Raikou: I Won't Be Like the Fire Emperor (Seeking Monthly Votes!)

"After I leave, Little One, I'll have to entrust him to your care."

Once he had coaxed Little One to sleep, Fire Emperor found Marshadow in the shadows and spoke to him.

"I understand." Marshadow nodded.

After observing through this winter, he no longer felt as repulsed by this human cub as he had at the start.

Besides, this human cub even shared his milk with him!

Seeing Marshadow agree, Fire Emperor breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, still uneasy, he went over a few things to watch out for.

Marshadow twitched the corner of his mouth.

He'd never noticed Fire Emperor was this talkative before.

"Once I drive those evil ones away, I'll return immediately." Fire Emperor said finally.

"Got it." Marshadow's tone carried a hint of resignation.

Fire Emperor turned, lifted a paw, and walked over to Dongshu. He lowered his big, furry head, nuzzling affectionately against Dongshu's cheek, then reluctantly stood up, taking one last look at Dongshu.

With that, Fire Emperor left the cave, and that fiery red figure soon vanished among the mountain forest.

After he left, only Marshadow and Dongshu remained in the cave.

Marshadow let out a faint sigh, then slipped into Dongshu's shadow, silently watching over him.

Time passed, and outside, the sky gradually darkened. A vast stretch of fiery clouds appeared on the distant horizon, casting crimson rays into the cave.

Raikou slowly walked in from outside. He stared at the evil human cub lying on the Leaf Bed, two puffs of breath shooting from his nostrils.

"Mmm..."

As soon as Dongshu opened his eyes, he spotted a sleek figure that had appeared not far away at some point.

Thinking it was Fire Emperor, he instinctively called out, "Fire Emperor~"

But the backlit figure didn't come to his side as usual; it remained standing far off, staring at him with faintly glowing eyes.

Dongshu blinked, rubbed his eyes, and looked closely—only to realize it wasn't Fire Emperor, but another of the Legendary Beasts, Raikou.

Fire Emperor was already gone... A wave of disappointment washed over Dongshu.

Just then, a cold voice suddenly echoed in his heart.

"I'm not Fire Emperor. I won't treat you the way he does."

With that, Raikou walked to the other side of the cave, keeping his distance from Dongshu. He lay down, closed his eyes, as if resting.

Dongshu: "..."

Seeing Raikou so cold, Dongshu couldn't help feeling a bit wronged.

He hadn't done anything to provoke Raikou, had he?

If it were Fire Emperor, he'd have rushed over by now, lain down beside him, and warmed him with his furry, cozy body.

Ah, forget it!

He wasn't a little kid—he could take care of himself.

"Grrrble!"

His stomach was growling.

Dongshu stood up, stumbled over to the basket of Berries Fire Emperor had picked for him today, and reached in to grab one.

In the past few months, since he was too young and his baby teeth hadn't come in yet, Fire Emperor always used Sacred Fire to roast the Berries soft and easy for him to eat.

But now that Fire Emperor was gone, the Berries in the basket felt especially cold and hard.

The Berry was icy, and eating it sent a chill straight to his stomach.

In early spring, the weather was still fickle—warm one moment, cold the next. Without Fire Emperor, the whole cave felt drafty and cold.

Dongshu tried to go back to sleep, but before long, he woke up shivering.

No bed, no blanket, no Fire Emperor to keep him warm.

So cold...

The night was deep, and the pale moonlight streamed through the cave entrance.

Through the hazy moonlight, Raikou's closed eyes slowly opened, fixing on the trembling human cub over there.

This had nothing to do with him.

Raikou didn't want to bother, but the promise he'd made to Fire Emperor—to protect this human cub—surfaced in his mind.

Fine. I already gave my word to Fire Emperor.

Just as Dongshu was hesitating whether to spend some Shock Points from the shop to buy a quilt, he suddenly felt a dark shadow approach him.

That was... Raikou?!

Dongshu was slightly startled, but Raikou had already lain down beside him, like a tiger watching over its cub—he was the cub, and Raikou was the tiger.

"Don't overthink it. I'm just afraid you'll freeze to death and I won't be able to answer to Fire Emperor." Raikou's cold voice rang out again.

Dongshu: "..."

For some reason, facing Raikou like this, Dongshu felt a strange unease in his heart.

Unlike Fire Emperor, Raikou didn't seem easy to get along with—not approachable at all.

He didn't dare act as freely as he had in Fire Emperor's embrace, riding around or burying his face in the fur. He could only lean stiffly against Raikou's short, smooth coat, drawing a bit of warmth.

Before long, Dongshu noticed it wasn't as cold as before.

Now he could sleep well!

He let out a slow breath, adjusted his position slightly, and was about to settle in for a good rest when he suddenly heard a muffled grunt from Raikou beside him.

Dongshu immediately opened his eyes and looked at Raikou.

"Raikou?"

Raikou's eyes were closed, as if he hadn't heard, giving no reaction.

But Dongshu keenly caught a faint trace of blood in the air.

It was coming from Raikou's foreleg!

And the spot he'd been resting on was exactly Raikou's foreleg.

Dongshu scrambled up and spoke in Pokémon language, growling, "You're hurt!"

Raikou opened his eyes, his tone still harsh and cold: "This has nothing to do with you."

He had returned to Heavenly Green Mountain this time precisely to recover from his injuries.

Unlike those Pokémon tamed by humans—who, when hurt, were sent to professional Pokémon Centers for treatment—wild Pokémon like him had to find a safe place and wait to heal on their own.

On this trip, he'd encountered a group of fairly strong people. Their goal seemed to be him; they coordinated from all sides, launching an encirclement to capture him.

At that moment, Raikou had summoned heavenly thunder to strike down those ill-intentioned scoundrels, but he'd also been injured and could no longer roam as before.

Thus, Raikou had returned to Heavenly Green Mountain, planning to wait here until his wounds healed.

In Raikou's view, this matter had nothing to do with this human cub.

But as his words fell, the human cub climbed up.

Then, before Raikou knew what the other was doing, the next second, he saw a strange bottle in the cub's hand.

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[Potion: Basic spray-type potion. Heals part of a Pokémon's injuries and restores their stamina. Exchange cost: 50 Shock Points.]

Dongshu took the potion and sprayed it on Raikou's injured foreleg.

Then, something miraculous happened.

Under the effect of the spray-type medicine, the wound on Raikou's foreleg began to heal at a visibly rapid pace.

The dull pain in his leg gradually faded. Raikou's eyes widened, a look of shock and disbelief spreading across his face.

This human cub... was actually healing him?!