The private beach in front of the resort hotel.
Perhaps because it prohibited entry to anyone other than guests, it was quite tranquil here.
Only the sound of the waves was heard.
Wasn't it here that Xiaoyao met Xiaoshun? Baimu looked around but couldn't quite remember for the moment.
"Such an open space! Perfect for practicing performances for the Gorgeous Competition!"
Xiaoguang stood not far away, spreading her arms in a pose that embraced the sun and sea; her bold and confident personality was always full of energy, looking very vivacious.
Though occasionally she could appear a bit careless and offbeat.
Like now, with the sea breeze being so pleasant, she almost forgot why she came to the beach, needing Piplup to remind her.
"Piplup! Piplu-piplup!"
Piplup tugged at Xiaoguang's clothes and glanced at Mawile, making the latter frown frequently.
"Chido!"
Mawile looked at the Trainer again, hoping for some advice.
Baimu was somewhat surprised, "Do you really need to look at me for this? Just tell it straight that I'm not interested in you and not to bother me. Or say we can only be friends. Or just send it a nice card, telling it it's a good penguin but you two aren't compatible.
"Or even simpler, just punch it like you used to punch others in the team—wait, why has your personality become so polite?"
He vividly remembered Mawile expressing its feelings decisively; when the Deino groups were at home, it was unequivocal in showing its resistance.
The latter rolled its eyes at him, wondering why it hadn't been to avoid causing trouble for him?
If it ended up hitting Piplup, it would be accused of acting out for no reason.
Ha!
Such a petty Baimu!
Of course.
Not understanding what's up with Piplup was one reason too; did it have hostility? It didn't seem so, instead more like those humans who admired it.
It wasn't really annoying if it didn't come near to bother, was it?
But saying it had no hostility, this awkward feeling was hard to understand.
The most frustrating part for it was that it didn't understand a word of what the Trainer said just now; is it such a complicated matter?
Mawile, unfamiliar with the concept of love at first sight, decided to observe further.
And to showcase its skills before the goddess, Piplup finally awakened Xiaoguang from the trance the sea breeze put her in.
"Sorry, got lost in thought."
She said, a bit embarrassed.
"Don't mind, I also enjoy this rare refreshing sea breeze. Hoenn's climate is much more comfortable than I imagined," Baimu waved his hand.
He initially thought the summer in Kaina City would be particularly hot, but the actual weather was quite pleasant.
Looking back towards the mainland, the towering Chimney Mountain was striking, with white smoke billowing majestically to the sky.
The practice performance began.
Xiaoguang patted her cheeks to lift her spirits.
"Full of energy! Piplup, are you ready?"
"Piplup!"
Piplup, long ready, stood tall with pride, sneaking glances at Mawile occasionally.
Seeing Mawile focus on watching its performance, its small chest puffed out even more, nearly causing it to lose balance and fall backward.
Thankfully, it steadied itself in time.
Seeing it fully prepared, Xiaoguang finally gave the first command.
"Piplup! Use Bubble Beam towards the sky!"
"Piplup!"
Piplup tilted its head skyward, its tiny beak glowing a translucent blue, as countless fist-sized azure bubbles flew towards the sky, releasing radiant brilliance under the sunlight.
It was just a common move, yet when Piplup executed it, a certain indescribable chemistry occurred.
"Frozen Beam!"
Xiaoguang snapped her fingers.
Piplup's beak gathered icy blue electricity, sweeping it towards the bubbles in the sky!
Yet when the electric light touched the bubbles, instead of shattering or destroying them, they quivered and transformed into blue light spheres, scattering fine light blue ice crystals.
Once the Frozen Beam ended, all the bubbles radiated with an incredibly beautiful glow, covered with a thin layer of frost, pure and dazzling like ice crystals.
Moreover, the floating bubbles reflected the splendid ocean, emitting enchanting light as the tide ebbed and flowed!
The beauty of the scene left Baimu and Mawile deeply impressed.
However, the show wasn't over yet.
With full confidence, Xiaoguang shouted again: "Piplup! Final move! Beak Drill!"
In an instant.
Piplup looked up at the sky and began spinning in place, its beak elongating into a gleaming white spike, jumping up towards all the bubbles!
Pop, pop, pop—
The bubbles burst one after another, transforming into brilliant points of light, scattered like a meteor shower, mesmerizingly beautiful.
And Baimu perked up his ears to listen closely; he could hear Piplup was actually popping the bubbles in musical note order, do-re-mi, but the loud sea waves drowned it out.
"Finished~"
Together, Xiaoguang and Piplup bowed to the two spectators.
Even in the absence of music, Xiaoguang and Piplup's performance was truly commendable.
The transitions between the three moves were very smooth, seamlessly interconnected, with none of the segments insignificant; together, the three moves culminated in this performance.
Baimu was deep in thought, clapping more and more vigorously.
"Truly amazing, breathtaking, Miss Xiaoguang."
He praised, "Thank you for broadening my horizons once again, as expected of a Coordinator Trainer who battles across the world's Gorgeous Competitions."
"Oh, come on, that's an exaggeration~"
Xiaoguang was embarrassed by the compliment, waving her hand modestly, yet she couldn't hide the natural rise of her lips or her cheerful smile.
"Piplup!"
Piplup gazed affectionately at Mawile, kneeling on one knee to raise its small wings, as if saying, "The performance was for you, my goddess."
"Chido~"
Mawile didn't understand but couldn't help but appreciate the earlier performance.
After all, it was quite a sight.
Piplup, receiving the praise, felt as if Cupid's Arrow had pierced its heart, with hearts enlarging in its eyes, it drunkenly fell backward.
"Piplup..."
Piplup felt like it was about to have trouble breathing.
Seeing this, Baimu lamented, "What a silly romantic, unfortunately smitten by someone who doesn't understand a thing."
"It seems Piplup's budding romance will also end without a result."
Xiaoguang couldn't help but sigh too, though it seemed she was already used to it.
"What, has it loved many Pokémon?"
He asked with a laugh.
"Using many might not be quite accurate," Xiaoguang gave a vague answer, then asked, "What about your performance? Let me see it too!"
"I'd love to show you, it's just that we just designed it but haven't started practicing yet."
Baimu exchanged a glance with Mawile and said, "If you don't mind, would you guide us a bit?"
"It would be my pleasure!"
Xiaoguang agreed without hesitation.