HOME | DD

Description

Eighteenth Enroute
"Hm?" I grumbled, barely cracking my eyes open.
Beep beep beep!Something squealed from my pack. I reached across the couch and over to Morgan's coffee table and rummaged through the bag. Finally finding my PokéNav, I flipped it open; flashing numbers read off 1.05 AM and Tiran. Knitting my brows together, I answered.
"Lucy?" he said, voice shaking heavily. I was instantly awake at the sound and sat up.
"Tir? Tiran?" I questioned, highly concerned, voice still rough with sleep.
"I-I found some vials of the disease." His voice shuddered and I could hear a sob from the other end.
"The disease?" I asked, confused. After a quick flash of recognition, I said, "The rabies virus?"
"Yes. I found it in a burned down b-building," his voice stuttered.
"Do you… want to talk about it?" I asked, not willing to push but wanted to offer whatever comfort I could. Something had happened between this morning at breakfast and now and whatever it was, was bad.
"I had to kill them," he burst out, sobs echoing over the line. "There were so many, but I had to kill them!"
"Hey, hey," I said softly. "Shhh, it's all right." I wish I could've been where he was to comfort him; it ached not to be able to console him physically. I wasn't quite sure what had happened, except that it must've involved infected Pokémon. Tir must have had to kill them, I thought, horrified at what he must've been going through. A faint echo of the horror I'd felt so long ago when I arrived here, the attack of the rabid Poochyena. Times a hundred – a thousand, he must be feeling this.
"No, it isn't. Only two are still alive," he said through his whimpers. "I killed all except two. There is so much blood."
"You had no choice," I replied. "And there are still two left. Think not about what you've done," I told him. "Think about all the Pokémon in the future that your discovery will save. And now that we know someone's behind this, the League can find them and prevent it from ever happening again." I wouldn't tell him 'it was a good thing' because it was far from. Yes, he'd inadvertently found a few vials of the disease and it'd save so many Pokémon. But what he'd had to do was almost not even worth it. He shouldn't have had to go through this.
"It will help. I'll send it all to Morgan when I reach Fortree. Will you tell him?"
"Yeah, sure, of course," I said lowly, suddenly remembering that not ten feet away Morgan lay, asleep.
"Bye, then. I'm going to continue on. There's no way I'll be able to sleep."
"All right, Tiran. Be safe, all right? Good bye."
And that was that. Our conversation was over with a click of the phone line and a tense knot in my stomach. I knew that, right at that moment, Tiran was wondering off, alone in a murky Route, half awake because of terror and guilt. And it was true, what they said – that if stressed enough you just couldn't go back to sleep. I'd never had problems with insomnia before but as I laid down, PokéNav still clutched in my hand, I couldn't sleep. After forty minutes of tossing and turning, I got up, dressed, and wrote a note to Morgan. All three of us didn't deserve to be relentlessly exhausted tomorrow, I figured.
Morgan –
Something's happened. Tiran called me at 1.00 AM in near tears; he said he'd found a vial of a concentrated Pokémon Rabies virus. He was attacked by some infected wild Pokémon and had to defend himself. He said he'd send the vials to you once he reaches Fortree City.
I can't go back to sleep. I'm heading out that way – I have to do something, I can't just sit here. He'll be fine, I think, but I'm heading out. Call me on the PokéNav. We have to figure out what the hell is going on.
– Lucy
It was a simplified version of the horrible situation that had occurred, but I could explain it better in the morning. As I flexed my fingers – out of the habit of writing after so long – I grabbed my pack and left the Gym, locking the door behind me. Hopefully, an early (early) start would do me good.
"Oof," I grumbled, sliding headfirst into a mud puddle. I flicked the gunk from the tips of my fingers, but it was no use; my head and front were coated with the sludge mixture. I glared around, trying to see through my blurry eyes.
I was on Route 119, an hour and a half after my call with Tiran. As I expected, it was raining – no, I take that back. It wasn't raining. It was like a typhoon out here; the gusts lifted my stringy locks from under my soiled bandana and the rain forced me to take off my glasses. My limbs were going numb; the chill of the rain combined itself with the cold front that had come out of nowhere. I could hardly believe that I was anywhere near the sunny paradises of Mauville and Slateport. I never imagined a place in Hoenn could be like this.
My teeth chattered as I tried in vain to rub warmth into my arms. I kicked at the 'grass' I was walking through – I say grass, but the straw-like stuff was taller than I was, clouding my view in every direction. I kicked at it again and a yelp sounded. I frowned, reaching out and parting the grass, only to have a blur of brown fly at me.
"Ah!" I yelled, covering my face with an arm. I tried to bat at whatever was attacking me, but its sharp claws left gashes on my arms.
"Linooo," it howled before biting down on my upper arm. I yowled, hitting the beast with a fist; it was pointless – my attempts had no effect on the Pokémon.
"Get off, get off, get off," I shouted, terrified. I couldn't see a damn thing, a wild (and possibly viral) Pokémon was attacking me, and I was exhausted. I couldn't tell if I was crying, but I thought I was. With a burst of frightened energy, I rolled over, crashing the Linoone to the ground. I hit it to the dirt again and again before it let go and ran off, leaving me kneeling and hunched over on the ground, blood mixing with dirt and rain. I clutched at my wounded arm, skin torn beneath my fingers.
I bit my lips at the feeling and reluctantly pulled my clutching hand from the wound. I tugged a random Pokéball from my belt and let it slip through my wet fingers to the ground. It cracked open to show my little Sableye.
"Gabe," I said, voice hoarse as I tried to speak above the tumult.
"Saaa," he hissed, concerned. He huddled up to my injured arm and lapped at the blood with his sandpaper tongue. I groaned.
"Gabe, no," I pushed him away from the wound. "I need you to help me find a house or someone to help me, okay?"
"Eye," he agreed, tugging faintly at my injured arm, jewel eyes flickering to my wound every so often.
We stumbled through the too-tall grass for what felt like hours, me tripping over things I couldn't see and my ghost dashing off for a split second if he sensed something nearby. Finally we stumbled into a large clearing just as dawn rose to greet us with a yellow ring through the grey tinge of the rainclouds. My body ached, my arm itched something terrible, and I could barely see the vague outlines of what I hoped were friendly people.
"Are you okay, Miss? Miss?" the man called to me, glasses flashing – the last thing I saw before losing consciousness.
"Ugh," I groaned as I awoke. I cracked my eyes open and instantly regretted it as brilliant white light filtered into my sight. I shifted, trying to bring my arms up to cover my eyes, only for an ache to present itself insistently upon me. The upper half of my left arm throbbed something terrible and I chanced a roll over onto my side. Carefully, I opened my eyes against the light and blinked the stinging salt water away. Looking around, I didn't know where I was.
I was in a bed, surrounded by white walls. On the other side of the room I saw that the area led out to a hallway, no door attached to the entrance. I squinted, confused. How the hell had I gotten here? Where was here?
I remember Tiran calling, I thought, and being unable to sleep. For a brief moment I thought I was still at Morgan's Gym, but quickly dismissed it because this room was nowhere in Morgan's place, I knew.
I – I left, that's what I did. I headed out to Route 118 and 119, my eyes narrowed in concentration farther, trying to dismiss the headache that was quickly forming from the bright light and shifting through my memories. It was raining and dark, I took off my glasses. Tall grass, slipped… Linoone, a Linoone attacked me! I remembered. My arm, I grabbed at the appendage with my right hand only to find bandages blocking my skin. I looked at it, the white cloth wrapping itself from my elbow to my shoulder. I trailed my fingers over it and realized that it went around my back and to the front again, under my shirt – no, not my shirt. I was, for whatever reason, wearing a pair of thin, grey scrubs.
My stomach clenched. Someone had to have undressed me for that to have happened and I was far from okay with that level of familiarity – especially with someone I didn't know. On the other hand, I thought, they did fix me up from that attack. But how did they find me?
"You're awake I see," a voice came from the door. I looked over my shoulder, seeing the fuzzy form of a blond woman. I blinked at her.
"Where - ?" I asked, surprised that my voice sounded raw. I tried to swallow but my mouth was dry.
"Here," she walked forward, handing me a glass of water. I took it with my right hand taking small sips; I hummed gratefully at her. "You're at the Weather Institute on Route 119," she informed me. I nodded, that made sense. "I'm Sarah. I'd shake your hand, but you seem pretty occupied," she seemed amused. "Do you remember what happened last night?"
I set the water down on the bedside table and put together my thoughts. "I remember walking the Route and falling in some mud… then there was a Linoone, I think," I rubbed a hand to my brow. "It's pretty much a blur after that."
"That makes sense with how we found you," she agreed. I tilted my head. "You staggered up near the Institute, soaked and covered in mud. My fellow, Robert, was out front, throwing some things away when you came up. It's a good thing we found you," she tsk'd. "After we'd brought you in and I started to clean you up, I realized you'd been attacked. I fixed up your wound," she gestured to the bandages and I was grateful it had been her and not 'Robert.' "It was infected with the Rabies virus, you were lucky you found us when you did, though I think that Sableye may have had something to do with it."
"Sable – you mean Gabe?" I honestly didn't remember letting him out. I noted to myself to thank him. "Where is he? He's all right, right?"
"Shhh, he's fine," she calmed me, sitting on the edge of the bed. "He's actually upstairs with some of the scientists' Pokémon. To be honest, we're all a little fascinated by him," she grinned. I had to agree, for as creepy as my little ghost was, he was also pretty damn awesome. "I need to reapply the ointment for your shoulder and then we can go see him, if you'd like."
"Yes, please," I agreed. "Did you find my bag or my belt?" Sarah nodded once more standing and opening the drawer on the bedside table. Out of it appeared my olive colored pack and the brown belt with my Pokémon on it. I took them gratefully and stood, tempted to strap the belt around my waist, right where it belonged. On the other hand, I think I'd wait until I had my clothes back to do that. I pulled open my bag and dug inside it for my glasses, giving a happy sigh when I could once more see clearly. I turned to Sarah and she helped me out of my shirt and the bandages – a blush formed on my face and neck, not exactly used to being so exposed – and I turned my attention to the wound.
The bite itself wasn't so bad, slightly raw and torn around the edges, but not deep. It was the area around it that had me concerned.
"What the hell…?" I breathed as I stared at the deep purple mesh of skin that wove itself around my arm and up my shoulder. It looked terrible, blotchy and black in some places. I wasn't sure what rabies looked like in the Real World, but I had a feeling it was nothing like this.
"Yeah," Sarah agreed, sighing sadly. "This is what an infected bite looks like. We think it has something to do with the trasmissive qualities of the virus toning the skin with duplicate cells. But, of course, we're not sure," she shrugged. "It should go away in about a week and you'll only need to apply the ointment for the next few days," she told me. As Sarah applied the lotion I shivered at the cool cream as it touched my heated, infect skin, trying not to look at the black and purple that dusted my arm and shoulder. She started to wrap the bandages around my arm.
"Quick question," I paused her as she finished mummifying me. "Where are my clothes?" I felt bare in the too-thin scrubs.
"Well, you were covered from head to toe in mud, rain, and blood by the time you got here, so when I dressed your wounds I took them and tossed them into the wash," she informed me.
"Ah," I nodded. I pulled my knee-length shorts out of my pack along with the white tank top I'd started with. Sarah politely turned away as I changed, struggling my way into the clothing. After I'd tugged on the clothes, I picked up my belt and put it back in its proper place at my waist.
"Ready?" she turned around after my belt clicked. Seeing that I was done, she turned to the exit. "Up to level three we go."
I followed after her, my arm aching underneath the tight cloth wrap, anxious to see my Sableye. I needn't have worried, though, as he was just fine where he was.
"Saaa," he hissed as I entered the room. His jeweled eyes were trained on an Espeon and a Natu duo as he performed his move. As he lifted a sharp taloned finger, something shimmered in front of him and I smiled. Detect, I thought, his newest move. The shimmer trailed across the air as he moved his finger and the little Natu was enthralled as the Eeveelution watched on in apparent contentment. Gabe let the light fade and the little bird type twittered in happiness. A scientist on the other side of the room clapped as he observed him and I joined in.
"Saaa? Ble!" my ghost turned to me and shouted, joyous at my recovery. He raced to my side and curled himself around my leg, on the side of my shadow, as usual. I kneeled down and rubbed my hand over his quasi-scaled head as he nuzzled my thigh. I smiled at him, glad he was okay.
"Remarkable," I heard from ahead of me. I looked up to see a lab coated men scribbling on a note pad furiously.
"Erm, excuse me?" I tilted my head.
"Huh? Oh," he faced me, pushing his thick lenses back up his nose with a finger. "The relationship between your Sableye and you is astounding. Generally, ghost Pokémon are antisocial and hard to train under command. On the other hand you two seem to be in perfect sync!" he enthused, sounding quite like a cheesy line from the game.
"Oh, uh, thanks?" I said, kind of wondering what he was going on about. Far as I'd ever heard you were supposed to build these kinds of relationships with your Pokémon.
"Would you – that is, would you mind terribly staying a few days?" he asked. "I'm Robert and I'd be very interested in watching your interaction with the rest of your Pokémon."
"Well…" I wasn't so sure about that. I'd been stagnant for a few days already and I was itching for the continuation of my journey, despite my injuries. Of course, that same stubbornness was what got me into this mess in the first place.
"You need to stay here anyway," Sarah interceded. "So that your infection can clear itself up. It would be morally wrong of me to let you leave under anything other than peak conditions," she smirked vaguely.
"…You're one of those manipulative sorts, aren't you?" I asked bluntly. She grinned widely at me and I sighed, looking down at Gabe. "Feel up to being 'observed'," I used my fingers to do the quote marks.
"Saaableye," he shrugged, burrowing deeper into my leg. I couldn't blame him, I knew how freaked Jesus had gotten when I'd hurt my other shoulder and I'd been up and ready in no time. Here, he had to watch me be carted off unconscious for who knows how long. Which reminded me…
"How long was I out, anyway?" I asked Sarah while looking for a window. I found one, but all I could see was rain and darkness.
"A day and a half," she told me promptly. My jaw hit the floor.
"A day and a half?" I parroted.
"Yes, that's what I said," she rolled her eyes. "Your body needed time to rest and heal itself. It didn't help that you had probably missed quite a bit of sleep, if the time you arrived here was any indication," she quirked a brow accusingly at me.
I shrugged. "Couldn't sleep." Not necessarily a lie. At that moment, my stomach rumbled angrily at me at the absence of food. "Uh… don't suppose I could get something to eat?"
They laughed at me. "Of course," Robert said, extending a hand to help me up. He walked us over to the other side of the long room, the Natu and Espeon following their masters closely. Gabriel had latched himself to my leg, refusing to let me go. As it turned out, the long room on the third level was split in half, one section for lounging and the other was a large kitchen – probably to accommodate their many lab technicians.
"You let out your Pokémon," Sarah told me, "and I'll fix us a few sandwiches."
"That sounds great," I agreed, shifting to face the open section of the room. "I'll let them all out but Copper – she's my Gyarados," I explained.
"Oh, you can let her out a window," Robert told me, sitting at a table. "I'm sure she'd like the rain and there are a few rivers in the area she can visit."
"That sounds good," I nodded. Cop hadn't been able to really play since I'd caught her, this'd be a good time for her own little vacation while we were stuck in the Institute. I went to the window I'd looked out earlier and unhooked the latch, pushing the pane open easily. I palmed her ball and tossed it into the pouring rain. It cracked open to reveal a brilliant white light in the shape of my blue monster before automatically sealing itself up and returning to my hand.
"Dooos," she roared after being released.
"Hey, girl," I called to her. She turned her massive head to me and hovered near the window. I patted her head and she closed her eyes, rumbling. "We're gonna spend a few days in the area so you can soak up the rain, all right?"
"Gyaaaraa," she roared before turning away and going skyward. I knew she'd be back, so I wasn't worried. I turned back to the room and grabbed my other Pokéballs.
"All right, guys," I called, tossing the orbs. A montage of voices rumbled throughout the room. Vexyl, Jesus, Minnow, and Roxie were the first wave of monsters before I grabbed Nonna's ball last, releasing her into the melee. I faced Sarah and Robert as they looked on my team curiously. Not team, I decided with a smile, family. My Pokémon were my pack, along with Morgan, Tiran, Stephanie, and Eric, I realized. It's odd how I left one life only to find another.
Clearing my throat, I got into what I liked to call 'presentation mode,' crooking a hand at my pack to get in line. "This is Vexyl," I told the scientists, my Combusken stepping forward and emitting a flame from his beak. "Show off," I muttered as he got back in place.
"Combuu," he shrugged. Conceited little thing.
"Minnow and Roxie," the two smallest bounded forward – all the way up to Sarah and Robert, sniffing and chattering at them excitedly. I coughed pointedly, snickering as Roxie and Minnow gave me pouting faces before going back to the line. "Jesus," my Kirlia stepped forward, curtseying politely before taking her step back. "And Nonna."
"Nuu," she said monotonously, staying in place. I blinked at her and shrugged at her slothfulness.
"They're all so well behaved," Robert remarked.
"Yes, very nice. Was it a lot of trouble to train them?" Sarah asked, setting the tray of sandwiches on the table along with a couple of water bottles. I rummaged through my pack and pulled out enough Pokémon food for my team. I tore open the bags and Robert kindly handed me a plastic bowl for Nonna's – her lack of opposable thumbs a disability in this respect. After they started munching, I sat down and grabbed one of the sandwiches and bit into it, tearing off a hearty chunk.
"Mmmm, delicious," I said after swallowing, my stomach settling at the promise of more food. "But, no, it wasn't hard to train them, really. They enjoy battling," I shrugged awkwardly, the wraps around my shoulder stilting my movement.
"Well, you've certainly raised them well," one of them commented. I was a little busy devouring my food to notice.
"You make it sound as if that's a rare occurrence," I noted, pausing my gluttony.
"Oh, no it's not," Sarah replied quickly, shaking her head. "Indeed, most starter trainers treat their Pokémon exceptionally well. But it seems that as time goes on, the longer a trainer has their Pokémon, they take them for granted," she explained. "It's nice to see that after all your time as a trainer you still treat them properly."
I blinked at her. "I'm a new trainer," I told them. "Vex," the Combusken looked up from his food briefly before dismissing us as unimportant, "is my starter."
"You mean ever?" Robert asked.
"Uh… yes."
"Why?"
"Why what?" I asked, confused.
"Why didn't you get a starter at ten like other trainers?" Sarah asked, clarifying her partner's questions.
My mind blanked. Honestly, I hadn't really thought about a 'background story' per sa. It hadn't seemed important – or crossed my mind at all, really. As quickly as I could, I tried to recall May Maple's life line.
"Oh, well, uh… See, I grew up in Johto and my dad, Eri – erm, Norman, was training up to be Gym Leader. He wanted to home school me and wait until he'd gotten the job for me to start my journey since it wasn't a given that we'd stay in Johto," I lied through my teeth. Sarah and Robert didn't say anything for a minute as they contemplated this. They had a look between the two of them and shrugged before bringing the conversation back to my Pokémon and I, with them no longer quite as astounded at our group dynamic now that they knew my 'story.'
I breathed a sigh of relief after they bought the total fallacy and answered the rest of their questions with ease. I really hoped I didn't have to stay here long.

Description

Eighteenth Enroute
"Hm?" I grumbled, barely cracking my eyes open.
Beep beep beep!Something squealed from my pack. I reached across the couch and over to Morgan's coffee table and rummaged through the bag. Finally finding my PokéNav, I flipped it open; flashing numbers read off 1.05 AM and Tiran. Knitting my brows together, I answered.
"Lucy?" he said, voice shaking heavily. I was instantly awake at the sound and sat up.
"Tir? Tiran?" I questioned, highly concerned, voice still rough with sleep.
"I-I found some vials of the disease." His voice shuddered and I could hear a sob from the other end.
"The disease?" I asked, confused. After a quick flash of recognition, I said, "The rabies virus?"
"Yes. I found it in a burned down b-building," his voice stuttered.
"Do you… want to talk about it?" I asked, not willing to push but wanted to offer whatever comfort I could. Something had happened between this morning at breakfast and now and whatever it was, was bad.
"I had to kill them," he burst out, sobs echoing over the line. "There were so many, but I had to kill them!"
"Hey, hey," I said softly. "Shhh, it's all right." I wish I could've been where he was to comfort him; it ached not to be able to console him physically. I wasn't quite sure what had happened, except that it must've involved infected Pokémon. Tir must have had to kill them, I thought, horrified at what he must've been going through. A faint echo of the horror I'd felt so long ago when I arrived here, the attack of the rabid Poochyena. Times a hundred – a thousand, he must be feeling this.
"No, it isn't. Only two are still alive," he said through his whimpers. "I killed all except two. There is so much blood."
"You had no choice," I replied. "And there are still two left. Think not about what you've done," I told him. "Think about all the Pokémon in the future that your discovery will save. And now that we know someone's behind this, the League can find them and prevent it from ever happening again." I wouldn't tell him 'it was a good thing' because it was far from. Yes, he'd inadvertently found a few vials of the disease and it'd save so many Pokémon. But what he'd had to do was almost not even worth it. He shouldn't have had to go through this.
"It will help. I'll send it all to Morgan when I reach Fortree. Will you tell him?"
"Yeah, sure, of course," I said lowly, suddenly remembering that not ten feet away Morgan lay, asleep.
"Bye, then. I'm going to continue on. There's no way I'll be able to sleep."
"All right, Tiran. Be safe, all right? Good bye."
And that was that. Our conversation was over with a click of the phone line and a tense knot in my stomach. I knew that, right at that moment, Tiran was wondering off, alone in a murky Route, half awake because of terror and guilt. And it was true, what they said – that if stressed enough you just couldn't go back to sleep. I'd never had problems with insomnia before but as I laid down, PokéNav still clutched in my hand, I couldn't sleep. After forty minutes of tossing and turning, I got up, dressed, and wrote a note to Morgan. All three of us didn't deserve to be relentlessly exhausted tomorrow, I figured.
Morgan –
Something's happened. Tiran called me at 1.00 AM in near tears; he said he'd found a vial of a concentrated Pokémon Rabies virus. He was attacked by some infected wild Pokémon and had to defend himself. He said he'd send the vials to you once he reaches Fortree City.
I can't go back to sleep. I'm heading out that way – I have to do something, I can't just sit here. He'll be fine, I think, but I'm heading out. Call me on the PokéNav. We have to figure out what the hell is going on.
– Lucy
It was a simplified version of the horrible situation that had occurred, but I could explain it better in the morning. As I flexed my fingers – out of the habit of writing after so long – I grabbed my pack and left the Gym, locking the door behind me. Hopefully, an early (early) start would do me good.
"Oof," I grumbled, sliding headfirst into a mud puddle. I flicked the gunk from the tips of my fingers, but it was no use; my head and front were coated with the sludge mixture. I glared around, trying to see through my blurry eyes.
I was on Route 119, an hour and a half after my call with Tiran. As I expected, it was raining – no, I take that back. It wasn't raining. It was like a typhoon out here; the gusts lifted my stringy locks from under my soiled bandana and the rain forced me to take off my glasses. My limbs were going numb; the chill of the rain combined itself with the cold front that had come out of nowhere. I could hardly believe that I was anywhere near the sunny paradises of Mauville and Slateport. I never imagined a place in Hoenn could be like this.
My teeth chattered as I tried in vain to rub warmth into my arms. I kicked at the 'grass' I was walking through – I say grass, but the straw-like stuff was taller than I was, clouding my view in every direction. I kicked at it again and a yelp sounded. I frowned, reaching out and parting the grass, only to have a blur of brown fly at me.
"Ah!" I yelled, covering my face with an arm. I tried to bat at whatever was attacking me, but its sharp claws left gashes on my arms.
"Linooo," it howled before biting down on my upper arm. I yowled, hitting the beast with a fist; it was pointless – my attempts had no effect on the Pokémon.
"Get off, get off, get off," I shouted, terrified. I couldn't see a damn thing, a wild (and possibly viral) Pokémon was attacking me, and I was exhausted. I couldn't tell if I was crying, but I thought I was. With a burst of frightened energy, I rolled over, crashing the Linoone to the ground. I hit it to the dirt again and again before it let go and ran off, leaving me kneeling and hunched over on the ground, blood mixing with dirt and rain. I clutched at my wounded arm, skin torn beneath my fingers.
I bit my lips at the feeling and reluctantly pulled my clutching hand from the wound. I tugged a random Pokéball from my belt and let it slip through my wet fingers to the ground. It cracked open to show my little Sableye.
"Gabe," I said, voice hoarse as I tried to speak above the tumult.
"Saaa," he hissed, concerned. He huddled up to my injured arm and lapped at the blood with his sandpaper tongue. I groaned.
"Gabe, no," I pushed him away from the wound. "I need you to help me find a house or someone to help me, okay?"
"Eye," he agreed, tugging faintly at my injured arm, jewel eyes flickering to my wound every so often.
We stumbled through the too-tall grass for what felt like hours, me tripping over things I couldn't see and my ghost dashing off for a split second if he sensed something nearby. Finally we stumbled into a large clearing just as dawn rose to greet us with a yellow ring through the grey tinge of the rainclouds. My body ached, my arm itched something terrible, and I could barely see the vague outlines of what I hoped were friendly people.
"Are you okay, Miss? Miss?" the man called to me, glasses flashing – the last thing I saw before losing consciousness.
"Ugh," I groaned as I awoke. I cracked my eyes open and instantly regretted it as brilliant white light filtered into my sight. I shifted, trying to bring my arms up to cover my eyes, only for an ache to present itself insistently upon me. The upper half of my left arm throbbed something terrible and I chanced a roll over onto my side. Carefully, I opened my eyes against the light and blinked the stinging salt water away. Looking around, I didn't know where I was.
I was in a bed, surrounded by white walls. On the other side of the room I saw that the area led out to a hallway, no door attached to the entrance. I squinted, confused. How the hell had I gotten here? Where was here?
I remember Tiran calling, I thought, and being unable to sleep. For a brief moment I thought I was still at Morgan's Gym, but quickly dismissed it because this room was nowhere in Morgan's place, I knew.
I – I left, that's what I did. I headed out to Route 118 and 119, my eyes narrowed in concentration farther, trying to dismiss the headache that was quickly forming from the bright light and shifting through my memories. It was raining and dark, I took off my glasses. Tall grass, slipped… Linoone, a Linoone attacked me! I remembered. My arm, I grabbed at the appendage with my right hand only to find bandages blocking my skin. I looked at it, the white cloth wrapping itself from my elbow to my shoulder. I trailed my fingers over it and realized that it went around my back and to the front again, under my shirt – no, not my shirt. I was, for whatever reason, wearing a pair of thin, grey scrubs.
My stomach clenched. Someone had to have undressed me for that to have happened and I was far from okay with that level of familiarity – especially with someone I didn't know. On the other hand, I thought, they did fix me up from that attack. But how did they find me?
"You're awake I see," a voice came from the door. I looked over my shoulder, seeing the fuzzy form of a blond woman. I blinked at her.
"Where - ?" I asked, surprised that my voice sounded raw. I tried to swallow but my mouth was dry.
"Here," she walked forward, handing me a glass of water. I took it with my right hand taking small sips; I hummed gratefully at her. "You're at the Weather Institute on Route 119," she informed me. I nodded, that made sense. "I'm Sarah. I'd shake your hand, but you seem pretty occupied," she seemed amused. "Do you remember what happened last night?"
I set the water down on the bedside table and put together my thoughts. "I remember walking the Route and falling in some mud… then there was a Linoone, I think," I rubbed a hand to my brow. "It's pretty much a blur after that."
"That makes sense with how we found you," she agreed. I tilted my head. "You staggered up near the Institute, soaked and covered in mud. My fellow, Robert, was out front, throwing some things away when you came up. It's a good thing we found you," she tsk'd. "After we'd brought you in and I started to clean you up, I realized you'd been attacked. I fixed up your wound," she gestured to the bandages and I was grateful it had been her and not 'Robert.' "It was infected with the Rabies virus, you were lucky you found us when you did, though I think that Sableye may have had something to do with it."
"Sable – you mean Gabe?" I honestly didn't remember letting him out. I noted to myself to thank him. "Where is he? He's all right, right?"
"Shhh, he's fine," she calmed me, sitting on the edge of the bed. "He's actually upstairs with some of the scientists' Pokémon. To be honest, we're all a little fascinated by him," she grinned. I had to agree, for as creepy as my little ghost was, he was also pretty damn awesome. "I need to reapply the ointment for your shoulder and then we can go see him, if you'd like."
"Yes, please," I agreed. "Did you find my bag or my belt?" Sarah nodded once more standing and opening the drawer on the bedside table. Out of it appeared my olive colored pack and the brown belt with my Pokémon on it. I took them gratefully and stood, tempted to strap the belt around my waist, right where it belonged. On the other hand, I think I'd wait until I had my clothes back to do that. I pulled open my bag and dug inside it for my glasses, giving a happy sigh when I could once more see clearly. I turned to Sarah and she helped me out of my shirt and the bandages – a blush formed on my face and neck, not exactly used to being so exposed – and I turned my attention to the wound.
The bite itself wasn't so bad, slightly raw and torn around the edges, but not deep. It was the area around it that had me concerned.
"What the hell…?" I breathed as I stared at the deep purple mesh of skin that wove itself around my arm and up my shoulder. It looked terrible, blotchy and black in some places. I wasn't sure what rabies looked like in the Real World, but I had a feeling it was nothing like this.
"Yeah," Sarah agreed, sighing sadly. "This is what an infected bite looks like. We think it has something to do with the trasmissive qualities of the virus toning the skin with duplicate cells. But, of course, we're not sure," she shrugged. "It should go away in about a week and you'll only need to apply the ointment for the next few days," she told me. As Sarah applied the lotion I shivered at the cool cream as it touched my heated, infect skin, trying not to look at the black and purple that dusted my arm and shoulder. She started to wrap the bandages around my arm.
"Quick question," I paused her as she finished mummifying me. "Where are my clothes?" I felt bare in the too-thin scrubs.
"Well, you were covered from head to toe in mud, rain, and blood by the time you got here, so when I dressed your wounds I took them and tossed them into the wash," she informed me.
"Ah," I nodded. I pulled my knee-length shorts out of my pack along with the white tank top I'd started with. Sarah politely turned away as I changed, struggling my way into the clothing. After I'd tugged on the clothes, I picked up my belt and put it back in its proper place at my waist.
"Ready?" she turned around after my belt clicked. Seeing that I was done, she turned to the exit. "Up to level three we go."
I followed after her, my arm aching underneath the tight cloth wrap, anxious to see my Sableye. I needn't have worried, though, as he was just fine where he was.
"Saaa," he hissed as I entered the room. His jeweled eyes were trained on an Espeon and a Natu duo as he performed his move. As he lifted a sharp taloned finger, something shimmered in front of him and I smiled. Detect, I thought, his newest move. The shimmer trailed across the air as he moved his finger and the little Natu was enthralled as the Eeveelution watched on in apparent contentment. Gabe let the light fade and the little bird type twittered in happiness. A scientist on the other side of the room clapped as he observed him and I joined in.
"Saaa? Ble!" my ghost turned to me and shouted, joyous at my recovery. He raced to my side and curled himself around my leg, on the side of my shadow, as usual. I kneeled down and rubbed my hand over his quasi-scaled head as he nuzzled my thigh. I smiled at him, glad he was okay.
"Remarkable," I heard from ahead of me. I looked up to see a lab coated men scribbling on a note pad furiously.
"Erm, excuse me?" I tilted my head.
"Huh? Oh," he faced me, pushing his thick lenses back up his nose with a finger. "The relationship between your Sableye and you is astounding. Generally, ghost Pokémon are antisocial and hard to train under command. On the other hand you two seem to be in perfect sync!" he enthused, sounding quite like a cheesy line from the game.
"Oh, uh, thanks?" I said, kind of wondering what he was going on about. Far as I'd ever heard you were supposed to build these kinds of relationships with your Pokémon.
"Would you – that is, would you mind terribly staying a few days?" he asked. "I'm Robert and I'd be very interested in watching your interaction with the rest of your Pokémon."
"Well…" I wasn't so sure about that. I'd been stagnant for a few days already and I was itching for the continuation of my journey, despite my injuries. Of course, that same stubbornness was what got me into this mess in the first place.
"You need to stay here anyway," Sarah interceded. "So that your infection can clear itself up. It would be morally wrong of me to let you leave under anything other than peak conditions," she smirked vaguely.
"…You're one of those manipulative sorts, aren't you?" I asked bluntly. She grinned widely at me and I sighed, looking down at Gabe. "Feel up to being 'observed'," I used my fingers to do the quote marks.
"Saaableye," he shrugged, burrowing deeper into my leg. I couldn't blame him, I knew how freaked Jesus had gotten when I'd hurt my other shoulder and I'd been up and ready in no time. Here, he had to watch me be carted off unconscious for who knows how long. Which reminded me…
"How long was I out, anyway?" I asked Sarah while looking for a window. I found one, but all I could see was rain and darkness.
"A day and a half," she told me promptly. My jaw hit the floor.
"A day and a half?" I parroted.
"Yes, that's what I said," she rolled her eyes. "Your body needed time to rest and heal itself. It didn't help that you had probably missed quite a bit of sleep, if the time you arrived here was any indication," she quirked a brow accusingly at me.
I shrugged. "Couldn't sleep." Not necessarily a lie. At that moment, my stomach rumbled angrily at me at the absence of food. "Uh… don't suppose I could get something to eat?"
They laughed at me. "Of course," Robert said, extending a hand to help me up. He walked us over to the other side of the long room, the Natu and Espeon following their masters closely. Gabriel had latched himself to my leg, refusing to let me go. As it turned out, the long room on the third level was split in half, one section for lounging and the other was a large kitchen – probably to accommodate their many lab technicians.
"You let out your Pokémon," Sarah told me, "and I'll fix us a few sandwiches."
"That sounds great," I agreed, shifting to face the open section of the room. "I'll let them all out but Copper – she's my Gyarados," I explained.
"Oh, you can let her out a window," Robert told me, sitting at a table. "I'm sure she'd like the rain and there are a few rivers in the area she can visit."
"That sounds good," I nodded. Cop hadn't been able to really play since I'd caught her, this'd be a good time for her own little vacation while we were stuck in the Institute. I went to the window I'd looked out earlier and unhooked the latch, pushing the pane open easily. I palmed her ball and tossed it into the pouring rain. It cracked open to reveal a brilliant white light in the shape of my blue monster before automatically sealing itself up and returning to my hand.
"Dooos," she roared after being released.
"Hey, girl," I called to her. She turned her massive head to me and hovered near the window. I patted her head and she closed her eyes, rumbling. "We're gonna spend a few days in the area so you can soak up the rain, all right?"
"Gyaaaraa," she roared before turning away and going skyward. I knew she'd be back, so I wasn't worried. I turned back to the room and grabbed my other Pokéballs.
"All right, guys," I called, tossing the orbs. A montage of voices rumbled throughout the room. Vexyl, Jesus, Minnow, and Roxie were the first wave of monsters before I grabbed Nonna's ball last, releasing her into the melee. I faced Sarah and Robert as they looked on my team curiously. Not team, I decided with a smile, family. My Pokémon were my pack, along with Morgan, Tiran, Stephanie, and Eric, I realized. It's odd how I left one life only to find another.
Clearing my throat, I got into what I liked to call 'presentation mode,' crooking a hand at my pack to get in line. "This is Vexyl," I told the scientists, my Combusken stepping forward and emitting a flame from his beak. "Show off," I muttered as he got back in place.
"Combuu," he shrugged. Conceited little thing.
"Minnow and Roxie," the two smallest bounded forward – all the way up to Sarah and Robert, sniffing and chattering at them excitedly. I coughed pointedly, snickering as Roxie and Minnow gave me pouting faces before going back to the line. "Jesus," my Kirlia stepped forward, curtseying politely before taking her step back. "And Nonna."
"Nuu," she said monotonously, staying in place. I blinked at her and shrugged at her slothfulness.
"They're all so well behaved," Robert remarked.
"Yes, very nice. Was it a lot of trouble to train them?" Sarah asked, setting the tray of sandwiches on the table along with a couple of water bottles. I rummaged through my pack and pulled out enough Pokémon food for my team. I tore open the bags and Robert kindly handed me a plastic bowl for Nonna's – her lack of opposable thumbs a disability in this respect. After they started munching, I sat down and grabbed one of the sandwiches and bit into it, tearing off a hearty chunk.
"Mmmm, delicious," I said after swallowing, my stomach settling at the promise of more food. "But, no, it wasn't hard to train them, really. They enjoy battling," I shrugged awkwardly, the wraps around my shoulder stilting my movement.
"Well, you've certainly raised them well," one of them commented. I was a little busy devouring my food to notice.
"You make it sound as if that's a rare occurrence," I noted, pausing my gluttony.
"Oh, no it's not," Sarah replied quickly, shaking her head. "Indeed, most starter trainers treat their Pokémon exceptionally well. But it seems that as time goes on, the longer a trainer has their Pokémon, they take them for granted," she explained. "It's nice to see that after all your time as a trainer you still treat them properly."
I blinked at her. "I'm a new trainer," I told them. "Vex," the Combusken looked up from his food briefly before dismissing us as unimportant, "is my starter."
"You mean ever?" Robert asked.
"Uh… yes."
"Why?"
"Why what?" I asked, confused.
"Why didn't you get a starter at ten like other trainers?" Sarah asked, clarifying her partner's questions.
My mind blanked. Honestly, I hadn't really thought about a 'background story' per sa. It hadn't seemed important – or crossed my mind at all, really. As quickly as I could, I tried to recall May Maple's life line.
"Oh, well, uh… See, I grew up in Johto and my dad, Eri – erm, Norman, was training up to be Gym Leader. He wanted to home school me and wait until he'd gotten the job for me to start my journey since it wasn't a given that we'd stay in Johto," I lied through my teeth. Sarah and Robert didn't say anything for a minute as they contemplated this. They had a look between the two of them and shrugged before bringing the conversation back to my Pokémon and I, with them no longer quite as astounded at our group dynamic now that they knew my 'story.'
I breathed a sigh of relief after they bought the total fallacy and answered the rest of their questions with ease. I really hoped I didn't have to stay here long.