Chapter 622: Wellsprings Cave (2)
~Cheren's POV~
[Unova Region, Later, Route 3 – Wellsprings Cave]
The air inside Wellspring Cave was damp and smelled of wet limestone and Zubat guano. My boots crunched on the gravel as I tried to keep pace with Azure and Black. I had intended to ask Black for his Xtransceiver number earlier—Bianca and I had realized too late we'd forgotten to sync up—but the urgency of the situation had pushed such trivialities aside.
I muttered as we ducked under a low-hanging stalactite, "Black, I'm sorry about the contact info. I should have been more organized."
Black huffed, his Tepig running alongside him, its snout smoking, "Not the time, Cheren! We got a Pokémon to save!"
Azure was silent. That was the most unsettling part. He moved through the darkness as if he were part of it. I've studied the top trainers in Unova—Alder, the Gym Leaders—and they all have a certain 'aura.'
But Azure... he felt like something else entirely.
He felt like a storm held back by a very thin dam.
We rounded a corner into a wide cavern illuminated by glowing moss. There they were. Four Team Plasma Grunts stood in a circle, laughing as one of them tossed a Poké Ball into the air and caught it. The Lillipup's ball.
*POP*
I shouted, stepping forward and releasing my Snivy, "Give it back!"
The grass snake hissed, its tail twitching, "Sniii!!"
Black was right beside me. He yelled righteously, pointing at them, "Yeah! Hand over the kid's Pokémon, you cowards!"
The Grunts turned, their faces obscured by those ridiculous hoods. One of them stepped forward, a smug grin visible, and replied arrogantly, "Hah! More children? Listen, we are doing this Pokémon a favor. That brat couldn't bring out its potential. We are liberating it from the cycle of exploitation!"
Another added, her voice mocking, "Doesn't it make the Pokémon sad? To be trapped in a ball, forced to do the bidding of a weakling? We're heroes."
A third Grunt sneered, reaching for his own belt. "It's the same for your Pokémon. Hand them over to us. It's for their own good."
The fourth Grunt, a man with a greedy glint in his eyes, looked past us at Azure. She said eagerly in an overconfident tone, "Better yet... we'll just take that Pikachu and the Eevee. They look like high-value targets. We'll—"
He never finished the sentence.
*WHIP—SWOOOOSH*
Azure didn't reach for his belt. He didn't shout a command. He simply flicked his wrist with unbelievable ease. A Poké Ball flew with such velocity it blurred, a streak of red light that cracked the air like a whip…!!
*FLASH*
The roar that followed wasn't human, and it certainly wasn't friendly. I felt a chill run down my spine hearing its roar, "ZWEILLLLL!!!!"
Emerging from the light was a Zweilous. I froze. A fucking Zweilous. My breath hitched in my throat. I had read about the Deino line in the Trainer School archives. They were known as the 'Hostile Pokémon' for a reason.
I had studied Pokémon biology at the Trainer School—I knew what a Zweilous was. The Hostile Pokémon. A creature of two heads that hated everything, including itself. They were notoriously difficult to train, let alone control. They were blind, violent, and notoriously difficult to control because the two heads constantly fought for dominance.
But Azure's Zweilous was different. Both heads were snapped forward, locked onto the same target with terrifying synchronicity.
Azure's voice was a low growl, "Grr… Zweilous. Body Slam."
*BOOM*
The dragon leaped. It didn't just tackle the lead Grunt; it crushed him. The man was thrown back against the cavern wall with a sickening thud. Before he could even slide to the ground, Zweilous's right head swung down, its powerful neck muscles corded like steel cables, and slammed its forehead into the Grunt's face.
*CRACK*
The Grunt slumped, out cold.
*Bdmp-bdmp-bdmp*
I cried out, my heart hammering against my ribs, "Azure! Is he...?"
Azure said coldly, "He's breathing. Barely."
The other three Grunts scrambled back, their bravado evaporating into pure terror. The female Grunt exclaimed in a shocked tone with a frightened expression, "What are you doing?! We have rights! We're—!"
Azure said dismissively, "You have nothing."
Zweilous didn't wait for a second command.
*Zoooom—CHOMP*
It moved with a predatory grace I didn't know a Dragon-type could possess. It lunged forward, each head snapping out like a viper.
I heard teeth sinking into flesh—a wet, tearing noise...
*SHIRRRR*
Two Grunts screamed as the dragon's jaws clamped onto their legs. They weren't just bites; Zweilous was using them as chew toys, shaking them with savage strength before tossing them aside like bags of trash.
*Thud-thud*
They hit the cave floor, clutching their bleeding limbs, whimpering in the dirt. The last Grunt, a woman, was shaking so hard she dropped her Poké Ball. It rolled across the stone and stopped at Azure's feet. She looked up at him, her eyes wide with the realization that she wasn't facing a trainer. She was facing a force of nature.
She stammered, her voice a pathetic wheeze, "H-how... how could we lose? We have right on our side... the truth..."
Azure walked toward her, his boots clicking rhythmically on the stone. He stopped inches from her, looking down with an expression of pure, unadulterated disgust.
Azure leaned in, his voice a lethal whisper, "Truth? Right? Tch! You're just Team Rocket with a better PR department. Scum is scum, whether you hide in the shadows or hide behind pretty words. You want to talk about 'liberation'?"
Azure reached down and picked up the Lillipup's Poké Ball from the unconscious Grunt's hand. Then, he looked at his own shadow. Azure said coldly, "Since you like taking things so much… I'll take a page out of your book."
*Shiver*
I felt a chill crawl up my spine…
*Swooosh*
The shadows on the cave wall seemed to detach themselves. A pair of long, smoky black arms—claws tipped with malice—reached out from Azure's shadow and snatched two Poké Balls right off the woman's belt.
She shrieked, "Wh-what are you doing?!"
Azure replied with a dismissive expression as she flinched, "Liberating your Pokémon from a trainer who doesn't deserve them."
He looked at the shadow and whispered, "Thank you, Darkrai."
Darkrai? The Mythical Pokémon of nightmares?
My mind reeled. But I didn't process that, as my attention was grabbed when Azure grabbed the woman by the collar of her uniform, dragging her toward her fallen comrades. He stated firmly, "Stay here. If you move, my dragon gets to have dessert."
Zweilous let out a twin-throated snarl, snapping its jaws in her direction, "Zweiii!! Iiiilousss!!! (BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!!)"
She collapsed into a heap, sobbing, "Augh… ahhh…."
Azure turned to us, ignoring the sobbing grunt, and said firmly, "I'll be back. I'm turning these four in at the Striaton City Police Station. Wait here."
Before I could even ask how he intended to transport four grown adults and himself to the city in seconds, a blinding flash of white light filled the cave. A Pokémon I didn't recognize—sleek and psychic—appeared for a fraction of a second.
*Vwoom*
They were gone.
Black and I stood in the silence of the cave for several minutes.
Black looked at his Tep, then at me. He asked in a nervous tone, "Cheren... is it just me, or is Azure kind of... scary?"
I whispered, looking at the bloodstains on the floor, "Scary isn't the word, Black… but at least his on our side."
*Vwoom*
A few minutes later, the light returned. Azure stood there alone now, his expression much cooler, much calmer. He looked like the chef again, not the executioner. He reached into his pocket and tossed two Poké Balls—one to Black and one to me.
Black asked, catching it, "What's this?"
Azure said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, "Those Grunts didn't need them. I checked their records via the Police database. These Pokémon were wild before their capture, just recent additions, and these two seem to have a lot of spirit... I figured they'd be better off with you."
Black's eyes widened. But he couldn't help but ask, cautiously eyeing the bloody scene behind him in an unsteady tone, "Azure... was it necessary to be that brutal back there? You almost broke those guys' bones."
Azure's gaze softened, but the steel remained underneath. He replied as he took a deep breath and exhaled, "Black, listen to me. I could have toned it down. Maybe I should have. But the moment they threatened to take my family—my Pikachu, my Eevee, my team—they forfeited their right to a 'fair' match. I have no tolerance for thieves. If someone tries to steal what you love, you make sure they never have the strength to try it again."
He walked past us toward the exit. Then he paused before adding, "Just be glad I'm a merciful person. I've seen where their 'liberation' meant something much more permanent than a few broken bones."
I followed him, my mind racing…
I had spent my whole life thinking that Pokémon battling was about strategy, about the rules of the League. But looking at Azure's back, I realized there was a level of power I hadn't even dreamed of.
Was he the strongest because he had no fear?
Or did he have no fear because he was the strongest?
/////
~Third POV~
[Unova Region, Later, Route 3]
The trio emerged from the cave into the fading afternoon light. White and Bianca rushed forward, the little girl trailing behind them.
Bianca cheered, "You did it! You got it back!"
Azure handed the Lillipup's ball to the preschooler with a gentle smile that betrayed none of the violence from ten minutes prior. He said softly, rubbing her head, "Here you go. Keep it close, okay? Don't let anyone tell you that your friendship isn't real."
The girl hugged the ball to her chest, her tears finally stopping. She said in a thankful tone, "Thank you, mister!"
Azure looked at White, who was eyeing him suspiciously. White asked suspiciously, "What happened in there? You look... different."
Azure said smoothly with a grin, "Just some aggressive negotiations. The Grunts decided to retire early. Gengar, back to the shadow."
*Swooosh*
Gengar winked at White before melting into the ground. Azure chirped, changing the subject, "Anyway… Black, Cheren, why don't you greet your new partners?"
Black went first. He pressed the button on the ball Azure had given him…
*POP*
In a burst of red light, a small, grey-and-black dog appeared. It had a shaggy coat and a fierce, albeit nervous, expression. Black beamed, "A Poochyena!"
The Hoenn native Pokémon growled softly, baring its teeth. Black knelt, his eyes sparkling as he made his pitch, "Hey there, little guy. You're a long way from home, aren't you? My name's Hilbert Black. I'm gonna be the Champion! Want to help me?"
Poochyena sniffed Black's hand, its tail giving a cautious wag. Black declared in a confident tone, "I'm gonna call you... Mighty! Because you're gonna be a great Mightyena one day!"
Poochyena seemed to approve of Black's words. Poochyena howled in agreement, "Pooo! Chyeeeeena!!"
Then, it was Cheren's turn. He stepped forward, his heart racing.
He clicked the ball…
*POP*
Out came a small, bipedal dragon with a tusk-like protrusion on either side of its jaw. It tilted its head, its dark eyes blinking up at Cheren with a curious, calm intelligence. Cheren whispered, his voice trembling, "An... Axew?!"
Azure said casually, leaning against a nearby tree with a sly grin, "I saw how you handled your Snivy, Cheren… You're analytical. You're precise. A Haxorus requires a trainer who can keep a cool head when the dragon blood starts to boil. I believe you have the potential to raise him right."
Cheren knelt, face-to-face with the Axew. The dragon reached out a tiny claw and tapped Cheren's glasses.
*POP*
Cheren summoned his team: Snivy, Pidove, and Purrloin. He showed them to the Dragon, as Dragon Types value honesty and strength.
Cheren said firmly in a resolute tone, a rare, genuine smile breaking across his face, "Axew… I'm Cheren. This is Snivy, Pidove, and Purrloin. We're going to the top. And I promise you... I will make you so strong that no one—not Team Plasma, not anyone—will ever be able to 'liberate' you again."
The Axew let out a sharp, determined cry, sparks of draconic energy flickering in its maw, "Ax… Axewww!!"
It was the perfect addition—the powerhouse Cheren's team had been missing. As the group began to pack up to continue toward the next city, Cheren walked beside Azure. The sun was setting, casting long, dramatic shadows across Route 3.
Cheren asked quietly, "Azure?"
Azure tilted his head, replying, "Yeah?"
Cheren took in a deep breath and exhaled aloud. Then he asked firmly, "You've won four Leagues. You've seen things we're only just starting to learn about. I must know... what is the most important thing for a trainer? Is it the strategy? Is it the power? Or is there something else…"
Azure stopped walking. He looked up at the sky, where the sky was beginning to poke through the violet canopy. Azure said honestly, "Strategy is a tool, Cheren. Power is a resource. But the most important thing? It's the weight of your conviction. When you stand on that battlefield, you aren't just commanding creatures. You're carrying their lives, their hopes, and their trust in your hands. If your conviction wavers, they feel it. If you aren't willing to go to the ends of the earth for them, they won't go there for you."
Azure looked back at the younger boy, his eyes reflecting the twilight. He said in a confident tone with a knowing grin, "Those Grunts had no conviction. They had scripts. They had slogans. That's why they lost. Never be a trainer who just follows a script, Cheren. Be the one who writes their own story."
Cheren nodded slowly, the words sinking deep into his mind. He looked at the Axew waddling happily beside him, then at Black and White laughing up ahead. He had his new partner. He had his mission.
… And now, he had a standard to aim for. Azure Sky was a mountain—a vast, imposing, and seemingly unreachable summit. But Cheren was a strategist. And every mountain had a path to the summit.
Azure called out, his Pikachu sparking with excitement, "Let's move out! We've got a League to win."
The journey continued, the shadows of the cave left far behind, but the lessons learned within its depths would echo in their hearts for the rest of their lives. Rotom buzzed, leading the way into the cooling Unovan night, "Zzt! Destination: Striaton City! Estimated arrival: 100% chance of adventure-zzt! Shall I begin forming training guides with senior Darkrai and Marshadow on top of gravity training boss?"
The four Trainers froze as they thought, 'Wait, what…?!'
Azure grinned, replying, giving them a shiver, "Damn right! Time to give them a casual training session!"
*Shiver*
The four Trainers suddenly shivered upon hearing his words. They began to ponder if traveling with Azure would be a safety hazard to their mental and physical health…
/////
A/N: Hope you like the chapter!