I tried to save you....

Amidst the joy of training Pokémon and enjoying the outdoors with my friends, a nagging feeling began to gnaw at me. It was as if I'd walked this path before, as if history were repeating itself. I couldn't shake the unease.

"Hey, Ayuna, you okay?" Jeffery, noticing my distraction, interrupted my thoughts.

Something's amiss...

"Ayuna?" He reached out to touch my shoulder, but I spun around in a panic before he could.

"We need to leave, now!" I blurted out.

Jeffery's expression shifted from confusion to concern. "What's wrong?"

Chloe, sensing the tension, approached us. Clutching Toxel close to her chest.

"Is everything alright?"

"Chloe, we have to go and inform the professor," I urged, my urgency mounting.

"What's happening?" Jeffery asked, growing more puzzled.

"Team Paradox is on their way!"

The name felt strangely familiar, even though I couldn't recall ever hearing it before.

"Team who?" Jeffery's confusion deepened, and Chloe's worry intensified.

Even Zorua, my Pokémon, seemed to sense the gravity of the situation as it woke from its slumber.

"No, Zorua, you should rest," I whispered to my loyal companion.

"They'll be here soon. We need to—"

"Oh my, I do love company," a voice interrupted me, sending a chill down my spine. It was a voice both familiar and foreign.

"Who's our special guest?" A man with unsettling green hair and serpent-like eyes emerged, accompanied by Team Paradox grunts.

"Darvi…" I uttered his name with clenched fists.

Darvi's smile, eerie and mocking, betrayed his surprise at hearing his name from my lips. "Truly, I'm flattered. My name is known, it seems."

Misty, part of the Team Paradox entourage, stepped forward. "Or perhaps she told you?" She glanced at Darvi with a silent accusation.

Misty remained silent, but the pokéball she held spoke volumes.

"Darvi," I said, my voice trembling with anger and fear.

Darvi, however, seemed undeterred, responding with a chilling smile. "How entertaining. Well, kid, if you haven't had your gym battle yet, now you will!"

Misty summoned a Gyarados, a towering behemoth on the battlefield that loomed over us.

"You're not fighting alone," Jeffery declared, as Chloe and he rushed to my side, their own Pokémon ready for battle.

I smiled with gratitude. "Go, Kabuto!"

As our Pokémon faced off against Misty's Gyarados, I couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu. The battle raged on, each move met with counterattacks, but our determination burned bright.

But then, Gyarados unleashed a devastating Hyper Beam, and the situation grew dire. With quick thinking, we commanded our Pokémon to protect themselves, but the barrier shattered under the beam's power.

Our Pokémon were thrown back, some injured, but they stood ready to continue the fight.

"Gyarados... Aqua Tail!"

We dodged, barely evading the attack. Yet, the Gyarados was relentless.

"Dodge!" we shouted as a united chorus, but not all our Pokémon could escape in time.

Kabuto was hit, and its shell cracked...

Kabuto fainted, and despair gripped my heart.

"You think teamwork was going to help you? Cute," Darvi taunted.

"Kabuto, return!" I withdrew my partner, staring down the Gyarados, trying to decide my next move.

"Hey, Ayuna, it's okay. Get away from here. We'll catch up," Jeffery said, his voice unwavering.

I nodded, returning Zorua and sprinting away, each step carrying a heavy burden.

"Hyper Beam..."

As I distanced myself from the battlefield, the echoes of the battle fading, my thoughts returned to the past—memories of Hanna, guilt, and regrets.

I tripped and tumbled down a slope, finishing on my back.

__ _

"I did it again....."

"Altan, you're so clumsy," I heard Hanna's voice and her laughter.

"Well, you know me," I replied with a smile, rubbing my head.

"You know you'll die one of these days if you aren't careful."

"Heh, you wish. You're stuck with me, and you know it!" We both laughed tears of joy our laughter echoing through my mind into horrible memories.

Memories started to flood my thoughts—joyful moments, heart-wrenching conversations, and the day she  slipped from my grasp.

"Hanna, I should've..." My voice trailed off.

The past bled into the present, and I found myself standing at a familiar position.

My hand slipped, and the world spun...

...

...

"Whoops, I did it again."

"Altan, you're so clumsy."

"You know you'll die one of these days if you aren't careful."

...

'Hanna...' I whispered her name.

...

When I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital bed, tears streaming down my face.

"Hanna..."

A boy, with a white scarf covering half his face, appeared before me.

"Who... are you?" I asked, wiping away my tears.

"You don't know me. I'm not a part of your memories. But don't lose hope. You're going to do great things."

"But I failed... I couldn't save my friend."

He placed a reassuring hand on my head. "Don't worry. When the time comes, you won't make that same mistake again. Trust me."

"I won't mess up? I won't fail?"

"You won't, but you can't save everyone. Sometimes, you won't be there, and there's nothing you can do."

He vanished, leaving me with a sense of hope amidst the pain.

As I cried, I couldn't help but feel that the future held both challenges and redemption, and I was determined not to let history repeat itself.