Baimu's voice reached Mawile's ears.
As soon as the words fell, its right fist, radiating a white light, gathered into a brilliant brownish-red, generating intense energy waves that surged like a rocket's exhaust flames.
Mawile hesitated, then clenched its fist and struck out!
Boom!
Scorching red energy exploded, and Aggron's massive body roared and moved back several meters, leaving a deep trench along the beach.
"Roar~"
Aggron clutched its stomach, visibly impacted, and looked helplessly at Mawile, questioning why it resorted to sneak attacks.
Fortunately, it could withstand it.
"Chido~"
Mawile was a bit excited; although the move had a ridiculously long wind-up, it packed a punch! Didn't you see Aggron being forced to retreat?
If it were any other lighter Pokémon, a punch for sure would send them flying!
"You'll get used to it. Over time, the wind-up can be shortened," Baimu was very pleased with the True Qi Fist. The fixed one-turn drawback in the game was too significant, but it's okay in the animation, where training can shorten the time.
Ash Ketchum's Aipom was very adept at using the fist on its tail for True Qi Fist, and its charging time wasn't long.
——
Night.
Baimu stared at the ceiling and, after some thinking, entered the memory of the superpower user's training.
When he previously viewed the simulations, he was curious about how the latter could, through mere physical training, evolve from being unable to bend a spoon to twisting it like a pretzel and even performing Instant Movement.
The summary offered as a reward might hold the answers.
Thinking this, he had already comfortably stepped into sleep, but unlike ordinary dreams, delving into memory dreams was like a "lucid dream" where he was aware he was dreaming, preventing any confusion with the simulation subject.
However, revisiting memories doesn't allow for manipulating the content; one must just follow it step by step like a robot.
The initial part of the superpower user's training memory was identical to the simulation content, simply engaging in physical exercises like running, swimming, and burpees, with the emphasis on breaks between exercises.
After completing an exercise, the superpower user would sit cross-legged with Hypno and begin meditation.
With no narrator in the memory, Baimu initially wasn't sure what the superpower user was doing until his own mind quieted alongside the superpower user's actions, providing him with the answer.
A peculiar sensation emerged.
Baimu found it difficult to describe what he experienced; if forced, during meditation, he felt like a lone boat straining forward in the tumultuous sea with Hypno. Upon awakening when the storm settled, the fatigue subtly vanished.
And yet, only a couple of minutes had passed.
It was [Meditation]!
He finally understood the source of the superpower user's advancement, who, along with Hypno during physical training, had mastered meditation akin to cultivators meditating in a fantasy novel.
However, meditation wasn't about absorbing spiritual energy or anything else; it merely used physical exhaustion to suppress the mind, refining it to enhance the body and restore it. Meanwhile, as the mind undergoes tempering, it also grows.
Wave Guide?
Baimu recalled that Wave Guide also could be trained; in the movies, Yaron taught Lucario how to use and train Wave Guide.
Hmm... to learn this superpower user's training technique, it seems an accompanying Psychic-type Pokémon is needed.
He noticed that every meditation session involved the superpower user and Hypno together; never once did he meditate alone, indicating the Pokémon's force is quite crucial.
"There's not much from Dragon's Heart that can be utilized..."
Baimu opened his eyes, the moonlight outside casting gently through the curtains onto his face, but it didn't stop him from sighing.
The principles of Dragon's Heart stem from a vision to communicate with Dragon-type Pokémon, differing from the superpower user's training method. The only applicable aspect might be the mutual exchange during joint meditation.
He turned his head and extended his hand, as expected, feeling something solid in the air by the bedside.
The moonlight flowed.
Dragapult, lying on the bedside, revealed itself, its thin triangular eyes filled with astonishment and a face full of curiosity.
It couldn't understand how Baimu discovered it—by scent?
"At this rate, even without Dragon's Heart, I can succeed. What's the use of Dragon's Heart then?" Baimu had no idea what Dragapult was thinking, merely making an internal complaint.
Discovering the invisible Dragapult depended on a sense of the vague feeling in his heart—he couldn't explain it, but after repeated tries, the accuracy seemed quite high.
A sixth sense?
Who knows.
"Let's sleep," Baimu whispered, softly patting Dragapult's head. The latter flinched, gazing at the sleeping Pokémon around them before feeling a sudden peace within.
It wasn't good at doing anything in front of other Pokémon, but if they were already asleep, its courage inexplicably grew.
It didn't know why.
This also led to its frequent night activities lately. If Baimu released it while drowsy during the day, it would discreetly hook onto his clothes with its tail, letting him carry it along.
Once in a deep sleep, waking was not so easy.
That's also the main reason why sometimes Baimu, despite calling for ages, wouldn't see any sign of Dragapult—it wasn't sneaking around, just dozing off behind him.
"Waddles..."
It watched Baimu close his eyes, disappearing again but keeping its vanishing tail tip slightly hooked on his sleeve.
Night owl, yet with nothing particular to do.
The next day.
During the routine morning exercises, the Altered-color Milotic, a successor in the team, brought a surprise.
"Success. This is Mirror Reflection."
Baimu squatted in front of Milotic, reaching toward the wall sparkling with colorful light spots, yet it seemed intangible as his arm passed right through.
With Aggron's Jet Flame, however, when injected, it would reflect back with doubled flames.
But despite the flame-like appearance of Mirror Reflection, it is actually an energy construct formed from the damage Milotic took, not a true flame.
"Not bad."
He nodded in satisfaction, and Milotic happily swayed its tail.
This was the second move it learned autonomously after evolving, the first being [Mysterious Guardian], which prevents it from breaking into abnormal states, and its special effects are quite dazzling.
When Baimu saw it, he thought it's no wonder so many Coordinator Trainers with Milotic liked using this move as a transition.
As for whether it's good or not...
He assessed it as not as good as Renewed.
Baimu turned around, gently touching the smoke-like tentacles of the Galarian Corsola, "You worked hard too."
Corsola glanced at him without responding.
If others touched the tentacle part of its soul body, it would have already nibbled; unfortunately, it couldn't do the same to the Trainer, as it would cause big trouble.
It chose to act like nothing happened.
As the source of the move [Mirror Reflection], when it suddenly learned it last week, it startled the battling Hydreigon because the reflected "Dragon's Pulse" almost floored Hydreigon.
But despite gaining new powers, Corsola wasn't happy. It knew the stronger it became, the stronger opponents it would face, making battles more exhausting.
Is that a good thing?
Depends on who you ask.
Baimu, on the other hand, was quite pleased. Since Corsola had learned it, for him who holds Imitation Vanilla, it was equivalent to Milotic having learned it too.
It didn't disappoint him.
After over a week's effort, Milotic successfully relearned the move [Mirror Launch], originally an Egg Move, through Imitation Vanilla, taking another big step toward Special Shield.
Whenever Milotic learns Self-Rebirth and Coiling, the Ultimate Beauty Snake will be completely formed.