TEEN: - Complete "nothing i wouldn't do" [Spring 2026 Event - Delving for Dreams]

digitaldreams · May 9, 2026

"nothing i wouldn't do"
Ship: Liko/Dot
Word Count: 9,971
Written for the Delving for Dreams Spring 2026 Contest
Prompt: You're Worth Hell
Reviews: Allowed, but be gentle please!
Pokémon Horizons AU; canon divergent at episode 89.

During the Rising Volt Tacklers' escape from Rakua, Liko loses her balance and falls into a chasm. When she wakes, she finds she has been taken hostage by Spinel in his final gambit to destroy Terapagos once and for all. Dot, meanwhile, is convinced Liko is still alive, and she is willing to do anything to prove the girl she loves is out there somewhere... Even tear the Explorers apart herself.

---

Run.

Liko’s heart screamed in her chest, each footstep pounding at the ground and each breath threatening to shatter her ribcage. She had lost track of how much distance she had already covered, but she knew it wasn’t enough. She had to get out of Rakua. That was the only way they were going to live to see another day. Just keep running, Liko coached herself. Everything will be fine soon.

It had all happened so fast. In the blink of an eye, Spinel had taken charge of the Six Heroes with the sickening power of the Rakurium. All of them began to fight against the black Rayquaza as it urged for the Rising Volt Tacklers to retreat. Liko felt like she had been forced to leave a piece of her heart behind alongside the black Rayquaza. How could this be the way it ended? How could everything she had worked toward crash and burn before she could even move? Liko didn’t want to believe it was real, but she knew it had to be all the same. If this was a dream, then she would have woken from it ages ago. No prayers that her life was all a nightmare would save her now. Only running could rescue her in a moment where running felt like the biggest betrayal of all.

The earth began to shift beneath Liko’s feet, and she gasped sharply. She tried to adjust her balance with the sudden quake, but her body refused to cooperate… Or rather, it was entirely incapable of cooperating because so many forces were pushing against her. Liko’s heartbeat raced impossibly faster as a chunk of the ground carved itself away from the path ahead. Dot, Roy, and Friede were a short distance ahead of her. If she could only jump over the gap, then–

The ground moved once more, and Liko’s forward momentum quickly reversed as she stumbled back. She scrambled to reposition her legs beneath her torso, but all that did was push her farther away from the rest of her friends. Liko saw Dot whirl around to face her, panic overriding instinct long enough to check on her friend. “Liko!” Dot cried out, her hair parting just slightly to show the raw fear in her eyes tearing her soul apart.

Liko tried to correct herself enough to rush toward Dot, new determination surging through her veins alongside adrenaline… But she was too late. The earth continued to rip itself asunder, and before Liko could spring after Dot, the ground beneath her was completely gone. Liko’s eyes widened, and a scream forced its way free of her exhausted lungs. She could have sworn she heard someone call her name, but she did not get the chance to identify who it was before she was in free fall.

Something foreign pressed against her arm, and red, yellow, and green light filled her vision.

And then, everything went black.

---

Liko’s head had never hurt this much before.

As soon as her consciousness returned to her, she was assaulted with a rush of pain in the back of her head. Opening her eyes was a battle she wasn’t sure she wanted to win. Maybe she would be able to wait out the ache by staying there for a while longer… Not that she was sure of where she was. The last place she had remembered being was Rakua, and–

She had fallen.

Any plans to wait out her headache vanished immediately, and Liko threw herself into a seated position. She glanced around frantically only to find that she was nowhere near Rakua anymore. Rakua had been an expansive outdoor paradise filled to the brim with life the rest of the world could never imagine. The room Liko had found herself in now was sterile and white like no one had touched it in years. The plants and distant Pokémon calls of Rakua were gone, replaced instead with a ringing in Liko’s ears that she could only imagine had come from her migraine. The lights were too bright, the silence was too loud, and Liko’s panic was only growing stronger.

She stared at the perfectly polished tiles, her chest tightening to the point of smothering her air before she could breathe it in. The last thing she remembered was her time in Rakua. She had been fleeing from the Six Heroes after they were infected with the Rakurium. She had started to lag behind Roy, Dot, and Friede when the ground began to give out beneath her. She lost her balance and fell, but Liko couldn’t imagine tumbling off the edge of a cliff would bring her to a place like this. Something must have happened just before her memories cut out. If she had fallen from a height like that, then she should have died. And yet, there she was, very much alive, albeit incredibly confused about all that had happened in her mind’s absence.

Liko reached for her backpack instinctively only to find it was long gone. A glance around the room told her it was nowhere in her vicinity either. She didn’t even have her Pokéballs on her. Meowscarada, Hattrem, and Pagogo were gone as well, no doubt taken by whoever had brought her there. A room like this didn’t exist at the bottom of a chasm. Someone had done this on purpose, and Liko could only think of one group who could have been behind it.

“Ah, you’re awake. I was wondering how long you were going to sleep for.”

Liko’s body threatened to send her fear cascading into a panic attack at the sound of that sickeningly familiar voice, and she whirled to face the door. Spinel wore the same smile he always did as he stepped inside, his posture far too casual for that of a kidnapper. “Spinel,” Liko bit out through gritted teeth. She couldn’t afford to let her fear show when he was around. If there was one thing Liko had come to know about Spinel, it was that he exploited every weakness he found, and Liko refused to give him the pleasure now. “What did you do? Where are my friends?”

“They’re fine… Though frustratingly, most of them were able to escape Rakua before we could catch them,” Spinel sighed. “They don’t matter much though. I’m far more interested in what I can learn from you.”

“Most?” Liko echoed. She knew better than to trust Spinel to be an honest source of information for anything to do with her friends, but she saw little other choice in the moment. That selection of words must have had a purpose, and Liko needed to know what it meant as soon as possible. “What are you talking about?”

“Friede wound up tumbling off your airship when the rest of your friends were escaping. It couldn’t withstand the elevation of the mountain, and he suffered the consequences of it,” Spinel replied, and Liko felt a piece of her heart break away and shatter. “No one has been able to find him since then.”

Liko wanted to scream. She wanted to shout at Spinel that this was all his fault and that he was to blame for any horrible thing that could have happened to Friede when he vanished from view. In the end though, she couldn’t muster so much as a single word. Her eyes blurred with tears, and she stared at the floor in between her and Spinel’s shoes. Liko didn’t want to give him the chance to see her cry, but she didn’t have much control over it now. Friede… Friede was gone. The one who had started Liko on her adventure was dead, and she hadn’t even been able to say goodbye. For all she knew, he had thought she was gone when he passed too. So much had happened, and there had been nothing for her to do about it. What was the point in being a member of the Rising Volt Tacklers if she had failed so completely to help those she loved most?

If Spinel was at all aware of her rage, he chose to not acknowledge it, instead continuing the conversation with the same frustrating relaxation he always used in moments of terror. “The rest of your crew probably thinks you’re gone too, but I couldn’t let you actually die,” Spinel went on, taking a few easy steps across the length of the room. He did not outwardly declare that he was patrolling the door, but Liko knew he was anyway. If she tried to run, he would grab her, and she knew that was one battle she was fated to lose even if he did not have Umbreon or Beheeyem with him. “After all, there’s still something I need from you.”

Spinel held up a Pokéball, and Liko’s eyes widened. “Terapagos has retreated into its Pokéball and refuses to come out… But I’m afraid I can’t allow that to be true forever,” Spinel went on. “It is the greatest threat to my plans there is, and I am not one to leave a loose end untied. So I need your help to get Terapagos out… And end this battle of ours once and for all.”

Liko glared up at him, all of the hatred from learning about Friede’s death striking Spinel in her tearstained gaze. “Never.” If Terapagos left its Pokéball, then Spinel was going to destroy it. After losing one friend and being separated from countless others, Liko couldn’t afford to let that happen. She didn’t have much of a leg to stand on in this conversation, and she was fully aware of it, but she would still never dare to betray a friend who had done so much for her.

Spinel sighed in disappointment. “I had a feeling you were going to say that… And here I was going to offer you your freedom if you went along with it. Surely you want to go and see for certain if Friede is gone or not. Don’t you wish to at least find a body you can lay to rest?”

Liko bit down on her bottom lip, nearly breaking the skin in her resolve to not let Spinel see the depth of her reaction. She did want to learn the truth behind what had happened to Friede. Whether he was gone or not, Liko needed to understand it for herself through finding what was left after that battle. However, she could not let that connection with Friede come at the cost of Pagogo’s life. Nothing could convince her to sell out a friend whether they were human or Pokémon. If Spinel could not see that yet, then he certainly would soon.

Spinel waited for Liko to confirm his suspicions, but when she did not, he sighed once more and shook his head. “Fine then. If that is truly how you wish to do this, then so be it.” Spinel’s gaze hardened into daggers, but Liko refused to give him the dignity of stabbing her spirit clean through. “Terapagos emerged from the pendant when you were in danger. It has repeatedly moved to protect you when your life is at risk. Perhaps that will be the encouragement it needs to show its face again.” Spinel’s grip on the Pokéball tightened, his knuckles turning white beneath the force of his rage. “One way or another, I will get what I need. All you get to do is decide how it happens.”

Spinel pivoted on his heel and walked back toward the door. Liko rushed after him as soon as she was able to remind her body of its ability to move, but she arrived just a few seconds too late to follow him into the corridor. The lock slid into place right when Liko reached for the doorknob, and no matter how hard she rattled it, she could not convince it to jostle free. She was alone with nothing but her miserable fears to keep her company.

Liko staggered back toward her bed, the mattress creaking beneath her weight when she sat on its edge. She was in the Explorers’ base. That was the only explanation that made any sense. Her bag and her Pokémon had been taken from her. Spinel had everything she had ever gathered regarding Lucius and all she had brought with her on her final adventure to Rakua. She was trapped in a room alone behind a locked door without even a window to gauge what existed beyond the limits of the base.

And… And her friends probably thought she was gone. They had watched her tumble over the edge of the cliff, but they hadn’t been able to double back because they needed to run too. Friede had died after she was taken, and she would never be able to properly send his soul off either. Liko’s only future now was to be a hostage for a man who had ruined her life more times than she could ever hope to count. The Explorers had won, and Liko was at their mercy.

With Spinel gone, Liko had no reason to try and hold back her tears. An ugly sob wrenched her lips apart, and she pressed her face into her shaking palms. She needed to find a way to escape for Pagogo’s sake and her own, but how was she supposed to do it? How could she even come close when she knew nothing other than what Spinel had told her? The world felt like it may as well have ended in the paradise of Rakua and the nightmare that dreamy land had turned out to be. Now, Liko was left drowning in the apocalypse with only her lonely memories to ground her.

It was all over. She had lost, and she couldn’t see a way that was ever going to change.

---

She had to still be alive.

Dot hadn’t stopped pacing since the Brave Olivine landed again. She hadn’t stopped hyperventilating either, spots drifting in and out of her vision as her body begged for oxygen. Quaxwell and Tinkatuff were occasionally able to pull her out of it, but their aid was never permanent. Dot couldn’t bring herself to calm down even though every instinct in her body demanded she try. No reassurance was enough, and no grounding technique would be able to bring her back from this.

Liko had fallen off the edge of the cliff when Dot was trying to escape from Rakua with Roy and Friede. They had all wanted to turn around and search for her, but Spinel forced them to retreat when he arrived alongside Umbreon looking for another fight. Dot had screamed the entire way back to the ship, and she had cried even harder when Friede vanished beneath the clouds as nothing but a distant speck. It had only been one day, and Dot had lost two friends. If she counted the Six Heroes, the number jumped all the way up to eight. This should have been the mission to finally end the Explorers’ misdeeds forever. Why had it instead only made everything worse?

Dot had to go back. She knew there was no chance Friede could have survived falling from a height like that, but Liko… Surely there was a chance Liko was alright. Perhaps Dot was simply grasping at straws by believing it, trying to fill the sudden gaping hole in her heart with a bit of misplaced optimism. That was what the rest of the crew seemed to think, too lost in their despair to consider this story could have had a somewhat happy ending. Dot was certain Liko was still alive though. She had to be. If Liko had truly been gone, Dot’s soul would have emptied itself into the void instantly. Dot had learned to trust her instincts as a Pokémon Trainer, and right now, her instincts were screaming at her that Liko was alive. Dot didn’t know where or how, but she was sure of it nonetheless.

Dot paused her pacing just beside her window, looking out through the glass with a frown. Maybe she would be able to find a way up to the top of the peak again to search Rakua for any signs of Liko. Dot couldn’t just abandon her as long as she was there alone, but… But the Explorers had completely seized the mountain, and the Six Heroes were no doubt still under the influence of the Rakurium. Even if Dot was able to sneak onto the mountain, she doubted she would make it far. That didn’t even address the issue of making it through the clouds and into Rakua in the first place. No matter how Dot looked at it, returning to the paradise was impossible.

Still, she wasn’t going to give up. If there was even the slightest chance Liko was still out there, Dot had to try and pursue it. She couldn’t let this be the end, not when she knew Liko was alive. No one else knew how to believe her, but Dot knew the truth. She would prove it to anyone who was willing to hear it too. One way or another, Dot was going to find Liko, bring her back home, and… And while nothing could ever be the same again, Dot was hoping it would at least get a little bit better.

After all, Dot didn’t think her life was worth living without Liko, and she had never been able to say as much before they were torn apart.

---

Beheeyem was the one who had saved Liko’s life.

Initially, she had been confused by her survival from her fall. Her memories of her final moments of consciousness were fuzzy at best, and parsing the details had been nearly impossible. Whatever had happened for her to end up in the Explorers’ base was well beyond her reach, and Liko didn’t know if she was ever going to find the truth beneath it all.

That had been before she was escorted to the room Spinel was using for his experiments. That was his word for the nightmare he was going to put Liko through in an effort to lure out Pagogo. If endangering her had activated the pendant in the past, then surely putting her life at risk would spark Pagogo to emerge in the present too. The best way for Spinel to do that was to emulate the circumstances under which it had happened previously: Liko nearly sustaining a severe injury in the middle of a Pokémon battle.

Umbreon and Beheeyem were Spinel’s greatest allies in trying to rouse Pagogo, and both of them were relentless when commanded to attack in Liko’s direction. Spinel’s goal was not to kill her directly. He only wished to convince Pagogo that Liko’s life was at risk. The other details were hardly important. None of the attacks were aimed directly at Liko, but the threat was real regardless. Liko almost thought her heart was going to stop when Spinel commanded Umbreon to unleash a blow in her direction. She didn’t know if she had remembered to breathe consciously since before it all began. The last thing she wanted was to make this feel more real, so she allowed her mind to drift far from her body in abandonment of reality. Her limbs moved on autopilot to keep her alive, and that was all Liko could bring herself to acknowledge when the world was unraveling around her.

Through the haze, Liko found Beheeyem’s red, yellow, and green light familiar. Beheeyem had used that same skill to erase her memories when Spinel tried to take the pendant months ago. She had hoped she would never have to face Beheeyem again after that day, but Spinel had no reason to care for her ideal future. All he wanted was to eliminate Pagogo, and if that meant using Beheeyem to knock her unconscious, then so be it.

The revelation felt plain to Liko through the chaos surrounding her. Focusing on it felt easier than thinking about what had happened for her to end up in the base, so she allowed herself to loop through that memory to escape the cruelty in Spinel’s voice. She had lost track of how much time had passed since she was brought to this dark room, and Liko didn’t know if she wanted to hear the answer either. Whether it felt too long or too short, she would hardly feel satisfied. Nothing could have comforted her in a situation like this.

Liko didn’t remember when it all ended either. Spinel’s patience seemed to run thin with their stalemate though, and he demanded his two newest allies–a man and woman with dark hair streaked by blue and red–to drag Liko back to her room. Spinel couldn’t kill Liko as long as she was the only chance he had of getting through to Pagogo, so when his frustration grew to be too much for him to bear, he cast her away. They would return to this game of nauseating back and forth eventually, Liko was sure. Until then, she was glad to have just a bit of safety from it all.

Liko collapsed onto her mattress when Spinel’s minions dropped her off in her room. Everything about the space felt sterile and lifeless compared to the home she had cultivated on the Brave Olivine. Liko would have given anything to go back there again, but she wasn’t sure if her wish would ever be granted. How could she hope to escape when she had no Pokémon and was outnumbered by the Explorers at least twenty-five to one? Spinel hadn’t given up any other information about her location either, so she wouldn’t get far even if she did manage to run away. She refused to leave without her Pokémon either, and she had no idea where they were being kept. She was just… Trapped.

Liko wanted to summon her hope and use it as a shield from the torments of her situation. She wanted to shout at the top of her lungs that she would not let Spinel or anyone else break her spirit in full… But she simply couldn’t do it. Her hope had always come from her friends and the power they gave her by standing by her side. Now that Liko was alone, all she could do was ache for them horribly. She missed Pagogo’s adorable babbling and waddling when it craved her attention. She yearned to feel Hattrem’s warmth pressed against her chest when they embraced. She wanted Meowscarada. She hadn’t even been able to celebrate her partner evolving to the final stage before they were torn apart. Now, Liko wasn’t sure if they were ever going to get the chance to honor that massive accomplishment.

No… She couldn’t think that way. Escape may have felt impossible, but Liko knew Meowscarada and Hattrem were still in the Explorers’ base. She wasn’t sure of where they were specifically, but if she was given the chance, she knew she would track them down and give them all the love they had come to miss since their separation. Liko needed everyone she had ever loved to know just how much she cared. If there was one thing her isolation from the world had taught her, it was that she had not expressed her love enough while she had the freedom to do so. The instant she was given the chance to rectify that mistake, she would do it. Her friends deserved that much.

Liko’s mind drifted to the Rising Volt Tacklers next against her better judgement. She had been doing her best to not think too hard about them in the three days since she had been brought to the base. The grief over Friede’s death was simply too fresh, and that didn’t even begin to mention how much Liko yearned for everyone else she had come to know there. She missed Orla’s smell of oil and sweat when she emerged from the ship’s interior after a repair. She missed Mollie’s soothing aura and gentle smile. She missed Murdock’s delicious cooking and the grins he shared over his meals. She missed Landau and the wisdom he offered in her darkest moments. She missed Friede and his endless optimism. She missed Roy and his unwavering passion for helping people.

And… And she missed Dot.

Liko and Dot had grown incredibly close ever since their first encounter with Spinel. Liko didn’t know if there was anyone in the world she would call a closer friend than Dot. They were at their best when they were together, and Liko wanted to spend the rest of her days standing alongside Dot. Liko hadn’t realized just how few of her emotions she had expressed until after she lost the ability to say it to Dot. Now, every ounce of love she had ever held for Dot was suffocating her, smothering the air from her lungs in its desperation to escape. The words could not find Dot as long as Liko was trapped, but she would think through them regardless. Perhaps one day she would be able to say it all… Assuming she ever left the Explorers’ base alive.

Liko let out a slow breath through a fresh wave of tears. She had to find a way to escape. Whether it be to lay Friede to rest or to confess her feelings to Dot, Liko knew she needed to get out. She couldn’t let this be the end. She couldn’t let Spinel win. She didn’t know how she was going to keep herself held together long enough to be able to make something out of her horrid circumstances, but she wanted to try. Liko wanted to live again, and that wouldn’t be possible until she got out.

She could hang on. She didn’t know how she was going to do it, but Liko was determined to find a way. Somehow, she was going to see the rest of her friends again, and… And she would be okay again.

As okay as anyone could ever be after all of this.

---

The Rising Volt Tacklers disbanded.

Dot shouldn’t have been surprised. Losing two of their members in a single day had proven to be too much for the rest of them to bear. Dot had hoped their grief would only unite them and give them a reason to stay together, but it proved to be impossible. The entire world thought of the Rising Volt Tacklers as wicked villains who had destroyed a sacred place in their greed for power. It wasn’t safe for the group to remain intact in the adults’ minds. And so, they all went their separate ways, hoping to put the pain of the past behind them once and for all.

Dot had made the situation worse. She knew she had. She could have stayed quiet when the rest of the crew said Liko was gone, but instead, her stubbornness had exploded out in a scream. Dot knew Liko was still alive, and no one was listening to her when she said it. She could feel the rift forming between herself and the rest of the crew, but she could barely bring herself to care. If none of the others could believe in Liko’s resilience, then maybe they had less in common than she thought.

Dot knew it was her anguish and anger talking, and yet, she let that negativity take her all the way back home. She locked herself in her room and threw herself into a new project. Maybe it was spite that motivated her. Maybe it was love. Dot couldn’t say for certain. All she knew was that she was going to prove Liko was still alive. One way or another, she was going to find the truth, and she was going to show every person who had ever doubted her that she was right. If Liko was still out there, Dot was going to find her and bring her home alive. The Rising Volt Tacklers may have lost one friend, but Dot would not allow them to lose another.

Dot’s one and only theory behind Liko’s disappearance was that the Explorers were behind it. How could they not be? No one else had been at the top of Mt. Kumuri when it began to rupture. Liko had been a prime target for the Explorers–and especially for Spinel–for a very long time. Of course they would be motivated to go after her. Their base was somewhere out there, and Dot was confident that was where they were keeping Liko. She could think of no other explanation.

Dot wished she had contact with Amethio. He had betrayed the Explorers to help the Rising Volt Tacklers multiple times, and she was certain he would have been willing to help her now. Liko meant a lot to him too, albeit in a starkly different way. Unfortunately, Dot didn’t have any way of communicating with him. It would have been considerably easier to find the Explorers’ base if she had his information at her fingertips. As long as she did not though, Dot was just going to have to find the base on her own.

She didn’t care how long it took her or how much work she had to put in. One way or another, Dot was going to bring Liko back home. Her mother thought she was deluding herself in her grief, and Quaxwell and Tinkatuff both watched her with wide, worried eyes each time she sat down at her computer. Dot couldn’t stop though. She had to keep going. As long as Liko was still out there, Dot would fight to find her.

Liko had saved her from loneliness before. Now, it was Dot’s turn to save her in return.

---

Time meant nothing in the Explorers’ base.

Liko didn’t know if it was simply a matter of negligence or if it was a deliberate tactic of torment on Spinel’s part, but she had lost track of how long she had been trapped there. Maybe he was hoping to drive her to the brink of insanity and force Pagogo out of its Pokéball that way. If that was his goal, then it was certainly working more and more as the days crawled on. She didn’t know how she was supposed to handle anything when she couldn’t recognize something as simple as the day of the week.

Liko had also stopped counting how many times Spinel pulled her away for his bizarre testing. It hadn’t borne any fruit even after all this time; Pagogo was still in its Pokéball, and Spinel was still frustrated with the lack of progress. It was a precarious position to be in, but Liko was still certain this was the best outcome she could have asked for. If Pagogo emerged, then it would be put in instant danger. Liko may have been stuck there and caught in a cycle of risking her life, but she would much rather it be her at risk than Pagogo.

When she wasn’t with Spinel, Liko had a lot of time to think. She almost wondered if it was too much time to think, especially since there wasn’t much she wanted to think about anymore. If she thought about her friends, then she would only end up consumed by her yearning for them. If she thought about her family, then she would only cry over wanting to go back home. If she thought about her Pokémon, then she would only lose herself in her bottomless grief. All trains of thoughts felt pointless when they only led back to how much pain she was in.

Despite this, Liko kept thinking about Dot specifically. Liko couldn’t say for certain why it was that she kept coming back to Dot of all people, but she couldn’t seem to keep her mind from drifting in that direction. Liko’s time with Dot had been the happiest of her life, and now that it was over… Liko craved it more than ever before. How could she not want something that had brought her such joy? How could she want anyone but Dot when she would call the other girl her closest friend?

There was more to it than that though. Each time Liko was able to allow herself to indulge in fantasy, it seemed to focus around Dot. If she wound up with a scrape from Spinel’s tests, Liko would return to her room and wonder how gentle Dot’s hands would feel against her skin as she tended to her wounds. When Liko wanted to sob until her lungs burst, she would imagine Dot holding her close as she cried. There was no one who could bring her greater comfort than Dot, and Liko…

Liko should have said something sooner.

Liko knew she was out of touch with her emotions at times. She had repressed her feelings for so long that it seemed like she couldn’t recognize what she was feeling until after someone else pointed it out to her. She had never been proud of this trait, but she didn’t think she had ever hated it more than she did now. If Liko had only seen the truth of her feelings for what they were sooner, then she could have told Dot about it before everything fell apart. If Liko had only been smart enough to recognize love for what it was, then… Then…

It wouldn’t have made a difference. If anything, it would have only made the situation more heartbreaking. Liko still would have been torn away from Dot, and they would need to make peace with their love for one another on opposite sides of the world. The only thing it would have accomplished was alleviating the tension in Liko’s heart, and she couldn’t seem to decide if sharing the pain with Dot would have been worth it or not. They would have both ached more, but they would have been able to help one another through it even at a distance too.

Liko let out a slow breath, forcing her eyes open so images of Dot did not dance against her closed eyelids. If she ever saw Dot again, she was going to tell her how she felt. Liko would not let her emotions get away from her a second time. She would declare just how much she loved Dot, and regardless of if her friend felt the same way or not, Liko could face the future knowing she had done what she thought to be right. At this point, she didn’t even need reciprocation. She just needed her feelings to be understood.

But as long as she was trapped there by Spinel, no one would understand her.

Liko pretended the pain was not going to destroy her the longer she thought about it, and she imagined Dot’s fingers tangling in her hair once again.

---

Dot was getting closer.

She had been searching feverishly for the last three months to track down Liko, and at long last, Dot was convinced she was on the verge of a breakthrough. If she only pushed for a little bit longer, she knew she was going to figure out where the Explorers were keeping Liko. From there, Dot would only need to come up with a plan and then go to rescue her. Dot didn’t know what that was going to entail specifically, but that had never stopped her before. She could come up with plans in the moment too. If it would help her to bring Liko home, she was more than willing to tolerate a bit of spontaneity until she had a more concrete schematic for the rescue mission in mind.

It was well past two in the morning when Dot finally found what she was looking for: the location of the Explorers’ base. She bit back a wince when she realized she recognized the location: the base of Mt. Kumuri. Of course the Explorers would want to be as close as possible to the mountain they were planning to claim as their own one day. Liko had never been far from Rakua at all; she had been right next to the mountain from the instant she went missing.

Dot continued to tap away at her keyboard, her pale skin practically white in the glow of her screen. Quaxwell and Tinkatuff were both asleep by now, but Dot couldn’t rest until she was able to get into the Explorers’ system. She was certain they had security cameras inside of the base, and if Dot could manipulate them in just the right way, then she would get the confirmation she needed as to Liko’s location. Dot had been looking more into using her programming skills to hack in the last few months, and if there was ever a time for it to pay off, it was now.

After clearing the final security wall, Dot gasped. She could see the halls of the Explorers’ base, white and empty. No one was walking around at this time of the night, but Dot knew someone had to be there earlier in the day. She began to scan through the security footage, her eyes refusing to blink until she caught a glimpse of that familiar blue and black hair.

Liko.

Six hours ago, Liko had been walking around the base with two Explorers members Dot didn’t recognize acting as her escorts. Liko’s head was hung low, and her hair was longer than Dot remembered it. Liko’s face was only in view of the camera for a brief moment, and when she turned to enter what seemed to be her bedroom, Dot could see the utter hopelessness that had consumed Liko since their separation.

Dot instantly paused the footage, and she reached one hand out for her screen. Dot had never seen Liko looking this upset, and every piece of her heart seemed ready to break at the sight. She would have given the world to be able to press her fingers through the screen and into Liko’s reality to give her just a little bit of comfort… But that was not possible. Dot and Liko were separated by tiny pixels and the entire world, and there was little Dot could do to fix that in the middle of the night.

It wasn't going to stop her from trying to change the future though.

Dot leaned back in her seat, her desk chair jostling slightly from the shift of her weight. Liko was alive just as Dot had known she would be. Dot wanted to cry and release all of the tension that had built up inside of her in the last quarter of a year, but she couldn’t do it yet. Liko was in danger as long as she was in the Explorers’ base. Dot couldn’t spare even a moment when she was the only one who could save Liko’s life. She had to stay focused.

As tempting as it was to charge into the base then and there to rescue Liko and then bring her back home, Dot knew she couldn’t do it at her current power level. Quaxwell and Tinkatuff were both capable fighters, but neither one of them would be able to fend off the waves upon waves of Explorers lackeys that would be rushing after them the instant they entered the base. If Dot was going to save Liko, she was going to have to approach this carefully. She needed a plan, and she needed to be sure it would work. She would only have one chance at this, and she needed it to go off perfectly.

Dot glanced over at Quaxwell and Tinkatuff. The two of them were strong… And Dot was certain they would be able to grow stronger with a little bit of training and effort. Dot wasn’t sure of how she was going to help them to improve, but she knew she had to try. Liko was depending on it. Dot would need to level up her skills as a Pokémon Trainer too if they were going to succeed. Still, it was a challenge she was more than ready to rise to. Liko was counting on her, and Dot would never dare to let her down.

Dot turned to look back at her computer screen, reaching out for Liko’s hopeless and ragged frame. Dot brushed her fingers across the warm surface of the screen, and when she closed her eyes, she could almost convince herself it was the natural life of Liko’s skin. Dot’s tears spilled over long before she could hope to stop them. Maybe she would be able to spare a few moments before daybreak to cry from the relief of all she had seen. She could put her heart together again when it was time for her to begin training in the morning.

Liko was still alive… And one way or another, Dot was going to prove it by holding her again one day. Liko may not have known it, but it was a promise, and Dot was not one to break her promises.

---

Liko barely recognized herself anymore.

She did her best to avoid looking at her reflection when she passed by the glassy windows of the base. They offered glimpses into the surrounding rooms, but Liko couldn’t bear to look inside since she would only see her hollow face staring back at her. The skin beneath her eyes had grown dark and tender from sleepless nights. Spinel’s experiments had brought her terror in sleep as well as during her waking hours, and Liko’s bright blue irises had lost their light a long time ago because of it. She knew her skin was far too pale, and she knew her posture was far too poor. She was a shell of the girl she had once been, and the reminder of that hurt her almost as much as Spinel’s experiments on her body.

Spinel’s two newest allies–Indi and Rubina–had come to pick Liko up from her room for a routine round of tests. Neither one of them knew what happened after they dropped Liko off with Spinel. All they knew was to come back after Spinel called for them. Liko never knew how long she was going to be left with him, and she didn’t want to find out either. No matter what the answer was, she knew it would only deepen her misery. She didn’t need any more of Spinel’s help with that. He had done enough damage already.

Not for the first time, Liko wondered what it would be like for her to have Meowscarada and Hattrem by her side. Would she be able to fight her way out of the base with their help? The thought was a delightful one, but Liko couldn’t bring herself to dwell on it for long. If she thought of what could have been, then she was only going to sadden herself over what was not. Hope only led to crushing despair, and Liko could not bring herself to look the light of optimism in the eyes anymore. Oh, how far the mighty had fallen.

Suddenly, Liko felt something pushing down on her body, and she gasped sharply. She couldn’t describe it, but she was certain someone was pressing her toward the ground. Her arms were torn out of Indi and Rubina’s grasp by the force, and Liko watched as the tile floor rushed up to greet her. She heard an explosion somewhere overhead, and Liko fought to press her hands against her ears even with the unknown force taking control of her limbs.

Liko heard Indi and Rubina cry out in shock, but she couldn’t make out their specific words. The floor in front of her began to move, and all Liko could do was stare at it… But she realized a moment later that the floor was not moving at all. Instead, she was the one moving, pulled forward by the same strange power that had gotten her out of danger just before the explosion. What was happening? Nothing had ever gone wrong like this when she was on her way to meet Spinel. So what was–

“Liko!”

Liko finally felt the hold on her body vanish, and she gasped once more as she looked up. “Dot?!”

Sure enough, standing there before her was none other than Dot. She looked years older than she was and somehow even more exhausted, but she was unmistakable. Dot wasn’t alone either, surrounded by four other Pokémon Liko could never forget. Hattrem’s body was sparking with psychic power, and Liko realized she was the one who had pulled her out of the line of fire. The explosions had come from Meowscarada using Flower Trick to distract Indi and Rubina long enough for Hattrem to get Liko away from them, and emerald smoke from the attack billowed through the hallway above Liko’s head.

And the master behind the plan was none other than Dot who was accompanied by Quaquaval and Tinkaton. Dot didn’t give Liko the chance to marvel at her evolved Pokemon though, instead rushing over and helping to pull Liko to her feet. “Are you alright?!” Dot cried out. She began to check Liko over for injuries in the handful of seconds Meowscarada had bought them, though Liko knew they didn’t have time to address all of her wounds at the moment. There were simply too many of them because of her time with Spinel, and it was too long of a story to share in the heat of a battle.

“How are you here?” Liko asked, shocked by how quiet her words were when they left her lips. All of this felt like a dream, something from the wildest fantasies she had concocted to escape from Spinel’s torture… But it was real. Dot’s fingers were wandering across her body to ground her. For the first time in an eternity, Liko was really seeing Dot before her. She was really feeling the touch of the girl she loved.

“That’s a long story,” Dot replied with a shake of her head. “We can talk about it later. We have to get out of here.”

“What about Pagogo?” Liko pressed, glancing around for any signs of her final Pokémon companion. Out of all of them, Pagogo was in the most danger. If Spinel had already taken it for the day’s experiments, then Liko would have no choice but to face him in battle. She would not be leaving without all of her friends. Not after Spinel had already taken one of them from her.

“Here.” Dot pressed a Pokéball into Liko’s grasp, and Liko gasped. “It was in the same room we found Meowscarada and Hattrem. Pagogo wouldn’t come out of the ball though. I don’t know why, but…” She shook her head. “Come on. I have all of your things in my bag. We have to run.”

Liko nodded, fighting back the tears of pure relief at knowing both Pagogo and Lucius’ legacy were safe thanks to Dot. Meowscarada let out a sharp meow to get the girls’ attention, gesturing for them to follow after her. Quaquaval quickly rushed ahead of her, happy to show Liko and her Pokémon how Dot had snuck them all in.

“Stop!”

Spinel’s voice cut through the chaos of their escape, and Liko felt her tears only intensify at the sight of him and his Umbreon standing between her and the gaping hole in the wall Dot’s Pokémon had created for the rescue attempt. “I won’t let you get away,” Spinel snarled. He always seemed so cool and composed when his plans were working, but when something began to splinter, his deep rage began to leak through the mask. “Not without Terapagos!”

As if on cue, the Pokéball in Liko’s hand flew open, and she gasped as light burst forth around her. Pagogo jumped out into the air for the first time since Rakua, and Liko once again nearly broke down from gratitude. Pagogo didn’t give her much time to celebrate this small victory though, determined to turn it into yet another greater success. It drifted up into the air before adopting its larger form, its massive shell consuming its small limbs and neck. Pagogo reared its head back as much as it could before letting out an anguished wail.

Comets condensed from empty air and began to slam into the ground at Spinel’s feet. Umbreon moved to counter the stars showering around them, but Liko didn’t get the chance to see how it ended. Dot grabbed her wrist and started to sprint for the hole Tinkaton had smashed in the wall to get them into the base, and their Pokémon all followed after them. Pagogo took up the rear after sending out one last cascade of meteors to cover their escape. Smoke billowed all around Spinel and Umbreon from the numerous impacts against the floor of the base, Pagogo’s light the only beacon through the haze. Soon enough, even that faded away as Pagogo returned to its small form and launched itself into Liko’s waiting arms. Liko didn’t give herself the chance to see Spinel’s enraged glare through the smoke. Instead, she simply ran, the familiarity of her final moments on Rakua rushing back to her as cruel, crushing nostalgia.

The world faded into nothing but a blur around Liko as she followed Dot down the path away from the base. Liko never would have imagined the Explorers’ headquarters would be so close to Mt. Kumuri, but now, it all made sense. The mountainous terrain was a perfect advantage for Dot to exploit too, and she led Liko down the stony sidewalks and toward a cave entrance. They only stopped running when they were certain they were tucked far out of view of the Explorers or anyone else who could have wanted to chase them. If the explosion from Pagogo’s attack had not stopped their pursuers, surely their hiding place would keep them safe instead.

Liko and Dot were both gasping for air by the time they arrived in the cave, their bodies trembling from the force of their adrenaline and their exertion. Liko’s legs practically gave out beneath her, and she found herself sitting on the cave floor with Pagogo still pressed tightly against her chest. “Dot… You saved me!” Liko somehow choked out around her lack of oxygen and the threat of tears pulling at the corners of her eyes. “But… But how did you–”

“I knew you were still alive,” Dot told her, though the words came out staggered because of her own breathlessness. “I could just… Feel it. I knew you were still out there, and I had to find you. It took a long time, and I had to do a lot of digging, but… I found out you were at the Explorers’ base. After that, I came up with a plan to find you and save you.” Dot did not tell Liko she had come alone because none of the other Rising Volt Tacklers had believed she was alive. Perhaps it was childish, but Dot had needed to prove herself and her knowledge, and some burning anguish in her chest had told her she needed to do it alone. In the end, she had been enough of a force by herself that none of the Explorers could stop her even when she was alone.

“How?” Liko asked once more, her gaze wandering over toward Quaquaval and Tinkaton. “And… And they evolved! I can’t believe it!”

“I knew I wouldn’t be able to save you without getting stronger, so… We started training,” Dot replied. “I studied the security footage at the base, and after figuring out how they were keeping you there… We did all we could to get stronger. Quaxwell evolved into Quaquaval, and Tinkatuff evolved into Tinkaton. After a little more work, I knew we were ready to find you. I figured out where the best place to get in was, and…” Dot flashed Liko a weary smile, and Liko could see Dot was on the verge of tears too. “I found you.”

Liko couldn’t hold herself back any longer, and with a noisy gasp, she finally succumbed to sobs. She pulled Pagogo in as tight as she could stand, and the small turtle began to press itself against her in return. They were all okay. Even after the misery Spinel had put them through, they had survived. They were together again. “Dot…”

Dot sat down beside Liko, and Liko looked up to meet her gaze. With so little distance between them, Liko had all the time to appreciate the new details about Dot she had not recognized before then. Dot’s hair had grown longer, but she had started pushing it away from her face so her eyes were visible. Dot looked even more exhausted than she usually did, but there was a love unlike anything else reflecting in her smile to balance it out. “I’m just sorry it took so long,” Dot murmured. She was close enough that the words tickled at Liko’s lips like the kiss she had spent all that time dreaming about. “I would have been here sooner, but I–”

Liko launched herself forward into Dot’s arms, her body only barely having the foresight to set Pagogo down before she embraced her friend. “I… It’s been so horrible,” Liko rambled. “E-Every single day, Spinel tried to lure Pagogo out, and… I didn’t think I would ever escape. I didn’t think I would ever see you or anyone else again. I-I was so scared, and…” Another sob interrupted her, and Liko buried her face into Dot’s shoulder to breathe in her scent. Even after all that time, Dot still smelled like strawberries just as Liko remembered. “Thank you for everything.”

Dot wrapped her arms around Liko in return, and Liko could hardly believe it was real. Dot was there with her. They were both alive, and this was no fantasy. Liko would never have to suffer Spinel’s torture again, and it was all thanks to Dot. The purple-haired girl smiled, and she pulled Liko in close enough for Liko to feel her heartbeat against her own chest. “Thank you for holding on long enough for me to find you again.”

Liko sniffled once more as she pulled away from Dot, rubbing at her eyes with the heels of her hands. She looked around the rest of the cave, finding Meowscarada, Hattrem, Quaquaval, and Tinkaton all smiling at her and Dot lovingly. Pagogo babbled excitedly at being given the chance to break free of its ball for the first time in so long. Pagogo must have sensed something was wrong and refused to come out until the moment was right… And in the end, it played its part perfectly. Liko never would have escaped without all of their efforts together. This was a victory they shared, and Liko was going to celebrate it every day for the rest of her life.

But she could not consider it all over just yet. She had made a promise to herself while she was still being held captive: if she ever saw Dot again, she would confess her feelings for her. Liko could have waited for a more tactical moment to do it, but she couldn’t bring herself to be patient anymore. She had waited long enough. They both had. If Liko had learned anything from this experience, it was that life was precious, and she needed to savor it as much as she could while she still had it in her hands. If she held this off, she would only risk losing Dot again, and Liko had already lost her one too many times before.

Before Liko had the chance to say anything though, Dot began to rub at her own eyes. “Liko… I really need to tell you something,” Dot began. “I… I wish I had said this to you before everything went wrong, but I never got the chance. The truth is… Before everything happened in Rakua, I started to realize something. I-I knew I needed to tell you, but I wasn’t sure of how to do it, and… Well…”

“I love you, Dot,” Liko burst out, and Dot froze midway through scrubbing at her tears. The two girls met eyes once again, and Liko swallowed down all of the doubt that could have ever clouded her heart. “After Spinel took me, I realized how I felt about you, and… I told myself that if I ever saw you again, I would tell you. If you don’t feel the same way, then that’s fine, but–”

Dot’s fingers moved far faster than Liko’s words ever could, reaching forward to cup at Liko’s cheeks. Before Liko had the time to blink, her lips were pressed against Dot’s in a recreation of all her fantasies. Liko felt another tide of tears crash over her as she wrapped her arms around Dot’s back and neck. Nothing in the world could have compared to the feeling of Dot’s body next to hers, and she wanted to treasure the moment for as long as she possibly could.

Dot only pulled away when her air began to run low, and Liko felt heat flood her cheeks the longer she looked at her best friend. No… That wasn’t right. They weren’t just best friends anymore, and Liko didn’t think they had been for quite a while. Something more had been brewing for ages even before they went to Rakua. Regardless of how long it took them to see it, that was the truth, and Liko was beyond glad she had finally been given the chance to say it aloud.

“Thank you,” Liko whispered, her forehead pressed against Dot’s to chase whatever warmth she could from her touch. For saving me. For being in my life. For showing me what it means to love. For loving me too. For taking a chance on me when no one else would. “For everything.”

“It was nothing,” Dot replied. Even with the limited lighting of the cave, she looked like an angel to Liko. “You’re worth hell. How could I not?”

Liko drew in a slow, shaking breath as she looked over all of the Pokémon in the cave around her. For the first time in ages, she had a future to consider. For the first time in even longer, she was safe. “What now?” Liko questioned, unsure of what specifically she was trying to ask about. What was she going to do with Dot from then on? What were they going to do in a world that had fallen apart around them? What would they crave from a future Liko had only just started to consider again?

Dot took Liko’s hand in her own and gave it a comforting squeeze. On most days, Dot ran cold, but today, she was more than warm enough to thaw the ice Spinel had forced to freeze around Liko’s heart. “What do you want to do now?”

There were a million ways Liko could have answered the question, but she wasn’t sure of which option to pick. She had thought her life was as good as over when Spinel took her hostage, but now, it was back in her hands. The possibilities were endless, and she would need time to make most of her decisions…

But there was one future she already had in mind, and it was the one Liko knew she was most attached to. Liko pulled Dot in close, just barely far enough away from her to continue to speak. “Anything as long as it’s with you.”

Liko and Dot kissed once more, and the most horrific chapter of their lives finally came to a close…

And they knew it would lead to the start of their most beautiful chapter yet.

TEEN: - Complete "nothing i wouldn't do" [Spring 2026 Event - Delving for Dreams]

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digitaldreams

writer of excessively long internet fiction

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