The rain showers gradually let up.
Absol shook the water from its body. Its white fur showed no trace of dampness.
"Sol!"
It had been sheltering from the rain in a tree hollow. The moment it heard a commotion over here, it had rushed over.
And the first thing it saw was a heavyweight presence—
Giant Steelix.
Absol had never seen a Steelix of normal size, but it could tell whose Pokémon this was.
"I'm glad to see you looking so healthy."
Baimu smiled as he glanced at its hind leg, now fully healed.
Absol froze mid-lick. Blissey had forced treatment on it and refused to let it move around as it pleased. To this day, that remained a traumatic memory.
Had Blissey come too?
It peered around Baimu. Once it confirmed Blissey was nowhere in sight, it quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sol~"
Absol leaped down from above and rubbed affectionately against him.
The warm welcome delighted Baimu. He couldn't resist stroking the fur along its back and neck, then, on a whim, scratching under its chin.
At once, it became like a big cat, purring contentedly and pressing its head against his palm.
"You're adorable."
Baimu murmured the words, and the urge to take it away with him welled up again.
It wasn't the first time he'd had that thought.
Unfortunately, Absol preferred serving as Route 120's mountain guardian, steering others away from danger, to following him into the wider world. Besides, it couldn't bear to leave the Wild Pokémon living nearby.
Remembering how it had risked its life to save Zigzagoon during the landslide, Baimu could only regret that it wouldn't come with him.
"I'll play with you later. I've got something important to do." He patted Absol's head, took out a Pokéblock, and popped it