Chapter 11: Abnormal Powers

Weird things are starting to happen around Noah... How is his new friend doing?

After a disappointing visit to the police station, we decided to check on Heracross to see how he was doing. As we entered the facility, we went to the front desk and spoke to the nurse, who brought us where Heracross was resting. It was a huge room within the hospital that was completely covered in grass and filled with trees, where recovering Pokémon could run around freely while being rehabilitated before going back to the real world.

As I peeked into the room from the other side of the big glass wall, I saw all those Pokémon playing with each other. There was a Ponyta, who had one of her legs amputated, a Krabby who had one of its claws missing and also a little Tyrogue who had a third degree burn on his back and bandages all over his arms. But despite what happened to them, they all seemed lively, as they were playing a game of tag.

"They all look so happy," said Thomas.

"You know, I think the reason for that might be that they are just glad to be alive," started the nurse. "Some of them were hurt during battles, others got involved in terrible accidents… and some of them even almost died. But somehow, they were saved. And I think they are just thankful for that, so now they just try to enjoy every second of their lives while they still can."

"Where is Heracross?" I asked the nurse. "How is he doing?"

The nurse paused for a second. She started flipping through the pages of her notebook. "We thoroughly examined your Pokémon," she said, looking at her notes. "We scanned his whole body and internal organs in order to detect any injuries, infections and such, since he seemed to be in a really bad shape when you brought him in here."

"And?" questioned Thomas.

"Well," she resumed. "Besides a few scars and scratches here and there, there didn't seem to be any major physical problem with your Heracross. That being said, he was suffering from an intense loss of energy, as if he exerted himself to the limit of his capacities, creating a tremendous amount of stress on his body. So, we made sure to give him all the nutrients he needed and let him rest for the night. And when we came by his room this morning, everything seemed to be back to normal."

"Well, that's good news! Isn't it?" exclaimed Thomas.

"Not exactly…" answered the nurse. "It was actually quite abnormal. When he woke up this morning, it was as if nothing happened. The scratches on his body were gone. Completely healed. And usually, after a Pokémon suffers from that much stress, it can take days of rest before it gets any better, and even weeks to fully recover. But he was completely fine after just one night."

"Actually, we didn't mention this when we first came yesterday night, but there is something strange about this Heracross." I said. "We found him in a very... bad place. He was being forced to fight other Pokémon, and so we came to help him out. At first, he looked so scared and defenseless. But then all of a sudden, something happened. The situation became very dangerous. We were being cornered, and then out of nowhere, he just… evolved. I mean, he Mega evolved. But you see, the thing is I'm not really his trainer and I'm not even sure he has one, you see? And on top of all that, I didn't see any Mega stone being used on him. It just sort of… happened."

"Interesting," she said. She looked surprised and immediately started writing things down in her notebook.

"Have you witnessed anything like this before, Doctor?" asked Thomas.

"No, actually," replied the nurse, still writing. She looked up at us and fixed her glasses that were starting to fall down her nose. "But I have heard of similar stories before, so that would explain a lot of things. Perhaps you came across a very… special Pokémon."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"By that, I mean that this Heracross might be gifted with a special ability," continued the nurse. "My guess would be that whenever he is faced with a very dangerous situation, where his life, or perhaps someone else's life might be in serious danger, the overwhelming and tremendous amount of fear that goes through his body stimulates- or rather triggers a sudden adaptation in his body. It could be his way of responding to danger… a defense mechanism that allows him to Mega evolve whenever he is faced with such a threat. But it also seems as though this said transformation has a very detrimental impact on his body, as it consumes a lot of energy. I believe that this could open up the door to a whole other universe in Pokémon research and scientific advancements. If only we were able to perform more tests with your Hera-"

"Actually, I'd rather not," I interrupted. "In fact, if he's all better now, as you said, then I would like to take him and leave. Now, could you tell me where he is?"

"Hmm… I understand," she said. "Your Pokémon is in there with the other ones. But there is one more thing I must tell you. Ever since he arrived in this hospital, he's been responding extremely nervously and aggressively to any sort of human or Pokémon contact. He wouldn't even let the nurses get close to him! So, we had to tranquilize him in order to give him his medication he needed. I believe your Heracross is suffering from something called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which makes him extremely nervous around humans and even other Pokémon. I don't know what happened to him that caused such a thing, but I truly believe that it would be beneficial for him if he stayed here a little longer."

"I said we're leaving," I jabbed. I turned around and walked towards the glass door. I pressed the button on the wall just besides it, which caused it to slide sideways, releasing a sound of depressurization. I stepped into the indoor garden.

"Heracross!" I screamed. "Where are you? It's me. Remember? I came to pick you up. We're getting out of here."

I saw a shadow moving from behind a tree all the way at the other end of the closed room. It started slowly revealing itself while holding the trunk of the tree with its big arms, only showing half of its face. It was him.

"Ah, there you are!" I said in relief. "C'mon now, we're going home. You have nothing to fear anymore."

The Pokémon was hesitant at first, but eventually came out and nervously walked towards me with short rapid steps. We headed for the door, which slid open once more.

"With all due respect, I don't think you quite understand the situation, young man," warned the nurse. "Your Pokémon's abilities may be a great danger for society and I'm pretty certain it still cannot control it fully. I would strongly advise that you let him stay here a little long-"

"Thank you for what you have done for Heracross, Doctor." I said, cutting her off once again. I took out my Pokéball and recalled him back inside of it. I put the ball back into my pocket and looked up at the nurse. "But it's time for us to leave," I continued. "We'll take it from here. Heracross isn't scared of me. I saved him, so he knows he can trust me. And I don't care that he has a special power and that he can't control it yet. I'll protect him even if it costs me my life. I'll teach him to control his fear and to control this amazing power of his, but I will certainly not let him go through all the things that happened to him before. Good bye now."

I burst out of the hospital without looking back. Thomas followed me outside without saying a word. We walked for a while until we reached a park nearby the hospital, where we sat down for a minute.

"What are we gonna do, now?" asked Thomas.

"I don't know man…" I said. "For some reason everything felt weird today. First the police officer acted fishy, and now the same thing happened with the nurse who wanted to do all kinds of test on him! I mean, maybe she didn't have any insidious intentions... and she did tend to his injuries, but I still feel like Heracross will be safer with me."

After this morning's unpleasant turn of events, we decided to blow off some steam. We let all our Pokémon out of their Pokéballs and we all played together in the park. We hopped on the swings, went down the slide and ran around the playing module. Even Heracross, who was still very shy and uneasy decided to join us in a game of hide-and-seek. He was finally starting we feel part of the group.

~ End of Chapter 11 ~