Pokémon Simulation: Hunting The Protagonists

The next morning, Aron woke up from its sleep, blinking drowsily.

Beside it, Lairon gently nudged it with her head. After the Grassy Terrain's healing and the energy cubes Ethan had left behind, Lairon had fully recovered.

Even so, a mix of complicated emotions lingered in her heart. After all, her separation from her mate and child had all been caused by humans.

Like Pokémon, there were good and bad humans, but it was almost impossible to tell just by looking at them.

Thankfully, this time, luck had been on their side. They had encountered someone like Ethan.

Now that she was healthy again, it was time to reunite with her mate.

"Mom, where are we going?"

"We're going to find your dad," Lairon said softly.

Aron glanced back at the cave. Ethan had gone in last night and hadn't come out since.

It wanted to say goodbye, but now it seemed there was no chance.

Aron sighed. The human had such delicious food—far better than the minerals it was used to. It was a shame it might never taste something so good again.

Still, Aron had already decided to save the remaining cubes for its dad.

The two walked leisurely toward their designated meeting spot.

"Mom, do you think Dad will be okay?" Aron asked, its face filled with worry.

"Don't worry," Lairon reassured it, though her own heart was uneasy. "Your dad is strong. He'll be just fine."

They walked for hours before reaching a remote basin surrounded by towering mountains.

In the center of the basin lay a massive figure on a rocky outcrop, motionless as if it was resting.

"Dad!"

Aron immediately recognized the large silhouette and ran toward the basin, cheering excitedly.

Strange… the basin only has one entrance. Why is he resting with his back to it? Lairon frowned, a sense of unease creeping over her.

Aron rushed into the basin, a few steps ahead of its mom.

But the moment Lairon stepped into the basin, she froze.

From all around her, oppressive and hateful auras began to spread like a rising tide.

Lairon's pupils shrank as a terrifying thought struck her.

This… it's the scent of humans.

"Dad!"

Aron happily rubbed its head against its father's leg, but it quickly pulled back.

"Dad, your body is so cold!" Aron said, tilting its head in confusion.

The large figure remained unresponsive. No matter how much Aron called out, its father didn't move an inch.

Frustrated, Aron ran in front of its dad, ready to scold him—until it saw the wide, lifeless eyes staring back at it, filled with resentment and pain.

"D-Dad?"

Terror overtook Aron as it stumbled backward, falling to the ground in fear.

Suddenly, a beam of energy shot toward Aron from a distance, swift and deadly.

Aron was too stunned to react, tears streaming down its face.

"Watch out!"

Lairon jumped in front of it, using Rock Tomb to block the attack.

But the energy beam was far too powerful. It struck Lairon with full force, sending her flying like a massive meteor. Her heavy body, weighing hundreds of kilograms, slammed into the wall behind them, causing cracks to spread like a web and debris to rain down, burying her beneath the rubble.

"Tsk, tsk… What a lucky day for me!"

A scar-faced man stood atop a nearby peak, laughing loudly.

"I thought this Lairon had broken its leg, yet it still managed to crawl all the way here, dragging its battered body. I figured this might be your family's meeting place, so I decided to follow and see for myself."

"And it turns out I was right!"

"By the way, who fired that Hyper Beam? Be careful next time—this little Aron is worth 200,000 credits to a certain young master! Don't damage my precious moneymaker."

Aron looked up, its eyes locking onto the scar-faced man. Rage and fear filled its small body.

It remembered him vividly.

This was the man who had attacked their home, forcing its father to stay behind and buy time for them to escape. He was the one who caused its father's death.

"You're angry, huh, little one?" the scar-faced man taunted, grinning maliciously.

"Knife Dragon, don't get careless like last time," another trainer warned. "If it escapes again, it'll be much harder to track down."

Aron's fury grew, but so did its helplessness. The hunters had finally caught up with it again, and now, there was no one left to protect it.