A miracle had allowed Braviary to erupt in power and save Annis's life—but that miracle hadn't freed them from danger.
The surge of power it had gained was fading fast, while the pursuers behind them hadn't given up. In fact, as Braviary's speed began to drop, they were closing the distance once again.
Braviary's eyelids grew heavier with each passing second, and the sound of its trainer's sobs and desperate pleas to 'stop' echoed in its ears.
But if it stopped now, its trainer would die.
If trading its own life could give its trainer even a sliver of hope, it would pay that price without hesitation.
Its once-powerful wings now burned with exhaustion, each flap sending waves of agony through its body—like its very life force was draining away with every movement.
Yet it pushed on, uncaring. Before its strength ran out, it had to find a safe place.
'Where? Where?!'
'No… not here…'
While flying, Braviary kept scanning the ground below. Even though its vision was beginning to blur, it still wanted to create a chance—any chance—for its trainer to survive.
But searching for hope in the depths of despair—was like trying to grasp smoke.
The weakness spreading through its body clouded its mind. It was so tired. It just wanted to lie down and rest.
Then—a flicker of fiery red caught its eye.
'A Pokémon?'
'And… a human beside it?'
Seeing that human, Braviary immediately halted its plan to land—because the person might be dangerous.
'Wait—no. This one has long hair. A woman?'
A "female" trainer, beautiful even from a distance.
Braviary instinctively felt that this female trainer could be trusted.
Besides… it had no choice. Its body was failing.
It began descending toward the female trainer. But unfortunately, it had finally reached its limit. With about a hundred meters left before reaching the ground—Braviary completely lost consciousness.
Its massive frame plummeted downward.
Annis clung tightly to its back, pressing her face against Braviary's feathers. Her face showed no fear—only peace.
"It's okay. You've already done your best. In the next life… let's be together again."
With that, she closed her eyes, waiting for death to come.
---
Meanwhile, on the ground, Julian had just unearthed his prize—a Rock Orb, similar in function to the Water and Dragon Orbs. As he stored it in his system space—
Moltres suddenly alerted him.
Moltres: "There's a human trainer above us."
Julian glanced up. 'Oh? A Braviary? And it's heading straight towards me?'
'The trainer on its back sure is brave…'
'Can't they see the giant legendary bird right beside me?'
Julian couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration for this trainer's suicidal charge.
Any human who saw him in his female disguise had to die.
Julian's expression turned cold as he silently signaled Moltres to prepare an attack.
But the more he looked, the more something felt off.
Why was Braviary suddenly plummeting out of the sky… directly toward him?
Was this supposed to be a precision strike?
"Moltres, catch them!"
The situation had taken an unexpected turn, so Julian called off the assault.
Moltres soared into the air and caught the falling Braviary mid-descent.
Feeling her fall suddenly slow down, Annis thought the trainer from Ceylon had caught Braviary. Her face immediately turned pale.
But when she opened her eyes, her expression—once filled with despair—froze in confusion, almost as if she was hallucinating.
'What… am I seeing?'
A Moltres.
And it had just saved her and Braviary.
That was simply unbelievable.
She had heard tales of Articuno saving people lost in blizzards. But never had she heard of Moltres or Zapdos saving anyone.
Both of these Pokémon were known for their volatile tempers. After all, a Pokémon's personality was largely tied to its typing.
Yet here she was—saved by a Moltres. It felt like something out of a dream.
As Moltres gently lowered Braviary to the ground, Annis scrambled off. Just as she was about to thank the legendary bird, she suddenly noticed it walking toward a female trainer.
Earlier, her attention had been so fixated on Moltres that she hadn't even realized someone else was there.
And the moment she laid eyes on the trainer, she blurted out:
"So beautiful!"
'The hell!?'
'I should've just let you fall to your death.'
Julian was being peak hypocrite.
Just earlier, he was praising his own looks in the mirror—calling himself a peerless beauty. But now, when someone else called him pretty, he was annoyed.
"Enough nonsense. You should check on your partner—it looks like it's not going to make it."
There was no need for Julian to use his Probing Eyes; just from Braviary's flickering aura—like a candle in the wind—he could tell the Pokémon was already counting down its final moments.
Thud.
Annis suddenly dropped to her knees in front of Julian.
It was abrupt, direct, and completely caught him off guard.
Julian: 'What is this? Is she trying to scam me?'
"Please, I'm begging you—save Braviary. I'll do anything you ask."
Annis looked up at Julian with pleading eyes.
Her backpack had long been taken by the Ceylon trainer, so she had no medicine on her.
Even if she did, in Braviary's condition, ordinary items wouldn't be enough to save it.
Julian let out a sigh and pulled out a leaf from a Revival Herb. As much as he hated to admit it, he couldn't just stand by and watch a Pokémon—one that had never wronged him—die right in front of him.
Besides, the trainer clearly cared deeply about her Pokémon.
There were several types of medicine that could be used to treat Braviary, but right now, the Revival Herb was the most suitable.
Annis quickly took the herb leaf, not even pausing to say thanks, and rushed to place it into Braviary's beak.
Revival Herbs were ruthlessly effective. As long as a Pokémon had even a flicker of life left, consuming one would guarantee its survival.
Whether it could fully recover afterward depended on the severity of its injuries and the follow-up treatment.
"Swallow it… Braviary, please swallow it…"
Annis was getting desperate. But Braviary was completely unconscious—it couldn't even perform the basic reflex to swallow.
"Let me do it."
Julian stepped forward, pulled out a bottle of water, and poured it straight into Braviary's mouth—forcing the Revival Herb down with it.
Braviary: 'Damn it, I almost choked to death, instead of bleeding out.'
The Revival Herb took effect almost instantly. Braviary's weakening life force stabilized, and even showed signs of recovering. However, it would still take some time to wake up—and the grievous wound on its back required immediate treatment as well.
"Your Pokémon has a strong will to live."
The nearly extinguished aura had now stabilized, and Julian could sense that fierce will to survive.
But that desperate, clawing determination to live wasn't for its own sake—it was for its trainer.
And that… earned Annis a sliver of his respect.
Any trainer that a Pokémon was willing to risk everything for… probably couldn't be all that bad.
*****
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