Chapter 7

Rescue Reversal

Silver saw Jasmine once more, this time looking frightened as she stood near Mewtwo. Sabrina was nowhere in sight. He only saw the image for a few seconds before waking up.

"Here again?" a familiar voice asked.

"Chansey?" Silver asked. "How did I get here this time?"

"A couple of rescue team members brought you here," Chansey said.

"Let me guess: that hypocritical Team Hydro?" Silver said.

"No," Chansey said. "These two."

She pointed to Cyndaquil and Chikorita, who were standing nearby.

"What?!" Silver said. "I turned on both of them."

"Team Hydro was mean to you," Chikorita said. "I never wanted them to attack you."

"We saw you were hurt, and we know we couldn't just leave behind a friend in need," Cyndaquil said.

"Uh… thanks," Silver said, stunned. "I didn't really deserve any help, though."

"That doesn't matter to us," Chikorita said.

Silver got up from the bed he was lying on. "I've almost lost hope," he said. "From what Xatu said, it may be near-impossible to go back to being a human again."

"Being a Pokémon isn't so bad," Cyndaquil said.

Silver looked down at himself, seeing some cuts and bruises still on his body.

"I wouldn't say that," he said.

"Come on, let's get you back home," Chikorita said.

Silver followed the other two Pokémon back to his hut. They all walked inside.

"I don't think you two understand," Silver said. "I have a life outside this world… everyone I've ever known and everything I've ever done… it's somewhere I can't be."

Just then, an Abra appeared inside the hut in front of Silver.

"Silver," Abra said.

"Wait a minute, how do you know my name?" Silver asked.

"Jasmine is waiting for you," Abra said. "Grab my hand and let's go."

Silver rushed over to Abra and grabbed its hand.

"Wait, Silver!" Cyndaquil cried. "Don't leave us!"

"I love you, Silver!" Chikorita said.

Abra and Silver then disappeared from Cyndaquil and Chikorita's sight.

"He's gone…" Cyndaquil said.

Chikorita started to sniff, before bursting into tears. "Silver..." she cried. "Why did you have to leave me?"

"I don't think I can be part of a rescue team without a friend like him, even if he did have a bad temper," Cyndaquil said.

"Me neither," Chikorita said. Both Pokémon took off their bandanas, lying them on the pile of hay on which Silver slept. They then left the hut, feeling very sad.

Meanwhile, Silver suddenly appeared in the Olivine City gym, holding Sabrina's hand. Silver's Sneasel and Sabrina's Abra stood in front of them, also holding hands.

"You're back!" Jasmine said.

"Oh, Jasmine, I thought I'd never see you again," Silver said, rushing over to kiss Jasmine.

"It wasn't as hard as I expected to get him back," Sabrina said.

"Thank you so much, Sabrina," Jasmine said.

"Wait a minute… Sabrina… that's right! I was battling you, and Sneasel was battling Mewtwo, and then that's when I warped into that other world," Silver said.

"I must apologize to you personally, Silver," Sabrina said. "It was Mewtwo who warped you into that other world… apparently when it used its Psychic attack, it fused both you and Sneasel together, and you ended up in that world."

"Well, you also helped me get out of there, so I can't be too upset with you," Silver said. "How did you do that?"

"I had Mewtwo attack Abra the same way he attacked Sneasel," Sabrina said. "You were standing nearby Sneasel at the time of the attack, and he attacked both of you at once, so I stood by Abra in order that Mewtwo would attack both of us at once."

"What was this other world like?" Jasmine said.

"It was world of only Pokémon," Silver said. "They kept wanting me to rescue Pokémon in need, and I helped on several rescue missions."

"Wow, it sounds like you were heroic even there," Jasmine said.

"Not really," Silver said. "I was very cruel as a Pokémon, slashing innocent Pokémon that didn't deserve it. I don't understand why."

"That's because you acted on Pokémon instinct," Sabrina said. "Some of the things you did, said and thought were coming from Sneasel, not from you yourself."

"I see," Silver said. "I kept seeing you here in my dreams, though… how was that possible?"

"That was the human side of your mind, which could see things from the exact spot that you were in before this occurred," Sabrina said.

"How come you two are still here?" Silver asked. "I was in that world for several days."

"Several days?" Jasmine asked. "It's only been about ten minutes since you disappeared."

"Ten minutes?!" Silver said in shock.

"Time in that world is totally different from time in our world," Sabrina said. "A day could go by there in only a matter of minutes here."

"How do you know all this?" Silver asked.

"Mewtwo has visited that world before," Sabrina said. "He has told me a lot about that world telepathically."

"Well, I can say this from experience… I never want to be a Pokémon again, ever," Silver said.

"It seems like you made some pretty good friends there," Sabrina said. "You had a Chikorita in love with you."

"I couldn't stand that thing," Silver said. "I accidentally rescued it and a Cyndaquil, and they both became big fans of mine. The Chikorita apparently had a crush on me… trust me, I didn't like it."

"I'm just so glad to have you back," Jasmine said. "I had no idea where you could have gone."

"Believe me, I'm happy to be here, and not in that other world anymore," Silver said.

"We'll have to battle again sometime," Sabrina said, having all her Pokémon return to their Poké Balls. "I still want a rematch from my loss to you at the Pokémon League tournament."

"That's fine," Silver said. "But I've got to say I'm pretty tired of battling at the moment."

Sabrina then teleported away.

"Sneasel!" Silver said. "It's good to see you too!"

"Sneasel!" Sneasel said, as Silver hugged him.

"What a relief," Silver said. "You don't speak my language."

Silver then had Sneasel return to its Poké Ball.

"Come on, I'll walk with you back to your house," Jasmine said.

Jasmine took Silver's hand, and the two walked to his house. Silver looked at Jasmine and smiled, happy to be back in the human world again.