Henri left with that funny little smile on his face, making me wonder what it was that was so funny. However, I had a more pressing issue on my hands; Victor had received his Pokeballs from Nurse Joy and now there were three of them. But even though he had gotten his Pokémon back, he didn't show any signs of leaving. He simply hung around the waiting room, hovering near me.
"Did you want something?" I growled at him as I shifted my hold on my strange egg. Before he could answer, my egg shook in my arms, announcing that it was ready to hatch soon.
"What was that?" Victor asked.
"My egg is getting ready to hatch!" I couldn't believe how wonderful the day was turning out. I had won my first badge, and now I would finally get to meet my new Pokémon friend that would join me on my journey.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to check your egg's health," Nurse Joy approached. I wasn't happy about letting this Nurse Joy put my egg in one of the machines I could hear nearby, but I wanted to make sure that the baby was going to be healthy. I gently handed her the egg and followed her to the side room. She placed my egg on a cushion in a quietly beeping machine and attached some wires to it.
"So what kind of Pokémon egg is that?" Victor's voice startled me. I hadn't realized that he had been following me. Luckily I was saved from answering because the egg gave another mighty shake and then began to glow.
"Oh my!" Nurse Joy exclaimed. "I guess it was closer to hatching than I thought."
"No, he's hatching early," my brow creased with worry.
"He?" Victor's eyebrows raised. The glow increased, becoming hurtful to look at, but I was surprised to find Victor leaning in towards the egg. I suppose he hadn't ever seen a Pokémon egg hatch, so I didn't correct him. The glow finally reached its peak and then dissipated, leaving behind a tiny pale Pokémon with a pattern of red and blue triangles just like the egg had.
"Pii!" the little Pokémon announced his arrival.
"What kind of Pokémon is this? I've never seen it before," frowned Victor. He pulled out the pokedex, "Togepi, the Spike Ball Pokémon. The shell seems to be filled with joy. It is said that it will share good luck when treated kindly."
"Togepi is a lot cuter than I thought," I smiled. "Come here, little guy." I went to pick him up, but he began to wail loudly. I quickly set him back down, and he reached out his stubby little arms towards Victor. I had seen this before, and my happiness evaporated as I realized what was happening.
"What's wrong with your Togepi?" Victor asked.
"He's. Not. My. Togepi," I bit out the words.
"What? What's going on, Kat?" Victor began to look uneasy.
"Togepi imprinted on you; he thinks you're his mom," I let the acid seep into my voice. "He would be depressed if I took him away." I picked up the baby and pressed him into Victor's arms.
"You mean you're giving him to me?" his green eyes widened.
"Not exactly," I hauled him out of the room by his elbow. "You have no idea how to properly care for a baby Pokémon; I can't just let you run off with this newly-hatched rare Pokémon. All sorts of things could go wrong."
"So what is it that we're doing?" Victor struggled to keep up as I grabbed Uebu's Pokeball and Denka from the counter.
"We're going to go find Henri and figure out what to do," I dragged him out of the Pokémon center. "He'll know what to do."
"What makes you so sure?" grumbled Victor.
"Well, would you argue with what he decides?" I glared at him.
"I guess not," Victor mulled over it for a moment.
"See," I held in a smirk, "even though you haven't known him that long, you respect his battle power. Besides, he's the one Elm hired to keep me from attacking people, so I'd really think you'd like to find him as soon as possible." Although Victor seemed unaffected by my threat, he picked up his pace and easily kept up with me. As we approached Sprout Tower, I was surprised to see what looked like a natural moat surrounding the tall building. There was a series of two bridges leading to the tower; they both touched down on a small island before stretching to either side of the lake.
"You kids wanting to get to Sprout Tower?" a bald man in a black robe asked.
"Have you seen a boy with a blue ponytail and glasses come this way?" I asked the man. "He had a Lucario with him."
"Oh, him," the monk nodded. "He wanted to meet with the Head Sage, so he headed for the top of the tower."
"The top?" I looked at the immense building. I gathered my courage together, "We really need to find him, and so we'll head up there. Thank you, sir."
"We do all of our training in the tower, so you might be challenged to battle if you aren't accompanied by another monk," warned the man. "Maybe I should go with you two, just to be safe."
Victor looked like he was going to decline, but I spoke up first, "I'm sure you have other things to do. Don't worry; we'll be fine on our own." With a wave goodbye, we left the monk behind as we walked across the bridges towards the building that loomed over the entire area. The doors to the tower were wide open, allowing us to simply walk right inside. I felt a shiver go up my spine, and when Kaitou jumped into my arms, I knew that he sensed it as well.
To my surprise, there was a giant pillar in the middle of the room that seemed to go all the way to the top of the tower. It swayed slowly to and fro, making a creepy creaking sound as it moved. With Denka on my shoulder and Kaitou in my arms, I walked next to a chatty Victor who was carrying on about how this tower was named after a Bellsprout because of the giant pillar. We found the wooden staircase and began to climb them, with Victor suddenly seeming very nervous on having to carry the Togepi. I guess he just realized how dangerous the world could be for a baby Pokémon.
"You there!" another monk spotted us as we reached the second floor. "I could use some practice. Either of you up for a Pokémon battle?"
"We were in a hurry, but I could use the practice," I admitted. "I'll battle you if you want; I'm Kat."
"I'm Sage Nico," the man pulled out a Pokeball. "Go, Bella!" A Bellsprout appeared in a flash of red light and wavered from side to side, just like the pillar. I guess that made Victor right after all.
I chose my own Pokeball and sent out a Pokémon, "Regardless of the effects of time, this Pokémon is as calm as the forest meadow. Introducing, Miki!"
"Chiko!" Miki looked happy to be called out of her Pokeball.
"Bella, use Vine Whip!" the sage ordered. Green vines appeared and wrapped around Miki to hold her down and keep her from attacking.
"Hold on, Miki!" I yelled. "Use Growl!" My tiny grass type bravely took in as deep of a breath as she could and emitted a loud growl. Although it didn't help much, the growl did lower the Bellsprout's attack enough so that its grip on Miki loosened. "Quick, use Tackle!" Using the extra wiggle room to her advantage, Miki managed to struggle free of the Bellsprout's vines and tackled the enemy at full power. Unfortunately, it didn't look like one attack was going to stop the Bellsprout. Then Miki waved the leaf on the top of her head and shot several leaves at Bella, which made little explosions when they hit the other grass type Pokémon. However, the attack itself didn't cause much damage, and it seemed like the Bellsprout was still far from beaten.
"That was Chikorita's Razor Leaf," Victor commented in a bored tone.
"Bella, use Vine Whip again!" yelled Sage Nico. As the vines shot towards Miki, this time they did not grab her; instead, the vines viciously struck Miki several times as she cried out in pain.
"Miki, let's end this; use Leaf Storm!" I frantically ordered. I could see Victor's obvious surprise, but I ignored him as I watched Miki as glowing leaves appeared around her in a swirling current. With a cry, she shot the leaves towards the Bellsprout, causing a much bigger explosion than before. When the dust cleared, it became obvious that the Bellsprout was out of the battle.
"Bella, return," the monk said. "I'm impressed, Kat. Your Chikorita has a lot of heart, and that is what helped you two win."
"We're looking for a guy with a blue pony-tail," I mentioned as I returned Miki. "Have you seen him head up this way?"
"I saw him earlier," nodded Nico. "I'll escort you two upstairs since I have no more chores to do. I need to heal Bella as well."
As we began walking again, I asked him, "Do you have a reviver here?"
"No, we do not believe in the use of machines to heal Pokémon," Sage Nico shook his head. "We have many remedies and herbs we use here, especially the use of Pokémon attacks such as Stun Spore and Sleep Powder. I believe that is what your friend wanted to talk to the Head Sage about."
"You use Pokémon attacks for healing?" Victor looked up from Togepi.
"Yes, it is one of our own unique medicines," the monk smiled. "The Head Sage could explain it better, but we use those attacks to put Pokémon who are in pain asleep so that they can be healed more effectively."
"That's interesting, but why is Henri interested in learning about this?" the boy's emerald eyes shot towards me.
"Henri wants to be a Pokémon doctor," I explained. "He prefers to heal Pokémon rather than battle with them."
"A Pokémon doctor?" Victor frowned. "I've never heard of such a thing. Besides, it seems a waste to throw away the talent he has for combining attacks."
"No one can choose a path for someone else," Sage Nico chuckled as we climbed up the stairs. "I am sure Henri has talents in healing Pokémon as well." I was about to reply that he was right, but then I remembered that Henri said he wanted to keep his ability secret. So instead I bit my tongue and hugged Kaitou tighter.
Although Sage Nico and Victor continued to talk, I could hardly pay attention to the conversation. The feeling I had gotten when I had first spied the Sprout Tower in the distance was starting to come back in full force. There were a few Rattata running around inside, but Kaitou was so stressed that he ignored them entirely. The small Furret shivered in my arms as we climbed higher still, and I felt the tension in the air.
"It's almost nightfall," commented Sage Nico, grabbing my attention again. "I am surprised we haven't seen your friend on his way down yet." As he spoke, a shadowy form materialized in front of us; however, it wasn't Henri that appeared.
"Gaaaasssstly," the floating orb with sharp fangs said. I began to shiver uncontrollably once the dark Pokémon appeared; it seemed that this was the source of my brother's and my paranoia.
"What's a Gastly doing here?" Victor pulled out a Pokeball.
"Don't battle them," Sage Nico grabbed Victor's arm.
"Them?" Victor and I said at the same time as Kaitou said, "Ret?" Suddenly, the entire stairwell was filled with dozens of the floating Pokémon. I felt Katiou's heart skip a beat beneath my hands.
"Oh," Victor appeared to be reassessing the situation, "them."
"These ghost Pokémon inhabit the tower along with the wild Rattata," explained the monk. "Lately they have been more and more mischievous; probably because of the new leader they are following."
"Leader?" Victor's head whipped up, swerving this way and that. "Which one would that be?"
"The one with the blue aura," the monk pointed out the Pokémon. It only took me a moment to realize that the one he had pointed out was colored differently than the other Pokémon; and then came the thought that Victor was going to freak out.
"A shiny Gastly?" Victor spluttered. "What is with you two and finding shiny Pokémon?" he asked me as he released his Pokémon. It appeared that his Elekid had evolved while we were separated.
"Joule, use Shock Wave to attack that shiny Gastly," ordered Victor. With a smug grin, the Electabuzz sent out a crescent wave of electricity towards the Gastly. With an equally smug smile, the Gastly disappeared into the wall behind it, leaving the attack to crash into the other nearby ghost Pokémon. Unfortunately, this caused the remanding Pokémon to begin attacking us. Victor, Joule, and I dodged to the side but the Hypnosis attack hit Sage Nico and he immediately sunk to the floor deep in sleep.
"Joule, use Fire Punch and spin," the boy's emerald eyes glinted. With a rapid spin, the Electabuzz's flaming fist became a ring of fire that cut down the ghost Pokémon in its way. However, there were still too many of the wild Pokémon swarming for the electric Pokémon to handle on her own.
"Denka, Kaitou! You two help out too!" I yelled as the oddly-colored Gastly reappeared nearby. "Use Thundershock and Thunderpunch!" With two identical leaps into the air, Denka and Kaitou executed their electric attacks in unison. Denka's Thundershock shot down multiple ghost Pokémon as Kaitou's Thunderpunch struck one orb Pokémon after the other.
"I didn't know your Furret could actually fight," Victor sounded impressed.
If we hadn't been in the middle of a battle, I would have seriously thought about attacking him. Instead I simply said, "Just because I don't like to let my little brother fight doesn't mean he can't take care of himself." As if to prove my point, Kaitou upped the power on his Thunderpunch, creating an even bigger aura of electricity around his paw and taking out two Gastly at once.
"There are still too many of them," I turned to Victor. "We need to think of something quick!"
"Right," Victor wrenched his eyes away from the shiny Gastly. He made as if to pull another Pokeball from his belt, but suddenly the Togepi in his arms began waving its tiny arms from side to side and chanting. In a brilliant flash of light, we were suddenly standing on a level floor instead of on stairs. As I looked around with spots in my eyes, I saw Victor beside me and Sage Nico slumped on the floor next to us. Our bewildered Pokémon weren't far away, wondering what had just happened.
"Kat? Victor?" I heard a familiar voice. Turning, I spotted Henri standing on the other side of the room along with two more monks.
"Henri!" I rubbed my eyes. "Wait, that means we're on the top floor of the tower, doesn't it? How did we get up here?"
"That looked like a Teleport," Henri explained as they quickly approached us. "What happened to this sage?"
"We came looking for you, and then we were attacked by the Gastly," Victor returned his Electabuzz.
"Technically, Victor did attack them first," I corrected him as I returned Denka. "A whole bunch of those Pokémon appeared, but the other Gastly didn't attack until he had Joule attack their leader, the shiny one." Victor shot a glare at me.
"Then you children should leave the tower as soon as possible," one of the sages said as the other one helped Sage Nico sit up. "The ghosts of our tower are very vengeful spirits and won't rest until they find you. In fact, they are probably searching the tower for you right now."
"Right, I'll escort them out," Henri bowed to the man. "Thank you for everything you have taught me, Head Sage."
"Here, use this Escape Rope to leave the tower," offered the second monk. "It will take you outside of our doors."
"Thank you," Henri handed the sage some money. "That should pay for the rope and the trouble we have caused. Let's go, Kat." Henri took the Escape Rope at the same time Victor, Kaitou, Shimmer, and I grabbed onto it and the world around us zoomed by in a blur of colors. When everything stopped spinning, we were standing in front of the Sprout Tower's giant doors for the second time that evening.
"Ugh," I shook my head. "Let's never do that again." My stomach was still turning and spinning inside me even though we had stopped.
"So do you two want to tell me what it is that's going on?" asked Henri. "Why didn't you just wait for me at the Pokémon Center, Kat?"
"My egg hatched," I began.
"I noticed that," interrupted the blue-haired boy.
"And he imprinted on Victor," I continued.
"Ah, that explains why he's carrying it," nodded Henri. "So what are you two going to do about it?"
"We were hoping you had an idea," grumbled Victor.
"He has no idea how to take care of a baby Pokémon," I argued, "but I can't just take Togepi away from him."
"So Togepi has to stay with Victor, right?" checked the boy with the pony-tail.
"Well, yeah," I frowned.
"But he can't take care of it by himself, right?" pressed Henri.
"That's what I just said," I could feel my temper rising.
"Well, then he should come with us," he concluded.
"What?" Victor and I said at the same time.
"Victor, I suggest you travel with me and Kat," explained Henri. "If you're going to be keeping the Togepi, you'll need someone who is an expert at taking care of baby Pokémon. That expert would be Kat, who you just also happen to owe because she's giving you her Togepi, which is a very rare Pokémon. Sound fair to you?"
"Do I have a choice?" growled Victor. I glared at the emerald-eyed boy with enough intensity that he should have backed away slowly.
"Not really, no," chuckled Henri. "We'll figure something out for what you'll pay her back with since I doubt you want to give her one of your Pokémon. For now, let's just head back to the Pokémon Center for the night." As we headed towards the Pokémon Center, I saw Shimmer slightly relax in the corner of my eye. That's when I remembered that Henri and Victor didn't get along very well together. I felt a little guilty for ruining my bodyguard's mood for the rest of the trip simply because I was being overprotective of a Togepi that didn't even want me for a trainer.
We scraped together some leftovers at the Pokémon Center and ate a quick dinner with all of our Pokémon. I was surprised to see that Victor's Monsoon had evolved into a Croconaw; I was slightly put off by him because of the brutal trainer Henri and I had run into at the beginning of our journey. However, I tried to remember that every Pokémon was a unique creature that was influenced by a variety of things, including their trainers. His new addition to his team was a grumpy Larvitar who was guarding his food with a zest that made me nervous to have the other Pokémon nearby.
We finally settled down in the same beds that we had used the night before, with the addition of Victor in one of the extra beds in the room. I fell asleep curled with my Pokémon, missing the smooth hard shell of my egg next to me. I felt a pang of jealousy as I saw Victor curled around the Togepi with pillows set up all around him. It was going to be hard to see a Pokémon that was meant to be mine with someone else, but I was trying to be as fair about it as possible. With these thoughts in my head, I drifted to sleep listening to the breathing of all the people and Pokémon around me.
I woke up several times throughout the night to rouse a very irate Victor so that he could feed Togepi some formula. I tried to explain that having a baby Pokémon was a lot of hard work, but his mood didn't seem to improve any. By the time the sun finally came up, the boy had dark circles under his eyes like he had never had a night that he hadn't slept through entirely. However, I woke him up as soon as Henri started stirring so that we could all go down for breakfast together. We managed to grab some breakfast with minimal mishaps and decided that it would be best if we set out early.
As we walked out of Violet City, Victor piped up, "There's supposed to be some ruins near here; people say that there are rare Pokémon living there."
"I suppose you want to check it out then," grinned Henri. "Kat?"
"If you want to battle, you have to be extremely careful of hurting Togepi," I said.
"Serotonin," corrected Victor. "I decided to name him Serotonin."
I took a deep breath to keep from snapping, "Okay then. You'll have to be really careful of avoiding attacks so nothing hurts Serotonin. He's still a newborn and can be seriously injured by even a non-direct attack."
"Right," sighed Victor. "I don't suppose you could hold him if I had to battle?"
"Not unless you want to listen to him wail the entire time and possibly start attacking things," I rolled my eyes. "He's your responsibility now; I'm just here to make sure that he survives." Victor glared at me, but didn't say anything.
"I wouldn't mind doing some sightseeing," shrugged my bodyguard. "There could be something interesting there."
"Alright," I nodded. "Let's go check it out, but no battling with the baby." Although Victor seemed a little put out by my last remark, he decided to busy himself with feeding Serotonin a bottle. We spotted the entrance to the ruins not long after; they were really close to the city. The crumbling sand and stone structures were accompanied by newer buildings that housed researchers of the ruins.
"Wow," I looked around. "What happened here?"
"They're called ruins for a reason," Victor sniffed. "I wonder where the rare Pokémon I heard about are."
As I was about to reply, something caught my eye. There were scorched patches scattered here and there around the ruins, the likes of which I'd seen when a fire-type Pokémon is running rampant. I turned to the boys, "I'm going to go ask the researchers in the building over there about the ruins. Why don't you two explore and look for those rare Pokémon? Henri, you make sure he takes good care of Serotonin."
Henri raised an eyebrow questioningly, but he nodded anyway and led the way towards the nearest building. As they walked away, Shimmer glanced back and gave me a worried look. I smiled and waved to let him know that everything was alright before turning towards the research facility. I should have known something was going on when I hadn't seen any researchers working outside.
"Hello?" I opened the door to the research building. "Forgive me for coming in."
"Oh, you frightened us," a woman nearby said. There were two men standing with her, covered in bandages from what looked to be nasty burns.
"I'm sorry," I gave a small bow. "I saw the scorch marks and I was worried that you all had been attacked by a fire Pokémon. I'm Kat. Is there anything I can do?"
"Are you a Pokémon trainer?" asked one of the men.
"I just earned my first gym badge in Violet City," I admitted.
"Then you can get rid of that Growlithe!" the second man exclaimed. "Please, it has gone insane! It randomly appears and attacks anyone it sees, human and Pokémon alike. We've been trapped in here for nearly two days now!"
"Do you know why the Growlithe is attacking?" I worried. "Pokémon never do anything without a reason."
"I think I know why," the first man spoke up again. "The Growlithe that attacked us was limping horribly. Also, there isn't an area where wild Growlithe are found for miles around here; this Pokémon must have been abandoned by a trainer."
"Abandoned?" I was shocked. "Who in their right mind would abandon a seriously injured Pokémon?"
"Does it matter?" the second man began to yell. "Just get the damn thing out of here before it attacks someone again!"
"It doesn't matter if it has been abandoned?" I growled. "This Pokémon is seriously injured, lost, and confused with no one there to take care of it. It's no wonder that it's gone crazy and begun attacking people- it's frightened."
"He doesn't mean anything," the woman assured me. "We're just frightened because we have no Pokémon to battle the Growlithe and we've been trapped in here with no one to help us. Our video phone broke last week and we never got it fixed, so we couldn't call for help."
"I'll take care of the Growlithe," I decided. "But I suggest that you get that phone fixed and probably catch yourself a Pokémon too. If something like this happens again, you should be better prepared."
"Of course," agreed the first man. "We can't always expect a young trainer to come save us when we're in danger."
"Where did you last see the Growlithe?" I asked them.
"It won't take long to find it," explained the woman. "It travels around the buildings of the ruins in circles and attacks anything that it sees."
"Alright, I'm off then," I opened the door. "I'll come back and let you all know as soon as it is safe to go outside." I closed the door on them as they proclaimed their thanks for my help; I wasn't really doing this for their sakes. I avoided the building that Henri and Victor had just disappeared into and instead chose to check the perimeter of the ruins.
"Graaaaaaaaaaaaw!" suddenly roared an angry voice. Turning to my left I saw what looked to be a fluffy dog-like Pokémon standing on three of its legs. Blood was dripping from its front left paw held high in the air and it also looked to have some serious wounds on the rest of its body. It looked to be in so much pain, I was frozen in place as flames poured from its mouth.
At the last moment, Kaitou shielded me from the Growlithe's attack, crying out as the flames burned his cream-colored fur. That snapped me out of my trance; I wrapped my arms around my brother to help protect him from the fires. The fire-type Pokémon was still attacking, but I pushed Kaitou under me so that he could be shielded entirely. Then, still crouching, I took a step forward. Then another step. And then another. I could feel my skin blistering and then crisping on the back of my arms, but I still crept forward. Two more steps forward and my face was so hot, I felt sure that the sweat coming off of me was turning into steam.
Five agonizingly slow and painful steps later, and I was directly in front of the orange and cream Pokémon. I could see the suffering in its eyes as its attack wavered and the flames began to weaken. Knowing that this would be my only chance, I collapsed to my knees and pulled the Puppy Pokémon to me in a tight embrace. In its shock, the fire emitting from its mouth suddenly ceased.
"Shhh," I soothed as I stroked her back. "It's okay now. Everything is going to be okay. I'm going to take care of you now." I felt her skinny body begin to relax underneath my arms as I continued, "You're not alone anymore; I'm right here with you. Don't worry; everything is going to be okay now." Only when the Pokémon had completely relaxed did I dare to release it from my embrace. I took stock of the poor Pokémon's condition and decided that I didn't have any time to waste.
"Fur-Furret! Ret-ret, Furret!" Kaitou ran over to see how I was.
"I'll be fine," I ignored his concern. "Let's get her to Henri as quickly as we can." I turned to the fire Pokémon, "I'm going to pick you up now, okay? It might hurt a bit, but we have to get you some help." The brave Pokémon nodded and squeezed its eyes shut tightly, preparing for the pain. I decided to wrap my arms around her middle where there didn't seem to be as much damage; she was a bit heavier than I had thought, making me bend over to support her weight.
In the end I could only carry her so that her back paws were only a few inches from the ground. Kaitou was luckily not too badly burned, so he was able to walk beside me instead of riding on my shoulders. The building the boys had disappeared into was a couple yards away when my legs suddenly collapsed underneath me. I managed to fall backwards so that the injured Pokémon would land on top of me instead of being crushed by my weight. That's when I began to yell.
"!" I screamed as loudly as I could, hoping that they were still in the same building. I paused to catch my breath for a few seconds before yelling, "Sshhhhiiimmmmmmeeerrrrrrr! IIIIII nnneeeeed yyyooouuurrrrr heeeeellllpp oooouuutt hhheeeeerrrreeee, Hhhhheeeeennnnnrrrriiii!" I was relieved to see Henri, Victor, and Shimmer running towards me from another nearby building. Although shocked, Shimmer seemed relieved when he didn't spot any other Pokémon or people near us.
"Kat!" Henri crouched down next to me. "What happened?"
"This-huff-Growlithe-huff-needs-huff-your-huff-help," I gasped for breath as I tried to explain the situation. Henri immediately looked over the Growlithe and placed his hands over the most serious wound, her paw.
"Forget the Pokémon!" interrupted Victor. "What happened to your arms?"
I gave him a glare and puffed out, "Forget-huff-my arms! Huff-Take-huff-care-huff-of my-huff-brother!"
"Right!" Victor seemed to notice Kaitou for the first time. "Burn Heal! Where is it?" He threw his backpack on the ground and began to rummage through it. "Henri, do you have any Burn Heals? I can't find mine!" By the time we both looked back at Henri, the fire-type Pokémon's wounds were entirely gone.
"But how-" began Victor.
"Here," Henri tossed some of the white bandages he had bought the other day to the other boy. "You bandage her arms and I'll take care of the Pokémon."
"Just use Miki," I gestured as best I could to my belt without moving my arms too much. "She can use Aromatherapy."
"Of course!" Henri pulled the pink Pokeball off of my belt and released Miki. "Aromatherapy can heal all status conditions, including burns. Miki, if you would-" My little Chikorita gladly complied, using her sweet scents to heal Kaitou's burns.
"Fur!" Kaitou cheered, once again healthy.
"We should use some kind of salve on her wounds," Victor had pulled my jacket off to get a better look at my arms. "I'm afraid the bandages would only irritate the raw spots more as they begin to heal."
"I know Aromatherapy probably won't work, but what's wrong with just using a Burn Heal on me?" I growled, wanting them to stop fussing over me.
They glanced at each other for a moment. "I don't know about that, but Rawst Berries are known for their abilities to treat burns," Victor commented. "If you have any of those, we could make a salve with them."
"Can't hurt to try," shrugged Henri as he opened a small pouch in his bag. He pulled out some blue berries and what looked to be small leaves, "Rawst Berries for the burn and some of the Head Sage's herbs for the pain. It'll only take a moment to crush them together. Shimmer?" The Lucario took all the ingredients into his paws and smashed them together, forming an unappetizing pale blue paste.
Shimmer approached me and began gently applying the paste to my arms. "Lu-Lu, Lucario," he chastised me.
"I am holding still," I snarled at the blue Pokémon. Henri looked like he was holding in a chuckle, but Victor's brow was still creased with worry. After Shimmer used up all of the salve, Henri wrapped my arms in the bandages, making sure that they weren't too tight. When he was done, I waved my arms around a bit to see how mobile they were and was disappointed to find my movements restricted.
"So are you going to tell us what happened?" Victor snapped.
"Isn't it obvious?" my bodyguard gathered his things and stood up. "She was injured trying to rescue this little fire-type Pokémon here."
"You okay?" I asked the Growlithe. It answered with a happy bark, so I turned to my Furret, "You too, Kaitou?" He answered he was fine, but worried about me.
"Thank goodness," I sighed. "Everyone is okay. Thank you for all your help, Miki!" I praised the little grass-type, "Kaitou is much better thanks to you."
"What about you, Kat?" Victor pressed the issue. "You're not okay! What happened to the not getting into battles when there's a baby to take care of thing?"
"That's why I sent you and Henri away," I hid a faint smirk. "There was evidence of a rampaging fire-type Pokémon all over this place, and I didn't want Serotonin to accidentally get hurt. Besides, I already told you that you're the one who has to take care of the baby; I'm just an instructor."
"Well," Henri helped me up by grabbing my uninjured upper arm, "what are we going to do about your training?"
"Kaitou can help me out," I smiled down at my little brother. "He's had to be my eyes before, so this shouldn't be too hard for him." I turned to the Growlithe, "I know that someone left you here all by yourself, but I want you to know that not all people are that bad. Some of them, like Henri… and Victor, are really nice. I know that you're not very trusting of people right now, but I'd really like it if you let me prove that I'm different. Do you want to come travel with me?"
"Growlithe!" smiled the orange Pokémon happily. I reached for an empty Pokeball on my belt, but the wild Pokémon suddenly scampered out of reach. I stared after it, confused by this sudden change of mind.
"Even if Growlithe wants to come with you, it wants to make sure you're a strong enough trainer," Henri helped me shrug back into my jacket. "It wants a battle."
"Right," I nodded. "In that case, I guess I'll use Uebu." As I was reaching for my Pokeball, Miki jumped forward, clearly challenging the fire-type Pokémon. "Miki, wait! That's not a good type match up for you!"
"Chiko!" Miki waved the leaf on her head, sending a Razor Leaf at the dog Pokémon. It dodged the attack easily, showing its amazing speed.
"I guess I can't change your mind," I gave in. "Alright, Miki, use Tackle!" Recklessly charging in at full speed, Miki Tackled the Growlithe, but she was soon in danger from the Puppy Pokémon's fire attacks. She managed to dodge the first spout of fire but was then hit by a second stream of fire hidden behind the first one.
"Look out for those fire attacks!" I warned. "Use Razor Leaf!" This time Miki's long-range attack hit, but the Growlithe was still far from done. It used another Ember attack and Miki took a direct hit. I knew she was in trouble, so I had her try out a new move, "Quick, use Synthesis!" Miki glowed softly in the sunlight, taking it in to heal the damage from the fire attacks.
"Not bad," Henri supported. "Synthesis will heal Miki's wounds while you're still in battle." Miki's attack was cut short when she was forced to dodge another Ember. Then she began to glow again, becoming so bright that it was hard to look at her. When the light faded, it looked like Miki had gotten a lot bigger all of the sudden.
"Your Chikorita evolved into a Bayleef," Victor informed me.
"Way to go, Miki! Now use Leaf Storm!" I ordered. Instead of attempting to dodge Miki's strongest attack or burn the leaves with fire, the wild Growlithe charged towards my Bayleef in a blatant show of bravery. Unfortunately, Miki's attack struck it before it could reach her. I didn't want to waste any time, so I threw a Pokeball. The fire-type disappeared in a flash of red light and the Pokeball rocked around for a moment before settling with a satisfying click. I returned Miki with a grin.
"Yes! I've caught a Growlithe!" I picked up the Pokeball. "Henri, could you take care of her again?" I released the Puppy Pokémon so that Henri could heal her.
"I've got it," offered Victor. He pulled out a Super Potion and I sprayed the medicine on my newly acquired Pokémon to heal her.
"Thanks, Victor," I smiled. I patted the Growlithe's head, "I think I'll call you Hayai. What do you think, Hayai? I should get you a bow, too!" I rummaged through my pouch and pulled out a couple different ribbons before deciding on a light blue silk one. I tied it in a bow around the dog Pokémon's right ear. "There! Now you look more like part of the family, Hayai!"
"What is that all about?" Victor turned to Henri.
"Don't ask," sighed Henri.
"Oh wait!" I remembered. "I'm supposed to go tell the researchers that it's safe again to come outside." With Kaitou on my shoulders and the others following close behind me, I returned once again to the newer research building.
"I'm back!" I opened the door. "I took care of it, just like I said!" I stepped inside with the others and found the three researchers waiting nearby.
"Ah!" squealed the second man. "She brought that killer Pokémon inside with her!" The faces of the other two showed that they shared these sentiments.
"Hayai is not a monster," I knelt down and hugged the Growlithe to me. "See? I calmed her down and took care of her injuries and now she's a sweet Pokémon. The only one here at fault was the trainer who abandoned her."
"We don't mean to sound ungrateful," the woman nodded. "You seem to have been injured in your battle, as well."
"It's nothing," I gave a sigh. "I've been in worse battles before; I'll be perfectly fine in a few days. Anyway, I just wanted you three to know that it's safe outside; we'll be on our way now."
"Thank you so much for your help," the first man waved to us as we exited the building, "and good luck on your Pokémon adventure, Kat!"
As we exited the ruins, I suddenly remembered that Victor was looking for something here. "Did you find those rare Pokémon you were talking about, Victor?"
"There weren't any Pokémon at all in those buildings," frowned the raven-haired boy. "Just some random carvings that looked like they were scrambled."
"I'm sure we'll have better luck on the route to Azalea Town," smiled Henri.
"Azalea Town?" I cocked my head to one side as I thought about it. "What's in Azalea Town?"
"Well, the next Pokémon Gym is there, to begin with," Henri adjusted his glasses. "Plus, Azalea is the home of Kurt, a man who makes Pokeballs out of apricorn cores. If you want to know about catching Pokémon, that's the best place to start."
"Sounds good," I nodded. I looked down at the smiling faces of Kaitou and Hayai as they walked on either side of me. "Ready, everyone? To Azalea Town!" Laughing, I ran ahead of the boys with Hayai and Kaitou bounding at my heels.
"Kat, slow down!" Victor yelled as the others began to chase us.