Grotto Store, Sinnoh
Oliver and Sophie both walked downstairs to see a lounge area. Oliver admired the place, as things seemed extremely comfortable. He also was a bit scared that it looked extremely comfortable. Was it because they were used to being locked up in here?
Sophie remained in the back, apathetically walking behind the group. She wasn't as concerned with how the place looked, while she was trying her best to find a way out and back to freedom.
Once everyone was inside, Asher told Carson to begin boarding up the door, and he followed his order without hesitation, grabbing a few wooden planks before using them to board up the door.
Afterwards, Carson sat down next to Asher in a leisurely position, letting out a yawn. Meanwhile, the Lucario gestured to the couch across from them, saying that they could sit down there.
"Um..." Sophie was a bit hesitant about it.
"Don't worry." Oliver reassured her, walking over to the couch. "I know it's safe here." He patted the spot next to him before Sophie let out a sigh, walking over and sitting down.
"Now I'm guessing you two are confused as to what's going on, right?" Asher asked, which earned an eyeroll from Sophie.
"Oh, why wouldn't we be confused as to why we're boarded up in a store basement?" The Snivy remarked sarcastically. "Please, enlighten us."
"Well, it all started around nine years ago..."
Nine Years Ago...
"Daddy! Wake up!" A young girl's voice could be heard echoing through a large room as a female Nidoran was trying to wake a Nidoking up.
The Nidoking, who was already awake before his daughter ran in, wore a soft smile as he pretended to be asleep.
"Daddy! Mommy said she wants to go on a walk!" The Nidoran pouted lightly, still trying to wake him up.
The Nidoking suddenly shot up, letting out a playful roar.
"Eep!" His daughter squealed, soon letting out a cheerful giggle as she hugged him. "Good morning, Daddy!"
"Morning, my little princess." He smiled at his daughter. "Where'd you say your Mommy was?"
The Nidoran's eyes widened before she pouted stubbornly. "You were awake?" She asked, only to earn a laugh from her father. "No fair!"
"All's fair in sleep and war." He lightly ruffled his daughter's head.
"Denise! Honey!" The two heard a voice from outside the bedroom, "If you two don't get up, the breakfast is mine!"
"No!" Denise jumped up, before beginning to scurry towards the door. "Don't eat it, Mommy!"
The Nidoking watched his daughter run out of the room with a smile, slowly getting out of bed. He stretched and began to walk out of the room. As he passed by his window, he took a small peek at the town he was living in.
Forest Grotto.
It looked vibrant, full of life, and full of many species walking throughout it. Laughing, playing, and spending time together. He was glad that he settled down with his wife eight years ago, back when she was pregnant with his daughter, Denise.
He finally walked out of his bedroom and walked into the kitchen with a loud yawn.
"Morning, Sweetie." His wife gave him a smile, sitting at the kitchen table with Denise. "Sleep well?"
His wife was a beautiful Nidoqueen, the love of his life. He smiled at the sight of her, thanking whatever lord was out there for the blessing that was his lover.
"I slept like a log..." He lightly scratched his head, sitting down next to his wife. "What about you, Nina?"
"I slept amazingly." She gave him a smile. "But after I woke up, someone wouldn't let me leave in his unconscious state."
The Nidoking blushed softly at the comment, letting out a soft grumble as he began to eat.
"So..." He cleared his throat, thinking of how he could change the subject. "Denise said you wanted to go on a walk today?"
"Mhm." Nina nodded in response. "But maybe sightseeing would be better. What do you think?"
"We've never really seen the sights around Forest Grotto much, I think sightseeing would be fun." The Nidoking smiled, "Denise might actually make some new friends, too."
Denise seemed to like the idea, looking at both of her parents with an ecstatic smile. "Mommy? Could we? Could we?"
Nina let out a faint sigh, knowing that she was outnumbered. "Okay, we can go."
"Yay!" She cheered, jumping out of her chair happily.
"I just really hope the sun's shining today..." The Nidoking remarked.
Both Nina and Denise knew about his love for sunny days. He seemed the most happy on those days, and loved to just go out with them to enjoy the day and have fun.
Later on, Denise was happily running ahead of her parents, looking at the sights.
"Make sure you stay where we can see you!" The Nidoking shouted out to her, earning a compliant nod from his daughter.
"Sweetie, have you prepared anything for the surprise?" Nina asked, looking over to her mate with an inquisitive smile.
"Mhm." He nodded, "I'm going to try my best and make it the best day of her life. I know she's counting on me to do something special."
"She was always a daddy's girl." Nina commented with a light giggle.
The Nidoqueen always knew that when it came down to it, Denise preferred to spend time with her father, but she didn't really mind. This gave her more time to visit some of her friends and do things she couldn't do while she was pregnant.
"You know she loves you too." The Nidoking chuckled at her comment, "I guess she relates more with me. What were you planning for her?"
"Telling you would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it?" Nina teased, lightly tapping her mate's nose with a single claw.
"I guess it would." He laughed, lightly rubbing off his nose.
Soon enough, the family of three arrived at what seemed like a large park overlooking a steep cliff. Denise seemed excited, seeing other Pokémon playing and running around the park.
"Mommy, Daddy? Can I go?" The Nidoran asked eagerly. "Can I? Can I?"
"Sure." Nina nodded with a smile, "Just make sure to stay safe and play with others nicely."
"Okay!" She nodded happily before giving both of her parents a hug and running off.
"Phew..." The Nidoqueen let out an exhausted sigh, "Neither of us were this energetic when we were young, right?"
"Not at all." He replied, sitting down on a nearby bench. "I was more quiet, and you preferred to stay indoors. Otherwise, I think she takes more after your mother."
Nina took a moment to think about it, before eventually nodding. "That definitely makes more sense generally." She sat down next to her partner, laying her head on his shoulder.
The soft breeze of the wind, the bright sun that was overlooking a clear, blue sky, and the sound of his mate's breathing. Everything seemed calm, things seemed relaxed. He could hear the cheerful melodies of the children playing nearby, and smiled.
He put his arm around his wife, soon dozing off.
Meanwhile, Denise had already made a few friends. A Cubone, an Aipom, and a Starly. The four ran around the area cheerfully, making a childish game of whatever they could find and do.
Soon enough, the four arrived at the edge of the cliff. All of them looked down in awe, stars being seen in Denise's eyes.
"Woah..." The Nidoran looked down. "Lenny, didn't you say that you flew all the way down there?"
"Yep." The Starly smiled, a bit proud of himself. "I found something really cool down there."
"What is it?" A.J, the Cubone, asked with an eager expression.
"I can just fly you all down." Lenny gave the Cubone a deadpan stare.
"All at the same time?" The Aipom asked.
"No, one by one." The Starly then looked at the Aipom with a deadpan expression. "So how about it?"
"But Mommy and Daddy..." Denise looked over to her parents in the distance, who were sleeping on a bench. "What if they wake up and see me gone?"
"We'll leave a note." Lenny told the Nidoran.
"Okay then!" She smiled happily.
"A.J?"
"Adventure!" The Cubone held up the bone in his right paw happily.
"Leah?"
"Sure." The Aipom shrugged, "Why not?"
"Then it's decided, down we go!" Lenny exclaimed before picking up Leah and flying down.
Soon enough, Lenny managed to get all three of them down, but was extremely exhausted from it. He flew over to Denise's back before sitting there.
"Mind if I sit here?" The Starly asked, "I need some time to recover..."
"It's okay!" Denise smiled, looking up at Lenny. "Good job carrying all of us down here."
"Yeah, but now what?" A.J suddenly asked, looking over to them. "Lenny, you said that there was something down this cliff. I don't see much of anything..."
"Oh right." The Starly's eyes widened as he hopped off of Denise's back, slowly hopping over to the dark area below the cliff's ledge. "Follow me."
The other three Pokémon exchanged a few glances before shrugging and following behind. Lenny approached a small hole in the ground, signaling for the three to follow him through. They followed behind, and soon enough, they were climbing out of a hole that was the entrance to a brightly illuminated cave.
It was filled with thousands of small crystals, lighting up the cave that seemed to have no exit other than where they came from.
"Wowie..." Denise looked around as Lenny landed on her back. "...This cave is so shiny..."
"Yeah." The Starly grinned, "I found it one day after flying to the park and down here."
"Real treasure!" A.J exclaimed, looking around. "Let's get as much as we can!" He suddenly ran forward.
"Hey! Wait for us!" Leah shouted behind him, "We have to stick together!" The Aipom ran behind him, followed by Denise who was carrying Lenny.
The Cubone led the charge, swaying his bone in the air. "Treasure, treasure, gonna find some treasure!"
"Why didn't you just grab the few at the entrance?" Leah asked, running behind A.J.
"Because there has to be a bigger crystal somewhere around here." The Cubone replied, "That way, we can just get one, and become rich!"
"Okay...?" The Aipom looked down, a bit confused by his logic.
Suddenly, the ground under them fell, becoming a ramp of dirt and rock. Denise, Leah, and A.J all slipped down the ramp while Lenny flew to the edge, seeing the three fall down into a large body of water.
Denise broke the surface, doggy-paddling to the closest land to them, the other side of the water. A.J used his bone as something to hold onto, since the bone was buoyant enough to keep his head above the water. Leah used her large hand-like tail to glide across the water and to the other side.
"Are you guys okay?" Lenny asked, flying down to meet Denise and Leah on the other side.
"We're fine, but A.J's still in the water." Leah pointed over.
"I can't swim to the other side!"
"I'll go get him." Denise told them before jumping into the water, helping A.J out of the water and to the other side.
"Thank you, Denise." The Cubone smiled, "You saved me."
"No problem." The female Nidoran gave him a grin, helping him up.
"This is all nice and stuff, but look!" Leah pointed over to the ramp of dirt and stone they fell down from, which was now on the other side of the body of water they fell into.
"That's no big deal." Lenny remarked, "I'll just fly you three over on the way back. It's not far."
"Okay, let's continue!" A.J exclaimed, beginning to walk again.
Denise smiled. She had such good and adventurous friends. She knew that Mommy and Daddy would be worried, but the note she gave them should have cleared things up just a bit.
A loud voice suddenly sliced through her thoughts.
"Yes!" A.J exclaimed, pointing his bone at a large crystal implanted in the top of the cave roof. "A big one!"
"Woah..." Leah looked up with wide eyes. "Let's get that crystal!"
"Yeah!" Denise cheered.
Leah suddenly jumped up before suing Swift on the base of the large crystal, cracking it and making it fall. A.J caught the crystal before letting out a loud laugh.
"Let's get this home and split it four ways!" The Cubone grinned.
Suddenly, a large amount of rumbling could be felt below all of their feet. They all looked at each other, except for Lenny, who was flying above the trio.
"Why'd you guys stop?" The Starly asked.
"D-Do you guys feel that?" A.J asked, clutching the crystal close to him.
"Y-Yeah..." Denise nodded.
Suddenly, an Onyx burst from the ground in between the four. A.J nearly dropped the crystal as he hit the ground.
Leah quickly stood up on her side before looking at the way she came from. "Run!"
Denise, Lenny, and A.J all nodded frantically before heading to the exit with Leah. The Cubone made sure to bring the crystal along with him. The Onyx looked towards the four before heading towards them.
Lenny was leading, flying quickly. He was followed by Leah, who was making sure she was at least ahead of someone. A.J was third, carrying the large crystal above his head. Being the least physically gifted of the four, Denise was lagging behind.
Lenny, Leah, and A.J made it to the large body of water from earlier, But Denise was still far behind. She ran under a large rock, held up by two column-like objects. Due to the rumbling of the area around them, one of the columns collapsed, making the large rock begin to fall onto Denise.
A.J looked back to see the rock about to fall onto her.
Meanwhile, Lenny had already carried Leah over to the other side, and was going back for A.J to assist him.
"A.J!" He shouted, approaching the Cubone. "Come on!"
The Cubone looked at Lenny before looking back to Denise.
Denise noticed the rock about to fall onto her, and her pupils shrank in fear. She closed her eyes tightly and looked down before she heard a small crack next to her. When she opened her eyes, she saw that A.J's bone was holding up the other side of the rock, giving her some time to escape.
Something suddenly pulled her out from under the rock. It was A.J, who gave her a small smile as he looked at her.
"I had to pay you back for saving me earlier." The Cubone smiled at her.
"A.J..." Denise's eyes sparkled for a moment.
"Hurry!" A voice shouted, alerting both Denise and A.J, bringing them back to the current situation. It was Lenny, who was waiting at the edge of the water. Meanwhile, the Onyx was getting closer.
A.J knew what he had to do now.
He threw over the crystal to Leah. "Leah! Hold onto this for a while!" He shouted. "Lenny, carry Denise over, I'll distract that Onyx!"
"Okay." Lenny nodded, knowing that he didn't have the time to argue.
"Wait!" Denise looked at A.J. "I just wanted to say thank you for saving me."
"No problem." A.J smiled, "Now get out of here!" He looked back at the Onyx.
"One more thing."
"Hm?"
She suddenly lifted the skull over the Cubone's face before kissing his bare cheek. "Good luck, come back soon so we can play again!" She scurried off and towards a shocked Lenny.
"D-Did you see his face?" The Starly asked, beginning to carry her over.
"No, my eyes were closed." The female Nidoking giggled softly.
"I never knew a Cubone looked like a-" He was suddenly interrupted by Leah.
"Hurry it up! A.J was willing to let us be safe, now we gotta get this crystal out for him!"
"Right!" Both Lenny and Denise nodded as they ran towards the entrance hole.
But as they rounded the last corner, they saw a Steelix waiting for them.
Meanwhile...
A loud scream awakened a familiar Nidoking from his sleep. He opened his eyes to see Nina in his face, crying her eyes out.
"W-What?" He woke up completely, his sight clearing. "What's wrong, Sweetie?"
"She left! Denise is gone!" The Nidoqueen shouted, showing him a note, "I'm going after her!" She ran off.
Nidoking, looking at the note, stood up as he read it.
The note read; "Mommy, Daddy, I'm going treasure hunting with my new friends! We went down the cliff, and we're around there. I'll be back soon!"
Once he looked up from the note, his mate was gone. He decided to go for help instead of leaving to go get Nina and her daughter, thinking that it would be the better decision. He went to go get some of the enforcers and protectors of the Grotto.
With Denise
"L-Lenny?" Denise tried to shake the limp Starly. "W-Wake up..."
Leah was trying to get Lenny awake as well, wiping away stray tears in her eyes. She looked back to the Steelix, who was a bit confused for the time being because of an attack.
"Denise, h-he's gone..." The Aipom looked down and away. "He passed away..."
"N-No..."
"W-We have to go." Leah grabbed the Nidoran. Denise could only nod as the duo headed to the entrance hole. But before they could, the Steelix woke up and let out a large roar and charged towards the two.
Suddenly, a Nidoqueen burst through the cave wall, a vengeful expression on her face. "Don't touch her!"
She slammed the Steelix into the cave wall and onto a large amount of crystals, letting out a loud roar.
"M-Mommy?" Denise asked confusedly as the cave began to collapse.
Nina didn't respond, constantly slamming the Steelix into the cave wall. Leah was seen backing away, noticing the many rocks falling from the ceiling. The Aipom quickly jumped into the entrance hole.
The Nidoran didn't notice Leah leaving as she looked at her mother. A large rock suddenly landed on most of Denise's body, leaving her looking up to the ceiling. She let out a raspy scream.
"Sweetie?" She dropped the Steelix as it dropped to the ground.
"M-Mommy..." The Nidoran spoke rasply, "Mommy it hurts..."
"No, no, no..." Nina ran over, bending down to her daughter. "I-I'll get you out of there."
She knew that she would be unable to. She could see a faint trickle of red liquid moving from under the rock and outside of it. Even if she could lift the rock, her daughter would bleed out.
She was going to die either way.
"Mommy, am I gonna... Pass away...?" The Nidoran asked, a note of fear in her voice.
"I-It's going to be okay, Denise..."
She didn't have the heart to tell her daughter that she would eventually die. She didn't have the stomach to sit there and lie to her daughter either. Nina was just telling Denise what she wanted to believe. Not the answer her daughter wanted to hear.
The Nidoqueen felt sick to her stomach. What would her husband say about all of this? That she indirectly caused this to happen to his little girl?
But she was Nina's little girl, too. She couldn't stop looking at Denise, despite the overwhelming voice in her head, telling her to turn away.
Instead of saying anything else, she grabbed her daughter's paw, tightly squeezing it.
"M-Mommy...?" Her voice noticeably got a bit weaker. "...I-I can't feel anything..."
Nina couldn't help but to allow a few tears to fall from her eyes, mixing with her daughter's tears on the ground. She made sure to hide her face from her daughter, using her other paw to muffle her soft sobs.
"M-Mommy...?"
She turned her attention to her daughter, remaining out of her sight.
"W-Where are you...?"
"I-I'm here." She replied, trying her hardest to make it sound like she was still in a normal state. "I'm here, Sweetie..."
"...It... It doesn't hurt anymore..."
This sentence seemed to calm Nina's nerves a bit. Although this was a bad thing, it was a blessing in disguise. Her daughter wasn't in pain anymore.
"I-I'm glad..."
Denise's ear perked slightly, her Mommy's voice sounded so distant.
"C-Can I see you...?"
Nina nodded before moving closer. Once she was in Denise's field of vision, her pupil slowly drifted to look at her.
She was indeed, right there next to her.
The visible half of her face could be seen brightening just a bit. It was nearly unnoticable, but she was smiling. Even in a situation as bad as this, Denise was glad. She was glad her Daddy didn't have to see this. She was glad that her Mommy couldn't see the other side of her body.
"M-Mommy...?"
"Yes, Sweetie?"
Even though she was right in front of her, Nina's voice still sounded so distant. Her Mommy was right next to her, but yet she felt so alone.
"W-Will you leave me alone...?"
It only took a few seconds of thinking. Nina knew exactly what she wanted to do.
"I won't leave you." Nina told her daughter. "I will stay right here..."
Even if it was just slightly, her Mommy's voice seemed closer. It was comforting to know that she wouldn't be alone. It felt like she wasn't going alone. Nina would be right there next to her, holding her paw until the end of time.
The Nidoran's eye began to slowly close, finally feeling at peace.
"Is the sun shining down on you today...?"
"...Daddy..."
At around twelve in the morning, a familiar Nidoking opened the door to see a different Pokémon at his doorstep, looking a bit disheartened.
"I'm sorry to inform you sir, but..." A Golduck spoke, looking at the Nidoking. "Of the five that entered the cave, there were three found dead, and two missing. Two of the Pokémon dead were unfortunately your wife and daughter."
Those words seemed to stop his whole world.
"D-Dead? How?"
"The autopsy reports state that your wife died due to lack of oxygen." He informed the frozen Pokémon, "Your daughter, however... Died due to blood loss. Around seventy-five percent of her body was crushed under a large boulder."
The Nidoking tried his best to choke back a few tears as he gave a silent nod.
"I'm sorry for your loss, I'll leave you alone to digest this."
And just like that, the house was empty once again. It wasn't as warm as it was when he was waiting for his wife and daughter to get back. The three plates of food set on the table that he tried his best to prepare went from lukewarm to cold as he passed by.
He flopped onto his bed, looking up at the ceiling with an empty expression. After choking back the few tears he had earlier, he found it difficult to cry. He could only look around his empty bedroom with exhaustion and a cold stare.
He then remembered something, something important. At twelve in the morning, it was technically the next day. The day for Denise's surprise. He slowly stood up from his bed, walking over to the window slowly.
He looked out of the window, the stars above lighting up the midnight sky. "I hope you're okay up there... Happy Birthday, my little princess..."
A few months passed since the incident, and a familiar Nidoking walked out of his house. However, he seemed different. His eyes were more black than his species' usual color. As he walked by, a few Pokémon tried to console him, but he was unresponsive.
He walked into a store, seeing a clerk.
The clerk looked at him before recognizing the Nidoking as the same one who lost his family. He suddenly grew a concerned expression as he looked at him.
"I'm sorry for your loss-"
He punched a hole into the wall, breathing heavily. He hated to be reminded of what happened to Nina and Denise, he hated to be pitied because that happened. He wished that everything would go back to normal. But he knew things wouldn't change.
It was then when he snapped.
Back to Present
"So the one who caused all of this was...?" Oliver's eyes widened.
"That Nidoking, yes." Asher nodded at the Oshawott's question. "Soon after he entered the store, everything was put into motion."
"But just because he lost his family...?" Sophie interjected confusedly.
"Many have speculated that maybe losing his family wasn't the only cause." The Lucario explained, "In the few months that he was gone, there was strange activity happening, and it all suddenly stopped when Nidoking went berserk."
"What's his name?" Oliver asked.
"Nobody knows."
Both Oliver and Sophie exchanged a look before Sophie cleared her throat. "Just because he lost his family, doesn't mean you all should stay under his control."
"We're not doing it out of pity." Asher told the Snivy. "That Nidoking has considerable strength, almost seeming monstrous. We just don't have the might to take him down."
The duo looked at the Lucario in shock before Sophie let out a small sigh. "How much time until the lockdown ends?"
Asher looked down at his personal watch. "We still have a long while until the doors open again. For now, we have to hang in there."
Sophie groaned softly, leaning back in her seat.