"Absol… You're the Absol from before, aren't you?"
Allen quickly stepped off his bike, noticing Caitlin trembling behind him. He reached out, gently trying to reassure her.
"Don't worry, this is the one that saved Cynthia and me befo—"
"Shhh—"
But then, he froze.
His instincts kicked in, and he immediately took a defensive stance, placing Caitlin behind him while scanning their surroundings.
A sound.
A faint noise—one that definitely didn't come from the Absol standing before them.
"Grrrr~"
This time, it wasn't just the eerie silence or the faint gasping sounds—there was a low growl.
His heartbeat quickened. Another Pokémon?
Slowly, he followed the direction of the noise, his gaze flicking back to the Absol in front of him. It remained still, watching him in silence.
Swallowing his nerves, he cautiously stepped forward, moving past the first Absol and toward the source of the sound.
And then—he saw it.
Behind a tree, another Absol lay motionless on the ground. Its snow-white fur stood out against the damp earth, its body unmoving. If it weren't for its crimson eyes staring directly at him, Allen might have thought it was already dead.
Two Absol!
Allen's breath hitched. Wait—
'Which one of you is the Absol from before?'
"..."
He took a step forward, but Caitlin immediately grabbed his sleeve, her small hands trembling.
"Don't worry," he said gently. "I'm just going to take a look." He paused, then added, "Remember the avalanche? This Absol saved me, Cynthia, and Grandma Wilma. I promise it means no harm. Can you trust me this once?"
Caitlin hesitated, her grip tightening. "...Really?"
Allen nodded. After a moment of thought, he suggested, "If you're scared, how about releasing Gothita? She can help you feel safer."
Caitlin shook her head frantically. "No way! Gothita will get eaten!"
Allen's mouth twitched. "Caitlin, Gothita isn't as weak as you think—"
After a long moment of persuading, Caitlin wrestled with her fears. Eventually, after much hesitation, she reluctantly released Gothita from her Pokéball.
The moment Gothita appeared, she froze. Her tiny body trembled as she clung to Caitlin, burying herself in her trainer's arms.
'See this?' Seeing her baby Pokémon trembling, Caitlin blamed Allen, but at the same time, she couldn't deny that Gothita's presence gave her a little bit of comfort.
Fortunately, with Gothita now in her arms, Caitlin's focus shifted entirely to her Pokémon. Taking the opportunity, Allen turned his attention back to the Absol on the ground.
He cast a cautious glance at the standing Absol, searching for any signs of aggression. But it remained still, watching him silently. Taking that as permission, Allen crouched down and carefully examined the injured Pokémon lying before him.
He lowered his gaze, his eyes widening in shock.
"How did you end up injured like this?!"
Its pristine white fur was marred with dirt and scratches, and fresh wounds lined its body. Deep claw marks ran along its side, barely scabbed over, while dried blood clung to the edges of its darkened mane.
Allen's eyes widened in alarm. "You're hurt…"
He instinctively reached out, but the injured Absol flinched, letting out a weak yet defiant growl. Even in its weakened state, it remained wary of him.
"Relax a bit. I don't mean any harm. I just want to see if you're injured. Are you hurt?" Allen anxiously said.
Thankfully, the other Absol stepped forward and gently licked the injured one's face, soothing it. After a moment, the standing Absol turned toward Allen, its crimson eyes seeming to say, 'Don't worry, go on.'
The other Absol stared at Allen for a while and then lowered its slightly raised head to the ground, indicating that it was letting its guard down.
Being a pure Dark-type Pokémon, Absol could sense that Allen had no ill intent. Moreover, it was already at its limit and couldn't hold on much longer.
Allen took a deep breath and nodded. He quickly approached to check its condition.
"A broken rib, a fractured left front leg, and internal organ damage in multiple places," he muttered calmly. "It needs an operation as soon as possible. Scalpel!"
"..."
'Ah, shit. I forgot.'
His guess was correct; this Absol was indeed injured, and severely at that. Its injuries were already fatal. It had a huge horizontal wound on its abdomen, as if it had been sliced by something. In addition to that, its legs, back, and face all had injuries of varying degrees.
Allen's brain spun fast, his photographic memory working at full capacity, before his eyes lit up. He couldn't do anything, but Gothita could!
Without much thought, Allen turned around and called for Caitlin and Gothita's help.
Now it was Caitlin's turn to be surprised—she had never expected her Gothita to be this powerful.
"She… she can heal?" Caitlin murmured in disbelief.
"Of course! Heal Pulse is part of Gothita's natural skill set—you just never tapped into it!"
Caitlin nodded seriously, realizing she needed to learn more about her Gothita. She then knelt down beside the injured Absol and gently asked, "Can you help?"
"Thita~"
Gothita glanced back and forth between Caitlin and the wounded Absol before nodding, as if accepting a mission.
Raising her tiny hands, Gothita summoned a soothing green energy. The glow pulsed outward, enveloping the Absol in a gentle light as the healing energy flowed into its body. Slowly, the injured Pokémon began to glow faintly, its wounds gradually mending.
[The user emits a healing pulse which restores the target's HP by up to half of its max HP.]
The broken rib gradually mended, the fractured leg aligned, and the damage to its internal organs began to heal. The once-labored breathing of the Absol grew steadier, and its tense body slowly relaxed.
Allen watched closely, fascinated by the process. "It's working…" he muttered, barely containing his excitement. Watching live compared to watching on a 2D television feels completely different.
The other Absol, which had been standing still, sighed in relief as it saw its partner was fine, but then became anxious again.
With a dash, the Absol landed in front of Allen before swiftly lifting him up. Allen got startled and frightened. After falling onto the Absol's back, he instinctively clung tightly to the Pokémon, trying to steady himself as the creature rose and then dashed forward.
"Wait, wait, Absol!!!"
"Ehhh?!!" Caitlin also panicked but didn't dare to move.
The recently healed Absol locked its eyes onto her. With no other choice, she frantically pulled out her phone and called her father to explain the situation.
In fact, Caitlin had misunderstood. The Absol was only halfway recovered, so it needed some rest. Seeing its partner had already chosen Allen, it probably felt it needed to stay with Caitlin to keep her safe until her guardian arrived.
Despite the lack of real cliffs and sharp inclines, the rough, rocky terrain was still difficult to navigate, far from the smooth flat route. Out here, the closest thing to a path were faint trails, worn down by Pokémon making their way across the land.
The scrub bushes and stunted trees that somehow managed to grow in the harsh, rocky soil were more of a hindrance than a help. Their scratchy, stubborn branches refused to move out of the way as they passed, only adding to the challenge.
"H-hey, Absol, wait, wait! Slow down!" Allen was anxious but didn't dare let go of his grip on the Absol.
He kept talking like that, trying to figure out where the Absol might be taking him, until he recognized a familiar path.
'Is this the path to the cave where I was trapped before?'
Celestic Town is located on the eastern side of Mount Coronet, nestled between two small hills to the north and south. To the east, the town opens up directly toward the vast waters of the Sinnoh Sea.
The cave, or rather the direction the Absol was currently leading him, was toward Route 210, close to Grandma Wilma's daycare, which was under renovation due to the recent avalanche. This route also led toward Solaceon Town, offering a scenic yet rugged path through the area.
Sure enough, they soon passed the entrance of the cave, and the Absol sprinted up sheer stone walls, or bounced off them, performing acrobatics fueled by bursts of white energy and its inherent speed.
Occasionally, there was a Pokémon trail that wandered in the rough direction they were heading, offering brief moments of respite from clambering and pushing their way through the rugged terrain.
Eventually, he noticed something, almost like the faintest note of static. As he listened closer, he realized it was bouncing among the rocks, and the air felt slightly more damp than before.
The presence of water in the air grew more noticeable, and as they got closer, the faint static resolved into the rushing sound of a stream.
Finally, they rounded a corner, and he looked up, raising his head to take in the sight. Allen was stunned by what he saw.
The two statues, placed across from each other, created a dramatic symmetry, their eyes locked in a timeless battle of balance—one representing the passage of time, and the other the vastness of space.
Standing across from one another near the roaring waterfall, Dialga, the Pokémon of time, stood on the left, its claws and spikes raised as if ready to control the very flow of time. Its regal face gazed toward Palkia on the right, whose wings stretched outward, intricately carved to give the impression of manipulating the vastness of space.
"You brought me all the way here just to flex? But you're not even the architect, huh?" Allen asked weirdly.
Soon however, he understood. The stream, now clearly visible, cascaded down a nearly sheer surface. Allen stood on the side, above and slightly to the side of where the water had carved a narrow cleft into the stone.
It wasn't deep enough to be called a gully or a ravine, more like a shallow rift through which the water flowed. They were halfway up the cleft, and on their side of the stream, a large, flat sandy area stretched toward the water, forming a small beach.
The sheer wall the water flowed over didn't seem to be rock. At first, Allen couldn't quite figure out what he was looking at, as its roughness and irregularity made it difficult to identify.
Absol then moved closer, and Allen followed. As they approached, he noticed the wall was a different color from the surrounding stone—a deeper, richer brown. That's when it hit him: it wasn't rock at all. It was wood.
It suddenly clicked for him, like seeing the right angle on a 3D picture. The irregularities weren't just random rocks—they were branches or logs sticking out, and the deep brown wasn't stone, but clay-like mud filling the gaps between the trees.
The water flowed over it, slowly wearing away the clay, washing away sticks and chunks of wood. It was a dam—massive, much larger than any beaver dam he'd seen in pictures. It towered over them, almost reaching the top of the crevasse.
Absol stared up at the immense structure, then glanced back at Allen before moving to the side. Following, Allen noticed a small winding trail leading up the slope toward the top of the dam. He trudged up, kicking up small puffs of dust with each step.
When he reached the top, he froze, staring out at the view, a look of horror crossing his face.
Behind the dam, the crevasse widened before narrowing again, climbing toward the mountain. The area behind the dam was filled with deep blue water—so deep that Allen couldn't see the bottom. It was vast, far larger than he had imagined.
"Such a big dam? Here?!"
A dam—a structure built to block or restrict the flow of water or direct it for various purposes, such as power generation or irrigation.
Turning back toward the dam, Allen watched as another chunk of clay fell, carrying with it branches caught in the flow. The stream flowed downhill, past rocks, eventually merging with the main river.
It cut through forests and Pokémon habitats, with towns likely along its banks. As it reached the Grand Swamp, it widened and flattened out, but Allen could already picture the destructive flood that would follow.
He could see it drowning ecosystems, destroying Celestic Town, and likely flooding Solaceon Town, which lay directly below Celestic Town.
"Hey, be careful with the eggs!"
Before Allen could think of a solution, a voice shocked him to the core, making him instinctively cringe, while Absol growled hatefully at the voice.