Forgetting the Past

The only reason Hong persisted, despite being physically exhausted, was the hope for a better future.

For Kashiwagi, at times like this, besides the imminent benefits, everything else seemed like an illusion. So whenever Hong's pace slowed down, Kashiwagi would use similar words to stimulate him.

With each stimulation, Hong's expression became increasingly irritable, but his steps also grew more forceful.

However...

As if fate was toying with them, their journey was always filled with hardships and difficulties.

Just as they reached the intersection where they had previously encountered Graveler, another crisis emerged!

From the left opening of the cave, a tank-like, dusty-gray, four-legged Pokémon charged out. On its back was a man screaming in pain, with his right hand twisted unnaturally.

When their eyes met, Kashiwagi's brows furrowed rapidly, Hong's eyes filled with despair, and Chaida's face went from panic and pain to excitement and malice.

"Hahaha! Do you think wearing a mask will make me not recognize you? Rhyhorn! Kill him!"

The man's roar echoed throughout the cave.

"Run! Keep running forward!"

Kashiwagi freed up a hand and quickly took out a purple ball from his pocket, smashing it on the ground.

Bang!

The ball exploded, releasing a thick purple mist that quickly enveloped the entire intersection.

The Smoke Ball, an item that could confuse Pokémon's vision and smell, was not cheap.

The pursuing Rhyhorn, uninterested in chasing after them, now became even more lethargic with its inability to find its targets.

Infuriated, Chaida yelled at the top of his lungs.

In the smoke, Hong, who was behind Kashiwagi, suddenly surpassed him, despite his energy being at its limit. He unleashed a burst of new strength, running faster than before.

"Saving our lives is the top priority! Let's put the people down first!"

Kashiwagi reminded him in a low voice. There was no need to be overly concerned about saving others at this moment. If they couldn't even save themselves, there was no point in trying to help others.

"You should put them down too! If you do, I will too!" Hong firmly refused, not even glancing back, still carrying the two people.

Fool!

Was it a game to act like this now? If he wanted to give up, then just do it!

Kashiwagi gritted his teeth, sensing Rhyhorn had already figured out their escape route due to their strong smell of sweat and blood.

He had no choice; both of them emitted a strong odor. When a Pokémon ran at full speed, it became extremely fast, and with two people on his back...

"Run! You keep running! Let's see where you can run!"

Chaida's resentful voice came from afar.

This guy had turned all his pain into intense malice and probably even fantasized about some scenarios in his head. Being targeted by such a person was truly unfortunate.

Too bad.

Kashiwagi sighed in his heart and decisively threw the first person he was carrying to the edge of the cave. The exit was probably less than 500 meters away from here, and even though the path was uphill, carrying two people would only take a little over a minute.

Good luck to the two of them.

Perhaps Chaida would spare them in pursuit of him, allowing them a glimmer of survival.

"I'm taking action! Don't hesitate!"

Kashiwagi yelled as he untied the rope around his body.

At that moment, Chaida suddenly screamed from behind.

"Ah! What's this thing? Where did it come from?"

Kashiwagi dropped the person on his back, not slowing down at all, quickly turned around, and saw an explosion of silver light, dazzling and magnificent!

Pokémon roars followed.

"Goo!"

"Hou!"

Aron!

Kashiwagi couldn't forget the familiar voice, especially since he had been frightened by it twice before.

Did it come back again?

And it clashed with Rhyhorn and Chaida?

Aron...

Long, long, long—!!

Intense vibrations and falling debris interrupted Kashiwagi's thoughts. He turned back and saw numerous rocks falling from the top, blocking the path behind them.

Chaida's shouts and the roars of the two Pokémon were drowned in the noise, completely cut off from him while he ran, like a descending gate of safety.

Kashiwagi: "..."

His footsteps abruptly stopped. He turned around and rushed to the first person he had thrown down, swiftly lifting him up and then pulling up the second person.

Hong, who was running ahead, was about to drop the people but subconsciously turned his head and saw Kashiwagi's actions, feeling dumbfounded.

"You threw them away? Wait, why did you pick them up again after throwing them away?"

"Shut up and keep running."

Kashiwagi no longer wasted words, his gaze was fixed on the front.

Hong wanted to ask what was going on, but seeing Kashiwagi's serious expression, he closed his mouth and followed.

However, to his surprise, Kashiwagi's speed kept increasing, even though they were running uphill. He quickly pulled ahead, leaving Hong about ten meters behind and continuously increasing the distance.

"Hey? Hey??"

Only at this moment did Hong realize that if it weren't for Kashiwagi taking care of him, Kashiwagi would have already escaped.

"Ahhhh! Where did this thing come from? Kill it quickly!"

The angry screams of the human echoed in the mine.

Aron gazed up at the angry Rhyhorn, its expression somewhat wary.

However, it was also thinking about something else.

Did the boy escape?

It hoped so.

When it first saw the boy, it was extremely surprised and never expected to meet him again. Later, it realized that it was just the eyes and hairstyle that were similar; their faces were completely different.

That's right.

It had been abandoned, left in this strange land, no doubt about that.

But why?

Was it because it was weak? Slow? Rebellious?

No, that can't be right.

It couldn't remember anyone ever using such words to describe it.

Moreover, wasn't it the trainer's responsibility to make weak Pokémon stronger? Those were the trainer's own words!

So why?

It just couldn't understand!

"Goo!"

Aron's heart flared with flames, and it stopped hesitating. A silver aura surrounded its head as it dashed out.

But unexpectedly, Rhyhorn seemed to have been waiting for this moment. Its eyes showed a fierce look as its front hooves suddenly lifted and then came crashing down.

"Hou!"

Bang!

Its powerful stomp hit Aron's face like two heavy hammers, leaving it unable to move at all.

The silver light of Iron Head flashed and created a burst of dust before quickly dissipating.

"Is it finished? This damn thing wasted my time! Clear those rocks out of the way!"

Filled with hatred, Chaida shouted, "I can't let Kashiwagi get away! I must kill him!"

Rhyhorn paid no attention to Chaida's words, keeping its eyes on the trapped Aron. The latter struggled to stand up but couldn't muster the strength, thanks to being hit by Fissure.

Rhyhorn, which had remained far away, finally locked eyes with Aron. Both showed emotions that were hard to express: confusion, clarity, unwillingness, and a faint trace of relief.

And all of these emotions eventually condensed into one sentence.

"Don't worry, I'll come to get you."

Kashiwagi disregarded Rhyhorn and Chaida in the middle and wielded the hammer, revealing an incredibly bright smile.

"Let's get out of here together."

'I'll come to get you.'

Such a Frillish-like sentence

But Aron remained stunned, as if he had become dumb and couldn't make a sound anymore.

In its pupils, there was only a silhouette.