Chapter Four
Colby was stunned by what she saw. A little Pokémon was lying in the dumpster, surrounded by trash. Its huge chocolate brown eyes seemed to be seeing right through Colby's eyes and into her soul.
The Pokémon's reddish brown hair was matted severely and in clumps. Huge ears stuck out of the mats of hair, seeming happy to see someone. The tail was also matted. This little Pokémon was all alone in the dumpster, sad and scared. Who in their right mind would do this to the poor creature? Who ever did, Colby wanted to go on a manhunt to teach this person a lesson. "Ellis…look…" She whispered.
Ellis came over slowly and peeked inside the dumpster.
He gasped, "Oh…what is he doing in here?"
Colby shook her head back and forth at the cruelty of some people. "This looks like no Pokémon I have ever seen…its almost like a cross breed…what do we do now?" Ellis asked.
"Well, we can't just leave him here! He's hurt, look!"
Colby pointed out, gesturing towards some burns on his back and side. The Pokémon whimpered again and Colby's heart almost tore out of her chest. Then, right there, she got it. This Region had brought her here for a reason. She had happened to pass by this alley, but not by accident. It was meant to be, and she knew it. The little guy was meant to be her Pokémon, meant to travel Aurora with her, meant to be her best friend.
Without even a much as hesitation, Colby picked up the little Pokémon and held him to her. The burns on his back looked fairly critical and his fur was a mess.
"We have to get him to a Pokémon center immediately. He needs medical care, now," Colby told Ellis.
Ellis nodded, seeming to understand. "There is one at the end of the alley here and on the right. Lets go get this little guy healthy again."
Colby practically ran to the Pokémon Center, but carefully so that she didn't hurt the Pokémon even more. The Center came into view, a huge green and white building on the corner of the block. The automatic doors whooshed open with a satisfying hiss and Colby stepped in with Ellis hard on her heels. Good thing the Center was practically deserted, because this Pokémon needed some serious care.
"May I help you?"
A middle-aged woman with light brown hair asked from behind the counter.
"Yes! Ma'am, this Pokémon needs care immediately. We were walking in an alley and we found him in the dumpster like this. Can you help him?" Colby blurted out, showing the nurse the injured Pokémon.
The nurse gave the Pokémon a good look and her eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh! He has some severe burns…it looks kind of like…but it couldn't be…" Colby was confused, "What? It couldn't be what ma'am?" Ellis asked, concerned.
The nurse looked up slowly from the Pokémon and shook her head slowly.
"This Pokémon…I am afraid, is a victim of mutation and experiments. In the dark parts of the Hecate region, new technologies have been developed to make this possible. This one looks like he was a cross between and Eevie and a Vulpix."
Ellis was right! Colby glanced at him and saw the shock present on his face.
"This is the first of those patients I have gotten in a while…normally…they don't…they don't make it…" The nurse explained sadly.
"Well…well, you have to try! Please nurse, please!" Colby begged.
The nurse stood there in silence for a few seconds.
"I will do what I can. This one looks to be fairly critical. I will try my best, but there are no guarantees sweetheart."
Colby gave the Pokémon one last look. His chocolate brown eyes starred into her blue ones. He had something on his face that looked like determination. Like, I am going to make it, for you.
Colby trusted the nurse to save him if she could and watched with angst as the Pokémon was whisked away by the nurse. Ellis walked over to a chair and put his head in his hands.
"I can't believe this…how could people do this? How could they! Who is heartless enough to experiment on helpless Pokémon?" Ellis mumbled with sadness.
"Team Lunar, that's who." Someone said.
Colby looked up and saw someone hidden behind a paper across from where she and Ellis were sitting. The paper dropped and a middle aged man was staring at them, frowning. His light brown hair was beginning to gray slightly and his face was clean shaven. He was wearing a brown suit and from his pocket hung a gold pocket watch chain.
"Who?" Ellis asked him curiously.
The man pulled out his watch and checked the time, then snapped in back closed again.
"Team Lunar. They are the ones experimenting on the Pokémon. The same thing that happened to the one you brought in, is happening to hundreds of others every day."
"How do you know this?" Colby asked.
The man looked at her with a blank, but warning, stare.
"Because, I used to be one of them."
Colby's anger rose up, "You? You used to mutate innocent Pokémon and throw them into dumpsters?" She snarled with fury.
No one, not even a Pokémon, should be treated that way.
"No, I mean I used to be a member of Team Lunar. I ceased to be when they started experimentation, a little over two months ago," The man explained, clearly offended by her false accusation.
"Who is Team Lunar?" Ellis asked again.
The man sat the newspaper on the seat beside him and folded his hands on his lap.
"All you need to know is that they are the wrong crowd to mess with. Anyone with the motto "Darkness will prevail" is someone you need to avoid. If I were you two, I would take your little Pokémon and I wouldn't publicize it too much. He was supposed to be dead, all the subjects were supposed to die. Leaving no evidence. Your little Pokémon is lucky to have lived, because most don't."
Colby felt a surge of anger towards Team Lunar, how dare they? "Well, look at the time, I must be going," The man said slyly, flipping open his pocket watch and standing up.
"But, wait! Sir, can you tell us anything more that could be of help?" Ellis called as the man was walking off.
He stopped in his tracks, turned and made eye contact with them both. "You will see me again very soon. Keep your Pokémon safe, because someday that may be all you have."
He turned on his heel and walked out slyly, without another word.
Colby and Ellis waited patiently in the Pokémon Center for what seemed like forever. Colby's thoughts were buzzing the whole time and her worry meter was breaking the scale.
What if the Pokémon didn't make it? How could she go on without a Pokémon to travel this brand new Region with? After her parent's deaths, she decided to come to this new Region and hopefully start a better life…how could it be a better life when the first thing that happens is a death of her Pokémon?
That seemed too much for her to bear. Just as the possibilities were beginning to get to her, the nurse came back.
Colby jerked out of her seat and was eager to hear the word. So far, so good, the nurse didn't seem too sad.
"I've got good news. Your little Pokémon is responding well to the treatment Chancey is giving him. I personally think there is a good chance that he will make a full recovery. That Pokémon is a fighter if I've ever seen one. He has grit."
Colby smiled and exhaled a breath of relief. He was going to make a full recovery. That filled her with a great happiness, which was another first in a while. But she didn't need the nurse to tell her that the Pokémon was a fighter. She saw that determination in his eyes from minute one.
He had been through a lot, and he wasn't giving up the battle so easy. Ellis also had a smile on his face and light in his blue eyes.
"That's so great nurse!" Ellis exclaimed.
"Thank you so much nurse! Can we see him?" Colby said.
The nurse hesitated for a moment and then saw she genuine concern on Colby's face.
"Well…oh, alright. But just for a few minutes because he needs time to recover."
Colby smiled, "Thank you again. I don't know how I can ever thank you enough."
The nurse returned the smile and led them down a hallway, passing many rooms. She veered right to room seventeen and quietly opened the door. The room was small but was packed various instruments of medical paraphernalia were everywhere that you glanced.
The medical capsule was in the center of the room, and the Pokémon lay on it with his eyes closed. There were various tubes and wires attached to him, which made Colby's heart jerk. She really hoped he wasn't in too much pain…
His coat looked a bit better. Some rats were still present but the majority of the matting was gone. Bandages covered the once present burns that covered the Pokémon's back and legs. Colby and Ellis approached the round capsule, carefully to inspect the Pokémon.
"What exactly is he…?" Ellis asked quietly.
The nurse looked puzzled, "Well…as I said, I've only treated a few hybrids in my career. This one looks to me like he is a cross between and Eevie and a Vulpix. We don't exactly have a name for the species, because after all, he is a cross breed."
Ellis nodded agreement and continued to study the Pokémon with interest.
"What are you going to name the little guy, Colby?" Ellis asked, with a smile on his face.
Colby gazed at the Pokémon. He needed a good name…one that fit. A smile came to her face, and she looked at him with light in her eyes.
"His name is Nicksy."
A/N: Review and let me know what you think! :)