Raikou's Decision!

Raikou didn't answer.

It slowly walked forward and looked down at the spot where the human cub had just been busy working.

Next, it raised its sturdy forepaw high.

"Roar!"

With a roar, a white light appeared around Raikou's claw. The moment it touched the ground, a hole appeared beneath it.

That was... a Ground-type Move, Dig!

"Done."

The light around Raikou's claw vanished, and it turned its gaze toward the human cub nearby.

"Thank you!" Dongshu sweetly thanked Raikou.

Then, he picked up a Pomelo Fruit seed, gently placed it in the hole Raikou had dug, and laboriously filled it with the soil beside him.

"Raikou, more!" Dongshu indicated that one tree wasn't nearly enough.

Raikou silently walked a few steps forward, then used Dig again.

Dongshu hurried after it, happily planting Berry seeds in the holes.

But his strength was too limited right now. After filling just two holes, he ran out of energy.

In the end, Raikou even took over the task of filling the holes entirely.

Raikou dutifully dug many large holes. Only after the last Berry seed had been buried did it stop and turn to ask:

"What should we do next?"

A sweet smile appeared on Dongshu's face. "Water them!"

Raikou: "..."

This gave Raikou a bit of a headache.

If Suicune were here, it could help, but Raikou was an Electric-type Pokémon and didn't know any Water-type Moves.

No, that wasn't entirely true.

Raikou suddenly remembered a Move it had mastered a long time ago.

—Rain Dance.

The next second, a mysterious power gathered around Raikou. Under its control, the power slowly rose into the sky and condensed into a thick, dark cloud above the orchard.

A moment later, a gentle drizzle fell from the clouds, thoroughly watering the land.

"Wow, you're amazing!" Dongshu enthusiastically clapped his hands beside it, praising Raikou.

This Raikou really was impressive. It could even use powerful Moves like Dig and Rain Dance!

Raikou immediately felt a surge of delight.

Of course it was amazing!

However, Raikou didn't show how it felt. Its expression remained aloof and cold.

Dongshu gazed at the land before him, full of anticipation.

Perhaps before long, these Berry seedlings would break through the soil and grow into a lush orchard.

Then they'd have an endless supply of Berries to eat!

Dongshu looked at Raikou.

The big cat had done a great job. And his planting Berries just now seemed to have surprised Raikou again, so his balance had gone up from 35 to 60.

Reward: one bottle of Moomoo Milk!

At noon, Dongshu extravagantly spent 15 Shock Value to buy three bottles of Moomoo Milk from the shop.

One for himself, one for Raikou, and one for Marshadow.

A human and two Pokémon sat together on the soft Carpet, happily enjoying their Moomoo Milk.

Raikou was rather pleased with the gift from the human cub.

It tried a lick and immediately felt something familiar.

This taste...

Raikou looked toward Dongshu and asked in an offhand manner, "Do you like this stuff?"

"It's delicious!" Dongshu replied with a nod.

Compared to eating Berries all the time, sweet Moomoo Milk was more suitable for his baby's body. It also tasted really good.

After getting his answer, Raikou said nothing more.

It thought back to something that had happened before.

Back then, it had been running through the towering mountains when it happened upon a Pokémon in danger and rescued it.

The Pokémon was called Miltank. After being saved, it had wanted to give Raikou some of the milk it produced as a gift to thank it.

Raikou had refused, but it still remembered the taste.

If I run into Miltank again someday, perhaps I could bring it to live on Heavenly Green Mountain, Raikou thought.

Then this human cub could drink this sweet milk every day.

But the moment the thought surfaced, Raikou was suddenly startled. Why would it think that?!

Humans were devious and deceitful. How could it trust this human cub so easily and even think about bringing back more milk for him...

But then, a sentence suddenly came to mind.

[Little One is different!]

At that moment, two winged Raikous appeared in Raikou's mind.

One Raikou was pure white, with a halo above its head and a pair of snow-white Dual Wingbeat behind it.

The other Raikou was pitch-black, with two red horns on its head and a pair of raven-black wings on its back.

The devil Raikou said, "You absolutely must not trust humans! It treated your wounds and gave you milk because it definitely has an ulterior motive!"

The angel Raikou said, "But Little One is still just a cub. He doesn't know anything, and he lives with Pokémon every day. He's so kind, and he gets along so well with Pokémon. All the Pokémon on Heavenly Green Mountain like him!"

The devil Raikou countered, "Lies! It must all be a disguise put on by evil humans! He's pretending to be like this to win your trust, then he'll hurt you all!"

The angel Raikou replied, "Is it really all a lie? Little One willingly shared his candy with those Pokémon. He even used his own strength to turn this cave into a home. That means he already sees Fire Emperor and Marshadow—and us—as family. He sees himself as a Pokémon too!"

The devil Raikou was about to say something more, but Raikou suddenly shook its head, clearing the jumbled thoughts from its mind.

Raikou looked at the human cub before it, its gaze complicated.

Thinking back on the time they'd spent together over the past few days, Raikou had made up its mind.

That was right. Ever since Fire Emperor had brought the human cub to Heavenly Green Mountain, he hadn't had any contact with humans.

In the human cub's mind, perhaps he already saw himself as the same kind of being as Raikou, Fire Emperor, and Marshadow.

If so, they might as well raise the human cub as a Pokémon!

That way, he would think of himself as a Pokémon and stand on the Pokémon's side.

Little One would no longer be just an ordinary human. He would be a human raised by Pokémon!

The devil Raikou was completely defeated.

Deep in Raikou's heart was something it refused to admit, even to itself.

Although it had never trusted humans and believed they were all devious and deceitful, deep down, it still hoped to build trust with one.

Suddenly, Raikou felt as though a gaze had fallen upon it.

It jerked around and saw Marshadow standing off to the side, staring at it with a shadowy gaze.

Marshadow: Stare—

Raikou felt as if Marshadow had seen right through all its thoughts and feelings. It was instantly embarrassed and annoyed.

That guy—why did it still enjoy lurking in the shadows and spying on others so much?!