Chapter Five:

Recuperation

"Not a single trainer, not a single Pokémon, bug or otherwise," I sighed as I dropped to a large boulder near a small lake. I glanced out across it before furrowing my brow. I noticed that the rock I sat on was warm, the heat perforating through my skirt. Sunlight danced across the mostly still surface of the lake, the reflections nearly blinding me. I cupped a hand over my eyes and glanced up. Here, in the middle of the very thick Viridian Forest, I had managed to stumble across an opening where the bright sun was beating down.

"I suppose this is as good of a place to stop as any," I murmured, glancing to my left and at Bird perched on my shoulder. She mewled. I smiled and swung my pouch off over my head. I grabbed Bird and set her on the warm rock next to me before leaning over and digging through my bag.

"Come on out friends!" I called as I tossed the three pokéballs I owned up into the air. All three broke open and the red beam shot down towards the ground as the Pokémon within each formed.

Gia immediately grinned as she caught sight of me before she turned and charged towards the waterline. Ponyta followed after Gia, her hooves clicking rapidly against the rocky shoreline and neighing loudly. She and Gia began chasing each other in the surf, as the water lapped against the shore. Bulbasaur, Bubbie as I had started calling him, hunkered down on the warm rock next to me, clearly just happy to be in the sunshine. I smiled at him and dug into my bag, grabbing a can of pokéfood that had been specially formulated for Bulbasaurs.

I cracked the can open and tapped the contents out onto the stone in front of my Pokémon. He chirped cheerily and looked up at me, offering a genuine smile before he scarfed up his food pellets. I leaned back and closed my eyes as the sun rays danced across my face. I felt Lady Bird crawl into my lap and curl into a ball. After only a moment, I could feel her vibrating with loud purrs.

"Why didn't I do this sooner?" I whispered into the gentle, forest breeze.

"Bulba."

I glanced down, finding Bubbie standing over the emptied can of food and staring at me expectantly. "Oh," I chuckled. "I am going to have to buy so much more food for you," I told him as I produced a second can of food and gave it to him. He hurriedly buried his snout into the food again.

I looked from the Bulbasaur and to Gia and Ponyta, who I hadn't yet come up with a pet name for yet. I gently stroked the sleeping Bird as she purred softly. Ponyta and Gia were drinking from the lake, seemingly having tired themselves out from splashing about. However, after a few seconds, they took off in a sprint around the edge of the lake. I laughed, watching them chase each other.

I sat up a little straighter when they disappeared into some thick brush and out of my sight. "Gia!" I called, expecting her head to pop back out of the bushes. I frowned when she didn't reappear. "Gia!" I called a little louder, disturbing Bird.

I gave my Pokémon a moment to respond to my calls before I scooped up my bags, shoved Bird on my shoulders, and tucked Bubbie into the crook of my arms. I hurried in the same direction Gia and Ponyta and disappeared, and as I neared, I heard a panicked whinny.

I practically sprinted into the brush, feeling Bird hunker lower on my shoulders as I swatted branches out of my way. After several feet of thick underbrush, the foliage broke and I came into an area of the forest where the undergrowth was non-existent and large trees loomed over me.

I took in the surroundings, not seeing any Pokémon aside from my two hooved Pokémon, and not seeing any trainers. My Pokémon were standing at the base of one of the large trees. Around the base of the tree and still hanging on some of the branches there were empty husks of Kakuna cocoons. I set Bubbie down and glanced back to check on Bird, she bumped her forehead against mine, assuring me she was fine. I then slowly stepped in the direction of Gia and Ponyta.

I stepped over the empty cocoons and closed the distance between myself and my Pokémon. They were standing still, surrounding something on the ground that they were staring down at.

"Everything okay, girls?" I asked, taking in my surroundings again. I could hear the nearby brush rustling, but I wasn't sure if it was a wild Pokémon, a Pokémon trainer, or just the persistent, soft breeze in the forest. Gia and Ponyta separated and I looked down, gasping when I found what they had been protecting.

I dropped to my knees and felt Bird leave my back. I glanced backwards, making sure she was alright, and found her standing on Gia's back. Gia wasn't bothered. I returned my attention to the injured Pokémon on the ground.

I beheld a large Kakuna, much larger than any of the husks lying about the space. However, this was not a husk. I could see its eyes slowly trying to open, but it seemed to be fighting unconsciousness. Every time the Pokémon would manage to open its eyes, they would immediately shut again.

Beneath the upper portion of its cocoon, on the thorax area of the body, I observed a large, gaping hole. Liquid actively oozed from the wound and I could hear soft whimpers coming up from the Pokémon.

"Oh, no," I whispered.

I heard rustling again nearby, and this time I could discern voices as well. I glanced up and in the direction of the noise. I heard Ponyta huff loudly and when I looked to her, she was staring in the same direction that I had been looking. "Ponyta." I said and her attention snapped to me. "Go find out what that is."

She took off, disappearing into the brush. Even though I stared down at the injured Kakuna, I could hear my Pokémon huffing and neighing while the rustling noise grew louder and the whispers I had heard turned to shouts.

I reached into my bag and pulled out my toiletries bag. On a whim I had packed a small baggie of first aid items and had a small package of gauze and tape. I grabbed those items and returned the other items to my bag. I leaned back over the Kakuna.

"I am so sorry if this hurts you further," I whispered to it before slowly applying the gauze with a slight amount of pressure. I heard a loud whimper emit from the Pokémon and immediately felt guilty. I hurriedly taped the gauze into place and moved my hands.

Suddenly, Ponyta burst from the brush, huffing and snorting. I looked to her and was shocked when I found her dragging a young, female trainer in my direction. She dropped her next to me and the girl collapsed on the ground, softly sniffling.

"Do you know what happened here?" I asked her.

She sniffled again, slowly pushing herself up onto her knees and staring at me. "No," she insisted as she wiped her forearm across her running nose.

Ponyta snorted again and stamped her feet next to the girl, which caused the young girl to wince. "Are you sure?" I asked her again, "because my Pokémon seems to think you do know."

"Your Pokémon is mean!" The girl shouted at me.

Ponyta neighed loudly and reared up, kicking her front legs as she continued to neigh. She slammed her feet to the ground after a moment, leaning down toward the young trainer. Her mane and tail were ablaze with her obvious anger.

"Okay!" The girl was screaming as she tried to scoot away from Ponyta. However, she neared Kakuna and I hurriedly stopped her. "Okay, me and my friend were throwing rocks at the hanging husks!"

"This one isn't a husk," I snapped.

"Well, it dropped like one!" She hissed back at me, meeting me with an irate glare.

"You deliberately threw rocks at it knowing it was an evolving Pokémon?" I asked her, flabbergasted. "How are you a Pokémon trainer?"

"You aren't my mom, who cares what you think!" She shrieked, sticking her tongue out at me. This received another irritated reaction from Ponyta, which seemed to be too much for the girl. She hurried to her feet and ran away from me. Ponyta pawed at the ground, clearly ready to chase her.

"Let her go, she's gonna do more harm than good," I hissed, still tending to the Kakuna. Since I didn't know the extent of his injuries, I was scared to move him. I glanced up, she was still running for the brush Ponyta had dragged her out of. "Actually, go scare her one more time."

Ponyta took off after her, snapping her jaw and snorting. The girl released a loud scream as she dove headfirst into the bushes. I heard her hit the ground hard, mutter an exclamation of pain, and scurry off. Ponyta halted at the bushes, pacing back and forth for a moment before she returned to me.

"I think I need to get him some potions," I said, glancing up at Ponyta and then at Gia. "I can't move him safely without healing him some." I winced and shook my head, reaching out and running a gentle hand across the top of the Pokémon. Its eyes fluttered and for a moment seemed to look at me. "I don't want to leave him here alone though, what if I can't find him again?"

Ponyta nickered, lifting her hoof and pawing at my satchel. She reached down and stuck her nose in the bag. After a moment, she managed to pull out the envelope that had the cash in it. She whinnied at me, nudging it into my lap.

"You know how to identify a potion?" I asked her, glancing up at and she bobbed her head up and down at me. I felt crazy as I grabbed several bills and handed them to the Pokémon, but I knew I didn't have another choice. She very carefully took the money in her teeth before rearing up and galloping away from me.

"Hurry," I softly said, watching her leave. Once she was out of sight, I looked back to Kakuna, trying to decide what else to do for it. I pulled a bottle of water from my bag and rinsed the dirt and debris from the cocoon. I glanced to Gia as she hunkered down beside the Kakuna, Bird still perched on her back. "I hope it's not too late," I said and she looked to me. I reached out and pet her. "You did good though."

She stared at me a moment, then looked away from me and back to the Kakuna. She scooted closer to it, allowing its head to rest against her shoulder. I glanced to my left hip when I felt Bulbasaur come to rest beside me. He sat down, his little, rear feet sticking out from underneath him. He looked up at me and then leaned heavily against me.

"Ponyta is quick," I assured them, and myself, "she will be back soon."

Ponyta had made record time, bursting back into the clearing with a mart bag clenched in her teeth. I had quickly taken it from her, dispensing directly onto the skin of the now unconscious Kakuna. Every potion I dispensed was absorbed quickly by the injured Pokémon but he didn't seem to gain any strength back as he remained unconscious.

Deciding I had no other choice, I let Gia hold Bird while I gathered the Kakuna in my arms. It was much larger than I was expecting and I had to rebalance myself to deal with the size and the weight. Once prepared to handle the Pokémon, I hurried from the clearing and back into the forest. Bubbie ran beside me, using his vines to push branches and plants from my path while Ponyta trotted ahead of me, guiding me back to Viridian City.

The sun was setting as I arrived back in Viridian City. I hurried through the PokéCenter doors, Ponyta and Bubbie pushing them in for me. I hurried to the counter and described the situation to the nurse on duty. She, obviously as concerned as I was, brought me into the back of the center to transfer the Pokémon to a critical care bed.

And so, I sat, with the unconscious Pokémon. I had been in the Center for hours, waiting to see if the Kakuna was going to be okay. Several nurses had tended to him and he had been transported out of the room many times. They gave me small snippets of information whenever they had it, but they advised they didn't know how serious his condition was. However, they allowed me to stay in the critical care unit with the Pokémon.

Bird and Bubbie had fallen asleep together in the seat beside me and Gia and Ponyta were huddled together on the floor nearby. I leaned against the side of the bed, staring at the Kakuna, who still hadn't gained consciousness.

"Excuse me?" I glanced up when I heard a man's voice. He waved at me and neared. "The nurse up front told me I could find you back here."

I furrowed my brow as I straightened up off the edge of the bed. I glanced from his face and down to his shirt. He wore a collared t-shirt with his name on one side of his chest and PokéMart on the other side. "I'm so sorry," I said, "who are you?"

"Your Ponyta bought potions from me," he said with a soft chuckle.

"Oh." I glanced over at her, she was asleep with her head resting on Gia's back. Gia's neck was extended and her chin was resting on the seat beside Bubbie and Bird. "I'm sorry about that," I told him, waving to the Kakuna I sat beside. "It was kind of an emergency."

"I see that." He walked closer to the bed and stared down at the Pokémon. "It was by far one of the oddest experiences of my career."

"Did I give her enough money?"

"More than enough," he assured her. "You got a smart Pokémon there."

"Thanks," I murmured. I leaned my arms against the edge of the bed again and rested my chin on my arms.

"How's it doing?" He asked me after a couple of moments.

"Not really sure," I replied. "The nurses said the biggest concern, aside from him dying altogether, is that his evolution was disturbed, so he may never evolve."

"That's not the worst thing."

"No," I agreed. "I'll just be happy if he lives."

"You must have had him for a while," he commented and I shook my head.

"He's a wild Pokémon," I explained, flicking my eyes up to his face but not lifting my head. "Some kids threw rocks and he fell out of the tree he was evolving in."

"Oh jeez, that's awful." He stood there silently for a few moments before he cleared his throat. "I didn't mean to disturb you, I just wanted to bring you this." He held out the same amount of cash that I had given Ponyta.

I felt an expression of concern come over my features as I straightened up again. "That's for the potions."

"Trust me, you don't need to pay for them in this situation," he told me, extending the money further toward me. "Everyone should act the same way you did." I offered him a sad smile as I quietly thanked him and took my money back. "Best of luck to you and to him." With his last comment, he turned and left the way he had come.

I slowly released my breath and leaned back against Kakuna's bed. I watched the Pokémon, feeling my eyes flutter as I finally felt my exhaustion. I fought it for a moment, but eventually the need to sleep won out and I fell asleep leaning against the Pokémon bed.