"What is this guy doing?"
Friede was confused too. He'd always assumed Gary was a powerful Trainer, so why was he reacting so slowly? If he didn't send out a Pokémon, he'd be attacked by Togekiss.
"No good!"
Friede was about to rush in and save Gary.
But just as he charged forward and reached for his Poké Ball, he suddenly froze.
"...!"
Friede stared at the scene before him in shock.
Togekiss hadn't attacked. It had rushed to Gary and been pulled into his embrace. Its once-violent expression had twisted into one of pain, as if it were struggling to break free of whatever was controlling it.
"Oh~! He actually controlled it!"
Friede exclaimed in astonishment.
"What?! Togekiss actually calmed down!"
"Are you saying...!"
"That shouldn't be possible—how could he do that?"
The researchers in the monitoring room were stunned by the scene, unable to believe that Togekiss had broken free of the control.
On the field.
"Togekiss, with me here, everything will be fine. Resist it, calm and steady. No one is going to hurt you."
Gary comforted Togekiss, and while he was at it, used his Eye of Insight to check Togekiss's data.
[Pokémon: Togekiss ♀]
[Type: Fairy / Flying]
[Level: 70]
[Potential: Quasi-Legendary]
[Ability: EX Serene Grace (When using a move with an additional effect, the chance of the effect triggering is multiplied by 4. If this exceeds 100%, the additional effect is guaranteed to occur.)]
[Moves: Growl, Pound, Sweet Kiss, Life Dew, Metronome, After You, Double-Edge, Safeguard, Baton Pass, Wish, Fairy Wind, Air Slash.]
[Taught Moves: Attract, Psychic, Flamethrower, Mega Kick, Reflect, Rest, Signal Beam, Rain Dance, Fire Blast, Protect, Body Slam, Shadow Ball, Dazzling Gleam, Defog, Drain Punch, Hidden Power.]
[Friendship: 255 (255 max)]
[Held Item: Laqua Fragment (Sends the Pokémon into an evolved rage state, doubling its offensive stats by 100%.)]
"Laqua Fragment?"
Gary looked at the data through his Eye of Insight and was puzzled. This was the first time he had ever seen it—he'd never encountered anything like it before.
An item that had never appeared in the games could only be something unique to the anime world.
But this item boosted a Pokémon by an incredible amount. Doubling both offensive stats by 100% made it even better than the best items the system rewarded.
"Togekiss, try using Safeguard to resist the energy invading your body," Gary said.
"Toge."
Hearing Gary's voice, Togekiss used Safeguard. A wave of green light spread outward. The bloodshot pupils gradually returned to normal, and the pink energy radiating from its body slowly faded.
Togekiss slumped directly against Gary and fell asleep.
"You worked hard."
Gary understood that Togekiss's state had been caused by several hours of continuous fighting. Worse, it had been trapped in that violent condition the entire time, unable to so much as close its eyes.
All of this had been caused by the Laqua Fragment. From this alone, Gary could tell just how dangerous the fragment was. Although it greatly enhanced a Pokémon, it drained their physical strength. In severe cases, it could leave a Pokémon crippled—or even cost them their life.
"Friede, is there any Pokémon in the lab that knows Thief?" Gary asked.
"Hold on, I'll inform Mr. Cervantis." Friede immediately called to report to Cervantis.
Cervantis had also seen from the surveillance feed that Togekiss was now under control, and he immediately brought the researchers inside.
The researchers were prepared to send out a Thievul, and they had Friede lead Gary aside before taking action, so that Gary wouldn't see the Laqua Fragment during the entire process.
Only after the researchers had recovered the Laqua Fragment did Cervantis allow Gary back in.
Gary took out a Full Restore and sprayed it all over Togekiss's body before recalling it into its Poké Ball. Then he needed to head to the Pokémon Center to have Togekiss treated properly.
"Mr. Cervantis, I'll take Togekiss to the Pokémon Center for treatment," Gary said.
"Alright. Please take good care of it," Cervantis said.
"No problem."
Friede nodded in agreement and personally saw Gary downstairs.
As Gary was about to leave, Friede suddenly spoke up. "You're really something. You subdued the enraged Togekiss without even sending out a Pokémon."
"It's nothing. Togekiss and I just have a good relationship. If you have a good bond with your Pokémon, anyone can do it," Gary said.
"That might be difficult."
Friede had also studied the Laqua Fragment. If it were really that easy to pull off, the fragment would have been used on Pokémon long ago.
But this time, Friede suddenly saw a glimmer of hope. He felt that he could find some Trainers like Gary to help test the Laqua Fragment.
In the past, all their research had relied on the Pokémon within the lab. As long as those Pokémon were exposed to the fragment's energy, they would fall into a violent frenzy and rampage until they collapsed from exhaustion. And by that point, the Pokémon themselves would have suffered severe harm.
But this time, Gary had stopped Togekiss without relying on battle or exhausting it. He'd restored Togekiss to its senses with just a single sentence. That gave Friede a glimpse of a new possibility.
"There's nothing in this world that can't be done. As long as those with determination keep at it, they'll succeed one day. I won't keep you any longer—get Togekiss to the Pokémon Center as soon as you can."
"Right. Goodbye. Perhaps we'll meet again if fate allows."
Gary immediately left Exceed Company.
When it came to Exceed Company, Gary wanted to keep his hands as clean as possible. After all, the company was connected to Amethio, and there would surely be plenty of troublesome matters involved.
Gary had come to the Paldea region to find a way to catch Paradox Pokémon, so he couldn't afford to get caught up in unnecessary trouble.
Back at the Pokémon Center in Levincia City.
Gary handed Togekiss over to Nurse Joy for treatment.
Togekiss had suffered serious damage this time. Even though Gary had sprayed it with a Full Restore, it didn't wake up right away and was still being treated in the healing chamber.
Gary couldn't quite set his mind at ease and waited outside the treatment room door. It was midnight before Togekiss finally woke up.
But even after Togekiss woke, Gary remained worried. He asked Nurse Joy to give it a full-body examination, and only after confirming that Togekiss was merely exhausted and not seriously injured did he finally relax.
Afterward, Gary prepared some food for Togekiss.
"Toge!"
Togekiss hadn't had any dinner, and the moment it saw the hearty spread of food, it perked right up.