"When it rains, it pours—literally," Kashiwagi muttered.
He stepped into the cave, took off his soaked cloak. He was about to chat with Blissey when he realized several pairs of bright eyes were fixed on him. They belonged to the Electric-type Pokémon whose energy had been siphoned by the Crystal System. "Oh? Everyone's awake?"
The wild Pokémon huddled near Raikou, whose eyes were the brightest of them all, watching Kashiwagi with a mixture of curiosity and lingering fear.
Outside, the heavy rain continued to fall. Strangely, there was neither thunder nor lightning. When the downpour first started, Kashiwagi had remembered the Pokémon still trapped in the nets and rushed out, using the captured robot to gather them up and bring them to shelter so they wouldn't get sick in the rain.
Fortunately, despite the sheer number of them, the robot proved more agile than his mountain bike.
"Its a shame I can't keep such a masterpiece like this with me," Kashiwagi lamented, glancing at the robot as it clunked slowly into the cave behind him. It was sturdy, powerful, and packed with high-tech features, but he had no choice but to hand it over to Officer Jenny.
He then yelled out to the four hunters currently being "passively" soaked outside. "Let me know if you can't hold out anymore! Though, I'm not actually letting you inside."
The four hunters were cursing him in their heads, but they didn't dare say a word.
They were terrified of him.
Even if they were physically intact for now, they knew that if they annoyed the "demon" who had dangled them off a cliff, a bit of rain would be the least of their worries.
"Real tough guys!" Kashiwagi gave them a mock thumbs-up.
Suddenly:
"ROOAR—"
A low growl from Raikou caught his attention.
Kashiwagi looked deeper into the cave and saw Blissey physically prying Raikou's head away from its own side to stop it from licking its wounds. Because the angle was awkward, she had even tried to grab onto Raikou's long tusks to get leverage.
Wait. no..
She had already grabbed them.
"..."
Holy crap, Blissey! You're way too bold!
Kashiwagi looked at Raikou, who seemed to have a forehead full of black lines from sheer exasperation. He offered a silent apology in his head but didn't intervene. If the patient had already resigned itself to the treatment, who was he to argue?
However, Raikou couldn't take it anymore and roared at him.
"ROAR!" (This is your Pokémon, isn't it?! Control her!)
Kashiwagi, though couldn't speak Pokémon language, but the tone of annoyance was universal. He shuffled over and, acting as if he hadn't noticed Raikou's irritation, reached out to pet its fur.
The texture was coarser than he'd expected—likely due to the wild lifestyle and lack of grooming.
However, the purple mane on its back, which looked like a thundercloud, was incredibly soft. Though the fur on its face was probably softer, but he figured that would be the breaking point where Raikou would definitely bite him.
Even a grateful Legendary has its pride.
"You're an injured patient right now," Kashiwagi said as he petted the beast. "Blissey is a professional. Just do what she says and you'll heal faster. Relax."
Raikou glanced at Kashiwagi's hand, which was getting a bit too adventurous with the petting. "Roar..." (Is this trainer-Pokémon duo always this shameless?)
One pulls teeth, the other messes up my hair. Like trainer, like Pokémon.
Fine. Let him pet. A couple of pets won't hurt.
Raikou's lightning-shaped tail swayed wildly. It wasn't so petty that it would get angry over a few pets, and it was starting to get used to the indignity anyway. A fallen tiger is no better than a house cat.
Raikou closed its eyes, deciding that if it couldn't see the human, it wouldn't be annoyed.
To anyone else, it looked like it had passed out from anger.
...
Kashiwagi awkwardly pulled his hand back, feeling like he'd exposed his "desire to pet a big cat" a little too quickly. He turned his attention to the other Electric types curled up aroun Raikou: Magneton, Electrode, Electrike, Manectric, Plusle, and Minun.
The first few were whatever, but the Plusle and Minun were genuinely adorable. Seeing them shivering and looking hungry, Kashiwagi had an idea.
"Let's cook something. We're stuck here anyway," he told Blissey, pulling a portable stove from his bag.
"Happy~!" the big Pink Egg nodded enthusiastically. She had wanted to do this earlier but didn't want to act without her trainer.
Actually, if Porygon could have fully reversed the Crystal System, it might have been able to feed the stored energy back into Raikou to restore its condition.
Unfortunately, there was no "Reverse" function in the code. Raikou had tried to draw the energy out itself, but it failed.
It had a psychological aversion to this thing; after trying twice, it dared not try again, even wanting to smash it with its claws, but was stopped by Kashiwagi, who was afraid the thing would cause a mutation or an explosion.
Raikou glanced at him, thought he made some sense, and gave up.
It was unable to handle those strange human technologies; it had even caused a blunder by running onto a high-voltage power tower to extract electricity, resulting in Officer Jenny chasing it on a motorcycle.
Since then, it avoided such things.
Meanwhile, as a large amount of ingredients were taken out of Kashiwagi's bag, they were prepped into readily usable, perfect portions by Blissey's expert hands.
Before long, the aroma of a hot meal filled the cave.
The wild Pokémon, with their mouths watering, crowded around the bubbling pot. Plusle and Minun, in particular, had stars in their eyes and ears twitching incessantly.
"Plus-le~!"
"Mi-nun~!"
The two adorable rabbit-like creatures clung to Kashiwagi's sleeves, shaking them frantically, their souls already stolen by the scent of the stew.
The others weren't far behind. Manectric and Electrike sat on their haunches, their lightning-rod tails wagging like crazy, saliva dripping from their muzzles.
Electrode was rolling around like a frantic pinball.
Even, Raikou, who was "pretending" to sleep, would occasionally open its eyes to peek, its breathing becoming slightly heavier.
Only Magneton, without a mouth and unable to eat, squinted, still clinging to Raikou, absorbing the intermittent static electricity from it.
Usually, it would just go out and absorb natural lightning. But it didn't have the strength for that right now. It could only watch as Kashiwagi began dishing out the food.
Soon after, Raikou found a bowl—a very large bowl—placed right in front of its nose. The steam hit it like concentrated catnip. It had intended to refuse, but its stomach had other plans.
Is human cooking... always this tempting?
"Eat up. You need to be full to have the strength to heal your injuries, right?" Kashiwagi's voice reached its ears.
Raikou looked around and saw the other Pokémon already digging in, the sound of chewing and bowls clinking against the stone floor filling the air.
The Ho-Oh Guard does not accept charity—
Well, maybe this wasn't charity.
Raikou decided to turn off its brain and buried its face in the bowl. You can argue with a human, but you can't argue with hunger.
Kashiwagi and Blissey smiled in satisfaction.
Raikou's bowl was empty in record time. Those giant tusks didn't seem to hinder its eating at all; its rough, pink tongue lapped up the food with incredible speed.
"Another bowl? There's plenty left!" Kashiwagi picked up the bowl before Raikou could even ask. "Want it?"
Raikou stared at the pot, silent.
"Yes? No?"
"..."
"I'll take that as a yes!"
Raikou shifted its gaze to Kashiwagi's face, its front paws tensing slightly. Stop asking and just fill it!
Kashiwagi laughed, realizing he shouldn't push his luck too far, and set a refilled bowl down. "Keep eating. I'll make sure you're full."
"Roar..."
Raikou growled and continued eating
The two little ones sharing a plate, Plusle and Minun, had also finished their portions, their bellies round and full, and they rolled around Kashiwagi's feet, oblivious to the mess on the ground.
"Plus-le~!"
"Mi-nun~!"
The two little rabbits, one blue and one red, looked quite happy, having eaten and drunk their fill.
Kashiwagi picked them up and rubbed them vigorously. As third-generation electric mice, Plusle and Minun Paws weren't very noticeable, but they were undeniably adorable.
At first glance, they might seem like clones of Pichu, but there were actually quite a few differences.
Especially their extremely symmetrical colors; when their hands touched, red and blue sparks would fly out, as beautiful as fireworks.
But after touching them, Kashiwagi felt a little disgusted.
Even as cute Electric-types, they had a very pungent scent. Much like the Zigzagoon he had handled earlier, they smelled intensely of the wild.
Raikou, on the other hand, didn't have such a complex scent.
They both lived in the wild, so could legendary Pokémon have a more complex scent in this regard?
He turned to look at Raikou's belly, almost wanting to bury his face in it for a closer sniff.
"Roar?"
Sensing his strangely intense gaze, the eating Raikou looked up warily. It instinctively shifted its body, tucking its belly away where Kashiwagi couldn't see it.
"Huh?"
Kashiwagi blinked and tilted his head to the left to get a better look.
Raikou quietly adjusted its lying position, turning its underside further away, offering him nothing but the view of its purple, cloud-like cape.
He tilted his head to the right. The Great Cat adjusted again.
Kashiwagi: "..."
Raikou: "..."
The man and the Pokémon locked eyes, an entire conversation passing between them in a single glance.
'I haven't even touched you yet!'
'By the time you do, it'll be too late!'
Invisible sparks seemed to crackle in the air between them.
"Hey! I don't believe this—" Kashiwagi rolled up his sleeves, just about to make his move on Raikou, when the heavy thrum-thrum-thrum of helicopter rotors echoed from outside the cave.
He froze mid-motion, then quickly ran outside.
Through the dark clouds and drizzling rain, he saw the flashing lights of a police helicopter. At the foot of the mountain, countless sirens wailed as police cruisers converged from all directions, swiftly surrounding the towering peak.
After nearly an hour and a half of waiting, Officer Jenny and her team had finally arrived—and they certainly brought the cavalry.
Kashiwagi lit a flare to guide the helicopter's approach.
A long cable dropped down, and several fully armed officers descended via the lift toward the summit.
The first thing they saw was a robot clutching a Crystal with mechanical tentacles. They snapped into a defensive stance, only to immediately spot the harmless-looking Kashiwagi and four Pokémon hunters, who were pale, shivering, and soaked to the bone.
"It's... it's already over?"
The officers lowered their weapons, looking at the captured hunters in sheer bewilderment.
"You guys finally arrived!"
Kashiwagi jogged over and spotted a very familiar Officer Jenny. "I've been waiting forever! The suspects and the gear are all right here. Raikou is inside that cave."
He pointed toward the cavern entrance.
Raikou stood there, silhouetted against the dark opening, watching the scene with a calm, steady gaze.
Officer Jenny pulled her eyes away from Raikou, looking at the hunters and the robot with surprise. "Did you and Raikou take them down together?"
"...To be precise, it was me and my Pokémon."
Kashiwagi gave a brief explanation of the events—the "abridged version," of course.
There were certain details he couldn't share with Officer Jenny; telling her everything would only lead to a long interrogation and a lecture about "recklessly looking for trouble."
As for whether those hunters would talk during their confession...
That wasn't his problem. As long as he didn't admit to anything, it didn't happen.
After hearing the summary, Officer Jenny looked a bit embarrassed amidst her surprise. "I'm sorry we're so late."
They really were late. So late that Raikou had practically finished its dinner.
"It's fine. Thanks for making the trip out here."
Kashiwagi's smile didn't fade; he didn't really mind. There was no point in guarding against a thief every single day, especially in a deep forest like this where humans rarely set foot. Delays were understandable.
Besides, the fact that they sent a helicopter showed how seriously they were taking the situation.
And so, after a quick hand-off...
Kashiwagi watched with a lingering gaze as his mountain bike and the robot were whisked away.
Officer Jenny had offered him a lift before leaving, but he turned her down flat. He hadn't had nearly enough quality time with Raikou yet; there was no way he was leaving now.
As the police helicopter disappeared into the distance, the heavy rain clouds finally began to scatter, allowing brilliant sunlight to pour down.
"The storm's over, and the sun's finally out..."
Kashiwagi shielded his eyes from the sudden glare, watching a rainbow arch across the sky before heading back into the cave.
The wild Electric-type Pokémon that had been taking shelter began to scurry out. They circled around his feet once before bolting toward the forest, their way of saying thanks.
Plusle and Minun were much more direct. They hopped onto his shoulders and nuzzled him. Sparks leaked from their red and blue cheek pouches—decorated with plus and minus signs—sending a jolt through Kashiwagi that made his hair stand straight up.
"Yikes! That's a tingle!"
Kashiwagi shivered from the shock, then bid the two adorable Pokémon farewell, watching them disappear into the brush.
Raikou, still covered in bandages, was the last to walk out. "Roar..."
"You're leaving too?"
"Roar~"
"Your injuries aren't fully healed yet. Why not come with me for a bit?"
He spoke to the Great Cat as it headed toward the cliff edge. "I'm heading to Lavaridge Town next. The hot springs there are famous for healing injuries; I'm sure they'd do wonders for you. Besides, in your current state, Team Rocket isn't going to stop hunting you just because this one crew failed. You're not in top shape to fight them off again."
Raikou didn't answer. Instead, it leaped to the highest point of the cliff, threw its head back, and let out a roar that shook the heavens.
"ROOOAAARRR—!!"
The thunderous roar shook the very air, a physical wave of sound that rippled outward, startling a flock of innocent Taillow in the distant woods.
Then, it leaped down, walked over to Kashiwagi and Blissey, and slowly lowered its head with its eyes closed. "Roar..."
Raikou had agreed.