Gold- A Pokémon Story

Chapter Twenty Three: I Was Scared

I came to with a searing pain in my right side. My head was spinning and everting felt slightly burnt from the electrical shock I had received.

My clothes were torn up and the scars on my chest were slightly exposed. Alongside that my hat was missing and I was lying on the stone ground under the Burned Tower.

I figured I hadn't been unconscious for long because I felt the structure begin to shake again. Before long, everything that remained above me would probably come tumbling down.

I used a nearby wall to get to my feet and scanned my surroundings. Rubble already was all over the ground and I was sure it would only get worse in the coming moments.

A little bit of light was peaking in between the holes in the ceiling. I saw an opening to a cavern a little ways away and began limping over to it.

My body ached and I was fairly sure my right side was bleeding. Can't focus on that. I have to get out of here. I told myself as I felt the structure shake again.

I made it to the opening but before I went down the path I heard a weak growl come from somewhere behind me and turned back around.

Squinting my eyes, I saw Raikou lying on the ground. It was looking at me while tons of wooden boards pinned it to the ground.

Alright. I can do this. I can make it there and back. I thought. I crept towards the Legendary Beast. As I got closer it began to growl at me.

"I-I just want to help you," I told it. I kneeled down next to the Pokémon and pushed the wooden planks off of it. I backed away from Raikou and it got back up.

I could see that its back legs were badly hurt and it was having trouble standing. It took another step forward and winced. "W-Wait," I whispered, hoping the building wouldn't come down on us. "Let me help you. You're hurt."

The Raikou looked at me with a hardened gaze but when I took a step towards it, the Electric Beast made no moves to attack me. I reached into my pants pocket and produced a Super Potion I had purchased a while back.

I gently sprayed Raikou's leg wounds with the bottle and they began to heal. As I finished the building shook again and a chunk of the roof fell down to the basement.

Raikou was seemingly able to walk again and made its way to the tunnel. I followed behind it at a distance and assessed my wounds.

The most noticeable problems were my right side burning, a cut on my hand, and the back of my head was pounding.

Given I had just endured an electric shock combined with the two-story fall I considered myself lucky to just have a few injuries.

I was uneasy as I walked behind Raikou, however. This had been the very Pokémon to attack me when I was younger and again just a few minutes ago. What if it hurt me again?

I had no Pokémon, no friends, and no idea where I was even going. Having a legendary Pokémon walk in front of me somehow was just another issue in this situation.

What the heck even happened back there? Why did Team Rocket want to attack Raikou? What good did it do them to antagonize a Legendary Beast?

I heard a loud crash echo through the cave from behind us not too long after we started walking down the tunnel. We hadn't had much time left to get out of that tower by the looks of it.

Eventually, the tunnel opened up into a giant cavern. The cavern descended downward steeply into even more paths. Looks like we're in a cave of some sort. Hopefully, the way out is close.

Raikou was able to easily go down each jump but I found myself struggling to get down each decline. Oddly enough, Raikou would wait for me each time.

After some time I felt so exhausted that I had to stop to take a break. I sat down on the stone floor and inspected myself with the better light. My clothes were a mess but my Pokégear had survived all the chaos.

Despite my hoping, there was no service in the cave so I couldn't call anyone. I was at least able to determine I was in Mount Mortar.

Raikou noticed that I had stopped and laid down a little ways away from me, watching me. The Pokémon seemed to want to protect me despite not trusting me.

I recalled what Eusine had told me about what had happened to the Legendary Beasts long ago. That's right, he wanted to apologize to them. Didn't he?

I looked down at my scars and steadied myself. "Raikou, do you remember me?" My voice echoed throughout the empty cave. Raikou's expression stayed the same.

"Guess not. Well, five years ago you attacked me in the woods by my home. That's how I got these scars." I explained, gesturing to the scarred flesh running across my right chest.

Raikou's piercing gaze faded away. I guess that means it remembers me then. "Well, I was scared of you. For a long time. Electricity in general was scary for me. If there was a thunderstorm at night I couldn't sleep alone for three years. I was hurt." I continued.

The Pokémon looked about as guilty as it could. "But, that helps me understand you better," I added. "You were scared of me for the same reason. People hurt you. Raikou, I'm not scared of you anymore. At least, not enough to stop me from wanting to help you."

We sat in silence for some time while I thought of what to say next. "There will always be people who want to hurt you. Just like how there are people who want to hurt me. That's why we have to work together to stop those people. We can't let ourselves be scared.

"I was scared for so long. I didn't even want to go on a journey, my childhood dream, because I was scared. But not anymore." I got to my feet. "Fear isn't going to hold me back ever again! Not when I have my friends by my side! And Raikou, I want you on my side." I finished.

Raikou got up and slowly walked over to me. We stared at each other for a long time, and then Raikou nodded its head. I reached my hand out and touched it on the head.

Raikou allowed me to ride on its back and we quickly were in the next part of the cave. Moonlight poured out of the entrance in front of us and Raikou ran outside.

We were on an island of land between two bodies of water. I could faintly see the roofs of Ecruteak's buildings.

It was sometime at night now, stars light up the sky and reflected off of the water around us. I hopped off of Raikou and plunged my hands into the cold water. "Finally, I can clean off a bit," I said.

I looked up to see Suicune standing on the water not too far from us. It ran over to Raikou and closed its eyes. Raikou began to glow and the remainder of its wounds vanished.

Suicune turned to leave but Raikou growled and gestured its head at me. Suicune closed its eyes again and I started to glow. Before long, all my wounds were healed and I felt rejuvenated.

Suicune ran off into the woods and Raikou looked over at me. "I can call for help now," I told it, holding up my Pokégear. "I want to do something first though." Raikou seemed to understand and jumped over the body of water before leaping off into the woods.

I had spent so many hours in the cavern that it was now four in the morning. Everyone was probably worried sick. But before I called them, I punched in my dad's phone number.

It rang twice before he picked up. "Hello? Gold?"

I sat down on the grass and looked up at the stars. "Hi, Dad,"

"What are you doing up so early?" He asked me.

I chuckled. "Just adventure stuff. Since I'm up though, I figured I would call you."

"Well, I'm glad you did. I'm sorry it's been so long. The promotion has made me even busier and it's all a mess right now. How's everything been?"

I played with some grass while I talked to him. "It's all been great! Silver and I have already beaten six gyms and we've made so many new friends! And caught tons of cool Pokémon!"

"Hey, that's great!" My dad said. "Next month, I'm coming home. For more than a few days this time, too. Tell me, am I going to come home to a new Champion?"

"For sure!" I promised. "I'm going to be the Champion. And nothing can stop me."