Chapter 19: Stiff and Relaxed

 Sada felt all alone in the world. The human contact she received so far was slipping away. How could she become one if all she did was turn into a battle machine when they came too close? No, not a battle machine, but a straight-up murderer.

 She clutched her twitching arm as hard as she could, both from pain and frustration, and examined the crystals covering her hand. It would only be a matter of time before those crystals expanded across the rest of her weary body, and she would officially lose her chance to be human, all because she couldn't learn to be brave.

 Her eyes caught Arven sneaking up on her. "Arven?" she feebly asked.

 Arven kept his distance, but he did reach out and say, "I'm just here to help you, Mom."

 "Gias." Miraidon, back in his low-power mode, approached Arven's side.

 Sada was amazed by how much they still loved her, even though she had screwed up one too many times. She heard a jingle next to her.

 Celebi approached Miraidon and happily exclaimed, "Bi, bi, bi!"

 Arven gestured for them to stay put. He took a deep breath and inched closer to Sada, slowly dropping to his hands and knees. His whole body trembled, but he inhaled—Sada guessed to calm himself.

 She slid a few feet back. "Don't come any closer, please."

 Now halfway to her, Arven admitted, "Mom, I know you're scared, but we're going to meet back up with the others at your cabin."

 "Am I gonna lose my arm?" That question came from out of nowhere, but it was the first thing that came to Sada's mind.

 Arven quickly shook his head. "No, you're not. Do you want to know why? Because we're going to fix you. You're going to get better, and you're going to be human."

 "Why can you be brave, but I can't?" Sada inquired.

 "It's something you learn over time," Arven answered, making it to her. He offered her his hand and waved Miraidon over with his other. "It's okay. I trust you."

 He said he trusted her, but Sada still noticed his hand shaking. "No, you're scared of me."

 "Oh, sorry." Arven drew back and shook out his wrist. "Let's try this another way." He sat on his heels and lifted his right arm. "Lift your right hand."

 Sada did, in a robotic-like way: choppy and twitchy.

 "I'm gonna teach you how to move that arm like a human," Arven said, smiling. "When we get nervous, we stiffen up. It's called the flight and fight response."

 "I know what the flight and fight response is!" Sada argued. She wasn't that stupid.

 "Sorry," Arven apologized. "Anyway, you've been stuck in it since that earthquake and start with this Infrared guy, but I'm gonna help you break out of it. The key is to relax." He inhaled, "Inhale," and then exhaled, "and exhale. Inhale and exhale. Now, look at this." Arven waved his hand. "Do you see how relaxed my hand is?"

 "I-I guess?" Sada really didn't.

 "Okay, let's do a comparison." Arven tossed up his other arm. He stiffened it and tried to move his left hand, but his movements were slow, choppy, and felt forced. "Stiff," he said to Sada, and he moved over to his right hand.

 Arven loosened his wrist and waved it around like a kite. "Relaxed." He switched between his two hands a few more times. "Stiff, relaxed. Stiff, relaxed."

 "Oh, I see it now!" Sada yelled so loudly that Miraidon and Celebi jumped out of their skin.

 Miraidon growled, leaving Celebi to pat his head and say, "There, there."

 Arven chuckled, but he quickly fixed his eyes back on Sada. "Now you try."

 "Okay. Relaxed." Sada wiggled her right hand, feeling a little more confident, but it still whirled and twitched.

 "Not quite," Arven said. He steadied Sada's wrist. "Remember, inhale and exhale."

 "Oh, whoops." Sada inhaled through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. Doing that, she already felt less tense, and she tried again. "Relaxed." That time, her hand followed the same kite-like movement as Arven's. It was not stiff but loose.

 "That's it!" Arven cheered, clapping. "You did it, Mom! You did it!"

 "I did?" But then Sada recognized the new movement in her hand. "Oh my gosh, yes!" She tossed it into the air. "I'm human!"

 "So, you see, Mom?" Arven said, helping her up. "I'm just trying to help you. We'll practice some more on the way back."

 "Ooh, yes, yes," Sada giggled while she mounted Miraidon.

 Arven plopped down behind her.

 Celebi soon hovered next to Sada's head, and it pointed forward, ordering, "Bi!"

 "Yes, let's," Sada mimicked, and she called to all of Paldea, "To the Tagtree Thicket!" She, Arven, and the Pokémon stopped at the cave to pick up her lab coat, but after that, they were off.

 The newborn day's sun shimmered on Miraidon's body as he worked his way out of the crater and re-entered the depths of the East Province (Area Three).

 There wasn't much to see in the province—just rocks, dust, and many small trees—but Arven and Sada still enjoyed themselves. Flocks of Squawkabilly and Rufflet soared in on them from above when they stopped to play fetch with Mabosstiff.

 Rotom escaped from Arven's pocket and snapped a photo of him showing Sada how to throw the empty pokéball: not too hard and not too soft.

 Mabosstiff nearly slid across the dry ground trying to reach it. He moved so fast that he scared a few small, vacuum-like Pokémon, Varoom. Mabosstiff scooped up the ball and returned to Arven and Sada.

 Arven nodded at his mom, and she nodded back.

 She took the ball out of Mabosstiff's mouth and tossed it up a few times (to make herself look cool). Afterward, she threw it as hard as she could. The ball sailed through the air and knocked down at least four of the small trees in the province before it stopped rolling, far away from Sada and her crowd.

 A flock of Rufflet scattered, and then a pack of Varoom leaped onto the scene, seeking revenge from Mabosstiff.

 Rotom got a photo of Arven, Sada, and the Pokémon hurrying out of there. They soon reached the entrance of the Tagtree Thicket, and they dove behind a log for a few minutes. They stayed hidden until all the Varoom left.

 Arven and Sada met eyes. Their lips twitched, and they burst out laughing. It took them a few minutes to calm down, but when they did, Sada pointed at a herd of Brute Bonnet.

 They loitered around a clear pond that had a rocky shoreline.

 Sada grasped Arven's hand and dragged him to them. "Don't worry. These guys may have 'brute' in their name, but they're some of the most collected Paradox Pokémon." Still holding Arven, she set his hand down on one Brute Bonnet's head.

 Rotom snapped another photo before it was too late.

 "Ooh!" Arven said, removing his hand. "It's gooey."

 "That means it likes you." Sada patted Brute Bonnet's head, and it looked at her. "Brute Bonnet expels a gooey sap to show affection. I learned this by studying their mating rituals."

 "Really?" Arven questioned. He saw a flat, gray stone out of the corner of his eye. "Here, Mom, since you taught me something about Brute Bonnet, let me show you how to skip rocks."

 "Oh, okay." Sada pecked Brute Bonnet's cap and joined him.

 They went to the edge of the pond, and Arven tossed the rock he had picked up forward. It skipped five times before it sank below the pond's surface.

 Sada gave it a go but merely chucked her rock into the pond. Splash! She hopped back when a wave of water almost hit her legs. Was there any water on her? No, it didn't look like it.

 Arven handed her a new stone. "This is what you do. Hold the stone between your thumb and index finger, and hook your index finger on top. Now flick your wrist."

 "Oh my gosh!" Sada said at the sight of her rock skipping. "I did it, Arven!" By the third skip, the stone accidentally bopped a Magikarp on the head.

 "Glub, glub," it said, sinking underwater.

 "Sorry!" Sada apologized. She and Arven practiced skipping rocks a little longer, and then they moved on.

 They reached an opening with many flower patches and decided to give Miraidon a quick rest.

 Arven picked some flowers and strands of tall grass. He wove a crown from them and put it over Sada's head. The pink, white, and yellow flowers matched well with her hair and lab coat. Arven bowed to her. "My queen."

 "My prince," Sada returned. "Thoust have been waiting so long for thy and his noble steed."

 From where he sat, Miraidon jiggled. He straightened his posture and closed his eyes.

 Arven pulled Sada to him and held a peace sign up to Rotom. "Group selfie!" He and Sada touched cheeks and smiled at the Pokémon. The camera flashed.

 Rotom soared to Arven and showed off the newest picture.

 "Not bad," Arven said, latching onto Sada's wrist. "I mean, thou could smile a bit more, Mom, but... not bad." He and Sada swung their arms backward and forward and laughed again.

 Celebi jumped in on the fun. Its eyes glowed, and the familiar green light from before outlined Arven, Sada, and Miraidon. Celebi tossed them into the sky.

 It wasn't long until they hovered over the whole thicket.

 Miraidon brought out his glider. He waited until Arven and Sada grabbed one of his shoulders before he rode the air currents toward Sada's cabin, which had appeared below.

 They reached across him and hooked hands.

 Down at the cabin, Penny, Nemona, Scarlet, and Koraidon were already there. They hung out back next to the brook.

 Nemona and Scarlet fed their Pokémon teams, but Penny stood off to the side, looking nervous.

 She prepared to call Arven, but he announced, "Tallyho!" from above.

 Rotom got one last picture, and then Miraidon dropped in.

 Sada fell onto her front, and Arven landed on top of her. Celebi's light quit surrounding them, so now they were snug under gravity's pressure.

 "My prince, why must you drop me from thy dragon?" Sada said. She and Arven chuckled, but then they noticed Penny.

 She crossed her arms.

 "Oh snap!" Arven said out loud, and he quickly got off Sada. He accidentally stepped on her left arm.

 "Ow!" Sada yelped, but she smiled again.

 Arven dragged her to her feet. He, she, and Miraidon stood side-by-side. They gulped when they saw Penny's face.

 Sada took the crown off her head and hid it behind her.

 In the meantime, Arven waved his hands. "Penny! You guys beat us here. How long have y'all been waiting?"

 "Four hours," Penny growled. "You're four hours late. It's not even morning anymore."

 "Oh, well, you see..." Arven stuttered. "We were just—"

 "Playing," Penny interrupted, tapping her foot. She looked at the Pokémon, Arven, and finally, Sada. "Playing with your AI mom."

 "Hey!" Arven countered. "We weren't playing. I was teaching her how to be human. Tell her, Mom."

 "It's true," Sada said. She was too nervous to say anything else.

 Arven gestured at Penny. "Why are you so down in the dumps, Penny?"

 She uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on her hips. "Because we have a problem."