"Why is there an Aron here? And how did it get stuck on Onix's tail?"
Aron is already a rare Pokémon, and now it had appeared in front of Ryan in such a peculiar way.
Ryan had many doubts, but there was no time to think. The priority now was to get Aron off Onix's body.
"Bounsweet, try releasing some Sweet Scent."
Ryan attempted to use Bounsweet's fragrance to calm Onix down.
However, intense pain isn't something that can be soothed with just a bit of fragrance. Despite Bounsweet releasing all its aroma, Onix remained agitated.
"You did your best; take a rest now."
Looking at the wilting Bounsweet in his arms, Ryan knew it had really given its all.
"Boun...swee..."
Even its cry sounded weak; Bounsweet was completely exhausted.
"There's no way to calm Onix down. Is there a way to restrict its movement? Huh? I might actually have something for that."
Ryan suddenly remembered the item he had won in a lottery yesterday—a Sticky Orb.
This thing was used to restrict the movement of Pokémon.
Thinking of this, Ryan quickly retrieved a Sticky Orb, thankful that he hadn't claimed all his rewards at once.
According to the panel's rules, rewards from quests and lotteries could be stored indefinitely in the panel and claimed anytime. Once claimed, however, they couldn't be stored back, so Ryan would only take out rewards when he needed them, treating the panel as a storage space.
Holding the Sticky Orb, Ryan wasn't certain if it would actually restrain Onix, but he had no other options left.
He threw the Sticky Orb towards Onix with all his might.
The orb flew through the air in a graceful arc before hitting Onix squarely.
Seeing that he hit the target, Ryan excitedly pumped his fist. Guess all those childhood games of tossing beanbags paid off.
The Sticky Orb exploded upon impact, covering Onix with sticky white substances, and its movements visibly slowed.
Taking this opportunity, Ryan approached its tail and found the Aron stuck in the gap.
Grasping Aron's body with both hands, he used all his strength to pull it out, but to no avail. The Aron remained firmly stuck.
It made sense; if Onix's frantic thrashing couldn't free it, Ryan's small frame certainly couldn't.
Scyther and Bounsweet also wanted to help, but with their lack of proper hands, all they could do was watch anxiously.
Just as Onix was about to break free from its restraints, an idea suddenly struck Ryan.
"How could I be so stupid? Have I been infected by that player?"
Ryan immediately pulled out a Poké Ball and threw it at Aron's rear.
With a flash of red light, Aron was drawn into the Poké Ball, which dropped to the ground and barely shook before emitting a "ding~" sound.
"Huh? Did I just catch it?"
This was a bit unexpected for Ryan. His initial idea was to put Aron in the Poké Ball so that it would fall to the ground and Aron would break free on its own, sparing him the effort.
Ryan was prepared to lose a Poké Ball in the process, but surprisingly, the capture was successful.
It seemed that being stuck for so long had drained Aron's energy, making it easy to catch.
Onix, now free of the pain in its tail, seemed to realize that the human before it had helped.
It lowered its head and growled softly at Ryan, as if to express its gratitude.
"A verbal thank you, huh? No real reward?" Ryan joked with a smile.
But Onix seemed to take it seriously, signaling for Ryan to wait while it slithered away.
Not long after, it returned, dropping a few stones from its mouth.
"Is this... gold nuggets? A Moon Stone and a Dusk Stone? There's even a Grass Gem?"
Ryan was astonished to see the collection of stones laid out on the ground; he hadn't expected Onix to have such valuable items.
Seeing that Ryan didn't react right away, Onix pushed the stones forward with its head.
These stones had been collected by Onix while digging tunnels. It didn't know their value, but they looked pretty, so it kept them.
Now, it wanted to give them all to the human who helped it, unsure if he would like them.
Ryan certainly appreciated the "stones," but his conscience weighed on him. While Onix didn't understand their worth, he did.
"I was just joking earlier. I didn't help you for any reward. You should take these stones back." Ryan sincerely refused.
However, Onix didn't listen and instead blocked his path with its body.
Its meaning was clear: if he didn't take them, he wasn't leaving the mountain.
Facing such a situation, Ryan didn't know what else to do; Onix was too stubborn.
He had no choice but to compromise.
"How about this: we both make a concession. I'll accept your gratitude, but there's really too much here, so I'll just choose one item."
"If you agree, nod. If not, then I'll just keep you company here."
Seeing Ryan's resolute expression, Onix reluctantly agreed.
"That's more like it. Now, let's see what to pick."
Before he could choose, Bounsweet darted over, rubbing its face against the Grass Gem, eyes filled with desire.
"Boun...swee!"
"You little rascal, choosing something that benefits you, huh?"
Seeing Bounsweet's eager expression, Ryan shook his head helplessly. What else could he do? It was too cute to refuse.
"I'll take this one." Ryan picked up the Grass Gem.
After Ryan made his choice, Onix knew he wouldn't accept anything else. It gathered the remaining stones and, after another bow of thanks, burrowed away.
"Good deeds really do get rewarded," Ryan mused.
"Next, it's time to deal with you, little one."
He released Aron from the Poké Ball, finding that the little Pokémon had already fallen asleep.
"You sure have a big heart, don't you? Then again, if you didn't, would you have crashed headfirst into Onix?"
Aron groggily opened its eyes and, seeing Ryan crouched in front of it, turned to run away.
"Why are you running? I'm the one who saved you, you know."
Hearing the familiar voice, Aron stopped.
Although it hadn't seen anything while its head was stuck, it could still recognize the voice. It seemed that this human had indeed rescued it.
Aron cautiously walked back.
"After being stuck for so long, you must be hungry."
Aron was about to shake its head, but its stomach growled loudly.
"Grumble... grumble..."
It hesitantly nodded.
"No need to be embarrassed. I don't have any iron ore, but how about some Pokémon food for now?"
The reward Pokémon food was a basic type that all kinds of Pokémon could eat.
Though it might not taste as good as what they normally enjoyed, it was still decent overall.
At least, Aron seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit. When it finished, Ryan asked why it had gotten stuck on Onix's tail.
After a bit of gesturing from Aron, Ryan was able to piece together what had happened.