Every minute that passes is a risk to them. Every second I hesitate is a cage that won't open. Because if I do nothing now, if I simply watch and walk away, if I blindly trust that others will come and solve this problem, I have to accept that I'll probably never see those Pokémon again. Maybe they'll be released tonight. Maybe they'll be sold, traded, used, or harmed. And then there will be nothing left but the memory of what I could have done and didn't.
It's a decision I can't take lightly. I find myself at that strange point where morality, prudence, and fear intersect. Where logic tells me to wait, but something deeper, more visceral, compels me to act.
I don't know if I'm ready to intervene. I don't know if I have what it takes. But what I do know... is that if I walk away now, if I close my eyes and pretend I didn't see anything, I'll carry this with me for a long time.
And the mountain, which has shown me its secrets, will not let me forget it so easily.
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Author's Notes: If you want to support the story and read some advance chapters https://www.p@treon. com/Jayjayempi , it would also help me a lot if you have comments on how the story is going or if you would be so kind as to leave a review, Thank you very much for reading!
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Time wasn't on my side. I felt it in my chest, in my racing pulse, in the tension that hung like invisible cobwebs in the thick, stale air of Mt. Moon. We only rested for an hour. Just enough for my body to stop shaking from fatigue, but not enough to calm the storm raging in my head.
We had taken refuge in one of the secondary chambers, far from the tunnels where the Rockets marched with their sealed crates and their voices muffled by the stone. I sat with my back against a damp wall, closing my eyes for a moment, just to visualize the movements, the routes, the sounds. And think. Because if I didn't think straight, if I failed at even one thing... someone would get hurt. Or worse.
Ralts stood beside me, her breathing still a little ragged. I'd pushed her too far with her powers. More than she should have allowed. I bent down slowly, pulled out one of the potions I still had in my backpack—fewer and fewer, more and more valuable—and sprayed the shimmering liquid over her skin. She tensed at first, as if uncomfortable with the contact, but then she closed her eyes, relaxing her tiny body as the restorative energy penetrated her exhausted muscles.
"There you go, little one," I whispered, a hint of tenderness in my voice. "You're going to need this."
He sat up with a smooth movement, like a leaf rising in the wind, and looked at me. That gleam in his eyes... it was more than recovery. It was determination. Willpower.
Nidorino stood guard at the entrance to the hall, still as a living statue. Despite his impetuous nature, he seemed focused. A guardian. A warrior who understood the value of the moment.
The portable lantern I'd hung from a rock barely illuminated us, casting long, distorted shadows on the damp walls. The atmosphere was cold and damp, but I was sweating. From the tension. From what I was about to propose.
"Listen…" I said, breaking the silence with a voice that sounded lower and deeper than I expected. "Those Rockets… you saw them, right? Carrying crates with Pokémon inside. They're not Poké Balls. They're cages. Wood, metal, leashes. I don't know what you plan to do with them. Sell them. Force them to battle. Experiment. Whatever… I don't care. It's wrong. And I can't just sit here pretending I didn't see it."
I ran a hand over my face, took a deep breath.
"We don't have an advantage in numbers. Nor in brute force. But we do have one thing: they're confident. They feel secure. That's why they walk carelessly, why they separate themselves, why they speak loudly without thinking someone is listening in the darkness. We can use that."
Ralts watched me with wide eyes. Alert. Nidorino turned slightly, still standing there, as if waiting for instructions.
"I don't want to force them. I really don't. This isn't like facing Brock or another trainer on the road. This is something else. They're human. With tools. With orders. And if they catch us… I don't know what they'll do. But I know it'll be bad. If they want us to leave, if they think it's too dangerous, I'll understand."
There was a moment of thick silence. The constant dripping from the ceiling broke the stillness like an insistent clock. Tick. Tick. Tick.
And then Ralts stood up. He stumbled for a second, as if his body didn't quite want to keep up with his spirit, but then he steadied himself. He took a step forward. He nodded. Just once. Silently. Firmly.
Nidorino growled low and deep, and stamped one of his paws on the ground. The echo of his decision resonated in the stone like a promise.
We were a team.
"Fine," I said, straightening as the plan formed like a puzzle. "We won't go headlong. It would be suicide. There are at least five Rockets. Probably more. But they're spread out. They can't move together all the time. And they can't release their Pokémon if we don't give them time."
I looked at Nidorino.
"You'll be our spear. Our first line. When we locate an isolated one, charge at him. Quickly. Violently. Don't give him a chance to scream or touch a Poké Ball. Take him down. If he can breathe, that's fine. But don't let him get up."
Nidorino nodded. I watched him sharpen his horn against the rock without saying a word.
I turned to Ralts.
"You go in as soon as he's down. Use hypnosis. Make sure he can't resist. We need him asleep. Deep. Quiet. No resistance.
She tilted her head slightly, as if mentally calculating the timing. Then she nodded again.
"After that… Nidorino, you'll dig. Not much. Just enough to cover the Rocket's torso, the arms too. So they can't pull anything out. Or crawl. They'll be trapped. Harmless. We'll leave them there until we can come back for them. Or until someone else finds them."
I stopped. I took another deep breath. I forced myself to remember the reason. The Pokémon. The boxes. Their dull gazes. Their trembling bodies. It was because of them.
We weren't heroes. We were just three creatures, bound together by something resembling duty. But sometimes, that was enough.
I approached the edge of the tunnel. The distant echo of human voices reverberated like a hum. Footsteps. Whispered orders. The scraping of crates. And the constant dripping. Always the dripping.
I closed my eyes for a moment and placed a hand on the necklace hanging around my neck. I felt its warm, strangely comforting surface.
"Let's go," I said softly, barely a whisper to the world and a command to us. "Time to do the right thing."
And we took the first step towards hunting.
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The air was still, thick, as if breathing it also meant absorbing the secrets those rock walls had accumulated for centuries. We walked in silence. Our footsteps were barely a whisper on the gravel. Nidorino at my side, alert. Ralts behind, watching our rear, his eyes barely shining in the now-off flashlight. We guided ourselves by memory, intuition… and by voices.
I had already located one. A Rocket separated from the rest. Its shadow projected faintly from a bend ahead. It walked with its back to us, muttering something as it examined a crate. It had probably lingered behind to check its contents or take a break.
My heart was beating like it was trying to break through my ribs.
I stopped, crouching behind a rock formation. Nidorino crouched beside me, waiting for the signal. Ralts kept her power contained, but ready. The plan had to begin now. Everything depended on a distraction.
I picked up a rock from the ground. Not very big. Just enough to make a noise without immediately raising suspicion. It was just the right weight in my hand. I felt it, cold and rough, before throwing it precisely toward a dark corner to the right of the Rocket.
CLACK.
The sound echoed off the walls. The Rocket turned sharply, pointing his flashlight in the wrong direction.
"Who's there?" he muttered, visibly tense. "Another damn Zubat?"
That was all we needed.
"Now," I whispered.
Nidorino shot out like an arrow. The Rocket barely had time to turn around before he was hit with brutal force, falling backward with a thud that knocked the wind out of his lungs. His Poké Ball rolled uselessly out of reach.
"Ralts!" I ordered in a low but firm voice.
The little girl appeared behind Nidorino, and without hesitation, her eyes lit up. The Rocket, still dazed from the impact, barely managed to blink before Hypnosis washed over him like an invisible tide. His body relaxed. His breathing slowed. Asleep.
But that was not enough.
"Nidorino, bring him. To the room where we camped."
My Pokémon understood immediately. With its teeth and one of its paws, it tugged at Rocket's uniform, dragging him with effort, but without making any noise, through the dark corridors. I ran ahead, clearing the way, making sure no one suddenly appeared. Ralts floated nearby, watchful, almost in a trance.
As I reached the antechamber where we'd rested, the familiarity of the place struck me like an echo. That corner where I'd applied the potion to Ralts. Where I'd spoken the words that brought us here. Now it had become a makeshift cell.
"Nidorino, dig. Here. Fast but not deep. Just enough."
The creature was still asleep, emitting nothing more than an unconscious murmur. Nidorino set to work with precision, digging vigorously until he formed a shallow cavity. He used his front legs and horns to break up the earth, but his movements were jerky, somewhat clumsy. It was effective, yes, but clumsy and slow. Each stride kicked up loose soil that flew in all directions, and each blow against the ground seemed to cost more effort than necessary.
I crossed my arms, silently watching him sweat slightly from time to time, and then the idea hit me like a flash.
"Tsk…" I muttered to myself. "We need to teach you the Dig TM."
With that attack mastered, movement would be much more fluid, more instantaneous. A single, well-executed charge, and you could disappear underground and re-emerge with surgical precision. No clumsy strikes. No unnecessary noise. I'd have to find that TM as soon as we arrived in Cerulean City. They were sure to sell it at a specialty store. Maybe even at the local PokéMart. It would be a vital tactical upgrade. For situations like this. For battles, too.
Nidorino, oblivious to my thoughts, finished his task with a snort. Then, with effort and precision, he shoved the Rocket's body inside. It was half buried, its torso and arms covered in dirt and loose rock. It couldn't move. Or stand up.
But he could still wake up. And if he did…
I turned to Ralts.
"Listen to me. I need you to use your powers to keep him asleep. Not like hypnosis. Deeper. Use direct psychic energy. A barrier. An invisible cage inside his mind. So he can't break out of that dream. So he can't scream. Not until we're done."
Ralts looked at me. His eyes shone with an intensity I'd never seen before. He walked to the edge of the makeshift pit, stood there silently… and then I felt it.
The pressure.
It was as if the air itself had thickened. As if something invisible had anchored itself to Rocket's body. His brow furrowed slightly. Then, nothing. His breathing remained steady. Regular. Heavy. But his mind… had sunk like a stone in a deep lake.
"Good job," I said, gently touching his shoulder.
Nidorino snorted, as if approving of the result. I knelt down beside the gap.
"We could have hurt you," I murmured to the sleeping Rocket. "But that's not the point. Just don't interfere. Don't hurt anyone. And everything will be okay."
I stood up and wiped my hands. The first target had fallen. No screams. No injuries. Just control. And precision.
One down. Four to go.
And with each step, I became more convinced that this wasn't crazy.
It was justice.
"Let's go," I said quietly, as we gathered our things. "Next."
Trainer License
Trainer: Maxwell Jones
Hometown: Pewter City
Sponsorship: None
Money: $72,200 Pokedollars ↑$800
Badges: 1.- Boulder Badge
Expandable Travel Backpack (Deluxe)
1. 4 potions (1 slot) 1⬇
2. 3 rage candy bar 1 slot)
3. 10 Pokeballs (2 slots)
4. 1 Escape Rope (1 slot)
5. 1 Red handkerchief with 16 orange berries (1 slot)
6. 3 Antidotes (Poison Cure) (1 slot)
7. Badge case (1 slot)
8. PokéNav (1 slot)
9. Travel Cooking Kit (Includes a folding frying pan, small knife, kettle container, and mini lighter, all in a compact case) – 2 slots
10. Pokémon Food Ration (4-day ration bag) (2 slots)
11. Human food ration (canned and freeze-dried food for 3 days) (2 slots)
12. Basic Camping Kit (Includes Compact Tent, Sleeping Bag, and Collapsible Lantern) – 3 Slots
Occupied slots: 18/30
Pokémon
nidorino
Gender: Male
Level: 20
Moves: Read, Peck, Focus Energy, Double Kick, Poison Sting, Rage Attack, Horn Attack
Ralts ✨
Gender: Female
Level: 18 ↑1
Moves: Disarming Voice, Teleport, Growl, Double Team, Hypnosis, Draining Kiss, Lucky Chant
EXTRA
pendulum necklace