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Chapter XII
Logistics
For Iris' Emolga, it was a nightmare beyond her imagination. She had missed the scene with that Pikachu, and the scene of the evolved form, whom died of two related yet independent events. Her trainer had wondered off, but her Axew stayed with her. Emolga met up with the rest of Ash's current Pokémon, she glanced at all of them but dared not make eye contact with Snivy.
She couldn't understand what Iris told her about how the world changed overnight, couldn't understand that friends were dying and coming back as Undead. Undead, was that what those things were called? Iris' Emolga had caught glimpses of them outside by looking through a window. They appeared to be former human beings, but there were Undead Pokémon in the mix, though not that many. Seeing the blood on them, followed by exposed bone and gore, was just disturbing. But that was just looking at them in the distance, not in person.
As Iris' Emolga juggled that thought in her mind, her friends sat by and ate their rations. They weren't happy, but weren't sad either. There wasn't much Pokémon food, all they were getting was a kilogram of food per day. Iris' Emolga would use Attract to try to coax the other Pokémon into give her some, or maybe all, of their rations for the day. But the plan was a short-term solution, soon there wouldn't be any food. Born and raised as a wild Pokémon, Iris' Emolga knew how scarce food can become. The feeling was mostly sore in the heart.
The only good and bad news was, she wasn't the only Emolga to figure it all out.
To her disbelief, and the satisfaction of her rival, Mark's shiny sprite Emolga came walking into the room, happy to see everyone. Pignite, Scraggy, and Oshawott were happy to see her. Pansage shook her hand and gladly exclaimed on how good it was to see her. Before Iris' Emolga could step away, her brown fur sprite counterpart gave her a big hug, "Emo, Emolga." she cooed, Hello again, friend.
Iris' Emolga couldn't work up much hate for Mark's Emolga, one reason was that they had a lot in common. They were both lazy and gluttonous. But anything they had in common stopped there, Mark's Emolga was more extreme in being lazy and gluttonous. She was also more inappropriate with certain situations, Iris' Emolga could never forget what had happened after she was pressured by Tesla to use Attract on Mark's Emolga in the Apple Dispute. What was very interesting was she never shown anger, not even a grumble. She just wanted to make friends, not rivals.
So when Iris' Emolga grabbed her counterpart's shoulders and shoved her aside, Mark's Emolga fell to the floor and laughed. Everyone but Snivy laughed as well.
"Emolga Emolga Emolga Emo?" Iris' Emolga asked, What's going on out there?
That was when things got serious, "Emo Emolga Emolga Emo... Emolga," explained Mark's Emolga, Nothing but... Death.
"Emolga Emolga Emolga." I'm surprised you're able to last this long.
"Emolga Emo Emo." Mark had early warning.
"Emolga?" From whom?
"Emolga. Emolga Emo Emo Emolga, Emolga Emolga." His dad. Mark simply packed up shop and we got out of there, just in time.
"Oshawott, Osha?" asked Oshawott, What else is out there?
Mark's Emolga smirked, "Emo Emo, Emolga." Good loot, for the taking.
"Emooollga," she continued, holding up a finger, "Emolga Emolga Emolga." Buuut... Only for a limited time.
"Pansage," said Pansage, "Pan Pan Pansage Pan?" Emolga, is there any food out there?
Mark's Emolga shrugged, "Emolga, Emo Emo Emolga." Besides us, no other food in sight.
At least she still had her sense of humor. Iris' Emolga thought. Then again, that might not be humor at all. She tried not to think of it.
The door creaked open and Mark stepped on through, "Emolga?" he called out her name.
"Emolga," cried Mark's Emolga as she ran straight for her trainer, "Emolga, Emolga, Emolga!" Mark! Mark! Mark! Maarrkk!
The Emolga ran straight up Mark and began licking all over his face, "Oh you sweet thing," the trainer said as he and his Pokémon touched noses, "You sweet thing."
"Emo, Emo Emolga." said Mark's Emolga. No, you sweet thing!
Mark's Emolga climbed back on her trainer's shoulder and perched itself, then Mark turned his attention to the other Pokémon, "So how are you guys holding up?"
Fine, All the Pokémon said in the Pokémon language. Though Mark didn't understand it, a simple nod and the reassuring tone of their voices was enough for the message to come through.
"It's a nightmare out there," said Mark, "Me and Emolga stayed up all night just to get here. We thought we could avoid most of the Undead by taking a detour off the main road. Instead, we avoided most of the Undead humans. All of the wild Pokémon out there are infected with the Undead plague, down to the last bird and bug type Pokémon. Pretty much almost every living thing out there is Undead now."
Mark let that thought settle in for a moment before he continued, "Well, you guys are lucky for being on the Island. Unova's devastated, or what Tesla was telling us. I've been listening to the radio and they said the cases over there is as bad as he claimed. Phone lines are down, so is the TV. You probably noticed the TV already."
"Hey, Mark," someone called out from the hall, "Give us a hand with this, will yah?"
Mark spun around and left the room, "I'll be right there!"
He took his Emolga with him, for much of Iris' Emolga's relief. At that moment, the thought finally sunk in. Every Pokémon here, well most of them, were trained to battle other Pokémon. Not the Undead, not even Undead Pokémon. She never liked to battle. If this apocalypse keeps up, she may never had to battle again. That thought made her smile inside, which helped eased the pain that food was more limited now. She was going to be hating her stomach for a while, but that happy thought would keep her going – For now.
. . .
"I've counted up the food stock, Nurse Joy," said Cilan as he went through the list on the clipboard for the 4th time, "I managed to come up with a number."
"How many days will it all last?" Nurse Joy asked.
"If everyone, human or Pokémon, get two cans of food per day, we should have enough food that will last us at least 3 weeks."
"That much?"
"There's a lot of people and Pokémon here. For us to stay well fed for the long-term, we must have a food supply that would last us 3 to 6 months. During the initial outbreak of the Undead, the obvious places were mostly looted. It would take a clever person or Pokémon to find food that were well hidden before hand."
"You can count on me." said a voice.
Cilan and Nurse Joy turned towards the door and saw Tesla, standing right on his hind legs, "I'm an expert scavenger, ever since I was born."
"But Tesla," said Cilan, "You're-"
"I may be old, Cilan, but all hands must play their part. I know this island like the insides of a Pikachu, and I'll tell you right now that few fruits and vegetables grow naturally on this island. Agriculture's crap here due to poor nutrients in the soil, but give me enough spare parts and I'll build you a hydroponics farm within a day or two."
"You sound like an eccentric." commented Nurse Joy.
"So's my trainer, he built a cybernetic arm after his real one was traumatically amputated by an . . . Accident," Tesla paused and looked away for a moment, then refocused his attention back at Cilan, "Well anyway, are you alright, Cilan? You nearly lost your head when you tried to call home, only to find the lines cut off."
"I'm fine," said Cilan, almost sounding blunt, "Or at least I think so."
"Cilan," said Tesla, "You have friends here who need your help. I don't know how your family members are handling the Undead nightmare, but I also have relatives of mine trying to scrape by as well. Hear me out. If you go insane in this situation, Cilan, you may not reclaim lucidity. Which in turn, will jeopardize your friend's safety and might throw you into the ranks of the very creature that's causing all this."
Cilan knew where this was going, and he didn't like it. He thought of something to change the subject, and thought of it fast, "You have something else to do?"
Tesla nodded, "I do, in fact. If you need any help with food, or your personal issues, talk to me. Okay?"
"I will, Tesla."
As Tesla walked off, Cilan kinda wish Tesla hadn't brought his family up. He didn't wanna think of all the kinds of horrors Chili and Cress were facing. Striaton City was overunned, but the gym sits just outside the city, away from the chaos. There was enough food and water to last for months, maybe 2 or 3 years. But there were no guns, no suitable weapons there, so-
"Cilan?" Nurse Joy asked.
Cilan snapped out of it and got back to focus, "Oh yeah, now how much water does the average Pokémon need per day?"
. . .
The other Pikachus gathered around Max, seemingly quite curious of the boy. One of them bounced up and jumped on him, Max laughed as the Pikachu licked his face like crazy. Even as he pushed the Pikachu away, the mouse Pokémon persist on giving him "kisses." They were the most friendly Pikachus Max and May had ever met.
"Stop," said Max as he pushed the Pikachu away again, "That tickles!"
"Pikachu!" cheered the Pikachu as it tried to lick him some more.
"They seem to like you." said May as she sat on the bed, watching the Pikachus play with her little brother.
"They're more friendlier than Ash's Pikachu," said Max as he grabbed the one licking him and gave it a big hug, "They don't shock or anything."
May had talked to Nurse Joy an hour earlier about the Pikachus. She said that the Pokémon were bred to be this nice. Certain traits were carefully selected and amplified through several generations of selected breeding, until the desire result was achieved. 23 Pikachus were sent in from Kanto, delivered by airplane a while kept in a well maintained environment, and brought here by truck. They weren't placed in cages throughout the trip, since that would negate their personality. All the Pikachus came into the Pokémon Center on their own feet, and remained there ever since.
The average observer thought that the Pikachus were to provide electric power to the Pokémon Center in case of a blackout, but that was their secondary job. Their primary job was to entertain and keep the trainers and their Pokémon company. Sometimes children were brought in, and the Pikachu played with them. Interestingly they can be rough on the Mice Pokémon, but they let it slide. Amazing that the Pokémon can handle such unintentional abuse and not get angry, or try to bite or shock. It was incredible!
One of the Pikachus came up to May and rubbed its head against her leg, she chuckled as she picked it up and held the Pikachu in her arms, "You're so cute," she said to the Pikachu as if it was an infant, "Yes, you are..."
May tickled the Pikachu's belly, the mouse Pokémon laughed and giggled. It tried to reach up and lick her face, but May held it down. These Pikachus were a bit too playful, maybe a bit too young. No matter, they're great companions to have in a world gone overtaken by the Living Dead.
. . .
Ash checks up on the sick Pikachu again. Its condition was getting worse, Ash could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand when he approached the overcharged mouse Pokémon. It was heartbreaking to watch, since his Pikachu had suffered such a condition before. Back then, help was easily obtained. Not this time. There was no Magnemite to absorb the access electricity, no special machine to ground it. Why does illness for electric-type Pokémon had to be this bad?
The sick Pikachu moaned, sounding like he was going to cry. Ash held back his tears, he wanted to touch the Pikachu and comfort it that way. But he could be electrocuted. Speaking of electrocution, this Pikachu was getting more dangerous. What was the risk again, explosion? Ash felt his heart sink to his stomach at the thought.
"Pikachu."
Ash saw a Pikachu approach, he soon realize it was his Pikachu when it crawled up his pants leg and perched itself on his shoulder. He just about cried when he saw the sick Pikachu in its tiny bed. It was weak, really weak. It could barely move.
It opened its eyes, soft as they were. He looked up and saw Ash, it didn't say anything but the Pikachu seemed comforted by his presence. Ash and his Pikachu return the stare, not sure what to do. Heck, they didn't know what they can do for the sick Pokémon. Any ideas were up for grabs at this point, or that was how things appeared.
The Pikachu tried to get up, but it exhausted itself. It almost cried again, but then again it was too tired to cry. Ash wanted to communicate to the sick Pikachu, but he wouldn't be able to understand it. Then a lightbulb clicked in his head, Ash abruptly turned around and left the room.
"Pikachu?" his Pikachu asked, probably wondering where he was going.
Ash searched the rooms and soon found Tesla in the small library, he held up the Pokédex Brock had retrieved and gave it a final look, "Done." said Tesla.
"Tesla," said Ash, "I need your help."
"You always need my help," said Tesla, almost sounding rude, "But what are friends for?"
Tesla handed Ash the Pokédex, "I modified this Pokédex to work on the Undead, and in some unusual situations and random encounters. Just aim that Pokédex at a dead body for example and you can get some information on how to dispose of it, or use it as bait."
"Thanks," said Ash as he pocketed the Pokédex, he'll investigate it later, "I need to ask you something."
"Say it."
"You know of the Pikachu that had the Electric Flu, in the Pikachu room?"
"The Pikachu room," chuckled Tesla, "Is that what they call it? Uh, yes, I do know of the sick Pikachu. Nurse Joy doesn't want me in there when I asked her about it. Why deny me from my own kind? I don't have a freaking clue, but I'm not complaining. Well, since she's distracted at the moment, let's see what I can do."
Tesla got up and followed Ash backed to the room, the old Pikachu hopped on the wall counter and approached the sick Pikachu, "Reminds me of my cousin," Tesla commented when he saw the state of the Pikachu, "Never seen a bad case of the Electric Flu in almost 85 years."
"Ask him if he want anything." said Ash.
"Sure."
Tesla asked the sick Pikachu in the Pokémon language, the overcharged mouse Pokémon muttered a request under its breath, "He wants a special herbal medicinal drink that has an anti-histamine and acetaminophen."
"What does it do?" Ash asked.
"He said it would take care of his sinuses and clear his airway, also makes him feel better. Acetaminophen does a good job against the regular flu, anti-histamine must be the stuff that clears your airway. I'd done some research on the drugs, the definition said it would. Well, I hope Nurse Joy doesn't objects."
"Pikachu." the sick Pikachu muttered.
"She won't? Okay. Where does she keep it."
"Pika... Pika... chu..."
"I'll be right back."
Tesla jumped down and left the room, within minutes he came back with a jar of green liquid that looked like juice. He held it up to Ash and the trainer took it, "Just give it to him." said Tesla.
Ash opened the bottle, it gave off a vinegar-like odor. It reminded him of the medicine that Iris gives to Pokémon to make them feel better, maybe this was the professional version of that medicine. He handed the bottle to the sick Pikachu and it took it with shaky arms. It managed to use all of its available strength to sit upright, Ash resisted the urge to help it due to the danger of being shocked. The sick Pikachu took a sip of the medicine in 5 second intervals. After 3 minutes it drank half of the bottle before handing it back, the sick Pikachu sat back and let out a smile, "Pikachu."
"Keep the bottle," said Tesla, "He'll might need it later."
"I hope you improve, Pikachu." said Ash.
The sick Pikachu nodded and looked off at the ceiling, still smiling as its red cheeks still sparkle with electricity. Ash found the sparks dazzling, for some reason.
TO BE CONTINUED...
