Joe gasped. Coughed. His eyes burst open. A rotund silhouette was in his sight. He blinked. The shadow disappeared. Maybe a fleck of dirt. He saw white clouds casually floating along. He coughed some more. Sat up, turning his attention away from the sky. Bent his legs. Placed his arms atop them. Looked down. He was drenched. Water dripped onto the grass.

Joe looked forward. The river. Gravity had a serious bone to pick with Joe. Good job it was bright out, so he had easily seen which way was up.

To his right was the stone bridge. He was back where he started. He looked up. Saw ice and electricity leak over the ridge. Absol was still fighting Raikou. His heart rate calmed. He looked blankly across the water for a moment. He was powerless in a battle between supernatural animals. What could he do against a legend?

A problem for future Joe. He rose to his feet. Ripped his thick coat off. Tossed it aside. Saw how damaged it was. It had saved him from being injured. He clambered up the canal's embankment. Sprinted across the stone bridge. Absol had fought hard to protect Joe. He didn't like the idea of leaving Absol to its fate against such a strong foe.

Joe hit the base of the mountain and kept running. He had an idea, but he needed help. He reached into a pocket. Brought a ball out, let Sprigatito onto his shoulder. She yipped, happy to see Joe even though it'd only been a few hours.

"Hey, buddy." He said through sharp breaths. "I want to help someone, but I need help to do it. I promise I won't let anything happen to you, so can you help me just this once? I'll give you all the food you want later."

Sprigatito considered. It sounded like there'd be danger. Joe was big and strong. If there was a problem he couldn't solve, then Sprigatito doubted she'd be of much use. But Joe had been good so far. Jumped off a building to save her. She wanted to help in return. Believed Joe when he said he'd keep her safe. She tightened her face. Nodded.

The action was in the corner of Joe's vision. He smiled. "Thanks. So what can you do? What moves do you have? Any ranged attacks?" Of course, not caring for battle and seeing Sprigatito as a non-combatant, Joe hadn't bothered to test her until now.

Sprigatito hissed. Stood up straight on Joe's shoulder. The fur around her neck bristled and hardened. Energy formed at three individual points. Sprigatito let out a cute shout. The energy shot into the air. Spiralled. Turned and shot forward faster than Joe expected. The three green shards of energy struck the path ahead and Joe soon ran over the target.

"Perfect."

Sprigatito felt a swell of pride at Joe's reply. It was like she'd impressed a parent. She listened as Joe explained his plan. Joe had noticed how Raikou acted. It was simple. Drawn to one thing at a time. Not in a sense that it had assessed multiple threats and chosen the correct target. No, Raikou seemed more like a robot simply reacting to the newest attention-grabbing act. The exception of Shockwave proved the rule. Every other time Raikou acted, it had purely focused on whatever attention-grabbing event had happened last.

Joe was going to grab Absol as Sprigatito drew attention, then they were going to run. It was the best he had. This wasn't a battle but a rescue mission.

Joe heard the mountain go silent. The battle must've reached a conclusion. He picked up the pace as best he could. He hoped he made it in time.

Thank Arceus for Joe's decision to take up martial arts. He had a lot of stamina. This run was rough. His lungs started to burn. His legs grew tired with every step. But he powered through it just like every other time he helped someone.

He reached a damaged dirt path. This was where Joe had fallen from. He followed scars in the ground. Looked up. Saw a damaged ridge. Heard fighting again. Joe ran further up the path. He'd swapped dripping water for dripping sweat. He arrived at the aftermath of a fight a couple of minutes later. A meadow with massive gouges across the ground. Towering shards of ice that curved into walls. Raikou loomed over a battered Absol.

Joe crouched. Wanted to catch his breath as best he could. He tapped the grass. Sprigatito hopped down. "Okay. You go left and I'll go right. When I start running, you attack Raikou with that ranged attack." He looked down. Sprigatito was looking at Raikou. She was shaking. But she nodded. He stroked her head. "It's okay to be scared. It's natural. It's the reason you made it this far. I told you I won't let anything happen to you. You'll blend into the grass. As soon as I grab Absol, meet me. You can go back inside your ball."

Joe should follow his own advice. There was a difference between being fearless or courageous. Having courage meant feeling fear yet fighting against it to save someone anyway. Even soldiers felt fear.

Joe started moving. Sprigatito did what she was told. Raikou was too busy looking down on Absol. But Absol noticed Joe from where it lay. Absol's eyes widened. This attracted Raikou's attention. The Beast followed Absol's gaze. Saw the human. Roared and opened its mouth. The jig was up. Joe dug his feet in and launched forward full speed. Avoided the scars in the ground.

A white light grew brighter in Raikou's mouth. Hyper Beam aimed right at Joe. Absol wanted to react but simply didn't have the energy. Flying leaves struck Raikou's behind. The Beast cancelled the move. Turned. Couldn't see anything. Sprigatito was so weak that Raikou couldn't pick up on her energy signature. She was right there, shaking hard enough to be the motor in a massage chair. But Raikou's eyes just swept over her.

Joe had been granted the precious seconds he needed. He reached Raikou's side. Skidded and crouched at the same time. Threw his arms around Absol's torso. Stood and tossed Absol onto a shoulder while bursting into a sprint. Kept an arm over Absol to pin the Pokemon to his shoulder. Joe estimated Absol's weight to be sixty kilograms. The average guy at a fitness center could handle more than this, but Joe has the added strain of running around.

Absol was still fighting sheer disbelief. It had been doing this for a decade. Wandering around the world, helping anyone that needed it. Not once had someone come back for Absol. Absol felt extra energy course through its body. As well as something else. The first time it'd ever felt this feeling. Absol didn't know what it was, but it didn't matter. Absol would pour this extra energy into being useful for the sake of this human.

Raikou had turned its attention back to Joe. It fired a Thunderbolt at his back. Joe came to a halt, spun, and ran in a different direction. Narrowly avoided the electricity. Another bolt came his way. He reached a curved ice wall. Used it as a shield. It shattered as electricity struck it. A particularly aggressive shard cut Joe's cheek and drew a tiny amount of blood.

Joe was desperately thinking of an out as he circled around to Sprigatito. He pulled the ball out. "Sprigatito!" He yelled. The cat was already there. She'd tracked her Trainer. She jumped up. Headbutt the ball and vanished.

Another bolt came for Joe. Absol swished a claw. A pillar rose from the earth and absorbed the hit.

"Thanks!" Joe could hear what was going on. Assumed Absol had saved him yet again. He'd been distracted. His mind was thinking of a way out of this mess. He used another ice wall as a shield and kept running. He considered hard. Thought of something. He'd seen it in movies. Jump into the river. Stay below the surface. Let the current take them away. It relied on Raikou not pursuing further, but it was the best he could come up with.

Joe noticed something at the top of his vision as he heard paws thudding behind him. The clouds changed. They got brighter. First yellow, then orange. Fire burst through clouds and struck the ground behind Joe. He felt the intense heat at his back. Stopped, panting. Turned. A wall of flames separated him and Raikou. He could see those fierce pink eyes, obscured and morphed by fire. He noticed a flicker of emotion from the Beast before everyone looked up to the source of the flames.

Joe's breath caught in his throat. He didn't expect to see one Legendary Pokemon today, let alone two. "Ho-oh…"

Batting its hefty red wings was Johto's most recognisable legend. Its white bulbous belly contained a raging fire. Its bushy yellow tail released embers behind its body. Ho-Oh descended from the Heavens, sharp eyes aimed at Raikou. It opened its beak. Cawed at the Beast as a show of force.

Raikou responded with action. Called Thunder from the skies above Ho-oh. Ho-oh aimed its beak up. Let out a grand blast of fire. Fire and electric clashed and lit up the sky. Ho-oh locked eyes with Raikou again. The Beast surrounded itself with electricity and ran away.

Joe lost sight of Raikou in seconds. It zipped across the meadow. Around the distant corner of Mt. Silver. Deeper into the mountain range. Ho-oh cawed and followed nearly as fast. It left behind a trail of embers from its tail as it went. Ho-oh had left as quickly as it had arrived but had left a present behind.

Joe realised he'd been holding his breath. He finally started breathing again. Watched the embers fall. He put a palm out. Caught one. He felt a strong jolt run through his arm and into his chest. The ember sunk into his hand. His vision shifted for a second. It evened out. Suddenly Joe was assaulted by his senses. He heard birds chirp. Saw vibrant flowers. It was like he was thinking clearly for the first time in a very long time. Like he'd been liberated.

Joe returned to the present. He crouched. Put Absol down on the ground. Heaved a sigh. Fell back onto his rear. He sat next to Absol who had also enjoyed the reinvigorating embers. For a time neither made a noise. They just sat together, watching the same sky.

Joe instinctively patted Absol's side. Enjoyed the soft fur. Absol let him, just for a minute. Eventually Absol shifted. Gave a gentle bark. Swatted Joe's hand away.

"Oh. Sorry." He said. He planted his hands into the dirt and leaned back. Stretched his legs.

Absol huffed. It'd been alone most of its life so it wasn't used to getting attention. Didn't know how to feel about it. Maybe it was okay, in moderation. Absol lay there, front legs crossed and head resting atop them. It was still processing that Joe had come back for it. People always ran from danger, not towards it. It made sense to Absol. It journeyed to protect the weak. The weak ran from danger. That was why Absol had been rough with Joe at first. Scare him off. It didn't matter if he hated Absol for scaring him. He'd be safe. To Absol's surprise, it wished it had used a gentler approach. This was out of respect. Joe had shown decency, so Absol wanted to show some in return. And Absol still had that feeling from a minute ago to consider.

Joe sat there and watched clouds drift along. Considered what to do next. Something was going on. His instincts were talking to him. In that last second, when he met Raikou's eyes through the flames, he saw a change. The Beast's expression softened. Gave Joe puppy dog eyes. Pleading. Apologetic. What did that mean? Joe could only think of one answer. Raikou's true personality broke through for a moment. Which meant this anger was not its own. It was being controlled. That was the feeling Joe got. If that were the case, then Joe had a mission. He was going to save Raikou from whoever or whatever was controlling it. He'd set his sights on an objective. Saving someone. He was going to achieve this goal no matter what.

He couldn't go after Raikou now though. It'd raced off, deeper into the Sterling mountain range. Even if Joe could track animals, he knew of the Sterling range. He could be lost in the mountains for months.

Joe considered the Pokemon that lay next to him. Absol. An animal seemingly as righteous as he was. That was a good idea.

"I get the feeling you're about to rush off to help more people." Joe commented. Looked over at Absol. It barked. He took this as an affirmation. "You're in good company. My mum's always complaining, saying I'm going to get hurt one of these days." Silence. He considered his next words. "What I'm saying is, why don't we work together? I can become a Trainer. I can create a team to support you. The stronger we get, the more people we can help."

What a coincidence. Absol had the same thought. Clearly it couldn't continue like this. To rival a legend, Absol needed support. And it'd warmed up to Joe. The first human to ever come back for it. Joe was someone with unmatched resolve. If Absol was going to fight alongside someone, it needed to be someone like Joe. So, it would be Joe. Absol barked once. Accepted Joe's proposal.

"Sorry, I don't speak Pokemon."

Absol sat up. Stood in front of Joe, which forced him to look at the Pokemon. Absol barked again and nodded. It saw a big grin spread across Joe's face. He put a fist out.

"I look forward to working with you, partner."

Absol eyed the fist. Brought its own claw up and looked at it. Turned it over. Retracted its claws. Bumped its paw into Joe's fist.

"Well then…" Joe put a hand on a knee and rose. Absol watched with a blank expression. "For now, let's go to New Bark." He pointed. Absol looked. "That town down there. I think we've earned a rest."

It'd been a tough fight. While Absol had some energy restored thanks to Ho-oh's embers, Joe was right. Absol nodded.