Huang Mao felt as if his head had been struck by a heavy hammer, chaotic and painful, his consciousness struggling in the darkness.
His eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand catties, but he felt his face was wet, with a rough sensation repeatedly rubbing against it.
His consciousness was still a bit blurry, and he instinctively raised his hand to swat away the annoying thing, only to hear a tender Growl.
He struggled to open his heavy eyelids, and what greeted him was a Pokemon sticking out its tongue, its warm breath spraying on his face; it turned out that this Pokemon was licking him awake.
Huang Mao laboriously raised his head, surveying his surroundings.
It was a dim, damp cave, filled with a pungent, fishy smell, mixed with animal feces and the scent of decay, making him nauseous, worsening his already dizzy head, and his stomach churned; he rubbed his temples until he felt a little better.
He discovered that he and this pointy-headed Pokemon were confined together in a rusty iron cage, and at the same time, he finally saw that this Pokemon was a Larvitar!
Moreover, there were many similar cages beside them, holding many Pokemon.
Some Pokemon looked desperate, quietly curled up in a corner; others frantically crashed against the iron cage, letting out mournful cries.
But although large patches of rust had peeled off the iron bars, they remained sturdy, emitting a chilling gleam under the flickering firelight.
Memories flooded back like a tide; he recalled the scene of being attacked again.
That Scarface actually commanded his Pokemon to directly attack people! His head took several heavy moves, and his vision went black before he lost consciousness.
He never expected to wake up again in such a predicament, becoming “cellmates” with a Larvitar.
Huang Mao tried to stand up, but his legs were weak and limp, and he stumbled, almost falling.
Seeing this, the Larvitar beside him let out a low Growl and gently nuzzled him with its head, seemingly offering comfort.
Huang Mao steadied himself, gripping the bars of the iron cage tightly to regain his balance.
Through the gaps in the iron cage, he saw several bonfires at the other end of the cave, but thankfully, no one was in sight.
He felt his pockets and discovered that his Poké Ball was still there!
Huang Mao thought to himself: Could it be that Scarface didn't see me release my Pokemon and thought I wasn't a trainer?
Regardless, Huang Mao quickly called out Dwebble and Geodude.
Dwebble and Geodude had been worried sick about Huang Mao inside their Poké Balls, and they immediately rushed into his arms upon release.
Huang Mao comforted them, “It’s alright, it’s alright! While no one’s here, let’s quickly break open this iron cage.”
“Dwebble!” Both Pokemon nodded in agreement.
“Dwebble, Rock Slide!
Geodude, Rock Throw!”
They both conjured a rock and simultaneously smashed it against the iron cage, producing a loud “Clang!”
But the iron cage didn't break open, and instead, it might attract people, making Huang Mao immediately regret his action.
Fortunately, the Pokemon in the other cages occasionally made noises, covering up the sound caused by Huang Mao.
Huang Mao patted his chest, relieved.
Then he realized that there might be a lock on the iron cage.
He found the lock and had Dwebble use a ‘Slash,’ which directly broke the lock core.
Huang Mao gave a slight pull, and the door opened.
Stepping out of the iron cage, he looked around, confirmed no one had noticed, and prepared to escape.
“Larvitar!”
The Larvitar was also peeking out from the iron cage door, somewhat hesitant whether to come out.
Huang Mao tried to pick it up, but he was too weak, and this Pokemon was incredibly heavy.
Huang Mao fell directly to the ground.
This pointy-headed Pokemon looked at Huang Mao with a curious expression, not knowing what he was doing.
“Uh…” Huang Mao was uncharacteristically embarrassed for a moment, but he quickly organized his thoughts.
“You can come out now. Can you walk?”
The Larvitar nodded and stepped out of the iron cage.
Huang Mao dusted himself off and stood up again, leaning on the door.
This time, he noticed the expressions of the Pokemon in the other iron cages.
These Pokemon were all still in their novice or even infancy stages, completely unable to break the locks of the iron cages, let alone the cages themselves.
They could only stare at Huang Mao longingly.
Huang Mao waved his hand: “Alright! In for a penny, in for a pound, Dwebble, use Slash on all the iron cage locks!”
Dwebble was also very happy that its trainer was helping its kind:
“Dwebble!” (Okay!)
Its claws transformed into two sharp blades, continuously swinging and slicing through the locks one by one.
Geodude and Huang Mao then opened the iron cage doors one by one.
First, a Chikorita poked its head out of the iron cage, its eyes sparkling with surprise and confusion.
Huang Mao softly said, “Don’t be afraid, you’re free.”
Chikorita seemed to understand his words, carefully jumped out of the iron cage, bounced a few times around Huang Mao, and then happily ran off.
Subsequently, one Pokemon after another ran out of the iron cages.
Some Pokemon lingered by Huang Mao for a while, looking at him with grateful eyes, as if expressing thanks; others eagerly rushed towards the outside world.
Before long, all the Pokemon had run out of the iron cages, cheering and leaping with joy in the cave.
Then, they scattered in different directions, running away and disappearing outside the cave.
Huang Mao watched their retreating figures, feeling immensely relieved. Although he didn't know where Scarface had gone, he knew he should run too.
What puzzled him, however, was that the Larvitar still refused to leave.
“What’s wrong?”
Huang Mao leaned down and asked, but he couldn't understand what it was saying.
But he could tell that Larvitar was still in an urgent state, and through Dwebble and Geodude's communication, he roughly understood that Larvitar still had companions who hadn't escaped.
Huang Mao gritted his teeth:
“If you’re going to help, help all the way!
I'll help you find your companions!”
He completely disregarded his own strength, and he didn't consider where the enemy was or what they were doing; he acted as if he had completely abandoned the existence of his brain.
However, sometimes fools have good fortune.
In an inconspicuous corner of the cave, a shadow opened its eyes, watching Huang Mao run to another place to look for Larvitar’s companions.
The shadow took out a Poké Ball, recalled the Gastly on him, revealing his face—it was Smoker.
He didn’t know if Lao Tian had noticed anything, but he saw that the boss’s eyes were off.
The boss’s gaze towards him and Lao Tian already revealed murderous intent. The reason he hadn't acted yet was because a client was coming in the afternoon. Once the client handover was complete, he feared the boss would move against Lao Tian and himself.
Smoker couldn't help but think through gritted teeth:
“Just because he gained powerful strength? After so many years of cooperation, I must have been blind.”
It was precisely the time for the client receiving this batch of goods to arrive, and the boss had left the cave to greet the client.
Smoker knew he had to act now, otherwise, he feared he wouldn't live to see tomorrow.
So he released Huang Mao from the hypnosis and returned his Poké Ball.
No matter what, as long as Huang Mao ran out of the cave entrance and encountered the boss, whatever happened, he could use his Gastly to try and muddle through and escape.
And this Huang Mao didn't disappoint him; he released all the Pokemon in the cages, doing even better than Smoker had hoped.