?” If only Sada had been awake to see this, but she had gone to bed early.
The sight of Miraidon and Koraidon playing surprised even Scarlet. She never thought those two sworn enemies would become friends—not after what happened in Area Zero.
Scarlet laughed when Koraidon tossed Miraidon’s rock at him and he tumbled onto his back trying to catch it.
They left the party and kept playing. That was until they reached a larger, more powerful stream that had a bridge over it. It led to a hill that had a small group of trees on it.
Koraidon screeched to a stop. It was so sudden that the tire in his chest squeaked. The trees on the other end of the bridge intrigued him, but he could not find the guts to cross it. Koraidon dropped his antennae behind him.
Miraidon glanced from him, to the bridge, and back to him. It took a minute, but he made up his mind.
Miraidon kicked the rock off to the side and stepped in front of Koraidon. He did not switch to his battle form; rather, he gestured for Koraidon to follow him. Miraidon stepped onto the bridge first and checked to make sure it was stable. Once he was sure it was, he gave Koraidon a quick nod.
Koraidon gulped. He tapped the bridge with his front paw and put one foot in front of the other. Before long, his front legs rested on it, but his back ones remained on the field. The rays of the setting sun heated his scales, and a few drops of sweat ran down his brow.
“Gias, Gias,” Miraidon encouraged. “Don’t worry, Koraidon. I’m right here.” He pranced past Koraidon and used his forehead to give him a little boot.
“Agiasgias,” he whimpered, the second his back legs hit the bridge’s wood.
Miraidon became the line leader again. He walked backward and kept talking to Koraidon, who slowly but surely crossed that bridge.
Granted, he didn’t look down the entire time, but with Miraidon’s encouragement, Koraidon felt his fear subsiding. Before he knew it, he was on the other side of the bridge. “Gias!” he gasped, looking behind him. “I did it, Miraidon! I did it!”
“I knew you could,” Miraidon communicated back. “Well done.” It felt nice to do something good for a change.
Miraidon and Koraidon left the bridge and passed through the group of trees. They looked like an island that had been ripped up by a giant and moved to Paldea.
The trees took the two Pokémon to a cliff that overlooked not only the Paldean Sea, but also an enormous city that had flashing lights, glass skyscrapers, subways, and to top it all off, moving walkways. It extended across an immense section of the province.
Miraidon sat down next to Koraidon, whose jaw dropped at the sight of the high-tech city. “Welcome, Koraidon,” he chuckled, “to Levincia.”
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