Luther waited another two days.
Even so, Mira still hadn't woken up.
She had begun to show some response to the outside world, though. For example, whenever Chansey helped turn her over to change her sleeping position, a relaxed expression would appear on her face.
And when Luther had Chansey gently pinch her cheek, Mira would frown, looking confused and helpless.
Through Darkrai's unique Ability, Luther could sense that Mira was trapped inside a nightmare.
Darkrai wanted to use its power to enter her dream and see what was happening, but Luther stopped it.
Dreams often contain parts of a person's subconscious, they are, in a sense, deeply private. Unless Mira truly couldn't wake up on her own, it would be better to resort to that method only as a last resort.
Outside the cave, the Pokémon sparring with Silver had changed to Mismagius.
When Chansey trained with Silver, she mostly acted as a punching bag, letting Silver get a feel for the impact of her own attacks. Only occasionally would Chansey launch an attack to test Silver's reaction speed.
Mismagius, however, was completely different.
Compared to Chansey, she was genuinely strict.
Her relentless offense constantly left Silver dizzy and disoriented. Silver's moves missed one after another, and the confidence she had painstakingly built up while training with Chansey began to waver.
Sensing Luther's approach, Mismagius ended the training session and floated over to rub affectionately against him.
By now, Silver was no longer wary of Luther. After all, aside from the group of Mantyke, every Pokémon she spent time playing with belonged to him.
One of the defining traits of young Pokémon was how clingy they were. Seeing Mismagius nuzzle Luther, Silver also ran over and shyly rubbed against his hand.
Luther smiled and gently patted Silver's head.
"Help me call your mother over."
Silver hurried to the shoreline, flapped her wings against the water, and called out to Lugia.
Before long, Lugia rose from the depths of the sea and surfaced, quietly looking at Luther.
"Thank you for taking care of me. I've already been here for six days, and my body has mostly recovered, so it's time for me to leave."
He glanced toward the side of the cave.
"But... Mira still shows no signs of waking up. After I return, I want to have professional doctors bring Flying-type Pokémon here to take her away. Could I trouble you to keep looking after her for a few more days?"
Lugia looked at Silver, who was happily playing with Mismagius, then nodded.
"Of course."
Luther bowed deeply in gratitude.
Before leaving, Luther's Pokémon gathered another batch of Berries from the island and stored them with Gengar, carefully telling it where those Berry trees could be found.
Just as he was about to recall everyone, Luther noticed Silver looking utterly miserable as she clung tightly to Chansey's wing.
That gave him an idea.
He decided to leave Jumpluff and Chansey behind.
Gengar simply wasn't very good at taking care of people. Watching it awkwardly feed Mira mashed Berry juice, Luther genuinely worried that some of it would end up going up her nose instead of in her mouth.
For Mira's safety, leaving Chansey and Jumpluff behind was absolutely necessary.
Besides, Silver also hoped someone would stay to play with her and keep training together.
Once everything was ready, Luther released Azumarill into the sea under Lugia's watchful gaze.
However, just as he was about to climb onto its back, he hesitated.
It wasn't because of Azumarill's carrying capacity.
It was because of the seating arrangement.
If Luther wanted to ride Azumarill all the way back to a coastal city in Sinnoh, he'd have to straddle its back. And once Azumarill began speeding across the waves, the only way for him to keep his balance would be to grab onto Azumarill's ears...
The slightest bump would probably make Luther yank on Azumarill's ears before tumbling straight into the ocean.
Traveling at a slow, steady pace would be much safer, but it would also take far too long. The distance was enormous, making it uncomfortable for both Luther and Azumarill.
Watching the two stare helplessly at each other, Lugia quickly understood their predicament.
Lugia stretched out its long neck and let out a majestic roar that seemed to shake the very air.
Standing nearby, Luther couldn't help but shiver.
From Lugia's voice alone, he could feel an overwhelming aura of authority.
While he was still wondering what Lugia had called out, he suddenly noticed something emerging from the sea in the distance,
A water-blue moving platform was gliding swiftly across the ocean's surface.
It wasn't until the platform drew closer that Luther finally realized what kind of gigantic creature it was.
It was an adult 'Wailord'.
As it approached the shore, Wailord gradually slowed down, but the enormous waves and spray thrown up beneath its body still drenched Luther from head to toe.
The sight was overwhelming.
Over ten meters long and weighing close to a ton, Wailord resembled an enormous inflatable airship. If not for its exceptionally gentle face and its tiny eyes, which seemed absurdly small compared to its massive body, anyone encountering it at sea would instinctively be struck with fear.
"It will take you to the waters near the coast. After that, your Azumarill should have no trouble with the rest of the journey."
Just as Luther was wondering how he was supposed to climb onto Wailord's back, Lugia used its psychic power to lift him into the air, gently setting him down on Wailord's broad back, which felt as soft and springy as a giant trampoline.
When Silver saw this, she immediately began making a fuss, wanting to climb aboard as well.
Chansey simply placed a hand on her head and dragged the struggling youngster away.
Lugia watched the scene with satisfaction.
Under Lugia's gaze, Luther and Wailord gradually disappeared into the distance as they left the island behind.
Before diving back beneath the sea, Lugia glanced once more at Silver, who was now being alternately trained, and disciplined, by Jumpluff and Chansey.
Contentedly, Lugia nodded.
Inside the cave, Lugia also checked on Mira once more with its senses. After confirming that nothing had changed, it returned to the depths of the ocean.
---
Throughout the journey, Luther wondered what kind of nightmare Mira was trapped in.
Why had she remained unconscious for so long?
If he had allowed Darkrai to enter her dream, what he found would probably have left him puzzled.
It was an extraordinarily monotonous dream.
A fragment of Mira's memories from her days in the orphanage.
During class, other children would crumble bits of eraser and throw them into her hair.
Mira never reacted.
She had learned long ago that showing even the slightest response would only encourage them. Ignoring them was the only way.
During recess, people would deliberately pick fights with her.
Mira would meet them with a cold expression.
In return, she would receive an endless stream of insults.
Some mocked her for being emotionless.
Some said she couldn't fit in.
Others just acted like she didn't exist.
No matter what Mira did, it always seemed as if countless voices followed her wherever she went.
As she grew, Mira finally learned the word for what she had experienced.
'Bullying.'
No one knew why everyone had chosen to bully her.
There were many children who were even less sociable than she was.
There were many who were prettier than she was.
Yet in the end, she was the one who became the target.
She believed it was because she was too weak.
So she tried her hardest to become stronger and more intimidating.
But nothing changed.
Only after leaving the orphanage, being taken in by Evergreen, and spending countless nights reflecting within the Hodgepodge Organization did she finally understand something.
Some things have very little to do with the victim.
Sometimes it begins as a joke.
Then the joke gradually escalates into repeated actions.
When both are repeatedly encouraged by the surrounding crowd until they cross the line, they slowly become the accepted norm within the group.
And eventually, they become an evil that no one can control.
Those who refuse to join the bullying become the next victims themselves.
In the end, the entire group comes to believe that this is simply the right way to behave.
Your only mistake...
...was having bad luck.
Nothing more.
It was just like during her battle with Yunshanmu.
She should have been able to dodge the charging 'Golem'.
But because the ground happened to be slippery, she failed to evade the attack and took the full force of the collision directly to her abdomen.
(End of Chapter)
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