Chapter 3: Aftermath
As soon as he and Brianne entered Santalune City, Robbie pulled his Holo Caster out of his jacket pocket. With fumbling fingers, he attempted to call the emergency number, and sighed in relief when the hologram of an emergency dispatcher appeared before him.
"Please state your emergency," said the dispatcher.
"My friend and I were attacked right outside Santalune City!" said Brianne, her voice high-pitched with terror. "There were three of them!"
"I tried to fight them off, but they hurt our Pokémon!" Robbie cut in.
"Where are you? Are you in any danger right now?" said the dispatcher, maintaining a professional tone.
Brianne started to cry again, and Robbie answered. "N-no, we are inside the city, just past the Route 3 gate" he said. "We got away... Cal stopped their Pokémon."
"Police are being sent to the Route 3 gate immediately. In the meantime, could you please describe Cal?"
"H-he has chin-length blond hair, and blue eyes," said Robbie. "And a navy and orange jacket. He's my mentor…" Robbie trailed off, fighting back tears.
"Alright," said the dispatcher. "Are you injured?"
"No," replied Robbie.
"Can you go to the Pokémon Center unassisted?"
Robbie mulled over the dispatcher's words for a few seconds, then asked "No, we don't. But will Cal meet us at the Pokémon Center?"
"I cannot tell you anything until I receive a report from the scene. But go to the Pokémon Center in order to help your Pokémon recover. While the stasis system inside Poké Balls will keep it alive, it will not make a full recovery without urgent medical care. The nurse at the center has been notified."
Robbie nodded, and the dispatcher ended the call. He and Brianne walked to the Pokémon Center in silence. It was only after they handed their Pokémon to the nurse and sat down in the lobby did Brianne finally break the silence.
"My tenth birthday is in a month...that's when I'll get my license. I've wanted it forever, I did everything I could to prepare myself, I even applied for a Pokédex, and I know that there's no evil teams now...but, I don't know anymore. I...Bidoof was using Rollout in the battle, and when those guys came...I couldn't protect her. I'm not sure if I'll be a good Trainer, if I can't do right by my Pokémon…" she trailed off, staring straight ahead.
"But Cal saved us," said Robbie, although he didn't trust his voice.
"But he didn't have to. We were lucky. You got lucky." Her voice sounded flat.
The silence returned for several more minutes. Finally, Brianne pulled out her own Holo Caster. Robbie noticed that it was an older model, likely purchased on sale, but didn't say anything. He listened, silently, as Brianne called a man and a woman, which Robbie supposed were her parents. He did not listen intently to the hushed conversation, but focused, instead, on the door behind the front desk. There was no change in the bustle and activity that suggested that his and Brianne's Pokémon were fully healed. He supposed that Froakie, and even Brianne's Bidoof, was going to be fine, but he found his thoughts drifting to Scatterbug. He hoped that the Poké Ball's stasis effect was powerful enough to ensure her survival.
When he noticed that the two figures had disappeared, he turned back to Brianne. "I'm sorry," he said, feeling the strangeness of the statement on his lips. "If Froakie hadn't knocked Bidoof out…" he struggled for the right words.
Brianne only nodded in response. As the tension in the lobby grew unbearable, the nurse stepped out from behind the desk. She held a tray that contained two Poké Balls in both hands. "Is one of you the Trainer of the Bidoof?" she asked.
Brianne stood up, and quietly accepted Bidoof's Poké Ball. She clutched it in her hands as though it would disappear if she let go, even as the nurse affirmed Bidoof's full recovery. When the nurse asked if Robbie was Froakie's trainer, he nodded, a sinking feeling forming in his chest.
"Where is my Scatterbug?" he almost shouted, interrupting the nurse.
She was unruffled, and stated "Due to the strength and effectiveness of the Fire-type attack used, as well as the low level of your Scatterbug, it has been severely injured. While it is no longer at immediate risk, it is still in danger, and will need to be observed overnight. Your Scatterbug cannot receive any visitors at this time."
Robbie was angry. "Do you know—"
His tirade was cut off by the nurse, who remained infuriatingly professional. "There are no visitors allowed, for your Scatterbug's health, at this time."
Briskly, she walked back towards the front desk, and disappeared behind the door. Brianne stood up soon after. "My parents are here," she said. "It was nice meeting you."
"Same to you," said Robbie. He returned her handshake and goodbye almost mechanically, and his gaze followed her to the glass sliding doors, and he saw her being hugged tightly by her parents and walking out the door. For about half an hour, he remained there. He wanted to call his parents, ask them to come to Santalune City and get him and Froakie and—
Not Scatterbug. They would never allow such a common, ugly Bug-Type into their pristine mansion, not even if she arrived inside a Poké Ball rather than through a forgotten crevice on a cold day. He couldn't just leave her here—he was the one who had ordered her to fight against a dangerous, unpredictable, type-effective opponent, and she had risked her life to obey him. But if he went home, that was what he would have to do.
He felt someone sit down on the bench next to him. Quickly, he looked to his right, and realized that Cal was here. "Where were you?" Robbie asked.
"Answering a few questions," said Cal, who had a faraway look in his eyes.
"For one whole hour? I didn't know that the police could ask you questions for that long." He stared at Cal for a few seconds, questioning.
"I was helping them with their investigation," said Cal. "They requested it of me, and I agreed."
Robbie nodded, satisfied for the moment. He then realized that he had to tell Cal the important news. "Scatterbug was seriously hurt," he began. "The nurse said that they had to keep her for observation. I couldn't visit her."
As tears welled up in his eyes for the third time today, Robbie fought them back. Cal was looking at him now, almost intently. He took this as his cue to continue, and said "You're probably wondering why I'm still here—Brianne left already. It's because I can't leave Scatterbug. I told her...to fight that Houndoom. It's my fault that she's hurt."
"So you want to stay at the Pokémon Center tonight, and wait for your Scatterbug to recover," said Cal. After a couple seconds, he continued on. "I'm sorry that this happened to you, on the first day of your journey. I've worked—the government of Kalos has worked quite hard to reduce crime in the region since the Team Flare incident. Apparently the gang was just three small-time criminals, and they were stopped before they could become more dangerous."
Robbie quickly spoke up. "Who are you, exactly? When I think about it, you look familiar, but I'm not sure how that is."
Instead of answering, Cal stood up. "I will make sure that we can stay at the Pokémon Center for the night," he said briskly.
"Aren't rooms free for Trainers?"
"Yes, but they fill up fast."
As it turned out, there was a single room with two beds available. Robbie surveyed the room, his body subconsciously tensing at the thought of sleeping on the thin mattress with threadbare sheets, and of sharing a bathroom with several strangers. Cal must have noticed the look on his face, because he said "This isn't sleeping in the street. Everything is clean, there is central heating and air conditioning, and they even provide free meals for us and our Pokémon!"
Robbie wanted to make a comment about Cal's apparent lack of standards , but thought better of it as he saw Cal rummage through his backpack after setting it down on a bed. He set down his own bag, and found his favorite red Ariados silk pajamas and a set of toiletries. He then went down the hall to the bathroom and got ready for bed. He then returned to the room, and knocked, hoping that Cal was done getting dressed. Fortunately, Cal was there, dressed in a plain white t-shirt and boxer shorts. Wordlessly, the older boy left for the bathroom, and Robbie crawled into the bed. Despite his best efforts, he could not fall asleep, and it was not due to the itchy cotton sheets or the hard mattress. Instead, the image of Scatterbug fighting for her life seemed to be burned upon his mind.
For a little while, he managed to ignore it and catch a few short hours of sleep. Then, the gnawing feeling that he would not, could not do right by his Pokémon, let alone become a Trainer, jolted him awake and rolled over.
A single, glowing, purple eye hovered next to him in the dark.
Robbie screamed.