The Sound of Wind and Rain Began to Play

Boom!

Thunder rumbled outside. Cold wind blew through the cracks in the rocks, carrying droplets of rain.

Bang!!

Suddenly, the cave entrance shook, accompanied by a tremendous crash.

The entire ground trembled slightly.

The tornado had arrived.

And with it came a rainstorm, lightning, and thunder.

The rumbling never stopped. The Rattata huddled together nearby, shivering before nature's might.

Even the jittery Sentret sat quietly curled up in a corner of the cave, clearly in no mood to cause trouble.

The Pidgey nestled together, their feathers overlapping.

Liyin curled up even tighter, clearly feeling the cold.

Dian pulled his sleeping bag from his backpack, unzipped it, and handed it over. "Wrap yourself in this for now. We can't light a fire here."

He also took out a thick piece of clothing and draped it over himself.

Dian glanced at the three Pokémon beside him. Misdreavus and Beedrill seemed unaffected, but Hoppip appeared to be freezing, trembling all over.

"Come back for now, Hoppip."

He took out a Poké Ball and recalled Hoppip.

Beedrill shook his head, indicating that he didn't need to.

As for Misdreavus, she had entered her most energetic hours of the day and was flying all over the place.

One moment, she was touching a Sentret's long tail; the next, she was flitting over to the Pidgey, fascinated by the white feathers on their heads.

At first, the Sentret and Pidgey dodged her and even tried to scare her off, but once they realized it was useless, they simply let her do as she pleased.

A Sentret buried his head in his own soft fur. If I can't fight you, can't I at least hide from you?

The Pidgey moved a few steps toward Liyin, seemingly hoping to snuggle against the warm sleeping bag.

Liyin's heart softened at the sight. She looked at Dian, as though she wanted to say something.

"I've already lent you the sleeping bag. How you use it is up to you."

Dian spoke offhandedly.

He no longer had the attention to spare for such trivial matters.

There was something far more important worrying him.

This cave sat on a slope only a dozen or so meters above the foot of the mountain. A small tornado alone wouldn't pose much of a problem, but rain was another matter. Once it started raining, the water could easily seep straight inside, and then they would be in trouble.

Drip.

When it rained, it really did pour.

A drop of water seeped in through the cave entrance.

Dian immediately ran over and checked it with his hand. "It's already this damp!"

How could the rain be so heavy?

Just then, thunder resounded across the sky outside, followed by fierce, swirling winds.

"Roar!"

Golem slowly emerged from the depths of the cave.

His blood-red gaze seemed to pierce straight through the rocks blocking the entrance and into the sky.

He was an outstanding specimen among Rock-type Pokémon. Even a bomb exploding right beside him wouldn't leave a scratch. Water might be his weakness, but that still depended on what kind of water it was.

Normally, he had nothing to fear from weather like this, much less any reason to hide in a little cave.

But this was the most important period of his year: he was about to shed his skin.

During this time, his hard body would turn pale and soften until the shedding was complete.

As the master of this mountain, he normally wouldn't have cared about such things. But earlier, he had sensed a terrifying power appear in the forest, bringing with it a fear that spread from the depths of his heart.

That was why he had deliberately abandoned his grotto at the summit and come to this cave, where he used to hide when he was weak.

But why was this still happening?

Golem's eyes grew increasingly bloodshot, and an agitated aura radiated from his entire body.

Dian immediately sucked in a breath. This was precisely the warning sign of Explosion.

If he remembered correctly, Golem could use Explosion, and it was even one of their ways of getting around.

Golem would often use an explosion to leap from one mountaintop to another.

His goal!

What was Golem trying to accomplish with Explosion?

Dian's thoughts raced, and he immediately shouted, "I have a solution!!"

"Roar?"

Golem immediately turned to look at the weak Trainer beside him.

Indeed, although this Trainer was already fairly good compared with his peers, he was still nothing more than a rookie among Trainers as a whole.

Noticing Golem's disdain, Dian gave a wry smile.

He sighed and reluctantly pulled a special red-and-yellow Poké Ball from inside his clothes. "This is a Heal Ball I happened to get my hands on. It's advanced human technology that can restore a Pokémon to peak condition."

His reluctance wasn't without reason.

Unlike ordinary Poké Balls, these weren't something money alone could buy.

Not only were they expensive, but purchasing one also required a certain amount of status.

Dian had won this as a prize after battling a novice Trainer who was obviously loaded. Ever since, he had carried it with great care, unwilling to use it lightly.

Unlike in the games, a ball like this could turn a desperate situation around if used well, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

That was why Dian had treasured it ever since he got it, never willing to use it. He hadn't expected to spend it now.

"With your strength, I'm sure you don't need to worry about a Poké Ball trapping you."

Dian spoke with a bitter smile.

Perhaps some Poké Balls really could forcibly control or capture Pokémon, but the Heal Ball had nothing to do with those. Compared with an ordinary Poké Ball, its only additional feature was the ability to heal a Pokémon completely.

"Roar."

Golem slowly turned around, the glaring red light in his eyes dimming for the moment.

A Pokémon of his caliber had naturally seen Poké Balls before.

Aside from a handful of special varieties, ordinary Poké Balls meant little to him. He could break free whenever he pleased.

If this Poké Ball really worked as the Trainer claimed, he could enter it and wait until his transformation was complete before coming back out.

Dian immediately stated his condition. "But first, you have to open the cave entrance."

After speaking, he stared intently at Golem.

Judging by Golem's desire to leave immediately, there was probably some unknown threat on this mountain.

And if it posed a threat even to Golem, it would be an absolute catastrophe for them. No matter how dangerous it still was outside, they couldn't stay here and wait to die.

Golem fell silent for a moment, then turned around without a word.

A faint silver glow flashed over his body, as though he had donned a suit of silver armor.

Pushing hard with his hind legs, he hurled himself toward the entrance.

Boom!

The rocks blocking the cave entrance burst apart, sending dust flying everywhere.

Inside the cave, almost all the Pokémon trembled, not daring to make a sound.

Dian's mouth went dry, and he put aside his little schemes.

Clearly, Golem was making a show of force, warning Dian that even if he was going through a vulnerable period and his strength had diminished, he was still far beyond anything Dian could contend with.