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Liam stared in shock at the massive hole torn open in the rocky ceiling above. Then he hopped off Arcanine and returned it to its PokéBall.
Reaching up, he gently patted the Venomoth on his shoulder. The Venomoth, understanding the gesture, flapped its wings and flew behind Liam, clutching onto his backpack with its short legs.
With a buzz of its wings, it lifted Liam back up to the first floor.
Click!
No sooner had Liam reached the first floor than he saw Garchomp crawling out from a pile of rubble, shaking off dust and debris. When it noticed Liam flying up, it immediately let out a loud roar.
"Garchomp! Are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere?"
Liam landed quickly and ran over, inspecting the now-dusty and yellowish Pokémon—Garchomp was practically a different color now. He checked it over while speaking with concern.
"Gar! Gar gar!"
Garchomp shook its head quickly in response, tapping its chest with one of its front fins to show it was fine.
"Heh, you little rascal! How'd you manage to cause such a huge ruckus? What happened to Moltres?"
Liam grinned and gave Garchomp a pat on the head. He glanced around but didn't see any sign of Moltres.
"Gaarr!"
Garchomp ducked its head and rubbed it against Liam's shirt, leaving a big smear of dirt. Then it turned toward a pile of rocks and nodded meaningfully, wearing a mischievous smirk.
"…Venomoth, use Psychic."
Liam sighed, brushing off his now-dirty clothes and looking toward the pile of rocks. He gave a command to the Venomoth on his shoulder.
"Moth!"
The Venomoth, which had just gotten comfy and was preparing to serve as a quiet light source again, reluctantly flew up. It hovered over the rock pile, its big eyes glowing with a blue psychic light. The stones below began lifting and flying off in all directions.
Before long, Liam saw Moltres buried beneath the rubble, unconscious. The flames on its body had grown faint and dim.
"Moltres, I'm going to capture you now! Go, PokeBall!"
Liam walked up to the fallen Moltres, not even sure if it could hear him, and threw a PokeBall.
The PokeBall hit Moltres, enveloping it in red light and pulling it inside. It fell to the ground, shook violently for a few seconds, then came to a stop with a clear ding.
"Fuck yeah! I caught Moltres!"
Liam excitedly picked up the PokeBall containing Moltres, turning around to shout at Garchomp, practically glowing with childlike joy.
"Garr!"
Garchomp, clearly unimpressed by Liam's excitement, turned its head away with an annoyed growl, as if to say, "Look how happy you are. But in the end, wasn't I the one who did all the work?"
Still grinning, Liam was about to open the PokeBall and check on Moltres when Lulu's translucent form suddenly floated out from his body. She turned toward him with a panicked expression.
"This is bad! The system has detected that Moltres's life force is fading—some mysterious energy is draining it! If this continues, it could die!"
"What?! How can that be?!"
Liam froze in shock, staring at the PokeBall in disbelief. He had no idea what was happening.
"I don't know the exact cause, but the phenomenon started after Moltres was captured. I think the capture itself might be the reason," Lulu guessed, staring at the PokeBall uncertainly.
"…Forget it! Come out, Moltres!"
Liam hesitated for a few seconds, then firmed his expression and released Moltres from the PokeBall.
"Skree…"
Moltres had already regained consciousness. When it appeared, it slumped weakly to the ground. The flames on its body were now dim and flickering.
"Garchomp!"
Seeing how weak Moltres had become, Liam turned and tossed the PokeBall to Garchomp. Understanding Liam's intention, Garchomp opened its jaws wide, bit down on the PokeBall, and crushed it into shards with a single clench.
"Skree…"
Moltres looked at the shattered remains of the PokeBall on the ground. A flicker of surprise passed through its eyes. It looked at Liam with confusion, not understanding what he was doing.
"Yeah! That was it—the capture was the problem! Now I can sense that the strange energy in Moltres's body has stopped leaking and is even starting to flow back. I think, with time, it'll recover completely," Lulu reported.
(Note: I was totally annoyed by this part, but thankfully, the following paras somewhat made up for it.)
Without responding, Liam walked over to the now-standing Moltres and spoke gently.
"I won this fight, you know. Next time, don't let me catch you again. I won't be so nice the second time—okay?"
"Skree!!"
Moltres stared at Liam for a moment, then let out a warm, affectionate cry. It lowered its flaming head and rubbed it against Liam's face, cooing softly.
Liam initially flinched, worried that the fire would burn him—but he quickly realized that it wasn't hot at all. The flame felt as gentle as sunlight.
"Alright, alright! What are you, a Legendary Pokémon or a big baby? I'm not that nice, you know! Next time I see you, I will catch you… But for now, you should leave. The second level down there isn't safe anymore. You'd better find a new place to live."
Two large cracks now ran through the rock wall between the first and second floors—thanks to Liam's Pokémon. Sooner or later, other Trainers exploring Victory Road would discover the second floor. It wasn't safe for Moltres to remain there anymore.
"Skree…"
Moltres didn't seem to care at all. It just kept nuzzling Liam with its big head, to the point that even Garchomp watching from the side looked a bit jealous.
"Ahem. It seems like Moltres really likes you. I have an idea—something that'll let you summon it anytime you need," Lulu interjected with a cough.
"Eh? Wait, is it something from the system? Don't tell me it's expensive! I don't have many exchange points left. If it's too costly, I can't afford it…" Liam looked at her suspiciously, then grumbled with a pout.
"Hey! What's with that attitude?! Believe it or not, I'll—ugh, never mind! I'll spare you today. If my body had recovered, I'd totally yank your hair out!" Lulu snapped. She instinctively reached up to pull Liam's hair but paused when she remembered she wasn't in her physical form, her expression turning gloomy. She settled for puffing out her cheeks in mock threat.
"Er… I was just joking, Lulu, don't take it to heart! So what's this method you were talking about?" Liam quickly changed the subject, petting Moltres's giant feathery head as he asked.
Moltres watched him with a puzzled look. Ever since earlier, Liam had been talking to thin air—but Moltres didn't mind. It closed its eyes, enjoying the soothing strokes and cooing contentedly.
Garchomp just looked on with a deadpan expression—it was clearly used to this by now.
"…Remember that strange ring you found underground earlier? Even though it's damaged, the system can restore it for a certain number of exchange points. Not only that—it can be upgraded into a Contract Ring. If you fuse a single drop of Moltres's blood into it, you'll be able to open a portal to wherever Moltres is. The other end will appear right beside it, and then it can choose to come or not, depending on its own will. Pretty cool, right?" Lulu explained, getting more and more excited as she went. Her eyes practically sparkled—with the gleam of a greedy merchant.
"Uh… that does sound cool. So… how much does it cost?"
Liam turned to her with narrowed eyes, clutching his wallet out of instinct. Wait, why am I grabbing my wallet?
"Hehe~ just this much!" Lulu said sweetly, holding up two slender fingers.
"Two thousand?! That cheap?! What are we waiting for—do it, do it now!"
Liam exhaled in relief when he saw the gesture. He waved his hand grandly, pretending to be all generous.
"…It's twenty thousand," Lulu corrected, face darkening.
Liam: "...…"