Rion sat in stunned silence, the letter trembling in his hands. The words written by Ryker, the man he had come to see as his only family in this world, echoed in his mind. The loss was unbearable. Ryker had been his anchor, the one person he could trust after losing everything in his previous life. Now, that anchor was gone, leaving Rion adrift in a sea of uncertainty and pain.

The silence of the cave pressed in on him, the dim light casting long shadows that seemed to close in from every direction. Rion’s breath hitched as the weight of reality crashed down on him. He was alone. Completely and utterly alone.

A choked sob escaped his throat, and the dam holding back his emotions broke. Tears streamed down his face as he clutched the letter to his chest, his body shaking with the force of his grief.

"I’m sorry, Uncle… I’m so sorry," he whispered through his sobs. "I can’t… I can’t live up to your expectations. I don’t want to fight for change, I don’t want to build a better world—I want revenge. I want them to suffer for what they’ve done. They took you from me… just like they took everything else."

His cries echoed through the cave, the sound absorbed by the stone walls as if the earth itself was mourning with him. His anguish was raw, his heart shattered by the cruel twists of fate. All the hopes and dreams he had shared with Ryker seemed meaningless now, overshadowed by a burning need for vengeance.

Wiping his tear-streaked face with the back of his hand, Rion forced himself to focus. He couldn’t afford to be weak—not now. He had to know what had happened, to understand why Ryker was taken from him. His grief would have to be channeled into something more productive, something that would give him a sense of purpose.

Rion approached the meditating Medicham, who remained vigilant in the cave. With a trembling voice, he asked them for help. "Please… I need to know what happened. I need to find out who did this."

The Medicham tribe, sensing his desperation and determination, agreed. They would gather information from the people of Dewford who ventured into the safe areas of Granite Cave. The young Meditite would read the minds of those they encountered, searching for any mention of Ryker and the events that led to his death.

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Days passed in agonizing silence. Rion waited, each moment stretching into eternity. Finally, the Meditite returned, their small faces solemn. Through their telepathic communication, they conveyed the grim truth they had uncovered.

The Bluewater family had been slaughtered—every last member, even the children—by the Clearwaters of Sootopolis. The reason? The Bluewaters had tried to blackmail the Clearwaters with the knowledge of how to evolve Feebas into Milotic, a closely guarded secret of the powerful water-type family. In their arrogance, the Bluewaters had underestimated the ruthlessness of their enemies.

But that wasn’t the end. The Clearwaters, upon discovering that the information had originated from Ryker, had moved swiftly to eliminate him as well, ensuring that no loose ends remained. Ryker’s Medicham confirmed the worst: they had been ambushed by powerful water-type trainers. Only in a desperate act of self-sacrifice had Ryker managed to send his Medicham away with the last order to protect Rion.

Rion’s grief began to transform, twisting into a cold, burning resolve. The world around him blurred, his mind consumed by a singular purpose. These corrupt families, these hoarders of power who destroyed lives without a second thought—they were the true rot in this world. And he would be the one to root them out.

Rion rose from where he had been sitting, his eyes hard and unyielding. He wasn’t the same person who had entered this cave. The boy who wanted to change the world was gone, replaced by someone who would tear it apart to get his revenge.

He made his way to the tent Ryker had left for him, unzipping it with steady hands. Inside, he found several unregistered Pokéballs and a new forged identification—Ryker had thought of everything. This would be his fresh start, his new identity.

If he was to take down the powerful families that ruled this world, he would need a team that was both lethal and silent. Ghost-type Pokémon, feared and elusive, would be his tools. He would become a shadow in the night, a whisper of terror that spread through the ranks of the corrupt.

Rion stared at the Pokéballs in his hands, the weight of his decision settling in his chest. He would become more feared than even the legendary Elite Agatha of Kanto. He would be the darkness that hunted the darkness—the avenger of the wronged, the scourge of the corrupt.

A cold grimace graced his face as he made his vow. “They’ll regret the day they crossed me… and I’ll make sure they remember my name.”

Rion's journey had taken a dark turn, but he no longer feared the path ahead. It was a path of shadows and vengeance, and he would walk it without hesitation