"What's going on?"
Sam had a vague feeling that something bad was about to happen.
At that moment, the door of the sleeping chamber beside him suddenly opened, and Blaine stumbled out. His face was pale, and he looked as though he had gone through an incredibly difficult battle.
Sam hurried over to support him.
Trembling slightly, Blaine explained the situation.
Sure enough, he had experienced the same thing as Sam.
There was definitely something wrong with this testing system.
Soon after, Misty and Ash also emerged from their sleeping chambers.
Apparently, the two of them had gone through the same ordeal as well.
Which meant that Sabrina was most likely experiencing the same thing right now.
Everyone immediately rushed toward Sabrina's chamber, only to discover that she looked extremely pained, as though she had suffered a massive mental shock.
"Something's wrong!"
Sam himself hadn't suffered any substantial injuries, but Blaine, Misty, and Ash were all clearly exhausted and heavily weakened.
He quickly asked them about their condition.
"My mind feels weak," Blaine said. "It's like my entire body lost all strength."
Since Blaine, Misty, and Ash had all been severely affected without actually dying inside that space, the consequences were clearly terrifying.
Then what exactly was Sabrina experiencing right now?
"Sabrina! Sabrina!"
Sam shouted anxiously.
But Sabrina gave no response at all. Her expression remained twisted in pain.
Something had happened to Sabrina!
Suddenly, the sleeping chamber lit up once more, and the cabin door slowly opened completely.
But Sabrina still didn't move.
A mechanical voice echoed through the room:
"Because one participant failed the trial, this challenge has failed."
At that point, nobody cared anymore about whether they had passed the trial.
Sam, Blaine, Misty, and Ash all rushed toward Sabrina at once.
"Sister Sabrina!" Misty cried out.
Still no response.
Sam quickly placed a hand near Sabrina's nose to check her breathing.
Fortunately, she was still breathing normally.
Only then did he finally relax slightly.
"Let's get her out of here first," Sam said immediately.
Everyone quickly carried Sabrina out of the Cerulean Cave.
At this moment, Sabrina's condition was far more important than investigating Team Rocket.
After an exhausting journey, the group finally brought Sabrina to the nearest hospital.
Inside the hospital room, Sam and the others stayed by Sabrina's bedside.
"Brother Sam… is Sister Sabrina going to be okay?" Misty asked worriedly.
Sam shook his head slowly.
"Her body is fine for now, but her mind suffered a serious shock. Recovery will probably take a long time."
He sighed heavily.
It looked like they wouldn't be able to explore the Cerulean Cave again anytime soon.
"Well… the cave investigation isn't urgent right now," Ash said. "We should wait until Sister Sabrina gets better first."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
No one had expected something like this to happen during their trip to Cerulean Cave.
Over the next few days, Sam visited Sabrina every single day.
According to the doctors, Sabrina's physical condition was stable, but she still needed a long period of rest.
At the same time, Sam didn't remain idle. He continued investigating the Cerulean Cave incident.
From the rumors circulating around Cerulean City, there supposedly hadn't been any problems with the cave before. However, strange things had started happening recently.
People claimed that mysterious sounds could often be heard deep inside the cave.
There were also reports of unusual psychic fluctuations.
Mewtwo…
It had to be Mewtwo.
And if Mewtwo was already inside Cerulean Cave, then perhaps Giovanni had arrived as well.
That meant the modifications to the trial system were probably Giovanni's doing.
Sam decided that after Sabrina recovered, he would return to Cerulean Cave to investigate again.
But for now, his priority was waiting for Sabrina to wake up.
One day, as Sam entered the hospital, Misty suddenly rushed toward him excitedly.
"Brother Sam! Sister Sabrina woke up!"
Sam's eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately ran toward Sabrina's room.
Sabrina was indeed awake.
She lay quietly on the hospital bed, her face still pale and weak.
"How are you feeling?" Sam asked softly.
Sabrina gave a bitter smile and shook her head.
"I didn't expect I'd end up capsizing in a gutter."
Her tone carried both frustration and helplessness.
Sam gently comforted her.
"No one can guarantee victory every time. Did that space directly harm you too?"
Sabrina nodded weakly.
"That mirror Pokémon could directly attack the human body. After I got hit, I lost consciousness. I don't remember anything after that."
Sam nodded grimly.
Just as he suspected.
Everyone had experienced the same thing.
"Brother Sam, what exactly happened?" Misty asked from the side.
Sam turned toward everyone and explained:
"This was most likely caused by Giovanni modifying the system. The trial wasn't targeting our bodies—it was directly attacking our minds."
Everyone's expressions changed drastically.
"Giovanni?!"