"I... whew, I... finally drove them back. But even if they were wild Pokémon, there were way too many of them..."
Gold wiped the sweat from his chin and looked fearfully toward the depths of the cave. Behind him, Aipom was exhausted to the point of nearly collapsing.
Silver stood beside Gold, his breathing somewhat steadier. He had still learned quite a lot under the Masked Man, and having lived alone for so long, his endurance was better than Gold's.
Sneasel was the same, slowly regulating his breathing and quickly recovering what little stamina he had left.
Just as Silver was about to do something, a voice suddenly came from behind them.
"Hey."
The voice's owner sounded full of vigor.
Gold and Silver spun around, only to see a burly blond man with an explosive afro, dressed in camouflage, standing in midair within a triangular glass barrier formed by four Magneton.
"What is it this time—" Before Gold could finish, he was startled by Lt. Surge floating in the air. "Why is this old guy flying?"
"Hmph! Brats! These things are yours, right?" Lt. Surge snorted and threw everything in his arms before them. "And there's also a Poké Ball containing a red Gyarados!"
Shoes, a hat, a backpack, a skateboard, and a Poké Ball—several items lay scattered across the ground.
"Ah! It's my stuff!" Gold looked at the clutter on the ground in delight and instinctively reached down to pick it up.
"Hold it!"
Lt. Surge shouted, his eyes indifferent. "Kid, shouldn't you say thank you first?"
Gold froze for a moment, then scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. He bowed repeatedly and said with an awkward grin, "Uh... thank you for finding these for me and even bringing them all the way here. I'll never forget