My Wartortle was currently battling the middle-aged man's Aggron, while Dad's Emboar fought against a Victreebel, Beedrill, and Skarmory.
The battle raged all around us when suddenly...
Crack
Crack
Boom
The ground beneath me cracked, and I fell into a hole created by the ongoing battle above.
"Warrrr!" I heard Wartortle's voice.
"Sid, are you okay?" Dad shouted.
"I'm okay, Dad—but you better beat these goons quickly, or more of this place is going to collapse. Next time, it might fall on me! Wartortle, help Dad!"
"You brat, I won't let anything happen to you!" Dad yelled.
"Warr!" I couldn't see her, but I was sure Wartortle agreed.
.
(Roy's POV)
We came to explore Grampa Canyon, but some goons calling themselves Team Rocket tried to take control. I might have overlooked that if they hadn't tried to take our Pokémon and force my child to join them.
Unforgivable.
They must pay.
As I was about to say something, Sid interrupted with words I never expected from him. He's lived most of his life indoors, and none of us ever spoke like that.
But his boldness reminded me of Rubina when we first met — just like her. Like mother, like son.
Then, due to the battle's shockwaves, the ground beneath Sid gave way. I hoped nothing serious had happened. When I asked if he was okay, he said yes — but from his voice, I could tell he was in pain.
And then, he said something rude — he joked about dying. How dare he.
As long as I'm alive, I won't let anything happen to my son.
"Wartortle, would you help me save Sid?" I asked her, even though she had already agreed.
"Warr!" she nodded firmly.
"Emboar, use Blast Burn! Wartortle, use Surf!"
We had to finish this quickly.
.
(Inside the Cave)
"Ow... ow... ow... sss..." I groaned, pain radiating from my elbow after the fall.
It was bright red, so I wrapped my hanky around it. Thankfully, there were no fatal injuries. After tying it up, I stood and winced as I began walking.
But before I could take a step, I saw a pair of glowing red eyes.
It was then I knew... I'm fucked up.
An Omanyte, two Omastar, a few Kabuto, and a Kabutops.
They'd been hibernating, but the battle above must've woken them.
"Topsss," Kabutops growled, and suddenly, all of them charged toward me.
"Ivysaur, come out! Use Protect!"
A glowing barrier appeared just in time, shielding me from the first wave.
Then, I called the others.
"Ivysaur, Treecko, Dartrix, and Grookey — head into the sunlight and charge your Solar Beam. Wait for my signal!
Marshtomp, Prinplup, Froakie, use Ice Beam.
Combusken, Flamethrower."
The two waves of attacks collided and canceled each other out.
"Topsss!" Kabutops cried again, and they all attacked a second time.
I knew I had to break their coordination. If I could capture Kabutops, they'd lose focus—and I could escape.
"Guys, same attacks again!"
The moves collided again, nullifying each other.
"Now!" I shouted.
The grass-types fired their fully charged Solar Beams. It hit when they couldn't defend. They were stunned—and I used that moment to throw a Pokéball at Kabutops and recalled all my Pokémon.
Then, I ran. Kabutops was still resisting; the red light on the Pokéball flickered. Even if I failed to catch it, it would still buy me time.
Ting!
The Pokéball chimed—Kabutops was caught.
Still, I had to escape. I kept running until I lost track of time. My legs felt heavy, my vision blurred — I didn't know how long I'd stay conscious.
Then I felt goosebumps.
A pair of glowing red eyes.
Aerodactyl.
I turned and sprinted toward the hole I had fallen from. But as I ran, my body felt light. After looking above, I found that I was being lifted.
My legs had stopped moving.
Aerodactyl had grabbed me in its claw.
It flew upward, still holding me. I clutched its claw tightly — if I fell from this height, it would be over.
Hanging there, I realized — why didn't I do this earlier? Pain and fear clouded my mind.
"Darkrai, come out!"
"Darrr!"
"Darkrai, use Dark Void on Aerodactyl—then Dream Eater!"
Darkrai executed both moves flawlessly, and Aerodactyl was defeated. I caught it immediately — if Team Rocket got their hands on it, they'd have another powerhouse.
"Darkrai, take me to Dad," I said, barely able to keep my eyes open.
Darkrai obeyed.
"Sid, are you okay? Look at how much blood you've lost!" Dad said, shocked to see my blood-soaked hanky and half-red dress.
"Darkrai, use Dark Void and Dream Eater on everyone in black clothes and their Pokémon," I commanded — then everything went black.
.
(Later...)
I don't know how much time passed, but I eventually woke up. My entire body ached, like it hadn't moved in days.
I opened my eyes to see I was in my room. Rita was helping Mom clean my wounds.
"Young Master, are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?" Rita asked when she saw my eyes open.
"Sid! Sid, are you okay? Does it hurt... anywhere?" Mom asked, tears in her eyes.
I had never seen either of them cry before. I hugged them both.
"It's okay, Mom. Rita. I'm fine."
Mom burst into tears. Rita stayed quiet.
"You can show your emotions too, Rita. Remember what I said? We're a family."
I hugged her tighter — and she finally broke into tears.
She may be the head maid, but she's the youngest — just thirteen. She's been working here since I was five, after her mother passed away.
After some time, they stopped crying.
"So, how long was I out?" I asked.
"It's been almost a week," Mom said.
"Young Master, your Pokémon are worried too. Should I bring them here?" Rita asked.
"Yes, please."
She left to give Mom and me some space.
"Mom..."
"You idiot! Do you know how scared I was? What if something had happened to you?" she said, crying again.
"Sorry, Mom but it wasn't me who started it," I said, hugging her.
"I know. Your dad told me everything..." she said, then stopped.
I was about to reply when my Pokémon burst into the room. But they didn't jump on me—they must have understood my condition... or Rita explained it to them.
They all looked sad—even Froakie, who usually doesn't care what anyone says, unless it's me.
Funny thing, Froakie is the only male among them.
"It's okay, guys. I'm fine. We'll start training again in three days, so rest while you can because I'll be training you harder than ever."
But... they still looked sad. Even after that.
Suddenly, Chimchar jumped onto my bed, hugged me, and started crying.
After that, almost all my Pokémon began crying too.
-----------------------------
A/N:
Phew, the longest chapter so far. But I won't continue this part for now because in the next chapter, I'm using the power of "time skip" and start this shit for real