Trials of a Champion - Kanto [Pokemon x OC]

62 This is My Secret

My ears picked up on a rhythmic crackling. My nose smelled something, like charcoal? No, definitely charcoal. My hands brushed against the surface beneath me. One set of fingers felt something soft and warm. A blanket? The other pressed against something cold and rough.

I shifted around a bit. Little noises escaped me.

With his excellent hearing, Luxray heard my little noises first, the grunting, the groaning, and the rustling of the blanket beneath me. He rose from his cozy spot by the fire and rushed over to see for himself.

A tiny headache lingered, making it difficult to move my eyelids. I tried anyway.

My eyes slowly opened and blinked slowly. Luxray staring at me was the first thing I saw.

"Lux ... ray?"

He let loose a joyful cry before pushing his head against mine.

I weakly brought my arms up to stroke his mane. "Where ... Where are we?" The floor was all stone, the walls were all stone. It was freezing apart from the heat radiating off a small fire. A jacket slipped off my torso after all my shifting around. "Is this a cave? Where in Saffron is there a cave?"

"We're not in Saffron."

I turned my head just as Paul and Eevee came over.

"We're about 300 miles south."

"300? How? Wait, how long was I out?" I forced myself up too fast, and it brought my headache back to life. The pain made me wince.

"Hey, hey, take it easy," urged Paul. He brought a bag of ice up to my forehead. "This should help. Vaporeon helped me make it. You hit your head pretty hard and weren't waking up for a while. We were starting to get worried."

"Worried?" Just outside the cave, I saw pouring rain. Behind that, pitch-black nothing; it was night. "How long was I out?"

Paul sighed before saying, "We raided Team Rocket two days ago."

"You mean I was out cold for two days?!"

Paul and Luxray both nodded.

"Wow." I looked at my electric cat. "You really knocked me out, buddy. I know you're super strong, but I didn't think you were that strong." He mewled and let his head fall, ashamed of what he did. "It's alright, Luxray. You were just trying to help. Don't worry. I'm not mad. I promise."

Luxray purred and squirmed into my lap, fitting the role of lap Pokémon about as well as an Arcanine.

I turned to Paul. "What happened? To the president, and Giovanni, and the workers and the Pokémon? Do Sabrina and the others know where we are? What about—?"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Paul put a hand on my arm. "Calm down. I'll answer everything, I promise. Just keep taking it easy, and drink this, too. I can't imagine how thirsty you must be right now."

I accepted the water bottle with a tiny nod. "Hungry, actually."

"We got that covered."

Vaporeon dragged over a blanket full of foraged berries.

"We went out earlier this morning before the rain started. They're fresh."

I began stuffing my face.

"Ok, now to answer questions. First, the Silph employees and the president are all fine, and the Pokémon, too. As for Giovanni, he got away. Sorry, but I couldn't do much to stop him after the explosion."

"Explosion?"

"Right. You were already out at that point. See, I tried to stop Giovanni myself. He had his Nidoking attack with Hyper Beam, which Luxray intercepted. It caused an explosion that destroyed the office and knocked out the building's power. You've probably noticed all the new bumps and bruises." He showed me his arms with a few bandages here and there.