Back and forth Josh rode, circling the prairie grasses. Nothing jumped out at him. Where were all the Pokémon? It was just like how encounter rates worked in traditional video games. Too high when you didn't want them, and too low when you did want them. It was at times like these that he wished he could purchase some sort of accessory that raised the encounter rate.

Losing his patience, he spurred his Pokémon toward a larger patch of tall grass. As he circled that, he felt an intense tingling sensation crawl down his skin. Looking around, he saw that he was nowhere close to any of the iron spires growing out of the ground. He leaned low on Granmarg, though his reaction was too late: a stray lightning bolt came crashing down on top of him, the Poké Ball falling out of his hand. As it clicked open, Saber emerging from it, the Mudsdale and Manectric crowded around him. "Are you alright?!" both of them cried out of worry for their trainer.

They got no response from the unconscious Josh.

Even after a Thunder Wave, Josh was still unconscious, his clothes smoking after the lightning strike. His Pokémon looked increasingly worried for him. Without a healing Pokémon on his belt, though, there was little Saber or Granmarg could do. "Try to prop him up against a hill, Saber," Granmarg suggested.

"Got it!" Saber replied. With that, the Manectric gently bit into the young man's upper arm to drag him out of the Tall Grass, where he could be out of danger. His Pokémon still would be, though, and there was nothing stopping the Pokémon inside the Tall Grass from leaving it to attack his own!

Both combatants exchanged brutal CRITICAL HITS, the small bird SLASHING deep into Saber's side with its talons as the THUNDER WAVE washed over it. "Saber!" Granmarg cried, wanting to intervene in the battle, though he ultimately stood his ground. "Are you okay?"

Saber hissed, responding without words; those talons spilled a great deal of blood. This small but tough avian was hitting even harder than the Duraludon did! His Pokémon were a bit tougher than they were then, but even so, this was concerning! Persevering for his trainer's sake, the Manectric loosed a SHOCK WAVE that served two purposes. The first would be to further weaken the Rufflet. The second was to wake his trainer up.