At that moment, Hayato even had the strange urge to let himself fall just to see what it felt like.
No. Absolutely not.
He quickly pushed the thought away and directed Ralts to float him toward the protruding wall of ice.
Brendan, who had been worrying about what to do next, looked up and saw Hayato drifting over. His face immediately lit up with joy.
"Big bro Hayato!"
Hayato: "..."
He silently thought to himself that he had never had such a reckless little brother, then came to a stop at the ledge. His gaze swept over the unconscious Snorunt and he asked, "What happened here?"
Brendan lowered his head, his tone heavy. "It's hurt. I wanted to save it, but I wasn't careful and ended up falling down here myself…"
Hayato: "..."
Risking your own safety to save a Pokémon… this was exactly the kind of thing Ash would do. Hayato could only sigh inwardly—no wonder Brendan was one of the protagonists of the Pokémon world.
Brendan, the hero of Emerald. Brave, passionate, but also kind and gentle.
If their roles were reversed, Hayato knew he would have thought the situation through more carefully. At the very least, he wouldn't have been so impulsive.
With that thought, Hayato sighed helplessly and asked, "And you? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Brendan scratched his chest sheepishly. "I'm fine."
Pretending.
Hayato could see through it immediately, but before he could say more, Ralts gave a weak cry beside him.
It couldn't keep using telekinesis for much longer.
In short, its Psychic power was about to give out.
Brendan noticed Ralts' state as well and quickly shifted aside to make space.
Hayato: "..."
He had Ralts make an emergency landing right away.
Though now wasn't the time, Brendan couldn't hold back a laugh at the sight. "Hahaha, now you're in the same boat as me!"
Hayato gave him a deadpan look, then turned to Ralts. "Take a rest."
"Ral…"
The little Ralts nodded and returned itself to its Poké Ball.
Only then did Hayato ask, "Where's the Pokémon Dr. Lund gave you?"
With that Altaria, they could have flown straight out.
Of course, Gengar could have handled it too.
Brendan scratched his head, embarrassed, and pointed further down the cliff. "When I fell… I accidentally dropped its Poké Ball down there."
Hayato choked.
Activating his "golden finger," he scanned the Snorunt Brendan had risked himself to save. Its injuries were severe. Hayato quickly sent out Gengar, asked it to fetch medicine, and performed some emergency treatment on Snorunt.
Brendan watched gratefully.
Once Hayato confirmed Snorunt was no longer in danger, he looked at Brendan again. "You feeling pain anywhere?"
Brendan shook his head, but his eyes darted toward the camera hanging from Hayato's neck. His eyes gleamed with mischief. "If you let me see the photos in that camera, I won't feel any pain at all."
Hayato: "..."
He looked down. That camera belonged to Dr. Lund. His own camera had long since been stored inside Gengar's body.
He knew what Brendan meant—he wanted to see the photos inside this camera.
Hayato's instinct to keep a low profile had made him hide the truth about Rayquaza. But seeing Brendan still joking despite being injured, Hayato realized there was no point keeping secrets anymore.
He handed the camera to Gengar, who passed it over. Then he turned away to instruct Gengar to retrieve Altaria's Poké Ball from below.
Though it disliked the environment, Gengar still agreed. Its shivering purple body drifted downward into the icy depths.
As Hayato turned back, Brendan's expression was frozen in utter shock.
His voice trembled with disbelief as he raised the camera. "This… this is the Legendary Pokémon… Rayquaza?"
Hayato nodded.
"And these two… they're the Johto Pokémon, Suicune and Entei!"
Brendan stared at the two group photos, so awestruck that he completely forgot the pain in his body.
Seeing his reaction, Hayato's instinct for caution returned. "Remember, you must keep this secret!"
"Yes, yes!" Brendan nodded furiously.
When he looked back at Hayato, the light in his eyes had shifted into pure admiration.
Pointing at a photo, he whispered incredulously, "This… this Cramorant… isn't that the same silly bird in the Ecological Park that spends all day catching fish in the river?"
Hayato glanced at the photo.
The scene showed a stormy night. A brilliant flash of lightning illuminated the sky.
In midair, Rayquaza plunged downward headfirst, writhing like a wild serpent.
And in a tiny corner above, a small, dopey-looking Cramorant had its beak latched onto Rayquaza's tail.
Huge and small. Ferocious and foolish. The contrast could not have been sharper.
It was a scene that should have been impossible—yet here it was, captured on film.
If the upcoming Rayquaza encounter unfolded as the games foretold, this Cramorant might actually play a role.
Knowing he could no longer hide the truth, Hayato shot Brendan a look that said, Congratulations, you guessed right.
Brendan felt his worldview crumble. He stared at Hayato as though seeing him for the first time. "You… who exactly are you?"
"..." Hayato rolled his eyes. "Why that face? I'm just an ordinary Trainer who wants to live together with Pokémon."
"I…" Brendan was speechless.
Hayato patted his shoulder. "Relax. When you start your journey, you'll find this sort of thing isn't as rare as you think."
"Really?" Brendan asked uncertainly.
Hayato wasn't sure either, so he just said vaguely, "Depends on luck. Maybe you'll run into a Legendary the moment you step out."
"Ohhh!" Brendan nodded dumbly.
Just then, Gengar floated back from the shadows, holding out a Poké Ball.
Seeing it intact, Hayato was surprised. "It didn't break?"
Through telepathy, Gengar explained: "It fell into the water."
"Fair enough," Hayato said.
With Altaria's Poké Ball recovered, it was time to leave.
He pressed the button, and with a flash of white light, Altaria appeared before them.
Hayato helped Brendan and the weakened Snorunt up first, then clung to Gengar as they rose back to the surface of the ice.
Because Brendan was injured, they headed straight back to camp.
When Dr. Lund saw Brendan safe, he finally sighed in relief and had the medical staff check his condition. They also examined Snorunt.
Seeing everyone worrying for him, Brendan's face turned red with guilt.
Yet, if given the choice again, he knew he would have done the same.
Soon, the results came back.
To everyone's surprise, Brendan had only suffered scrapes and bruises—no fractures or serious injuries at all.
Hearing this, Hayato was once again stunned by the ridiculous durability of super "newbie protagonists."
But the truth wasn't quite so simple.
Before long, Hayato heard the real reason from Brendan himself.
"That Snorunt… it knows Psychic. When we landed, it used its power to shield me, but exhausted itself and fainted…" Brendan explained softly.
(End of Chapter)