"Bellsprout! Bellsprout!"
Hearing Icarus speak, Weepinbell immediately extended several vines with a swish, swish, swish and began rummaging through the backpack.
"Pidgeotto! Pidgeotto!"
At that moment, Pidgeotto was also released by Squirtle. The instant it emerged, it looked at the badly injured Icarus with concern.
"Woof! Woof!"
Houndoom, a little slower to appear, also quietly checked on Icarus's condition.
Seeing that all of his Pokémon were safe, Icarus finally felt relieved. Meeting their worried gazes, he forced a smile and began assigning tasks.
"Squirtle, wash all the blood and dirt off my body first.
"Houndoom, find anything that can burn and start a fire.
"Pidgeotto, keep watch from above. If anyone approaches, let me know quietly. If it's a wild Pokémon and you can handle it, take it down. If it's around your level, just drive it away.
"Weepinbell, after Squirtle and Houndoom finish, spray my entire body with a Full Restore, help me drink a bottle, and then treat my wounds with Super Potions."
"Squirtle!"
"Woof!"
"Pidgeotto!"
"Weepinbell!"
After listening to his instructions, the Pokémon nodded and immediately got to work.
Squirtle went first.
"Whoosh~"
A thin stream of water flowed from its mouth. Using careful control, it slowly washed Icarus's body.
"Hiss…"
At first, the cool water felt refreshing. But when it touched the infected and festering wounds, he couldn't help gasping in pain.
"Squirtle?"
Seeing the expression on Icarus's face, Squirtle stopped and asked whether it should reduce the water pressure.
"No, Squirtle. Keep going."
Shaking his head, Icarus signaled for it to continue.
Time was precious.
He didn't know how long he had been unconscious, nor whether he was in the main region of Mt. Moon or a side branch. If this was the main mountain range, the situation would be extremely dangerous.
Hearing his response, Squirtle resumed its work.
Meanwhile, Houndoom returned carrying some torn cloth, scraps of wood, and loose Pokémon fur. After piling everything together, it spat out a small Ember.
"Whoosh~"
The pile quickly ignited.
By the light of the fire, Icarus finally got a clear look at his surroundings.
It really was an underground river.
However, a large section of the waterway had been blocked by scattered supplies and Pokémon corpses, creating something that resembled a rocky beach. Valuable materials littered the ground every few steps.
More importantly, he could clearly see that his Pokémon were unharmed.
Protected deep within the backpacks, they had escaped injury entirely.
That was excellent news.
At the very least, if an enemy appeared, he still had enough strength to defend himself.
Soon, Squirtle finished cleaning his body.
At Icarus's request, his shredded clothing had been removed entirely. There was no room for embarrassment—these were his own Pokémon.
"Bellsprout?"
Weepinbell lifted the medicine with a vine and asked if treatment could begin.
"Go ahead."
Icarus nodded and opened his mouth, signaling for the Full Restore first.
Receiving the order, Weepinbell immediately uncorked a bottle with a pop and brought it to his lips. At the same time, another vine began spraying medicine across his body.
Gulp… gulp…
As the Full Restore went down, a cool sensation spread through him. At the same time, a faint tingling came from his wounds.
He knew the medicine was working, disinfecting the injuries and reducing inflammation, so he endured it.
But when Weepinbell began applying the Super Potion, he couldn't help crying out.
"Argh!"
Super Potions healed quickly because they contained powerful restorative ingredients that accelerated tissue regeneration and wound closure.
The downside was the pain.
And Icarus didn't have just one wound.
Every injury across his body pulsed with itching, burning, and throbbing sensations all at once.
It was far beyond what an ordinary person could endure.
"Squirtle, tell me something. How did you get out?"
To distract himself from the agony, Icarus turned to Squirtle and asked.
Hearing the question, Squirtle scratched its head with one tiny hand, thought for a moment, and began explaining.
"Squirtle, Squirtle~"
The general story was simple.
At first, all it could see inside the Poké Ball was darkness.
Then the world suddenly spun.
It felt as though it was flying through the air before slamming into something hard.
It heard a cracking sound, and then it was outside.
After escaping, it tried contacting Icarus through their bond but received no response. So it followed the connection and eventually found him.
"Hiss…"
After listening, Icarus felt he understood what had happened.
"Bring me the backpack. I want to take a look."
"Squirtle!"
Squirtle immediately dragged the backpack over and dumped it out for inspection.
As expected, Icarus quickly found a small hole in the lower-right corner.
His guess had been correct.
Squirtle's Poké Ball had likely been blasted out through that opening.
Fortunately, Pokémon world's spatial storage technology was highly advanced.
Even with a hole, the internal space remained stable. Unless someone deliberately emptied the contents through the opening, items wouldn't simply spill out.
That explained why many things had been scattered during the explosion while important items such as the Pokédex, Team Rocket communicator, and identification tags remained safely inside.
As for Squirtle's destroyed Poké Ball, it wasn't a major problem.
Since they were already bonded, he could simply transfer Squirtle into a new Luxury Ball later.
In fact, losing that Poké Ball had probably saved his life.
If Squirtle hadn't escaped, he might have died here alone.
"Alright, Squirtle. Go help Houndoom boil some water."
After confirming everything, Icarus told Squirtle to put the backpack aside and assist Houndoom.
His throat had been dry for a long time.
Normally, his physical condition was good enough that he could drink untreated river water without worry.
But in his current state, taking unnecessary risks would be foolish.
"Squirtle!"
Squirtle nodded and walked over to Houndoom, explaining the task.
"Woof!"
Houndoom barked in agreement.
The two immediately began working together.
Squirtle created a ball of ordinary water in the air, deliberately avoiding any Water-type energy.
Houndoom then continuously heated it from below with small flames.
Bubble… bubble…
The water soon reached a boil.
Afterward, Squirtle cooled it to a comfortable temperature using its own Water-type energy.
A sphere of warm, boiled water quickly formed.
"Whoosh~"
The water floated over and was gently delivered to Icarus's mouth.
Gulp… gulp…
The warm water soothed his dry throat almost instantly.
For the first time since waking up, he finally felt a little better.