"Just a few feet more…almost there."
Slowly, he kept crawling through the tall grass. A Rattata poked its head out of a nearby bush and regarded him curiously.
"It's gotta be close by…gotta be around here somewhere."
The effort of lifting his head nearly made him pass out, but he wanted to make sure he was heading in the right direction. He hadn't come this far only to miss his goal by inches.
The landscape swayed dizzily as he scanned the horizon.
"Where is it?"
And then he caught sight of the little white house shining like a beacon against the soft orange sunset.
"I did it."
And with a smile on his face, he collapsed facedown in the grass.
---
"We got some great bargains at the store, didn't we, Mimie?"
"Mime-mime!" Delia Ketchum's Pokémon nodded in agreement as the two headed back to their house.
"We'd better hurry, Mimie. Professor Oak will be here soon for dinner and I've got to get every…did you just say something, Mimie?"
Mimie shook its head. "Mime."
"That's funny. I thought I just heard something." Delia looked around. "I don't see anything, do you?"
Mimie shook its head again.
"Oh well, must be my imagination. Let's head…" Delia stopped and turned around. "Wait, there it is again. Didn't you hear it, Mimie? It sounded like something moaning. Sounded like it was close by, too."
Mimie looked around, but didn't see anything.
Delia began walking in a circle through the tall grass next to the path, searching for the source of the mysterious noise. "I wonder if it's a Pokémon making that noise, Mimie. Maybe it's hurt or…" She then shrieked as her foot made contact with a large brown lump lying in the grass. Mimie leapt forward, ready to protect her.
"It's…it's…what is it, Mimie?" Cautiously, Delia knelt down next to the object she had just stepped on. Slowly the lump rolled over, making a weak attempt with its arm to fend off the person that had just stepped on it. "No…don't…please…"
Delia gasped when she saw who was underneath the battered brown fedora and coat. "Brock!"
Even though his vision was fuzzy, the sound of the familiar voice made him break into a weak grin. "Mrs. Ketchum? Is that you?"
"Oh my goodness! Mimie, help me get him up!" Delia threw aside her shopping basket and, with the assistance of her Pokémon, helped Brock to his feet. "Come on, Mimie. We've got to get him home right away!" The two half-dragged, half-carried the nearly unconscious boy down the path to the house on the opposite end of the street. As soon as they had stepped across the threshold of the Ketchum residence, Brock realized where he was and sighed with relief.
"Thank you, Mrs. Ketchum," he said in a faint whisper. And with that, he lost consciousness.
"Oh my goodness! Mimie, let's get him to the…" Just then, there was a knock at the back door. "Oh no, who can that be? Mimie, go get the back door!" As Mimie scampered down the hall to the kitchen, Delia struggled to carry Brock to the sofa in the living room. Even though the boy was slightly shorter than she was, he weighed just as much as she did, and her legs started trembling with the effort of supporting his dead weight.
"Delia, what's going on? Mimie seems upset about…what in the world?!"
"Samuel, help me," Delia pleaded as she tried to keep from dropping Brock on the floor.
Professor Oak quickly raced through the kitchen and into the living room to Delia's side. He caught Brock just as Delia lost her grip on the unconscious boy.
Professor Oak then gasped when the battered brown fedora tumbled off and he saw who the unconscious boy was. "Brock? What in the world is he doing here?"
"Thanks, Samuel," Delia said as she and Professor Oak carried Brock to the couch.
"My God, what happened to him?" Professor Oak exclaimed at the sight of the boy's haggard face. He didn't look anything like the happy, confident boy he had spoken to just a few weeks ago during a conference call to Professor Ivy's lab.
"I don't know, Samuel. Mimie and I found him lying in the grass on our way home from the grocery store," Delia explained.
Professor Oak, who was in the middle of checking Brock's pulse, looked up. "Have you called for a doctor yet, Delia?"
"No. Do you think I should?"
Professor Oak nodded. "I think he could use some medical attention. He looks like he's in pretty rough shape.
"Oh dear. I'll go call the doctor right away."
As Delia hurried into the next room to call the doctor, Professor Oak continued his examination of the unconscious boy. "He's shaking like a leaf. See if you can find a blanket for him, Mimie."
The Pokémon nodded and hurried upstairs. It returned a moment later with a brightly colored quilt.
"Thanks, Mimie." Professor Oak took the quilt from the Pokémon and was covering Brock with it when Delia returned.
"The doctor said he'd be here shortly." Delia leaned over and gently touched Brock's sunken cheek. "Poor boy, he looks like he's half-dead. What in the world do you think happened to him?"
Professor Oak tucked the quilt around Brock's chin. "I don't know, Delia. But from what I can tell, it was pretty bad, whatever it was."
To be continued…