At least I didn't hurt anymore. Well, not unless I moved. Or tried to talk. Nurse Joy said I had three broken ribs and that I was millimeters away from a punctured lung. My foot would need to be wrapped for a month or so. I'd ruptured both eardrums from going supersonic with Dart, and even with Pokemon assistance, it would be a couple weeks at least before they healed. I had narrowly avoided whiplash, but my neck was going to be sore for a while. Finally, my entire body was covered with bandages, and cold packs to reduce swelling.

"...should count yourself blessed! Mayhaps you're the lucky one, not your Growlithe," Mom ranted through Janelle's Poryphone, propped up on my bed-table. She had been going for almost five minutes and was only starting to run out of steam. Fortunately I had a hearing injury, so she sounded like she was underwater, and I was able to easily tune her out after she moved from checking if I was okay to lecturing me. She was starting to repeat herself though; I could swear I'd already heard the bit about Lucky.

I nudged the table with my elbow, about as much movement as I could make without any pain, dislodging the Poryphone's precarious balance. It corrected itself almost immediately, but the shift caught my mom's attention and she stopped talking long enough for me to interrupt.

"I get it," I wheezed, "and I'll leave exploring dangerous places to professionals." The pain in my chest made me cough, which just made it hurt more. Mom started to say something, but I cut her off, "I don't regret it, though. We managed to save some Pokemon from some kind of device they'd been hooked up to for who knows how long, and caught a mischievous Pokemon that could have been even more dangerous to someone without three trainers' worth of Pokemon to help them. I'm not going to do it again, but I don't regret it."

Janelle, reading a magazine in one of the room's chairs, rolled her eyes, but her lips quirked into a small smile.
Mom was harder to read. She stayed quiet for a moment, just looking at me. Or trying to; the face she was making could have just been chalked up to the camera's new angle giving her a weird view of me. Finally, she simply said, "Okay. I'm glad you're alright. I'll call again later."
I exhaled and managed a, "Love you," before the call ended.

"She really let you have it, huh?" Janelle asked as she reached over and plucked her phone off the table, "No, don't say anything. I know, we deserve it. Do you really think those Electrode were leftovers from some kind of experiment? Wait, you can't talk. Nevermind."

I gave her a flat look as she got up from her chair and stretched. She hit the room's lights and climbed into her own bed.

"Get some rest and feel better, okay? It's boring talking to someone who can't talk back."

I sighed, but closed my eyes. Prickly as she tried to sound, it was a great idea.

It was still dark. Probably. My eyes didn't want to open. Was I awake? Why?

"... sterbr … ledback ... he … Blaine … sonally ... wild ... dtoli ... ruins ... ldownerleft … andsom ... issues … atives … did ... seeing … machine ... lectrode ..."

A hushed voice. Was it outside? Was I dreaming? It was so hard to make anything out.
"... new … putit ..."

A second voice. Maybe. Why was it so hard to hear?
"... cellen ... League … vestig … inglef ... ey'llgetany … eepaneye … afe..."

The first speaker. It was getting harder to focus.
"... ellher?"

I started drifting.

"N... ow … nough … orryab..."

A cool, familiar sensation on my forehead woke me up. My body felt warm, so it was a welcome contrast. I cracked an eye open.

On one side, a huge, fluffy shape resolved itself into Dart, lightly nesting next to me in the blankets. Her long plumage and wings were draped over me and the bed's other inhabitant, my orange pup. It would be hard to call him a pup, soon. He was sprawled out next to me, carefully not on me. His muzzle was resting next to my shoulder, the fur tickling my next, but I could feel the rhythmic thwap of his tail against my knee. He would be graduating to full-blown "dog" soon.

I saw the occasional yellow blob bobbing around past them, and the faint tingling in my feet told me that Levy was somewhere down there. I felt guiltily thankful that Spin was probably doing the "too cool for this" thing on the ground; I wasn't sure I could manage the spikes in my condition.

Vola, of course, was on my pillow with me. Full-body injuries or no, she wouldn't be put off the most comfortable spot. She did seem to have made a minor concession in settling onto the open corner instead of pushing my head to the edge to get the most space. Her tails rested lightly on my forehead.

They all seemed to be dozing

I had no idea how long I'd been out, but I didn't feel any pressing need to be up.

I closed my eyes again and joined them.