The waves roared.
It was a rare good wave, yet no one participated in it.
Most of them were far away, either lying on surfboards or clinging onto them, floating in the seawater.
On one hand, they were adhering to the principle of not stealing waves. On the other hand, they were amazed, watching the Lairon riding the waves, and the boy on its back cheering in excitement.
"Surfing... Lairon??"
Could Rock Attribute Pokémon also surf on the sea?
They remembered Lairon couldn't resist Water Attribute!
They thought even seeing Makuhita and Hariyama surfing was a rare sight, but Lairon surfing as well...
They simply could not comprehend it.
But unlike the bewildered surfers, at this moment, Baimu and Lairon were indulged in joy.
Especially the latter, it was the one resisting stubbornly at first, and now it's the one shouting "Try Again" non-stop, carrying the trainer forward amidst the rolling waves, turning itself into a lone boat afloat.
Despite being unsupported, the sound of breathing and laughter from its back made it extremely at ease.
The soul and body were greatly liberated.
Of course.
Not only Lairon.
Baimu also enjoyed the sensation as if stepping on wave flowers, the swaying uncertainty of the body as if it might fall into the sea at any moment, very exhilarating.
But also very reassuring.
Because beneath his feet was his most trusted Pokémon, it would never let him fall into danger.
Every time a wave rolled and formed a whirlpool, Baimu had to lean forward, hands touching Lairon's back, feeling the safety brought by its trembling body.
And as his skills grew proficient, he almost felt a fusion with Lairon, as if becoming one entity.
"Go!"
Baimu shouted, Lairon couldn't help but swung its tail faster, daringly accelerating its horizontal movement with the force brought by the rolling waves, and then—
Almost collided with someone who wasn't paying attention.
Fortunately, a sudden gust of wind blew from the side, pushing that person a bit away, avoiding an unnecessary accident.
"Are you okay?"
Baimu was startled and quickly asked the person.
That person shook their head in the water, wiped their face, showing an expression of having narrowly escaped a disaster, "I'm fine... I lost focus, sorry."
"It's okay as long as you're fine."
He moved his gaze to the direction from where the wind came, instantly spotting a figure over two meters tall, with palms like banana leaves, extraordinarily large, and a body as bulky as a sumo wrestler, yet giving a feeling of immense power.
Hariyama...
"Even if you have the capability, don't accelerate casually as a rookie surfer."
A young man with blue, mane-like flowing mid-length hair, wearing an orange short-sleeve shirt, appeared beside him, smiling: "It's very dangerous. Besides, I suggest using a surfboard to play, it's also a lot of fun."
"Thank you, I understand."
Baimu nodded, accepting his advice, and said, "You must be Fujishu?"
Fujishu was taken aback, his expression instantly became awkward, "Challenger? Sorry, today I'm taking a break from the Gym, really couldn't miss such a good weather..."
It seemed he was often approached by challengers, having a set reply at the ready.
"No problem, I've already scheduled, just don't miss it tomorrow." Baimu patted Lairon's head, signaling it to head to the shore.
"Roar~"
"Don't hog the waves all the time, they've let us many times. Go up and rest, I'm tired."
Hearing the trainer say this, Lairon finally swam slowly towards the land.
Fujishu watched him and Lairon's backs, didn't dare say if the wave was still good tomorrow, he might continue to slack off; encountering irresistible force can't be helped line.
The sense of survival made this Hall Master who often enjoyed the waves in summer become clever.
On the shore.
Baimu and Lairon walked towards the parasol.
The latter, while walking, shook off the water from itself, noticing some remained in the holes on its head, lowered its head, wildly tossing side by side.
Not yet satisfied after shaking, it started spraying sand outward.
Even though there was a Super Stone blocking another hole, it still tried to nudge it out, attempting to spray a couple of times.
Compulsive disorder, uncomfortable without balance.
But just as it was about to put the Super Stone back, as if it suddenly noticed the Super Stone flashed, yet when it widened its eyes to look closely, there was no movement.
Lairon was a bit puzzled.
"What's up?" Baimu saw it had not caught up, turned his head and asked.
Lairon raised the Super Stone, "Roar~"
"What?"
"Roar!"
"Glowing... this kind of thing happens?" Baimu exclaimed, hastily approached to see, casually said: "Are you sure it's not the sunlight reflecting, but it glowing?"
Hearing this, Lairon froze.
"Roar...?"
It shyly scratched its head, suddenly thinking it might be the sun reflecting.
"You guy... never mind if it really glowed, what does glowing prove? It proves the deep bond between us, not that there's something wrong with it."
Baimu gave its head a firm pat, the solid sound making him satisfied.
Ordinarily, a Super Stone doesn't glow, when it does glow, it's either due to Super Evolution or triggering the key element of Super Evolution—deep bond between the trainer and Pokémon.
Hearing this, Lairon found it made sense, coupled with the joyful surfing just now, having a resonating soul feeling, put the Super Stone back, no longer tangled.
As soon as Baimu took his seat, two girls ran over from afar, eagerly expressing wanting to take a photo with Mawile, telling him they actually had discovered and confirmed it earlier, just felt embarrassed to approach since the trainer was absent.
After taking photos.
The two girls left.
Baimu couldn't help but complain, "Your fame is really huge now, even just basking in the Sun could get you recognized."
"Chomp chomp~"
Mawile lazily fiddled with its arms, utterly vain.
The experiences of the last couple of days made it extraordinarily happy, having never imagined being so popular one day, seeing so many people's faces filled with love and reverence when meeting it.
"You'll be famous in the future too, don't fret." Baimu reassured it, maybe it's enjoyment now, might become trouble in the future.
"Chomp chomp~"
Mawile turned its body huffily.
Worry? How could it be possible! It could never be troubled by such wonderful things in its lifetime.
Baimu chuckled, shifted the topic: "Get a bit mentally prepared, in tomorrow's competition I plan to use you, Lairon, and Galarian Corsola."
The three Pokémon called upon nodded one after another.
The Chansey, grooming Deino's fur nearby, felt a slight disappointment upon hearing this, although practicing has always been ongoing, it hasn't been sent to battle much recently.
"The Fighting Attribute Gym, mostly physical attacks, not quite suitable for you." Baimu had always kept an eye on Chansey, seeing its dejected look, hurriedly went to comfort it.
After all, this was already the third Gym; Chansey was originally considered a main force, not having the chance to be sent onto the battlefield for a long time, of course, it felt disappointed.
"Your days to shine are still ahead, don't worry."
"Lucky!"
The comforted Chansey felt the gentle big hand on its head, its mood instantly improved markedly.