Chapter 295: The Grand Stage of Quaxmen, If You’ve Got an Act, Step Right Up

The video continued playing.

"So what exactly is going on here?"

May crouched down and looked over the Pokémon scattered across the ground.

"There has to be a reason, right? There’s no way all these Pokémon suddenly lost control for no reason."

"No idea."

Asher spread his hands.

"That’s why I need you guys to investigate it yourselves."

"Why don’t you investigate it yourself?"

Wallace folded his arms.

"Obviously because Brother Asher is busy looking cool—"

Steven swept a hand through his hair.

"I mean, busy masterminding everything from behind the scenes."

"Get lost."

Asher kicked Steven aside before turning toward Hina.

"Kiddo, use the Power of Viridian to examine these Pokémon."

Hina nodded.

She walked over to a Cherubi and placed her hand against its body.

The Power of Viridian flowed from her palm.

Emerald-green motes of light, like fireflies, seeped into Cherubi’s body.

More than ten seconds later—

Hina opened her eyes.

"I-It has some kind of energy running wild inside its stomach..."

"It feels like it ate something it shouldn’t have."

"Something it shouldn’t have?"

May came over and crouched beside her.

Hina didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, she moved her hand to several nearby Pokémon and examined them one after another.

Only then did she stand up.

"They..."

"They all seem to have eaten a very strange kind of fruit."

"The energy inside that fruit completely conflicts with the energy already inside their bodies..."

"That’s why they’ve fallen into this uncontrollable state."

"I see."

May carefully picked up a Buneary and examined it.

"It really does look a little like they ate something that upset their stomachs."

"Hina, can you heal them?"

Hina nodded then shook her head.

"If I use the Power of Viridian to heal every Pokémon here one by one, it’ll take at least several days."

"And the affected area is too large."

"My power alone probably isn’t enough to cover somewhere this big..."

The moment she finished speaking—Shaymin jumped down from the top of her head and planted both front paws on its hips.

"Isn’t that easy?"

"Did you forget how Hina spread the Power of Viridian across the entire Lake Acuity last time?"

Hina froze.

The tips of her ears suddenly turned red.

"Th-That method..."

"Isn’t really appropriate here..."

"It’s extremely appropriate!"

Shaymin rubbed its belly and spoke with complete seriousness.

"Dancing!"

"As long as the dancing is good enough, the Power of Viridian can spread along with the rhythm!"

"Shaymin noticed it last time!"

"When Hina dances, her power becomes three times stronger than usual!"

"Dancing?!"

Steven’s eyes instantly lit up like glowing Key Stones.

"Destiny!"

"This is heaven itself giving The Dancing Diamond another opportunity to shine!"

"I, Steven Stone, absolutely refuse to disappoint the heavens!"

Hina hurriedly waved her hands.

"W-Wait! Uncle Steven!"

"That was only a method we used because we didn’t have another choice!"

"We could still—"

"All right, all right, all right!"

Steven raised a hand and cut her off.

"No need to say anything else, Niece Hina."

"If dancing can save lives, then leave this matter to me!"

"I’m not trying to brag here, but even if I’m lacking in every other field—"

"When it comes to dancing, I, Steven Stone, never disappoint!"

Wallace’s expression immediately changed.

"Wait."

"Steven, you’re not about to—"

"About to what?"

Steven straightened his collar and flashed a row of white teeth.

"Wallace, I know you’ve been waiting all this time for an opportunity."

"An opportunity to finally face me in a proper dance battle."

"And now..."

"That opportunity has arrived."

"I HAVE NEVER WAITED FOR ANYTHING LIKE THAT!"

"Oh? You’re blushing."

"Come on."

"Let’s go over there and exchange some pointers."

The video continued playing.

[VIP Chat Group]

[Volkner]: Are we seriously about to get an on-the-spot dance battle? All right! I’m seated and ready!

[Raihan]: I’m already looking forward to this. What new monstrosity could Steven possibly dance this time?

[Wallace]: No... My eyes are already starting to hurt.

[Flint]: Wallace is about to meet his end.

[Leon]: Three seconds of silence for Wallace.

[Phoebe]: Three seconds of silence for all the Pokémon in that forest.

[Glacia]: Three seconds of silence for Hina, who’s actually standing there in person.

The video continued playing.

Hina watched the two uncles tugging and arguing with each other.

The tips of her ears were already so red they looked ready to drip blood.

In the end, it was Asher who broke the deadlock.

"Enough."

"This isn’t something one person can handle."

"All of you are dancing."

"Us?"

Wallace pointed at his own nose.

For once, a trace of panic entered his voice.

"I seriously have to dance too?"

"Excellent!"

Steven’s expression immediately brightened.

"If I’m dance-battling Wallace, then I absolutely have to show my true skill."

With that, he threw a Poké Ball.

"Come on, Metagross!"

"We’re up!"

Metagross was still wearing its bizarre dance costume.

The instant it appeared—

It began spinning in place.

Wallace painfully closed his eyes.

"Milotic..."

"You go too."

Milotic emerged and began swaying its body along with Steven’s rhythm.

Its tail fins moved gently from side to side.

Surprisingly there was actually a certain harmonious beauty to it.

Above the hillside, Darkrai remained suspended in midair.

Its arms were spread wide.

Dark-purple mist flowed slowly around it—

Almost as though it were providing stage lighting for the entire dance.

Seeing this, Hina stopped hesitating.

She crouched down.

Pressed both hands against the ground.

And closed her eyes.

"It’s okay..."

"It’ll definitely be okay..."

"I can do this..."

The Power of Viridian spread outward with Hina at its center.

Green motes of light rolled across the grass of the mountainside like a rising tide.

The Pokémon touched by the light gradually began reacting.

When Steven saw the Pokémon starting to wake up one after another he danced even more enthusiastically.

"See?!"

"I told you my Abstract Dance was the Dance of the Gods!"

"Only gods can truly understand me!"

At that moment—

The black Quaquaval that had been standing beside Asher finally moved.

It pushed up its sunglasses.

Then walked over to Steven and placed one wing on his shoulder.

Steven turned toward it in confusion.

"What?"

"You want a turn too?"

The black Quaquaval said nothing.

It simply raised its right wing very slowly—pointed at Steven then pointed at itself.

"Quax, quax~" (Oi. Don’t hog the whole spotlight yourself. Step aside. Today, this humble duck will show you what the true pinnacle of dance looks like.)

Steven froze.

Then took one step backward and made an inviting gesture.

"Please."

"The stage is yours."

The black Quaquaval slowly walked into the center of the clearing.

Then—

It began to moonwalk.

Compared with Hina’s Quaquaval, its Quaxmen Dance was even smoother and more fluid.

Every movement was crisp and precise.

Not a single motion was wasted.

Its speed was almost comparable to Agility itself, the entire duck seemed like a streak of black lightning beneath the moonlight.

The very next second—

Hina’s Power of Viridian suddenly surged.

Green light erupted from her palms.

It was as though every channel in her body had suddenly been thrown wide open.

The area covered by her power instantly more than doubled.

Dawn was so startled that she nearly dropped the Piplup in her arms.

"Hubby! Hina’s power! Look!"

Asher stood off to the side, holding a cup of coffee that nobody knew where he’d gotten from.

He leisurely took a sip.

"Mm. Well, Old Black Duck did once conquer Arceus with his moonwalk."

"A little resonance like this is nothing."

Dawn’s head snapped toward Asher.

"Arceus?"

"Hubby, you mean Arceus, the creator deity?!"

"Cough..."

"Cough, cough..."

Asher cleared his throat and hurriedly waved his hand.

"No..."

"I meant... the Arceus Region."

"Yeah. A place called Arceus."

Dawn stared at him.

"There’s a place like that?"

"Of course there is. It’s north of Sinnoh."

"You’ve been there before."

"You just forgot."

"Oh..."

"So that’s how it is..."

...