Chapter 68: Rescued

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As soon as Lulu's voice fell on Liam's ears, the sound of freezing ice crystals filled the air. The roar of the giant Dragonite came to an abrupt halt, and a bone-chilling cold swept through Liam's body. 

Despite his weakened state, Liam shivered uncontrollably and mustered the last of his strength to slightly open his eyes.

What he saw was astonishing! 

The once foggy, pitch-dark seaside had now turned into a vast expanse of white. Floating in the air was a figure several times larger than before, with icy wings spread wide behind it, radiating a sacred light that illuminated the entire sky.

The entire coastline had been transformed into a world of ice and snow. A massive iceberg stood towering above the sea, and within it was frozen a gigantic yellow creature.

"That's... truly... amazing..."

Liam uttered in an almost inaudible voice, praising the figure floating in the air before he fell unconscious once again.

Hearing the faint sound behind her, Lulu slightly turned her head, her brows furrowing slightly as she softly muttered two words.

"...You idiot."

After what felt like an eternity, Liam felt sunlight shining on his face and slowly woke up, opening his eyes groggily.

He found himself surrounded by white—white walls, a white bed, everything unfamiliar.

"Lulu? What's going on? Where am I?"

In situations like this, asking Lulu for answers was always the right move.

However, after calling out to her, Liam waited for a long time, but Lulu didn't appear. A wave of confusion washed over him. Was she sleeping too deeply? He raised his voice slightly and called again.

"Lulu! Lulu! Are you... are you okay?"

Seeing that Lulu still hadn't emerged from his body, Liam's heart sank. 

He recalled the scene he had witnessed before losing consciousness and couldn't help but think of a possible outcome—one that wasn't good.

At this thought, Liam's expression changed drastically. He began to worry that Lulu might have sacrificed herself to save him, and panic set in.

"Could it be... that something happened to Lulu? Lulu! Lu—!!"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!! What's with all this noise? You've had your rest! I've exhausted so much energy this time! Can't I get some peace for once after everything I did?!"

Just as Liam was overwhelmed with grief, a familiar figure floated out of his body, shouting angrily and pointing a finger at Liam's nose.

"Huh?! Lulu! You're okay! That's great! I thought you might have disappeared because of saving me! I'm so glad you're okay! So... uh... what's going on?"

Seeing Lulu appear, Liam was first shocked, then overjoyed. He instinctively reached out to grab her, but to his surprise, his hands passed right through her body as if she had become a ghost!

"Hmph, don't make a fuss. It's nothing to worry about. I just used up too much energy. This is just a projection of my body. My real self is still resting."

Lulu spoke casually about her now-ghostly form, as if it were no big deal.

"...I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble this time. By the way, how did I end up here? Where are Garchomp and the others? How are they... Arbok!! What about Arbok?!"

Liam, noticing the hospital gown he was wearing, frantically patted his pockets but found nothing. Panicking, he threw off the blanket and tried to get out of bed, only to feel his body ache as if it were falling apart. 

He barely managed to stop himself from collapsing back onto the bed.

"Calm down. You're in the medical ward of the Pokémon Center. That boy and Arcanine brought you here. They later returned with a rescue team and saved you, along with Garchomp and the others. They're all receiving treatment now and should be almost fully recovered. Now that you're awake, you can exchange some recovery items for them to speed up their healing."

Lulu quickly flew in front of Liam to stop him from getting up. His body still needed rest, and he shouldn't be moving around too much.

"But what about Arbok? How is Arbok? I remember... I remember..."

Liam recalled the lighthouse that had been flattened by Dragon Rage, and the thought of Arbok being caught in it made his heart ache.

"Sigh... Arbok... Arbok, it's... sigh..."

Hearing Liam's question, Lulu's expression suddenly changed, and she let out a sorrowful sigh.

"Arbok... Arbok..."

Seeing Lulu's expression, Liam's worst fears were confirmed. Hot tears streamed down his cheeks as he sat on the hospital bed, overwhelmed with guilt.

Noticing Liam's reaction, Lulu raised an eyebrow, realizing she might have taken the joke too far. Just as she was about to explain further, footsteps echoed in the hallway, stopping right outside Liam's room. 

Lulu let out a startled "Oh!" and quickly retreated into Liam's body.

Creak...

"Ah! Mr. Liam! You're awake! That's wonderful!"

"Big brother! You're awake? Big brother! I was so worried about you!"

The door opened, and Nurse Joy walked in carrying a tray with five PokeBalls neatly arranged on it. Behind her, young Bill popped out, his face lighting up with joy as he ran over to Liam.

"Huh? Bill? Nurse Joy? I'm really sorry for worrying you all."

Liam forced a smile as he looked at Bill and Nurse Joy.

"It's great to see you awake, Mr. Liam. You've been unconscious for a full day and night. I'm so glad you're okay now. Oh, here are your PokeBalls. The Pokémon inside have all recovered and are ready to be returned to you."

Nurse Joy was clearly happy to see Liam awake. She walked over and placed the tray on the bedside table.

Liam looked at the PokeBalls on the tray, his heart aching again. He reached out and gently touched the PokeBalls, tears welling up in his eyes...

Wait... why are there five?

Suddenly, Liam noticed that there were five PokeBalls on the tray. What was going on? He quickly grabbed the PokeBalls and opened them all.

Five beams of light of varying sizes flashed, and his companions appeared in the room, all present and accounted for.

"Garchomp!!"

"Nido!!"

"Woof!!"

"Sneasel!!"

"Chaarbok!"

"Arbok! Why are you here?!" Liam stared at the purple serpent in front of him, completely baffled.

"Chaa??"

Arbok, suddenly questioned like this, tilted its head in confusion, equally puzzled.

"...Haha, never mind, never mind! I'm just so glad everyone's okay! I'm so happy..."

Tears streamed down Liam's face once more, but this time they were tears of relief, grateful that everyone was safe.

"Chaaa! (What's going on? Why is the master crying like this? What happened after that?)"

"Garchomp? (I don't remember anything after that.)"

"Nido... (I don't know either. Maybe the master hit his head and got a little messed up.)"

"Woof! (What?! That's serious! We can't give up on treatment!)"

"Sneasel... (How boring...)"

The five Pokémon all stared at Liam, who was sitting on the hospital bed crying, and let out a series of confused noises.