Chapter 10: The Debt is Repaid
Bulbasaur swiftly skidded into the middle of the Center, everyone stopping their daily tasks to notice the small Pokémon. "Bulba! Bulbasa!"
"Aw, what a cute little Bulbasaur." The nurse, Nurse Joy, commented. Bulbasaur hopped wildly, attempting to get their attention to go save Skylark. "Are you hurt? Do you need a checkup?" Bulbasaur frantically shouted, turning her body to the door motioning outside. "Here, I'll wrap you up in no time and we'll find your owner."
Nurse Joy bent over and grabbed the frantic Bulbasaur, and when she stood up she turned around to go into the back rooms. Bulbasaur struggled to get free, but finally she found she couldn't struggle. Force was needed. Biting onto the arm of Nurse Joy, she endured the high pitched shriek of the nurse and finally jumped from her arms. She ran to the door, the nurse running after her. Bulbasaur jumped over the receptionist desk, finally making her way to the door.
Nurse Joy chased after her, but as she saw Bulbasaur running for the door it occurred to her that Bulbasaur was trying to lure her outside for help. She pressed an emergency buzzer, alerting another nurse in the back to come up and man the reception. After pressing the button, she grabbed a coat and her phone and ran after the Bulbasaur.
Bulbasaur ran down the dirt path, hoping to catch up to Skylark and save him. She hoped to do the same as he did when he found her. Bulbasaur had wandered out of the bushes, badly burned, and Skylark had no obligation to help the hurt Pokémon but he still did. Likewise, Bulbasaur didn't have to save him, but she was anyway.
After a few minutes of running, Nurse Joy following behind, Bulbasaur picked up the scent of her original trail and quickly hopped off from the road. She ran down into the forest, hoping to find her wounded trainer soon. Finally, she stumbled upon her burnt trainer, his unmoving body still curled in the position he was in that saved Bulbasaur. She wandered over to his front side, still burnt. The berries were still there. Bulbasaur started to cry as she nudged the trainer, hoping to wake him up.
Nurse Joy burst through the bushes a minute later, finding the heavily burned trainer and his burdened Bulbasaur. "Oh…oh my God…" She nearly dropped her phone as she pulled it out of her pocket, attempting to call the police and the actual hospital doctors. "Ye-yes, hello? I'm out in the woods with a heavily burned trainer and his Bulbasaur….the name?" She stopped and walked over to the other side of the body, and she gasped. "Skylark!? It-it's Skylark Declan!" She freaked out, and frantically begged for help.
In about five minutes the police showed up, as well as some first aid technicians. They carefully took the body, placed it on a stretcher, and then retreated from the dark forest. Skylark's heart still beat, but his body was too heavily damaged. If he didn't get help soon, he'd be dead…
Later, in the morning…
Skylark slowly opened his eyes to a dark hospital room. He was in a hospital gown and was hooked up to multiple machines. On the foot of his bed was Bulbasaur, who had finally gone to sleep hoping that her trainer would be safe. To the right was his mom, sleeping on a couch. "M-mom?" His mom quickly hopped up, making eye contact with Skylark.
"Skylark!" She hopped up and nearly tackled him, but before she hugged him she stopped. "I…I want to hug you so bad but the burns on your back are too severe."
"Burns?" Skylark felt his back and then yelped in pain. He thought back to last night, remembering that he jumped in front of Arcanine's attack to save Bulbasaur. "Did it burn me that bad?"
"Yes…last night once we got you to the hospital you had actually died. Someone revived you, but I'm not sure how." Skylark and his mom exchanged thankful glances, happy that he was alive. "What happened last night anyway?"
Skylark explained everything to her, and she frowned. "I tried to escape to tell the police of their organization, but I was stopped by a kid and his Arcanine. We were no match, and he would have killed Bulbasaur if I didn't step in."
"You're a brave son, Skylark." She praised. They talked for a while, and soon Bulbasaur woke up. Bulbasaur tackled her trainer, and they embraced tightly. Skylark was so thankful for a Pokémon like Bulbasaur. But soon, the fun ended and the police came in.
Skylark explained to them the entire organization, and they got into action immediately. While Skylark recovered, a series of events unfolded. Within three weeks, the organization was brought down and everyone involved in it was taken to the police station and detained. Their punishment never reached Skylark's ears, but most of the time the punishment is a revoking of their trainer card and their Pokémon, as well as a hefty fine. Some even get jail time on top of that.
After about a month, Skylark was finally healed to a point where he could continue training. With the Kanto Tournament only months away, there was little time to train. Things were finally back to normal, and Skylark and Bulbasaur were closer than ever.