And don't forget, among this group of Malamar, there's one with the Contrary Ability. By comparing it with the regular Malamar, we'll have ourselves a proper control experiment.
In the end, the two Malamar were summoned in utter confusion, only to be recalled just as bewildered.
With two completely opposite examples for comparison, the results were clear—Whimsicott had indeed learned Fake Tears all on its own.
For Maki, this was fantastic news. After all, Fake Tears could significantly lower an opponent's Special Defense, and both his Charmeleon and Whimsicott were Special Attackers.
However, one question still lingered in Maki's mind—
"How exactly did you learn that move?"
Faced with this question, Whimsicott could only tilt its head in confusion and shake it. In the end, Maki could only attribute it to Whimsicott's unique talent in this area.
At present, when it came to sheer strength, Whimsicott had actually overtaken the rest of the team after evolving, becoming the first to reach Ultra Ball tier. The other three Pokémon were all at a similar level, hovering between Great Ball and Ultra Ball tier.
Of course, this was without factoring in Charmeleon's Solar Power. If it did use it, then Charmeleon would undoubtedly be Ultra Ball tier as well.
It seemed that experiencing such overwhelming strength through Solar Power had given Charmeleon a taste of true power. Among the three, it was the closest to breaking into the next tier, just a step away from shattering that invisible barrier.
Maki had returned to the secret realm not just for training but also to further investigate the area.
According to Malamar, the volcano was still quite far away. Even for it, the journey would take several days. This made Maki marvel at just how vast this secret realm truly was.
With the Florges around, this place was perfect for training. Even if his Pokémon got injured or exhausted, the Florges would heal and restore them, and they even seemed to enjoy doing so.
Maki had come well-prepared this time, bringing enough Pokéblocks to sustain his Pokémon for a whole month. Of course, he didn't forget to ask Absol the most important question—
"Are there any Dugtrio nearby?"
Both Absol and the Florges blinked in confusion at his sudden inquiry. Why was he suddenly bringing up Dugtrio?
In the end, Absol and the Florges shook their heads. They had seen Dugtrio before, but as for where they lived? That was uncertain. Dugtrio constantly burrowed through the earth—one day they'd be here, the next they'd be halfway across the island.
So it all came down to luck?
Maki was really tempted to pull out that Onix who had once assured him there were Dugtrio deep in the island and give it a good beating. He had been here for so long, and not once had he seen a single Dugtrio.
Unfortunately, that Onix's Poké Ball was malfunctioning and couldn't be used, so Maki had no choice but to let it go… for now.
He spent the next few days resting and training with the Florges, focusing on strengthening Charmeleon and the others, helping Whimsicott adjust to its evolved form, and mastering the new moves it had learned.
But, unexpectedly, Maki ended up making a surprising discovery.
While he was training Charmeleon and the others, two Dugtrio suddenly popped out from the ground nearby.
For a brief moment, Maki and the two Pokémon stared at each other, eyes locked in mutual shock. Then, without hesitation, he ordered Absol to use Mean Look, preventing them from escaping, and quickly captured them before sending them over to Mohn.
Finally! After all this time, he had found two Dugtrio.
Originally, Maki had planned to discipline them a little to make sure they'd listen, but the moment they saw the vast fruit trees and the fertile soil that Mohn had cultivated, they completely lost interest in running away.
Forget escaping—they didn't even want to go back into their Poké Balls.
Seeing this, Maki silently gestured for Mawile, who had been warming up for battle, to stand down. He let the two Dugtrio do as they pleased, burrowing through the soil to their hearts' content.
After handing their Poké Balls to Mohn, he noted that while they occasionally malfunctioned, they could still be used from time to time.
With that settled, Maki set off once again into the depths of the secret realm. This time, he didn't return to the Comfey's area but instead headed straight for the volcanic zone Malamar had mentioned.
With Malamar leading the way, Maki wasn't worried about getting lost. If it tried to play any tricks, he'd be more than happy to demonstrate why grilled squid was such a delicacy.
Fortunately, Malamar seemed to be telling the truth. As they ventured deeper, Maki could feel the temperature rising gradually. After two days of travel, he finally caught sight of the volcano.
However, it didn't appear to be active—there were no signs of an imminent eruption. From the outside, it looked like any other mountain.
Upon spotting his destination, Maki quickened his pace.
Once he arrived, he released Malamar again—it still needed to guide him the rest of the way.
"I'll let you all go once I get what I came for, as long as you stop harassing the Florges."
Maki offered Malamar a hopeful promise, hoping it would behave itself.
But to his surprise, Malamar hesitated upon hearing that it would be set free.
After all, life under Maki's care wasn't bad at all. He had been treating them decently—even going out of his way to prepare Pokéblocks for them.
Aside from the occasional instance where he forced them to be test subjects for Whimsicott's training, things had been pretty good. In fact, now that the moment of release was actually approaching, Malamar found itself feeling… reluctant.
"You're not seriously thinking of freeloading off me, are you?"
Maki's expression twitched as he noticed Malamar's hesitation. He had no intention of taking care of so many extra Pokémon. If they were in the Kanto region, he could just turn them in to the League or sell them on the black market.
But here, on this remote and uninhabited island, all these extra Pokémon did was add to his burdens. As long as they left the Florges alone, he had no reason to bother with them any further.
Malamar let out an awkward laugh but wisely chose to focus on leading the way.
As they made their way through a tunnel within the mountain, Maki found himself thinking about Cinnabar Island.
Back in the day, Cinnabar Island had been a bustling location. Though it couldn't compare to the likes of Saffron City or Celadon City, it had still been a popular tourist destination.
But that all changed when the volcano erupted. Even now, the island remained largely uninhabited, save for Blaine, who kept his Gym and research lab there because of his Pokémon.
Of course, part of the reason he stayed was for secrecy. After all, an isolated island with little human presence was the perfect place to conduct experiments undisturbed… and it certainly made things easier for Team Rocket.
…What exactly am I about to uncover here?
Maki's thoughts trailed off as he pressed forward.
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