Night fell. Gui Ling was still tidying up the dishes, while Gardevoir, Diancie, and the three little ones ran to the river to wash up. However, instead of washing, they seemed to be splashing water and playing in the river.
But then, there was a rustle in the bushes, followed by a cube being thrown into the water.
"Then I'll go help Gui Ling first."
Diancie hopped out of the water, but the next second, the cube emitted colorful light and formed a cage, trapping Gardevoir and the others in the water.
"Gardevoir?"
"Huh? What's going on?!"
Gardevoir also spotted the Pokémon Hunter hiding by the bushes and immediately told Diancie to quickly inform Gui Ling. She charged up a Moonblast to try and destroy the cage, but the cage directly nullified the energy of the Moonblast.
"Damn it! That Diancie got away!"
By this time, Diancie had already run far away, and it was too late for the Pokémon Hunter to chase her, especially since Yveltal was also there. So they could only leave with the Pokémon trapped in the cage.
Gardevoir looked at the cage and thought for a moment, then directed everyone to attack together. But seeing Charcadet huddled in a ball, she sighed and turned to comfort him.
After much encouragement from everyone, Charcadet finally stood up, slowly gathering a ball of fire in his palms, and joined the others in attacking the cage.
After several consecutive attacks, the cage finally showed signs of cracking. Gardevoir once again unleashed her full power to release a Moonblast, instantly shattering the cage to pieces.
This commotion was heard by the Pokémon Hunter driving the car. When they turned to look, they saw that Gardevoir had already used Confusion to carry the others and fly away.
"Still trying to run? Salamence, Beedrill, chase them!"
"Houndoom! Blastoise!"
"Bisharp! Malamar!"
Gardevoir had expended a lot of energy opening the cage. Looking at her surroundings, she could only hide in a nearby abandoned shack.
Gardevoir inspected the shack and found that it seemed to be a weapon storage warehouse, with all sorts of blades, armor, and weapons everywhere.
The walls were covered in creeping vines, indicating that no one had been to this house for a long time. Even the weapons around were damaged and rusted to varying degrees.
Soon, Houndoom found them using its sense of smell. Upon sensing someone approaching, Gardevoir immediately led the three little ones away from the door.
As Salamence violently crashed through the door, it was met by Gardevoir's charged Shadow Sneak. However, Gardevoir and the others were cornered in the shack, with no room left to escape.
"Still trying to run? Flamethrower!"
Gardevoir quickly threw several Shadow Sneaks, not only blocking the Flamethrower but also striking towards Salamence and the others.
But Malamar used Psychic to nullify all the Shadow Sneaks, and then tried to control Gardevoir with Psychic. Gardevoir, not to be outdone, also used Psychic, and the two mental powers clashed.
Ultimately, Malamar was defeated and thrown against the wall by Gardevoir's Psychic, though this also consumed most of Gardevoir's mental energy.
"Blastoise! Hydro Pump!"
Gardevoir immediately used Fire Punch to block. The Pokémon Hunter, seeing that they couldn't deal with Gardevoir, immediately ordered all their Pokémon to attack.
"Dragon Pulse!"
"Flamethrower! Hydro Pump!"
"Brick Break! Psybeam!"
Facing the incoming attacks, Gardevoir used Reflect to shield the three little ones behind her. But after a stalemate, Gardevoir couldn't sustain Reflect and was hit directly by the attacks.
"Gardevoir!"
Gardevoir cried out in pain and fell to the ground in a sorry state. Bisharp immediately leaped over, wanting to grab the three little ones, but Gardevoir tightly gripped his foot.
"Bisharp!"
"Gar…de…voir…"
Seeing Gardevoir stubbornly blocking him, Bisharp grew even more irritated and directly swung a Brick Break at Gardevoir's head.
With a loud bang, Gardevoir felt a splitting headache and collapsed to the ground, blood flowing from her head.
But Bisharp found that even though Gardevoir was unconscious, she still held onto his foot tightly. Salamence, who was nearby, wanted to come over and help, attempting to open his mouth to carry Gardevoir away.
Meanwhile, Charcadet, who was hiding at the very back, was already in tears, especially frightened and worried upon seeing the blood on Gardevoir's head.
But as he watched Salamence slowly approach, he fell into past memories.
Memory: Half a month ago
"Wuu!" (Look, this is really tasty!)
"Wuu!" (Hey! Save some for me!)
Two Charcadet were constantly playing and laughing in the grass. When they got tired, they lay on the lawn, basking in the sun.
"Wuu?" (Do you have any dreams?)
"Wuu?" (Dreams?)
"Wuu!" (My dream is to become strong, then be caught by a Trainer and become a Champion!)
"Wuu…" (What will I do if you leave… I don't want to battle yet…)
"Wuu." (Don't worry, we'll just go with the Trainer together, won't we? We'll be best friends forever.)
"Wuu!" (Okay! Best friends forever!)
But good times didn't last. One night, they were captured by a Pokémon Hunter.
"Salamence! Dragon Pulse!"
"Tyranitar! Sandstorm! Weezing! Sludge Bomb!"
"Wuu!" (Go! Don't look back! Run as far as you can!)
Charcadet immediately threw his companion away, and in Charcadet's shocked gaze, he faced the Tyranitar and Salamence, who were many times stronger than him, alone.
After enduring one round of attacks, Charcadet still bravely stood up and launched a Flamethrower, but it didn't even scratch Salamence.
Salamence, seeing that the Charcadet in front of him was at his last gasp, turned to chase the other Charcadet who was fleeing, but his massive foot was grabbed by a pair of small hands.
"Wuu!" (You can't leave!)
"Salamence!"
"Wuu!" (I won't let go! If you're so tough, stomp me to death!)
"Salamence!"
Salamence kept stomping on Charcadet with its other foot, trying to make him let go, but Charcadet just held on tightly. He even used Flamethrower to burn Salamence a bit.
This also made Salamence's short temper unbearable. This stomp was exceptionally forceful, directly crushing Charcadet's small body.
With a squelch, Charcadet witnessed a scene he would never forget in his life.
Red blood splattered on the ground, some even blurring Salamence's vision. Along with the Pokémon Hunter's scolding, Charcadet froze in place.
He stared at his companion, who was already… under Salamence's foot, his eyes empty and lifeless.
Then came a ringing in his ears, followed by continuous retching, and finally, he collapsed weakly.
Now, looking at this similar scene, fear, unwillingness, hatred, and despair surged into his heart.
"It's like this again… Again, I'm protected from behind… Again, a companion falls to save me…"
"Why am I so weak… Why can't I protect anything… Why…"
"I can't do anything…"
However, at that moment, a rusty armor on the weapon rack glowed with golden light. Charcadet also sensed the armor, but still made no further move.
Watching Salamence approaching step by step, Charcadet tightly closed his eyes.
"Gardevoir~"
But just as he closed his eyes, he suddenly recalled Gui Ling and the others he had recently met.
"Charcadet, come quickly and eat."
"………… (So slow, don't let me eat your dessert.)"
"Gengar Gengar!" (Come on, Charcadet, let's train together!)
"Dang dang!" (What's fun about training? Let's play hide-and-seek!)
"koo-gah!" (It's okay, you don't have to battle.)
"Sound Wave!" (Let us handle the battling!)
"Gardevoir~" (Don't feel guilty, you've already done very well.)
"Little brother Charcadet, it's alright, everyone makes mistakes~"
"Snivy." (Why are you so afraid of me? I'm not going to eat you.)
"Phantump~" (Look, look, this is the most delicious thing I've ever eaten!)
Charcadet opened his eyes, but this time, there was no longer the timidity of the past in his eyes; instead, there was a determined gaze.
Charcadet quickly ran to the armor and then leaped. As he touched the armor, the surrounding dark energy slowly gathered in Charcadet's body, and an unsettling dark aura shot straight into the sky.
This also marked Yveltal, who was flying in the sky, and he rapidly flew towards this location.
"………… (Such a familiar aura…)"
In the dark environment, Charcadet saw his childhood playmate.
"How did you get into such a sorry state again?"
"I'm sorry…"
At that moment, that Charcadet walked over and hugged Charcadet, gently patting his back to comfort him.
"You don't need to apologize, it's enough that you're safe."
"But you clearly… because you saved me… and I didn't run away…"
"But my dream can't be fulfilled… Would you be willing to fulfill it for me?"
"I… it would have been better for a coward like me to die…"
"I believe in you."
"I… Wuwuwuwu Ahhhhh!"
"Will you stop crying? It doesn't look good when you cry."
"Okay… I promise you… I won't cry anymore… I won't cry…"
"From now on, you need to take good care of yourself, treat those around you well, and remember to always be strong~"
As Charcadet slowly released the embrace and turned to walk towards the light, he didn't forget to look back and wave.
"Goodbye!"
In reality, Charcadet's entire body was enveloped in dark energy, and his body began to evolve. At the same time, a tear fell.
"Sorry… I promised not to cry… I promised to be strong… I'm sorry… Just let me be willful one more time…"
Thanks to Brother Jie, who loves Xingguo Pork Ribs, for the flowers. Thank you for your support, great one!
Thanks to user 10232440 for the like. Thank you for your support, great one!