In an underground river within the Mt. Moon mountain range, the chaotic riverbank was littered with rare ores and the bodies of various Pokémon.
Among them lay Icarus and a slender woman, both unconscious.
"Ah… It hurts… it hurts…"
Icarus frowned slightly as his eyes slowly opened.
Instantly, waves of agonizing pain surged through every part of his body.
Struggling to turn his head, he saw dim, pockmarked stone walls surrounding him. Apart from the supplies scattered from his backpack, the ground was covered mostly in crushed rock and gravel.
The constant sound of rushing water echoed nearby.
Whoosh… whoosh… whoosh…
"Natsume must have failed to stop the explosion completely. The blast probably shattered the rock layers and threw me down here."
After a moment of thought, Icarus pieced together what had happened.
"I wonder if Weepinbell and the others are okay. My backpack is right over there… Damn it! I can't even move such a short distance!"
Looking at the backpack lying barely a dozen meters away, he couldn't help cursing inwardly.
The moment he sensed the incoming explosion, Icarus had recalled all of his Pokémon into their Poké Balls.
Ignoring Weepinbell's desperate resistance, he had forcibly locked the Poké Balls and buried them deep inside his backpack, even using several other backpacks filled with supplies as additional shielding.
It was all to protect Weepinbell and the others.
Against an Elite Four-level self-destruction, what difference did it make whether they were ordinary mid-level or ordinary high-level Pokémon?
Even someone as powerful as Natsume had failed to stop it.
Weepinbell and the others had wanted to come out and shield him with their own bodies.
He never would have allowed it.
Fortunately, those supply-filled backpacks had actually worked.
With Natsume and her Pokémon taking the brunt of the blast, only the aftershocks had reached him.
Combined with several disposable protective talismans and the sturdy physique he had developed through constant martial training, he had somehow survived.
Though his entire body felt as if it had been crushed, surviving was infinitely better than dying.
"Still…"
"The scent of blood from all these Pokémon corpses will definitely attract wild Pokémon."
"And the Wu Neng Family will certainly conduct a massive sweep of Mt. Moon afterward."
"If I just lie here…"
"I'm probably only waiting for death."
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
Looking at the seemingly distant spatial backpack, he felt utterly helpless.
Unable to move his body at all, he truly had no way to help himself.
For a moment, he even found himself hoping that members of the Wu Neng Family would discover him first.
Being captured and interrogated was better than being eaten alive by wild Pokémon.
As long as he was alive, there was still hope.
⸻
Just as he closed his eyes and resigned himself to waiting, footsteps suddenly echoed nearby.
Pat… pat… pat…
The sound was growing closer.
Icarus' eyes snapped open.
His mind began racing.
If there was even the slightest chance to survive, he wasn't willing to die.
"Those don't sound like human footsteps…"
"They're light."
"Probably a small Pokémon."
"Maybe I can negotiate somehow…"
His thoughts were interrupted as the footsteps suddenly accelerated.
Pat-pat-pat-pat!
It sounded as if the creature had discovered something and was rushing toward him.
"Damn it!"
"Damn it!"
"The smell of blood…"
"Could it be a carnivorous Pokémon?!"
Cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
His mind desperately searched for a solution, but the harder he tried, the more hopeless the situation seemed.
His body was severely injured.
Both layers of his high-grade protective suit had been torn into rags.
His Pokémon were nowhere nearby.
His throat was dry and hoarse.
Even speaking was difficult.
To a hungry carnivorous Pokémon, he was simply fresh meat.
Would any bluff actually work?
⸻
Despair filled his heart.
Closing his eyes, he prepared himself for death.
The Pokémon stopped directly in front of him.
A cool little face pressed gently against his cheek.
"It's over…"
"I'm going to be eaten…"
His mind began replaying every memory of his life.
Then—
"Zeni! Zeni!"
A familiar cry sounded beside his ear.
Icarus' eyes shot open.
His face instantly filled with disbelief and joy.
"Squirtle!"
"It really is you!"
His hoarse voice trembled with excitement.
The Pokémon standing before him was none other than Squirtle, who should have been buried deep inside his backpack.
Now, seeing Icarus awake, Squirtle's large round eyes filled with happiness.
It rubbed its cheek affectionately against his face.
"Zeni Zeni"
⸻
"Alright, alright…"
"Squirtle, go check that backpack."
"See if Weepinbell and the others are still inside."
"Let them out."
Feeling the cool touch on his face, Icarus quickly gave instructions.
In truth, he wasn't entirely sure the Poké Balls were still there.
Squirtle's Poké Ball had somehow been thrown free.
Supplies and corpses were scattered everywhere.
Although the backpack appeared mostly intact from a distance, it had likely burst open during the explosion.
"Zeni~"
Squirtle nodded.
Then it hurried toward the backpack.
Pat pat pat~
From its movements, it appeared completely unharmed.
Not a single scratch could be seen on its body.
A short while later, Squirtle dragged the backpack back to Icarus and stuck its head inside.
After rummaging around, it finally pulled out several Luxury Balls and placed them beside him.
"Zeni? Zeni?"
Its expression clearly asked:
"How do I open these?"
⸻
"Cough…"
"Squirtle… just slide the switch on the right side to the left…"
"Cough… cough…"
Despite the pain, Icarus explained.
"Zeni!"
Squirtle nodded.
Using its short little hands, it fumbled around the Luxury Ball until it found the protruding lock.
Click.
The switch slid open.
Immediately, the Poké Ball unlocked.
"Moo! Moo moo!"
The moment the lock released, Weepinbell burst out of the Luxury Ball.
When it saw Icarus covered in blood and injuries, tears instantly welled up in its eyes.
⸻
"Alright, Weepinbell…"
"I'm fine."
Icarus forced a reassuring smile.
Then he quickly gave another order.
"Use Vine Whip to search the backpack."
"Find the special Potions."
"And spray some Full Restore on me too."
Under the dim light, he could already see several wounds festering and leaking pus.
Ordinary Potions wouldn't be enough.
Although he wasn't a professional healer, he had reluctantly spent a large sum of money on several bottles of Full Restore beforehand.
Now those expensive medicines would finally prove their worth.
Six thousand Pokédollars per bottle and only usable once.
Painfully expensive.
But compared to his life?
They were worth every cent.