AN: Okay, so Chapter 2 is finally here. Updates will, sadly be quite irregular. I only write when I have some free time and unfortunately that's not very often. School has just started again for me, so don't ever assume this story is abandoned unless I explicitly point it out in an update. Thank you.

"Nurse Joy, please you've got to help me. My Squirtle is in danger." I said while gasping for air.

"Oh my," she said taking one look at Squirtle. "what happened?"

"I'll tell you later just please save my Squirtle. If he dies..." I said fearfully

"Alright, then follow me. It looks like your Squirtle is having a seizure. We'll have to get him to the ICU to determine the problem. Has he been in a battle recently?" She asked with a concerned tone.

"Yeah, he has. Just 3 hours ago in fact. We were fighting a Rattata and I ordered him to use Skull Bash, but he missed and hit a boulder. I went to look and he was like this." I explained.

"I see. This Squirtle is also a newborn with a cell mutation problem, am I correct?" She asked worriedly.

"Y..yes. I made a terrible mistake, I shouldn't have ordered him to use Skull Bash."

"There's your problem. Using such a powerful move on such a small pokemon can have disastrous consequences. We'll stop the convulsing and ease the pain but I fear there's not much we can do for him. Surgery is definitely needed, as I'm afraid Squirtle has a lesion in his brain." She said fearfully.

Now I was truly worried, my pokemon was just 1 day old, he couldn't die like this. I would forever hate myself if something like this happened. I could go back and get another starter, but I'm not sure I would bond with them. It just wouldn't be the same.

"Nurse Joy, are you sure you can't save him?" I asked with desperation.

"I don't know." Was all she said.

The next few minutes in the sprint to the ICU were tense but quiet. All I could think about was Squirtle and whether or not he was going to make it. I looked down at Squirtle and now he was firing Bubble at Nurse Joy, the seizure must have confused him. We were now in front of the ICU and promptly went in.

"Chansey number 1 and 6 we have an emergency! Get this Squirtle on a bed and give him some AEDs now!" Nurse Joy exclaimed. 2 Chansey immediately came over and put Squirtle on a then tried to give Squirtle AEDs and some Demerol, however this proved difficult with Squirtle still confused and hostile. He was firing Bubbles and Water Guns at everything he could see, the only option was to sedate him. Soon Nurse Joy came over with a form for me to sign.

"Luke, I need you to sign this. We need your permission to use sedatives on Squirtle." She said while handing it to me.

I quickly sifted through the pages to see the risks, though I don't know why. Anything would be better than death. I hastily signed my name and handed it back to Nurse Joy.

"Alright, that's all we'll need. Please wait outside" she told me.

The 2 Chansey came back with a needle, probably the sedative was in there. Squirtle was still thrashing about wildly, so one Chansey had to hold him down while the other one injected him with the sedative. In a matter of seconds the thrashing stopped, and Squirtle settled down. He seemed to have 'woken up' and was now checking his surroundings, with a scared look in his face. He instantly started to cry and frantically tried to get down from the bed, eventually falling down. I bolted through the door and picked him up off the ground, trying to comfort him.

"Squirtle, please calm down, I'm here now. Please stop crying." I said while rubbing his shell. I knew he liked it.

"Squirt? Squirt Squirtle Squirt?" He seemed to ask.

"Squirtle, don't cry. You're here for your own good. Please don't cry." I reassured him.

"Squirt? Squirt." He drifted to sleep, he must have been exhausted after all all those attacks that were fired. I went back into the ICU and put him back down on his bed.

"Nurse Joy, what now?" I asked calmly.

"We'll need to do thorough exams to see where Squirtle is hurt."

"I see. Will he need any surgery?" I asked her.

"All signs point to yes, that seizure was a dead giveaway. He may need brain surgery." She said confidently.

I didn't say anything after that, just nodded and walked away. I rented a room in the pokemon center and spent the evening in the ICU room with Squirtle, still ashamed of what I caused. I didn't know if Squirtle would ever trust me again after this, hell I wouldn't blame him if he didn't. I should have assumed that using such a powerful attack would cause something like this. Then came the time to do the exams, during which time I wasn't allowed to accompany Squirtle. With nothing left to do I decided to call Professor Oak and tell him my situation.

"So you see Professor, I told Squirtle to use Skull Bash on a Rattata and he missed and hit a boulder. He started convulsing and next thing I know I'm rushing to the Center." I explained, "They're examining him now to see if he'll need surgery. I wasn't allowed to be with him.

"I see. Luke, do be more careful from now and try to refrain from using physical attacks." He advised.

"Yeah, I will Professor. Thanks again for supporting me, I appreciate it."

"Of course Luke, feel free to call me whenever you need advice." He reassured me.

I hung up and went to bed, exhausted. I crawled under the covers, fearing the worst for tomorrow. I was soon asleep.

I woke up to the soothing sound of an alarm blaring in my ear. I must have forgotten to disable it last night, I was so tired. I hastily put on my clothes and shoes and went to talk to Nurse Joy.

"Nurse Joy, is Squirtle alright? Will surgery be needed?" I asked frantically.

"I'm afraid so. Squirtle has a very serious brain lesion as a result of the collision with that boulder, so if we don't do anything he will die. We also discovered something interesting, Squirtle is unable to evolve." At that last sentence I jumped.

"What? What do you mean he won't be able to evolve?" I asked surprised.

"Well, it's not that he can't evolve, but rather he shouldn't. You see, because of your Squirtle's cell mutation, when he evolves his body gets bigger but his organs don't. He'd die from multiple organ failure. To make sure this wouldn't happen, we injected Squirtle with microscopic particles of an everstone to make sure he'd never evolve." She remarked.

"Oh, okay." I said glumly, "So can you just hand me the surgery approval form? I want to get this over with."

Nurse Joy quickly took out a form from her desk and handed it to me. I skimmed through the pages and signed it at the end.

"Nurse Joy, is it possible to do this now?" I asked while handing her the form.

"Why yes, it's not that busy this time year since most trainers are already past Viridian City." She explained.

"Thank you."

She then gestured for me to follow her, and she led through the halls all the way back to the ICU room. Opening the doors, she told the Chansey:

"Chansey number 8 and 4, get Squirtle to the operation room." Was all she said.

Squirtle was anesthetized, and had been since last night. Any sudden movements such as the ones last night could send him into a fatal seizure. This operation was going to be risky, but in my opinion, it was worth the risk. By now we were nearing one of the operation rooms.

"Luke, I'm going to need you to stay outside." She told me.

As much as I wanted to be with Squirtle in there, I didn't want to disrupt their operation. At least the room had a window, so I could see what they were doing. This gave me a bit of a relief.

The next hour was uneventful, all I could see was Nurse Joy and the Chansey opening Squirtle's head. The tension in this was palpable, so much so I could feel the pain Squirtle was unconsciously going through. Then it happened.

Squirtle flatlined.