Trials of a Champion - Kanto [Pokemon x OC]

25 Bitter and Sweet Reunions

At first there was music, but it grew darker as the seconds passed. When it started to fade, I felt a sense of falling, as if I entered a part of myself that was hidden. I found an empty room, pitch-black with no visible doorways or windows. No light anywhere. I felt sluggish, slow and warbled, like I was underwater.

"H-Hello?"

My cries came out muffled and barely audible, making me feel trapped and alone.

"I won't leave you."

At the voice, I spun around on my heels. Behind me stood the outline of a figure: a man wearing a hat, and a Pikachu. My lips quivered at the sight, curling into a deeper frown when the darkness began pulling him in the other direction.

"No!"

I wanted to race over and embrace him, but my feet wouldn't move.

"I won't...leave...you..." he muttered, calmly watching his Pikachu vanish into thin air.

"N-No, please... Wait!"

Growing desperate, I lifted my heavy legs like cinder blocks, one after the other, inching towards the man as quickly as possible. But no matter how fast I moved, he never got any closer to me.

"I won't..."

Tears streamed down my cheek. "Please, don't...!"

"Rosa..."

The figure disappeared.

"No, please don't! Don't leave me! Not again!! STOP—!!"

My world lit up in blue sparks.

★

After being—literally—jolted awake, I shot up in bed, clutching my shirt tightly with one hand and reaching out with the other. My hair poked out in all directions from the electricity. My mouth hung open, emitting a silent scream before panting heavily.

"Hey. Take it easy, Rosa."

The calm voice returned me to reality.

I blinked at the disturbingly white ceiling, and I acknowledged the soreness coursing through my body, leaving me without any strength at all. Someone had bandaged sections of my arms, and the infamous heart monitor sat at my side.

On the other side was a person, and a couple of Pokémon.

"Paul? Luxio? Grotle, too?"

Luxio barked, jumped onto the bed, and pushed his fluffy head into my chest.

I threw an arm around him even though my head was a mess. My memory was fuzzy and blurry. I couldn't seem to recall what made me come here. Where even is "here?" "Where am I?"

"The Pokémon Center," replied Paul from his chair. "You were brought here after you passed out."

"Oh. I must've taken a decent hit from that net then."

"And then you looked like you were having a bad dream. Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, I am. It was...nothing." Luxio placed his paws on my leg and stared up at my face, searching for any semblance of a lie. I distracted him by scratching under his chin. "So, you woke me up, didn't you?" Luxio purred.

"He's hardly left your side this whole time—"

When Paul rose and took a step towards us, the Electric-type Pokémon snapped his head back and snarled.

With Grotle's advice to step back, the boy nervously recoiled. "R-Right. And he hasn't let me near you either."

"Good," I said with a scowl, finally registering Paul's problematic presence in the same room as me. During the Team Rocket incident, I nearly forgot what happened between us back on the steps of Celadon Gym. Seeing his face brought those memories to the forefront of my mind.