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"…": Characters talking
'…': Characters thinking to themselves
"…": Pokédex speaking or recounting information to trainers
(…): Extra facts about the story
((…)): My opinions
Chapter 2: Flashback, Part 2
Gary's POV1:30 PM, May 13, 2005; Ten miles outside of Viridian City, in Diglett Cave outside of the Viridian Forest, near Pewter City, Kanto Region
"Finally… done," muttered Gary, as he finished bandaging the woman to the best of his abilities. He examined his handiwork, and nodded in satisfaction at the tightly wound bandages covering the woman almost from head to toe.
"Mag?" ("Are you done yet, Gary?") asked Magmar as he glanced at his trainer, sensing him begin to relax a bit.
"Yeah, I'm done. Thanks," replied Gary as he nodded to his Pokémon and quickly put away the first-aid kit. He then looked over to where Umbreon's rings were glowing a bright blue.
"Togetic okay, pal?" asked Gary a bit wearily as he got to his feet slowly and walked over to where his Umbreon was.
"Umbre, Umbreon," ("Yeah, he's sleeping now,") replied the shadow Pokèmon as she lifted her head from her paws and looked at Gary, who looked like he was about to keel over.
"Umbreon?" ("You okay Gary?") she asked as she got to her feet and glowed her rings a bit brighter so Gary would have some more light.
"Yeah, I'm fine…" murmured Gary as he suddenly fell to his knees and retched whatever was left in his stomach from the night before. After a few minutes, Gary lifted his head and said, "I've never seen so much blood in my whole life… not even after I saw Terri die…" Gary trailed off as he thought about his now-dead girlfriend Terri Shaw, who had been murdered six months ago by renegade Pokémon hunters. Gary had made sure that they had suffered, but the image of him holding a dying Terri had never left his mind.
Gary shook his head, in an attempt to drive the image out, and then glanced over at the wounded Togetic, who was sleeping fitfully.
"Damn, I forgot to treat Togetic…" he murmured as he once more looked at the Pokèmon, who was now whimpering in pain, as he kept hitting his arms on the dirt ground as he flailed about in pain.
"Umbreon, go and grab my supply of Pokémon medicine, will ya?" Gary asked wearily, and as Umbreon ran over to Gary's backpack Gary slowly got up and walked over to the thrashing Togetic. He gently picked the Pokèmon up and called Magmar over.
When Magmar arrived, Gary instructed him to shine the flame over Togetic, as he had done when treating the woman and Gary examined the injured Pokémon, gently running his fingers over the slash marks on his wings and arms. He also found burn marks present on Togetic's stomach, and some minor ones on his face.
"Umbre?" (Is Togetic okay?) asked Umbreon worriedly as she came running over with the bag of Pokémon medicine that Gary kept with him.
"Yeah, he'll be okay," replied Gary as he looked up at Umbreon and flashed her a small smile of reassurance. He then looked through the bag while resting the injured Togetic on his lap.
"Here we go…" murmured Gary as he pulled out a hyper potion, some burn heals, and bandages. He then nodded at Magmar to turn up the flame on his tail a bit more, and then he set to work on Togetic.
"This may sting a bit…" murmured Gary as he took one of the burn heals and sprayed it on the Pokèmon's chest.
"Tog!" (Ow!) whimpered Togetic as he felt the medicine hit his skin.
"Shhh… it's okay; you'll be alright," soothed Gary as he took some more burn heals and gently applied them to Togetic's face. Togetic didn't cry out; it was able to sense the sincerity in Gary's heart and instinctively knew this stranger wouldn't hurt him.
When Gary had finished with the burn heals, he then took the hyper potion, and after warning Togetic that it would be stronger than the burn heals had been, applied it. Togetic screamed in pain at the potion's feel, and then quieted when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps.
"What now?" asked Gary wearily as he gently put Togetic on the ground and motioned Umbreon to come beside him. They moved into battle stance, and were mesmerized as they watched a family of Dugtrio and Diglett flee past them, followed by a herd of Rhyhorn. The wild Pokémon took no notice of Gary or his Pokèmon and just kept on going, turning down a tunnel not far from Gary's "camp" a few feet away.
Both Gary and Umbreon blinked, and said, "Okay, that was weird, (Umbreon,)". They then both shook their heads at the same time and returned to Togetic, who had been watching the scene with some interest gleaming in his black eyes.
Gary then told Umbreon to take his Pokémon medicine back to his backpack while he finished treating Togetic. Umbreon obeyed, and Gary carefully bandaged Togetic's wings, warning him as he did so that he shouldn't try flying for a while. Togetic nodded, and then let Gary put smaller bandages on his face.
Gary then got to his feet, cracking his back as he did so, and bent down and picked up Togetic. Togetic instantly snuggled into Gary's embrace, feeling completely safe in the trainer's arms. Surprised, Gary instinctively held Togetic a bit closer as he walked over to Togetic's trainer. He rather liked having someone- even if it was a Pokémon- rely on him for protection. Sure, his own Pokémon relied on him for warmth, food, shelter, and help, but this Togetic wasn't even his; and he was entrusting his life to him.
Gary, upon reaching the injured woman, beckoned Magmar over once more, and after putting Togetic on the ground near its trainer, began checking the woman's bandages. After a few minutes Gary found everything to be in order, and then he felt Umbreon nudge Gary in the leg.
"What's up?" asked Gary as he stared into Umbreon's bright yellow eyes.
"Umbreon, Umbre?" (Can I have something to eat now?) asked Umbreon, and then Magmar chimed in with his request for food as well.
Gary cracked a grin and said, "Yeah, sure. I forgot that I haven't fed you guys at all today." Gary then got up and walked over to his backpack, where he took out a container of Pokémon chow he had gotten as a gift from his friend Brock Slate for Christmas. Gary and Brock hadn't started out as friends, but after Ash had won the Hoenn League a few years ago Gary had come to Pewter City to do some research on rock and ground Pokémon, and he and Brock had ended up becoming friends.
Gary then took the other four Pokéballs off his belt and, throwing them into the air, said, "Come out everybody!"
In a short flash of white light four other Pokémon emerged, and stood before Gary. They included an Arcanine, a Swablu, a Jolteon, and a Blastoise. Each of these Pokémon, like his Umbreon, had something different in their markings that classified them as "shinies".
For example, Gary's Umbreon has bright yellow eyes, light blue rings on her body that glow blue in the dark, and a blood red scar running from her right ear to the top of her right eye.
Arcanine has dark purple eyes instead of red ones, his mane is a deep brown, and one of the stripes near his tail is a forest green.
His Swablu isn't blue like others in her species, but is light lavender with pink eyes, along with the customary white, cloud-like wings.
Blastoise, Gary's first Pokémon, and one of his favorites, looks just like any other Blastoise; except for the black shell and green eyes that Gary noticed when he was a Squirtle.
Gary's Jolteon isn't really his; it was his girlfriend Terri's. After Gary got revenge on the Pokémon hunters who killed Terri, Gary took in the only Pokémon of hers that was still alive- her Jolteon named Zap. His fur is the opposite of a regular Jolteon's, with the fur that is usually white a pale goldenrod yellow and the fur that is usually yellow a very light white color. His eyes are the customary black. Besides his Blastoise and Umbreon Zap is Gary's favorite Pokémon, as it reminds him of Terri and how much she had meant to him.
Gary's Magmar is just a regular Pokémon, but because of the special training Gary gave him, he is as strong as a Blaziken.
"Blast?" (What's up Gary?) asked Gary's Blastoise as he looked around the cave, confusion evident in his green eyes. The other newly emerged Pokémon chimed in with their questions as they looked around the cave. Zap then saw the woman and instantly ran over to her.
"Zap, no!" whispered Gary urgently as he ran over to the woman, afraid Zap's rough fur would do more harm to the woman than good. When he reached the woman, he saw Zap sitting at the woman's head, tears present in his eyes as he watched her sleep.
"Jolt, Jolteon?" (Is she alive, Gary?) Zap asked as he watched the woman, his eyes looking for anything out of the ordinary that would indicate otherwise.
"Yeah, bud, she's alive," replied Gary as he knelt beside Zap and patted him on the head. "I know you miss Terri; I miss her too."
Gary and Zap then sat there for a few moments, thinking about Terri's death. Although their wounds had started to heal, it would still take a long time for them to be back to their old selves.
Gary then felt something nudge him and looked to see his Swablu, looking up at him with hunger shining in her pink eyes.
"Swab, Swab, Lu!" (I'm hungry, Gary!) Swablu piped softly, being sure to not wake the woman, and then flew over to where Gary had left the Pokémon food when he had released his other Pokémon.
"I'm coming. Zap, shall we?" replied Gary as he once more got to his feet and walked over to where his Pokémon were all waiting. He heard Zap follow and grinned a small smile.
"All right, guys, chow time," Gary said as he rationed out the food, making sure each Pokémon got the right portions. He then put away the rest of the food and got out an energy bar to eat.
7:20 PM, May 13, 2005; Ten miles outside of Viridian City, in Diglett Cave outside of the Viridian Forest, near Pewter City, Kanto Region
When everyone had finished eating Gary recalled his Blastoise, Swablu, Arcanine, and Magmar, leaving Umbreon and Zap with him. Gary then pulled out his sleeping bag and placed it on the other side of the bonfire he built a small bonfire, and sat near it, looking into the flames for a while. He kept his ears and eyes open, ready to help the woman if she would need it during the night. He watched Zap slowly pad over to the woman and gently get ready to sleep near her head. He smiled sadly; he remembered how Zap had always done that with Terri and Gary realized just how much he really missed her.
"Umbreon?" (You okay?) asked Umbreon as she came up beside Gary and placed her head in his lap.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just remembering the past," responded Gary as he absentmindedly pet Umbreon on the head while staring into the flames.
FLASHBACK ENDS
He soon dozed off, not realizing that the Togetic was watching him, trust shining in his eyes as he watched his mistress's hero slip off into the world of sleep.