A Perilous Rescue

"What happened here?" A man climbed down from the excavator and surveyed the wreckage with a grave expression.

"When we set off the blasting caps today, someone probably failed to survey the site properly and buried them in the wrong place. That damaged the rock strata around this pit and caused a collapse." Uncle Ma gave a brief account of what had happened.

The man nodded, then began directing the rescue.

All the people and Pokémon at the mine stopped work and joined the rescue effort, clearing away an endless stream of rocks.

"Ugh... this one's so heavy..." Cheng Tian strained to lift a rock, only to find he couldn't budge it. With no other choice, he and Froakie struggled to push it instead.

Suddenly, Cheng Tian felt something pushing alongside him at his feet. "Aron!" He looked down and saw Aron pressing its hard metal forehead against the rock, pushing with him and Froakie.

"Thank you, Aron." With one human and two Pokémon working together, they soon moved the rock aside.

Cheng Tian's once-clean white shirt was now filthy beyond recognition. The strenuous work had left him drenched in sweat, his clothes soaked through.

Cheng Tian raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but the moment he did, he remembered his hands were dirty. Now his face was even dirtier...

"Froakie." Froakie pulled a clump of foam from around its neck and handed it to Cheng Tian. "Thanks." Cheng Tian wiped his face with the foam, cleaning it up considerably.

"Let's sit down and rest a little before we keep moving rocks." Cheng Tian sat right where he stood. He was already dirty enough; a little more wouldn't matter.

"Froakie." "Aron." The two Pokémon sat down beside Cheng Tian.

The worry never left Aron's eyes. Were the Machamp injured? What if they ran out of oxygen down in the mine?

What if...

As Aron's thoughts ran wild, a warm hand suddenly stroked its head. It looked up to see the filthy Cheng Tian smiling. "Don't worry yourself sick. They'll be all right."

"Aron..." Aron felt a little reassured.

Watching the people working nonstop, Aron felt a jumble of emotions. Its father could have cleared these rocks away with ease.

If I were as strong as Father, I could clear all these rocks away easily too. If Father were still here...

Aron's feelings were in turmoil. If it were as strong as its father, or even stronger, could it rescue the Machamp? Could it protect its mother and father?

If I were stronger than Father...

"Aron..." Aron suddenly recalled that burly figure, fierce yet gentle.

Tears shimmered in Aron's large blue eyes. That figure...

Was its father...

"Froakie." Seeing Aron on the verge of tears, Froakie hurried to comfort it. "Don't cry, Aron." Cheng Tian panicked a little, unsure why Aron was crying, and quickly reached out to stroke its head. "Whatever happens, things will get better. I'm right here."

"Aron..." Sunlight shone on Cheng Tian. Feeling the warmth of his hand, Aron watched his slender figure slowly overlap with the powerful back in its memories, sharing a hint of the same presence.

"We've broken through! We've broken through!" Shouts rang out. Cheng Tian and Aron hurriedly looked over. An opening had been made in the blocked mine entrance.

"Come on, let's take a look too!"

Amid the crowd, Uncle Ma frowned. "Can't you make it any bigger?" The excavator operator shook his head. "This is as far as we can go under the circumstances. An opening this size keeps the rock strata around the entrance stable without causing another collapse. Any bigger, and there's no telling... To widen it further, we'd have to work slowly, support the rock strata, and secure everything before digging any more."

Uncle Ma found himself in a bind. With an opening so small, even getting respirators and oxygen cylinders through would be difficult, let alone mounting a large-scale rescue.

"But we can't get rescue supplies through like this," Uncle Ma said. "If we keep digging, we could trigger a second collapse. Then..." The excavator operator left the rest unsaid, but the outcome was obvious.

Just as everyone was at a loss, Cheng Tian suddenly spoke up. "I'll go in and find them!"

Everyone stared in surprise. Where had this kid come from?

"Absolutely not!" Cheng Tian's father immediately refused. "Tian, you can't go in. Nobody knows what it's like in there right now. It's too dangerous!"

"But the Machamp are in danger too, aren't they?" Cheng Tian argued. "We don't know what's happened to them. Are they hurt? How badly? How can we know unless someone goes to look?"

"That still doesn't mean you should go!" "I'm thin. I can fit through. Don't worry, Dad. I'll come back out if things look bad."

Cheng Tian's father was about to argue further when the excavator operator spoke up. "This young fellow's slim enough to get in. The rock strata are still fairly stable. There is some danger, but not much."

"Dad, I'll be careful. Please let me go down!" Cheng Tian said earnestly. "The Machamp are in danger!" His father frowned. He didn't want anything to happen to the Machamp, but he didn't want anything to happen to his son either.

Uncle Ma patted Cheng Tian's father on the shoulder. Only then did he reluctantly agree. "Then... then you have to be careful."

"I will." Cheng Tian nodded.

Seeing this, a rescuer came forward and fitted Cheng Tian with a hard hat with a built-in flashlight, a gas mask, and an oxygen cylinder.

The oxygen cylinder was sizable, so Cheng Tian had to carry it on his back. As the rescuer adjusted the equipment, he instructed him, "This cylinder gives you fifteen minutes of breathing time. Use it if you have trouble breathing. Once the oxygen gauge drops past halfway, you must turn back."

Once everything was adjusted, the rescuer gave him around ten small spray bottles. "These are fast-acting healing sprays. If anyone down there is hurt, you can use them to keep the injuries under control for now."

Cheng Tian committed every instruction to memory, then walked up to the opening. "I'm going in."

"Be careful!" his father called anxiously. Cheng Tian nodded, then turned and entered the opening, with Froakie and Aron close behind.

Inside the pitch-black mine tunnel, Cheng Tian switched on his headlamp. A beam instantly lit the ground before him. He reached up and adjusted its angle to illuminate a short stretch of the path ahead. "Froakie, Aron, stay close to me. Don't get lost, and keep an eye out for any sign of the Machamp."

The two little Pokémon nodded solemnly. Cheng Tian started walking deeper into the mine.

The collapsed tunnel was littered with uneven rocks and earth. What had once been over four meters of headroom was now less than three. Walking was difficult too; with every step, Cheng Tian could feel the stones digging into his feet.

"Aron, can you sense the Machamp?" Cheng Tian asked. "Aron." Aron shook its head. It hadn't sensed anything yet.

Cheng Tian could only keep heading deeper. After walking an unknown distance, he was sweating all over.

There was no airflow in the collapsed tunnel. Sweat poured down his back, and his already filthy clothes clung to his skin, making him uncomfortable enough to want to strip them off.

Aron led the way, while Froakie walked beside Cheng Tian.

In the boundless darkness of the mine, they could hear nothing but their own footsteps. Darkness surrounded them on every side, making the atmosphere deeply oppressive.

Cheng Tian took out his phone and checked it. There was no signal, and it was already 4:50 p.m. He had been inside for almost an hour.

Suddenly, little bits of stone fell above Aron's head. "Aron?" Aron looked puzzled.

"Look out!" Cheng Tian immediately lunged and threw himself over Aron. Crash! A massive wooden support beam fell with a thunderous impact. One end struck Cheng Tian too.

"Froakie!" "Aron!" Froakie and Aron cried out in alarm.

Seeing the support beam about to fall, Cheng Tian had thrown himself over Aron without a second thought. His head and right shoulder felt as though they had been struck by a giant hammer. He let out a muffled groan, his eyes shut, and he lost consciousness.

Froakie and Aron anxiously shook him for a long time before Cheng Tian slowly came around.

The first thing he felt upon waking was a swollen, dizzy sensation in his head. Luckily, his hard hat had protected him from the worst of the impact, but he still felt as though a Snorlax had used Body Slam and sat on his head. Stars danced before his eyes.

As his mind slowly cleared, a sharp pain shot through his right shoulder. "Hiss... hah..." Cheng Tian sucked in a breath. It felt as though his shoulder were shattering, and the pain left his forehead drenched in sweat.

He reached over to touch it, and his hand came away red. He was definitely bleeding. There must have been a rivet or a splinter on the wooden beam that had torn through his clothes as it fell. His thin clothing offered little protection, and it had sliced straight into his skin, drawing blood.

"Froakie!" "Aron!" Hearing their cries, Cheng Tian gritted through the pain. "I'm all right. Froakie, sorry for the trouble, but could you tear my shirt off?"

Sweat and blood had stuck his white shirt to his skin. He couldn't possibly take it off himself now.

Froakie nodded and used Cut, forming a sharp spike of water in its hand and slowly slicing open Cheng Tian's shirt.

"Aron, sorry for the trouble, but could you get me a Potion?" Aron hurriedly pushed a bottle of Potion over from the backpack.

Froakie had successfully torn away the shirt. Cheng Tian struggled to pick up the Potion. Even the slightest movement sent pain through his right shoulder. With great difficulty, he lifted the bottle and sprayed his shoulder.

"Ah..." The first-aid Potion was potent. Spraying it onto the bleeding wound caused a fiery burning sensation. Cheng Tian couldn't help crying out softly, his lips even turning pale from the intense pain.

"Aron..." Aron watched Cheng Tian treating his wound, filled with guilt. Its carelessness had gotten Cheng Tian hurt too.

Why am I so weak? Why couldn't I even dodge a falling beam?

After treating his shoulder, Cheng Tian asked Froakie to cut a relatively clean piece from the torn shirt and wrap it over the wound.

Once everything was done, Cheng Tian looked at the guilt-stricken Aron and smiled gently. "I'm fine, Aron. Didn't I tell you? I'll protect you."

"Aron." Aron was deeply touched. It had only met Cheng Tian that day, yet he had risked his own safety to protect it.

After growing accustomed to the pain, Cheng Tian set off again. This time, his injury made their progress noticeably slower.

The human and his two Pokémon endured the unease brought on by the surrounding darkness as they kept walking through the pitch-black tunnel.

Cheng Tian's headlamp was no longer as bright as it had been at first. Anxiety rose in him. If this went on, he would have no choice but to turn back.

Suddenly, Aron seemed to sense something and stopped at once. As a Rock-type Pokémon, it had detected movement up ahead and immediately alerted Cheng Tian.

"Hm? Did you find something?" Cheng Tian hurriedly asked when Aron stopped. "Aron!" Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Cheng Tian quickly moved forward.

The Machamp had been trapped underground for a long time. The sudden collapse had given them no time to react. Three Machamp had been injured, and one had even suffered a broken bone.

Trapped underground, they waited for rescue. The injured Machamp were getting worse, but help still hadn't arrived.

Just as they were about to lose hope, a beam of light appeared in the darkness.

"Is anyone there?" Cheng Tian's voice rang out. "Machamp!" The Machamp all called back. Cheng Tian's face lit up at their response, and he quickly ran toward them.

As the voices grew closer, Cheng Tian finally found the Machamp. Overjoyed, he called, "Are you all right?"

The Machamp were equally delighted to see someone finally arrive. Cheng Tian walked into their midst and saw three injured Machamp lying on the ground. He quickly took out the Potions to treat them.

"This might hurt a little. Bear with it." With that, Cheng Tian began tending their injuries.

Once he had treated them all, Cheng Tian let out a relieved breath. "Everyone outside is worried about you. Let's get ready to go." The Machamp all nodded.

And so, Cheng Tian led the Machamp back the way he had come.

Time ticked by. Just as Cheng Tian's headlamp was about to run out of power, he finally saw light at the entrance.

We're here!

Cheng Tian was about to quicken his pace when he felt a tremor. Loose stones began raining down.

"Oh no! The tunnel's giving way!" Watching the falling stones, that was Cheng Tian's final thought.

The rescuers outside had been waiting for a long time. The rescue operation had begun sometime after three that afternoon, and it was now seven in the evening. Cheng Tian had been inside for over three hours without coming out.

Cheng Tian's father was as frantic as an ant on a hot pan. Several times, he had tried to take some equipment and go down himself, only for Uncle Ma to stop him.

Rumble! A tremendous roar rang out, and the survey technicians' expressions changed. "Oh no! The tunnel can't hold! It's collapsing!"

"My son!" Cheng Tian's father shouted and tried to rush forward. Uncle Ma held him fast. "Calm down, Old Cheng! Going over there now would be throwing your life away!"

"My son's still in there!" Watching the tunnel collapse, Cheng Tian's father began to tremble, even his lips shaking.

Everyone exchanged helpless looks. Nobody knew what to say.

Just then, thick, powerful arms suddenly broke through the mass of rocks, revealing what lay within.

The Machamp had raised Protect barriers, shielding themselves from the collapse. In their midst, the bare-chested Cheng Tian, Froakie, and Aron were sheltered safely inside.

Cheng Tian looked utterly battered and bedraggled. Finally emerging into daylight again, he looked at everyone and said with a smile,

"Mission accomplished."

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