Crystal System

Raikou, one of Ho-Oh's legendary guardians, had appeared in Hoenn.

Baimu had never expected that.

What surprised him even more was that not only had this Pokémon been targeted by a group of vicious Pokémon hunters, it had actually been injured!

"Why did Raikou come to Hoenn?"

He tried to get an answer from Ranger.

Unfortunately, the other man did not know either. He only knew that Raikou had arrived while still recovering from its injuries, then settled atop the tallest nearby mountain to slowly recuperate.

Somehow, the Pokémon hunters had gotten word of this and rushed over to search for Raikou's whereabouts.

After failing to find it once or twice,

they had actually brazenly attacked Ranger's cabin, trying to force its location out of him.

Ranger naturally knew where Raikou was, but there was no way he would tell these people. No matter how they tortured him, he refused to speak. Frustrated, the Pokémon hunters threw him here and left him to fend for himself.

He had thought they would leave once they failed to find Raikou, but instead, as though they had confirmed its location, they began capturing Pokémon throughout the forest.

Ranger's heart bled as he watched, mourning both the devastated forest and the wild Pokémon they had captured.

This morning,

while half-conscious, he had heard people outside discussing how to capture Raikou. Listening carefully, he realized they seemed to have already found its location.

Helpless though he was anxious, he could barely save himself.

Tormented by worry, Ranger could only hope that his long period without contact with the outside world would prompt someone to come looking for him. He had never expected that, in this remote wilderness, he would end up waiting for Baimu, who had come to help.

If it had been someone else