Three days after Brock's battle with Darius, Iris was leading the group of six as they made their way up the mountainous Route 8, looking down at the Pokédex in her hand.

"It looks like we're deep in Bagon territory now," she reported. "Everyone keep your eyes peeled for a short, blue, Dragon-type Pokémon."

"We're probably going to be spending the night in Bagon territory, at this rate," Serena added, glancing toward the sun as it approached the horizon.

"Fine by me." Ash looked around the rocky landscape for any signs of movement. "The longer we stay, the better our chances of finding a second Bagon for me to try and capture."

"Do you think we'll be stopping soon…?"

Ash, Iris, Serena and Madison all glanced backward, hearing the exhausted female voice from behind them. Shannon was lagging five to ten feet behind the rest of them, flushed and out of breath, having to struggle for each uphill step. Brock was by her side, slumping as he lumbered forward, neither of them as in-shape as the others.

"We'll probably stop and set up camp when the sun goes down," Iris answered. "Not much longer." She tried to inject some sympathy into her voice, a bit torn between feeling sorry for Shannon's struggle and wanting her to build up some stamina.

"If we collapse, just leave us where we fall," Brock managed, also out of breath. "We'll become food for the wild Pokémon around here." Serena started to reply with a joke of her own, but was quickly interrupted.

"Hey, look up there!" Madison pointed upward, at a ridge a little ways above the group. "What Pokémon is that?" Everyone stopped and followed her finger with their eyes, quickly finding a four-legged creature covered in white fur, with a black tail and a single, curved, black horn protruding from the side of its head.

"Whoa!" Ash exclaimed in a hushed tone, not wanting to alert or startle the Pokémon. "It's an Absol!" Iris aimed her Pokédex at the Absol at it slowly climbed up the rocks above them, while Ash quickly took off his backpack and ran up to the cliff face.

"Absol, the Disaster Pokémon," the machine spoke mechanically. "Absol live in steep mountainous regions, and rarely venture down into areas inhabited by humans, but should an Absol be seen by humans, it is said that catastrophe is soon to follow."

"Catastrophe, huh…" Shannon uttered tiredly as she walked up next to Iris. "I hope that's just an old legend. I'd rather not deal with a disaster right now… or ever."

"Are you going to try and catch it, Ash?" Serena asked, as he began climbing the boulders in front of them, Pikachu clinging to his back.

"You bet I am," he answered quietly, looking back, not wanting the Absol to hear his plan. "A Pokémon like that would make a great addition to my team."

Everyone watched as Ash made his way slowly up the rocks, in pursuit of the wild Pokémon. As he kept his eyes on his target, he could see that it was struggling to climb up the rocks, more than Ash would have expected. Its legs were trembling, and it had a great deal of difficulty getting a solid footing. As it tried to scale the mountain, the Absol eventually slipped and fell, starting to roll downward on a trajectory toward the trainer chasing after him.

"Whoa! Hang on!" Ash stood his ground as Absol fell down toward him, reaching his arms out and catching the Pokémon just as they collided, Pikachu leaping off of Ash's back just before impact. He held Absol tightly as they tumbled back down the mountain together, landing in a pile among Ash's friends, knocking the wind out of them both.

"Oh no, Ash!" Serena ran over and knelt next to him, as he coughed. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine…" He sat up as much as he could, looking down at the Absol on top of him, as Pikachu climbed down the rocks and ran toward the pair. "Is Absol okay?" Everyone stood around and watched as the Pokémon got shakily to its feet, slowly turning around and making its way back toward the cliff face. Less than two steps later, Absol's front legs gave out, and it collapsed once again to the ground.

"What's wrong with it? Is it hurt?" Madison wondered, stepping a little closer. Shannon and Brock both walked in front of Absol, kneeling down to take a closer look.

"It looks as though it's been poisoned," Shannon assessed, seeing the sickly pallor on its face. Brock nodded in agreement, as Absol's back legs gave out as well, its body hitting the ground hard. He reached out and rested his hand on Absol's cheek for a moment, feeling how cold and clammy it was.

"It has been poisoned… and pretty badly, too. It must have happened a while ago, maybe an hour or more." He glanced back toward Iris, as the Pokémon tried once again to stand up. "Can you grab an Antidote, or a Pecha Berry if we have one?"

Iris nodded and grabbed Brock's bag, lifting it up and starting to rifle through it, her search growing more frantic as it went on. "Uh oh… I think we're all out." She placed the bag back down, everyone focusing on Absol once again, who no longer had the strength to push itself up.

"Is it going to be okay without any Antidote?" Serena asked, wringing her hands.

Brock frowned. "If this Absol were older, I'd say it would be alright. But this one's pretty young, and small, too…" He paused briefly, as everyone's hearts fell at once. "We need to get it an Antidote, as soon as we can."

Ash kept his eyes on Absol, feeling his stomach starting to turn as he watched it struggle to move, its breathing labored. "How are we supposed to get one? Do we have to go all the way back to Ambrette Town?" They had started the day back in town, and spent about six hours walking since then.

"I don't know where else we go," Serena answered. "But even if we ran that entire way, the shops would be closed by the time we got there…" Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a Poké Ball opening beside her, and she turned to see Iris's grumpy Dragonite stretching his arms and wings.

"The fastest way there is to fly," Iris declared, walking up to Dragonite's side. "I'll try to get there before the shops close. If I'm not fast enough, I'll come back first thing in the morning." She climbed up onto his back, as he grunted and flapped his wings, lifting off.

"Please hurry, Iris!" Shannon pleaded, as Iris and Dragonite turned and took off toward Ambrette Town, miles away. Everyone watched her gradually grow smaller as she flew off, before turning back toward the weakened Pokémon.

Brock stood up again, walking over to his bag and searching through it. "We need to keep its strength up, in the meantime." He pulled out a yellow fruit covered in orange spots, as well as a bottle of orange powder. "This Sitrus Berry should help, combined with a bit of medicine." He reached into his bag a second time, retrieving a mortar and pestle, starting to mash and combine the ingredients.

"Will that help it feel better?" Madison walked over, watching Brock work.

"Yes, but not for that long," he explained. "We'll have to keep feeding it over and over until Iris gets back."

"Over and over?" Ash sat up. "How often?"

"Probably once an hour, to be safe."

Ash nodded. "I'll do it. I'll make sure it's fed."

"Are you sure, Ash?" Serena asked. "You might have to do that all night, if Iris doesn't get back soon."

"Then that's what I'll do." His tone was resolute as he kneeled next to Absol, looking down at the distress on its face, as Brock walked over with the finished mixture. He scooped out a spoonful and brought it close to Absol's mouth, watching as the Pokémon sniffed the air, looking toward the spoon.

"This will help you feel better," Brock reassured. "It doesn't taste too bad, either." After inspecting it for a moment longer, the Absol leaned in and ate the medicinal mixture off of the spoon, quickly swallowing it. Brock fed him one more spoonful before setting the bowl aside.

"That should do for now," he spoke, as everyone watched Absol try to stand once again, getting up on its front legs before collapsing again, into Ash's waiting arms. "Two spoonfuls an hour should help fight off the poison. There should be enough there in that bowl." Ash nodded, letting the exhausted and sickly Absol rest sideways on his lap, rubbing its back, trying to get it to relax. Serena kneeled next to it as well, gently running her fingers through the fur on Absol's head, holding it gently.

"I guess this is where we're setting up camp, then," Shannon suggested. Serena nodded quietly, standing up and walking over to lay out her sleeping bag, while Shannon and Brock got to work on a campfire with some brush they had brought along. As Serena finished rolling it out, she looked back toward Ash, who was still holding the Absol in his arms and rubbing its back, an expression of deep concern etched onto his face. She bit her lip and watched him for a moment, before getting up and walking over to his discarded backpack, laying out his sleeping bag for him as well.

Hours later, Ash was awoken by a soft beeping sound right by his ear, as he had been many times that night. He slowly sat up and tapped his beeping phone to silence it, eyes squinting, needing a moment before he remembered why he was waking up. He opened his eyes, taking in the dark night around him, the mountain illuminated only by the campfire they had made, which was still burning.

He stretched his arms briefly before slipping out of his sleeping bag, reaching out and grabbing the bowl of Sitrus Berry mix. He stood up and walked slowly over to Absol, who was lying close to the campfire, sleeping fltfully as its body tried to fight off the poison. Ash kneeled next to the Pokémon, resting his hand on its head gently, causing it to stir.

"Time for some more, Absol," he half-whispered, scooping out another spoonful of berries and bringing it to Absol's mouth, who accepted it tiredly but eagerly. Ash fed it one more spoonful before setting the bowl aside, rubbing its head gently. "Don't worry, we'll have some Antidote soon, and then you'll be all better."

He stood up and walked over to his sleeping bag once again, exhausted. As he started to lie back down, he took another look at Absol, pausing as he did so. Despite resting next to the campfire, the Pokémon was visibly shivering, as if it was freezing cold. Ash felt his heart drop into his stomach, deeply scared for Absol and fearing the worst, as he had been all night. He watched for several seconds, unable to look away, before stepping out of his sleeping bag again. He reached down and unzipped it fully, turning it into a large plastic comforter, and walked back over to Absol with the sleeping bag in one hand and his phone in the other. He lay down beside the sickly Pokémon, covering both of them with the comforter, and lightly wrapped one of his arms around it, wanting to share his warmth.

"Absol, it's just me," he reassured quietly, as he felt Absol weakly struggle against him for a moment, surprised; it quickly settled down and relaxed, comforted by Ash's warm frame and his now-familiar voice. "You're going to be just fine. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

Ash could feel Absol drifting off, still shivering a bit, but less so than it had before, its breathing a bit less labored. He tried to stay awake as long as he could, wanting to watch over the Pokémon just in case anything happened, but he soon fell asleep as well, physically and emotionally drained.

"Ash? Ash, wake up."

Several feedings later, Ash found himself being shaken awake. He stirred quickly, opening his eyes and looking up to see Iris kneeling over him, illuminated by the light of the early morning sun. She was smiling gently despite the situation, partly relieved that she'd returned in time, partly touched by how far Ash was willing to go to protect a wild Pokémon.

"Iris?" He sat up immediately. "You're back! Did you get the Antidote?"

"Yeah, I got plenty." She looked past him, at the Pokémon lying by his side. "How is Absol?"

He quickly turned and looked down, studying Absol's face. It was still asleep, breathing harshly and lying still. "It had a rough night… it definitely needs that Antidote." He heard stirring around him, turning and looking around to see the others waking as well, sitting up and turning toward Absol. Brock stood up and walked over, rubbing his eye, accepting an Antidote from Iris and kneeling down.

"Alright, Absol, this will be cold, but you'll feel a lot better." He started spraying the contents of the bottle onto Absol's body, focusing on its face and its chest; the Pokémon stirred and winced at the spray, kicking its legs weakly.

"How many do we need to use?" Iris asked, watching as he applied the Antidote.

"Just one will do the trick," Brock answered. "Then some more of that berry mix will have it feeling normal again." He soon exhausted the Antidote bottle and set it aside, as Ash eagerly grabbed the bowl he had been using all night, scooping its remaining contents into one large spoonful. He offered it to Absol, who quickly accepted it, as everyone gathered around and watched. Seconds later, Absol opened its eyes and sat up, starting to get to his feet, causing everyone to sigh in relief.

"Thank goodness." Serena watched as the Pokémon stood up once again, strength coursing through it. "I was so worried…"

Ash smiled tiredly as he sat back, watching Absol stretch each of its four legs individually, as Pikachu ran over and climbed up on top of Ash's head. "How are you feeling? All better?" Absol ignored his question, immediately turning and racing over to the cliff face, starting to climb up as fast as its newfound strength would allow.

"Whoa, hold on! Where are you going?" Ash stood up and followed after it, stopping only briefly to grab his Poké Balls and attach them to his belt. He ran up to the rocks and clambered upward after Absol, Pikachu clinging tightly to him; he was followed by Iris, who quickly climbed up ahead of him without breaking a sweat. The two of them managed to scale the wall and started running after Absol, who was making its way toward the closest peak.

"What is he doing?" Iris called out. "What's up here that's so important?"

"I have no idea," Ash answered from behind her, following as quickly as he could, adrenaline pumping through him to counteract his lack of sleep. As they chased Absol up the mountain, both of them spotted what looked like an enormous, unstable pile of rocks and boulders, placed very precariously on a ledge. They watched Absol carefully navigate around it before stopping, growling at something on the other side.

"What's going on…?" Ash wondered aloud, as he saw Iris catch up to Absol, standing behind it. He soon managed to do the same, and he found himself staring down into what looked like a carved-out hole in the mountain, which was currently filled with angry Seviper. He counted an even half-dozen.

"I get it now," Iris spoke, turning her gaze to the pile next to them. "These Seviper must have carved out this hole to make a nest. Absol was probably worried about them causing a rockslide."

"That's when they poisoned it," Ash concluded. "They couldn't have been too happy about Absol getting in their way." Based on the glares they were now receiving, the Seviper still weren't too happy. They slithered slowly forward, ready for a fight, before one of them sprung forward in Absol's direction, fangs bared.

"Pikachu, stop it with Iron Tail!" Ash commanded. Pikachu immediately leaped off of his head and whirled around, smacking the snake Pokémon to the ground with his tail before it could sink its fangs into its target. Ash reached down to his belt, sensing that things were about to get messy, and he quickly brought out his Sigilyph and Drapion, while Iris summoned her Garchomp and Excadrill.

The band of Seviper stopped their advance as they saw their opponents multiply, clearly not interested in a fair fight that might not work out in their favor. Iris glared down at them as they slowly backed off.

"Go and find somewhere else you dig your nest," she ordered. "This place is too dangerous."

The Seviper hissed back at her, trying to appear menacing, but they thought better of it as Garchomp and Excadrill advanced on them. After a moment's consideration, they started turning to leave, one by one, slithering out of the hole they had made and heading off to find some other place to dig. Ash and Iris felt the tension leaving their bodies as the Seviper left, and Absol visibly relaxed as well. They turned their attention to the final Seviper, the one who had been struck down by Pikachu, as it slowly sat up and glared at its opponent, sore and wanting revenge. He coiled up and sprung at Pikachu, ready to sink its fangs into its prey.

"Dodge it, Pikachu!" Ash ordered. His Pokémon deftly leaped out of the way, charging up electricity in preparation for an attack command. The attacking Seviper had no time to change course, ramming itself full force into the rock pile that had been dug up. Immediately, the pile began to rumble, as did the ground beneath their feet, before the rocks gave way and started to fall.

Ash and Iris shared a brief moment of panic as the rockslide began, before Absol started taking off down the mountain, running alongside the rocks, trying to think of something it could do to stop what was happening. Ash quickly came to his senses and started part-running, part-sliding down the mountain, Pikachu climbing back onto his shoulder, as he turned back toward his Pokémon.

"Sigilyph, stop those rocks with Psychic!"

Sigilyph cried out as she glowed a light blue color, focusing as hard as she could on stopping the rocks; as a Psychic aura formed around them, they began to slow down, but the toll it was taking on her was obvious. Ash watched her for a moment before his attention was drawn by Absol, who was running in front of the moving rocks. The Pokémon dug its feet into the ground and leaned hard against one of the larger boulders in the center, trying to stop its descent.

"Help them out, you two!" Iris called out, following Ash down the mountainside. Both of her Pokémon quickly rushed to Absol's side, using their arms to hold back several boulders as well. Ash threw out another Poké Ball, summoning Snivy to assist, who leaped forward and used her vines to hold back several others, as Drapion ran up and used its claws to hold back more. With all of the Pokémon working together to hold back the rocks, they eventually slowed to a stop, just before the rockslide ran over what had been their camp until moments ago. Brock, Serena, Shannon and Madison had all grabbed their things and ran well out of the way as soon as the calamity began, taking themselves out of danger for the time being.

Ash and Iris ran forward to assess the situation further, seeing all of their Pokémon straining to stop the rockslide from continuing. Looking further down the mountain, they could see the somewhat distant buildings of Ambrette Town, directly in the path of the oncoming rocks. They knew they couldn't stop the rockslide forever, but if they let it go, there was a chance that the boulders would eventually reach town and do some damage.

"Steelix, I choose you!" Both of them looked down at the sound of Brock's voice, watching him toss out a Poké Ball and summon the enormous Steelix onto the mountain. "Dig a trench in the mountainside! Redirect those rocks toward the ocean!" His Pokémon roared and got to work, using its enormous jaws and powerful tail to dig large chunks out of the mountain path, creating a trench that curved away from Ambrette Town and toward the ocean to the west. Sigilyph and the other Pokémon continued holding the rocks back as much as possible, using all of the energy they had.

After several minutes of work, Steelix crawled back up to his trainer, his work complete. Brock turned and gave a signal to Ash and Iris up above, who pulled out their Poké Balls, ready to call everyone back.

"Alright, we're going to let go on three!" Ash declared. "One… two…"

Before he could finish counting, Sigilyph let out a defeated cry as she fell down toward the ground, exhausted, her psychic hold on the rocks finally breaking. The boulders started to rumble and shift once again, the rockslide resuming. Ash and Iris both yelped and immediately hit the buttons on their Poké Balls, calling back who they could; Ash brought back Drapion to his ball as Snivy brought her vines back into her body, while Iris returned both Excadrill and Garchomp. They both watched fearfully as Absol leaped away from the boulders, which began to fall and chase after the Pokémon as it started running downhill.

The other travelers gasped as Absol ran past them as fast as it could, the rockslide in hot pursuit. It looked around for a safe side path to leap onto, knowing it could only outrun the rocks for so long, when it suddenly lost its footing and fell forward. Moments later, one of the smaller boulders slammed into its body, sending it flying over the edge of a cliff.

Absol cried out in shock and panic as it began to plummet to the ground far below, legs flailing as it scrambled to find something it could possibly grab onto to stop its fall. As it looked down toward its inevitable crash landing, it felt something wrap around its two rear ankles, gripping them tightly. It looked back up, surprised, to see Snivy struggling to hold on with her vines, with Ash's arms wrapped tightly around her; Iris and Serena was holding onto him in turn, all of them working together to stop Snivy from tumbling off the edge with Absol. As the wild Pokémon slowed to a stop, all of them sighed in relief, as Snivy carefully lowered Absol onto a ledge far below. With everyone finally safe, they turned to watch the tumbling rocks as they curved toward the ocean, guided by the trench Steelix had dug.

"That was really close…" Ash muttered, stepping back, still holding Snivy in his arms.

"You're not kidding," Serena added, still keeping her grip on Ash's arm. "I'm glad that nobody got hurt… at least not too badly." She looked back down at the ledge below, where Absol was looking back at all of them curiously.

Ash smiled and waved at him. "Thanks for your help, Absol! I'm really glad you're okay!" The Pokémon looked back at them, cocking its head, before it began to walk along the mountain ledge, and eventually ducked inside a cave.

Iris smiled as she watched Absol walk out of sight. "Well, all's well that ends well, right?" The other two nodded, as Iris looked back up toward their companions, realizing how hungry she was. "Come on, let's get back up there and get some breakfast." They all walked back up the mountainside together, hands clasped to make sure none of them fell, as Brock, Shannon and Madison got to work reigniting the campfire.

"Dragon Rage, Axew!"

Hours later, Iris and Axew were engaged in a heated battle with a wild Bagon, as the others stood back and watched. Upon receiving her command, Axew opened his mouth and fired a blue energy blast toward its dinosaur-like opponent; the attack hit its mark perfectly, knocking Bagon onto its back, where it lay for a few moments, sore and exhausted.

"Here we go!" Iris reached down to her side, retrieving a spare Poké Ball and tossing it at the fallen Pokémon. "Go, Poké Ball!"

Eight pairs of eyes watched as the ball flew out and hit Bagon in the stomach, turning the Pokémon into a pool of red energy that was quickly sucked inside the spherical device. Iris watched with bated breath as the Poké Ball rocked back and forth, fighting to keep the Bagon contained inside; seconds later, the ball became still and emitted a small chime, indicating a successful capture.

"Yes! I got it!" She ran forward and picked the Poké Ball back up, holding it triumphantly above her head, as Axew cheered from below. "One more Dragon-type down!"

"Great job, Iris!" Shannon exclaimed, running up to Iris as she attached the Poké Ball to her belt. "I knew you could do it!" Iris grinned as she turned around to face her friend, when she spotted something above them, out of the corner of her eye.

"Huh?" She looked upward, toward one of the ledges above them, where she got a good look at a very familiar face. "Hey, look!" Shannon and the others turned around, gasping as they could see the eyes and horn of an Absol peeking out curiously, keeping most of its body hidden.

"Oh wow, Absol!" Serena took a step forward, trying to get a closer look, causing the Pokémon to retreat nervously. "Has it been following us this whole time?"

Ash watched the Absol with wide eyes as it slowly peeked back out, their eyes meeting. He grinned wide, waving at the Pokémon. "Hey there! Do you want to come along with us?" Absol perked up at this, moving in a little closer, as Ash continued, encouraged. "It'll be great having you with us! I can tell we'll be good buddies!"

He watched as Absol stood up properly, taking a few steps forward, maintaining eye contact. After mulling it over for a few seconds, it started bounding down the mountainside, an excited expression on its face. It quickly reached level ground and ran up to Ash, leaping up and placing its front paws on his shoulders, starting to lick his cheek affectionately.

Ash started laughing, reaching out and resting his hands on Absol's shoulders. "Hey, that tickles!"

Serena laughed with delight, her hands clasped over her heart, as Brock grinned. "I think that's a yes."

"Sure seems like it to me!" Ash answered, as Absol took a step back and looked up at him, a clear smile in its eyes. Ash reached down and took out a spare Poké Ball of his own, grinning down at his new companion. "Welcome to the team, Absol!" He gently pressed the front of the ball against Absol's forehead, who transformed into a mass of red energy that was immediately sucked up by the ball. Everyone crowded around Ash as the Poké Ball quickly came to rest, capturing the Pokémon without a fight.

"I'm so glad he came back," Serena spoke up, touched and delighted. "I bet you two are going to be great friends."

Madison grinned wide. "I think they're already friends."

"You're right about that," Ash responded, tired but excited, as he opened the Poké Ball back up, depositing Absol back in front of everyone. They all watched as Pikachu ran up to his new teammate, introducing himself in his own Pokémon language, with Absol returning the gesture. Once introductions were out of the way, they all started traveling along the path once again, Absol sticking close to Ash's side.