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IV; How Bad Can It Be?

After several days in the PokeCenter, the nurses had finally deemed Leo fit to be discharged. Ash had been by his side the whole time, despite his protests. He had urged her to go exploring, saying he didn't want her to feel obliged to stay by his bedside. Of course, she said it wasn't a bother – that she would wait until he was better so they could face this new world together.

Leo knew she was lying, but he said nothing.

She had actually tried to go outside during the first few days, but she hadn't managed to venture more than a few steps outside the building before racing back inside. It was clear that Ash was still terrified of being attacked again.

The nurses realizing this, had tried to assure her that she was safe in town – which Ash discovered was New Bark Town. But even the sight of a tame Pokemon trailing along the heels of its master made her worry. So far, the only Pokemon she had gotten used to were the Chansey who frequently roamed the Pokecenter.

Her behavior struck the nurses as extremely odd. Of course it would. Pokemon were a part of life around here – they were essential, even. The nurses could understand not liking Pokemon, but being terrified?

It took a while, but they finally accepted the story that Ash and Leo hastily weaved together. They were supposedly travelers from a distant country that didn't have any Pokemon. They had heard of a land where fantastic creatures lived alongside humans and enchanted by the tales, they had decided to travel to New Bark Town. They hadn't prepared for any sort of dangerous encounters, which is why they weren't expecting the rattata to attack them.

It was a terribly weak story and the nurses could have asked all sorts of questions. Where exactly where they from? Where was all of their equipment? Why didn't they have any knowledge of the region they were traveling to? Yet despite all the holes in their cover, the nurses didn't press any further.

What they did want to know was what were the two going to do now? It was clear that they weren't prepared to travel any sort of distance – they didn't have the equipment or the protection to do that. But they couldn't stay in the PokeCenter forever and they had to figure out a way home somehow. There seemed to be no solution to their problem.

"Jeez, we're barely going out and you still take ages to get ready."

Leo's taunt snapped Ash out of her thoughts. He had been in the hallway waiting for her to get her stuff together.

"Hold up a second!" she called to him. Quickly adjusting the bed sheets, she gave one last look around the room to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. As if it would matter, anyway. The only things that she had with her were her cell phone, house keys and wallet - all things that she always kept in her pockets, and all were things that were absolutely useless here. There was no service here (although she had seen the nurses use a cell phone once or twice), she had no home to go back to, and Ash soon realized that American dollars weren't useful here. Nonetheless, she would continue to carry them around with her – they were the only things left from home.

Finished, Ash raced out into the hallway, where Leo was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. At the sound of her footsteps, he began snoring loudly and obnoxiously. Ash could feel her eye twitch as she resisted the urge to go and smack him. 'He's recovering from an injury. Even if he's asking for it, don't make it worse.'

She cleared her throat loudly, as Leo pretended to be startled to consciousness. A coy smile played at his lips while he stretched. "Oh, you're finally done. Are you ready to leave, or should I just take another nap?"

Again, Ash forced back the image of hitting him. Instead, she walked past him and led the way to the lobby where she stopped to say good-bye to the nurse.

"Hey, Olivia, we're gunna leave now!" Ash called out.

The nurse hurried over, checking Leo one last time. "Now, make sure you don't push yourself. Rest as soon as you get tired and don't even think about any sort of strenuous activity! We want to make sure your leg recovers as quickly as possible."

Her fretting made Leo blush in embarrassment as he tried to slowly inch his way toward the door. Ash followed, chuckling at his dilemma. Feeling pity on him, she interrupted Olivia while she was in mid-sentence. "Hey, don't worry! I'll make sure he doesn't do anything that would hurt his leg. Besides, we're just walking halfway across town, we're not doing the Olympics."

The nurse gave her a curious glance. "Olympics?"

Ash stared back, confusion riddling her face. "Wait, you've never heard of-"

"Oh, it's just something we have back home. But anyway, we're off!" Leo quickly interrupted as he rushed out the door, dragging Ash behind him. When the doors had safely closed behind them, he turned to her. "You gotta be more careful about stuff like that, Ash. They probably don't have the Olympics here - it's the Pokeathlon, remember? But next time you make a slip like that, it might be something we can't explain, ok?"

At first, a glimmer of anger worked its way into Ash's mind, but she soon realized that his tone was filled with concern. If their cover was blown, it would mean trouble for them both. Her anger left as quickly as it arrived, and she nodded in acceptance.

"Okay, so now that we've covered that, feel free to lead the way!"

Ash stared at him with dumb wonder. "You don't even know how to get there?"

He shrugged. "I was sick."

"You were wounded, not sick. And it's not like you weren't mentally incapacitated – you could've easily asked one of the nurses."

Again, that coy smile turned the corners of his mouth. "Well, as long you know where you're going, we're fine aren't we?"

She shoved him playfully before she began leading the way into town. New Bark Town was nothing like it was in the games. Well, considering that in the games there were literally only four or five building in the whole town, of course it was different. This New Bark was actually a legitimate town, albeit a small one. The PokeCenter was located on what seemed to be one of the more busier streets in town, although only a few cars passed them by. A PokeMart could be seen just a few stores down, and Ash knew from the view in her room that there were a bunch of houses just around the corner. All in all, it didn't seem much different from their own hometown of Birchfall.

Well, if you ignored the Pokemon. Otherwise, it would have felt just like home.

Ash walked with confidence through the streets, although when they passed a person strolling along with a Pokemon, Leo noticed her body tense, as if she was ready to flee or fight if it proved hostile. Of course, they weren't attacked as they made their way through town. The Pokemon here were tame, nothing like the wild Pokemon of the forest.

It was only a ten minute walk to their destination: the New Bark Town Laboratory. Warily, they entered the building and found themselves in a sleek lobby with pristine white walls and shiny tiled floors. A receptionist sat behind a desk, and she dutifully greeted them as the duo approached.

Clearing his throat, Leo nervously began to speak. "Uh yeah, we're here to meet Professor…" He flashed an urgent look at Ash for help.

"Professor Cedar," she finished for him. "The nurses over at the PokeCenter set up an appointment for us to meet him?"

"And what are your names?"

"Ashlyn Sharpe and Leo Blackwell."

The receptionist nodded and tapped away at her keyboard. "Alright, you two are good to go." She pulled out two plastic cards that both read 'GUEST' and gave it to them. "Just clip those onto your shirt."

She then led them through a set of double doors and into a hallway. Most of the doors on each side were closed so they couldn't snatch a look, but several people in white lab coats would pass by them scrawling something furiously on a clipboard or muttering scientific nonsense to themselves.

Leo slowed down slightly so that the receptionist was a few steps ahead and Ash met his pace. He looked around and then whispered in her ear, "I was half expecting the lab to be a single huge room with the Professor waiting for us at the back."

She laughed, the image of the lab from the games fixated in her mind, but then the receptionist glanced back suspiciously at the two of them and Ash immediately silenced herself, shrugging innocently.

Soon enough, the receptionist led them though another set of double doors and into a large room… that closely resembled how the laboratory was portrayed in the games. Ash heard Leo raise a hand to his mouth as he stifled a snort in laughter. "Guess I spoke too soon," he mumbled. This room was much bigger than in the games, and they were surrounded by large machines and the buzz of gadgets and electronics. There were a few Pokemon here and there, but they were all being observed by the scientists while they took notes. One wall of the room was filled with eggs of all shapes and colors neatly stored in glass compartments. Ash stared in awe at this wall – the eggs were marked and colored in such a way that she started guessing which Pokemon would hatch from each one.

"Professor Cedar is that man right there. Just go up to him and introduce yourselves and he'll handle the rest." The receptionist then turned on her heels to go, leaving an awestruck Leo and Ash in her wake.

It was Ash who forced herself to move. "Wait!"

The receptionist turned around, an eyebrow raised.

"I thought we were going to meet the Professor in private? We had an appointment after all…"

A short laugh left the receptionist, making Ash wonder if she said anything wrong.

"The appointment is just a formality, the Professor could never bring himself to just sitting at a desk all day. He insists on doing fieldwork along with the rest of the staff, so you'll just have to keep up with him." At the cautious looks from the two teenagers, the receptionist continued, "Don't worry, he's a really nice guy. He wouldn't do anything to scare you off – besides, he meets with teenagers like yourselves all the time." A quick glance at her watch made her jolt in panic. "But I do have to get going now, take care!" Without another word, she raced out of the room while Ash and Leo awkwardly stood there trying not to get in the way of anybody.

Ash studied the Professor warily. He was a huge man who at first reminded her of a giant – tall and broad-shouldered with hands that looked like they could snap her in half. But upon closer examination, she noted how delicately he handled the Pokemon eggs and how easily he managed the complicated looking instruments around the lab. His head was shaved in a neat crew cut but his chin and upper lip were stubbly with dark hair. Under his white lab coat he was dressed in a blue dress shirt and tie and dark pants, as if he was already prepared to go out for a fancy dinner if needed.

With a silent gesture to Leo to follow, Ash steeled herself and then walked up to the Professor. "Excuse me, Professor Cedar?"

He was carefully examining an egg in some sort of machine – an incubator, Ash guessed. After jotting down a few notes, he turned to them with a hearty smile on his face.

"Ah, Ashlyn and Leo I presume?" His voice was loud and boomed across the room.

"Uh, yessir, that's us. You can just call me Ash," she said hesitantly. It was clear she was a bit daunted by the Professor's overwhelming presence.

"Now, now, none of that 'sir' business! Just call me Professor Cedar. Actually, just call me Cedar. We're all friends here, right?" Without waiting for an answer he hurried off to another section of the room and Ash and Leo cautiously followed.

He led them through the lab until he reached a door that opened up to a grassy enclosed field. Pokemon of all sorts roamed and grazed peacefully amongst each other, and it was all Ash and Leo could do to stop their jaws from hitting their floor.

Noticing their flabbergasted expressions, Cedar chuckled, his eyes filled with pride as they gazed at all the Pokemon. "Amazing, huh? Now I'm guessing you two want to just pick your starters and hurry on off to become masters, but first…"

Ash didn't even hear the rest of what he saying, because she was still caught on something he had said. "Wait, wait, wait," she interrupted, "you mean that you're giving us Pokemon?"

Cedar gave them a confused look. "Well, of course. The nurses at the PokeCenter said you two needed Pokemon for protection on your travels. You guys are a bit older than the usual bunch, but aren't you two going to become trainers?"

Surprise hit Ash like a brick to the face. Them, trainers? When the nurses had told Ash and Leo to go to the lab, they had said the Professor would give them some equipment and advice. Ash had had distant dreams that they would receive starter Pokemon, but she hadn't actually expected her dream to turn into reality.

Still shocked, she couldn't even get a word out. It was Leo who spoke for them. "So we're actually receiving starter Pokemon? We get to pick between Cyndaquil, Totadile, and Chikorita?"

Cedar hesitated and then gave them an apologetic shrug. "See, that's where the problem lies. We're running a little low on starter Pokemon – they just haven't been breeding well lately. But out of the starters, I have managed to save a Cyndaquil for one of you."

Leo started back slightly. "You're only giving one of us a Pokemon?" His gaze shifted to Ash, and she gave him a worried look in exchange. He knew her well enough to know that she would kill to have her Pokemon. And she knew him well enough to know that he would do the same.

"No, no," Cedar said quickly, "I can tell already that that wouldn't be a good solution. If one of you are ok with it, I also have an Eevee available as a starter as well."

Beside him, Leo noticed Ash perk up immediately, and he knew that he'd end up getting the Cyndaquil. He smiled slightly to himself; looks like they'd both leave this place with Pokemon that suited them.

It looked as if Cedar noticed this as well because he laughed deeply at Ash's response. "I guess the young lady will be getting the Eevee! Leo, do you have any objections?"

"Not at all."

"Good, because from the looks of it, I don't think she would have given you any other choice." They all laughed at this, Ash and Leo the loudest because they knew it was completely true.

Cedar mocked wiping away a tear. "Now follow me over here, both of your starters will be in the nursery."

They walked alongside the edge of the field to a small building located just off of the main site. Inside were dozens of small Pokemon playing with each other as handlers attempted to control the chaos.

"Go get the Eevee and Cyndaquil," Cedar told the workers, and two handlers immediately raced off to go get them.

As they were waiting, a small Sentret bumped into Ash's leg. With a small shriek, she jumped back nearly knocking over Leo. Her fear of Pokemon had been forgotten over her excitement of receiving a starter, but it all came back in an instant. It was only with Leo's comforting arm wrapped around her that she managed to calm down.

A small part of her mind felt disgusted with herself. She hadn't even been the one attacked and here she was screaming like a little girl while Leo was completely relaxed. It was pitiful.

Another hand placed itself on her shoulder, and Ash looked up to see Cedar, his eyes gentle. "The nurses told me about what happened. It's understandable that you're still scared, but you have nothing to be worried about from these guys. I raised them all myself – they'd never attack another person…" here he paused, thinking it over. "Well, unless you asked it to, but I'm sure you'd never do that."

At that moment, the two handlers came back, each holding a Pokeball and a small backpack. Leo accepted the gifts graciously while Ash did so with a little more caution, as if her Eevee would burst out of the Pokeball and attack at any second.

Cedar clapped his hands to get their attention. "Alright then! Your Pokemon are inside their Pokeballs right now. You can let them out when we go back outside. The backpack and their contents are a gift from myself – just a little something for the both of you to get you started. Check everything later, and ask the nurses or come back and visit me if you don't know what something is or how to use it."

As he talked, he took them out of the nursery and into a more secluded section of the field. "And now, you two can send out your Pokemon."

Ash looked at him, startled. "Just like that?"

"Now or never." Noticing her hesitation, he spoke more gently. "Push the button on the side to make the Pokeball inflate to its full-size. Then just throw the Pokeball onto a surface and on impact the Pokemon will be sent out. The ball will automatically come back to you, so make sure you catch it."

Ash cast a nervous glance at Leo, but he looked eager and ready to go to meet his new Pokemon. Was she really ready for this? Was she really going to become a Pokemon trainer?

"I'll go first, Ash," Leo assured her. She nodded and stepped back.

He pressed the button on the side, his eyes wide at how quickly and easily it expanded in his hand until it was the size of a softball. He looked to Cedar for support, and the Professor nodded encouragingly. Leo took a deep breath, and then lightly underhand tossed it a few feet in front of him. When the Pokeball landed, a bright white light burst from the opened capsule. The light was all jagged and chaotic for a moment before it twisted and formed itself into the shape of a creature. As the light died away, Leo was so stunned that he didn't remember to catch the Pokeball, and it bounced painfully off of his fingers.

Because right there in front of him was a Cyndaquil. Leo's Cyndaquil. It was small thing, possibly only nine or ten inches in length. Its upper half was coated in blue fur and the bottom half was a creamy color. Four red spots were on its back and its eyes were closed to slits.

The Pokemon squeaked in surprise, its head turning around confused. Leo took a step toward it, his arms stretched out as if to pick it up but he suddenly stopped. Turning to Cedar he said, "Will it burn me?"

The Professor shrugged. "For starters, it is actually a she – you got very lucky there. And if she's scared, she'll definitely light up. So keep your hands away from her back and try not to scare her."

Leo nodded gratefully and then got into a crouch. He called out to it, his voice soft and affectionate as if he were talking to a baby or a small child. "Hi there, Cyndaquil! My name is Leo." The Cyndaquil turned to his direction, sniffing carefully. "C'mere girl, I won't hurt you." He kept beckoning like this until eventually, the Cyndaquil was allowing herself to be petted by Leo's gentle caress.

"Hey Ash, this is really nice! Send out your Eevee, I bet it'll be adorable," he urged, a smile lighting up his face.

"Alright," she muttered. 'If Leo can do, I sure as hell can do it also. Besides, it's a baby Eevee. How bad can it be?' Suddenly, she thought of the first episode of Pokemon where Ash – Ash Ketchum, that is – met his Pikachu for the very first time. It was a disaster.

'No!' she thought fiercely, forcing herself to be optimistic. 'My Eevee is going to be great."

With a determined mask set on her face, she quickly inflated the Pokeball and tossed it to the ground. The white light that followed didn't blind her as badly as the first time, and she easily caught the Pokeball as it flew back into her hand. As the light faded away, a small Eevee blinked slowly and sniffed the air cautiously. A smile lit up Ash's face. 'Holy shit, it's adorable!' She stepped forward, ready to greet her Pokemon. "Hey, Eevee, I'm Ash and-"

She was reaching a hand toward the Eevee when it suddenly snapped at her, its tiny fangs missing her hand by a hairsbreadth. A low snarl rumbled in its throat, and Ash stared at it in horror.

'This name must be cursed…'