Chapter 86 Darkness of the World
"Fatty, thank you," Ron said, weighing several bulging bags in his hands. These pills should last his Pokémon for a year.
Fatty was curled up in the corner, his face pale. There was only one thought in his mind: Who am I? Where am I? Why am I even here?
"It seems like he was deeply traumatized," Rosa said uneasily.
Ruby nodded in agreement. Either defeat Togepi instantly or it would always use the most suitable moves with Metronome. After a series of skills and combined with Slaking's Truant ability, Slaking had been helplessly worn down without even using a single move. Anyone would feel miserable about such a loss.
"Remember, don't feed them too much; one pill a day is enough. Excessive amounts can be harmful," the old man seriously instructed.
"Yes, I understand," Ron replied respectfully. "Fatty, let's now talk about the Pokémon food business."
"Alright, no problem!" Fatty instantly recovered and enthusiastically introduced his family's Pokémon food business, including their factory scale.
Ron was quite surprised. It turned out Fatty's family was actually the largest food supplier in the Johto region, having extensive partnerships with the Pokémon League. No wonder his main Pokémon were all big eaters—his family had money and was primarily involved in Pokémon food production, ensuring his Pokémon never lacked proper meals.
Fatty took out some samples, and Ron fed them to his own Pokémon. The taste was indeed good, and the nutritional value was high, suitable for active Pokémon and big eaters.
After thinking it over, Ron decided to first sign a one-year contract with Fatty. If the effects proved good, next time he would directly sign a ten-year contract. Currently, Ron's breeding house indeed required a large supply of Pokémon food, and previously he could only buy from the Pokémon League. Honestly, the League had been overcharging him, but due to the lack of large-scale suppliers, Ron had no choice but to endure it. Now that he had a supplier, he could save hundreds of thousands per month.
After finalizing the business, Ron and his friends bid farewell to Fatty and the old medicine-making man, then continued their journey toward Ecruteak City.
However, life never remained unchanged; sometimes unexpected situations would occur, like now.
Ron and his friends looked at the group of people before them, each wearing a large "R" on their chests, afraid others wouldn't know they were from Team Rocket.
There were over thirty people surrounding Ron's group. Ruby nudged Ron and asked, "Your enemies?"
"Yeah. I let their artificially-created Legendary Pokémon escape," Ron said indifferently, having already released all his Pokémon.
"They're just a bunch of grunts; what's there to fear?" Rosa released her Serperior, full of disdain.
"I call you boss; please check where we are before you speak," Ron said helplessly.
Rosa glanced at the cliff behind her and sighed, "Then what? We can't escape. Should we surrender?"
"Fight them!" Ruby shouted.
"Then fight it is!" Ron yelled. "Celebi, stop slacking—use Future Sight! Dragonite, Hail! Everyone else who can use Blizzard, go all-out! Gengar and Beedrill, assassinate them one by one! Wobbuffet, protect everyone!"
Dragonite launched an energy ball into the sky, instantly gathering dark clouds. Immediately after, Pheromosa and the others unleashed powerful Blizzards, instantly overwhelming the group of Team Rocket members.
"Uh...did we just defeat them all at once?" Ruby asked uncertainly.
"It won't be that easy. Watch out!" Ron shouted suddenly, seeing a dangerous gleam flash before his eyes—a poisonous sting shot toward Ruby and Rosa.
Ron's explosive reaction allowed him to press down on both Ruby and Rosa's heads simultaneously. Then, with a sickening stabbing sound, severe pain shot through Ron's arms—both his arms had been pierced clean through by a Beedrill's Twineedle. Blood instantly flowed down, soaking Ruby's and Rosa's heads.
Boom! A powerful psychic blast knocked the Beedrill away. Celebi, enraged, waved its arms fiercely, unleashing countless psychic spheres from the void toward Team Rocket.
Celebi required no help from other Pokémon. The fury of a legendary Pokémon was something ordinary people couldn't bear.
"Ron, are you alright?!" Ruby wiped the blood from his face, looking at Ron's pierced arms with guilt. If Ron hadn't pushed them down, these two holes would have appeared in their heads.
"I won't die. I have psychic powers," Ron said calmly.
Then he opened the shop interface and searched for abilities. He found 'Physical Regeneration' for 1000 diamonds and bought it immediately. However, he quickly realized purchased abilities also had levels—his current level was only level one, and upgrading required spending more diamonds for each stage.
He mentally asked the system, "What level do I need to instantly heal injuries like this?"
"Ding. According to your current injury, you'll need level 5 Physical Regeneration. Level 2 is 5000, Level 3 is 10,000, Level 4 is 50,000, and Level 5 is 100,000 diamonds," the system replied.
"You're clearly after my money. Fine, take it. Upgrade to level 5," Ron said helplessly.
The system quickly took his diamonds, and Level 5 Physical Regeneration took effect immediately. The wounds on Ron's arms healed visibly, returning to their original state within moments. If not for the blood remaining, Ruby and Rosa would have thought they had seen incorrectly.
Looking at Celebi, who had nearly lost control in anger, Ron shouted, "That's enough, Celebi! Don't kill them!"
Only then did Celebi regain its senses. The scene before them made the trio shiver. Although Celebi hadn't killed anyone, the opponents' limbs were twisted at odd angles, and none of them could stand anymore.
"Let's call the police first," Rosa said, taking out her phone and dialing the number.
The three of them were currently deep in the mountains, unsure of how long Officer Jenny and the others would take to arrive. As Ron was thinking this, something caught his attention from the corner of his eye, and he shouted angrily, "How dare you!"
"Graveler, Earthquake!" shouted a Team Rocket grunt. "Long live Team Rocket!"
The exhausted Graveler unhesitatingly smashed itself heavily onto the ground, striking so fiercely that it shattered itself into pieces. But this was near a cliff! The reckless impact caused the entire mountain to shake violently, accompanied by dreadful cracking sounds.
Ron suddenly felt the ground disappear beneath his feet and began to fall off the cliff.
Not only Ron but Ruby, Rosa, and even the Team Rocket members were also falling. Ron gritted his teeth and shouted, "You crazy bastards! Dragonite, Celebi, save Ruby and Rosa! Gyarados, come catch me!"
Ron kicked powerfully in midair, causing a small burst of sound as his body momentarily stalled in the air. Another kick made him rise slightly again, but two kicks were already his limit. Gyarados reacted swiftly, flying quickly to catch Ron, who immediately recalled his other Pokémon into their Pokéballs.
Ron, Ruby, and Rosa safely landed. Turning back to look at the striking red stains beneath the collapsed cliff, the three fell silent. This was Ron's first encounter with the true darkness of this world and his first time facing so many disfigured corpses. He felt sick, his chest tightened, and finally, he bent over and vomited.
Ruby and Rosa couldn't hold back either and vomited as well.
This bloody lesson vividly taught Ron and his companions a harsh truth: mercy toward enemies is cruelty toward oneself.