"You useless Pokémon. Eat it."
A female voice snarled through the darkness, cold and sharp as a blade.
A metal bowl clattered to the ground. Dirty clumps of food spilled across the floor.
Ralts flinched.
She stared at the mess. Her horn dimmed and trembled. She didn't move.
Purple hair. Team Rocket uniform. She looked so familiar.
"I said eat!"
Ralts whimpered as a sharp shock jolted through the collar around her neck. "Ra... Ralts..." Her tiny hands shook as she reached out.
She scooped up the soiled food and ate slowly, tears dripping into it, scared and broken.
Her eyes darted around, wide and searching. One by one, the other Pokémon appeared.
A nearby Growlithe sat up straight, tail wagging slowly. A trainer knelt beside it, scratching gently behind its ears and murmuring soft words.
The trainer offered fresh food from a clean bowl. Growlithe took it carefully, chewing with quiet contentment.
Next, a Pidgey fluttered down to perch on someone's shoulder. The person held out an open palm full of seeds. Pidgey pecked happily, chirping once in thanks, wings folding neatly as it stayed close.
Even Gengar floated nearby, its grin wide and playful.
The same purple-haired woman tossed a plump berry through the air. Gengar caught it mid-spin with a delighted "Gen gar!" and devoured it in one bite, licking its lips with satisfaction.
They all got kindness. Warmth. Choice.
Ralts got scraps on the floor. A collar that punished.
I watched it all, confusion turning to a sick twist in my gut.
Why her? Why was she the only one treated like this? Why did they give love to the others but only pain to her?
Seeing her like that twisted my stomach. Rage surged, hot and helpless.
How could anyone do this to something so small? So innocent?
I rushed forward. "Ralts!"
Before I reached her, the scene shattered.
Bushes tore at my skin as I burst into daylight. Meowscarada blurred ahead with a sharp "Nyaa!" Glowing green leaves curved from her paws, chasing down foes.
Lopunny leaped high. "Lopuu!" Her kick split stone and sealed the cave entrance in a roar of falling boulders.
Enemies scattered. Pokémon collided in fury. Gengar cackled "Gen gar!" in that mocking high pitch. Rhydon bellowed "Rhy!" deep enough to shake the earth.
The team fought as one unbreakable force. The person throwing stones, heart pounding with desperation and resolve.
It was me.
That was me in the clearing.
The sight snapped something inside. A quiet click of recognition cut through the haze.
"Nyaa♡~" "Lopuuu♡~" Familiar voices echoed from far away and impossibly close at once.
My partners. My family.
They anchored me. They reminded me why I had come.
The memories flooded in.
This was why I was here.
To reach Ralts. No, Kirlia.
To pull her out of this nightmare.
I pushed forward again. The surrounding grew heavier and colder with every step, but her small, broken sobs drew me like a lifeline.
Each cry cut deeper, soft and endless. She had suffered too much. I had sworn she would never suffer alone again.
Tears burned my eyes. My voice cracked as I whispered her name.
"Kirlia…"
The image of her curled in the dark, scarred by everything they did to her, shattered me. I wanted to erase it all. To hold her until the pain melted away. To tell her she was loved, safe, wanted.
I stretched my arms out, ready to catch her, shield her, never let go.
She was waiting.
But as I closed the distance, darkness swallowed everything.
A void. Empty. Cold. Endless black in every direction. No light. Only faint echoes.
Ralts sat in the center, curled into a tight ball. Her body shook with quiet sobs.
"Ra... Ralts..." Each cry sounded soft, broken, like a whisper lost in wind.
Tears dripped from her eyes and pooled on the nothingness beneath her.
She looked so alone. So fragile. As if all that pain had made her even smaller.
My heart broke. Sadness crashed over me, heavy and unrelenting.
I moved closer. My steps made no sound in the emptiness.
Shattered scenes flickered around us like broken mirrors. Fragments of her life appeared and vanished with every step.
The cage from her earliest days. The collar's shock. The needle burning into her skin. Screams that never stopped. The hatching egg. The cold table. White coats.
Each memory hurt worse than the last. They twisted and fractured as I approached, as if trying to shield her, or maybe to punish me for looking.
"It's okay… I'm here now," I whispered. My voice came out thick.
I knelt beside her. My hand trembled as I reached out.
She didn't see me at first. Lost in her grief.
The sight of this tiny, scarred soul tore me apart.
I wanted to hold her. To take every hurt away. To promise she would never be alone again.
My hand reached out slowly, trembling. Fingers brushed her smooth body, then gently wrapped around her small frame.
I pulled her close, holding her against my chest like something precious that might break if I breathed too hard.
Ralts stiffened at first. Then something shifted.
She felt the same hug she once felt before long ago.
That same warmth. That same steady heartbeat against her. The same arms that had promised safety in a moment she thought she'd lost forever.
More memories of Ryan holding her like this appeared around them, soft and glowing. The warm chest, the gentle voice, the feeling she had wanted to cling to even when everything else hurt.
She looked up slowly.
A person was hugging her. Looking at her with eyes full of tears and quiet love.
"Kirlia…" he whispered. His voice was the same one she remembered, soft, steady, calling her name like it was the most important thing in the world.
Like she was the most important thing.
Her sobs quieted. Her trembling eased. She leaned into the hold, tiny arms wrapping around him in return.
Everything faded.
As she pressed closer, the darkness around us softened. Brighter images began to rise, not hers, but mine, offered like a quiet gift.
The world of Pokémon unfolded around us, bright, alive, endless.
A golden bird soared high above a forest at sunset. Ho-Oh's rainbow wings caught the light, trailing colors across the sky like spilled paint.
A small yellow Pokémon stood on a hill beside a boy in a cap. Both watched in wide-eyed wonder. The first time they had seen something so beautiful.
The scene shifted slowly, happily.
Meadows stretched wide, full of playing Pokémon:
Butterfree fluttered over flowers, wings scattering soft powder that glowed in the sun.
Pikachu chased its tail in circles while Eevee tumbled after, laughing in high, bright chirps.
A river sparkled nearby, clear and cool.
Water-type Pokémon leaped and splashed, sending rainbows arcing through the mist. In the distance, a group of young Pokémon raced across a grassy field, tails streaming, voices calling to each other in pure joy.
A quiet forest path appeared next. Sunlight filtered through leaves in golden shafts.
A small group of Pokémon sat together under a tree, sharing berries, grooming each other gently, resting in peaceful silence.
Scenes like these kept coming, one after another, each one simple, each one alive with warmth.
The kind of moments that made the world feel right.
The kind that reminded anyone watching why this place was worth protecting, worth loving.
Then it settled on a different place.