When he fell, Micheal's life began flashing before his eyes. Every regret he ever had piled up as he expected not to survive. Then, his ambitions and desires drove him to think a mile a minute. He would not go down before accomplishing all that he wanted. He would not die here. He refused to.

    Micheal held the torch in his right hand, illuminating the dark abyss he had previously avoided. In his left, he latched onto a falling platform. While it wasn't much, this was all he could do. However, as his hand began slipping, Micheal quickly realized he had to make a choice.

    If he were to lose his grip, he would begin freefalling, and his chances of survival would plummet. The platform's added weight and surface area were the only things keeping him alive. On the other hand, letting go of the torch would let him hold the platform with both hands and give him a better chance of survival, even if it meant he would be in pure darkness again.

    As the trainer began weighing his options, Micheal heard splashing sounds from somewhere beneath him. Understanding the torch would extinguish the moment he landed in the water, he opted to let go of the stick and tighten his grip instead.

    Quickly approaching the water beneath, Micheal closed his eyes and braced for the coming impact. He held his breath, knowing there was nothing else he could do to improve his chances of survival. When the platform hit the water, Micheal's body stung. He wasted no time releasing his grip and swimming to the surface.

    When he finally escaped the ice-cold water, Micheal coughed vigorously. The trainer felt his heartbeat in his head as his chest became tighter and tighter. Trembling from the cold, Micheal painfully took his backpack off and zipped it open. Shocked everything inside was entirely dry, Micheal rushed to put on two jackets. Huddling in a ball, he only hoped he would warm up soon.

    Micheal focused on his breathing. As he rubbed his hands together, hoping to warm up faster, Micheal counted while he breathed. Inhale for four seconds, and exhale for four. He repeated the count until he was calm and warm. As time continued to pass, the trainer listened to his surroundings. A faint, rhythmic banging sound caught his attention from somewhere in the darkness.

    Micheal thought about his past experiences with Pokémon. First was the group of Geodude he tried to help, only to break a leg. Then came the horde of Zubat he tried to escape, only to fall and luckily survive. He wasn't sure if he wanted to find the source of the sound. If one more Pokémon made him suffer, he would go straight home. Then again, he realized he couldn't escape the cave without first getting up.

    Sighing defeatedly, Micheal tried standing up, only to fall to his knees immediately. Though he'd warmed up slightly, his body was still in too much pain to keep himself up. Micheal crawled to the nearest wall, slowly standing. Grazing the rough-textured walls of andesite, Micheal limped over to the sound of collisions.

    Annoyed by the darkness, Micheal sent out his Growlithe once again. Without a stick to ignite, the trainer asked Growlithe to light up the room with Ember. When the puppy did so, a light trail followed the burst of fire. Micheal got a better view of the room and noticed he had to round a corner soon to reach the sound he was following.

    Once he turned the corner, Micheal saw a small circle of light aiming at a tall wall of rocks. At first, he couldn't tell what he saw. But as the trainer got closer, his face lit up. "It's a Beldum!" he exclaimed. Beldum didn't react to the trainer's presence. Instead, it continued bashing its head against the same rock repeatedly. A small, unchanging dent made the trainer wonder how long it had been repeating the same action.

    "Beldum only knows Take Down naturally, right?" Micheal asked aloud, knowing he wouldn't get a response. "Take Down makes it weaker with every hit. If only I were a move tutor, I could try and teach it Zen Headbutt. But I'm not." Micheal turned to the rocks, thinking he could help by digging them out of this deep cave.

    While his energy hadn't yet fully recovered, the trainer had to give it his all. Micheal grabbed as many stones as he could at a time, dropping them to the floor. And yet, for every rock he pulled out, two more seemingly appeared behind it. "This is gonna take forever," he whined. "Beldum, you might have to learn a move."

    When the Iron Ball Pokémon didn't respond, Micheal shook his head disapprovingly and went straight back to digging out. The trainer's hands began getting scratches and bruises as some rocks hit them. Yet, the young man didn't give up; this was his only means of escape. A few minutes later, Beldum fell to the floor, exhausted. Micheal quickly reacted and reached for the steel type. He noticed a bruise on the Pokémon's head.

    "Let me help with that," Micheal said calmly. He reached into his bag and pulled out a potion. After spraying it on the Pokémon, it slowly looked up at the trainer, letting out a faint, mechanical cry. "You're gonna keep hurting yourself if you keep slamming into those rocks the way you were. If we want to escape, you'll have to learn a new move," the trainer insisted. Beldum let out a cry again. "I'm not a move tutor, so please be patient with me. Do you trust me?" Micheal held out his hand, hoping the Beldum would accept it.

    Beldum stared at the trainer's hand, noticing how he, too, was hurt. They were in this together, and Beldum was starting to understand that. It levitated just over Micheal's hand, allowing the trainer to rub what would be its stomach. "Let's do it!" Micheal cheered. Beldum faced the wall again, not knowing what to do differently.

    The trainer rubbed his chin. "Alright, how do we get Beldum to do anything other than Take Down? It's made of a bunch of magnets and can manipulate them to its advantage. Right? It's how they communicate with one another," he recited some of the knowledge he had once learned about the Pokémon. "Beldum, can you manipulate the magnets in your body?"

    Beldum thought for a moment before doing what the trainer asked. When it shifted its energy, Micheal could feel a weak, magnetic pulse emanating from its body. "Great! But how are you doing that?" He hadn't seen any physical changes in the steel type but figured it knew what it was doing anyway. "Can you do that but faster?"

    Beldum followed the trainer's request, shifting its magnetic energy back and forth quickly a few times. The trainer felt slightly dizzy by the more powerful shifts but understood this was what he needed. "By moving your energy to the front of your body before striking, I think you'll be able to use a new move. If you strike the rocks with it, I doubt you'll take any damage from it," Micheal guessed. "I've never seen a Beldum in real life, nor have I ever taught a Pokémon a move, but I'm confident you can do this."

    Beldum seemingly nodded before facing the wall of rocks again. It pulled its body far from the wall, charging all its energy into its claws. As it braced itself for one more strike, Beldum shook with anticipation. Firing at the it with incredible speed, Beldum shot its energy forward as the top of its head turned bright silver. "That's not Zen Headbutt," Micheal gasped, "that's Iron Head!"

    As Beldum flew through the stone wall, the rocks came tumbling down. No longer was the thick wall standing between him and the rest of the cave. Micheal cheered as he felt more free. However, his excitement was short-lived as pain shot through his body; he hadn't recovered as much as he had hoped.

    Beldum darted back to the trainer, flying circles around him excitedly. "You did it! That was amazing, Beldum!" Beldum gleefully cried as they became free. Distant cries became louder as well when two more Beldum floated in. The trio of steel types flew around one another energetically, likely reunited after a long time. For a split second, Micheal thought to capture one of them. But the joy the group experienced together made him feel guilty; he didn't want to pull any of them away from their friends.

    The Beldum communicated with one another with magnetic pulses, making the trainer feel dizzy again. He asked, "Hey, Beldum. Could you help me escape the cave, please? I'm not feeling great, and I'm lost down here." The trio looked at one another before looking back at the trainer. Two got under his arms, while the third began leading the away.

    "Thanks, guys." Micheal slowly began walking as the Beldum helped take the weight off his legs. He only prayed the trip wouldn't take long.