After parting ways with Kenta and the others, Charizard carried Xia You and Erika east over the forest. They had not flown far, however, when a Pokémon came toward them from straight ahead.
It was Xia You's Scyther!
Seeing Xia You, Scyther hurriedly waved its scythe-like forearms to catch his attention.
He had sent Scyther out earlier so that it could bring word once Gengar located Raikou. Now that it had come to meet them, they had clearly found Raikou's trail.
Patting Charizard's neck, Xia You had it draw closer to Scyther.
Once the two Pokémon were flying side by side, Xia You immediately asked, "Well? Did you find Raikou?"
Scyther nodded and opened its mouth to say something. Unfortunately, while Xia You could still understand simple gestures, without Gengar here, anything too complicated was completely beyond him.
But that did not matter. Scyther simply led the way, soon guiding Charizard above a small lake in the forest.
Sitting behind him, Erika spotted a Pokémon from a distance.
"Look, it's Raikou!"
Xia You looked in the direction she pointed. Sure enough, Raikou was lying on a large boulder, repeatedly sticking out its tongue to lick the places where it had suffered electrical burns.
Just like animals on Earth, animal-like wild Pokémon actually had substances with anti-inflammatory properties in their saliva. Thus, licking their wounds was a way of treating them. Their immune systems were also many times stronger than humans', so they did not worry about bacteria in their saliva infecting the wounds.
To avoid attracting its attention, Xia You had Charizard land some distance away before cautiously approaching in silence with Erika.
The lake was small, with a stream flowing through it. The rushing water conveniently masked their footsteps.
Gengar was peeking out from behind a large tree on