After parting ways with Kenta and the others, Charizard carried Natsui and Erika eastward over the forest. But they hadn't flown far when a Pokémon came towards them from the front.
It was Natsui's Scyther!
Seeing Natsui, Scyther quickly waved its scythe-like arms to get his attention.
He had sent Scyther out earlier with the purpose of having it report back after Gengar had located Raikou. Now, seeing it rendezvous with them, it was clear that it had found Raikou's trail.
Patting Charizard's neck, Natsui had it move closer to Scyther.
Once the two Pokémon were flying side by side, Natsui immediately asked, "How is it? Did you find Raikou?"
Scyther nodded and said something, but unfortunately, while Natsui could understand simple gestures, without Gengar there, he couldn't understand its more complex words.
But it didn't matter. Scyther simply led the way, and soon it guided Charizard to a small lake in the forest.
Riding on the back, Erika spotted a Pokémon from a distance.
"Look, it's Raikou!"
Natsui followed the direction she was pointing and indeed saw Raikou lying on a large rock, continuously licking the places where it had been injured by electricity.
Just like animals on Earth, the saliva of wild animal-like Pokémon actually contained anti-inflammatory substances. So, by licking its wounds, it was treating itself. Moreover, their immune systems were many times stronger than humans', so they didn't have to worry about their wounds getting infected by bacteria in their saliva.
To avoid alerting it, Natsui had Charizard land at a distance, and then he and Erika carefully and quietly walked over.
The lake was not large, and a small stream flowed through it. The sound of the rushing water conveniently masked their footsteps.
Gengar was peeking out from behind a large tree on the other side of the lake. Seeing Natsui from afar, it gave him a thumbs-up.
Natsui didn't understand what Gengar meant, so he ignored it and focused all his attention on Raikou.
As the two continued to approach, when they reached the shore of the lake and were no longer hidden by the trees, Raikou finally noticed someone approaching and stood up alertly.
But it was too late!
Natsui and Erika, with Scyther, walked up to it. Their eyes met, and Natsui, without wasting any words, directly stated his purpose.
"Raikou, let's battle!"
Seeing that it was this man, Raikou's eyes widened in shock!
It had witnessed this man's power before and knew he also had the three Legendary Birds. How could it possibly fight him!
For Raikou, this was the most undefeatable opponent!
For such a proud Legendary Pokémon to show fear before a battle was a result of the immense psychological trauma caused by the combined attack of the three birds!
Without a second thought, Raikou immediately turned to flee. But before it could take more than a few steps, a figure suddenly dropped from the sky. It was Charizard, blocking its path!
Raikou stopped in its tracks and changed direction, but a Gengar appeared in front of it, blocking its way again!
Only then did Raikou have no choice but to turn back and let out a threatening roar at Natsui, assuming a battle stance.
Natsui took a Poké Ball from his pouch and released his Pokémon.
As the light flashed, the massive body of Crystal Steelix appeared before Raikou.
This time, he didn't plan to use superior numbers. He wanted to capture this Pokémon in a one-on-one battle. But a completely fair fight was impossible. After all, Raikou's individual power was too strong. Although it had been injured earlier, it couldn't be underestimated.
Crystal Steelix's immunity to Electric-type moves undoubtedly greatly weakened Raikou. And without its main means of attack, the power levels of the two sides became more even.
"Crystal Steelix, use Tackle!"
At Natsui's command, Crystal Steelix moved its massive body and charged at Raikou.
Seeing its imposing opponent, Raikou had no way to dodge and was forced to fight back.
As Crystal Steelix drew closer, Raikou's body suddenly accelerated, and it dodged with a flash.
Although it was naturally fast, Natsui could see clearly that Raikou had used Quick Attack in that instant, allowing Crystal Steelix to miss it completely.
And that wasn't all. The moment the two Pokémon's bodies crossed, Raikou opened its mouth and used Crunch, biting down on Crystal Steelix's body!
Crystal Steelix cried out in pain and swung its massive tail, but Raikou had already let go and leaped aside.
"Not bad at all!"
Natsui couldn't help but praise Raikou's performance. The more he watched, the more he liked it.
Its every move was like that of a calm jungle predator, waiting for the right moment to deliver a fatal blow to its opponent.
But Natsui also had great confidence in his Crystal Steelix. He believed it wouldn't disappoint him and trusted its abilities.
"Crystal Steelix, use Rock Tomb!"
After being attacked by Raikou, Crystal Steelix opened its mouth wide and used Rock Tomb.
The next second, a dozen or so giant rocks formed in the sky and rained down on Raikou.
These sharp rocks, if they hit, could cause considerable damage and would also block Raikou's path, greatly reducing its speed.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The rocks fell quickly, embedding themselves in the ground.
But with its swift steps and excellent jumping ability, Raikou dodged them one by one.
Natsui wasn't too surprised by this.
Against such an agile opponent, he had never expected Rock Tomb to hit. The main purpose of this move was to restrict Raikou's movement, preventing it from using its speed to harass Crystal Steelix.
Sure enough, after the lakeside was littered with rocks of various sizes, Raikou could no longer attack Crystal Steelix as it had before. Every step it took had to be careful to avoid hitting the rocks.
As for Crystal Steelix, although its movement was also affected by the rocks, it was already very slow, so the impact wasn't significant. Besides, with its massive body, it could just crush those rocks into gravel, which wasn't much of a hindrance.
Already unable to use its Electric-type moves, and now having lost its speed, Raikou's situation became increasingly unfavorable.
Crystal Steelix charged recklessly. With just a roll of its massive body, the ground shook, and thick trees were snapped in half without much effort!
Forced into a corner, Raikou once again showed the cunning side of a predator.
It stood with its back to the lake, luring Crystal Steelix to attack it. And just as Crystal Steelix charged and got close, it leaped to the side, dodging the tackle. At the same time, with a loud "splash," Crystal Steelix couldn't stop its momentum and plunged headfirst into the water!
Splash!
A huge wave of water shot up and crashed onto the shore. When the lake calmed down, there was no sign of Crystal Steelix!
Its plan having succeeded, Raikou turned to look at Natsui.
It wasn't just common knowledge among trainers that Ground- and Rock-type Pokémon were afraid of water; even Pokémon themselves understood this principle.
With an opponent of that weight, once it fell into the water, it would basically be impossible for it to climb out!
However...
It had expected to see panic in this man's eyes. But to Raikou's confusion, the man showed no such thing. Instead, he was looking at it with a half-smiling expression!