Chapter 11: A Fellow Sufferer

"You are finally awake."

Aeron shook his head, which was hurting like hell. One moment he was running away from the Team Rocket, and the next thing he remembered was a woman's voice before losing consciousness. It took him some time to finally open his eyes and look at his situation.

His hands and feet were tied with a rope. He was trapped in a cage in an empty room with only one exit. Aeron turned and looked at the other person beside him—a girl.

She had dark skin with oceanic blue eyes. Her long dark-blue hair with occasional strands of light blue fell to her back. She wore a dark blue top that exposed her shoulders and white jeans that stuck tightly to her long legs.

"Y-You are?" Aeron asked while intensely shaking his head. The effects of [Sleep Powder] were not entirely gone, and then there was his ever-growing headache which still hadn't gone away.

"A captive, just like you."

Aeron took a few seconds to adjust and then looked at the cage again.

"Team Rocket?"

The girl nodded her head.

"How long has it been?"

"Me? A week. You? Been two days."

Aeron took a deep breath before exhaling with his mouth. He just got himself into deep trouble. He turned toward the other captive, who shared the same fate as him.

"You are…?"

"Rurina. Nessa Rurina."

"Aeron Duskborn." The black-haired boy introduced himself. "Did you try to get out?"

"The cage is made of strong steel. Unless a Pokémon attacks, there is no way out." Nessa sighed at her own words. She came to Kanto to be away from the public eye in Galar. Who would have thought she would get kidnapped in Viridian Forest a few days after arriving in the Kanto Region? Shaking her head, she continued. "They took away our Pokeballs, Pokedex, and everything we had on us." She pointed at the locker in the corner of the room. "All of my belongings are there, including yours."

Aeron leaned back on the wall as he released a heavy sigh. He turned his head and looked at Nessa. "Let's get out of these ropes first."

The girl nodded, and they both helped each other untie the ropes.

"Finally." Nessa shook her wrists in pain from being tied for so long.

The first thing Aeron did was walk up to the bars and try if could bend them open. But it was a wasted effort.

"I tried it already. We need a Pokémon to help us get out of here." Nessa shook her head, and Aeron sat back on the ground. "So." She turned toward Aeron. "How did you get yourself caught?"

Aeron gave a wry smile before he recounted everything. He left the part where he ran because he was bullied and made another excuse.

"And then the last thing I heard was a woman instructing her Butterfree to use [Sleep Powder]." The first time he heard about the kidnappings, he thought about the chances of him being one of the unlucky ones. Then, he did missions for a whole month without any issues. Who would have thought the one time he least expected to be in trouble was when he would get in one?

"So much for being the greatest trainer in the world." Aeron laughed as he thought out loud. Instead of feeling fear, he felt the whole situation to be funny.

"Hmm? Is that your dream?"

Aeron clicked his tongue, realizing he had spoken out his thoughts. He shrugged his shoulders in acceptance. "That's my goal. What about you? Why did you start your journey? And how did you get kidnapped?"

Nessa, too, gave a wry smile as she recounted her experience. "I came to the Kanto Region two weeks ago."

"Wait, you are not from Kanto?" Aeron interrupted when he heard she was not a native of Kanto.

"Galar."

"Woah. You came way too far from your home."

Unlike Johto Region on the same continent as the Kanto Region, Galar Region was the farthest region from Kanto, near Kalos and the Alola Islands.

A sad smile appeared on Nessa's face as she remembered her home…her gym.

"I came to Kanto to travel the region and make a decision."

"What would that be? If I may ask."

"To be a great Model or a great Trainer," Nessa spoke her mind and then changed to the topic. "So, you want to be a Pokémon Master?"

Aeron shook his head. He leaned back on the wall as he spoke. "I want to be the greatest trainer."

"Isn't it the same thing?" Nessa asked with a confused tone.

"If that's what it would take to achieve my dream, then sure," Aeron said matter-of-factly. "In a way, it is just like your goal."

Nessa shook her head. "I have to choose between being a Model or a Trainer."

"Why not both?" Aeron could not help but ask. "I can tell you like them both equally, then why not pursue both."

"Because it is impossible to be perfect at two things simultaneously." Nessa gave a weak smile. "At least that's what I have been told."

"Well, whoever said that is the stupidest person in the world." Aeron clicked his tongue at Nessa's words.

Aeron looked at the dark-skinned girl with his deep black eyes. This was the second girl he had ever talked to or had such a conversation with. First was Misty.

He, lonely by nature, could tell the girl was not too different from him. She had her fair share of problems, which she was trying to hide. She hid her true self behind the smile and showed a fake front to others. He was good at observing things and people, so it was easy to figure it out.

Nessa looked at Aeron with shock as he might as well be the only person who would call the Chairman of Galar Region 'The Stupidest Person in the World.'

"Why would you want to be perfect at something?" Aeron looked into her oceanic blue eyes and saw his reflection in them. "Perfection means you can never grow again. I want to be the greatest but not the perfect trainer for the same reason. Our goals are somewhat the same."

"How?" Nessa asked. She wanted to hear what the boy in front of her had to say. She had come to Kanto to find answers to her questions.

This boy may have answers to her questions. The boy whom she had never met or knew of might help her. She knew it might just be her wishful thinking, but she wanted to hear it from someone at least once. The one thing she was dying to listen to her whole life.

"Well…"

*Bang*

Aeron was interrupted as the door to their room was kicked open, causing a loud bang. A woman, followed by two men, entered the room. They wore black clothes with an 'R' printed on the front and back. They wore white masks over their eyes that partially hid their facial features from the onlooker.

"How was my Butterfree's [Sleep Powder]?" The woman asked with a mocking smile on her face. Her eyes landed on the untied hands and feet of Aeron and Nessa. "You have helped each other, but too bad you cannot escape the metal cage."

The two young trainers said nothing.

"I know you should have a lot of questions. Why did we kidnap you? What will we do to you? Etcetera, etcetera." The woman waved her hand as she approached the cage while the two men stood at the door like loyal guards. "You are nothing but hostages, so don't worry. We will not hurt you…yet."

"I am here to inform you and others of a few things. Don't try anything funny, or else we will kill you. It is not a threat but a reality."

The woman walked back toward the door while shaking her hips, creating an alluring sight. But neither Aeron nor Nessa found it so. They were hostages of Team Rocket, and they knew the death threat was real.

Although Team Rocket was active only in Kanto and Johto, its notoriousness was known to the farthest Galar Region.

"Stay in your cages like trapped birds. We will make sure to feed you on time. And don't even think of trying anything funny."

The woman left the room, and the guards again locked the door.

*Bang*

"Get someone to keep a watch on all the twerps. I don't know what the boss was thinking, sending me here to warn these little shits personally."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Aeron and Nessa heard the conversation among the group, followed by footsteps going away from them.

Only after they could no longer hear the footsteps did they release the breaths that they did not know they were holding.

The two trainers looked at each other, and Aeron spoke sombrely.

"They are going to kill us."

-------------------------End of Chapter-------------------------

Author's Note:

- Let me know if you want to see a certain Pokémon in Aeron's team. I will see if we can arrange that.

- Drop some Power Stones to support the book.

- Peace!